By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – The detained Myanmar opposition leader, Aung San Sun Kyi, missed a scheduled meeting with a United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari.  Mr. Gambari, a UN representative on a five-day mission to push for reconciliation between opposition groups and the military, which has ruled Myanmar since 1962.  He met briefly Wednesday with top leaders from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, but his planned meeting with Aung San Sun Kyi did not take place.  Nyan Win, a spokesman for her National League for Democracy, said he did not know why Aung San Sun Kyi did not go, but added, the reason could be that Suu Kyi is not satisfied with the present condition during this visit of Mr. Gambari.  Nyan Win also expressed his concern about Aung San Sun Kyi’s health.

Suu Kyi, who has been confined without trial for more than 12 of the past 19 years, was suffering from low blood pressure and was unable to leave her bed, Japan’s Nikkei news agency reported.  In September 2003, Suu Kyi also underwent gynecological surgery, and was hospitalized in 2006 for a stomach ailment.  The junta stopped allowing her physician to visit her home for monthly medical checkups earlier this year, National League for Democracy member Soe Aung said.

For more information, please:

AFP – UN envoy meets Suu Kyi’s party, but fails to see her – 20 August 2008

Bloomberg – Myanmar Opposition Concerned About Aung San Suu Kyi’s Health – 20 August 2008

New York Times – Myanmar: Opposition Leader Misses U.N. Meeting – 20 August 2008

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MORANG, Nepal – Sumitra Khawas was detained at Area Police Office (APO) of Belbari in the Morang district on September 9^th for allegedly murdering her husband. Sumitra disclosed to a Nepalese human rights organization, Advocacy Forum (AF), about her abuse in the hands of police officers.

Sumitra told AF lawyers and activists that she was forced to strip naked for prolonged periods of time.  Then, she was repeatedly beaten by punches, and threatened with poisonous lizards to be dropped in her clothes. She said the interrogation lasted about two hours while police tried to get Sumitra to sign a confession for her husband’s murder. Sumitra refused. She recalled three perpetrators, two men and one woman, who were police officers at APO.

AF lawyers wrote letters to government officials, including the Ministry of Justice, to request the transfer of Sumitra from the APO of Belbari. However, AF received no response. When human rights groups tried to visit Sumitra in prison, police officers threatened them by reportedly saying they would “get beat up by the locals.”

As of date, Sumitra is still in police custody at APO. She told AF lawyers that she has received threats, but she has not been tortured since her initial detention. AF lawyers are currently working on Sumitra’s appeal.

Torture is a widespread problem in Nepal. Human Rights Watch and various NGOs have reported of Nepal’s police brutality and the sexual assault of women during their arrests by police officers.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Nepal: Torture of Woman Included Threat to Put Poisonous Lizards in her Clothes – 24 September 2008

Asian Human Rights Commission – A Woman Torture Victim Faces Threats by Police After Disclosing Her Torture Incident – 22 September 2008

Jurist – HRW: Nepal Must ‘Vigorously’ Investigate Human Rights Abuses – 12 September 2008

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – On October 14th, Khem Ngoun, a key Khmer Rouge official,  and four others were convicted of kidnapping and murdering Christopher Howes, a British mine clearing expert for Mines Advisory Group (MAG).

Christopher Howes worked in a mine-clearance operation near the town of Siem Reap, Cambodia, 12 years ago. Ngoun was largely regarded as being responsible for the kidnapping and execution of Howes. The Khmer Rouge ambushed Howes’ team, held 20 miners hostage, and demanded ransom money from Howes and his interpreter, Houn Hourth. Howes refused and was taken back to the main Khmer Rouge camp where Ngoun ordered his execution. The 20 miners were later released or escaped. Howes and Hourth were often seen as heroes, sacrificing their lives for their colleagues.

Ngoun was the right-hand man to the military chief of the Khmer Rouge. After the regime disbanded, many high-ranking officials sought high-ranking posts in military and civilian life. At the time leading up to Ngoun’s arrest he was free of harassment and worked as a military advisor to a general of the Cambodian army.

