Venezuela Security Forces Search for Missing Miners

CARACAS, Venezuela — Security forces in Venezuela are searching for a group of miners in the state of Bolívar who have gone missing. Family members of those missing from the Atenas gold mine are alleging that sometime between Thursday and Friday, 28 miners were rounded up by gunmen and killed execution style. The mine is unlicensed “wildcat” mine, and is located near to the town of Tumeremo.

State Governor Francisco Rangel first denied that “any person [was] killed or missing,” saying that reports referred to clashes between gangs fighting over control of the mines.  He accused the opposition of spreading “FALSE information about murdered miners.” Governor Rangel is an ally of President Maduro.

Family members of the missing miners block the road between Venezuela and Brazil. (Photo courtesy of BBC)

In response to Governor Rangel’s claim, about 300 relatives of the miners engaged in demonstrations over the weekend, shutting down a road running through Tumeremo that serves as an important link between Venezuela and Brazil.

“I’m not asking for justice,” said Juan Jose Coello, the father of a missing miner. “Right now, I’m just asking that they return the body of my son, so I can give him a Christian burial.”

The protests led Venezuela’s Attorney General to designate both a national and regional prosecutor to investigate the matter. Governor Rangel finally acknowledged on Monday that there was an official search for the miners. Family members continued to block the road through Tumeremo.

Some claiming to have witnessed the massacre and family members of the missing have accused law enforcement agents of playing a role in the alleged killings. Opposition lawmaker Americo de Grazia has also accused the state government of complicity.

1,000 soldiers were ordered to the area to search for the missing miners. There are conflicting reports from those who claim to have witnessed the attack as to what the gunmen did with the remains of the miners. Some locals allege that the gunmen drove the bodies of the miners deeper into the mine, while others say they were dismembered and removed from the area.

 

For more information, please see:

Agence France-Presse – Missing Venezuelan miners families protest – 7 March 2016

Associated Press –Venezuela Opens Investigation Into Possible Killing of Miners – 7 March 2016

Reuters – Venezuela says investigating alleged killing of miners – 7 March 2016

Voice of America – Venezuela Investigates Possible Slaying of 28 Missing Miners – 7 March 2016

BBC – Venezuela probes gold miners’ disappearance in Bolivar – 8 March 2016

Latin America News Dispatch – Venezuela Investigates Disappearance of 28 Gold Miners – 8 March 2016

Latin American Herald Tribune – Security Forces Search for Miners Reported Killed in Venezuela – 8 March 2016

Washington Post – Venezuela Congress takes up case of missing miners – 8 March 2016

Suicide Attack Kills Several People in Pakistan

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – 

Over a dozen people were killed on Monday morning in a suicide attack, while an estimated twenty were wounded. Four women and two children are among the dead.

A victim of the suicide attack. (Photo courtesy of the New York Times)

A suicide bomber detonated a vest containing explosives after shooting his way into a district court compound in the town of Shabqadar, about 20 miles north of Peshawar. The bomber shot a police officer once he had forced his way into the compound, then detonated his vest. Another officer was killed when he tried to subdue the bomber and prevent him from entering the courtroom, in which family disputes were being decided at the time.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a removed branch of militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which is part of the Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar’s spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said in an email statement that the bombing was in retaliation for the execution of Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri. Mr. Ehsan claims that Mr. Qadri was innocent and executed against Allah’s laws. He has also stated that his faction will continue to conduct attacks on Pakistani courts.

Mr. Qadri was recently sentenced to death for killing Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab Province. Punjab’s governor had previously called for reform of blasphemy laws which require death for insulting Islam.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, has issued a statement denouncing the attack. He states that Pakistan is united in its commitment to eliminate this type of “menace” and commemorates those who died trying to prevent the bomber’s attack.

The bombing was the second suicide attack of its kind so far this year. In January, Taliban suicide bombers attacked Bacha Khan University in the Charsadda district, killing 21 students and teachers.

Taliban militants have engaged in uprisings against Pakistan’s government since 2007 as part of their effort to enforce more strict interpretations of Islamic laws.

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Suicide Attack Hits Pakistan – 7 March 2016

CNN – At Least 13 Killed, Including 2 Children, in Pakistan Suicide Attack – 7 March 2016

The New York Times – Suicide Attack at Pakistani Court Compound Kills Over a Dozen – 7 March 2016

Reuters – Pakistani Militants Say Blast at Court That Kills 10 Was Revenge – 7 March 2016

 

 

 

War Crimes Prosecution Watch Volume 10, Issue 26 – March 7, 2016

War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world. To subscribe, please email warcrimeswatch@pilpg.org and type “subscribe” in the subject line.

Opinions expressed in the articles herein represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the War Crimes Prosecution Watch staff, the Case Western Reserve University School of Law or Public International Law & Policy Group.

Contents

AFRICA

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

Chad

Nigeria

EUROPE

Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Domestic Prosecutions In The Former Yugoslavia

MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Syria

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Special Tribunal for Lebanon

Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal

War Crimes Investigations in Burma

WORTH READING

WORTH READING

2 Nigerian Villages to Sue Shell in UK

By Tyler Campbell

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

 

ABUJA, Nigeria – Two Nigerian towns, Ogale and Bille, have decided to take on Goliath and sue the seventh largest oil company in the world, Royal Dutch Shell in a British court. This case will be different from other suites Shell has faced from Nigeria. Instead of claiming damages for spills, these two villages are seeking compensation for Shell’s neglected clean up of effected areas in the Niger Delta. It was unclear at first if Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd., could be sued in the British court for events that occurred outside the county’s boarders. The decision handed down be a UK judge on Wednesday allowed the case to proceed for now.

Effects of repeated oil spills on Niger Delata. (Photo Courtesy of Deutsche Welle)

The suites from these two villages are being headed by Leigh Day, a British human rights law firm. This is not the first time Leigh Day has taken on Shell for their involvement in polluting the Niger Delta. Just last year Leigh Day won $83.5 million for Bobo, another Nigerian Village effected by pollution. Shell had only offered $50,000 to the village to settle.

 

Shell has decided to challenge the courts jurisdiction over the matter and have asked English courts to intervene. Shell is also claiming that they are not to blame for the pollution citing multiple attacks and thefts from their systems by third parties in Nigeria.

 

Shells defense is not completely unfounded. The sites by these two villages are plagued with thefts, but also suffer from old infrastructure and a lack of general upkeep. Besides neglected cleanup the village of Billie is also suing Shell for failing to protect their Nigerian properties from these break-ins and sabotages.

 

These two villages have been some of the hardest hit by pollution in the Niger Delta since the late 1950’s. Ogale, which sits on the Ogale River, relies heavily on farming and fishing and has seen their natural recourses crumble due to polluted water ways, ground water, and swamps. The Bille village also relies heavily on fishing and is made up of a number of small islands strung throughout the Niger Delta. In some cases spills have been so bad that villagers were forced to put sand bags around buildings to stop oil from flowing in.

 

For more information, please see:

 

RT – No-one listens, no-one cares’: Nigerian communities sue Shell over chronic oil pollution – 3 March 2016

The Jurist – UK court rules Nigeria towns can sue Shell in UK ­ 3 March 2016

ABC News – Nigerians Sue Shell in UK Court for Oil Spills Contamination – 2 March 2016

The Guardian – Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd – 2 March 2016