By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KIEV, Ukraine – Eastern European Ukraine postponed hopes of stronger ties with Western Europe, hoping to become closer to Russia. In doing so, Ukraine President Yanukovych’s party dropped legislation that would have been required under its trade deal with the EU.

On 21 November 2013, Ukrainian authorities declared that it would put EU integration on hold while it builds closer ties with Russia. At the same time, Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych’s party refused to vote on opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko’s release so she could seek surgical treatment in Germany. The EU considers Tymoshenko a political prisoner, and the Ukraine decision destroyed hope of her receiving freedom in exile.

To sign a trade and cooperation deal with the EU, the bloc required Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych to release his political rival. The deal would have transformed the political map of Eastern Europe.

Tymoshenko supporters at the party headquarters in north Kiev feared this outcome for several weeks. “I’m not going to be at peace until I see her in a hospital in Germany,” said Tymoshenko’s daughter, Evgenia. “I know that anything can go in the opposite direction.”

Demonstrations for Tymoshenko’s release lasted longer than US “Occupy” protests. Years of dirt and car exhaust turned the activists’ tents brown. More than uniting with Europe, activists wanted to leave the camp for winter.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt tweeted, “Ukraine government suddenly bows deeply to the Kremlin. Politics of brutal pressure evidently works.”

Yanukovych allies claimed that Kiev risked sanctions beyond the trade Russia cut off in August. In just four months, the blockade devastated Ukraine’s economy by $5 billion. Also, Russian natural gas provider, Gazprom demanded repayment of Ukrainian debts—nearly $800 million.

Implementing EU laws would cost another $104 million.

Russian official Viktor Suslov promised that Moscow “will not impose any more sanctions or limit trade” as long as Ukraine holds off on partnering with Europe.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Boiko said, “The country cannot afford this. That is why this decision was made.”

In 2004, the Orange Revolution, led by Tymoshenko, brought her to power while it ousted Yanukovych. In 2009, Yanukovych narrowly defeated Tymoshenko in the presidential election that brought his pro-Russian allies back to power. Ukrainian authorities prosecuted Tymoshenko for several crimes, such as abuse of office. Chronic back pain has forced Tymoshenko into guarded hospital wards for the majority of her sentence.

Russia dominates a free-trade bloc that includes Kazakhstan and Belarus. Ukraine hopes Russia will allow the country back into that bloc by lifting current sanctions.

By 23 November 2013, Tymoshenko’s party plans to begin a major rally in Kiev’s Maidan Square, which has strong ties to the Orange Revolution.

While Russia hinted that Ukraine should postpone their deal with the EU, it appears that any deal for EU integration requires a long wait.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Ukraine Suspends Preparations for EU Trade Agreement – November 21, 2013

Bloomberg – Putin’s Low Blows Drive Ukraine away from Europe – November 21, 2013

Reuters – Ukraine Drops Plan to Go West, Turns East – November 21, 2013

TIME World – Putin Wins Again as Ukraine Snubs EU, Keeps Opposition Leader in Prison – November 21, 2013

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MUNICH, Germany – Cornelius Gurlitt, the German owner of over 1,400 artworks believed to have originally been stolen by the Nazis during World War II, has stated that he is the legal owner and will not voluntarily hand over the paintings.

 

Gurlitt stated that the paintings had been acquired legally in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine. The collection is estimated to be worth over 1 billion dollars. It was found in Gurlitt’s Munich apartment back in March 2012.

The collection includes paintings by Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Otto Dix and Max Liebermann. Experts opined that many of the paintings and sketches are in excellent condition.

The works were discovered in Gurlitt’s home in March 2012 during a routine tax inspection. Most are believed to have been seized by the Nazis from their owners during World War II, and were long thought to have been lost or destroyed.

Gurlitt inherited the collection from his father, Hildebrand. Hildebrand was an art dealer who sold works which had been confiscated or bought by the Nazis, and Gurlitt contends that this latest collection was rightfully acquired. Authorities are conducting investigations to establish who the possible original owners of the paintings may be.

Gurlitt, 80, had been silent regarding the collection since the authorities discovered it, until now.

“I’m giving nothing up voluntarily,” he stated in the interview when asked whether he would return any works to their original owners. Gurlitt contended that his father obtained the works legally. He also accused authorities and the public of misrepresenting him, stating that he had already provided the authorities with enough evidence to remove any suspicion from him.

German prosecutors have said they do not have “any strong suspicion of a crime that would justify an arrest.”

