By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– A court in northwest China sentenced a group of Tibetans for their role in anti-government protests which took place earlier this year.  Six monks and two lay people were sentenced to jail terms ranging from six-months to seven years in Qinghai province, a region that is largely ethnically Tibetan and includes the birthplace of exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The eight Tibetans were accused of inciting a mob attack of a police station in a Tibetan town of Rabgya back in March.  The unrest began when a Buddhist monk jumped into the Yellow River to escape police interrogation.  He had hung a Tibetan flag on the roof of his monastery on March 10, which was the anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibetan revolt against the Chinese government, and had distributed anti-government pamphlets.  The Chinese police detained about 100 monks after the violence broke out, and hundreds of Tibetans rioted and attacked the police station.

Monk Palden Gyatso received the harshest sentence, seven years in prison (Source: NYT)

This recent violence resembled the mass protest of March 2008 in Tibetan-populated regions of China, which was the largest anti-government protest by Tibetans in decades.  According to the exiled Tibetan government, the subsequent crackdown by the Chinese government since last year’s riots has led to more than 200 Tibetan deaths.

Local Chinese officials have refused to release any information on the riots which took place this past March, and a court clerk told a news agency that she had no knowledge about the case of the eight Tibetans who were sentenced.  Remaining anonymous, she said, “We don’t know anything about the trial.  Nobody at our court knows.”

However, Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy expressed “its serious concern over Chinese authorities’ manhandling of the case and awarding lengthy prison sentences to what was a mere…exercise of the freedom of expression…guaranteed by the Chinese Constitutions….”  The Centre is urging China to reverse the verdict and ensure fair and free trial to the eight Tibetans.
For more information, please see:

AFP – China court jails eight Tibetans: rights group – 18 August 2009

AP – Report: 8 Tibetans jailed over protests in China – 18 August 2009

Reuters – China sentences 8 Tibetans over protests – activists – 18 August 2009

Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy – China sentences eight Tibetans to varying prison terms in Tibet – 14 August 2009

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TARAKAI, Afghanistan – A group of Taliban fighters made an announcement in a nearby village bazaar a few days ago, threatening to cut off the inked finger of anyone that votes in the upcoming election.

Local villagers told media that they would not participate in the upcoming presidential election. “We can’t vote. Everybody knows it. We are farmers, and we cannot do a thing against the Taliban,” said Hakamatullah, a farmer in the Tarakai area.

The situation is no different in the Pashtun heartland of eastern and southern Afghanistan where the Taliban exert significant authority. There too, many villagers have been warned against going to the polls. Conditions have been so chaotic that many Afghans have been unable to register to vote. The Pashtuns make up about 40 percent of Afghanistan’s population, and doubts regarding their participation are casting a dark cloud over the elections.

The Taliban leadership released the following statement last month with regards to the upcoming election, “Afghans must boycott the deceitful American project and head for the trenches of holy war. The holy warriors have to defeat this evil project, carry out operations against enemy centers, prevent people from participating in elections, and block all major and minor roads before Election Day.” In other released messages since then, Taliban insurgents have been claiming responsibility for the deaths of Hamid Karzai’s and Abdullah Abdullah’s campaign workers.

The U.S. has deployed additional marines to protect the villagers so voting can continue as planned, but local officials are still doubtful, “When you leave here, the Taliban will come at night and ask us why we are talking to you,” a villager named Abdul Razzaq said. “If we don’t cooperate, they will kill us.”

For more information, please see:

CBS – Tension Rises in Afghanistan – August 16  , 2009 

The Australian – Taliban Threat to Afghanistan Election – August 16, 2  009 

The New York Times – Fear of Taliban Discourages Afghan Voters– August 16, 2009

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea– North Korea released Yu Seong-jin, a South Korean employee for Hyundai Asan Corporation, on Thursday after detaining him for 137 days on charges of denouncing North Korea’s political system and persuading a North Korean to defect.

A North Korean official has said, “(Yu) criticized our honorable regime with malignant intention, interfered with the sovereignty of our republic, and committed grave and serious acts that violated relevant law.” 

South Korea and Hyundai Group have been holding negotiations with the North to free Yu for the past two months.  Hyun Jung-eun, the president of Hyundai Group, has actually been in North Korea for the past several days negotiating Yoo’s release with Pyongyang.  Hyundai Group is South Korea’s biggest corporate investor in North Korea.

Yoo Seong-jin talking to reporters following his release (Source: AP)

Yoo was released to South Korean officials in Kaesong, a North Korean town where a joint industrial park is run by the two Koreas, and he has crossed the border and has been reunited with his family.

Inter-Korean relations have been at the lowest point in years since a conservative president was elected in South Korea last year, but Yoo’s release is seen as a sign that the North could be ready to take a more conciliatory approach with its southern neighbor, as well as revive private business ventures between the two countries.  However, the North is still holding four South Korean fishermen who were captured by the North when their boat strayed into North Korean waters two weeks ago.

