By: Sara Adams
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Europe 

ROME, Italy – The Italian government has threatened to close its ports to prevent an influx of migrants from entering the country.

The suggestion to close ports was suggested by Italy’s EU ambassador, Maurizio Massari, to EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos during a meeting.

About 73,000 migrants have entered Italy this year. The migrants are mostly from North African countries.

For those who are not aided by a nonprofit group, the route is treacherous. Smugglers from Libya stow away migrants on small fishing boats. Nonprofit aid groups like Doctors Without Borders, as well as the EU’s official rescue operation Frontex, rescue stranded migrants, dropping them off on Italy’s shores.

The Italian Coast Guard also joins in rescue efforts.

Nearly 2,000 have died on the journey or gone missing. In one instance, Italian authorities arrested a man for allegedly torturing migrants in Libya as they waited for passage on a smuggler’s boat.

The consideration of closing ports comes after the arrival on Italian shores of 11,000 migrants over the course of five days.

The government has suggested refusing docking privileges to boats that are not carrying Italy’s flag.

Other countries have closed their borders to migrants to prevent them from moving north, out of Italy. Poland and Hungary have avoided taking on refugees to lessen Italy’s burden. And on June 26, police at the French-Italy border sprayed tear gas at the 400 migrants attempting to travel north.

Critics have described this threat as a “panic measure.” Mattia Toaldo, a Libya expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said that he would be “surprised if [this move] is legal.”

EU leaders agree that Italy and Greece need to receive more aid in managing incoming refugees and migrants.

The move to close ports would not impact the European Union’s Frontex program. The program is governed by international law and cannot be altered. The commissioner’s office will be in charge of leading discussions for the policy change. These discussions will likely include the nongovernmental humanitarian aid groups.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Italy Threatens to Close Ports to NGO Migrant Rescue Ships – 28 June 2017

The Washington Post – World Digest: June 28, 2017 – 28 June 2017

BBC News – Migrant crisis: Italy threatens to shut ports – 28 June 2017

The Guardian – Italy considers closing its ports to boats carrying migrants – 28 June 2017

ABC News – The Latest: Aid group fears for migrants at Italy border – 27 June 2017

Reuters – Italian police use tear gas on migrants trying to enter France – 26 June 2017

 

By: Sara Adams
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Europe

STRASBOURG, France – Russia’s law that banned the “promotion of homosexuality to minors” was ruled discriminatory on June 20 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The law, introduced in 2013, made it illegal to engage in any event or act that attempted to “promote” homosexuality to minors. Three activists were fined for violating the law when they staged pro-LGBT protests between 2009 and 2012.

The fines ranged from around 85 US dollars (USD) to upwards of 8,400 USD.

The activists were unsuccessful in their first appeals to Russian courts, where they argued that the laws were discriminatory. As a member of the European Convention on Human Rights, the ECHR has the power to hear the cases that Russian courts refused.

The ECHR found that the activists had been discriminated against. They opined that the laws encouraged prejudice and homophobia in a democratic society. Even though the intent of the law, to protect minors, was in the public interest, the Court found that the application of the laws were “arbitrary” and lacked a clear definition.

They also found that the law served no legitimate public interest.

The Court held that the discriminatory effect of the law was a violation of the people’s right to freedom of expression. The Russian government was ordered to pay the activists almost $55,000 (USD) in monetary damages.

Discrimination against the LGBT community in Russia has been prevalent for several years. Until 1993, homosexuality was a punishable criminal offense. Until 1999, homosexuality was considered a “mental illness.”

Nearby Chechnya has also been in the news lately regarding LGBT rights. It has been reported that the republic, located within Russia, has been detaining gay men in detention camps.

Though Russia is a member country of the Convention on Human Rights, a law was adopted in 2015 that would allow Russia to overrule judgments from the Court. The law, supported by President Putin, aimed to give the country the right to ignore ECHR decisions if they “conflict” with the constitution.

The Justice Ministry in Russia has spoken out against the decision, claiming that the law did not establish any measures “aimed at banning homosexuality…or its official censure.” The Ministry has stated that it will appeal the ruling within three months.

