Asia

Conviction of Wheelchair-bound Airport Bomber Generates Controversy

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– Ji Zhongxing, a paralyzed Chinese man who detonated a home-made bomb in Beijing’s airport after trying to draw attention to a nearly decade-long legal battle, was sentenced to six years in jail. The verdict has sparked widespread sympathy and anger.

Ji Zhongxing, partially paralyzed, awaits sentencing for allegedly detonating a bomb in Beijing Airport. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

A Beijing court found Ji Zhongxing, 34, guilty of intentionally causing an explosion, Ji’s lawyer, Liu Xiaoyuan, told Reuters by telephone. State media confirmed the sentence.

Ji detonated the bomb at Beijing airport in July after he was prohibited from handing out leaflets that drew attention to his complaints. His case resonated with many Chinese citizens seeking justice in an inflexible political system.

Ji, from eastern Shandong province, had been seeking redress for an alleged beating by police in southern Guangdong province in 2005 that left him wheelchair-bound. He had been petitioning for justice ever since.

Detonating the bomb at Beijing’s main airport ensured widespread exposure for Ji. Fortunately, the only people hurt were Ji and a policeman who sustained mild wounds.

Ji faced a maximum sentence of 10 years.

“We believe that this verdict is questionable,” Liu said, adding that Ji did not intend to blow up the airport or commit suicide.

“During the trial, (authorities) did not seek to find out the facts,” Liu said. “Although it was mentioned in the verdict statement, they never fully considered or discovered the cause of the bombing at the airport.”

Liu said Ji, who was brought into court on a stretcher, would consider appealing the conviction. He has 10 days to file a timely appeal. Ji’s father, Ji Darong, suggested to reporters that there would be an appeal against what he described as “this injustice”.

“We refuse to accept this,” said Ji Zhongji, Ji Zhongxing’s brother. “In Guangdong he was beaten and nobody did anything for eight years. Shouldn’t they investigate that?”

Ji’s sentence comes weeks after the execution of a Chinese kebab vendor, convicted of killing two city officials, sparked public criticism of a justice system. Critics claim the system operates to punish the poor harshly while letting the rich and powerful off more lightly.

Dozens of police officers stood guard outside the courthouse and cordoned off a large area, preventing his supporters from massing outside as they had done during Ji’s trial in September.

Zhao Min, a petitioner from northern Hebei province, said she supports Ji “because he’s a disabled person who tried to push forward fairness in the legal system”.

“He only did it because he had no alternative,” Zhao told reporters. “Because he couldn’t get any resolution through legally petitioning many times.”

According to state media, authorities in Guangdong have promised to look again into Ji’s original complaint. Chinese unable to win redress for grievances have in the past resorted to extreme measures, including bombings, but such incidents remain rare because of tight state security.

For more information, please see:

BBC News– Beijing airport explosion man jailed — 14 October 2013

Indian Express– Beijing airport bomber receives 6-year sentence — 15 October 2013

The Independent– Beijing wheelchair-bound airport bomber jailed for six years — 15 October 2013

Washington Post– Beijing airport bomber whose plight drew public sympathy receives 6-year sentence for blast — 15 October 2013

Swiss Info– Jailing of wheelchair-bound Beijing airport bomber sparks anger — 15 October 2013

Kim Jong-un Tightens Governmental Grip, Ousts Top General

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PYONGYANG, North Korea– North Korea’s state media confirmed Thursday the removal of its highest military chief, in yet another step towards effecting a military overhaul. The country’s supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, has replaced nearly half of his country’s top officials in the past two years, according to South Korean officials.

General Kim Kyok-sik, ousted earlier this week in the latest step towards a massive military overhaul. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

The firing of Gen. Kim Kyok-sik and the rise of Gen. Ri Yong-gil to replace him as head of the general staff of the North’s Korean People’s Army was the latest in a sequence of high-profile reshuffles that Kim Jong-un has engineered to consolidate his grip on the country’s top officials.

Since taking power after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in late 2011, Kim Jong-un has replaced 44 percent of North Korea’s 218 top military, party and government officials, according to the South’s Ministry of Unification . He engineered this and other reshuffles to retire or simply oust the old generals from his father’s regime and promote a new set of aides who owe loyalty directly to him.

