By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

HANOI, Vietnam – Four  Vietnamese land rights activists who were convicted of “attempting to overthrow the people’s administration” this past May have been ordered to remain in prison after a court refused to grant their appeals and upheld the sentences ranging from five to eight years.

The court decided not to reduce the eight year sentence of Tran Thu Thuy or the seven year sentence of Pham Van Thong but agreed to reduce the six year sentence of Pastor Duong Kim Khai by one year and the five year sentence of Cao Van Tinh by six months. Three other land rights activists were also imprisoned in May and each received two year sentences which they chose not to appeal.

Prior to their arrests, the activists had dedicated years to helping Vietnamese citizens fight against government confiscations of their land.

The activists were arrested in May after authorities alleged that the four individuals had anti-government documents in their possession that reportedly advocated for a multiple party system. Six of the seven activists arrested in May were also accused of being members of Viet Tan, an opposition group that is based in the United States and has been banned in Vietnam.

While the accusation of Viet Tan involvement was made against all seven activists, the organization confirmed that only three of the individuals arrested were members of Viet Tan and that an unspecified number of the defendants attended Viet Tan courses on non-violent struggle. Despite being considered a terrorist organization by the Vietnamese government, the United States has found no proof of terrorist activity being committed by Viet Tan.

During the May trial, one of the defense lawyers was removed from the courtroom and later disbarred on a recommendation made by court officials for “disrespecting the law” when he attempted to argue against the accusations made against the activists.

Viet Tan reports that the jailed activists have not only been denied visits from family members but were also denied access to their lawyer until one day before the appeal trial was to take place.

Following completion of their jail terms, three of the activists will also have to serve five years of house arrest and one of the activists will be required to serve four years.

The plight of the land rights activists comes on the heels of several other cases involving dissidents who have been jailed by the Vietnamese government for expressing pro-democracy views.  The wave of convictions against peaceful activists prompted Phil Robinson of Human Rights Watch to state that “…Vietnam’s leaders seem to think they can sign international human rights treaties with invisible ink.”

For more information, please see:

Businessweek – 4 Vietnam Land Rights Activists Appeal Sentences – 18 August 2011

Radio Free Asia – Court Upholds Activist Sentences – 18 August 2011

Voice of America – Appeal Opens for Vietnamese Pastor, Land Rights Activists– 18 August 2011

Human Rights Watch –Vietnam: Free Peaceful Land Rights Activists – 17 August 2011

By Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch, Asia

NEW DEHLI, India – After many fierce political debates over government corruption, India officials introduced a bill to parliament on Thursday that would create an independent anti-corruption agency. However, many have described the bill as “toothless.” Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, who has led the most recent hunger strikes, called the bill a “cruel joke.”

The bill would create a powerful ombudsman with the authority to investigate accusations against government officials. The bill excludes the prime minister, members of parliament, and other officials from the jurisdiction of the ombudsman. Many critics of the bill have asked why the President of the United States and other high ranking officials throughout the world can be freely investigated, but the same cannot be said of Indian officials.

Anti-corruption activists have further complaints about the bill. In section fifty-six of the bill, legal assistance paid for by the government will be given to every government official tried before the ombudsman at the request of the accused. If the claims of the accuser are found to be false, then the accuser can be subject to a two to five year prison sentence and a fine of Rs 25,000 but which may extend to Rs 2 lakh.

Activist Arvind Kejriwal told the Times of India the bill was tilted in favor of the corrupt and against the whistleblowers. “The bill is heavily tilted against the whistleblower. There are various stages in the Lokpal’s (Ombudsman) process of inquiry where the accused is allowed to see documents or access records and get assistance that will work against the whistleblower. The accused can also go directly to court and file a complaint that allegations are false,” he said.

The bill also provides if the allegations are found to be false the accuser will have to compensate the accused official and pay for any legal expenses incurred by the official as a result of the accuser’s allegations.

Thousands have rallied to fight the weakness of the proposed bill. The Times of India launched an “Act Against Corruption” campaign a few weeks ago and it is estimated over 100,000 people have joined the campaign.

While India does have a dark history of government corruption, analysts worry that an all-powerful ombudsman, who is not accountable to anyone, could lead to legal chaos.

Anna Hazare has already announced he will begin a new hunger strike on August 16^th hoping for a stronger bill that gives the ombudsman jurisdiction over the prime minister and other high ranking officials.

For more information, please see:

DNA — Lokpal Bill must echo people’s views: Justice Santosh Hegde – 6 August 2011

The Times of India — ‘Lokpal Bill tilted in favour of the corrupt — 5 August 2011

The Times of India — Over 1 lakh join Times Online campaign for strong Lokpal – 5 August 2010

BBC – Indian anti-corruption bill tabled in parliament – 4 August 2011

New York Times — Skepticism Over India’s Anticorruption Bill – 4 August 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan – Osmonjon Khalmurzaev, an ethnic Uzbek, died two days after his release from police custody during which time he was allegedly tortured in an attempt to extort money in exchange for his release.

According to the victim’s wife, Zulhomor, Khalmurzaev was taken from his home by three police officers dressed as civilians. The police officer’s did not show an arrest warrant and failed to tell his wife where Khalmurzaev would be taken.

After being returned home, Khalmurzaev told his wife that after arriving at the police station the police officers put a gas mask on him and beat him until he lost consciousness.

After regaining consciousness, he was told by the police that he would be framed as a participant in a violent ethnic clash that occurred last June unless he paid them 6,000 dollars. After the police agreed to accept only 680 dollars and the money was paid he was released to his wife and told that they would harm his family if he informed anybody of what had happened. Two days after his release he was taken to a hospital where he died.

A preliminary conclusion by a forensic expert stated that Khalmurzaev died as a result of a broken sternum that had caused one of his organs to rupture. Despite this finding, none of the policemen who had detained Khalmurzaev have been questioned or suspended from their work although local authorities have opened an investigation.

The attack at the Sanpa factory was part of an ethnic clash that took place last June. As a result of the clash more that 400 people were killed and many Uzbek neighborhoods were ruined. The Uzbek’s have been forbidden to rebuild their communities and have also become the victims of detention, torture and extortion at the hands of police who rarely face prosecution.

Human Rights Watch has recently documented six other cases in which police attempt to extort money from victims by threatening to frame the victim for a crime.

For more information, please see:

Eurasia Net – Kyrgyzstan Police Beat Another Uzbek to Death – 12 August 2011

The Telegraph – Human Rights Group Accuses Kyrgyz Police of Abuses Against Ethnic Uzbeks – 12 August 2011

Human rights watch – Kyrgyzstan: A Death Follows Police Torture – 11 August 2011

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