By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MADRID, Spain – Spain and France shut down gang operations that trafficked Chinese civilians into Europe and the US. Human-trafficking, especially child-trafficking, is a recognized problem worldwide that generates millions of dollars for ringleaders annually.

Two years ago, investigators began probing the ring, which police described as “intricately structured, divided into independent and virtually isolated cells to avoid detection.”

Spanish authorities say that, for approximately $60,000, trafficking victims are typically offered a better life, and later subjected to prostitution or harsh working conditions in “clandestine factories.” In this instance, the gang gave the migrants instructions on blending in with tourists, and used “travel enforcers” to ensure the migrants’ passage through airports, across borders, and into cities. When security changes endangered their operation, the smugglers changed quickly to a more lenient destination. After delivery, the smugglers returned to China and Malaysia, where they avoided Western police until instructed further.

While the final destination was typically the UK or US, some were also sent to Ireland, Spain, France, Turkey, or Greece.

Barcelona served as the main European hub, where Chinese migrants awaited falsified documents. Raids recovered 81 fake passports from South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan in addition to fake immigration stamps, Chinese and European currencies, and weapons. In Spain, there were 51 arrests; in France, 24. The ringleaders were arrested in Barcelona.

In a statement, police said, “The composition of this perfectly structured, hierarchical organisation, with its kingpin in China and independent cells operating in different countries, completely shut off from each other, complicated the investigation.”

In March 2013, Spanish authorities busted two Romanian human-trafficking rings. While Spain has acted particularly strong to protect women and children, the US and EU consider human-trafficking in and through Spain an increasing problem.

Recently, the EU warned Thailand about its unrelated human-trafficking record, stating that Europe may impose a ban on importing seafood from Thailand if its record did not improve.

“The European Union has an index for nations whose fishing industries are corrupted by human trafficking. Under the system, Q1 is Good, Q2 is Medium and Q3 is Bad,” Marine Police Region 8 Deputy Superintendent Lt Col Prasert Srikunrat explained to his officers. “Right now Thailand qualifies as -Q2, but that might drop to Q3 in the future. That will affect our fishing product exports because Europe will say no to them if the situation worsens.”

In mid-July 2013, British authorities arrested members of yet another human-trafficking ring, which moved people from Eastern Europe into Derby, UK.

Global problems require global solutions, and human-trafficking gives no exemption. While authorities bring traffickers to justice, people from and visiting all countries and cultures must work together carefully and cautiously to prevent the spread of abduction and the centers of abuse.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Spain and France Bust People-Smuggling Ring – August 10, 2013

BBC – ‘Human Trafficking Ring’ Broken Up – August 10, 2013

CNN – Human Trafficking Roundup Nets 75 in Spain, France – August 10, 2013

International Business Times – Chinese Human Trafficking Ring Busted in Spain and France – August 10, 2013

Phuket Gazette – Phuket Warned Human-Trafficking Record May Result in European Ban on Seafood – August 9, 2013

Derby Telegraph – More Held over Human Trafficking – July 16, 2013

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

UNITED NATIONS – The International Criminal Court made over 2,200 documents of the United Nations War Crimes Commission available online in early July following an agreement with the United Nations.

The unrestricted records, which document thousands of cases against accused World War II criminals in Europe and Asia, are available to academics, researchers, lawyers and activists for the first time since the events themselves.

British academic Dan Plesch, who had been pushing for greater access to the archive for years, spurred the transfer of the documents to an online database.

Plesch, a researcher at the U.N. archive in New York, gave a guest lecture on the War Crimes Commission at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, in March 2012. Hans Bevers, the head of the prosecutor’s research office, told Plesch that the ICC might be interested in obtaining the archive and Plesch put him in touch with the U.N. office that manages the archives.

“Our goal is to make available as widely as possible open archives of the organization. The collaboration with ICC adds to the world’s permanent war crimes tribunal the historical record in international criminal justice,” said U.N. chief archivist Bridget Sisk.

The War Crimes Commission was established in October 1943 by 17 allied nations to issue lists of alleged war criminals and examine the charges against them and try to assure their arrest and trial.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said putting the unrestricted part of the archive online “will greatly enhance the availability of these materials to those engaged in research into the development of international criminal law, as well as to researchers from other academic disciplines.”

