Africa

Malawi Moves to Overturn Homosexual Ban

By Tara Pistorese
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

LILONGWE, Malawi — After succeeding to the Presidency following Bingu wa Mutharika’s death last month, Joyce Banda announced during her state of the union address on May 18 that she wishes to overturn the laws in Malawi criminalizing homosexuality.

Malawi President Joyce Banda. (Photo Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal-Africa News)

Homosexuality is a serious criminal offense in thirty-seven African countries. In Uganda, a bill was recently introduced that would make the death penalty an available punishment for homosexuality offenses. However, since the bill’s introduction, there have been discussions of reducing the imposition of the death penalty to life in prison.

According to a Human Rights First news report, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have become the targets of violent attacks. Two refugee women in Uganda were abducted, beaten and raped after providing assistance to LGBT refugees.

Lesbian and transgender male refugees have reportedly been the victims of “corrective rape” in Uganda, and a gay Somali teenager in Kenya was recently doused with gasoline and would have been set on fire if it hadn’t been for a Somali woman’s intervention. As it presently stands, South Africa is the only African nation with laws protecting gay rights.

In 2010, two men in Malawi, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza, were sentenced to fourteen-year jail terms after being charged with unnatural acts and gross indecency for celebrating their engagement.  Although then-President Mutharika pardoned the couple on “humanitarian grounds only” after the charges were internationally condemned, he insisted that the men had “committed a crime against our culture, against our religion, and against our laws.”

Several Western countries have threatened to cut aid to countries that fail to recognize gay rights. Since foreign aid makes up a large portion of the budget in Malawi, some view President Banda’s repeal of the homosexuality laws as an attempt to appease Western donors.

In President Banda’s state of the union address she stated that her administration wants to normalize relations with “traditional development partners who were uncomfortable with our bad laws.” However, according to the executive director of the Center for the Development of People, Gift Trapence, President Banda’s history reflects a liberal attitude on the issue.

“When she was vice-president she was invited to address a group of religious leaders and she spoke in favor of including LGBT communities in HIV interventions,” Trapence said.

A parliamentary vote is required to overturn the laws and it is currently unclear how much political support the President would garner in the conservative nation. Should President Banda’s proposal obtain parliamentary approval, the repeal would be added to a growing list of Mutharika-backed policies that have been reversed at President Banda’s hand since her predecessor’s death, and would make Malawi the first African county to overturn a ban on homosexual acts since 1994.

For further information, please see:

ABC, Associated Press—Malawi’s President Vows to Repeal Gay Ban—18 May 2012

Al Jazeera (AJE)—Malawian President to Repeal Gay Laws—18 May 2012

BBC News—Malawi to Overturn Homosexual Ban, Joyce Banda Says—18 May 2012

The Guardian—Malawi President Vows to Legalize Homosexuality—18 May 2012

Human Rights First—Secretary Clinton: Help Protect LGBTI Refugees from Violence—17 May 2012

Prosecutor Recommends 80-Year Sentence for Taylor

By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – A prosecutor’s brief submitted Thursday recommends that former Liberia President Charles Taylor, who was convicted of war crimes before the Special Court for Sierra Leone on April 26, serve 80 years for his transgressions.  A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 16.  His ultimate fate will be announced on May 30.

On April 26, Taylor was found guilty on eleven charges—including acts of terrorism, rape, pillage, and sexual slavery—pertaining to his involvement in Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war.  He provided support to the Revolutionary United Front in the form of arms and finances in exchange for “blood diamonds.”  According to the brief, his participation was “willing and enthusiastic,” and continued even as he publicly took part in peace negotiations.  The brief called him a “two-faced Janus.”  Taylor is the first former head of state to be convicted by an international tribunal since the Nuremberg Trials that took place after World War II.

In describing the former Liberian leader, the Prosecutor’s brief described him as more than “a simple weapons procurer or financier who sat on the sidelines of a civil war raging in a neighbouring country …”  Instead, he helped plan the three bloodiest incursions of the conflict, including the invasion of Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital.  Thousands of people died, with thousands more raped, enslaved, or crippled by limb amputation.  Taylor’s involvement proved so direct that the prosecutor concluded that “but for [his] criminal conduct, thousands of people would not have had limbs amputated, would not have been raped, would not have been killed.”

Each party will have one hour for closing arguments at the May 16 hearing.  Taylor will also have permission to speak for 30 minutes.  If convicted, he will serve his sentence in a British prison.

For more information, please see:

Liberian Observer — Prosecutor Seeks 80 Years for Taylor — 05 May 2012

Guardian (UK) — Charles Taylor Should Face 80 Years in Jail, UN Prosecution Urges — 04 May 2012

BBC — Sierra Leone Trial: 80 Years Urged for Charles Taylor — 03 May 2012

Special Court for Sierra Leone — Prosecution Sentencing Brief — 03 May 2012

Liberian Journal — Charles Taylor’s War Crimes Sentence Hearing Set for May 16 — 26 April 2012

Libya Challenges ICC’s Jurisdiction Over Gaddafi’s Son

By Tamara Alfred
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

The Libyan government has formally challenged the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) right to try the son of the late Moammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, for war crimes, arguing he should be tried in Libya.

