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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

LONDON, England –

Amnesty International released a report this week stating that the worldwide execution rate is currently at its highest point since 1989. More than 20,000 people remain on death row worldwide.

The report noted that at least 1,634 people were executed in 2015, more than a 50 percent increase since 2014. Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty accounted for 89% of the executions. That figure excludes China, where most execution records are kept secret.

Amnesty stated in its report that China remains the country with the highest execution rate, with thousands put to death or sentenced to death in 2015. It was unable to give an exact estimate of the number of executions due to the secrecy surrounding the death penalty in China. It also stated that there were signs that China’s use of the death penalty had actually decreased in recent years, but that again, it was impossible to confirm for certain.

Pakistan executed 326 people in 2015. The country had continued a “state-sanctioned killing spree”, according to Amnesty, which followed a lifted moratorium on civilian executions in 2014. The report cited an attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, as prompting the government’s resumption of executions in 2014. The moratorium was initially lifted for any charged with terrorism-related crimes, but was subsequently lifted for perpetrators of all capital crimes.

Amnesty’s report did note, however, that most countries have fully abolished the death penalty from their criminal justice system and that countries using the death penalty are now in the minority. It stated that 102 countries had abolished use of the death penalty by the end of 2015, with four countries eliminating the death penalty during 2015. In comparison, only 60 countries had abolished use of the death penalty by year-end in 1996.

Amnesty also named Saudi Arabia, the United States, Iraq, Somalia, and Egypt on its list of countries with the highest execution rates, among others.

In a statement accompanying its report, Amnesty said that the death penalty breaches the right to life and the right live free from torture, both fundamental human rights under he United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN in 1948.

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Report Finds ‘Alarming Rise’ in Executions in 2015 – 6 April 2016

BBC News – Amnesty Highlights ‘Disturbing Rise’ in Global Executions – 6 April 2016

International Business Times – Amnesty Documents ‘Dramatic’ Rise in Global Executions in 2015 – 6 April 2016

Voice of America – Amnesty: ‘Disturbing’ Rise in Executions Worldwide in 2015 – 6 April 2016

 

 

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

HANOI, Vietnam – 

A blogger and his assistant, Nguyen Huu Vinh and Minh Thuy, were charged with publishing anti-state articles in a Vietnamese court last week. Mr. Vinh, who was previously connected to Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party as a police officer, received a five year prison sentence. His assistant, Ms. Thuy, received a three year sentence.

Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy had been detained and imprisoned since 2014. Mr. Vinh’s wife states that his health has declined during his detention.

The trial for Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy lasted only one day. A number of protesters gathered outside of the court to call for the bloggers’ release, chanting “innocent”, according to Associated Press.

Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy were charged for posting articles on a blog called “Ba Sam”, which drew millions of viewers. Mr. Vinh started the blog in 2007, with the aim of educating readers by exposing them to news coming from a variety of perspectives.

The blog published news and commentary from a number of contributors on political, social, and economic issues. The indictment against Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy listed 24 articles that contain “untruthful and baseless content” and that distort the state’s policy.

Judge Nguyen Van Pho of the People’s Court of Hanoi, where Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy underwent trial, claims that the posted articles “distort the lines and policies of the party and law of the state”, according to BBC News. Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy’s lawyers state that there is no evidence against them, and both Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy maintain that they are innocent. Ms. Thuy says that she does not know who wrote or posted the articles on Ba Sam.

While Vietnam is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a prominent human rights treaty that protects expression critical of government and leaders, it continues to weather criticism for its crackdown on dissent.

Vietnam’s only political party is the Communist Party, and its government disapproves of dissent that questions the Communist Party. Media is especially heavily monitored by authorities, because the internet has increasingly become a forum for criticism of the government.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the U.S. State Department’s embassy in Hanoi have all called for Vietnam’s authorities to drop the charges against Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy.

 

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Vietnam Sentences Prominent Blogger for Anti-State Posts – 23 March 2016

BBC News – Vietnam bloggers: Nguyen Huu Vinh and Minh Thuy Jailed – 23 March 2016

Humanrights.gov – Vietnamese Government’s Decision to Convict Bloggers Nguyen Huu Vingh and Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy – 23 March 2016

Human Rights Watch – Vietnam: Drop Charges Against Prominent Bloggers – 22 March 2016

 

 

 

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan –

At least 72 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Lahore, Pakistan on Sunday. Over 300 people were wounded in the blast. The bombing occurred in Gulshan Iqbal Park, a public park, where Christian families had gathered to celebrate Easter.

Jamaat-e-Ahrar, a splinter cell of the Pakistani Taliban, has taken responsibility for the bombing. Spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan released a statement confirming that Christians had been the target of the blast. Pakistani officials deny that Christians were the target of the attack, however, and many of those killed were Muslims. Jamat-e-Ahrar has declared that there are more attacks to come, with a warning that Pakistani media may be the next target.

Mr. Ehsan also said in his statement that the bombing was a message to the government that it cannot deter Jamaat-e-Ahrar even in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province. Lahore is the hometown of Pakistan’s prime minster, Nawaz Sharif. According to BBC, Mr. Ehsan referred to Mr. Sharif in his statement, saying that the war had “reached his doorstep.”

Law enforcement officials and army and intelligence forces in Punjab have begun a formal investigation into the bombing. Over 5,000 people have already been detained and questioned as part of the investigation, and any suspected terrorists have been arrested. 216 suspects remain in custody at this time.

Security forces have also begun raids to seize weapons and ammunition in Lahore and two other cities. Reports say that Pakistan’s military is working to begin a new crackdown in Punjab as well.

There have been two other bombings in Pakistan this month. One attack, a suicide bombing at a court building earlier in the month was also carried out by Jamaat-e-Ahrar. Dozens of other attacks have also occurred during recent years, including a bombing that killed around 80 people in 2013 and a school massacre that killed 134 students in 2014.

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Pakistan Conducts Sweeping Raids After Lahore Bombing – 29 March 2016

BBC – Lahore Attack: Pakistan ‘Detains 200’ After Easter Blast – 29 March 2016

CNN – Pakistan Bombing: Suspects, Arms Seized After Attack on Christians Kills 72 – 28 March 2016

The New York Times – Blast at a Crowded Park in Lahore, Pakistan, Kills Dozens – 27 March 2016