By Hojin Choi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

XINJIANG, China – China sentenced a Uighur scholar, Ilham Tohti, often referred to as “Uighur Nelson Mandela,” to life in prison for “separatism.” Nelson Mandela is the former president of South Africa who fought for democracy and against racial discrimination in the country. Tohti is an Economics professor at Minzu University, in Beijing. He was convicted after a two-day trial in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.

The New York Times described him as “the most visible symbol of peaceful resistance by ethnic Uighurs to Chinese policies.” Tohti has been known for his works on human rights issues in Uighur. He has done extensive research on relations between Uighur and Han, the majority ethnic group in China. The Xinjiang region is where Uighur people have claimed democratic independence, but in return the Chinese government has insisted that so-called Uighur separatists and extremists have been committing continuous terror attacks in China. The ongoing dispute and the oppressive policies put in place by the Chinese government have brought international attention.

However, the Chinese government seems to have a different opinion about the professor. Tohti was charged with organizing and leading a separatist group. The prosecution argued that he had “internationalized” the Uighur’s independence issues by posting relevant foreign articles and holding interviews with foreign news agencies.

In a statement from the Xinjiang police, he was accused of colluding with foreign forces and spreading separatist ideas. It also argued that Tohti had taught his students about “violent Uighur resistance” and encouraged them to overthrow the Chinese government. During his trial, the prosecution offered evidence such as his class materials and the website he had operated. The officials used the materials to demonstrate his viewpoints on Uighur identity and China’s ethnic policies. They also argued that the alleged separatist group run by Tohti included several of his students. Reportedly, seven students were also detained for issues related to Tohti’s case and they will be tried soon.

According to his lawyer, Tohti “showed great spirit in court.” The lawyer added that “he gave an eloquent defense to every accusation. He maintained his innocence from the beginning to the end. He gave a brilliant 90-minute defense speech at the end of the trial.” The lawyer also said that he now worries about Tohti’s family, as they will face financial difficulties, living without the head of the family. Tohti has two sons, 5 and 8, and the court ordered confiscation of all his assets. Tohti was first arrested in January, and he had been detained until the trial without the rights to see his family for eight months.

The majority of international organizations and foreign governments condemned the Chinese government for the trial. The White House requested his release and said that he is a “respected professor who has long championed efforts to bridge differences between Uighurs and Han Chinese.” Tohti’s harsh sentence was considered “retribution for Professor Tohti’s efforts” to promote the human rights of the Uighur people.

A spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Beijing asked the Chinese government to begin “differentiating between peaceful dissent and violent extremism.” International human rights group Amnesty International released a statement criticizing the purpose of the trial and its political background. “Tohti worked to peacefully build bridges between ethnic communities and for that he has been punished through politically motivated charges,” it said.

For more information please see:

The New York Times – China Sentences Uighur Scholar to Life – 23 September 2014

The New York Times – The Price of China’s Uighur Repression – 25 September 2014

CNN – China sentences prominent Uyghur scholar to life in prison for ‘separatism’ – 24 September 2014

CTV News – The case of scholar Ilham Tohti, the ‘Uighur Nelson Mandela’ – 25 September 2014

The Diplomat – Ilham Tohti and Islamic State: How China Defines Terrorism – 26 September 2014

By Hojin Choi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – China refuted the U.S. hacking charges alleged in a Senate report. The report said the Chinese government backed hackers who intruded into computer systems of U.S.-based private companies. The companies included U.S. airlines, technology companies, and some contractors for the U.S. military.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said during a daily briefing that the report was groundless and urged that the U.S. must stop “irresponsible assaults and accusations.” Lei went on to blame the U.S. for cyber-attacks on other countries. He said the U.S. government should “stop large scale and systematic cyber-attacks against other countries and do more to uphold peace and security of the cyberspace.”

Lei also pointed out that “[t]he Chinese law bans all the activities that sabotage internet security, including hacker attacks, and resolutely combats relevant criminal activities.”

The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee made public of its report on May 17. The report was produced after a year long probe. The report says that hackers linked to China invaded the U.S. Transportation Command (Transcom) at least 20 times in one year. Transcom is a private company that moves troops and military goods across the globe.

The report emphasized the cyber weakness of private military contractors. The military itself has strong cyber security, but private companies do not. Cyber security expert Dmitri Alperovitch commented that “the military uses secret or top-secret networks that are not on the Internet, but private companies do not.” He added that China has recently showed a strong interest in the logistical patterns of the U.S. military.

The report also voiced concern about a lack of information sharing among U.S. government entities. According to the report, there had been about 50 intrusions or other cyber events into Transcom’s system, and at least 20 of them were successful. However, Transcom was aware of only 2. The committee’s top Republican, Senator Jim Inhofe, called for a “central clearinghouse” to help the contractors report suspicious cyber activities to the government and military.

