By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

NEW DELHI, India –

A journalist in eastern India has been arrested for posting a social media post that criticized police and called for legal protections for reporters.

The journalist, Prabhat Singh, has been accused of circulating obscene material. Mr. Singh appeared in court this past week, where he claimed that he had been beaten while in police detainment. His lawyer has also stated that he was denied food while in custody. Mr. Singh requested bail, but the court denied his request.

Violence stemming from a Maoist insurgency has been ongoing for several years in impoverished tribal settlement regions. Insurgency rebels are fighting for equality when it comes to wealth from natural resources and the right to jobs.

Security officials have cracked down on insurgency rebels, often committing human rights abuses. Mr. Singh worked in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh state, a rebel center. The area is known for the rebels’ hit-and-run attacks on government soldiers, whose efforts have not lessened violence in the area much.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, based in the United States, has called for Chhattisgarh state authorities to release Mr. Singh, citing concerns about the arrests of journalists and their defenders. Amnesty International has also called for Mr. Singh’s release.

India’s National Human Rights Comission, a quasi-judicial body, has requested that authorities in the region submit a report on the details of Mr. Singh’s arrest and alleged rights violations.

Journalists face challenges in Chhattisgarh state because authorities often consider criticism of security forces as support for the rebel insurgency. Authorities have gone so far as to accuse some journalists of siding with the rebels. Last year, two journalists were arrested in the tribal region for allegedly supporting the insurgency. Their lawyer states that both are innocent and is still fighting the charges against them, which were filed under anti-terror laws.

Another journalist, Malini Subramaniam, was threatened and forced to leave the area after criticizing police. During her time as a journalist in the Bastar region, Ms. Subramaniam covered human rights violations and allegations of sexual violence by security forces.

 

For more information, please see:

The Express Tribune – Indian Journalist Arrested Over Social Media Post – 24 March 2016

ABC News – Indian Reporter Arrested After Posting Criticism of Police – 23 March 2016

Associated Press – Indian Reporter Arrested After Posting Criticism of Police – 23 March 2016

The New York Times – Journalist Jailed in Eastern India Over Social Media Post – 23 March 2016

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

The United States State Department announced on Monday that it had determined that Myanmar is persecuting its religious minority, the Rohingya Muslims, but that the country’s persecution of the Rohingya has not risen to the level of genocide.

The State Department issued a report to Congress regarding the issue, saying that while it was “gravely concerned” about the persecution of Rohingya, that treatment of the Rohingya did not amount to mass atrocities.

The United States Congress passed legislation in 2015 that called for Secretary of State John Kerry to determine whether Buddhist extremists in Myanmar had committed atrocities against the Rohingya. Part of his directive included the task of consulting with governments and human rights organizations in Myanmar to make his determination of whether atrocities against the Rohingya had in fact occurred.

Mr. Kerry’s report stated that the State Department remains concerned about the persecution and discrimination against the Rohingya and that displacement and violence were ongoing through 2015. The report called for Myanmar’s government to pursue solutions to address the human rights violations and to grant or restore citizenship to the Rohingya and other stateless individuals.

In 1948, the United Nations defined genocide to include acts committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Such acts include killings and violence against members of a group and deliberate infliction of poor conditions of life meant to bring about a group’s physical destruction.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya have left Myanmar since 2012, fleeing from persecution and poverty amidst anti-Muslim violence. Many Rohingya who have remained in Myanmar live in camps, and are denied official legal status and some basic human rights. International critics have called for the investigation into what they view as evidence of genocide against the Rohingya.

As Aung San Suu Kyi’s new government prepares to take power on April 1, her government will be under pressure to address the contentious issue of persecution against the Rohingya. Ms. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party (NLD) has been criticized so far for how little it has addressed the issue.

The United Nations and European Union stated on Monday that the hope that conditions for the Rohingya will improve under Ms. Suu Kyi’s new government has, in turn, contributed to a decline in the number of migrants fleeing the country.

 

For more information, please see:

Time – Burma’s Treatment of the Rohingya Is Not Genocide, Says U.S. – 22 March 2016

The New York Times – Myanmar: State Dept. Says Persecution of Muslims Does Not Rise to Genocide – 21 March 2016

Reuters – U.S. Says Myanmar Persecutes Rohingya, But Not Genocide – 21 March 2016

Voice of America – What is Genocide? – 15 March 2016

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia  

Chinese journalist Jia Jia is believed to be held by authorities for his connection with a published letter calling for President Xi Jinping’s resignation. Mr. Jia was likely detained on Tuesday as he boarded a flight to Hong Kong.

Mr. Jia is a freelance writer based in Beijing. He is known for his writing on topics designated as sensitive by China’s government and has critiqued corrupt officials and the Communist Party in the past. Despite his critique of the Communist Party, Mr. Jia had not previously written anything calling for a regime change.

Regardless, Mr. Jia has been accused of writing the letter, posted on a state-linked news website this month, which condemns Mr. Xi’s leadership and includes threats to Mr. Xi if he does not resign from office. It is unclear who wrote the article, which was signed only with a byline of “loyal Communist supporters.”

Mr. Jia stated before his disappearance that he did not write the letter. He did, however, warn a friend and editor at Wujie News about reposting the article on Wujie’s own website.