Jewish groups have complained at the length of time it took the German authorities to unveil the artworks. Their existence became public at the beginning of November. Jewish families and museums believe the paintings were taken from them by the Nazis and are calling for their return. The collection is being held at an undisclosed location for the time being.

For more information:

ABC News – Hoarder of Nazi-Looted Art Treasures Calls Paintings the Love of His Life – 17 November 2013

BBC News – Nazi-Looted Art: German Collector Says He Owns Pictures – 17 November 2013

Haaretz – Munich Art Collector Spent His Life Among His Paintings and No One Else – 17 November 2013

CNN – Who Were the Mystery Men Behind Germany’s “Nazi-Looted” Art Haul? – 11 November 2013

 

 

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ATHENS, Greece – A rising group known as the “Militant People’s Revolutionary Forces” has claimed responsibility for the murder of two supporters of Greece’s Golden Dawn party earlier this month.

The Militant People’s Revolutionary Forces, an anti-establishment group, released an eighteen-page letter on Saturday claiming that it conducted a drive-by shooting that left two members of the Golden Dawn party dead outside the Party’s offices.

The group stated that the murders were conducted to retaliate for Golden Dawn’s alleged involvement in the murder of activist-rapper Pavlos Fissas back in September. A Golden Dawn supporter had confessed to the murder, but the Party itself has denied any involvement in Fissas’ death.

“The brazen murder of Pavlos Fissas was the drop of blood that made the glass overflow. The armed attack-response … is the starting point of the people’s campaign to send the neo-Nazi scum of Golden Dawn where they belong, to the dustbin of history,” the Militant People’s Revolutionary Forces’ letter stated. The letter was published on the news website www.zougla.gr, though the authenticity of the letter has not been validated by police.

Amidst the murder of the two Golden Dawn supporters, Greece has seen a growing public angst against Golden Dawn, which is widely regarded as “neo-Nazi” and frequently accused of attacks against migrants and left-wing activists.

Golden Dawn’s leader, Nikolaos Mihaloliakos, and five additional Golden Dawn leaders were recently charged with “belonging to a criminal group”, as the Greek government has cracked-down on the party due to the public furor surrounding Fissas’ murder.

The party, Greece’s third most popular according to surveys, had lost nearly a third of its support after Fissas’s death this past September, even though the party denies accusations of all violence and rejects its neo-Nazi label. An opinion poll that was also released on Saturday indicated that support for Golden Dawn had subsequently increased since its two supporters were murdered in retaliation.

The poll by ALCO released in the Proto Thema newspaper, conducted from November 12 to 15, put support for Golden Dawn at 8.8 percent, up 2.2 points in a month, but still below the 10.8 percent it enjoyed in June.

For more information, please see:

The Independent – Previously Unknown Greek Group Claims Responsibility For Golden Dawn Shootings – 17 November 2013

New York Times – Guerrilla Group Says It Killed Two From a Greek Extremist Party in an Athens Suburb – 17 November 2013

Ekathimerini – New Urban Guerrilla Group Claims Murders of Golden Dawn Members – 16 November 2013

Reuters – Greek Militant Group Claims Golden Dawn Killings – 16 November 2013

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BRUSSELS, European Union – The United Nations called for European countries to cease refusal of entry to asylum-seekers.

Since March 2011, nearly 2.2 million people have fled Syria.

On 3 November 2013, Bulgarian skinheads warned the government in Sofia to clear the streets of “illegal immigrants”, or they would do it themselves. The next day, two Bulgarian men stabbed and killed a Syrian boy near a school where 8000 refugees are housed.

On 15 November 2013, the United Nations (UN) refugee agency expressed concern that European Union (EU) countries have allegedly denied or forcibly returned Syrian and other asylum-seekers.

In Bulgaria and Greece, reports indicate that authorities have deployed to the border regions hundreds of police, who turned away migrants attempting to enter the countries. While Bulgaria allowed approximately 85 people per day into the country during the summer, that number is now 10-15 per day.

The UNHCR asked Greek authorities to investigate the fates of 150 Syrian refugees, following a 12 November 2013 incident in which Evros villagers reported that the refugees were detained and transported by police to an unknown location.

“Introducing barriers, like fences or other deterrents, might lead people to undertake more dangerous crossings and further place refugees at the mercy of smugglers,” said the spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Adrian Edwards.

“UNHCR is calling for a global moratorium on any return of Syrians to neighbouring countries. This would represent a concrete gesture of solidarity with these countries that currently host over 2.2 million Syrian refugees.”

