Israel Opens West Bank Prison to Journalists

By Dylan Takores
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli prison officials agreed to admit journalists to view the interior conditions of a West Bank prison that holds Palestinian inmates.

Palestinian using a sling to hurl tear gas back at Israeli forces. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

The Israel Prison Service (IPS) made the decision in response to reports of torture and wrongful death of multiple Palestinian inmates that were detained in Israeli custody.  In particular, one prisoner died of cancer earlier this month, spurring accusations of mistreatment and failure to provide proper medical assistance.

Prison warden Yaakov Shalom boldly stated, “We have nothing to hide,” after agreeing to allow journalists to view Ofer, a prison in the West Bank that holds approximately 700 Palestinian detainees.  Ofer is just one of a group of prisons that collectively hold roughly 5,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The prison exterior is large and intimidating.  High walls lined with guard towers are capped with barbed wire.  Inside, the prison is divided into sections based on the inmates’ faction membership.  Some of individual sections are devoted to Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, smaller groups, and inmates under 18 years of age.

Inmates are generally permitted to pray in prison yards surrounded by a fence of metal bars.  Abdul Kahir Srour, a Palestinian inmate and resident of Ramallah, claimed his treatment “fluctuated” as a result of the allegations against the IPS.  Nevertheless, Srour maintained his innocence, asserting that he has been in custody for five months without charge for alleged activities related to Hamas.

Despite four months of pleading, Muhammad Natsheh, an inmate in the Hamas section, complained that prison guards denied accommodation to his request for specific medical treatment.  A prison medic stated that referrals were provided when necessary, arguing, “There is no neglect.”

Silwad resident Tarek Hamed, 17, explained that he was beaten by soldiers following his arrest for throwing stones at a highway near his home.  Due to the mistreatment, his sentence was reduced from five months to one month of imprisonment.  Yousef Hamed, 15, received similar treatment for the same offense.  Mohammed Safi, 17, recalled that he was “slapped around” after his arrest and interrogation.  However, none of the boys cited any mistreatment at the Ofer facility itself.

Shalom stated that his policies and interactions with inmates remained unchanged in the wake of the outside allegations.  He concluded, “As long as they don’t create disturbances, it doesn’t matter what is going on outside.  They have a lot to lose, and it’s worth it for them to behave accordingly.”

 

For further information, please see:

Reuters – Palestinians open Israeli jail replica to honour prisoners – 16 April 2013

Xinhua – Israel offers rare visit of Ofer prison ahead of Palestinian Prisoner Day – 15 April 2013

Media Line – Israel Trumpets Fair Treatment in Prisons – 14 April 2013

Washington Post – Israel allows journalists to visit West Bank prison after deaths in custody – 14 April 2013

Impunity Watch – Palestinian Inmate Death Causes Widespread Protests – 25 February 2013

Start Your Engines: Tear Gas Fired at Activists in Bahrain

By Dylan Takores
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain – Police fired tear gas at activists at the Jabriya school for boys in Manama on Tuesday following a protest for the release of a detained student.

Activists flee from police tear gas. (Photo Courtesy of Bahrain Center for Human Rights)

Police arrested Hassan Humidan, 17, on Monday as part of a government crackdown on protests and general unrest in anticipation of the upcoming F1 Grand Prix race scheduled to take place next week.  Humidan is one of approximately 100 people that have been arrested in the past month as a result of increased law enforcement and boosted security.

The government claimed the police acted within the bounds of the law.  The Ministry of the Interior tweeted that “police dealt with a group of thugs outside Jabriya school according to legal regulations.”

Many observers tweeted pictures of protestors fleeing from the tear gas.  According to the Associated Press, Mohamed Jaber, a father of one of the Jabriya school’s students, attempted to pick up his son from the school, but was denied entrance by police.

The protests are a reaction to the Bahraini government’s human rights violations.  Activists call for the cancelation of the Grand Prix race.  The confrontation is the most recent in a span of clashes that began in February 2011.

The race was planned to exhibit to the world that the social unrest in Bahrain decreased and the nation is stabilizing.  Andy Slaughter, Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Democracy in Bahrain, reported to the BBC that “There is a close relationship between the race and the repression by a regime that is using F1 to try and establish normalcy.”  Slaughter referred to the race as a “propaganda exercise.”

Clashes between the government and human rights activists occur in Bahrain on a near-daily basis.  Human rights groups approximate that fifty individuals have died since confrontations began two years ago.  The government disputes this number.