For more information, please see:

New York Times – Russia’s ‘Gay Propaganda’ Laws Are Illegal, European Court Rules – 20 June 2017

The Guardian – Russian ‘gay propaganda’ law ruled discriminatory by European court – 20 June 2017

Reuters – European court angers Russia with ‘gay propaganda’ ruling – 20 June 2017

BBC News – European Court blasts Russia ‘gay propaganda’ law – 20 June 2017

NBC News – European Court Angers Russia With ‘Gay Propaganda’ Ruling – 20 June 2017

CNN – Russian ‘gay propaganda’ law discriminatory, European court rules – 20 June 2017

BBC News – Russia passes law to overrule European human rights court – 4 December 2015

 

By: Sara Adams
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Europe

EUROPE – The European Union has begun legal action on June 13 against three member countries for not taking in their fair share of refugees. The action will be brought in the European Court of Justice.

The Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary are the countries that may face fines for ignoring EU plans to resettle asylum seekers in the region. This proposal, formed in 2015, was to relocate 160,000 refugees across the European mainland.

In March, Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern suggested cutting EU funds to nations that refuse to comply with the measures.

Hungary has taken hardline measures in its asylum policy. They passed a law that would detain asylum seekers into border camps for them to wait for their cases to be handled.

Under the EU plan, each country is assigned to take a certain number of refugees or migrants from the vast number of those coming in. Poland has not accepted any. The Czech Republic has taken 12 of their 2,000 allotment.

Further south, the populist mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, has asked the national government not to send any more migrants into the city. Italy has had an influx of refugees and migrant workers coming in from North Africa for the past three years.

In March, when the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban passed the bill allowing detainment of migrants before asylum, he reinforced his hardline stance on immigration. He claimed that immigration is the “Trojan horse of terrorism,” and argued that this was necessary to “defend [Hungary’s] borders…[So] no one will try to come to Hungary illegally.”

The rising fears among Europe regarding refugees are often based on security concerns. With the recent terror attacks in the United Kingdom, member nations of the EU remain on guard. Anti-immigrant sentiment is by and large in the continent and is an especially popular topic of discussion in local elections.

Immigration advocates push against the rhetoric pushed by anti-refugee leaders around the world. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called Hungary’s law an act “[promoting] toxic notions of ethic purity”.

Human rights group Amnesty International has also been outspoken against the anti-immigration sentiment of the three countries involved in the EU legal action. The European office director of the group, Iverna McGowan, said that the EU’s action shows that “countries will not be allowed to get away with dragging their feet to avoid accepting refugees.”

She continues, “Solidarity is the key to a fair and humane response to refugees in Europe.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Don’t send more migrants, Rome mayor tells Italy’s government – 13 June 2017

BBC News – EU targets Poland, Hungary, and Czechs for not taking refugees – 13 June 2017

New York Times – E.U. Move Against 3 Countries That Don’t Take Refugees – 13 June 2017

ABC News – EU warns 3 countries of legal action over refugee plan – 13 June 2017

Reuters – Rome’s 5-Star mayor calls to half migrants’ flow into city – 13 June 2017

The Guardian – Austria threatens EU funding cuts over Hungary’s hard line on refugees – 8 March 2017

BBC News – Hungary to detain all asylum seekers in border camps – 7 March 2017

 

 

By: Sara Adams
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, United Kingdom – On June 5, a van ran onto the sidewalk of London Bridge and swerved back to hit a crowd of pedestrians. Amid the chaos, the attackers exited their van and proceeded to continue their attack on bystanders with knives and fake bomb belts. At least seven people were killed.

The United Kingdom is still reeling from the Manchester bombing on May 22. The bridge attack was quickly found to be terrorism related to the Islamic State.

In response, Prime Minister Theresa May suggested that the UK will change their human rights laws in order to prevent more terror attacks in the country.

