By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – It has been almost a year since the Nobel Peace Prize nominee and leading human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was taken by the Chinese authorities.

After reports surfaced saying that Gao has been “missing” since September, there is speculation that Gao may have been tortured and killed in a detention center.

Gao’s brother came to Beijing to inquire the whereabouts of his brother and was told by a police official that Gao lost his way while out on a walk and then went missing.

Gao has been under the radar of the Chinese authorities for his work in defending members of the outlawed Falun Gong and for working with underground Christian organizations.  He was also accused of being too pro-American.  Gao’s license to practice law was revoked back in 2005.

Human rights activists are particularly worried about Gao’s disappearance because of the gross mistreatment Gao suffered during his previous incarceration.

Gao published a letter after his release few years ago saying that he was subjected to more than a month of torture where he was jabbed with an electric baton and his genitals were pierced with toothpicks.  He said the guards also urinated on him and beat until he could not stop shaking.

Gao said he was told that he would be killed if he ever spoke publically about his detention.

His wife and two children have been granted asylum in the United States.  His wife, surprised to find out that the police could not account for her husband’s disappearance, said, “If he’s alive, let us see him.  If he’s dead, tell us where his body is.”

Another lawyer and a friend of Gao, Teng Biao, also said, “This is the first time the police have come up with ‘went missing’ as an excuse.  That’s impossible.  Gao was in their custody and could go nowhere.”

Advocates say that Gao is the victim of the “legal system whose corruption he worked to expose.”  In addition to human rights, Gao had been fighting for judicial independence, rule of law and impartiality in Chinese legal system.

Rights group like Human Rights in China are demanding that the Chinese authorities stop acting with impunity and provide full and immediate account of Gao’s whereabouts.

For more information, please see:

The Independent – Did the Chinese security forces kill Gao Zhisheng? – 16 January 2010

NYT – Chinese Lawyer Declared ‘Missing’ After Arrest – 15 January 2010

WSJ – Where is Gao Zhisheng? – 17 January 2010

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan- On Thursday a suicide bomber blew himself up at a crowded market in a restive district of southern Afghanistan, killing up to 20 people in the deadliest attack in four months.

The bombing which occurred in the Dihrawud district of Uruzgan province comes as attacks by the Taliban militia increase in frequency. Afghan army General Abdul Hameed, commander of national forces in Uruzgan said, “This was a suicide bomber on foot who detonated himself at the gate of a money exchange market.” He added, “Up to now, 20 civilians have been killed and 13 wounded,”

The bomb could have gone off prematurely as the bomber waited for a military or police convoy to attack, said a deputy police commissioner.

In early September, 22 people were killed by a suicide bomber outside a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, and at least 43 died in an attack in Kandahar in August just days after President Hamid Karzai returned to power, following a fraud-tainted presidential election.

In another attack in the neighboring province of Helmand, a police officer was killed and five others were injured, NATO and Afghan authorities said.

Although there has been no immediate claim of responsibility, both attacks bore the hallmarks of the Taliban.  In the Helmand attack, an explosive-packed car was responsible for killing the police officer and injuring four others.  “According to initial reports one Afghan police officer has been killed and four wounded in a suicide-vehicle IED strike in Musa Qala,” NATO’s International Security Assiatance Force said.  Abdul Salem, the district chief of Musa Qala, confirmed the attack.

Innocent civilians caught in the cross-fire between insurgents and Afghan and Western troops have borne the brunt of the violence.

A UN report released on Wednesday said the number civilians killed in violence in 2009 was higher than in any year since the Taliban were removed in 2001.  The UN Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) reported that civilian casualties rose by 14% in 2009 compared with 2008. In total more than 2,400 civilians were killed in 2009. The report also said that 67 percent of civilian deaths were caused by Taliban attacks, while international troops and Afghan security forces were responsible for 25 percent.

For more information, please see:

BBC News- Suicide Bombing Kills 20 in Afghanistan Market– 14 January 2010

Associated Foreign Press- Afghan Market Suicide Bombing Kills 20 : General– 14 January 2010

Los Angeles Times- Afghanistan Suicide Attack Kills 20 – 15 January 2010

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea– Korean “comfort women,” women who were forced to work as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II, held their 900th weekly protest in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.

Victims protest in front of Seoul’s Japanese Embassy.  Courtesy of Yonhap News.

Since this demonstration first began on January 8, 1992, victims and activists continue to gather every Wednesday.

Gil Won-ok, one of the women who were forced to serve Japanese soldiers during the War, said, “I want the whole world to know of this terrible history to prevent it from every happening again.”

These women and activists vow that they will never give up until Japan apologizes and compensates the “comfort women” for its wartime atrocities.

At this week’s rally, Kim Hak-sun, another former “comfort woman,” recalled the painful memories from her past.  She said she was just 17 years old when she was taken by the Japanese soldiers and was forced to have sex with four to five soldiers a day while being kept under watch 24 hours a day.

Kim also recalled that she was beaten whenever she tried to escape.  She said, “I still shudder when I see the Japanese flag.”

A Seoul-based rights group, The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, said, “Almost a century has passed since a number of young [Korean] women’s lives and human rights were infringed.  But the perpetrator has never acknowledged the crime.  The…demonstration will continue until the Japanese government takes responsibility.”

The U.S., the Netherlands, Canada and Australia have all adopted resolutions calling the Japanese government to acknowledge and apologize for sexual enslavement of Korean “comfort women.”

The United Nations Human Rights Council has also been urging Japan to resolve this issue, but Japan has yet to offer an official apology or enact laws to pay compensations to the “comfort women.”  In fact, Japan’s right-wing groups are attempting to delete references to “comfort women” in Japanese school textbooks.