A woman walks past a wall in Tripoli in November 2011 showing graffiti of Gaddafi, his son, and al-Senussi behind bars. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters.)

The ICC announced earlier this week that it had receive a formal submission from Libya’s new leadership arguing that Saif, 39, and former military intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, 62, should be tried on Libyan soil.  Saif was captured by rebels last year and is being held in the western town of Zintan, while al-Senussi was arrested last month in Mauritania.  Libya is currently seeking his extradition.   Under international law, a country has both the right and the duty prosecute suspected war criminals.

However, the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Saif on charges of killing and persecuting civilians during the uprising, and asked for Libya to hand him over.  ICC spokeswoman, Sonia Robla, explained that once the court has issued an arrest warrant for a suspect, it cannot retract it unless judges believe suspects will be tried for the same crimes they were indicted for, and that they will receive a fair trial.

Libya’s filing says it seeks to do just that, but human rights groups have expressed concern that Saif will not get a fair trial in Libya, especially given the central government’s lack of control over some areas in the aftermath of the civil war.

The ICC, however, does not oppose Saif being tried in Libya in principle, Robla said, and the Arab League has issued a statement backing Libya’s right to try al-Islam.

“Holding Saif al-Islam’s trial in Libya is a demand from the Libyan people,” Mohammed al-Hareizi, a spokesman for the National Transitional Council, said.  “He must be tried in Libya because he committed war crimes against Libyans and it means a lot to the Libyan people to try Saif in Libyan courts.”

Libya insisted in its filing that it has made great strides in repairing its legal system in the post-Gaddafi era, and its desire to try the pair “reflects a genuine willingness and ability to bring the persons concerned to justice.”

“The Libyan government regards the trial of Mr. Gaddafi and Mr. al-Senussi as a matter of the highest national importance, not only in bringing justice for the Libyan people but also in demonstrating that the Libyan justice system is capable of proper investigation and prosecution, and that it can conduct fair trials,” the country said in its filing.

“To deny the Libyan people the historic opportunity to eradicate the long-standing culture of impunity would be manifestly inconsistent with the object and purpose” of the ICC, the filing said.

The filing went into details of Libya’s efforts to gather evidence against Saif, saying it will complete its investigation within weeks, and its willingness to request outside help in the legal process where necessary.  Not only has the country sought help from the UN in training judges, much of the evidence ICC Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo is basing his case on was obtained with the help of Libyan prosecutors in the first place.

Moreno-Ocampo has said he will continue cooperating with his Libyan counterparts and that, ultimately, ICC judges must decide whether or not to remand the case to Libya.

For more information, please see:

The Independent – Libya applies to war crimes court to keep Gaddafi’s son – 2 May 2012

CBS News – War crimes court: Libya wants to keep Gadhafi son – 1 May 2012

Reuters – Libya says to wind up Gaddafi son investigation soon – 1 May 2012

Charles Taylor Guilty of Aiding Sierra Leone Civil War

By Tamara Alfred
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

On Thursday, former Liberian President Charles Taylor, 64, was found guilty by an international criminal tribunal of aiding and abetting war crimes, in neighboring Sierra Leone’s civil war, that ultimately left 50,000 dead or missing.

Charles Taylor, hearing the guilty verdict Thursday morning. (Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press.)

Taylor’s conviction is the first war crimes conviction of a former head of state by an international court since the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders following World War II.

After 13 months of deliberation, a panel of three judges from Ireland, Samoa and Uganda issued the unanimous decision that Taylor was “criminally responsible” for aiding and abetting crimes during a protracted and notoriously brutal civil war.  Taylor had been accused of murder, rape, sexual slavery, conscripting children under the age of 15 and mining diamonds to pay for guns.

“This judgment affirms that with leadership comes not just power and authority, but also responsibility and accountability,” said Prosecutor Brenda Hollis.  “No person, no matter how powerful, is above the law.”

United Nations (UN) human rights chief Navi Pillay echoed these sentiments, describing the conviction as “immensely significant,” saying it sends out a message that even the most powerful are not above the law.

“[T]his is undoubtedly a historic moment in the development of international justice,” said Pillay.  “A former president, who once wielded immense influence in a neighboring country where tens of thousands of people were killed, mutilated, raped, robbed and repeatedly displaced for years on end, has been arrested, tried in a fair and thorough international procedure.”

One disappointing note issued by Justice Richard Lussick of the Special Court for Sierra Leone states that prosecutors failed to prove that Taylor had direct command over the rebels who committed the various atrocities.