According to friends of Mr. Jia, he had feared detainment in connection to the letter before his disappearance. He and some of his family members were previously questioned about the letter.

There is currently no other information about Mr. Jia’s whereabouts or his detainment. His phone has been shut down, and he failed to appear to deliver a scheduled lecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong last Thursday. Beijing law enforcement officials have not responded to requests for comment on Mr. Jia’s disappearance.

Mr. Jia is one among many others who have been accused of dissent and have been detained or imprisoned by authorities. The Chinese government has detained and imprisoned a growing number of individuals since Mr. Xi came into power, including lawyers, activists, and journalists.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – China columnist Jia Jia ‘goes missing’ en route to HK – 18 March 2016

The New York Times – China Is Said to Be Holding Jia Jia, a Journalist, Over Xi Jinping Letter – 18 March 2016

CNN International – Lawyer says missing Chinese journalist Jia Jia didn’t write anti-Xi letter – 19 March 2016

Voice of America – Well-known Chinese Columnist Disappears – 17 March 2016

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

  

PYONGYANG, North Korea –

North Korea has sentenced Otto Warmbier, an American college student, to 15 years of hard labor for his alleged removal of a political sign in a hotel. Mr. Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginina, had traveled to Pyongyang on trip with Young Pioneer tours, a company conducting trips from China to North Korea and was arrested in early January.

State-run media sources have reported that North Korea’s highest court has convicted Mr. Warmbier of subversion. Mr. Warmbier was charged with committing a hostile act against North Korea, and authorities claim that he was encouraged to commit such an act by a member in his Ohio-based church. During court proceedings earlier this week, officials submitted fingerprints and surveillance photos connecting Mr. Warmbier to the alleged hostile acts.

During a press conference last month, Mr. Warmbier admitted that he had attempted to take a banner containing a political slogan from his hotel in Pyongyang. According to official reports, Mr. Warmbier took a sign bearing the name of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un or Kim Jong-un’s father or grandfather.

Mr. Warmbier also issued a public apology in addition to his confession. It is not known at this time whether Mr. Warmbier was under duress at the time of his statement.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner says that the sentence given Mr. Warmbier is “unduly harsh” and calls for his release. Mr. Warmbier’s sentence comes amidst increasing tensions between North Korea and the United States due to North Korea’s recent nuclear weapons and missile testing.

Some U.S. officials and analysts believe that North Korea seeks to use Mr. Warmbier, among other detained American citizens, as political pawns. Mr. Warmbier is currently one of three North American detainees in North Korea. Because the United States has no embassy in Pyongyang, Sweden carries out consular relations on behalf of American citizens in North Korea.

 

For more information, please see:

The New York Times – U.S. Student Runs Afoul of North Korea’s Devotion to Slogans – 17 March 2016

CNN – North Korea Sentences U.S. Student to 15 Years Hard Labor – 16 March 2016

The New York Times – North Korea Sentences Otto Warmbier, U.S. Student, to 15 Years’ Labor – 16 March 2016

NPR – N. Korea Sentences American Student To 15 Years Of Prison, Hard Labor – 16 March 2016

 

 

 

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar –

The National League for Democracy (NLD) party in Myanmar has announced its presidential candidates. Ms. Suu Kyi, the leader of the NLD, is not being considered for the presidency. However, it is clear that Ms. Suu Kyi still expects to run Myanmar’s government through a proxy president. Ms. Suu Kyi’s aide and close friend, Htin Kyaw, has been named as a presidential candidate and appears to be the most likely to become president.

Ms. Suu Kyi is unable to become the president due to a constitutional provision prohibiting those with foreign family members from becoming the president. Both of Ms. Suu Kyi’s sons have British citizenship, as did her husband before his death in 1999.

Ms. Suu Kyi attempted to persuade the military to allow the constitutional provision to be overruled, but was unsuccessful. The military holds a guaranteed 25 percent of parliamentary seats and has the power to veto any proposed changes to the constitution.

The NLD, which won the parliamentary election in November 2015, has named Mr. Kyaw as the lower house vice presidential nominee and Henry Van Thio, a member of the parliament, as the upper house vice presidential nominee.

Both houses of the parliament will choose from among the NLD’s candidates and those from other parties. It is likely that the NLD’s candidates will win because the NLD currently holds a majority in both houses of the parliament. A second vote will then take place to decide who will be the president, with a third, military nominated candidate, Khin Aung Myint, entering the race as well. The two unsuccessful candidates will each become vice-presidents.

Myanmar’s new government will take control on April 1. It will be the first freely elected government in over 50 years. The new government will face issues such as civil war with ethnic groups, poor economic growth, and discrimination against Myanmar’s Muslim Minority, the Rohingya.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Myanmar Begins Presidential Selection as Aung San Suu Kyi Ruled Out – 10 March 2016

CNN – Aung San Suu Kyi Confidante Htin Kyaw Likely to Become Myanmar’s Next Leader – 10 March 2016

The Guardian – Aung San Suu Kyi Will Not be President of Myanmar, Parliament Confirms – 10 March 2016

The New York Times – Aung San Suu Kyi Finds Roadblocks on Path to Presidency – 7 March 2016