By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea –

North Korea has released and deported South Korean student Joo Won-moon after detaining him for six months. Mr. Joo was caught crossing the North Korea-China border in April and was arrested for what North Korea called a serious violation of its laws. Upon Mr. Joo’s release, North Korea stated that it deported him as a humanitarian measure.

On Monday, Mr. Joo was handed over to South Korean officials at Panmunjom, a village on the border of North and South Korea. The South Korean government has stated that its National Intelligence Service will investigate Mr. Joo’s act of crossing into North Korea. Mr. Joo’s crossing into North Korea was a violation of South Korea’s national security law, which forbids unapproved travel to the North.

Mr. Joo is a permanent citizen of the United States and attends New York University. At the time of his detainment, Mr. Joo was taking a semester off from NYU and had traveled to North Korea after trying unsuccessfully to find employment in California.

Mr. Joo states that he was treated well by North Korean officials during his detainment. He recently appeared in front of North Korean state media and gave a statement saying that he had not been allowed to contact his family but wanted them to know that he was healthy. In his media appearance, Mr. Joo also acknowledged that he had entered the country illegally and read from a speech praising North Korea and its government.

In an interview with CNN in May, Mr. Joo stated that he had hoped to improve relations between North and South Korea with his act of crossing the China-North Korea border. Mr. Joo told CNN that he had hoped that some great event would happen and that it would hopefully have a positive effect on the relationship between North and South Korea, but that he was not sure at the time what great event his actions could lead to.

North Korea currently has three other South Koreans detained for crimes of espionage. South Korea states that the charges against them are “groundless”. While South Korea welcomes Mr. Joo’s release, the South Korean Unification Ministry has called for North Korea to free the three detained South Koreans as well.

North Korea is also holding a Korean-Canadian pastor who has confessed to crimes aimed at overthrowing the state, according to North Korea’s state media.

North and South Korea came to an agreement in August to improve ties after a period of heightened conflict. One of their attempts at improving ties is to allow families separated since the Korean War to temporarily reunite with their family members later this month.

 

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – North Korea Releases Detained South Korean Student – 5 October 2015

CNN – North Korea Releases NYU Student – 5 October 2015

International Business Times – North Korea to Release Detained New York University Student – 5 October 2015

NPR – North Korea Releases Detained NYU Student to South Korea – 5 October 2015

New York Times – N.Y.U. Student Detained in North Korea Is Released, South Says – 5 October 2015

 

Reuters – North Korea Frees South Korean Student Held Since April — 5 October 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

KABUL, Afghanistan –

On Monday, Taliban militants captured Kunduz, a provincial capital in Afghanistan. Afghan military forces regained the center of Kunduz on Thursday, but Taliban soldiers still remain in other areas of the city.

Kunduz, a city of 300,000, was taken over by the Taliban before dawn on Monday, taking Afghan troops and police by surprise. The Taliban occupied Kunduz for three days before retreating as Afghan forces regained control of the city center.

The Taliban has been accused of committing extrajudicial killings and other atrocities including rape and torture against civilians during its three-day takeover. The militants also looted Kunduz’s banks and military weaponry and set fire to government buildings.

The capture of Kunduz was a victory for the Taliban’s new leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, because it is one of the most strategic and wealthy cities in Afghanistan and is the first provincial capital to fall to the Taliban since the U.S. intervened in 2001.

The Deputy Chief of Staff for the Afghan army, Murad Ali Murad, has stated that most Taliban fighters had fled Kunduz, but that some are hiding in the homes of the civilians. A spokesman for the Taliban told Reuters that Taliban forces had retreated to the edges of Kunduz in an effort to surround Afghan and U.S. soldiers.

Thousands of civilians are reported to have fled from Kunduz during the fighting. The number of civilians killed during the fighting in Kunduz is currently unknown. As of Wednesday, around 30 people had been killed and around 340 were wounded.

Hospitals in Kunduz are running low on supplies due to Taliban roadblocks on the route from Kabul to Kunduz. Medical professionals are unable to get to the hospitals due to continued fighting in Kunduz.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has doctors working in Kunduz, has expressed growing concerns about the welfare of Kunduz citizens and the lack of proper medical supplies and personnel. The ICRC has emergency medical supplies ready to be flown when it is safe to land at Kunduz airport, which has been the staging area for Afghan forces attempting to retake control of the city.