Despite the violence, the Bahraini government refuses to cancel the race.  Nicholas McGeehan of Human Rights Watch criticized the government’s decision to go ahead with the race, condemning it as a “political event which will gloss over serious rights violations.”

Both the Bahraini government and Formula One President and CEO Bernie Ecclestone contended that the race is crucial to the country’s fragile economy.  The government vowed to maintain strict security over the event.

 

For further information, please see:

Albawaba – Police ‘fire tear gas’ at boys’ school following student’s arrest – 16 April 2013

BBC – Bahrain: Police ‘fire tear gas’ at boys’ school – 16 April 2013

Philly.com – Bahrain GP on despite anti-government protests – 16 April 2013

Washington Post – Bahrain police raid high school, fire tear gas in clash with students following arrest – 16 April 2013

Hungry, Hungry Detainees, How Gitmo Prisoners Are Facing Detention

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

HAVANA, Cuba – The prisoners of Guantanamo Bay live in a legal quagmire. Deemed either too dangerous to be freed, or pushed under the rug, hoped to be forgotten by the United States legislature, executive and judicial branches that have kept them there. Due to their status as non-Americans, in a territory not of the United States, they are forbidden from exercising many legal remedies that the United States Constitution upholds, habeas corpus, article 3 courts. Instead they took what they felt was their only available remedy, a hunger strike.

Guantanamo Bay prison camp, also known as GITMO, where hundreds of detainees are being held without cause.(Photo courtesy of NPR)

Over the weekend detainees clashed with the prison guards with makeshift weapons: batons, broomsticks and water bottles crafted together with duct tape. Beyond the mere hopelessness many feel, there have been a number of setbacks for the detained. Revelations that a figure was secretly monitoring and censoring the pretrial hearings of men, and the discovery of a listening device in the client-attorney conference room drove many to begin their three-month hunger strike. After the clashes, detainees were separated and each placed into solitary confinement.

Unwilling to allow the detainees to slowly kill themselves, guards were forced to subdue them, and insert feeding tubes up their noses in order to stave off starvation. One inmate describes the feeling as “painful,” and claimed that “As it was thrust in, it made me feel like throwing up. I wanted to vomit, but I couldn’t. There was agony in my chest, throat and stomach. I had never experienced such pain before. I would not wish this cruel punishment upon anyone.”

The hunger strikes and physical defection are just the latest from the Guantanamo Bay detainees who are seeking international recognition of their plight. Despite an executive order by President Barack Obama, the prison remains open due to funding plights. After Congress passed legislation that effectively eliminated any way for detainees transfer into the sovereign United States the camp remains in limbo, surviving on an ever shrinking pool of funding leading to cuts in resources.

Attorneys for the detained have stated that it is unclear how the hunger strike will eventually end. The strike originally arose out of the detainee’s sense of hopelessness that the administration will ever be closed. But until either another country agrees to take the prisoners, or Congress alters legislation, it is unclear how the detainee’s story will end.

For more information, please see:

Truth-Out – Gitmo Trial Ethics Breaches Called Possible Obama Plan To Close Prison – 15 April 2013

Policy Mic – Guantanamo Hunger Strike: Abused Prisoners Riot At GITMO – 15 April 2013

Wired – It’s Forced Feeding Vs. Scotch-Tape Batons As Gitmo Detainees Continue Hunger Strike – 15 April 2013

The New York Times – Gitmo Is Killing Me – 14 April 2013

 

Demonstrations Planned Against Colombian Mining Company, Anglo American

By Pearl Rimon
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 BOGOTA, Colombia – There is an upcoming demonstration scheduled in London from people in Colombia, Mongolia, South Africa and the United States against the largest mining companies. The mining companies are accused of polluting the environment, affecting people’s health and forcing communities to migrate due to their operations.

Cerrejón mine located in La Guajira, Colombia. (Photo Courtesy of Guy Bell/Alamy)

The owners of Cerrejón, a coal mine in northern Colombia, are accused of devastating the health of about 13,000 people who live near the mine.

Julio Gomez, the president of Fecodemigua (Federation of Communities Displaced by Mining in La Guajira) said,”We have had to suffer the impacts of opencast coal mining for over 25 years now. Our communities have been gradually and systematically asphyxiated by the contamination caused by coal mining, our societies [have been] fractured.”

