By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

HANOI, Vietnam – French-Vietnamese blogger, Professor Pham Minh Hoang, was convicted on national security charges and sentenced to serve three years in prison followed by three years of probation for posting anti-government statements to his blog.

Hoang was convicted after the presiding judge found that Hoang used his blog to post article’s that “blackened the image of the country.” The conviction comes not only as a result of Hoang posting 33 articles against the government but also because he is a current member of the Viet Tan group. Viet Tan, a U.S. based group that promotes democracy in Vietnam, is considered a terrorist organization by the Vietnamese government which has banned membership in the organization.

Professor Hoang asked the court for leniency and claimed that he was unaware that he was breaking the law when he wrote the articles and would not have written them if he had known “the stories could affect the prestige of the state…” Hoang also stated to the court, “my writings were not aimed at overthrowing anyone…I only pointed out the negative things in society, and I think the country needs to be more democratic.”

Hoang’s dual citizenship with France has caused the French foreign ministry to express serious concern at Hoang’s case and the charges that had been brought against him.

Political critics and activists have been forced to serve long prison sentences since the Vietnamese government began severely limiting freedom of expression in 2009. Activists for democracy have commonly found themselves charged with subversion and sentenced to serve up to 15 years in prison for asserting opinions that are considered offensive to the Vietnamese government.

For more information, please see:

Vietnam Network – Former Lecturer Sentenced for Activities Aimed at Overthrowing Gov’t – 11 August 2011

Amnesty International-Viet Nam Urged to Release Jailed Blogger – 10 August 2011

BBC – Vietnam Jails Dissident Blogger Pham Minh Hoang – 10 August 2011

Forbes – Vietnam Jails French-Vietnamese Teacher Over Blogs – 10 August 2011

by Hibberd Kline
Impunity Watch, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka— Human Rights Watch (HRW) lambasted Sri Lanka’s government twice last week for failing to investigate and fully disclose details of atrocities by government forces during the country’s 26-year armed conflict, which ended in May of 2009.

In an statement released August 1st , HRW decried a report recently released by the Ministry of Defense (MOD) casting the blame for  civilian deaths on Muslim militias and the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who sought independence for the island’s sizeable Tamil minority.

In the report, which was released under mounting pressure from foreign governments and NGOs, the Sri Lankan government conceded for the first time that its forces caused civilian deaths near the end of the conflict.

However, HRW stressed that the government did not take responsibility for laws-of-war violations, which it blamed squarely on LTTE, whose atrocities are detailed in the MOD report.

The report states that government forces “adher[ed] to a ‘Zero Civilian casualty’ policy,” but that “[i]t was impossible in a battle of this magnitude, against a ruthless opponent actively endangering civilians, for civilian casualties to be avoided.”

According to HRW, the report fails to address the “thousands of civilian casualties” inflicted by Sri Lankan forces’ frequent indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas” including hospitals. HRW stressed that these incidents were comprehensively detailed by the UN, the US State Department and various NGOs.

The second prong of HRW’s criticism of the Sri Lankan government last week came two days later on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the murder of 17 Sri Lankan aid workers, 16 ethnic Tamils and one Muslim, following a battle between LTTE and government forces.

HRW used the anniversary to highlight what it described as the government’s “broader lack of will to prosecute soldiers and police for rights abuses.”

HRW’s statement alleged that “[d]espite a backlog of cases of enforced disappearances and unlawful killings going back two decades that run to the tens of thousands, there have been only a small number of prosecutions.” The statement further alleged that past efforts to address human rights violations had failed to achieve significant results.

In a scathing accusation, HRW legal and policy director James Ross said that “[t]he Rajapaksa government is not just unwilling to uncover the truth, it appears afraid of the truth.”

Foreign governments and NGOs largely acknowledge that both LTTE and Sri Lankan government forces inflicted high numbers of civilian casualties and likely engaged in war crimes during the conflict.

In 2009, Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa pledged to address the need for accountability for international humanitarian and human rights law violations.

The Sri Lankan government denies that its forces are responsible for civilian deaths during the conflict.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Sri Lanka condemned over aid workers’ deaths – 3 August 2011

Human Rights Watch – Sri Lanka: No Justice in Massacre of Aid Workers – 3 August 2011

Voice of America – HRW Calls for Investigation of Sri Lankan Aid Workers Massacre – 3 August 2011

Daily Mirror – HRW criticises SL report – 2 August 2011

JURIST – Sri Lanka report on civil war ‘whitewashes’ military atrocities – 2 August 2011

Human Rights Watch – Sri Lanka: Official Report Whitewashes Military Abuses – 1 August 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistani security forces are holding and torturing political activists in the Pakistani province of Balochistan in an attempt to derail the separatist movement in that region.