These changes, she said, may include longer prison terms for convicted terrorists and simplified deportation methods for “foreign terror suspects.” It has also been speculated that the United Kingdom may seek to opt-out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The ECHR began in 1953 after the European Convention in Rome in 1950. Article 15 of the treaty would allow the UK to disregard certain aspects of the Convention under certain circumstances. One of the strict circumstances that would permit the UK to forgo their obligations would be a public emergency that “threatens the life of the nation.”

Prime Minister May argues that the United Kingdom should do what it takes to fight the terrorism problem in Britain. She told the British magazine The Sun on Wednesday, “if human rights laws get in the way of doing these things, we will change those laws to make sure we can do them.”

Critics, among them the Labor Party and the Liberal Democratic party, say that P.M. May’s statements are “cynical”. Former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg told the BBC that P.M. May’s “[attack] of the principles of human rights legislation is not the right way to keep us safe”.

Given the results of the general election on June 7, it is uncertain whether Prime Minister May will remain in power much longer. Her Conservative party lost the majority in Parliament by a handful of votes. With this, it is unclear whether the Prime Minister’s plans to rollback human rights laws will come to fruition.

For more information, please see: 

NBC News – London Bridge Attack: 18 Minutes of Chaos in Borough Market, on Streets – 5 June 2017

ABC News – Who’s who, what’s at stake in Britain’s unexpected election – 7 June 2017

BBC News – Theresa May: Human rights laws could change for terror fight – 7 June 2017

CNN – Theresa May: UK will change human rights laws if needed for terror fight – 7 June 2017

NBC News – U.K. Election: British PM Theresa Under Pressure After Shock Vote – 11 June 2017

By: Sara Adams
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Europe 

BERLIN, Germany – One of the few remaining former-Nazi officers died on June 1 while waiting to serve his time in prison.

Last June, Reinhold Hanning, a former Nazi officer at Auschwitz was convicted for crimes committed during World War II. Hanning was charged with 170,000 counts of accessory to murder.

Yesterday, Hanning died at 95 years old.

Hanning was expected to serve five years in prison.

Hanning was an SS officer between 1942-1944. He was placed at Auschwitz Birkneau, the most notorious concentration camp set up by Hitler to exterminate the Jewish population in Europe.

After a trial that lasted months, Hanning appealed the conviction. His lawyers claimed that, because he personally did not kill anyone, he should not be charged. Up until recently, prosecutors were required to prove that defendants on trial for World War II atrocities had been directly involved with the murders.

In 2011, this requirement was altered when a German judge found that working at a concentration camp for the Nazis is considered to be “complicity in mass murder”.

As for Hanning, the Court sentenced him, despite his appearance of regretting the atrocities. He was handed his sentence and quickly appealed.

While waiting for the appeals process to be complete, Hanning passed away.

During the Holocaust, millions of Jews were tortured and killed at concentration camps. Other groups targeted included the disabled, Gypsies, and those who spoke out against the Nazi regime.

Only one former SS guard remains. At 96 years old, Oskar Gröning waits for his four year sentence to begin. Currently, he waits for the prosecutors to collect medical evidence to determine that he can spend time in prison and still receive appropriate care.

It has been over 70 years since the genocide in Europe.

Many of the victims, and their families, present at Hanning’s trial last June expressed that they were relieved that he had at least been brought to justice.

The Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, Christoph Heubner, told the New York Times that “the biggest aim was achieved”.

This aim, he says, was to ensure that the judgment of guilt was passed onto those involved in the atrocities.

The most important thing is for people to remember these types of events in order to not repeat the horrors.

“You cannot forget Genocide,” Heubner says. “Even if you try for years to repress it.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Reinhold Hanning: Convicted Nazi guard dies before doing to prison – 1 June 2017

NBC News – Reinhold Hanning, Convicted Former Auschwitz Guard, Dies at 95 – 1 June 2017

BBC News – Former Auschwitz guard Reinhold Hanning convicted – 17 June 2016

The New York Times – Reinhold Hanning, Former Auschwitz Guard Convicted a Year Ago, Dies at 95 – 1 June 2017

The Washington Post – Reinhold Hanning, former Auschwitz guard convicted last year of 170,000 counts of accessory to murder, dies at 95 – 1 June 2017