The Taliban has started to gain ground recently, raising the question of whether NATO-trained Afghan security forces are prepared to face the Taliban’s insurgency on their own. NATO forces ended their combat mission in Afghanistan last year, but there are currently around 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan who have the role of training, advising, and assisting Afghan security forces.

Before the Taliban regime was overturned by a U.S.-led intervention in 2001, its five-year-long rule over Afghanistan was characterized by acts such as public executions and the denial of rights to women.

 

For more information, please see:

New York Times – U.S. Strikes Positions in Afghanistan as Taliban Gain Momentum – 2 October 2015

Reuters – Afghan Forces Push Into Taliban-Held Kunduz City Amid Fierce Clashes – 2 October 2015

Reuters – Taliban Hold Out in Northern Afghan City, District in Northeast Falls – 2 October 2015

BBC News – Taliban Triumph in Capture of Kuduz – 1 October 2015

CNN – Why the Taliban Takeover of Kunduz is a Big Deal – 29 September 2015

 

 

 

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

KATHMANDU, Nepal –

Nepal began rationing fuel on Monday due to concerns about an impending fuel shortage. A fuel shortage appears likely due to disruption at checkpoints on the Nepal-India border caused by ongoing protests over Nepal’s new constitution. India, from which Nepal imports all of its fuel, has decreased its export of petroleum into Nepal.

State-owned oil company Nepal Oil Corporation, which handles all imports and sales of petroleum in Nepal, has requested that consumers curtail their petroleum usage and only use petroleum when absolutely necessary. The company has also started to ration all fuel and has set guidelines for fixed fuel quotas for different types of vehicles. A spokesman for Nepal Oil Corporation, Deepak Baral, has stated that Nepal will run out of fuel within the next 10 days.

Border checkpoint officials in Nepal state that Indian custom officials have prevented trucks carrying petroleum from entering Nepal for several days. Protestors have been staging sit-ins at border checkpoints. A spokesman for the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, Abhay Kumar, has stated that truck drivers are afraid to enter Nepal due to security concerns.

Nepalese officials accuse India of imposing an economic blockade because of India’s disagreement with Nepal’s ratification of its new constitution. Vikas Swarup, the spokesman for India’s Foreign Ministry, denies that there is any type of blockade. A statement on the Foreign Ministry’s website on September 25 said that “the reported obstructions are due to unrest, protests, and demonstrations on the Nepalese side, by sections of their population.”

On September 20, Nepal instituted a new constitution which has been the source of mass protests. The protests have resulted in over 40 deaths so far. India criticized Nepal’s leadership for enacting the new constitution despite the ongoing protests. Nepal did not address India’s concerns regarding the new constitution.

The new constitution was meant to promote unity and stability in Nepal, but the redistricting of Nepal into seven separate provinces has angered many. Nepal’s ethnic minority groups, the Tharus and Madhesi, believe that they will receive unequal rights and unequal government representation under the new constitution.

Nepal was ravaged by earthquakes earlier this year, and land supply routes to China, another of Nepal’s trade partners, were destroyed. Consequently, Nepal has been increasingly dependent on India for imported goods since the earthquakes.

 

For more information, please see:

Time – Nepal Rations Fuel Amid Worsening Political Crisis and Alleged Indian Blockade – 29 September 29, 2015

Wall Street Journal – Nepal Rations Fuel Amid Concerns of Shortage – 29 September 2015

The Himalayan Times – Nepal Oil Corporation Enforces Rationing of Fuel – 27 September 2015

New York Times – Nepal Rations Fuel as Political Crisis With India Worsens – 28 September 2015

Reuters – Update 1: Nepal Considers Fuel Rationing as Protestors Block Trucks – 26 September 2015

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka –

There have been varied responses to the U.N.’s recent report calling for an internationally formed hybrid court to look into war atrocities committed during the 26 year long war between Sri Lankan military forces and the Tamil Tiger Rebels.

The United States issued a draft resolution regarding the alleged war crimes which called for a hybrid court made up of international judges, prosecutors, and investigators. The draft praised President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe for their efforts to restore a democratic government in Sri Lanka.

The resolution holds Sri Lanka accountable for addressing the war crimes. For instance, the resolution calls for Sri Lanka to deliver an oral report to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in September 2016 and a comprehensive report in March 2017 on the progress of implementing the resolution.

Sri Lanka’s prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, rejected the U.N.’s call for international involvement in the proposed war crimes court. Mr. Wickremesinghe stated that the Sri Lankan government is developing a domestic mechanism which will investigate the alleged war crimes. The Sri Lankan government plans on setting up a truth commission, a war reparations office, and a commission on missing people.