The reordering at the top has accelerated since July of last year, when Vice Marshal Ri Yong-ho, one of the most powerful men under Kim Jong-un’s father, was suddenly fired as chief of the general staff of the North Korean military. He was replaced by Vice Marshal Hyon Yong-chol. Hyon hardly lasted long, as he was soon demoted and replaced by Gen. Kim Kyok-sik in May.

Gen. Kyok-sik, 74, had been one of the oldest aides of Kim Jong-il still holding a top job even after Kim Jong-un promoted younger generals. South Korean officials believed that General Kyok-sik commanded units responsible for sinking one of South Korea’s warships and bombarding a South Korean border island in 2010, attacks that killed at least 50 South Koreans.

But his name soon disappeared from state media after the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party met in August to discuss personnel matters.

Little is known about Ri Yong-gil, who is in charge of the field operations of the North Korean military as chief of its general staff. He gained the attention of outside analysts when North Korean media reported that he was one of the generals who advised Kim Jong-un this spring when North Korea threatened nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States.

Analysts believed that General Ri was appointed military chief during the August meeting of the Central Military Commission.

But North Korean media mentioned his new title for the first time on Thursday in dispatches listing those who accompanied Kim Jong-un while visiting a Pyongyang mausoleum where his father and his grandfather lie in rest.

General Ri Yong-gil joins Gen. Jang Jong-nam, who became minister of the armed forces in May, and Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, the military’s top political officer, as Kim Jong-un’s top three military aides.

Among the three, Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, director of the General Political Department of the North Korean People’s Army, is considered the most powerful. He appeared with Kim Jong-un in North Korean media more often than any other member of the elite.

Choe Ryong-hae, a former party secretary, had never served in the army and experts believe his sudden rise in the military ranks under Kim Jong-un is a sign that the supreme leader is allowing the party to reassert its influence over the military.

For more information, please see:

Japan Times– N. Korea confirms army head ousted — 10 October 2013

Global Post– North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sacks hard-line military chief — 10 October 2013

Gulf News– North Korea confirms removal of hawkish army chief Kim Kyok-sik — 10 October 2013

NY Times– North Korean Leader Tightens Grip with Removal of Top General — 10 October 2013

Voice of America– N Korea Replaces Hawkish Army Chief — 10 October 2013

 

 

 

Chinese Police Open Fire on Peaceful Protesters in Tibet

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– Chinese police opened fire on a crowd of Tibetan residents gathered in protest of the detention of a fellow villager who refused to comply with orders to display the national flag. Reports indicate that at least 60 people were injured.

An activist holds up a “Free Tibet” banner in protest. (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images)

Although the use of force by police to disperse unwanted crowds of protesters is common in China, shooting into crowds and causing mass injury has garnered global attention. According to the London-based Free Tibet organization, police aggressively fired at the crowd with tear gas and bullets. Local government officials have yet to comment on the incident.

Security forces had been deployed in mass beginning October 1 in response to reports that local authorities were struggling contain unrest surrounding a government order that all houses must display the national flag in commemoration of National Day. Government teams reported to the Biru region of Tibet in order to compel villagers to follow the order.

China has claimed Tibet as its own territory for centuries, but Tibetans claim that the region was an independent nation until Chinese communist soldiers began to occupy the territory in the 1950s.

The protests began after government officials detained local resident Dorje Draktsel, who was arrested last week for protesting the flag order.

The self-proclaimed Tibetan government-in-exile, based in India, said it has received reports of the firing in Biru, but had little information surrounding the incident. Spokesman Tashi Phuntsok said that the exiled Tibetans had heard protesters were injured, but did not know how many.

Many Tibetans, who resent the Chinese government’s crackdown on Tibetan and Buddhist culture, believe that Beijing’s economic policies in the Himalayan region have largely benefited Chinese migrants, at the expense of Tibetan natives. China, in return, says it has made vast investments to boost the region’s economy and improve Tibetans’ quality of life.

Tensions in the region have increased since protests were organized in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, in March of 2008. Then, approximately 20 people were killed, followed by another 100 people, mostly Buddhist monks, who committed suicide in protest against Chinese colonization.

For more information, please see:

Global Post– 60 Wounded by police during Tibet protest — 8 October 2013

Radio Free Asia– Chinese Police Fire on Unarmed Tibetan Protesters in Driru — 8 October 2013

Al Jazeera– Chinese police fire at Tibetan protesters — 8 October 2013

ABC News– Reports: Chinese Police Fire at Tibetan Protesters — 8 October 2013

Voice of America– Activists: Chinese Police Fire on Protesters in Tibet, Wounding Dozens — 8 October 2013

Disabled Chinese Activist Released From Jail

By Kevin M. Mathewson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China — Ni Yulan, a disabled Chinese land rights activist has been released from jail after serving 30 months of her two and a half year sentence.