Many of the victims have passed away without ever receiving an apology or reparations from Japan for the abuses they suffered as a result of sexual enslavement.  Out of approximately 200,000 Korean women who were taken by the Japanese military and made into “comfort women,” only 87 comfort women remain with most of them in their 70’s and 80’s.

For more information, please see:

The Chosun Ilbo – ‘Comfort Women’ Mark 900th Protest at Japanese Embassy –13 January 2010

The Korea Times – Activist From Canada Attends Comfort Women’s 900th Protest – 13 January 2010

Yonhap News – Activists, comfort women hold 900th Japanese Embassy protest – 13 January 2010

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Internet censorship is by no means a new concept to Chinese citizens. However, recent activity, instigated a surprising decision by Google to cease cooperation with Chinese government censors, and possibly, a four-year effort to do business in China. The effort is propelled largely by U.S. business and technology communities and human-rights advocacy groups. The central concern is over China’s human rights and free speech restraints.
Google announced the decision after discovering “highly sophisticated and targeted attacks” on dozens of Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China. Google stated that it was not alone. A spokesperson of the internet corporation said some 20 other companies were also targets of cyber attacks from China.

Human Rights Watch said that Google’s decision spotlights the importance of freedom of expression, and privacy online and illustrates the persistent risk to human rights posed by governments that view the free flow of information as a threat. To this, Arvind Ganesan, director of Human Rights Watch’s corporations and human rights program said, “A transnational attack on privacy is chilling, and Google’s response sets a great example.” She went on to say that, “At the same time, this incident underscores the need for governments and companies to develop policies that safeguard rights.”

Prior to Google’s most recent announcement, a Google senior vice president, Jonathan Rosenberg, issued an online manifesto back in December that placed Google’s business and ethical interests squarely behind open information, and against censorship. Less than one month ago he posted, “There are forces aligned against the open Internet — governments who control access, companies who fight in their own self-interests to preserve the status quo,” and “they are powerful, and if they succeed we will find ourselves inhabiting an Internet of fragmentation, stagnation, higher prices, and less competition.”

High company officials at Google are not alone. A Google engineer stated in a blog that the company’s popular Gmail service, which was a target of the Chinese hackers, will henceforth employ extra encryption by default.

Google’s actions also highlight the growing dangers faced by foreign information technology firms in China where the government devotes massive financial and human resources to censor the Internet and to hunt down and punish citizens who hold views which the ruling Chinese Communist Party disagrees with.  To date, Google and other companies have acquiesced to Chinese government demands to censor information.

Jonathan Zittrain, a Harvard law professor, and a founder of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, said that Google’s action had raised the ethical bar for foreign investors across China. In a recent interview he stated, “I think every major outside firm is clearly going to have to do a reality check with itself in the wake of the Google announcement.”

Regardless of Google’s recently announced business decision, the rights of Chinese citizens to uncensored internet information continues to be a major international human rights concern, and Google’s actions appear to be one step to resist kowtowing to the government’s demands.

For more information, please see:

The New York Times – Far-Ranging Support for Google’s China Move – January 14, 2010

The Guardian – China: Google Challenges Censorship – January 14, 2010

CNN News – Google reports China-based attack, says pullout possible – January 13, 2010

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The UN has recently invoked once again inquiries into a compromising and controversial video aired on British network news in August 2009.  The footage depicted Sri Lankan security personnel committing extrajudicial executions of supposed members of the Tamil Tigers resistance organization.  The graphic imagery shows the killing of a naked and bound man, and in the background eight dead bodies can be seen lying in a muddy field.  The UN seeks an independent, impartial investigation into this disturbing footage.

Despite numerous requests to inspect the matter since the time of airing, the Sri Lankan government has adamantly stated that the video specifically manufactured by unknown authors to vilify and disgrace Sri Lankan security and government.  However, the UN claims that the arguments the Sri Lankan government espoused in its defense video have been proven false.  Sri Lanka, however, persists in discrediting the video and avoiding questions bearing upon it and similar human rights –related issues.

Despite the Sri Lankan government’s obstinacy in denying requests to inquire into authenticity of the execution footage, the UN continually presses to enter the country to investigate the matter along with the deaths of more than 7,000 other civilians within the first quarter of 2009.  The Sri Lankan government only recently allowed hundreds of thousands Tamil ethnic minorities to return to their homes after an extended period of time in unsanitary refugee camps.  The government claimed that it was necessary to put into practice an extensive screening process to identify and remove confirmed members of the Tamil Tigers remaining among the Tamil nationals.  The government also claimed that it had to locate and detonate landmines which were possibly strewn about the areas surrounding the camps.

The Sri Lankan military essentially dismantled and defeated the Tamil Tigers in May 2009, putting an end to over forty years of bloodshed which has ravaged the island nation.  However, residual complications from the seemingly tireless struggle continue to plague the civilians of Sri Lanka, which has resulted in myriad human rights issues.  The government’s refusal to allow inquiry into the video represents only a single instance of a lack of cooperation on Sri Lanka’s part to resolve the issues affecting its citizens.

Scrutiny of the execution videos does not show any signs of additional manipulation, suggesting that the footage is indeed authentic.  If so, this one occurrence leaves open the possibility of many more disturbing violations committed with or without judicial consent.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – UN official urges Sri Lanka inquiry – 08 January 2010

Associated Free Press – Sri Lanka faces new charges over war crimes – 07 January 2010

UN – Deeming Sri Lanka execution video authentic… – 07 January 2010