By Yoohwan Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KYIV, Ukraine – A twenty year-old Ukrainian student, Ihor Indilo, died while he was in custody of Kyiv’s Shevchenkivsky district police on May 25.  The details of the death are unclear, but Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Nina Karpacheva, says Indilo died after he was beaten by the police.  Karpacheva stated on June 1 that “this is the second time in the last several months a student held in the Shevchenkivsky police precinct has been murdered.”

Indilo, a fourth-year student at a Ukrainian teachers’ training college, had gone out with his friends to celebrate his twentieth birthday.  After he returned to his dormitory, he was engaged in a quarrel with a dormitory patrol officer and he was brought into the police station.

Police claim that Indilo fell down several times and hit his head.  Police then called his mother to tell her that he died by asphyxiation, after choking on his vomit.  The student’s parents and rights activists believe, however, that he was a victim of police brutality.

When Indilo’s parents arrived at the morgue, they were not allowed to view their son’s body.  Instead, they were told to claim the body first, and then inspect him.  His parents received the medical examiner’s report that stated Indilo died due to a “hemorrhage of the brain, skull fracture, damage due to contact with blunt object.”

On June 1, Kyiv police chief, Olexiy Krykun, told lawmakers in parliament that Indilo died due to self-inflicted injuries.  Krykun said, “He collapsed.  I repeat: He fell down.”  According to Krykun, Indilo was intoxicated when he arrived at the station and he was placed in a cell around 10pm.  At 4am, Indilo was found lying on the floor next to a puddle of vomit.

This incident has sparked increased national protests and has highlighted the country’s long history of police brutality.  Government authorities have taken measures after news broke out of Indilo’s death.

President Viktor Yanukovych placed himself in charge of the investigation.  The Interior Minister, Anatoliy Mohilev, immediately suspended the police chief of the Shevchenkivsky police station, the policemen who brought Indilo to the station, and the precinct officers who were on duty that night.

The Shevchenkivsky district precinct is infamous in Kyiv for police brutality.  Despite numerous allegations of police torture and unsanctioned methods, police officers are rarely either convicted or sent to prison.

For more information, please see:

KYIV POST – Student’s Death While in Kyiv Police Custody, Called a Murder by Top Official, Sparks Outrage – 3 June 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY – Ukraine’s Ombudsman: Student’s Death In Police Custody Was Murder – 1 June 2010

MEDIA INTERNATIONAL GROUP NEWS – Shock! Student Killed in District Police Department – 27 May 2010

By Tristan Simoneau
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KAMPALA, Uganda – On June 1, 2010, Belgium, Denmark, and Finland signed agreements with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to enforce tribunal judges sentences of imprisonment.  The signing ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Belgium, the Under-Secretary for legal affairs in the Danish Foreign Ministry, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Under-Secretary for Legal Affairs in the Danish Foreign Ministry.

Photo: The ICC President with representatives of Belgium, Denmark, and Finland [Source: AP]

These agreements raise the number of countries that are willing to detain people convicted by the ICC to five after Austria and the United Kingdom signed similar agreements in 2005 and 2007 respectively.  During the signing ceremony the President of the ICC, Judge San-Hyun Song, stated that “having sufficient options in place to ensure the enforcement of judicially ordered sentences is an important element in the overall credibility of the judicial process at the ICC.”

The Review Conference of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is ongoing in Kampala, Uganda from 31 May to 11 June.  States that are currently parties to the ICC Rome Statute (ICC’s founding treaty), as well as observer states, international organizations, and NGOs are meeting to discuss amendments to the Statute as well as its impact to date.  Sentences of imprisonment, in accordance with Chapter X of the Rome Statute, shall be enforced by States which have declared to the Court their willingness to accept sentenced persons.

The ICC may enter into bilateral arrangements with States  to regulate the acceptance of persons sentenced by the Court.   According to the Statute, in deciding in which of the consenting States a person should serve its sentence, the ICC takes into consideration circumstances such as the application of standards governing the treatment of prisoners and the views and nationality of the sentenced person.  When the ICC has made a decision it notifies the State with information regarding the prisoner’s nationality, his or her medical status, the sentence and the final judgment.  The prisoner is then delivered to the territory of the State.