The mine has been opened since 1985 and plans on increasing its production by 25% in three years. Britain has increased imports of Colombian coal by 48%. The mine is the largest in South America. The mine has gone through labor disputes, complaints of management, pollution, and for failure to compensate communities that have been affected by its operations. The mine was shut down by a strike for 32 days this year. Mine workers suffered from back problems and respiratory infections.

“The health of everyone in La Guajira within 5km of the area of mining and transport of coal is being severely affected: studies [show] the constant exposure to coal dust is clearly linked to the increase in illnesses,” said Gomez.

The owners of Cerrejón, Anglo American, have been accused of destroying communities due to expansion. Five villages have been displaced due to the mine’s operations. The affected communities mostly include those of the Wayuu people. The Wayuu have lived in the area before the Spanish conquest. The Wayuu have been forced to resettle to other villages. The indigenous Afro-Colombian people have also been displaced due to the mine. The people that did not relocate suffer from polluted soil, which prevents them from growing their crops.

An Anglo American spokesman said, “Anglo American works tirelessly to ensure we observe the highest international standards, whether relating to human rights, environmental sensitivities and social issues, both in our wholly owned and jointly owned operations.”

Critics of Anglo American advocate for the displaced people and miners who try to stop the rapidly expanding mining industry and demand better conditions for the people who live in the surrounding areas.

For further information, please see:

Guardian — Colombian miners hit out at Anglo American – 15 April 13

El Heraldo — Corpoguajira opens investigation against Cerrejón – 12 April 13

El Herlado — Cerrejon says that manages protection for threatened members Sintracarbón – 9 April 13

New Internationalist — Bringing Colombian coal mining back home to London – 9 April 13

Former Kuwaiti MP Sentenced to Five Years for Allegedly Insulting Emir

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — Opposition leader and former MP Mussallam al-Barrak was sentenced to five years in prison last Monday for allegedly insulting the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.  The court declared that Barrak was guilty of “undermining the Emir’s status.”

Former MP Musallam al-Barrak was sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly insulting the Emir. (Photo Courtesy of Ahram Online)

In Kuwait, criticizing the emir is a crime, and carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail.  Barrack allegedly committed the crime on October fifteenth, at the height of a standoff between the government and former lawmakers over a decree that amended the 2006 voter law, reducing the number of candidates from four to two.  He was detained for four days in late October and was released on bail.  The government said that the amendment was necessary because it “addressed legal loopholes and brought the country in line with international election standards.”  The bill’s opposers said that “it was meant to reduce its influence and ensure the election of a rubber-stamped parliament.”  Barrak also faces trial on several other counts, including charges of storming parliament and participating in protests.

“The court has sentenced the defendant Mussallam al-Barrak to five years in prison with immediate effect,” said Judge Wael al-Atiqi, amid tight security at the Palace of Justice.  After receiving the sentence, Barrak gave a speech to his supporters, proclaiming his innocence.  “[The] ruling is illegal but I will give myself up to police if they come to pick me up,” said Barrak at his residence.  Since the sentence is set to begin immediately, police can arrest him at any time.

One of Barrak’s attorneys, Abdullah al-Ahmed, said that the ruling was moot.  “The ruling is null and void because it violated the legal procedures and for failing to provide the defense team with sufficient guarantees,” said al-Ahmed.  “We will appeal against the ruling in the appeals court.”  This is not the first time that Barrak’s attorneys had shown their frustrations with the Palace of Justice.  On April 8, they walked out of the court when Judge al-Atqi refused to hear the defense team’s witnesses.

Hundreds of Barrak’s supporters rushed to his Al-Andalus residence, 12 miles away from Kuwait City, to show their support after the sentence.  Activists have agreed to hold a demonstration in protest of the ruling next Monday.  Former MPs also visited Barrak’s residence to show their support.  “The ruling is purely political… far away from the principles of justice.”

Recently, Kuwait has not been hesitant to throw opposition supporters in prison, especially those who have used social media to voice their criticisms. One activist was sentenced to ten years in prison after he was convicted of using Twitter to insult the Emir.

For further information, please see:

Ahram Online — Kuwait Opposition Leader Jailed for ‘Insulting’ Emir Sheikh Sabah — 15 April 2013

Al Arabiya — Kuwaiti Opposition Leader Jailed for 5 Years for Insulting Emir — 15 April 2013

Al Jazeera — Kuwait Jails Former MP for ‘Insulting Emir’ — 15 April 2013

Gulf News — Kuwait Opposition Leader Jailed for 5 Years for Insulting Emir — 15 April 2013