PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The Khmer Rouge Tribunal adjourned a preliminary hearing for Khieu Samphan because his lawyer, Jacques Verges, erupted at the tribunal judges after learning his documents had not been translated into French.

Jacques Verges left the courtroom telling reporters that the judges had recommended to Khieu Samphan to find a new lawyer. He also told reporters, “French is an official language of the tribunal. There is not one page of the case file against Mr. Khieu Samphan translated into French. I should be capable of knowing what my client is blamed for. He continued by saying, “This is a scandal! This never happens except in dictatorships!”

The tribunal judges later said they would issue a warning to Jacques Verges for causing a postponement of the hearing.

Jacques Verges is famous for his legal work involving Gestapo officer Klaus Barbie, the Venezuelan terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal, the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, and the confessed serial killer Charles Sobhraj.

For more information, please see:

International Herald Tribune – Attorney for Khmer Rouge Head of State Scolds Judges – 23 April 2008

By Elizabeth Breslin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Returning home from a church service on Sunday, priest and human rights activist Reverend M.X. Karunaratnam was killed by a roadside bomb in a rebel-controlled territory of Sri Lanka.  Rebels claim that a government bomb killed Karunaratnam, while the government denies any involvement.

Karunaratnam was the leader of North East Secretariat on Human Rights, a rights group focused on the rights of ethnic Tamils.  For this reason, many ethnic Tamils believe that the government targeted him specifically.  There are numerous reports which state that the bomb was in fact planted by Sri Lankan Army’s Deep Penetration Unit.

This incident preceded recent criticisms of the Sri Lankan government by international legal group International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP).  IIGEP was formed in 2007 to oversee an inquiry into 16 human rights violation cases in Sri Lanka; it includes members from the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and other countries.  On Tuesday, the group announced that the Sri Lankan government had not been meeting the IIGEP’s requests and lacked the political will to investigate rights abuses.  Instead of acting on their recommendations, the government had been disrespectful toward the IIGEP and was accusing it of purposely failing in its job by pushing an “international agenda” in an effort to force a United Nations rights monitoring mission on the country.

Reverend Karunaratnam perhaps understood the IIGEP’s frustration when issuing his last report on April 5th, stating: “The local [Sri Lankan] mechanism to ensure good governance with respect for human rights has miserably failed and there is widespread call for the establishment of a UN body to monitor human rights violations.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Foreign experts step up human rights criticism of Sri Lanka – 22 April 2008

Tamil Sydney – Genocide: Sri Lanka Silences Yet Another Human Rights Activist– 23 April 2008

USA Today – Prominent priest killed in Sri Lanka blast – 21 April 2008

Xinhua News – Human rights panel denies int’l plot to discredit Sri Lanka – 23 April 2008

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek police raided the community center of Labrys, an organization which supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Kyrgyzstan, on April 8th.  Without a warrant, three police officers forced their way into the building, which also serves as a shelter for LGBT people and women suffering from domestic violence.

According to Labrys staff, they looked through private files and demanded to see documents regarding Labrys’ registration, statutes, and rent statements.  The officers threatened to arrest those present if they did not fully cooperate.  The police chief eventually joined the officers and said that the only way they would leave was if Labrys staff sent them copies of administrative and financial documents the next day, so Labrys staff agreed.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a statement last week demanding that the Kyrgyz police stop harassing the gay community.  According to Scott Long of the HRW LGBT Rights Program: “Police should protect organizations defending human rights, not use their power to harass and intimidate them. The raid sends a chilling message to anyone marginalized or stigmatized.”

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Kyrgyzstan: Halt Anti-Gay Raids – 17 April 2008

BEIJING, China – Demonstrations against French supermarkets and western medias rocked China on Sunday.  Thousands of protesters gathered outside the Carrefour in several Chinese cities, sang the national anthem and waved the Chinese flag.  Some protesters have been calling for a boycott of the French store Carrefour, which has more than 100 outlets in China. The boycott comes after pro-Tibet demonstrators attacked a Chinese amputee athlete in a wheelchair who was bearing the torch in Paris and the city council raised a banner on City Hall that read, “Paris defends human rights all over the world.”  The authorities maintained a heavy police presence but did not interfere with the demonstrators, according to wire service reports.

The Chinese government has called on citizens to temper their fury at the West in recent days.  The state-run newspapers urged Chinese not to launch a boycott campaign against French goods and to express their patriotic enthusiasm calmly and rationally and express patriotic aspiration in an orderly and legal manner. Still, many are ignoring the government’s call for calm. Beijing police reportedly turned away a small group of demonstrators outside the French embassy.

The protesters also expressed their anger about what they see as biased reporting of unrest in Tibet by Western medias especially CNN and BBC.  Demonstrators carried banners saying, “Oppose Tibet Independence” and “Condemn CNN,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Protests are occurring beyond China’s borders.  In Paris, several thousand protesters gathered in the Place de la Republique.  Many wore T-shirts bearing the slogan “Let’s make the Olympics a bridge, not a wall”, reported the AP news agency. Thousands Chinese gathered outside the CNN’s bureau in Los Angeles demanding that Jack Cafferty apologize and be fired from the network over comments critical of China and the U.S. government’s relationship with it.  Jack Cafferty, a commentator on CNN’s “Situation Room” program, used the term “goons and thugs” while comparing the current conditions in China and 50 years ago.

For more information, please see:

AP – China urges calm after anti-Western demonstrations – 21 April 2008

BBC – Anti-French rallies across China – 21 April 2008

CNN – China protests target CNN, French store – 21 April 2008

CNN – CNN commentator’s comments draw protests – 21 April 2008

New York Times – Protests of the West Spread in China – 21 April 2008

Time – China Frowns on Patriotic Protests – 21 April 2008

Washington Post – China seeks to contain patriotic outbursts – 20 April 2008

BEIJING, China – Hu Jia, a prominent human rights activist and dissident, was denied a chance to appeal his 3.5 year sentence because prison guards prevented his lawyer from meeting with him.

Li Fangping, Hu Jia’s lawyer, said he went to the detention center on Monday to discuss Hu Jia’s final decision on whether to appeal. Li Fangping said he waited for several hours because guards would not allow him to see Hu Jia. After waiting, he decided to draft a motion for appeal that required Hu Jia’s signature. However, prison guards refused to give it to Hu Jia.

Hu Jia was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for inciting subversion. The charges were largely based on a blog he contributed to that provided information about other dissidents and social problems. Specifically, he wrote a series of essays that criticized the country’s human rights record.

For more information, please see:

Impunity Watch – UPDATE: Hu Jia, Chinese Dissident, Sentenced to 3.5 Years for Subversion – 3 April 2008

International Herald Tribune – Chinese Rights Activist Loses Chance to Appeal –18 April 2008