Accordingly, an analyst at Seoul’s Korea Research Institute for National Unification said, “It is still too early to say that this will lead to a resumption of official dialogue between the two sides.”  The two Koreas have never signed a peace treaty following the Korean War, which ended in 1953, and are technically still at war.
For more information, please see:

BBC – N Korea releases S Korea worker – 13 August 2009

Donga Ilbo – NK Frees Detained S. Korean Worker after 137 Days – 14 August 2009

NYT – South Korean Worker Freed by North – 13 August 2009

 

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand– A Thai judge issued a ruling rejecting extradition of the world’s most notorious weapons dealer, Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death.”  Bout was arrested in 2008 by U.S. agents in a sting operation at a Bangkok hotel. 

In addition to charges for illegal arms trafficking, the U.S. authorities accused Bout of terrorism offenses, including conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals and conspiracy to provide material support to designated terror organizations.

However, the Bangkok Criminal Court ruled Tuesday that Bout’s crimes of selling weapons to Colombia and threatening the lives of U.S. citizens are classified as “political offenses,” and extradition is not allowed for such offenses.  Furthermore, the Thai court said the Thai-U.S. Extradition Treaty does not apply, because Bout’s alleged crimes could not be prosecuted in Thailand and did not involve Thai citizens or Thailand’s national interests.

Viktor Bout holds up the victor sign after U.S. extradition request rejected (Source: Getty Images)

Thai prosecutors filed their intent to appeal with the court today in hopes of delaying freeing Bout, but this court decision has been a victory for the Russian government, which has been working to free Bout since his arrest. The appeal could delay Bout’s release for a few months with a possibility of reversal of Tuesday’s ruling by a higher Thai court.

Michael Braun, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration official who masterminded Bout’s capture, expressed his disbelief saying, “To say I was shocked would be an understatement.”  American Congressman Ed Royce said, “It is unacceptable that this man goes free…Something is rotten in Bangkok,” while the U.S. Justice Department also released a written statement saying they are “disappointed.” 

Bout has denied any wrongdoing and has never been tried although he is subject to UN sanctions.  Vanda Falbab-Brown of Brookings Institution explained that “Bout has knowledge of Russia’s military and underworld,” and if Bout were to testify in a U.S. court, this “would make a lot of people in Russia uncomfortable”

Bout is reported to have begun building his arms business in the early 1990’s and have shipped arms to various conflict zones from Sierra Leone to Afghanistan.

For more information, please see:

ABC – Ruling Could Free ‘Merchant of Death’ – 13 August 2009

CNN – Thai court rejects U.S. extradition request for ‘Merchant of Death’ – 11 August 2009

Los Angeles Times – Thailand won’t extradite Russian arms dealer to U.S. – 12 August 2009

Ria Novosti – Thai prosecutors to appeal Bout extradition case in higher court – 13 August 2009

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar– Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel laureate and democratic leader, was convicted for violating her house arrest by allowing an uninvited American man into her residence.  Suu Kyi had denied the charge claiming that the man had swam across a lake into her home, but the Myanmar court ordered Suu Kyi to serve another 18-month sentence of house arrest.

Aung San Suu Kyi (Source: AFP)

Human rights activists are calling this verdict politically motivated and that the decision is an example of Myanmar military government’s abuse of power.  Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch said, “This trial was a farce, a brutal distortion of the legal process.  By silencing prominent opponents through bogus trials, the generals are clearly showing why the elections they have been touting for next year won’t bring change.” Adams’ organization is demanding Suu Kyi’s immediate and unconditional release.

Human Rights Watch is also urging Myanmar’s allies and trade partners to denounce Suu Kyi’s guilty verdict and impose financial sanctions against Myanmar’s military leadership, in addition to asking the UN Security Council to take measures condemning the country’s military leaders.

Furthermore, world leaders have expressed their disgust and disapproval.  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he “deplores” the verdict, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the verdict “monstrous,” and French President Nicolas Sarkozy referred to the verdict as “brutal and unjust,” while U.S. President Barack Obama described Suu Kyi’s trial as “a show trial.”

Young girl at a demonstration supporting Suu Kyi (Source: AFP)

Suu Kyi’s trial was closed to the public, and foreign diplomats and the press were only allowed to observe on a few occasions.  Criminal trials of political prisoners in Myanmar do not meet international standards.  Myanmar judges are not independent and the defense is not given sufficient opportunity to present its case.

Suu Kyi has told her defense team to proceed with an appeal, and her lawyers filed a petition with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights claiming that Suu Kyi is being arbitrarily detained in violation of international human rights law.

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi Verdict ‘Reprehensible’ – 11 August 2009

MSNBC – Myanmar court convicts Nobel laureate Suu Kyi – 11 August 2009

UPI – Rights group: Suu Kyi verdict power abuse – 11 August 2009