By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, United Kingdom – European Union and numerous national law enforcement agencies arrested 23 gang members on Tuesday suspected of transporting more than 2,000 illegal immigrants into Europe.

Suspects were arrested in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.  Ocriest, French immigration enforcement agency, as well as law enforcement agencies from a number of other European nations, coordinated the investigation and arrests.  The investigation that led to these arrests began over eighteen months ago.  Eventually a smuggling operation, entering the continent in Turkey, then moving to Greece, Italy, Germany and eventually their final destination nations, was uncovered.

Arrests made by the UK’s Serious Organized Crime Agency also confiscated identity documents, cell phones, and cash.  Overall, 13 people were arrested in France, four in the UK, two in Greece, two in the Netherlands and one in Italy.

The immigrants that were smuggled into Europe by the gang members were largely from Iraq and Afghanistan.  Those that were smuggled in paid up to 15,000 euros for transportation from Iraq to Europe.  For additional payments, these immigrants were able to have a personal escort and transportation to their final destination.  During one of the arrests of suspects in the UK, seven illegal immigrants were detained.

The EU estimates that there are approximately 8 million illegal immigrants in Europe.  According to Mikael Jensen, deputy head of Europol’s Crimes Against Persons Unit, most individuals smuggled into Europe within the last three years have been Iraqi.  These arrests mark the third operation conducted by Europol since mid 2008 against illegal human smuggling networks.  This past June Europol arrested 75 in another smuggling network which brought in immigrants from Iraq.

These coordinated efforts by European government investigations come at a time when there is increased domestic political pressures to counter the increased illegal immigrant populations, and the impact they have in the areas of national security and employment, in their respective countries.

For more information, please see:

VOXY – 22 People Smugglers Arrested – 18 November 2009

TAIWAN NEWS – France: Illegal immigration network dismantled – 18 November 2009

AHN – Coalition of European Law Enforcement Groups Arrest 23 In Human Trafficking Ring – 17 November 2009

BBC – Traffickers targeted in EU raids – 17 November 2009

REUTERS – Police nab smugglers who brought 2,000 into EU – 17 November 2009

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BERLIN, Germany – A 90 year-old German has been charged with the World War II killings of 58 Jews in March of 1945.

According to German prosecutors, Adolf Storms was a squad leader within the 5th SS Panzer Division operating in Duisburg, Austria.  He took part of the murder of 57 Jewish forced laborers.  The remains of the massacre were found in 1995.

With the war winding down, Storm allegedly devised the plan to kill the prisoners he was guarding.  He escorted the Jewish laborers into a wooded area, where he proceeded to execute each one.

Storms participation in this massacre was discovered last year by an 28-year old University of Vienna student, Andreas Forster, while researching the massacre.  After looking up Storms in the telephone book Forster informed his professor, Walter Manoschek, of his discovery.  Manoschek went to Storms home in Duisburg, Germany and interviewed him regarding his activities in WWII.  Forster turned over the information to German state prosecutors.  In December of 2008 local authorities raided Storms’ home.

Storms told Manoschek that he does not remember the killings in question.  After the war Storms was detained in a US prisoner of war camp, but was released.  It has been reported that Storms changed the spelling of his name after the war, which may explain why he has gone undiscovered for so long.

While charges have been filed against Storms, the investigation by state prosecutors continues.  Prosecutor Andreas Brendel has stated that he has gathered testimony from three former Hitler Youth members who can offer eye witness testimony that will be used against Storms.

Whether the age of Storms will influence the prosecutor’s final decision to move forward with the investigation has not been decided.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Former SS member, 90, charged over Nazi massacre – 17 November 2009

AP – 90-year-old charged in Germany for Nazi-era crimes – 17 November 2009

CNN – 90-year-old man charged over Nazi massacre – 17 November 2009

DW-WORLD – Court charges former Nazi for murdering Jewish laborers – 17 November 2009

THE GUARDIAN – Former Nazi SS member charged with killing Jewish labourers – 17 November 2009

REUTERS – German Prosecutors Charge 90 – Year – Old Former SS Man – 17 November 2009

MOSCOW, Russia – A Russian police officer, with his remarks on widespread corruption within the country’s police forces, has taken the rare step of voicing his concerns publicly.

In a video posted on his own website this past week appealing directly to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Major Alexei Dymovsky accused his superiors in Novorossiisk’s police force of a number of actions and policies, indicating a widespread culture of corruption within the police force.  According to Dymovsky, as an officer he was required to met monthly arrest quotas, even if it meant arresting the innocent.  Additionally, the low pay of officers have led many officers to accept bribes as a means of supplementing their income.  Following the posting of his video, Dymovsky was immediately fired from his position.

In a Moscow press conference on Tuesday, Dymovsky stated that he possessed over 150 hours of taped conversations with his superiors that will support his allegations of criminal behavior in the department.  In addition to losing his job, Dymovsky claimed that his phone has been tapped and he was being followed.  His bank and cell phone accounts have also been shut off.  He is asking to present the evidence he has compiled to Putin personally.

In his homemade video Dymovsky declared that “We have to serve the law, not the generals.  I want to keep working and I want to achieve justice.”

Dymovsky’s recent statement are only the latest allegations regarding police corruption.  This past April a Moscow police officer killed three people in a supermarket.  The aftermath of this led to the Moscow chief of police being fired.  Just last month a regional Interior Minister was arrested for the selling of contraband materials.  These stories have diminished the credibility of Russia’s law enforcement community among the public.  A poll published by the Levada Center indicated that two-thirds of Russians do not trust the police, while 64 percent do not believe that the police are effective.

