By Christine Khamis

 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan –

Unidentified assailants gunned down a Pakistani rights activist in a drive-by shooting on Saturday in Karachi. The activist, Khurram Zaki, was known for his fight against the Taliban as well as Sunni extremist groups.

Mr. Zaki was gunned down at a restaurant while meeting with a friend by attackers on motorbikes. Two other people were wounded during the attack.

A splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the shooting. Police say, however, that they are unable to verify whether the faction, known as the Hakeemullah Group, is behind the attack. The group has falsely taken responsibility for other attacks in the past.

A former journalist, Mr. Zaki was a blogger and editor for Let Us Build Pakistan, a pro-Shiite blog that supports democratic values.

He was especially well known for his campaign against Abdul Aziz, the head cleric of the Lal Masjid, a prominent Sunni extremist mosque. Mr. Zaki and other activists protested outside of the mosque after Mr. Aziz refused to denounce an attack on a school in Peshawar in 2014. 152 people, most of them schoolchildren, were killed in the attack. Mr. Zaki and the other activists then filed a lawsuit against Mr. Aziz for incitement to hatred and violence against the Shiites.

Mr. Zaki is the third human rights activist to be killed in Karachi since 2013. Another influential activist as well as a human rights lawyer were also attacked and killed by extremist groups. Asad Iqbal Butt, from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, says that such groups have begun to target activists who campaign against social and religious injustice and intolerance.

Colleagues of Mr. Zaki released a statement in which they pledged to continue to stand up to militant groups.

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Activist Khurram Zaki killed in Pakistan’s Karachi – 8 May 2016

BBC – Pakistani Activist Khurram Zaki Murdered in Karachi – 8 May 2016

The New York Times – Pakistani Rights Activist Is Shot and Killed in Karachi – 8 May 2016

Voice of America – Pakistan Rights Activist Killed in Karachi – 8 May 2016

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

JAKARTA, Indonesia –

Indonesia’s security minister has announced that its government will not launch a criminal investigation into anti-Communist purges that occurred in the country during the mid-1960s. The Indonesian government plans to address atrocities committed during the period in some way, but no definitive cause of action has been decided upon at this point.

A symposium was held on Monday to address the purges, where Luhut B. Pandjaitan, coordinating minister for political, legal, and security affairs, announced that the government would not initiate a criminal investigation. Mr. Luhut said that Indonesia’s government would instead attempt to answer questions about the purge over time. Mr. Luhut also stated at the symposium that the government would be open to official complaints from survivors of the purges. However, the government has no plans to issue a formal apology to victims.

Hundreds of thousands of people were killed during the purges, which occurred from 1965-1966. The purges were set off by a quashed uprising within Indonesia’s armed forces. Authorities claimed the Indonesian Communist Party had orchestrated the uprising. Soldiers, military-backed civilians, paramilitary, and religious groups carried out the purges, killing at least 500,000 people, including many who had no ties to Communism.

Many survivors of the purges were imprisoned without trial for years. Descendants of Communist Party members are stigmatized in Indonesia’s society and are prohibited from holding government jobs, including police and military positions.

Indonesia’s government has yet to formally acknowledge the purges, which many historians consider one of the worst mass atrocities to occur in the 20^th century. Official government policy on the matter at this time is that the killings were justified to prevent a Communist takeover and that the death toll estimates may not be accurate. This week’s symposium is the first time that the government has engaged in a public discussion of the purges.

The National Commission on Human Rights, an independent body separate from Indonesia’s government, urged the government to initiate a criminal investigation in 2012 after declaring that the purges had violated human rights. The government failed to initiate the criminal investigation.

 

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Indonesia Takes Step Toward Reckoning With ’65-66 Atrocities – 18 April 2016

Newsweek – Indonesia Allows Talk of 1965 Anti-Communist Purge That Left Half a Million Dead – 18 April 2016

The New York Times – Indonesia Rules Out Criminal Inquiry of Anti-Communist Purges – 18 April 2016

South China Morning Post – Indonesia Vows to Resolve ‘Dark History’ Around 1965-66 Anti-Communist Massacre but Rules Out Formal Apology – 18 April 2016

 

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

DHAKA, Bangladesh –

A prominent magazine editor was arrested in Bangladesh on Saturday for his alleged involvement in a plot to kill the son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The editor, Shafik Rehman, is only one of several journalists facing criminal proceedings in Bangladesh at this time.

Mr. Rehman was arrested at his home by police officers and has been placed on a five-day police remand for interrogation. Police state that Mr. Rehman is being held due to the discovery of evidence that links him to the conspiracy to kill Mr. Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed.

Mr. Rehman runs a monthly magazine called Mouchake Dhil. He may have been detained due to his ties with the opposition political party, the Bangladesh Nationalist party. Khaleda Zia, former prime minister and the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has demanded Mr. Rehman’s release. Mr. Rehman was Mr. Zia’s speech writer during his term as prime minister.

Before Mr. Rehman’s detainment, he had also been working with the Bangladesh National party’s international affairs committee and had recently begun to organize a pro-opposition think tank as well.

