‘No Need’ to Hang Iranian Criminal for a Second Time

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi ruled that there is “no need” for a man who survived a hanging to be hanged a second time. Lawyers and human rights activists lobbied the head of the judiciary to prevent a repeat hanging after the man was found alive in a morgue.

Human rights groups believe that Iran is behind only China in the number of people it executes each year. (Photo Courtesy of AFP)

Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi reasoned that executing the man would have negative repercussions against Iran’s image, the ISNA news agency reported. Iran’s government had no direct control over the decision as the power fell directly with the judiciary.

One senior judge, Nourollah Aziz-Mohammadi, argued that the law required that the convict must die.

“When a convict is sentenced to death, he must die after the sentence is carried out,” Aziz-Mohammadi said. “Now that he is alive, we can say the sentence was not carried out and must be repeated.”

The 37-year-old convicted drug smuggler, named as Alireza M, was hanged at a jail in the north-eastern city of Bojnord last week. He had been left to hang for 12 minutes and was declared dead by a doctor. It was not until the next day that he was discovered alive in the morgue when his family came to retrieve his body. Alireza was taken to a Bojnord hospital, where he is reportedly in a coma and under armed guard.

Last week, Amnesty International and other human rights activists urged Iran to spare Alireza based upon international laws against cruel and unusual punishment. Amnesty International estimates that Iran has executed at least 508 people this year alone and has called for a moratorium on all executions in Iran.

“The horrific prospect of this man facing a second hanging, after having gone through the whole ordeal already once, merely underlines the cruelty and inhumanity of the death penalty,” said Philip Luther, director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa program.

For further information, please see:

ABC – Iran Minister Says No Need to Re-Hang Convict – 22 October 2013

BBC – Iran minister says ‘no need’ to hang criminal again –  22 October 2013

Washington Post – Iran says ‘no need’ to finish off convict who survived his hanging –  22 October 2013

Reuters – Hope for Iranian who survived botched hanging as sharia expert doubts ruling – 19 October 2013

China’s Human Rights Record Comes Under Scrutiny Before the UNHRC

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– China’s human rights record under President Xi Jinping has come under formal international scrutiny for the first time since Xi took power. The main U.N. rights forum is set to hear accusations that the government has aggressively expanded a crackdown on dissent.

China’s envoy, Wu Hailong, has acknowledged that China still has a ways to go to live up to the pledges made the last time its policies were scrutinized by the UNHRC. (Photo Courtesy of AFP)

The United Nations Human Rights Council, which reviews all U.N. members every four years, will give concerned countries a chance to challenge the administration of Xi, who many experts believed would be less hardline than his predecessors.

Instead, critics say Xi has instituted a clampdown that has moved far beyond the mere targeting of dissidents seeking political change. Just recently authorities have detained at least 16 activists who had demanded that government officials publicly disclose their wealth. Dozens of other people, accused of online ‘rumor-mongering”, have also been detained.

“Xi Jinping has definitely taken the country backwards on human rights,” prominent rights lawyer Mo Shaoping told Reuters. “Look at the number of people who are being locked up and the measures that are being taken to lock them up.”

China will open the debate in Geneva with a presentation. Non-governmental organizations are not permitted to address the council but can submit reports, often reflected in statements offered by concerned countries.

The council has no binding authority. Its rotating membership of 47 states does not include China, although Beijing is expected to run for a spot next month. The hearing will be the second time China has been assessed under the process since it began in 2008.

Diplomats are likely to raise questions over China’s crackdown on dissent, the death penalty and the use of torture among other topics, reported Maya Wang, an Asia researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch.

Of special concern, Wang said, is the arrest in August of prominent activist Xu Zhiyong, who had called for officials to reveal their wealth. Wang also cited the September disappearance of Cao Shunli, who had helped stage a sit-in this year outside the Foreign Ministry to press for the public to be allowed to contribute to a national human rights report.

China sent a large delegation to Geneva to engage in dialogue with an “open and frank attitude”, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Monday at a news conference.

“If there are some criticisms, some constructive criticisms, the Chinese government will listen with an open mind and accept them and will give them serious consideration,” she said. “As for malicious, deliberate criticisms, of course we will uphold our own path and our own correct judgments.”

In 2009, China rejected requests from Western and some Latin American nations to end the death penalty but agreed to suggestions from Cuba that it take firm action against “self-styled human rights defenders working against the Chinese state and people”.

The rise of Xi as Communist Party chief last November gave many Chinese hope for political reform, encouraging citizens to push officials to disclose their wealth in several movements throughout the country.

But the detention of activists making those calls is a strong indication the party will not tolerate open challenges to its rule, even though it boasts more transparency. These activists now face trial on charges of illegal assembly.

