By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed that all public demonstrations not related to the Olympic games will be banned around Sochi between January 7 and March 21, 2014. Human rights organizations have issued a statement that the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) new president—to be elected in September 2013—must ensure that hosts comply with all human rights, as according to the Olympic Charter.

In June 2013, Russia passed an anti-homosexual law that banned anything accessible by minors that constitutes “gay propaganda”. In response, activists claimed that all public displays and information related to homosexuality have been made illegal. However, the IOC stated that it received “strong assurances” that the law would not affect competitors or spectators at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.

Swedish high jumper Emma Green Tregaro and other competitors have planned to openly support the LGBT community at the Games.

In the U.S., some have noted that the Olympics seem to attract human rights violations, such as the detention and torture of anti-Olympic protesters in Beijing and the use of tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters in Rio. Following the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, supporters also note that the Olympics have been a perfect protesting stage. For instance, in 1968, King encouraged John Carlos and Tommie Smith to make their iconic black-gloved salute at the Summer Olympics.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak stated in a letter to the IOC that Russia will fully comply with the Olympic Charter’s provision against all forms of discrimination.

Kozak added that the law “cannot be regarded as discrimination based on sexual orientation” because it applies to everyone equally.

On 23 August 2013, Putin announced that all “gatherings, rallies, demonstrations, marches, and pickets” that are not part of the Olympics or Paralympics are banned in Sochi for the two-and-a-half months surrounding the 2014 Winter Olympics. Additionally, vehicles entering Sochi must be cars with local license plates, emergency vehicles, or a vehicle accredited by the Olympic organizers.

On its Twitter page, the television channel Dozhd posted: “Putin’s decree has turned Sochi-2014 into Moscow-1980.” In 1980, Soviet authorities had restricted entry to Moscow during the Summer Olympics and forced dissidents and other “anti-social” people out of the city limits.

While Russian authorities have already repeatedly denied gay activists’ applications to set up a Pride House in Sochi during the Olympics, activist Nikolai Alexeyev denounced Putin’s decree and told the Associated Press that he would petition the Supreme Court next week. Alexeyev intends to argue that by creating the ban, Putin is “violating our right to freedom of assembly.”

In addition to gay pride protests, Human Rights Watch has protested against the harassment of journalists and activists investigating alleged illegal activity connected to the Games, including the ill-treatment of migrant workers, environmental damage, and inadequate compensation for those building the Olympic complex.

To punish the few, Putin attacked the whole. For the whole to find peace again, they must now welcome the few.

For further information, please see:

Euronews – Putin Bans All Public Gatherings during Sochi Winter Olympics – August 24, 2013

Deutsche Welle – Putin Bans Protests in Sochi during Russia’s Winter Olympics – August 23, 2013

Reuters – Olympics Hosts Must Have Clean Rights Record – Rights Group – August 23, 2013

Washington Post – At Sochi Olympics, the Podium Can Be a Platform – August 23, 2013

Washington Post – Russian President Putin Bans Any Rallies in Sochi before and during 2014 Olympic Games – August 23, 2013

Times – Russia Defends Anti-Gay Law in Letter to Olympic Committee – August 22, 2013

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, England – The decision of British authorities to detain the partner of a journalist who has reported on both United States and United Kingdom surveillance programs has come under fire, as opposition politicians and human rights lawyers are demanding an explanation.

David Michael Miranda, the partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, who writes a column for the British newspaper The Guardian, was detained for nine hours before being released without charge.

Greenwald has written about the U.S. and U.K. surveillance programs based on the leaks by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Miranda had met with Laura Poitras, an American filmmaker who has worked with Greenwald on the Snowden leaks, in Berlin and was in route to Rio de Janeiro. The Guardian has stated that Miranda, though not an employee of the newspaper, “often assists [Greenwald] in his work,” and the newspaper generally reimburses Miranda for his flights.

