By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BRUSSELS, European Union – Over 1000 migrants were rescued this week in the Mediterranean region. The European Union has called for countries to continue saving migrants traveling dangerous routes, amidst calls to restrict benefits for EU citizens migrating within the bloc.

On 2 January 2014, Italian naval authorities rescued 233 migrants who were first noticed New Year’s Day, about 80 miles south of Lampedusa. The boat measured only 33 feet (10 meters) long, and all of the migrants were without life jackets.

On 3 January 2014, an additional 823 migrants in four overcrowded boats were rescued in an operation separate from the 2 January events. Those migrants primarily came from Egypt, Tunisia, Iraq, and Pakistan.

Smugglers often use unseaworthy boats packed beyond safe capacities. Frontex, the European Union border agency noted that tens of thousands of people are rescued from the Mediterranean annually. European authorities estimate that, during January to September 2013 alone, roughly 31,000 migrants entered the EU illegally by crossing the Mediterranean.

In a statement released by the Italian navy, the rough seas and the boat’s “precarious state of buoyancy” were the deciding factors in transferring the migrants to the San Marco navy ship. The migrants will be transferred to the port of Augusta, which is located on the island of Sicily. Many migrants came from Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia, Pakistan, Zambia, and Mali.

Refugees seeking asylum in European Union countries frequently travel toward Lampedusa because it is the closest Italian island to Africa. In recent years, many have come from African nations and Syria. In October, 366 migrants from Africa died when a ship to Lampedusa sank just off-shore; within days, another boat capsized, killing the 34 people on board.

For twenty years, most migrants have entered the European Union through Italy, Greece, and Malta, a Mediterranean island.

While Italian authorities rescued migrants spotted around New Year’s Day, the Greek Coast Guard rescued 85 migrants, including 20 women and 15 children, a few miles southwest of Astypalaia, an island in the Aegean Sea. After offerings of food and water, the Coast Guard safely transferred the migrants to Astypalaia, and towed their sailboat to another island.

The Ministry of Mercantile Marine, in cooperation with Greek police, plan to transfer the migrants to a larger island for medical examination and any necessary treatments, as Astypalaia has only one doctor to assess all rescued migrants, in addition to the island’s residents.

Dangerous methods of migrating to the EU have created a call for greater discussions about the issue, amidst calls from Germany to prevent internal migration from encouraging “benefit tourism.”

In addressing both internal and external migration, the EU must ensure that its work to prevent abuse of freedom to one group does not abuse the rights of others.

For further information, please see:

New York Times – Italy: More Migrants Rescued at Sea – January 3, 2014

Reuters – Italian Navy Rescues over 1000 Migrants from Boats in 24 Hours – January 3, 2014

BBC News – Migrants Spark German Coalition Rift Amid Welfare Angst – January 2, 2014

CNN International – Italian Navy Rescues 233 Migrants from Mediterranean Boat – January 2, 2014

Greek Reporter – 85 Illegal Immigrants Found in the Aegean Sea – January 2, 2014

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Izhevsk , RUSSIA – The Russian creator of the AK-47 assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, died on Monday, December 23^rd at the age of 94.

Kalashnikov died in his hometown of Izhevsk near the Ural Mountains in Russia, where his gun is still manufactured. No cause of death has been released. Kalashnikov had been fitted with a pacemaker at a Moscow hospital in June and had been hospitalized in Izhevsk since November 17. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed “deep sympathy” for Kalashnikov’s family.

Kalashnikov created the AK-47 while being treated in a hospital in Kazakhstan after he was severely wounded in a burning tank during World War II, while still in his 20’s. Five years later, his design was chosen by the Russian military. The “47” in AK-47 stands for the year 1947, the “A” is for “avtomat” (automatic rifle), and the “K” for Kalashnikov.

The rifle, which has killed more people than any other firearm in the world, is officially in service in 55 countries. Several national emblems feature it. However, approximately half of the world’s estimated 100 million AK-47’s are counterfeited copies that were produced without licenses.

Modern versions of the AK-47 are still used by Russia’s armed forces and police more than 60 years after the original rifle went into service in the military in 1949. However, Kalashnikov has stated that his pride in the rifle was mixed with pain in observing it being used by criminals and child soldiers. The AK-47 has also been used worldwide by gangsters, drug traffickers, militants and rebels in various countries.

“It is painful for me to see when criminal elements of all kinds fire from my weapon. I created this weapon primarily to defend the borders of our fatherland,” Kalashnikov stated in an address to a Russian arms conference in 2009.

Kalashnikov was born on November 10, 1919 into a large peasant family in the village of Kurya in the Altai region of southern Siberia during the Bolshevik Revolution. During Soviet times, he was twice honored as “Hero of Socialist Labor” and became a Stalin Prize and Lenin Prize laureate. Kalashnikov also was given the rank of colonel in 1969 and subsequently rose to become a two-star general during his time with the Red Army.