Hundreds of microbloggers, people who post short comments online, have also been detained. Beginning in August, a campaign against “rumor-mongering” was implemented to root-out and shutdown critical blogs. Most have been released, but some are still being held on criminal charges.

On Sunday, Chinese police arrested Wang Gongquan, a well-known venture capitalist. Wang had helped lead a campaign for the release of another activist. Chen Youxi, Wang’s attorney, did not answer calls to his mobile phone.

“Before, officials used a selective form of suppression, which is to say, they mainly suppressed rights lawyers and dissidents,” said Huang Qi, a veteran rights activist. “But in the past few months what the government used to allow some people to say online – things that violated or exceeded the official view – has now been suppressed.”

Li Fangping, a prominent rights lawyer, said China would likely win a seat on the council given its strong international influence.

“I don’t believe that China is ready for that,” Li said. “There are still a huge number of citizens for whom a lack of human rights is a growing problem.”

For more information, please see:

Herald Sun– China defends record at UN rights inquiry — 22 October 2013

BBC News– China before UN for human rights review — 22 October 2013

SwissInfo– China crackdown to come under scrutiny at U.N. rights review — 22 October 2013

AFP– China defends record at UN Human Rights Council — 22 October 2013

USA Today– China’s human rights abuses under scrutiny at United Nations — 22 October 2013

France and Mexico Angry With N.S.A.

By Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in France today, Le Monde, an authoritative newspaper, published a report based on the secret documents leaked by Edward Snowden.  It is expected that France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will discuss this issue with Kerry during his visit.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says the claims are “totally unacceptable” (Photo Courtesy BBC).

Adding already to the previous disclosures of the N.S.A’s worldwide surveillances in Germany, England. Brazil, and Mexico, today’s report stated that the N.S.A. recorded over 70 million digital communications in France over the span of one month.  It is believed that businesses, officials, and terror suspects were specifically targeted.

France’s American Ambassador, Charles Rivkin, stated that, “These kinds of practices between partners are totally unacceptable and we must be assured that they are no longer being implemented.”  Additionally Manuel Valls, France’s Interior Minister, called today’s report “shocking” and that it “will require explanation.”

While the report did not state what the N.S.A. was exactly looking for in the communications it recorded, it was clear that the N.S.A. took a “vacuum-cleaner approach” and recorded all communications, including telephone calls and instant messages.  The recorded communications were then sorted into two categories coded “Drtbox” and “Whitebox,” though no further explanation for the categories was given.  It is also not clear how many of the messages were actually listened to or read and how the data was stored- transcriptions of what was communicated or who were parties to the communication.

A statement issued by the White House stated that the latest disclosure has “distorted our activities” but also “raise[s] legitimate questions for our friends and allies about how these capabilities are employed.”  The statement further said that, “President [Obama] made clear that the United States has begun to review the way that we gather intelligence, so that we properly balance the legitimate security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share.”

The report in France also comes on the heels of an article in Der Spiegel, a German news magazine, where the Mexican government responded to reports that the U.S. hacked former Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s email.  The Mexican government stated that, “This practice is unacceptable, illegitimate and against Mexican and international law ” and that “in a relationship between neighbors and partners, there is no room for the practices alleged to have taken place.”

The N.S.A. in a statement said it would not “comment publicly on every specific alleged intelligence activity, and as a matter of policy we have made clear that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations.”  Additionally, the U.S. State Department said it was discussing the matter with Mexico through diplomatic channels.

 

Fore more information, please see:

BBC – Mexico Strongly Condemns Alleged US Electronic Spying – 20 October 2013

BBC – Snowden Leaks: US Seeks To Ease France Spy Anger – 21 October 2013

CNN – Mexico Lashes Out Against Report Of U.S. Spying – 21 October 2013

New York Times – New Report of N.S.A. Spying Angers France – 21 October 2013

Russian Bus Blast Caused by Suicide Bomber Kills Five

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

VOLGOGRAD, Russia – A bus exploded in the southern Russian city of Volgograd on Monday, and is believed to be caused by a suicide bomber, according to Russian authorities.

The bus had about 40 people on board; the blast injured over 20 and killed 5. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Russian Investigators have stated that they suspect a woman from the Dagestan region in the North Causasus. She is believed to be the partner of an Islamic extremist, and perhaps carried out the bombing to avenge a death.

Recently Russia has seen an influx in the number of terrorist attacks carried out by women suicide bombers. These women are known as “black widows”, and are believed to carry out these attacks to avenge the deaths of their terrorist-partners.

In 2010, female suicide bombers were responsible for attacks at two underground subway stations in Moscow, killing 38 people. Female suicide bombers are also thought to be responsible for explosions on two passenger jets at a Moscow airport that killed about 90 people back in 2004.

