Bangladesh Riots The Day Before Key Verdict

By Kevin M. Mathewson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Police in Bangladesh clashed with Jamaat-e-Islami activists the day before a key verdict is due in the trial of Ghulam Azam, a 91 year old radical Islamist leader. Azam is accused of ‘crimes against humanity’ including planning, conspiracy, incitement, complicity and murder during the country’s 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.

Ghulam Azam was the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami from 1969 until 2000.

Roughly 400 Jamaat-e-Islami activists burned a police van and hurled crudely made bombs in Dhaka, the country’s capital. According to assistant police commissioner Saifur Rahman, a police officer was seriously injured in the fighting after being hit by a rock.

Previous verdicts against Islamist leaders have sparked violent protests.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Azam for his alleged role in the 1971 war. His supporters argue that the charges are politically motivated and have called for a general strike in protest.

“Tomorrow (Monday) is fixed for the verdict.” Chairman of the three-member International Crimes Tribunal, Justice Fazle Kabir said. If found guilty, this would be the fifth sentence handed down on current and former leaders of Jamaat-e-Isami. It has been estimated that more than 100 people have been killed in political violence since the first verdict was issued by the Tribunal in January.

Ghulam Azam was the former chief fundamentalist of Jamaat-e-Islami’s East Pakistan wing and provincial minister in 1971. Prosecutors say Azam played a role in setting up violent militia groups that killed and raped thousands of people. No longer politically active, Azam is still seen as a Jamaat-e-Islami spiritual leader.

Azam’s defense lawyers say the accusations are unfounded. They say the charges are based on newspaper reports of Azam’s speeches during the war and that none have been proved.

Azam strongly opposed Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan, arguing at the time that it would divide the Muslim community.

Contrary to other war crime courts, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal is not supported by the United Nations. The New York based Human Rights Watch organization has said that the Tribunals procedures fall short of international standards.

Still, the Bangladesh government maintains the trials are needed to heal the wounds left by the 1971 war. While the Bangladesh government maintains upwards of three million people died in the conflict, independent estimates put the death toll between 300,000 and 500,000.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Clashes in Bangladesh ahead of Azam war crimes verdict – 14 July 2013

Hindustan Times – Bangladesh: Riot run ahead of war crimes verdict – 14 July 2013

India Today – Bangladesh tense as clashes erupt ahead of war crimes verdict – 14 July 2013

Arab News – Bangladesh to deliver verdict on top war crimes suspect – 14 July 2013

 

U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan Kill at least Two Suspected Militants

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan– At least two militants were killed Saturday morning in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan, after U.S. drones targeted the largely tribal area near Mir Ali. Pakistani intelligence sources said that the missile attacks were launched directly at a pair of militants travelling on a motorbike through the village of Mosaki.

Pakastani tribesmen protest the use of drones by the U.S. military in Pakastani territory as a violation of the nation’s sovereignty. (Photo Courtesy of Global Post)

The two men killed have suspected connections to the Taliban in the region, though official reports have yet to confirm these suspicions. Security officials have stated that the two deceased were of Turkmen origin.

A Pakastani intelligence official stated that “two men, probably Arab nationals, were passing through Mosaki village when the drone fired two missiles and hit them. Both of the militants on the motorbike were killed on the spot.” The official further reported that “the drone fired two missiles that also damaged a nearby house, but no casualty has so far been reported inside it.”

In a separate military operation by the Pakistan Air Force, jets targeted several militant hideouts in the same area, killing seven known insurgents. The targeted area is a known hot spot for Afghani and Taliban militants seeking refuge across the border in Pakistan. According to an unnamed official who spoke with Reuters, “These areas are known as strongholds of the militants from where they stage deadly attacks in Kohat and Peshawar.” Pakistani military officials believe that these mountainous regions provide a base of operation for the Taliban in Pakistan.

Senior Pakistani officials have stated that there was no connection between the U.S. drone strikes and the Air Force operations that occurred the same day.

This most recent strike is the third drone attack by the U.S. since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took office in June. Sharif has vocalized his distaste for the use of drone strikes by the United States in Pakistan and has publicly called for an end to U.S. action against Taliban and other insurgents that reside in the Pakastani tribal region. The Prime Minister has gone so far as to condemn the U.S. action as a direct violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. Despite these public remarks by the Prime Minister, other Pakastani officials have characterized the drone strikes as a useful tool and effective means of inhibiting the activities of militants seeking a safe haven in Pakistan.

For more information, please see:

Reuters — Nine militants killed in U.S. drone, Pakistan air force strikes — 14 July 2013

Global Post — Drone strike in Pakistan kills 2 suspected militants — 14 July 2013

CNN — U.S. drone kills 2, Pakistan sources say — 13 July 2013

New York Times — 2 Killed by U.S. Drone Strike in Pakistan — 13 July 2013

The Guardian — Two killed in U.S. drone strike on Pakistani militants — 14 July 2013

 

 

 

 

 

Dozens Killed and More Wounded in Series of Attacks Across Iraq

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Militants attacked in multiple locations across the country on Thursday, killing a number of people with reports as high as sixty-two dead.  The militants included bombers and gunmen appearing to target law enforcement personnel.  Most of the attacks occurred in the Anbar province, a stronghold of the anti-government Sunni population.