Interior Ministry representatives, as well as local Novorossiysk officials, have publicly denied the Major’s allegations.  An investigation by regional officers has concluded that Dymovsky’s claims are false.  Nevertheless the Interior Minister promised there to be a investigation into the Major’s claims, and any police officer linked to these allegations would be prosecuted.

Since being posted onto YouTube on Tuesday, Dymovsky’s video has been viewed over a million times.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Russia admits police corruption – 10 November 2009

CBS NEWS – Whistleblower Tackles Russian Police Corruption – 10 November 2009

RADIO FREE EUROPE – ‘YouTube’ Whistleblower Arrives In Moscow On Police Day, As Scandal Deepens – 10 November 2009

REUTERS – Russian ex-officer’s anti-corruption blog causes stir – 10 November 2009

MOSCOW, Russia – The Russian Constitutional Court is considering the reinstatement of the death penalty in the country’s criminal justice system.

When Russia joined the Council of Europe in 1996 it agreed to outlaw executions in accordance with Protocol Six of the European Convention.  However, the Council’s proposed ban on the death penalty was never ratified by the Duma, the Russian legislature.  In 1999 the nation’s Constitutional Court found that the death penalty could no longer be used until jury trials were established in all of the country’s regions.  Currently jury trials have been established in every region except Chechnya.  But given the coming expiration of this ban on January 1, when the Northern Republic of Chechnya adopts jury trials, the Constitutional Court has been asked by the Russian Supreme Court to review this ban to see whether it needs to be extended.

In addition to addressing the issue of the moratorium, the Constitutional Court must also address the issue of whether the reinstating of the death penalty would violate Russia’s international obligations.  Russia is currently the only member of the 47 countries that make up the Council of Europe to not ratify the ban.

Although the death penalty remains in the nation’s criminal code, the death penalty moratorium is still adhered to in Russia.

There have been some calls for the reinstatement of the death penalty to be applied to those involved in terrorism in Chechnya.  Polls indicate that a majority of Russians are in favor of the death penalty.  President Dmitry Medvedev and many of the leaders in the Duma, however, have indicated their desire to not see the death penalty re-introduced.  A spokeswoman for the Federation Council, the upper house of the legislature, expressed the sentiment of some legislators.  “The states that kills criminals – its citizens – should not expect an improvement in the moral climate of the country.”

Vladimir Lukin, Russia’s chief human rights ombudsman, noted statistics that the use of the death penalty in other countries has not acted as an effective deterrent to crime.

Not all Russian political leaders are supportive of continuing the moratorium.  Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the investigative committee of prosecutors, is among those supporters.

A spokesman for the Constitutional Court indicated that the court’s decision may come before the new year.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Russia to decide on death penalty moratorium – 10 November 2009

RIA NOVOSTI – Russia’s Constitutional Court hears arguments on death penalty – 10 November 2009

AP – Russian court looks at death penalty ban extension – 9 November 2009

FOCUS NEWS – Top Russian court set to rule on death penalty moratorium – 9 November 2009

REUTERS – Russian High Court Debates Reinstating Death Penalty – 9 November 2009

RT – To kill or not to kill, that’s the Supreme Court’s question – 31 October 2009

MOSCOW, Russia – Two suspects have been charged by a Moscow city court in the murders of a Russian human rights lawyer and journalist.

Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgenia Khasis, allegedly members of a Russian neo-Nazi organization, were charged Thursday with the Moscow murders of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova.  The chief of the Federal Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov, confirmed that the two suspects were arrested during a larger initiative targeting domestic extremist groups.  In addition to a long record of opposing the actions of Russian security officials, Markelov, 35, had also been a the lawyer for journalist Anna Politkovskaya and worked on behalf of a Chechen family who’s daughter had been killed by a Russian Army officer.  Baburova, 25, was a student journalist.

Investigators have confirmed that it was Tikhonov who actually killed the two victims, while Khasis served as a lookout.  The announcement of these arrests, made by the nation’s top law enforcement official and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, came as the Kremlin has faced increased criticism for failing to properly investigate the continued killings and disappearances of leading human rights activists and opposition journalists in recent years.

Both Tikhonov and Khasis are members of the radical nationalist organization Russian National Unity.  Additionally, according to Bortnikov, Tikhonov has been a member of United Brigade 88, an extreme right-wing ultra nationalist organizations.  United Brigade 88 has been engaged in a campaign of anti-immigrant violence.

Tikhonov’s lawyer has commented that it was the intention of Tikhonov to kill only Markelov.  Markelov had worked in the past to obtain tougher punishments for those were responsible for the 2006 killing of a Russian anti-fascist organizer and had encouraged security officials to arrest Tikhonov.  Tikhonov, although never arrested, had been a additional suspect in that killing.  The lawyer went on to indicate that Baburova death was accidental, since he had been leaving a news conference with Markelov when the shooting took place.

For more information, please see:

AP – Two Suspects in Killings of Lawyer, Journalist Arrested – 6 November 2009

NEW YORK TIMES – Man Admits to Killing Russian Rights Lawyer, Stanislav Markelov, and Reporter – 6 November 2009

RADIO FREE EUROPE – Two Arrests Made In Moscow For Markelov, Barburova Murders – 6 November 2009

WASHINGTON POST – Russia Arrests 2 in deaths of human rights lawyer, journalist – 6 November 2009

THE OTHER RUSSIA – Suspect Confesses to Murder of Russian Lawyer – 5 November 2009