“These peacetime intrusions into the networks of key defense contractors are more evidence of China’s aggressive actions in cyberspace,” said Senator Carl Levin, the chairperson of the committee. In May, the U.S. accused five Chinese military officials of hacking nuclear, metal, and solar companies. According to Community Health Systems, one of the largest U.S. hospital groups, Chinese hackers attacked and stole personal data of some 4.5 million patients just last month.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Chinese hacked U.S. military contractors: Senate panel – 18 September 2014

The Wall Street Journal – Chinese Hacked U.S. Military Contractors, Senate Panel Says – 18 September 2014

PCWorld – China says US hacking accusations are ‘totally groundless’ – 18 September 2014

Global Post – China refutes U.S. hacking charges – 18 September 2014

By Hojin Choi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghanistan’s Election Commission finally announced Ashraf Ghani as the president-elect. The announcement was made Sunday after Ghani and the runner up, Abdullah Abdullah, signed a power-sharing deal. Ghani’s presidential inauguration will be held on September 29.

The Commission Chief, Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani, stated that “[t]he Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan declared Dr. Asraf Ghani . . . as the president of Afghanistan.” This announcement will end the political chaos following the presidential runoff on June 14. While experiencing nationwide terrorists’ attacks on the day of election, Candidate Abdullah insisted election fraud and vote rigging, and his supporters denied the election result. At the time, millions of ballots were suspected of fraud, and Abdullah’s supporters warned to establish “parallel governments.”

The Election Commission went on to review polling stations and ballot papers under a U.N. audit, but the result was unsuccessful.

“Although the audit was comprehensive . . . [we] could not detect or throw out fraud completely,” said Commission Chief Nuristani. The commission withheld the final election numbers. Nuristani said the commission will announce it later, but did not specify when. He did not take further questions from reporters.

The details of the power-sharing deal were not disclosed to the public. Reportedly, Abdullah will be in a position named “Chief Executive” that is similar to prime minister. They will also share powers over controlling the nation’s institutes and government agencies, including the military forces. The incumbent president, Karzai, made clear that the former government and administration will not be responsible for the deal and that Ghani and Abdullah will have to work on fulfilling the commitment.

The public reaction varied. The Afghan public seems happy for the end of months of political unrest, but some worried with the possible effects of the deal. Afghan resident Sharifullah told Voice of America that he was disappointed because the hardship people suffered through to vote while under the violence of terrorists was wasted. He added the political deal would harm the principle of democracy in Afghanistan.

The U.N. and the U.S. both welcomed the agreement and described it as an important step toward achieving social stability in Afghanistan. TIME reported that the deal is a “victory for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry,” as he is the one who first got the candidates to agree in principle to the power-sharing arrangement when he visited Afghanistan in July. TIME also said he revisited to seal the deal in August. John Kerry stated that Ghani and Abdullah have “put the people of Afghanistan first, and they have ensured that the first peaceful democratic transition in the history of their country begins with national unity.”

For more information, please see:

TIME – Afghanistan Finally Has a New President – 21 September 2014

BBC – Afghan presidential contenders sign unity deal – 21 September 2014

Voice of America – Ashraf Ghani Named President-elect in Afghanistan – 21 September 2014

By Hojin Choi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea – There are two recent cases that implicitly demonstrate the abuse problems in the South Korean military.

In June, Sergeant Lim opened fire on his fellow soldiers. Five soldiers were killed and seven were injured. They were returning to their base after training, and, surprisingly, it was not a shooting spree since the sergeant aimed at each one of the victims. He attempted to commit suicide, but was arrested with severe injury.

In April, Private Yoon died in his military base after being beaten to death by his senior troops. Yoon had suffered from habitual abuse and bullying at the hands of his fellow troops. This incident was unknown to the public until the Korean civic group, the Center for Military Human Rights, revealed it.

These two cases have several similarities. First, at the outset, there were bullying problems. Second, Both Lim and Yoon faced their situations by themselves without any help from outside. The only difference is that Yoon had endured his suffering until he died while Lim exploded his anger through extreme retaliation, murdering his comrades. Several Korean media stated that if Lim did not kill the aggressors, he would have ended up like Sergeant Yoon.

What the 20-year-old private, Yoon, had suffered is close to torture. He was denied food and forced to consume phlegm and his own vomit. He was beaten with fists, feet, and mop handles until they broke. When he became groggy, he was hooked up with intravenous drip to be revived and beaten again as he woke up. He was ordered to hold “horse-riding” stances for hours and forced to have an irritating salve rubbed on his genitals. On April 6, he was forced to eat frozen food right after being punched and kicked. He died thereafter.