President Maithripala Sirisena, Sri Lanka’s new president, has pledged that war criminals will be brought to justice through the implementation of the domestic investigation.

Sri Lanka’s former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, criticized the U.N. report’s findings and has called for the Sri Lankan government to reject the report. Under Rajapaksa’s government, Sri Lankan military forces defeated the Tamil Tigers in 2009, while killing tens of thousands of civilians during the final stage of the war. Mr. Rajaoaksa also stated that the alleged war crimes should be investigated through Sri Lanka’s existing legal system without the involvement of special courts.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Colombo last week and supported the Sri Lankan government’s plan to address the war crimes with domestic commissions. After his trip, Mr. Steinmeier stated that the U.N. report’s recommendations should be a mostly “national task”. He also stated that Germany is ready to assist Sri Lanka in its war crimes investigation.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, met with Mr. Steinmeier and has stated that Sri Lanka will accept some outside technical assistance in setting up the planned commissions.

For more information, please see:

Channel News Asia – Sri Lanka Rejects International War Crimes Probe – 22 September 2015

Jurist – Sri Lanka PM Rejects UN Call for International War Crimes Investigation – 22 September 2015

New York Times – Germany Offers Help for Sri Lankan Probe of War Atrocities – 22 September 2015

Reuters – Rajapaksa Criticizes U.N. Findings on Sri Lanka War Crimes – 22 September 2015

The New Indian Express – US Draft Resolution Calls for International Involvement in SL Judicial Mechanism – 19 September 2015

 

 

 

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan –

Pakistan’s Lahore High Court postponed the execution of paraplegic inmate Abdul Basit on Tuesday, about an hour before his hanging was scheduled to occur. The postponement came just a day after Pakistan’s Supreme Court rejected a plea to grant Mr. Basit an execution stay order. It is unclear how long the postponement will last.

Mr. Basit has been on death row since he was convicted of murder in 2009 and has maintained his innocence throughout his time in prison. Mr. Basit became paralyzed after he contracted tubercular meningitis in prison, according to Sara Belal, an attorney at legal aid group Justice Project Pakistan.

According to the postponement order, Mr. Basit cannot be hanged in compliance with Pakistani prison guidelines, which state that the prisoner must stand on the gallows. In order to follow prison guidelines, the rope used as a noose must be a length proportional to the height of the prisoner in order to ensure that the prisoner has an instant, more humane death. Because Mr. Basit is in a wheelchair, figuring out the proper length of the rope is difficult.

There is concern among human rights groups that the hanging could go badly—if the rope is not the correct length, there is a risk that Mr. Basit will be either decapitated or subjected to prolonged strangulation. Both decapitation and prolonged strangulation would breach Mr. Basit’s dignity. Because the breach of a prisoner’s dignity is protected by Pakistan’s constitution, a botched hanging would violate Mr. Basit’s fundamental rights.

Before the postponement, Amnesty International issued a statement on Monday calling for Pakistan to cancel the execution and to impose a moratorium on all other executions. In the statement, Sultana Noon, Amnesty’s Pakistan Researcher, stated that Pakistani authorities should grant reprieve to Mr. Basit instead of deliberating on the logistics of hanging a man in a wheelchair.

Both the Pakistani Supreme Court and Lahore High Court previously authorized Mr. Basit’s execution. Mr. Basit’s hanging was initially scheduled for last month, but was postponed. The hanging was then re-authorized despite the fact that Mr. Basit filed a mercy petition with the courts, which is still pending.

After imposing a seven yearlong moratorium on all executions, Pakistan reintroduced the death penalty in December 2014. According to the Pakistani government, it reintroduced the death penalty measure to combat terrorism after a Taliban attack on a Peshawar school in which 150 people, mostly children, were killed. However, most of the prisoners that have been executed since the moratorium ended did not have terrorism-related convictions.

There have been 239 hangings in 2015 since Pakistan lifted the moratorium on executions. Additionally, Pakistan has the largest number of death row prisoners worldwide, with more than 8,000 prisoners awaiting execution.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – Abdul Basit: Pakistan Delays Hanging of Paraplegic Man – 22 September 2015

CNN – Pakistan Court Delays Paraplegic’s execution – 22 September 2015

Amnesty International – Pakistan: Halt Execution of Paralysed Man Due to Take Place Tomorrow – 21 September 2015

New York Times – Pakistan: Supreme Court Declines to Block Execution of Paraplegic Inmate – 21 September 2015