Syrian Refugees Relocating to Germany in First Wave of Temporary Resettlement Program

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GENEVA –  The United Nations announced on Tuesday that over 100 Syrian refugees were being relocated to Germany this week, in the first step of a plan to relocate nearly 12,000 Syrians this year.

The first wave of refugees will leave Lebanon on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of World Bulletin)

107 Syrians will be the first among a group of 5,000 Syrians to be relocated to Germany by the end of this year in what the U.N. is deeming a temporary humanitarian admissions program, according to Melissa Fleming, the spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

This first wave of refugees being relocated to Germany are identified as particularly vulnerable, and includes “women and girls at risk, people with serious medical conditions, survivors of torture or others with special needs,” according to Fleming.

“This is a lifesaving tool for most of them,” Fleming stated.

Neighboring countries such as Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon have taken in most of the Syrian refugees so far, as 2 million Syrians have fled. The refugees are faced with makeshift conditions in these countries, however, and the U.N. is calling on additional western countries to contribute.

The U.N. has only managed to find homes for roughly 7,000 refugees in twelve western countries in the current plan, despite the goal of reaching 12,000. Other countries that have agreed to accept Syrian refugees include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Under this program, Germany’s relocation plan is currently the largest. The country has announced that it will extend two-year residence permits which allow the Syrian refugees to work, and the permits could potentially be lengthened if the Syrian conflict remains unsettled.

This first group of 107 Syrians are departing from Lebanon on Wednesday, and will travel to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees where they will be greeted before being transported to an accommodation center for two weeks. At the center, the Syrians will receive basic language training, and receive an orientation on the schooling and healthcare system of Germany. After the two-week orientation, the Syrians will finally depart to their temporary homes across Germany.

For more information, please see:

Fox News – Syrian Refugees Temporarily Resettling in Germany Under Biggest Relocation Program – 10 September 2013

New York Times – Germany to Accept Syrian Refugees – 10 September 2013

World Bulletin – Germany to be Temporary Home of 107 More Syrians – 10 September 2013

Deutsche Welle – Syrian Refugees Heading for Germany – 9 September 2013

 

 

Press Release on US Asset Seizure in Magnitsky Case

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Distribution

U.S. Department of Justice Files Case to Seize Over $23 Million in Manhattan Real Estate Connected to Magnitsky Case
10 September 2013 – The United States Attorney’s Office in New York has filed a complaint to seize over $23 million in Manhattan property linked to the $230 million theft uncovered by Hermitage Fund’s Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. The U.S. Attorney’s complaint seeks to further seize cash in connected bank accounts and impose civil money laundering penalties, according to documents filed today with the Manhattan Federal Court.

“This is the first action in the US  to seize assets connected to the Magnitsky case, – said a Hermitage Capital representative. – It is a significant escalation in the campaign to bring justice for Sergei Magnitsky and his family. Sergei’s friends, colleagues and family will continue to pursue all the recipients of the blood money to make sure they are parted with the illicit proceeds, whoever and wherever they are.”

The complaint was filed by Preet Bharara, United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, on behalf of the United States Government, who is plaintiff in the action. According to the filing, the U.S. Government’s claims over the real estate and cash in New York arise out of the laundering of proceeds of a criminal enterprise in Russia.

“A Russian criminal organisation including corrupt Russian government officials defrauded Russian taxpayers of approximately 5.4 billion rubles, or US$230 million, through an elaborate tax refund fraud scheme,” says the complaint.

“In order to procure the refunds, the Organization fraudulently re-registered the Hermitage Companies in the names of members of the Organization, and then orchestrated sham lawsuits against these companies,”
says the complaint.
“These sham lawsuits involved members of the Organization as both the plaintiffs (representing sham commercial counterparties suing the Hermitage
Companies) and the defendants (purporting to represent the Hermitage Companies,” says the complaint.