Edwards called for genuine burden-sharing outside existing EU mechanisms, stating that returning Syrian refugees only increases the challenges faced by countries who accept them, and that EU countries with external borders should not be the only countries accepting refugees in the EU.

UNHCR commended some EU countries that did not to return all asylum-seekers to their first point of entry in the EU. To encourage solidarity with EU border countries, UNHCR appealed to others to follow suit.

“Two weeks ago the EU allocated €85m for Syrian refugees bringing the total humanitarian support so far to €400m,” said EU Ambassador-designate to Israel Lars Faaborg. “About half of this sum will be spent inside Syria to help civil society groups provide basic services while the other half will be used to help Jordan cope with the 500,000 Syrian refugees on its territory.”

Faaborg recently visited the Ziv Medical Centre in Israel, where he witnessed “the wonderful treatment the hospital is providing injured Syrians.”

“The commitment to the welfare of other human beings, regardless of the fact that they belong to an enemy nation, should be a source of pride to all Israelis,” Faaborg said.

That commitment should also be a source of pride for all people of all countries worldwide, and the first step is accepting those who seek asylum.

For further information, please see:

TIME – Syrian Refugees Find Discomfort and Unrest in Bulgaria – November 16, 2013

AFP – UN Warns over Refugees Turned Away in Greece, Bulgaria – November 15, 2013

European Jewish Press – EU Ambassador Lauds Israel for the Medical Treatment of Wounded Syrians – November 15, 2013

UN News Centre – UN Concerned That European Union Countries May Be Denying Entry to Syrians, Other Asylum-Seekers – November 15, 2013

In 2012, Pussy Riot staged an anti-Putin protest imploring Virgin Mary to “throw Putin out”, as they sang in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. Following charges of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, three band members were sentenced to two years in jail. Western governments and activists objected, saying the sentences were disproportionate.

In October 2013, Russian courts released Yekaterina Samutsevich on appeal.

Convicted Pussy Riot band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova staged a hunger strike when her own appeal failed. Tolokonnikova alleged that Mordovia prison staff forced inmates to work long hours, and denied her drinking water. She demanded a transfer, if not release.

About 26 days ago, Tolokonnikova went missing following a stay in the medical unit of the Mordovia penal colony. On 14 November 2013, her husband, Pyotr Verzilov announced that he finally spoke with her. The next day, Verzilov had a video conversation with his wife. Verzilov learned that Tolokonnikova arrived at a prison hospital in Krasnoyarsk, of western Siberia, where she is undergoing several tests. He hopes to visit her next week in Krasnoyarsk.

While Tolokonnikova’s hospital is known as the “Tuberculosis Hospital No 1”, Verzilov emphasized that she does not have tuberculosis.

“She feels more or less well, she told me yesterday on the phone,” Verzilov said. “It was the first phone call allowed in 26 days, ending this lengthy, almost month-long isolation that started in Mordovia and then continued throughout her lengthy transit, which spanned 4,000 kilometers across the whole of Russia.”

Verzilov added, “She thinks the conditions of this hospital are fairly good. She is surprised by how different it is here compared to Mordovia and other prison facilities she has encountered since her stay in the Moscow detention center. She is in a good mood now.”

While she was treated relatively well, prison authorities kept her in isolation during the trip between penal colonies.

Russian authorities corroborated that “convict Tolokonnikova has arrived to the institution of the Russian prison service in the Krasnoyarsk region.” However, her exact location was given to her lawyer with instructions not to tell anyone else. Russian law required authorities to inform Tolokonnikova’s family about the transfer within 10 days of her arrival at the new facility.

Aleksandr Nazarov, an official of the state agency supervising penitentiaries, stated that Tolokonnikova could potentially stay in the hospital until her sentence is served.

On this path, it seems that Russia is making good efforts to treat prisoner complaints with respect.

For further information, please see:

CNN International – ‘Missing’ Pussy Riot Inmate Tolokonnikova in Siberian Prison – November 15, 2013

RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty – Husband of Jailed Pussy Rioter Hopes to See Her Next Week – November 15, 2013

Telegraph – Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova ‘May Serve Rest of Jail Term in Hospital’ – November 15, 2013

BBC News – Jailed Pussy Riot Singer ‘Found in Hospital’ – November 14, 2013

Impunity Watch – Report Says Russian Pussy Riot Prisoner Transferred to New Penal Colony – November 4, 2013