The ICC is the first permanent, treaty based, international criminal court.  The ICC is based in The Hague in the Netherlands tries people accused of the most serious international offences involving crimes against humanity such as genocide.  Currently, investigations are ongoing in five nations including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Sudan and Kenya.  Four suspects are currently in the court’s custody while two trials are underway before the ICC Trial Chambers.

For more information, please see:

HAGUE JUSTICE PORTAL – The ICC has entered into Agreements with Belgium, Denmark, and Finland to Enforce Sentences – 2 June 2010

FRONTIER INDIA – The ICC Sings Enforcement Agreements with Belgium, Denmark, and Finland – 1 June 2010

UN NEWS CENTER – European Trio Agree to Enforce Jail Terms Imposed by ICC – 1 June 2010

by Yoohwan Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – On Monday, May 31 the police cracked down on hundreds of protesters in two of Russia’s largest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg.  The protesters’ called on the authorities and government officials to respect the people’s right to freedom of assembly, as stated in Article 31 of the Russian constitution.  Since last year, Russia opposition groups have been holding rallies on the last day of each month to defend their right of assembly.

At least 1,000 people gathered in Triumfalnaya Square on Monday evening, located in central Moscow.  The protesters chanted “Disgrace,” “Freedom,” and “Russia without Putin!”  Soon after the rally began, the police intervened and violently broke up the protest.  The police knocked down some of the protesters, beat them, and dragged them along the ground to the waiting police vans.

Triumfalnaya Square was occupied again on that night by 2,000 pro-Kremlin youths, from the Young Russia and Young Guard youth groups, who were hosting a patriotic concert.  As the protesters began to gather and chant anti-government slogans, the music from the concert grew louder.  A police official stated that the police had to use force after the protesters tried to disrupt the concert and block traffic.  About 180 protesters were detained in Moscow.

Police in St. Petersburg detained approximately 100 protesters after 300 members of the banned ultra-left National Bolshevik party gathered in the city center on Monday.  Protesters chanted pro-democracy slogans, such as “Russia will be free.”

Government authorities have shown little tolerance in recent years for any kind of protests, and officials in Moscow and St. Petersburg have repeatedly banned attempts by activists and political opposition to hold rallies.  According to Alexander Averin, an activist with The Other Russia opposition coalition, rallies in support of their right of assembly were held in 40 cities throughout Russia on Monday.

Two days before the protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin voiced his support for the people’s right to protest.  He stated that public protests “don’t hinder but, on the contrary, help” the government.  In addition, Putin said that the authorities should not “create impossible conditions for the expression of freedom of speech.”  His remarks gave some activists hopes that officials and police might respond more peacefully to rallies and demonstrations.  However, Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, stated that his comments were distorted by the media and do not offer anyone the license to rally.

For more information, please see:

Moscow Times – 200 Protesters Detained 2 Days After Putin Backs Rallies – 01 June 2010

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – Over 200 Arrested at Russian Rallies for Freedom of Assembly – 01 June 2010

AFP – Moscow Police Violently Break Up Protest – 31 May 2010

Reuters- Police Crush Protests as Russia-EU Summit Opens – 31 May 2010

By Tristan Simoneau
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MEZHDURECHENSK, Russia – Two weeks ago, in western Siberia, twin methane explosions destroyed Russia’s largest coal mine.  At least 67 miners were killed and 23 are still missing.  The mine is owned by the Raspadskaya Coal Company, which is mainly controlled by the powerful steel giant Evraz, who owns a 40 percent stake in the Raspadskaya mine.

It is still unclear how the methane was allowed to build to such dangerous levels despite the mine being equipped with modern sensors.  Government officials have said the explosions were likely a result of an enormous underground burst of gas, a so called “mystery of nature” as one expert described.  However, many Russian miners have offered another explanation for this disaster.  Mining companies often link workers’ pay to the amount of coal that is extracted.  It is possible that in order to increase their potential earnings, miners covered the methane sensors with wet rags.  Miners earn a base monthly salary of approximately $830 a month, which can rise to $1,164 if they meet their production quotas.