Mr. Rehman is the third pro-opposition editor to be detained by police since 2013. The others, editors of Bengali and English newspapers, were detained for crimes similar to Mr. Rehman’s alleged crime. Both face criminal prosecution for a number of alleged crimes, including dozens of counts of defamation and sedition.

Journalists and local civic groups have noted the Bangladeshi government’s increasing crackdown on dissent. That crackdown has occurred amidst a series of killings of bloggers and publishers by Islamist extremist groups.

 

For more information, please see:

Dhaka Tribune – Minister: Shafik Rehman Arrested On Specific Charge – 17 April 2016

BBC – Senior Bangladesh Editor Shafik Rehman Is Arrested – 16 April 2016

The Indian Express – Bangladesh: 81-year-old Magazine Editor Arrested For Sedition – 16 April 2016

The New York Times – Bangladesh Editor, 81, Is Accused in Plot to Kill Leader’s Son – 16 April 2016

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

NEW DELHI, India –

Police in India’s Kerala state have arrested 13 people in connection with the fireworks explosion that killed over 100 people at a temple last week. Nearly 400 people were also injured during the explosion.

Five of the detainees are officials at the Puttingal temple, where the explosion occurred during a celebration of the Hindu new year. A spark from one of the fireworks ignited the rest of the fireworks that the temple had obtained. Many temple-goers were trapped inside the temple as the explosion caused the temple to catch on fire and collapse.

Many of the deaths occurred when the temple collapsed. Chunks of concrete falling from above crushed a number of people, and many more were trapped in the debris. Some people were also injured in a stampede following the blast. Rescue efforts were slowed by emergency workers’ late arrival and a power outage in the area.

Authorities had previously denied the temple permission to host the display. The temple decided to go ahead with the display after being pressured by the crowds gathered to celebrate the new year.

Formal judicial and criminal investigations are ongoing. Several of the temple’s officials turned themselves in to police and are being investigated for violations including culpable homicide, illegal storage of fireworks, and violation of an authority’s orders. They are expected to be formally charged in court later this week. Several other individuals, including contractors in charge of the fireworks display, are also being questioned in connection with the explosion.

The High Court of Kerala has issued an order banning noise-generating fireworks at places of worship during the nighttime hours and banning heavy-duty explosives in fireworks displays altogether.

Following the explosion, Kerala’s Home Minister, Ramesh Chennithala, stated that the government will compensate families of those killed or injured in the blast. Prime Minister Narendra Modi then announced a compensation package for the families of the dead and injured, which will be covered by the government’s Disaster Management Fund.

 

For more information, please see:

The Indian Express – Kollam Temple Fire: From the Initial Spark to the Arrests – How It All Unfolded – 12 April 2016

The New York Times – 13 Arrested in Connection With Fireworks Explosion at Temple in India – 12 April 2016

Time – Five Surrender to Police Over Indian Temple Fire – 12 April 2016

BBC News – Puttingal Temple: Five Detained Over India Fireworks Blast – 11 April 2016.

The Guardian – Five Arrests Over Deadly Fireworks Explosion at Indian Temple – 11 April 2016

 

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar –

Myanmar has released 69 student activists from prison. A town court dropped all charges against the activists, who were detained for over a year after protesting educational reforms last March. An additional 30 students are still being held on bail for similar charges.

The student activists had gathered in Letpadan, a town in central Myanmar, to protest against a law restricting academic freedom. Police used violent force to break up the protests, and many of the students were charged with unlawful assembly and rioting.

The students’ release came soon after Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kii, promised to release all political prisoners in the country. Ms. Suu Kyi has taken on a parliament-created role of state adviser within Myanmar’s government, which will give her a great deal of influence over the country’s affairs. Her first statement as state adviser highlighted her pledge to release all political prisoners, many of whom were arrested prior to Myanmar’s democratic elections late last year.

Around 400 political prisoners remain in prison at this time, and Ms. Suu Kyi has stated that the release of those prisoners has been delayed by necessary legal processes. The remaining political prisoners are set to be released after the Burmese New Year holiday, which ends next week.

Amnesty International has called for Myanmar to release all remaining prisoners of conscience and to ensure reform of laws that violate civil rights including freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly.

In late March, Amnesty published a report on Myanmar emphasizing authorities’ use of laws to silent dissent and to imprison human rights activists. It described such laws and their enforcement as “creating a climate of fear among human rights defenders and other activists in the country.”

Myanmar’s previous government, which was military-run, routinely jailed dissidents. Ms. Suu Kyi herself spent 15 years under house arrest, and several members in her new government are also former political prisoners.

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Myanmar: New Suu Kyi Government Releases 69 Prisoners – 8 April 2016

Amnesty International – Release of Student Leader in Myanmar Must Lead to More Reform – 8 April 2016

BBC News – Myanmar Court Frees Dozens of Student Activists – 8 April 2016

The New York Times – Myanmar Releases Dozens of Student Activists From Jail – 8 April 2016