Human Rights Watch Asia Director Brad Adams has stated that “Pakistan’s security forces are engaging in an abusive free-for-all in Balochistan as Baloch nationalists and suspected militants ‘disappear’ and in many cases are executed…the national government has done little to end the carnage in Balochistan, calling into question its willingness or ability to control the military and intelligence agencies.”

The Pakistani government has cracked down on the separatist movement in Balochistan since 2004 when rebels emerged to demand autonomy and a share of the profits from the region’s oil, gas and mineral sources. As a result, those who “disappear” are generally Baloch nationalist activists or suspected Baloch militants.

In a 132 page report by Human Rights Watch, “We Can Torture, Kill, or Keep You for Years: Enforced disappearances by Pakistan Security Forces in Balochistan”, it is stated that the government is responsible for most of the abductions and detainees are rarely, if ever, charged with any crime.

The report is comprised of over 100 interviews with former detainees, witnesses, lawyers, family of the “disappeared” and local human rights activists.

While the exact number of enforced disappearances is unknown Human Rights Watch reported that in 2008 Interior Minister Rehman Malik said at least 1,000 victims had disappeared in Balochistan. There is increasing evidence to suggest that many of those who have disappeared have suffered extrajudicial execution while in the custody of the government.

One former detainee, Mazhar Khan, described his abduction from a friend’s home in 2009 when armed men stormed into the home blindfolded both men and drove them to separate locations. Khan was questioned about the Baloch party and then held alone in a dark room for two months before being released on the side of a road. The fate of his friend is still unknown.

Another former detainee, Bashir Azeem, was detained on three separate occasions between 2005 and 2009.  He states that on one occasion his abductors “pushed pins under my nails, put a chair on my back and sat on top of it, and put me for 48 hours into a room where I could only stand but not move. When they took me out, my legs were so swollen that I collapsed on the floor and fainted.”

In some cases witnesses alleged that the detainers wore the same uniformed donned by members of various Pakistani intelligence agencies.  The arresting agency never identified themselves or informed the detainee of the basis for their arrest. Often, the abductors would beat, handcuff, blindfold and then drag the detainee into a vehicle before taking them to an unknown location. In each and every case investigated by Human Rights Watch, detainees who were released and their relatives reported torture and ill treatment while detained. Torture often included beatings with sticks or leather belts, hanging detainees upside down and prolonged sleep and food deprivation.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Pakistan Accused Over Separatists who ‘Disappear’ – 28 July 2011

BBC News – Pakistan Torturing Balochistan Activists, Report Says – 28 July 2011

Human Rights watch – Pakistan: Security Forces ‘Disappear’ Opponents in Balochistan – 28 July 2011

MSNBC – HRW: ‘Disappeared’ Still Haunt Pakistani Province – 28 July 2011

by Hibberd Kline
Impunity Watch, Asia

BEIJING, China — In a statement released on the 27th of July by a human rights group based in China (HRIC), a call for a “full and transparent investigation” for the July 18th violence that rocked the city of Hotan in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was made.

HRIC’s statement follows nine days of inconsistent reports detailing the nature of the incident. Officials initially placed the death toll at “at least 4.” However, China’s state media later reported that Chinese security forces had since raised the figure to 18. Official government sources and state media maintain that the violence occurred when a group of ethnic minority Uyghurs attacked a local police station. Official sources have alternatively referred to the alleged attackers as “Thugs,” perpetrators of an “organized terrorist attack,” “rioters,” “separatists” and “religious extremists.”

The latest official report was released on July 26 in a statement by the Chinese embassy in Turkey. The embassy put the number of attackers at 18. The embassy further alleged that the 18 were “radical religious fundamentalist and violent terrorists” armed with Molotov cocktails, knives and axes.

According to the embassy, one police officer and a few hostages were killed in the attack. China’s official Xinhua news agency reported that police gunned down 14 attackers.

World Uyghur Congress (WUC), a Uyghur exile group based in Germany, tells an entirely different story.

WUC claims that security forces beat 14 people to death and gunned down six others. WUC further suggests that the incident did not take place at the police station, but at a nearby Bazaar where Uyghurs had peacefully gathered to demand the release of previously detained family members. WUC reports that at least 70 people have been detained since the violence began. WUC claims to possess several eye-witness accounts of the incident. This claim is a key factor behind HRIC’s call for a full independent investigation.