During Miranda’s nine-hour detention, the maximum allowed by law, he was questioned by many agents. “I stayed in a room; there were six different agents, entering and leaving, who spoke with me. They asked questions about my whole life, about everything. They took my computer, video game, cellphone, memory thumb drives- everything,” Miranda stated.

The police have stated that Miranda’s detention was lawful under Schedule 7 of Britain’s Terrorism Act 2000, which allows police to detain an individual at an airport, port or international rail station for up to nine hours for questioning about whether they have been involved with acts of terrorism.

“They completely abused their own terrorism law for reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism,” Greenwald has written in a column.” He opined that his partner’s detention and questioning were “clearly intended to send a message of intimidation to those of us who have been reporting on the NSA and GCHQ.”

Britain’s official independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, David Anderson, stated he has asked authorities to explain why Miranda was detained for the maximum allowable amount of time. Of the 69,000 people stopped pursuant to Schedule 7 between 2011 and 2012, less than 40 people have been held for over six hours.

As Miranda is a Brazilian national, Brazil’s foreign minister Antonio Pariota has sought reasoning from British Foreign Secretary William Hague, calling Miranda’s detention “not justifiable.”

Though the United States government has stated it was given a “heads up” regarding the planned detention, it has stated that the decision for the detention was independent from them.

Greenwald now plans to “write much for aggressively than before” about the U.K.’s surveillance programs. “I’m going to publish many more things about England as well. I have many documents about the system of espionage of England, and now my focus will be there, too. I think they will regret what they’ve done.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Snowden Journalist to Publish UK Spy Secrets – 20 August 2013

The Independent – Snowden Affair: US Was Given ‘Heads-Up’ on Detention of David Miranda at Heathrow – 20 August 2013

BBC News – US Given ‘Heads-Up’ on David Miranda Detention – 19 August 2013

The Guardian – David Miranda: “The Said I Would be Put in Jail if I Didn’t Cooperate” – 19 August 2013

New York Times – Britons Question Whether Detention of Reporter’s Partner Was Terror-Related – 19 August 2013

Yahoo News UK & Ireland – Use of UK Terror Law to Detain a Reporter’s Partner ‘a disgrace – 19 August 2013

 

 

 

 

 

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Activists and celebrities started campaigns against the Sochi Olympics, pointing to Russia’s prohibition on homosexual “propaganda” and pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva’s (Russia) apparent support of it. Amidst outcry, U.S. President Barack Obama and athletes rejected boycotting the Olympics.

 

In June 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a ban on homosexual “propaganda”. While the Russian Interior Ministry stated that the law would be enforced during the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee said that it “received assurances from the highest level of government in Russia that the legislation will not affect those attending or taking part in the Games.”

Olympic athletes have expressed their support for the LGBT community. After all, speed skater Blake Skjellerup (New Zealand) and figure skater Johnny Weir (U.S.) stated that the Olympic Games in Russia is best place to stand against homophobia.

Going on record about his sentiments in a blog post for Runner’s World Magzine, Runner Nick Symmonds (U.S.) stated his support for the LGBT and his disagreement with Russia’s law. However, he also wrote, “I say this not out of fear of prosecution by the Russian government, but out of respect for the fact that I will be a guest in the host nation. Just as I would not accept a dinner invite to a friend’s house and then lecture them on how to raise their kids, neither will I lecture the Russian government on how to govern their people.”

On 13 August 2013, high jumper Emma Green Tregaro (Sweden) and 200m runner Moa Hjelmer (Sweden) painted rainbow colors on their fingernails before competing in Moscow.

On 15 August 2013, pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) received criticism for defending her country’s laws. “We consider ourselves like normal, standard people, we just live boys with women, girls with boys,” she said. “It comes from the history. [The protests are] disrespectful to our country. It’s disrespectful to our citizens, because we are Russians. Maybe we are different than European people and people from different lands. We have our law which everyone has to respect. When we go to different countries, we try to follow their rules. We are not trying to set our rules over there. We are just trying to be respectful.”