One of the key causes leading to such severe military violence is the closed environment of the military. Its strict and conservative hierarchy system tends to obscure the violence even after someone dies. This tendency is related to promotions of higher rank officials. Moreover, a strong “pecking order” within Korean society makes its people more vulnerable to bullying problems not only in the military but also at work places and in schools.

In Yoon’s case, several officials did recognize Yoon’s situation, but did not take action to intervene. The military officially confirmed his cause of death as choking. However, after the public outcries, it changed its report to “death from shock” by intensive physical abuses. The military has since brought murder charges against the suspects in Yoon’s case.

In addition to the characteristics of the military and society, the conscription system makes the violence function as a vicious circle. In South Korea, it is mandatory for all male citizens to join the military for 2 to 3 years. When lower rank soldiers become senior ranks, they repeat the violations that they have suffered on the new soldiers.

According to a statistical inquiry, there are 152 dead bodies, which are classified as death from “failure to adjust to military life,” kept in the military morgue. Their families have refused to take the bodies until the “truth” is revealed by independent investigations that include civil experts. In recent five years, over 120 soldiers have died in the military and 80 of them were classified as “suicides.” Allegedly, some of the bodies with “suicide” tags are not even real suicide cases.

In South Korea, people who could legally avoid the military duty by substituted work or low levels of physical condition are called “sons of god.” Private Yoon’s mother, Ahn Mi Ja, said to CNN that “I wanted to do to them exactly what they did to my son.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – South Korean soldiers face murder charge amid bullying claim – 4 September 2014

The New York Times – Outrage Builds in South Korea in Deadly Abuse of a Soldier – 6 August 2014

Asian Human Rights Commission – SOUTH KOREA: Military camps or government run torture centres? – 28 August 2014

BBC – South Korea military under fire over abuse – August 27 2014

By Hojin Choi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – The human rights group Amnesty International (AI) released a 65-page report about situations in Thailand under martial law since the coup on May 22. It criticized the period as a “100 days spiral of repression” and calls for restoration of civil rights.

Richard Bennett, the Asia-Pacific director of AI, commented that “the Thai authorities should end this disturbing pattern of repression, end human rights violations, respect its international human rights obligations and allow open debate and discussion.”

The report pointed out several cases of systematic oppression and human rights violations. According to the report, hundreds of civilians have suffered from arbitrary arrests, detentions, and inhuman treatment as detainees at the hands of the military. Thai courts allegedly discriminated against people depending on their political stance and denied bail in “lese majeste” cases.

The report included an interview with Kritsuda Khunasen, a “red shirts” member. She claimed that she was illegally arrested by the military and tortured while being detained. “If I was too slow when answering, didn’t speak, didn’t answer the question in a direct manner, or said I didn’t know, I was beaten with a fist to my face, head, stomach and body,” she said. She also reported that she was blindfolded and handcuffed with duct tape. Eventually, she was forced to make statements as interrogators guided her.

The report revealed that at least 665 Thai people, including politicians, academics, journalists, and activists, have been detained or arrested since May 22. Some of them have had no opportunity to contact their families or lawyers. The report also said the military shut down more than 200 websites and closed several television and radio stations. Most of them had held negative views toward the junta. Under the current martial law, people can be arrested when there are more than five individuals gathered together on streets. The report described the country as being in “enforced silence.”

In response to the report, the spokesperson of the junta officially denied the allegations of human rights violations. National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the formal name of the junta, announced through its spokesperson, Colonel Winthai Suvaree, that “We have never violated people with opposing political views. There has been no physical violence or threats.”

He went on to say that the detained or arrested people had been involved in situations that caused social unrest in Thailand. The NCPO also asked human rights groups to “carefully and thoroughly consider this issue so they do not become the tools of those who have hidden agendas.” They denied any discrimination in court summonses.  

The AI report concluded with several pages of a “recommendation” section. It demanded that the NCPO restore civil liberties, end the martial law, and prevent alleged torture and mistreatment. The report suggested the establishment of a new “independent complaints system” to investigate the alleged torture and mistreatment of detainees. The report also insisted that the military should not have the legal immunity provided by the interim constitution and martial law.

For more information, please see:

Bangkok Post – Regime rejects Amnesty torture, repression claims  – 13 September 2014

Bangkok Post – Amnesty International launches anti-coup report – 11 September 2014

Reuters – Thai junta tells rights group to ‘get its facts straight’ – 11 September 2014

BBC – Thai coup leaders ‘must end repression’ – Amnesty – 11 September 2014