The remnants of a car bomb that injured a number of people in Kirkuk. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

Gunmen shot and killed three soldiers at an army checkpoint near Barwana, a small Anbar town 140 miles northwest of Baghdad.  The gunmen then continued down the road and opened fire on a nearby trailer used by Iraqi security forces protecting oil facilities.  After killing the eleven officers inside, the gunmen proceeded to set the trailer ablaze.  The men inside the trailer were likely sitting down to break Ramadan fast at sunset when they were attacked.

A suicide car bomb in Fallujah, also in Anbar, killed two people and wounded five, according to local security officials. Additionally, the police headquarters there were reportedly attacked by gunmen killing seven officers.  Similarly, in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, provincial officials stated that two officers were killed during an assault on a police station.

In the Anbar towns of Kirkuk, Tikrit, and Khaldia there were additional reports of attacks that employed car and roadside bombs to injure and kill a number of people including some soldiers.

Iraqi security forces were not the only target of the day as at least two attacks occurred in civilian settings.

In the town of Muqdadiya, 80 km northeast of Baghdad, a car bomb exploded at a funeral and a suicide bomber detonated himself as people began evacuating the wounded.  The attacks killed at least eleven people, police said.

“I was sitting inside the tent…when I heard a huge explosion. I rushed out (and) saw a car burning. While we were busy evacuating the injured, a suicide bomber took us by surprise,” said 47-year-old teacher Kadhim Hassan, who was taken to hospital with injuries to his leg.

Also, 85 km north of Baghadad, in Yathrib at least ten people were killed and eighteen others wounded when two car bombs occurred near a coffee shop.

The killings are only the continuation of violent turmoil that has seen more than 2,600 people killed since the beginning of April.  As a result, fear is spreading across the country that a civil war between the Sunnis and Shiites is becoming more and more likely.  Thus far, there has been no sign of a political comprise between the two sides.

For further information, please see:

People’s Daily – At least 62 killed, 139 wounded in wave of attacks across Iraq – 12 July 2013

Al Jazeera – Series of deadly attacks strike Iraq – 11 July 2013

BBC –Iraq violence: Dozens killed and wounded in new attacks  – 11 July 2013

Reuters –Bomb, gun attacks across Iraq kill at least 44 – 11 July 2013

Washington Post –Iraq attacks leave 31 dead, mostly security forces  – 11 July 2013

Former FISA Court Judge Criticizes 2008 Reform

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – A former FISA Court judge voiced concerns on Tuesday about the lack of an adversarial system for the government to obtain wiretap and data collection warrants. James Robertson, a former federal district court judge said that the FISA Court has essentially become “something like an administrative agency” because only the government is represented in warrant requests.

Former FISA Judge James Robertson testified before a federal oversight board on intelligence gathering led by President Obama. (Photo courtesy of The Wall Street Journal)

Robertson spoke Tuesday before a federal oversight board directed by President Obama aimed at scrutinizing government spying. “Anyone who has been a judge will tell you a judge needs to hear both sides of a case,” Robertson explained. Robertson, however, defended the FISA Court as a whole, saying that it remained independent in its proceedings. He further praised the court system for requiring “scrupulous and fastidious” work from the Department of Justice in obtaining warrants during his tenure.

Robertson placed blame on a 2008 piece of reform legislation that expanded the government’s authority over the FISA Court. Under the 2008 reform, the government may compel the FISA court to approve entire surveillance systems instead of surveillance warrants targeted as individual suspects.

The 2008 reform attracted little public attention until former NSA contractor Edward Snowden released classified information detailing an NSA program to collect cellphone metadata from American citizens. Robertson said that he was “stunned” by the news that the FISA court created law that allowed the NSA to gather information not only to find terrorist suspects, but also espionage and cyber-attack suspects.

Royce Lamberth, who was the chief judge on the FISA Court from 1995 to 2002, defended the Court in its entirety. Lamberth took offense to the notion that the Court gave “rubber stamp” approval for warrant requests, telling NPR, “We’re approving it because it should be approved, because it’s valid, because what the government’s doing here is the kinds of things we should be doing.”

Lamberth recalled “bloodcurdling” briefs in the wake of 9/11 that predicted a follow-up attack as evidence of why the government cannot back down on national security.

Lamberth has made many controversial decisions in his career and recently made the news for approving a search warrant for the email and phone records of a Fox News reporter.