To clarify her comments, Isinbayeva made a statement released by the local organizers of championships: “What I wanted to say was that people should respect the laws of other countries, particularly when they are guests. I respect the views of my fellow athletes, and let me state in the strongest terms that I am opposed to any discrimination against gay people.”

FIFA, which planned for Russia to host the 2018 World Cup, asked for clarification on the law because FIFA statutes “foresee zero tolerance against discrimination.” Qatar, which also prohibits homosexual activity, has been awarded the 2022 World Cup.

Amidst mounting tensions, creating unity remains the ultimate goal.

For further information, please see:

CNN – Nick Symmonds Blasts Russia on Gay Rights at Moscow Track Championship – August 16, 2013

Euronews – ‘I Was Misunderstood’ Says Gay Row Russian Athlete – August 16, 2013

RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty – As Gay Athletes Prepare to Take a Stand in Sochi, the Question Is How to Do It – August 16, 2013

Sky News – Yelena Isinbayeva: Respect Russia’s Gay Law – August 16, 2013

Washington Post – Russian Pole Vaulter Says She May Have Been Misunderstood When She Condemned Homosexuality – August 16, 2013

The Guardian – Isinbayeva Says Green Tregaro’s Gesture Was Disrespectful to Russia – August 15, 2013

Bloomberg Businessweek – FIFA Asks WCup Host Russia to Explain Anti-Gay Law – August 14, 2013

USA Today – Entertainment World Leads Olympic Outcry against Russia – August 11, 2013

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – The attempted arrest of a single rape suspect has snowballed into a massive citywide raid on immigrants across Russia, though the suspect was not an immigrant.

Khalimat and Magomed Rasulov, natives of Russia’s Dagestan region, were involved with an altercation with police on July 27 which lead to a fight, and a head injury to a police officer. Police had come to arrest one of the brothers on rape charges at a Moscow market in which they vended watermelons, when a relative of the brothers struck an officer with brass knuckles; gravely injuring the officer.

Two days later on July 29, Moscow police began raiding street markets, underground factories, and the subway system all across the city and arresting immigrants whom didn’t have requisite paperwork on their person. Russia’s Federal Migration Service has reported that nearly 1,500 immigrants have been detained thus far, with almost 600 of those individuals being held in a temporary tent camp that some have stated resembles a war zone.

“This is absolutely normal. In any society, in any country, if an emergency situation happens, then the government and society begin to act more harshly,” Moscow’s mayor, Sergei S. Sobyanin has stated.

The nearly 1,500 immigrants have included individuals from Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Syria, Morocco, Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan, and Egypt. The nearly 600 occupants of the tent camp were detained during a raid at an underground textile factory which had been shut down in 2009. According to Mayor Sobynin, counterfeit products were being made on three floors. There has been an inundation of the city’s detention centers due to all of the raids in the past few weeks, so the Emergency Services Ministries constructed the tent camp to accommodate.

The Ministries has claimed that the tent camp has the potential to accommodate over 900 individuals, however many have reported cramped conditions in too little tents, with only four outdoor showers and inadequate portable toilets.

Vladimir Lukin, Russia’s human rights ombudsman, has expressed concerns that the conditions at the tent camp “do not comply with government provisions.”

Russian authorities have prepared a bill that would create an additional 83 detention centers across the country.

Some point to the rampant corruption among police and politicians who charge illegal immigrants high fees for legal documents. It is widely believed that the July 29 incident that spawned these raids escalated due to the Rasulov’s refusal to pay the officers a bribe.

Meanwhile, the citywide raids have continued almost every day, and they are supported by a majority of Russians who attribute most crimes to illegal immigration. Mayor Sobynin, who is up for reelection on September 8, has seen his poll numbers rise. His opponents have also taken on the issue.

“For me this isn’t just a number. For me it means one simple thing: that the women in my building are afraid to go out on the street at night,” stated Aleksei A. Navalny, the most prominent mayoral challenger.