“After perpetrating this fraud, members of the Organization have undertaken illegal actions in order to conceal this fraud and retaliate against individuals who attempted to expose it. As a result of these retaliatory actions, Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian attorney who exposed the fraud scheme, was falsely arrested and died in pretrial detention,” says the complaint.

“Members of the Organization, and associates of those members, have also engaged in a broad pattern of money laundering in order to conceal the proceeds of the fraud scheme. This money laundering activity has included the purchase of pieces of Manhattan real estate with funds comingled with the fraud proceeds,” says the complaint.

“The $230 Million Fraud Scheme is strikingly similar to what appears to have been a fraud scheme carried out by the Organization in 2006 involving two subsidiaries of Rengaz,” says the complaint.

A portion of the stolen $230 million funds were laundered through several shell companies into Prevezon Holdings Ltd., based in Cyprus, according to the court filing. The court documents indicate that two Russian nationals were registered as shareholders of Prevezon, including Timofey Krit (during the period from 29 August 2006 to 18 June 2008) and Denis Katsyv, the son of a former Moscow regional government official (since 19 June 2008).
Prevezon’s bank account was owned by Alexander Litvak, named as a business partner of Katsyv in the filing.
According to the court documents, the payments traced by the U.S.
Department of Justice to Prevezon came from two Moldovan shell companies, Elenast and Bunicon-Impex which held accounts at Banca de Economii, which in turn received funds originating from the $230 million from the Russian treasury from Krainiy Sever, a Russian bank whose license was removed for violations of anti-money laundering regulations.

According to the court filing, the stated purpose of payment to Prevezon from Bunicon was “pre-payment for sanitary equipment”. However, this description was at odds with an explanation provided subsequently by a PR representative of Mr Katsyv who explained the transfers as derived from a deal between Mr Krit, a previous shareholder of Prevezon, and his friend, Mr Petrov, who “agreed jointly to develop a business based on investments in and management of property. Under the agreement Mr Petrov was to transfer funds to Prevezon for this purpose.” According to Mr Katsyv’s representative, funds from Bunicon and Elenast were accepted by Prevezon because Mr Petrov was “anticipating repayment through these companies of a debt owed him by a third party, Mr Kim.”

Some of the information identifying the flow of illicit funds came from whistleblower Alexander Perepilichnyy who died mysteriously at the age of
44 in Surrey, UK, in November last year. The cause of his death remains unexplained. As a result of the information he provided, five countries in Europe have now opened criminal investigations, with some freezing funds traced to the proceeds from the $230 million fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky.
Sergei Magnitsky testified about the criminal conspiracy to Russian authorities in 2008, was arrested by some of the same officials he had implicated, ill-treated and tortured for nearly a year and killed in Russian state custody on 16 November 2009.

The investigation for this filing in New York was carried out by the Office of Homeland Security Investigations Division and supported by New York County District Attorney.

For further information, please see:

Law and Order in Russia

Asia-Pacific Study Reveals That One in Four Asian Men Have Committed a Rape

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ASIA– Nearly 24% of men surveyed in a U.N. report looking at violence against women in parts of Asia have admitted to committing at least one rape. Some ten thousand men from six countries took part in the survey.

A women demonstrates holding a sign demanding justice for a Delhi gang-rape victim. (Photo courtesy of The Hindu)

Researchers interviewed more than 10,000 men at nine sites in Bangladesh, China, Cambodia,Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka in a first of its kind, multi-country survey on the prevalence of rape. Of those who admitted rape, just under half said they had done so more than once.

The prevalence of rape varied between countries.

In Papua New Guinea, more than six out of 10 men surveyed admitted forcing a woman to have sex. It was least common in areas of Bangladesh, where it was just under one in 10 and Sri Lanka where it was just over one in 10. In Cambodia, China and Indonesia it ranged from one in five to almost half of all men surveyed.

The men in the survey were questioned by trained male interviewers, and were left alone to record the answers to the most sensitive questions. The word “rape” was not used. Men were asked indirect questions such as, “Have you ever forced a woman who was not your wife or girlfriend at the time to have sex?” The results averaged around 11% of the men surveyed. When the question was altered to account for forcible intercourse with a wife or girlfriend, the average rose to 24%.