The Khmer Rouge tribunal has been criticized for being slowing in bring justice to the 1.7 million people that were killed and tortured under the Khmer Rouge regime. However, the director of MAG’s Cambodian office, Rupert Leighton said of conviction of Ngoun, “I think it’s very important for the Cambodian justice system in as much as it’s proof that justice can be done despite lengthy periods between crime and court.” He further added, “I think it’s also a good signal for the [Khmer Rouge] tribunal, and a healthy sign for the justice system in Cambodia.”

For more information, please see:

BBC – Past Catches Up with Khmer Rouge Killer – 14 October 2008

NY Times – Cambodia: 4 Convicted in 1996 Killings – 14 October 2008

The Phnom Penh Post – Verdict due on KRouge’s 1996 slaying of deminer, interpreter – 14 October 2008

By:  Lindsey Brady
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor – News

Two elderly women, Ms. Wu (79 years old) and Ms. Wang (77 years old) were notified this past Monday that they had been sentenced to “re-education through labor” for a period of one year.  The two women had been seeking permits to hold demonstrations in one of China’s newly designated protest areas.  It was their fifth visit to the police when they were told they had been given the administrative punishment for their acts of “disturbing the public order.”

Ms. Wu and Ms. Wang had been neighbors in Beijing before their homes were destroyed to make way for China’s redevelopment project.  Despite agreeing to the move on the premise that they would have a new home built for them, six years later both women are living in rundown apartments on the outskirts of Beijing.  The Chinese government announced in July that three city parks would serve as protest areas while the Olympics were in Beijing but so far no demonstrations have taken place and no applications for demonstrations have been approved.  Ms. Wu and Ms. Wang wanted to use one of these protest areas to fight what they view as unjust compensation for the demolition of their homes.

Ms. Wu and Ms. Wang are not the only applicants who have faced what human rights advocates view as unjust treatment.  It has been reported that two Chinese advocates were seized from a Public Security Bureau’s protest application office and have not been heard of since.  Ms. Wang’s son, Mr. Li, has attempted to apply for a permit since his mother’s sentencing but has not even been allowed the opportunity to fill out the required forms.  Human Rights advocates have been criticizing the use of administrative sentences such as “re-education through labor” because they are handed down without a trial or option of appeal.  Similar punishments have been handed out to Chinese citizens caught taking pictures of schools destroyed during the earthquake in China and believe government corruption led to the school’s faulty construction.

For more information, please see:

New York Times – Two Women Sentenced to “Re-Education” in China – 20 August 2008

Canadian Press – 2 Chinese Sentenced to Labour Camp – 20 August 2008

AFP – China Detains Six US Pro-Tibet Activists at Olympics – 20 August 2008

Impunity Watch – A Pre-Olympic Look at China’s HR Record; Pakistan’s Taliban Threatens Women with Acid; Sri Lankan Government Accused of Allowing Serious Human Rights Violations to Continue – 04 August 2008

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – In an annual report on human rights worldwide, Amnesty International urged China to “live up to the human rights promises it made around the Olympic.”  The report criticized China for shipping weapons to Sudan in defiance of a U.N. arms embargo and traded with abusive governments like Myanmar and Zimbabwe. “The Chinese government has too often pursued resources to fuel its growing economy at the expense of human rights, seeking relationships with oil- or mineral-rich countries such as Sudan, Myanmar and Zimbabwe”, Amnesty said.

The report also criticized China’s expansion of the “re-education through labor” program, which allows the government to arrest people and sentence them to a manual labor without trial.  Moreover, the organization condemned the crackdown on Tibetan protests. The Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile says more than 200 people have been killed since the protests erupted on March 10.  “Freedom of religion, expression and association for Tibetans continues to be severely restricted”, Amnesty said, “and peaceful expression of support for the Dalai Lama is harshly punished”.

China has rejected previous such reports. It says its human rights record has improved in recent years.

For more information, please see:

AP- Amnesty International condemns US, China in report – 28 May 2008

Bloomberg – Amnesty Accuses U.S., China, Russia of Rights Abuses – 28 May 2008

CNN – China, Russia, U.S. focus of human rights report – 28 May 2008