Chechnya Separatists have been fighting wars with Russian forces over the past twenty years, but the violence has spread across the North Caucasus recently. The spread of violence has seen the deaths of hundreds of people.

Monday’s blast killed 5 people and injured more than 20. Reports indicate that all other buses in Volgograd have been ordered back to their stations to be searched for any sign of explosives.

One man whose daughter survived the explosion stated, “It was a powerful explosion, a huge blast. There were lots of students on the bus.”

Vladimir Markin, of Russia’s Investigative Committee stated, “A criminal case has been opened under articles outlining terrorism, murder and the illegal use of firearms.”

Markin later identified the suspected suicide bomber as a woman from Dagestan. “According to preliminary information, the self-explosion was carried out by a 30-year-old Dagestani native, Naida Akhiyalova. According to investigators’ information, the woman entered the bus at one of the bus stops and, almost right after that, the bomb went off. That is also confirmed by one of the passengers who survived.”

President Vladimir Putin recently attempted to beef up security in the North Caucasus region ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics, which open in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on February 7th of next year.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Deadly Bomb Blast Hits Bus in Southern Russia – 21 October 2013

BBC News – Russia Bus Bomb: Volgograd Blast Kills Five – 21 October 2013

The Independent – Volgograd Bus Blast: Female Suicide Bomber Kills Five in Russia – 21 October 2013

The Moscow Times – Explosion on Bus in Volgograd Kills at Least Four – 21 October 2013

Women in China Face Prohibition from Various Employment Opportunities

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– Employment discrimination against women in China remains deeply rooted in culture and practice.  A report from BBC released late last week reveals several career paths that women are flat-out banned from pursuing.

Young girls at China’s “I Have a Dream” theme park are encouraged to dress up as flight attendants, fulfilling gender stereotypes that pervade the communist nation. Young men, on the other hand, are encouraged to portray servicemen and academic professionals. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

China’s education ministry bans girls from studying a variety of subjects across China, from tunnel engineering to navigation – apparently out of respect for women’s safety. Reports have continually emerged revealing a pattern of women being discriminated against when attempting to gain places at Chinese universities.

According to some, girls were scoring so well in strict admissions tests that a higher percentage was being admitted than men. In response to these rising numbers restrictive practices were implemented as early as 2005, including limiting the programs in which women could enroll.

A book by the government-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has characterized the gender imbalance between boys and girls as one of the biggest challenges facing China today.

The state’s one-child policy continues to showcase the clearest signal of the second-class status of girls in the country, experts have said.

“The policy takes a position that fundamentally discriminates against girls,” said Professor Feng Yuan of the Centre for Women’s Studies at China’s Shantou University.

In China, the idea that girls can’t or shouldn’t do the same jobs as boys is passed on early. It’s a lesson that extends into higher education and beyond. Gender stereotypes are instilled in younger generations at China’s “I Have a Dream” theme park in Beijing, which allows young children to assume various career roles. The park encourages children to choose gender specific roles, and for young girls, the most popular attraction is pretending to be a flight attendant.

At the university level stereotyping takes on a more tangible form.  At the China Mining and Technology University in eastern Jiangsu province, women are completely barred from pursuing a degree in mining engineering, a degree which effectively guarantees employment after graduation.

“China’s labor law suggests mining work is unsuitable for women, so we ask women to refrain from applying to our major,” explains one of the department’s senior professors, Shu Jisen.

At one university in Dalian, northern China, females are barred from studying naval engineering – because months on board a ship would be tough for women to endure, one admissions officer explained.

Slightly different reasons are given for severely restricting the number of women who can study at Beijing’s People’s Police University, which has a strict quota, limiting girls to comprise 10-15% of the student body. One admissions officer told BBC that women were not permitted because job opportunities in policing were scarce, as most people expect police officers to be male.

Professor Shu Jisen argues that some jobs are just “inappropriate” for women. “If they forced their way into these jobs,” he continued, “they will waste energy.”

Last year, young women challenged this notion and ignited a grassroots confrontation with the Chinese Ministry of Education over the gender discrimination. The women shaved their heads in objection to several universities across China that make it easier for men than women to gain acceptance.

“It was blatant gender discrimination,” argues one of the student activists, Xiao Meili. “No-one had stood up to these universities before, and told them these policies were wrong. Why didn’t anyone want to change anything? It really made me very angry.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News– 100 Women: The jobs Chinese girls just can’t do — 16 October 2013

South China Morning Post– China’s women professionals challenge workplace inequality — 13 October 2013

Huffington Post– Chinese Women Still Face Discrimination Against Men In Bid For Jobs — 17 October 2013

Mining.com– Chinese girls want to break down barriers to mining — 17 October 2013