The Uyghur population has long chafed under restrictions on their religion and other rights. However, tensions between Xinjiang’s Uyghur ethnic minority and China’s ethnic Han majority have grown markedly strained in recent years.

Xinjiang is currently experiencing significant ethnic Han migration and a coordinated effort by the Chinese government to develop the region’s rich oil and natural gas reserves, which are seen as crucial to China’s economic development.

Was the violence in Hotan an organized terrorist attack, a riot, or a peaceful protest turned violent at the hands of government security forces? With heavy domestic censorship and a foreign media blackout, it is hard to tell, many argue that China’s lack of transparency and consistency in its accounts of the 18 July event do not aid beneficial dialogue.

For more information please see:

Today’s Zaman – China criticiszes press coverage of Hotan incidents – 29 July 2011

World Uyghur Congress – Uyghurs to Stage Demonstration in Vienna to Protest Hotan Incident – 28 July 2011

HRIC – HRIC Calls for Full and Transparent Investigation of July 18 Incident in Hotan – 27 July 2011

Voice of America – Details of Alleged Xinjiang ‘Terrorist Attack’ Still Sketchy – 27 July 2011

China Daily – 14 rioters shot down in Xinjiang attack – 20 July 2011

Global Times – Hotan on high alert after attack – 20 July 2011

Guardian – China raises Xinjiang police station death toll to 18 – 20 July 2011

BBC – Xinjiang police attack was terrorism, China says – 19 July 2011

Sunday Times – China blames ‘terrorists’ for attack in Xinjiang: report – 19 July 2011

Yahoo News – Clash in China’s Xinjiang killed 20: exile group – 19 July 2011

By Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch, Asia

BEIJING, China – New Chinese internet regulations will require bars, restaurants, and bookstores that offer internet access (Wi-Fi) throughout the country to install new web monitoring software reports the New York Times. The software, which costs approximately 3,100 (USD), allows security officials to access the identities of internet users in public places.

The software will also give officials the ability to know what the internet user is viewing. Business owners who fail to abide by the new regulations may be subject to a 23,000 dollar fine and the lost of their business license.

China already has some of the strictest internet regulations in the world. When the Apple “iphone” was first released in China, Wi-Fi capabilities had to be disabled in order to be legally sold in the country. Since then Apple has modified its products to meet the specifications set forth by the government reports the Wall Street Journal.

Last year, the government blocked more than one million websites from viewers. While many of the websites were pornographic, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were also blocked reports the New York Times.

Although the new regulations do not directly decrease the availability of the internet to Chinese citizens, many people are concerned. “From the point of view of the common people, this policy is unfair,” said Wang Bo, the owner of L’Infusion, a cafe that features crepes, waffles, and Wi-Fi. Wang Fang, 28, an advertising sales agent explained “To be honest, I can get internet at home or at work, but it’s nice to just sit in a comfortable place and surf the Web.”

Business owners who rely on Wi-Fi to attract customers are concerned about the costs associated with the new regulations. A manager of a local café called Kubrick told the New York Times that it unplugged its router earlier in the month to avoid paying for the software. However, the manager explained that the loss of Wi-Fi has led to a thirty percent decrease in business because people do not have a reason to come anymore.

Another bookstore owner told the New York Times she unplugged her router because she refuses to play a role in the government monitoring what citizens view on the internet. Ray Heng, the owner of a Mexican restaurant, told the New York Times that he feels the government should foot the bill for the new software if it is so concerned about monitoring the internet.

The Dongcheng Public Security Bureau has not commented on the new regulations, but according to its publicly issued circular, the measure is designed to frustrate criminals who use the Internet to “conduct blackmail, traffic goods, gamble, propagate damaging information and spread computer viruses” reports the New York Times.

China has vigorously defended its position on internet regulations in the past. In fact, China has responded to U.S. criticisms over internet monitoring by stating the U.S. acts in the exact same manner under the Patriot Act.

For more information, please see:

Sydney Morning Herald — Officials in China to monitor public Wi-Fi use – 28 July 2011

New York Times — China Steps Up Web Monitoring, Driving Many Wi-Fi Users Away – 25 July 2011

Wall Street Journal — Apple Eyes Bigger Slice of Chinese Market – 19 July 2011

BBC — China tightens internet censorship control — 4 May 2011

China Daily — Google’s excuse about censorship unacceptable, netizens say – 22 March 2010