Nearly three quarters of those who committed rape said they did so for reasons of “sexual entitlement”. Report author Dr Emma Fulu said: “They believed they had the right to have sex with the woman regardless of consent.”

“The second most common motivation reported was to rape as a form of entertainment, so for fun or because they were bored,” Fulu reported. Some indicated using rape as a form of punishment or because they were angry. According to Fulu, “the least common motivation was alcohol.”

Men who had suffered violence as children, especially childhood sexual abuse were more likely to have committed rape.

“These data justifiably create global outrage, accentuated by horrific recent high-profile cases, including the brutal gang rape of a student in New Delhi,” said Dr. Michele Decker from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

More than half of non-partner rape perpetrators first did so as adolescents, which affirms that young people are a crucial target population for prevention of rape.

“The challenge now is to turn evidence into action, to create a safer future for the next generation of women and girls,” said Dr. Decker.

For more information, please see:

Hindustan Times — Asia-Pacific study points to a seething crisis of rape — 10 September 2013

The Hindu — ‘One in four men across Asia admit to having committed rape’ — 10 September 2013

BBC — Almost a quarter of men ‘admit to rape in parts of Asia’ — 9 September 2013

Bloomberg — One in Four Men Surveyed in Asian Study Say They Raped — 10 September 2013

 

At Least 60 Killed in Central African Republic Clashes

By: Dan Krupinsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BANGUI, Central African Republic – As violence continues to plague the Central African Republic, officials announced early in the week that fighters believed to be loyal to ousted President Francois Bozize killed dozens of people and displaced tens of thousands over the weekend.

CAR has been unstable since independence in 1960 (Courtesy: BBC)

The fighting was in the western region of the country, an area that has been the site of several massacres in the past few month, allegedly carried out by the Seleka coalition of fighters, who ousted Bozize in March. Since that time, Seleka leader Michel Djotodia was sworn in as president, vowing to return the country to democracy by organizing elections within a year and a half.

“The international community should keep a watchful eye on what is happening in this country, as we have just made a policy shift to pave the way for elections,” said presidential spokesman Guy Simplice Kodegue.

Kodegue put the death toll at 60, some estimates say that as many as 73 people were killed. According to the official government statement, a column of army soliders, with the support of Seleka fighters, were dispatched to the western region from Bangui to stop the assailants, who are accused of abusing civilians in the town of Bossangoa, which is located near Bozize’s home village.

According to Orongaye Rigobert, a community leader in Bossangoa, the pro-Bozize fighters had destroyed bridges used to access the town from Bangui in a bid to halt the army’s advance.

The clashes caused about 80 percent of the town’s population, some 30,000 people, to flee into the forest.

The latest fighting comes on the heels of a UN warning that the country is on the brink of collapse.

Another spokesman for the government accused Bozize of coordinating the most recent attacks, asking the international community for assistance in halting the violence and restoring order.

“It is an attempt by Bozize and his supporters to take power,” said Crepin Mboli-Goumba. “Six towns have been taken. This shows Seleka does not control the situation so we call on the international community to mobilize (peacekeepers) so they can intervene.”

According to recent estimates by UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, who recently visited the country, about one third of the country’s 4.6 million people need assistance with food, shelter, healthcare or water.

Since coming to power, Seleka fighters have been accused by aid workers of looting the healthcare system, as well as civilians.

If the accusations are true, it would be the first large-scale operation launched by the former President’s forces since his overthrow in March.

 

For further information, please see:

All Africa – New Fighting Reported As Security Continues to Deteriorate – 10 September 2013

BBC – Central African Republic says scores killed in new clashes – 9 September 2013

Reuters – Death toll rises in battles in Central African Republic – 9 September 2013

Washington Post – Official: 60 killed in attacks in home region of deposed Central African Republic leader – 9 September 2013