The deputy chairman of the Russian Coal Miners’ Trade Union stated that this policy motivated workers to block sensors which led to an explosion in 2007 that killed 110 at another site where Evraz owns a large stake.  In a commentary that ran in “The Moscow Times” on May 19th, political analyst Yulia Latynina wrote that “Evraz must pay Putin’s bureaucrats large bribes and kickbacks to stay in operation.  These ‘corruption taxes’ are built into production costs at Raspadskaya, which may translate into lower wages and thus the need for miners to circumvent safety regulations in order to earn bonuses.”

Most Russians learned about the mining accident from one of the three big nationwide TV channels which are either state-run or controlled by Kremlin-friendly business interests.  What many people were not made aware of was that on the night of May 15th, at least 300 miners and supporters in Mezhdurechensk, the Siberian mining town where the tragedy occurred, staged a protest.  A key railway line was blocked in the protest that called the response by the government uncaring and inadequate.  Raspadskaya miner Sergei Krasilnikov said the reason for this protest is that locals are bitter about the lack of coverage in the national media.  He stated that “the protests began precisely because there was no information about the accident and no one knew what was actually going on.”

The Kremlin may have control over through the TV networks but increasingly the youth of Russia are turning to the internet, making it possible to achieve more objective viewpoints on disasters such as the Raspadskaya tragedy.

For more information, please see:

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR – After Russian Coal Mine Disaster, Questions about TV Censorship – 25 May 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE – Black Hole: Russian Mining Tragedy Stirs Old Questions of Class, Privilege – 22 May 2010

THE NEW YORK TIMES – Putin Suggests Human Error in Mine Disaster – 11 May 2010

By Yoohwan Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MINSK, Belarus – Nationwide raids against human rights and opposition activists continue throughout Belarus as police and state officials searched offices and homes in Minsk, Hrodna, Brest, and Homel.  The raids are a part of President Alexander Lukashenko’s ongoing crackdown against rights activists, opposition organizations, and independent news media.  Many organizations have reported that the police have detained several members, and have confiscated office equipment and published materials during these raids.

Photo: Police raid activist’s offices in Belarus. [Source: Charter 97]

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee, an independent rights group, said that Belarusian authorities detained several dozen opposition activists beginning on Tuesday, May 18.  Most of the detained activists were released after questioning, but some activists have been arrested.  Those arrested have been accused of spreading false information, under Article 250 of the Criminal Code of Belarus.

Vladimir Nekliaev, a proclaimed opponent of the upcoming presidential election and the leader of the Speak the Truth opposition group, was arrested on charges of spreading false information.  State officials searched Speak the Truth’s offices and its members’ homes for two consecutive days – May 18 and May 19.

The organization’s founder, Uladzimir Nyaklyayew, recently announced he may run against incumbent Lukashenko in the upcoming presidential election, which will be held either at the end of this year or the beginning of 2011.  According to Nyaklyayew, the organization’s goal is to “prompt Belarusian society to realize the real state of affairs in the country where there is little room for truth but where there are a lot of lies.”

Andrei Dmitriyev, an activist of the opposition United Civil Party, and Sergei Voznyak, the editor of the opposition newspaper Tovarishch were also both arrested after police raided their offices.  They were charged with spreading false information.

Following reports of the arrests, European Union officials expressed serious concern.  “We are very concerned about the news.  We’ll ask for explanations,” said Maja Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for the EU’s policy chief.

In a statement made by European Parliament President, Jerzy Buzek, he urged for democratic reform in Belarus.  “I call on the Belarus authorities to stop immediately all repression and intimidation of civil society groups and to get back on the way to democratization.”

The Interior Ministry of Belarus has declined to comment.

For more information, please see:

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY – Nationwide Raids Against Belarusian Rights Activists Continue – 20 May 2010

EARTH TIMES – EU ‘very concerned’ about Belarus opposition crackdown – 19 May 2010

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS – 2 opposition activists, journalist arrested in Belarus – 19 May 2010

WORLD BULLETIN – Belarus police detains opposition journalist, activist – 19 May 2010

CHARTER 97 – Wreaking havoc in oppositionists’ flats all over Belarus: computers and leaflets confiscated – 18 May 2010