But some do not support the raids with the same fervor that the mayoral candidates do.

“Everything about this massive sweep violates Russia’s obligations under international law. Prolonged detention without counsel, ethnic profiling, inhuman conditions-it should stop now,” stated Human Rights Watch’s director in Russia, Tanya Lokshina.

For more information, please see:

NY Times – Russia Steps Up Raids Against Migrants – 12 August 2013

RIA Novosti – Police Round Up Illegal Migrants Across Russia – 12 August 2013

The Atlantic – Behind Russia’s Migrant Raids, a Vast Network of Bribes and Opportunism – 7 August 2013

The Guardian – Russia Detains Immigrants in ‘Concentration Camps’ – 6 August 2013

 

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BUDAPEST, Hungary – At age 98, one of the few remaining suspected Holocaust war criminals, Lazlo Csatary died awaiting trial in a Budapest hospital. In so doing, he left many questions unanswered.

Born just south of Budapest in 1915, Csatary became a police officer throughout Hungary until settling in the city of Kosice. In March 1944, Germans occupied Kosice. As commander of the Royal Hungarian Police in the area, Csatary allegedly helped Gestapo round up and deport several Hungarian Jews in cattle wagons. According to witnesses at the trial of Csatary’s commanding officer, by May 1944, Csatary pursued and beat detainees with a dog-whip in the outskirts of Kosice. When cattle wagons, destined for Auschwitz, were packed tightly with people, witnesses claim Csatary forced even more detainees inside. By the end of the war, Csatary allegedly sent over 15,500 Jews to the death camp.

Following a 1948 in absentia conviction for war crimes in Czechoslovakia, Csatary fled to Canada, where he became a citizen and Montreal art dealer. Canada revoked his citizenship in 1997 for lying on his application, stating that he was a Yugoslav national.

In September 2011, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre of Los Angeles received a tip that led them to discover Csatary in Budapest in 2012.

On 18 July 2012, reports indicate that Csatary was taken into custody for questioning. While Slovakia wanted to try him in their courts and even changed his sentence from the death penalty to life in prison to make the verdict executable, Hungary indicted Csatary on 18 June 2013. Csatary denied the allegations against him.

On 8 July 2013, Budapest’s higher court suspended the case, stating that “Csatary had already been sentenced for the crimes included in the proceedings, in former Czechoslovakia in 1948”, and the court needed to determine whether that verdict was valid in Hungary such that Csatary could serve it.

However, on 10 August 2013, Lazlo Csatary died in a Budapest hospital. According to his lawyer, Gabor B. Horvath, his death was caused by pneumonia.

“This is a very unfortunate end to a saga that lasted far too long,” Efraim Zuroff, Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s Israel Office, said Monday. “Csatary should have been brought to justice shortly after the war. … We gave the Hungarian prosecutors evidence two years ago, and this should have been taken care of months ago in Budapest.”

Zuroff further said, “The fact that a well-known war criminal whose Nazi past was exposed in Canada could live undisturbed for so long in the Hungarian capital raises serious questions as to the commitment of the Hungarian authorities to hold their own Holocaust criminals accountable.”

Absent an official trial and ruling on whether the decedent was the same man who committed atrocities during the Holocaust, the world will never know whether one of the last suspects was anything more than just that. Moreover, absent further search, Holocaust survivors will never know if justice was just in reach, or if justice still waits to be served.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Lazlo Csatary: Holocaust Questions Go Unanswered – August 12, 2013

Bloomberg Businessweek – Hungarian Suspected Nazi-Era War Criminal Csatary Dies at Age 98 – August 12, 2013

CNN International – Nazi War Crimes Suspect Laszlo Csatary Dies at 98 – August 12, 2013

Euronews – Nazi War Crimes Suspect Laszlo Csatary Dies before His Trial – August 12, 2013

Jewish Telegraphic Agency – Hungarian War Criminal Laszlo Csatary Dies at 98 – August 12, 2013