Though it is widely believed that Kalashnikov was wealthy from his design, he was not a rich man and lived in a modest Soviet-era apartment in Izhevsk, despite the Kremlin decorations.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Mikhail Kalashnikov, AK-47 Inventor, Dies at 94 – 23 December 2013

CNN – Mikhail Kalashnikov, Inventor of AK-47, Dies at 94 – 23 December 2013

New York Times – Mikhail Kalashnikov, Creator of AK-47, Dies at 94 – 23 December 2013

Reuters – Ak-47 Rifle Inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov Dies at 94 – 23 December 2013

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Newly freed Russian musicians Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova have declared to shift their work from Pussy Riot to human rights.

 

Pussy Riot band members Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova recently served 21 months of a two-year sentence for “hooliganism.” On 23 December 2013, Russia released both members on amnesty.

Except for prison-acquired cigarette habits, no signs suggest that the women’s spirits are broken from their time served. Together, they hope to abolish Moscow’s neo-Gulag prison system.

In a 27 December 2013 media conference, the women declared that they will not continue Pussy Riot’s music project. Instead, Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova will become crusaders for prison reform, through their new human rights group, “Rights Zone.”

“For us, the punk prayer in the Christ the Savior Cathedral is not very important anymore,” said Tolokonnikova. “We are different people now. We lived through a long life in prison. It is a totally different reality from the one you live. And this common experience unites us now much more than our joint participation in the punk prayer in the Christ the Savior Cathedral.”

“Imagine,” said Alyokhina, “that at six this morning you were free: you could go where you want, say what you want, eat what you want. Then you were suddenly arrested; slung in a holding cell, and you were told to strip naked, bend over, then squat. So you’re standing there, naked, utterly helpless. And that’s how your journey to prison begins. It is the first thing you see. And it is legal.”

Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova hope to create Rights Zone in close “ideological and conceptual” cooperation with other public figures were also released on amnesty, such as opposition leader Aleksey Navalny and former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Indeed, in a statement that they want Russian President Vladimir Putin out of office, they backed Khodorkovsky for President.

“For us, [Khodorkovsky] is important, because he’s a very strong person, a very tough person, and an incredible human being who went through a much tougher and much longer prison experience than we did,” said Tolokonnikova. “And that’s why he’s very valuable for us. He will work in the field of human rights protection in prisons, and that’s why we have to count on him.”

Nevertheless, while the former band members do not have the funds to create Rights Zone on their own, they have refused to ask Navalny or Khodorkovsky for sponsorship. Instead, the women plan to raise money by crowdfunding, which is a fundraising method commonly used by activists and artists asking for public donations via the internet.

With several controversial public figures released from Russian prisons on amnesty, only time will tell how successful any of them can be in political reformation, or whether new attempts could place them back in Russian prisons.

For further information, please see:

Telegraph – We Still Want to Cast Vladimir Putin out, Say Freed Pussy Riot Members – December 28, 2013

RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty – Pussy Riot Members Want Khodorkovsky for President – December 27, 2013

Rolling Stone – Pussy Riot Unveil Plans for Human Rights Organization – December 27, 2013

RT – Pussy Riot Abandons ‘Brand,’ Will Form Human Rights Group – December 27, 2013

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Thousands of Swedish citizens gathered in the streets of Stockholm on Sunday in an effort to protest widespread racism, in response to a neo-Nazi attack on a similar rally held last weekend.

Last weekend, approximately thirty neo-Nazis attacked an anti-racism demonstration in the Stockholm suburb of Karrtorp by throwing bottles and firecrackers at the protestors. Scuffles quickly ensued, and two people were stabbed, while twenty-six of the neo-Nazis were detained by police officers.

Organizers of Sunday’s protest suggest that over 16,000 protestors participated in the rally. The protestors could be heard chanting requests for fellow citizens such as, “End racism now”, and “No racists on our streets.” Several Swedish musicians and politicians were on hand. The musicians performed on a stage assembled on a football field. The politicians represented both the current-ruling center-right coalition and the center-left opposition.

“I want to contribute to a broad revulsion against Nazism and racism. Last week’s attack was sad. The lesson learned is that the fight for the equal value of all humans must carry on, or we won’t manage the fight against xenophobia,” Swedish Integration Minister Erik Ullenhag stated.

Sweden has seen a rise in support for the far right Anti-Immigration party as immigration has grown. These Swedish Democrats have reached roughly ten percent in the polls ahead of a parliamentary election next year. Stockholm experienced the worst riots in years this past May in mostly-impoverished immigrant Stockholm suburbs, as youths threw rocks at police officers and set cars on fire for over a week.

Sections of Karrtorp, which does not have a particularly large immigrant population compared to other areas of the city, were sprayed-painted with swastikas and Nazi slogans in response to last week’s protest.

Similar lower-key anti-racism rallies were held in support at several other Swedish cities on Saturday and Sunday.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Thousands Rally Against Racism in Sweden – 23 December 2013

Haaretz – After neo-Nazi Attack, Thousands Rally in Sweden Against Racism – 23 December 2013

The Local – Anti-Racism Rally Attracts Thousands in Stockholm – 22 December 2013

Reuters – Thousands of Swedes Rally Against Racism – 22 December 2013