Taylor, who remained stoic throughout the reading of the verdict, had maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

In Freetown, Sierra Leone, where every television set was tuned in to the reading of the verdict, the mood was sharply contrasted from Taylor’s own.

A war victim watched the reading of the verdict for Taylor on television at the Special Court in Freetown, Sierra Leone. (Photo Courtesy of Agence France-Press – Getty Images.)

“Relief.  Relief,” said Jennifer Harold, national director of the charity, World Vision.  “Everybody is thrilled.”

“The trial is very important to all victims because it will help to hear our wounds,” Jabati Mambu, who lost his right hand in the war, told the Associated Press.  Mambu said the tribunal is a landmark in efforts to end impunity for leaders who sponsor rebellion.

Ibrahim Tommy, who leads the Center for Accountability and Rule of Law – a rights group in Freetown, had a slightly different viewpoint.  While he says the trial has brought “a sense of relief,” he told The New York Times, “I’m not sure it will bring closure to the victims,” but the trial was “a genuine effort to ensure accountability for the crimes in Sierra Leone.”

And yet, for the thousands of young men whose limbs were hacked off, the teenage boys sent into battle high on drugs, and the pubescent girls turned into sex slaves, the trial and verdict come much too late.  Regardless of Taylor’s guilty verdict, these victims will harbor unspeakable memories until the day they die, and numerous questions will remain about the atrocities and Taylor’s relationship with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels.

Many Sierra Leoneans still strive for some normalcy, despite the rebels’ gruesome practice of hacking off limbs. (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images.)

Taylor’s life has never failed to be an interesting one.  Taylor was born in Liberia, studied economics in the United States (US), escaped from a Massachusetts jail after being charged with embezzlement, before ultimately becoming a pivotal figure in Liberian politics after he overthrew the regime of Samuel Doe in 1989, plunging the country into a bloody civil war that left 200,000 dead over the next 14 years.  Taylor became president of Liberia in 1997, where he remained until 2003, when heavy international pressure forced him out of office.  At that point, he lived in exile in Nigeria, where he was arrested in 2006 attempting to cross the border into Chad.

The trial was a meticulous one, beginning in 2007 at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in The Hague, after it was moved following initial proceedings in Sierra Leone where emotions about the war still run high.  UN officials and the Sierra Leone government jointly set up the tribunal to try those who played the biggest role in the war atrocities.

Producing almost 50,000 pages of transcript and over a thousand exhibits, Taylor’s trial offered unique insights into Liberian and Sierra Leonean history, as well as uncovered two diametrically opposed views of Taylor’s role in West Africa.  In Taylor’s version, he is a peacemaker for the international community.  In the prosecution’s version, Taylor represents the darkest corner of Africa.

Taylor waiting for the prosecution’s closing arguments on February 8, 2011. (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images.)

Throughout the high-profile trial, judges heard testimony from more than 100 people, including Taylor himself and supermodel Naomi Campbell.  Prosecutors cast Taylor as a ruthless leader who as president of neighboring Liberia funneled weapons, ammunition and other equipment to Sierra Leone rebels in return for diamonds mined by slave laborers in Sierra Leone.  Witnesses testified to the grisly violence by the rebels, including chopping off the arms of civilians and shooting and disemboweling pregnant women and children.  Some spoke of being asked if they wanted “long sleeves or short sleeves” – either the hacking off of hands or the entire forearm.  Others, like former secret service agent Joseph Marzah, known as ‘Zigzag,’ confessed to displaying “heads on sticks and car bumpers,” killing babies, cutting open pregnant women and eating “Nigerians and white people.”  Meanwhile, during Taylor’s own seven months on the witness stand, Taylor portrayed himself as a statesman and regional peacemaker.

“Brave men, women and children have taken the stand against Charles Taylor,” the prosecutor’s office said in a written statement.  “They have included amputees, rape victims, former child soldiers, and persons enslaved, robbed, and terrorized.  We are awed by their courage.”

The man who indicted Taylor, US lawyer and Impunity Watch’s founder, David Crane, says “a clarion bell rang out clearly around the world today, the clear sound of justice, putting on notice that tyrants who kill their own citizens and others will be held accountable.”

With the pronouncement of the guilty verdict, a sentencing hearing is set for May 16.  With no death penalty in international criminal law, Taylor would serve out any sentence in a British prison.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Charles Taylor guilty of aiding Sierra Leone war crimes – 26 April 2012

CNN – Court finds Charles Taylor guilty of aiding war crimes – 26 April 2012

The New York Times – Ex-President of Liberia Aided War Crimes, Court Rules – 26 April 2012

Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Sierra Leone:  Taylor Trial a Triumph for International Justice, but Case Stirs Up Cordoned-Off Past – 25 April 2012

The Washington Post – Charles Taylor verdict expected in international court’s war-crimes trial – 25 April 2012

Time – Judges to Deliver Verdicts in Taylor Trial – 24 April 2012

Charles Taylor Judgement Summary