By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

Pyongyang, North Korea – Two detained US reporters last month will face trial in North Korean.  North Korean government will charge Euna Lee and Laura Ling for illegal entry and “hostile acts”, the country’s state-run news agency says. The two reporters were working on a story about North Koreans who flee the closed country to make a better living in China.

“The illegal entry of US reporters into the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and their suspected hostile acts have been confirmed by evidence and their statements,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.  The KCNA is preparing for indictments and a trial. It is also being reported that two reporters will be allowed consular access and will be treated in accordance with international law.

US government continues to work on this matter through diplomatic channels, according to an unnamed senior White House official.  “We have seen the brief North Korean press report (on the trial), and we have no higher priority than the protection of American citizens abroad”, the official says.

The detentions come in the middle of growing tension in the region as North Korea launched its satellite.  The North Korean government insists that the rocket is designed to put a communications satellite into orbit.  However, the international community believes it may be a test of a far-ranging military missile.  Some reports say that Laura Ling and Euna Lee’s fate may depend on missile launch diplomacy between North Korea and US.
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The use of the language “hostile acts” in the North Korea’ statements statement could means espionage.  Espionage convictions come with severe penalties, such as five to 10 years, or longer, in prison.

For more information, please see:

BBC – US reporters face N Korea trial – 31 March 2009

Bloomberg – North Korea Prepares to Indict U.S. Reporters Held at Border – 30 March 2009

CNN – Report: North Korea planning to put American reporters on trial – 31 March 2009

People – Fate of Lisa Ling’s Sister Linked to Missile Launch Diplomacy – 03 April 2009

Wall Street Journal – Arrest of U.S. Reporters Adds to the Tension – 06 April 2009

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan President Karzei has reportedly signed a law authorizing the rape of women and prohibits women to leave the home without a male relative.

The law legalizes a husband to rape his wife by not allowing her to refuse sex.  It also would legalize the marriage of girls from the age of nine and force a woman to wear makeup at the demand of her husband.  The new law applies only to minority Shi’ite family law, which makes up 15 percent of the population.

Legislator Sayed Hussain Alem Balkhi defends the new law, stating that the new civil law offers more freedoms.  “This bill stipulates lots of leniencies compared to the civic laws that have been around for 40 years.  For example, (under the new law) a Shi’ite woman can seek divorce if her husband is not able to feed her or he disappears for a long time.”  He further said, “A shi’ite woman can go out for medical treatment, to see her parents without the permission of her husband, while this freedom is not enshrined in the civic law.”

Critics claim that President Karzei signed the legislation in an effort to gain Shia votes in the upcoming election on August 20.  More significantly, they believe that the passage of the law is a step backwards in the progress towards democracy.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that the law was a “clear indication that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is getting worse not better.”

Women’s rights have vastly improved since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.  Under that regime, women were not allowed to work, attend school or leave the home without a male relative.

The United States has expressed concern about the new law.  State Department spokesman Robert Wood said, “We urge President Karzei to review the law’s legal statute to correct provisions of the law that limit or restrict women’s rights.”

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Critics Assail Afghan Law that “Legalizes Rape” – 2 April 2009

CNN – New Afghan Law Might Legalize Rape – 2 April 2009

Reuters – Law for Shi’ites Stirs Anger and Concern – 2 April 2009

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

North Korea – A report presented by Vitit Muntarbhorn, a United Nations envoy to North Korea, states a “broad range of egregious human rights violations” in the country.  He accused North Korean authorities of committing widespread torture in prisons.  “Life in the reclusive communist-ruled country is ‘dire and desperate’,” said Vitit Muntarbhorn.

In addition, he claimed about almost 7 million North Koreans have not received the food assistance. Muntarbhorn criticized North Korean government for using access to food as a method of controlling its population.  In December, the UN World Food Programme estimated that approximately 40 percent of North Korea’s population, or 8.7 million people, would need food assistance in 2008 due to a deficit in domestic cereal production.

“The abhorrent prison conditions, including lack of food, poor hygiene, freezing conditions in winter time, forced labor and corporal punishment, result in a myriad of abuses and deprivations,” Muntarbhorn wrote in his report.

Muntarbhorn never gained entry to North Korea, but he has been investigated North Korea for years.  He often consulted with U.N. agencies working in North Korea and human rights groups outside.  In preparing his report, he also spoke with North Korean refugees in South Korea, Japan and Mongolia.

North Korea rejected the report, saying it was filled with “fabrications and distortions.” Sang Il Hun, a North Korea representative to the U.N. Human Rights Council, said the report was a politically motivated attack on the country, and that North Korea adequately protects human rights.

For more information, please see:

AFP – 6.9 million North Koreans lack food aid: UN expert – 16 March 2009

AP – UN expert: North Korea commits widespread torture – 16 March 2009

Bloomberg – North Korean Human Rights ‘Dire and Desperate,’ UN Envoy Says – 16 March 2009

Bloomberg – North Koreans Lacking Food Aid Total Almost 7 Million, AFP Says – 16 March 2009

Jurist – UN rights investigator cites North Korea for ‘egregious’ violations – 16 March 2009

Reuters – Life in N.Korea dire and desperate, U.N. forum told – 16 March 2009