For more information, please see:

UPI – NSA tapped fiber cables to collect data – 10 July 2013

ABC News – Former Judge Admits Flaws in Secret Court – 9 July 2013

Boston.com – Former FISA judge says secret court is flawed – 9 July 2013

CBS News – Former judge admits flaws with secret FISA court – 9 July 2013

NPR – Ex-FISA Court Judge Reflects: After 9/11, ‘Bloodcurdling’ Briefings – 3 July 2013

SNHR: Report Regarding Prisoners and the Events of the Aleppo Central Prison

Documented by SNHR

The central prison in Aleppo contains more than 4,600 detainees, most of them political prisoners, human rights activists and media activists, in addition to felonies’ arrest.

Among the 4,600 prisoners, there are at least 1,300 political, media activist, or human rights activists who although finished serving arbitrary prison terms imposed by court, they remain in detention and no one is set to be released.

Prison management committed severe torturing and humiliating methods, such as holding dozens in very tight rooms, and another torture method that SNHR issued different reports on.  All that pushed the detainees to participate in acts of civil disobedience on July 2012.  Prison management replied to the disobedience with sit-firing directly at the political and media activists section, it led to many injuries among them.

After the disobedience, prison management punished detainees by totally preventing visits, increased torture, and reduce food and medicine quantities.

Armed rebel made a decision in 13 May 2013 to release all detainees in Aleppo central prison, started military operation by the name: “releasing prisoners,” and began besieging the prison and attacked it.

When the detainees heard the news, they carried out Intractability inside the prison, where the security forces attacked them and fired live bullets against them, it led to the deaths of 2 victims directly and more than 60 injuries, most of them killed later on different periods due to the lack of medicine and any treatment.

On 31 May 2013, and as a reaction of that intractability, prison management executed 49 political detainees:

The following link contains all names and details of Aleppo Central Prion’s Victims, that SNHR could document they are 60 prisoners, the real number is much higher, but because of communication difficulties we only could have these names:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9Bj18tlYYKBQVhtUnFtYUx3SUU/edit?usp=sharing 

Then, prison troops collected detainees’ bodies, who were killed inside cells, after the smell intensified and led to the spread of epidemics, and buried the bodies in a cemetery known to all prisoners who testified that it’s located in the eastern yard of the prison.

A large number of diseases spread inside the prison, due to the prevention of medicine which mostly was provided by prisoner’s families who visited their sons, the severity of diseases increased because of the lack of food and hygiene, SNHR estimated the number of prisons infected with Tuberculosis with more than 200 infected, 7 of them dead because of the lack of treatment.

Poisoned conditions accompanied with severe vomiting and diarrhea also appeared among prisoners, we knew that it was caused by the contamination of water tanks that were not cleaned or sterilized for more than 4 months and was filled with plankton, dirt, and worms.

In addition to all of these, prison troops starved prisoners, where they gave every prisoner only 150 grams of flour daily, then they reduced it to 73 grams.  It led the prisoners to collect their shares together and burn the plastic covers to cook the flour, so they could eat it, but it caused suffocation and acute respiratory infections due to thick smoke.

Monday 24 June 2013, and after an agreement between Free Syrian Army and Prison Troops through ICRC in order to provide cooked food to the besieged prison, where 11 cars carrying cooked food went to the prison, prison troops betrayed the agreement and shot the cars, it led to the injuries of Dr. Yaser Kaias in addition to another 5 paramedics.

Legal conclusions:

Art 3. In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following
provisions:

1) )Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria. To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(D) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording. And all the judicial guarantees civilized peoples.

Based on the forgoing we note that the Syrian Government, by arresting civilians or armed had blatantly violated both international humanitarian law, the Geneva Convention III, and the international law of Human Rights.

Recommendations:

Syrian Government:

1-             Immediate termination of all human rights violations

2-             Respect its international obligations of Protection Civilian in Time of War, and respect the rules of international humanitarian law and international law of human rights

Human Rights Council:

1-       Pay more serious attention to the catastrophic situation of detainees in Syria

2-       Demand the Security Council and the concerned international institutions to hold their responsibilities towards this serious matter

3-      Pressure on the Syrian Government Troops to stop torturing and unlock the prisons and detention centers to see detainees and understand their conditions

4-      Hold allies and supporters of the Syrian Government Troops: Russia, Iran, and China, morally and physically responsible for what is happening to the Syrian people

Security Council:

1-      Decision to refer all the criminals and the involved to ICC

2-      Warn the Syrian Government Troops of the repercussions of using brutal methods on the stability of civil peace and coexistence between the people of the same society

Arab League:

1-      Demand the Human Rights Council and United Nations to give this serious issue the right attention and follow up.

2-      Political and diplomatic pressure on the Syrian Government Troops’ main allies – Russia, Iran and China – to prevent them from continuously providing cover and international and political protection for all the crimes committed against the Syrian people and hold them morally and physically responsible for all the excesses of the Syrian Government Troops

3-      Serious attention of this case and give it high priority, and try to take care of victims psychologically, physically, and educationally