Ni Yulan is helped by her husband Dong Jiqin. (Photo courtesy of AP Photo)

Yulan, a lawyer who was working to defend property rights, was detained during a wave of arrests in 2011. While her initial sentence handed down was 32 months imprisonment for “causing a disturbance” and fraud, an appeals court dismissed her fraud conviction in 2012, reducing her sentence by two months.

Yulan’s supporters said the charges were spurious and her true crime in the eyes of the government was protesting against controversial land grabs to make way for development, including the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and launch legal battles for people forcibly evicted from their homes.

“Of course the sentence was unfair … Ni is innocent,” her lawyer Cheng Hai said after his client’s sentencing.

Yulan’s husband, Dong Jiqin, was also jailed for two years in April 2012 for “causing a disturbance”.

Yulan alleged that, while in prison, she became ill and was not afforded medical treatment resulting in her now poor health. Yulan uses a wheelchair because of the ‘mistreatment by police’ over the years. Yet, the 54 year old insists she will fight on, and has threatened to sue the Beijing public security bureau in the Xicheng district.

“If we don’t fight for our rights, we will just have to wait for our death,” Yulan said. “I want them to return my assets. They’ve torn down my home without giving any compensation, leaving us homeless,” she further states.

According to BBC, the imprisonment of Yulan has caused international concern.

Yulan’s daughter, Dong Xuan, said about 10 supporters of Ni who greeted her mother outside the prison with a red banner were detained by police.

Both Yulan and her husband are known for providing legal help to people whose homes have been seized by the government.

For further information, please see:

Asian News – Ni Yulan, disabled activist opposed to land grabs in China, has been released – 7 October 2013

Yahoo! News – Disabled Chinese land rights activist released after two-and-a-half-years in jail – 6 October 2013

Aljazeera – China lawyer says disability ignored in jail – 6 October 2013

BBC News – China land rights activist Ni Yulan released from jail – 5 October 2013

The Telegraph – Disabled human rights lawyer jailed in China for ‘provoking trouble’ – 10 April 2012

Suicide Attack on Militant Chief in Pakistan

By Kevin M. Mathewson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PARACHINAR, Pakistan — A suicide bomb attack on a militant commander’s compound in the Balandkhel village of Pakistan has killed at least 15 people and injuring several others.

An injured man is carried into a hospital in Kohat following the attack on the home of militant commander Nabi Hanafi. (Photo courtesy of: Basit Shah/AFP/Getty Images)

The commander, Mullah Hanafi, has been fighting a branch of Pakistani Taliban (TTP). Some reports say Hanafi was injured in the attack and taken to the hospital, but others say it is still not clear if he was even in the compound.

Reports say early Thursday morning a Taliban suicide bomber fired shots into the compound before driving a car packed with explosive into the compound’s gates. There were also two other suicide bombers who attempted to launch a second attack but were killed by Hanafi’s men.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying five militants had targeted Hanfi because he had formed a militant group to fight them.

“Mullah Nabi had been our target and he will remain on our target list,” Shahid told Associated Press.

Most of the dead and injured are members of Mullah Hanafi’s group, however civilians were also among the causalities.

Mullah Hanafi, a veteran Taliban operative, was once associated with TTP but switched sides in early 2008 to fight them with his own militia. A local tribal leader, Malik Nek Marjaan, said the Pakistani government had been supporting Hanfi’s group in its battle against the Taliban.

The Taliban have been waging a decade-long insurgency that has killed thousands of people in an attempt to impose Islamic law in Pakistan what U.S. forces leave the country.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has pushed for peace talks with the militants in an attempt to end the insurgency. But the Taliban have demanded the government release militant prisoners and begin withdrawing troops from the tribal region before they will participate in negotiations.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Pakistan attack on ‘militant chief’ Nabi Hanafi kills many – 3 October 2013

The Guardian – Pakistan suicide bomb attack on militant chief kills 15 people – 3 October 2013

Yahoo! News – Suicide car bombing kills 15 people in Pakistan – 3 October 2013

ABC News – Suicide Car Bombing Kills 15 People in Pakistan – 3 October 2013

Times of India – Suicide car bombing kills 15 people in Pakistan – 3 October 2013