The International Criminal Court said more than 2,240 documents, totaling 22,184 pages, with search data for each document, have been added to the ICC Legal Tools Database.

The documents added to the archive relate to more than 10,000 cases.

“These files contain details of many charges of crimes that are not being prosecuted extensively today, including rape and forced prostitution, and crimes by ordinary soldiers,” Plesch said.

In 1949, the U.N. Secretariat drew up rules making the archive available only to governments on a confidential basis. In 1987, limited access was granted only to researchers and historians.

Plesch continues to seek access for researchers to the still- restricted sections of the files, which he said contain some 30,000 sets of pre-trial documents submitted to the commission by national and military tribunals to judge whether a given case should be pursued.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Over 2,220 World War II Documents Now Online – 3 August 2013

The Himalayan Times – Over 2,200 World War II Documents Now Online – 3 August 2013

The Huffington Post – Over 2,200 World War II Documents Now Online – 3 August 2013

Military News – UN Puts 2,200 World War II Documents Online – 3 August 2013

 

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, United Kingdom – The Home Office, which is responsible for immigration, has been accused of racism and profiling in recent operations used to combat illegal immigration, including checkpoints that led to the arrest of 139 suspected offenders. British officials are divided on whether the operations were discriminatory.

During the week of 29 July 2013, vans in London sported posters telling illegal immigrants to “go home or face arrest”, with a number to text for “free advice, and help with travel documents.” While the Unite union sought legal advice on whether the vans “incited racial hatred”, the Home Office denied that the message was racist and refused to apologize for enforcing the law.

At that time, reports surfaced that the Home Office would force nationals of India, Nigeria, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh to pay £3000 before receiving a visitor visa. India demanded confirmation and an explanation, stating that acceptance of the bond would hurt British-Indian relations. Business Secretary Vince Cable assured his counterpart in India that no such policy came before the British Cabinet, and the UK would not consider it.

On 31 July 2013, the official Twitter profile @ukhomeoffice posted pixilated photos of possible #immigrationoffenders being led away from checkpoints by officers. At least three immigrants were Brazilian, Indian, and Ukrainian. Witnesses filled Twitter with protests against operations they claim “targeted ethnic minorities and non-white people.” Others equated the arrests to The Hunger Games, a book and film series about gladiator-style fights on dystopian Earth.

Immigration Minister Mark Harper rejected allegations of racial profiling, and stated that officers were required to have reasonable suspicion that an offense had been committed. Harper said: “We are sending a clear message to employers who choose to use illegal labour. We will find you and you will pay a heavy penalty. Illegal working undercuts legitimate businesses and is often linked to exploitative behaviour such as tax evasion and harmful working conditions.”

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) plans to look into the Home Office’s operations. In a letter to the Home Office, the EHRC will “ask questions about the extent to which the Home Office complied with its public sector equality duty when planning the recent advertising campaign targeted at illegal migration.”

Member of Parliament (MP) Barry Gardiner demanded Home Secretary Theresa May investigate the campaign, writing, “[w]e do not yet live in a society where the police or any other officers of the law are entitled to detain people without reasonable justification and demand their papers. The actions of your department would however appear to be hastening us in that direction.”

In Southern Europe and the Caribbean, “cash-strapped” countries are in bidding wars to attract wealthy Chinese immigrants.

In Germany, where Chancellor Merkel ten years ago ran on a “Children Instead of Indians” campaign, employee shortages have led university and job recruiters to welcome immigrants.

In the UK, perceived racism and hostility will risk long-term damages to international relations, and immigration could be down when the UK needs it most.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – UK Crackdown on Immigrants Branded Racist – August 2, 2013

BBC News – Home Office Vans: Unite Union in ‘Race Hatred’ Query – August 2, 2013

The Independent – Home Office Anti-Immigration Twitter Campaign Branded Start of ‘the UK Hunger Games’ – August 2, 2013

Sky News – Home Office Immigration Tactics Investigated – August 2, 2013

The Telegraph – Nigel Farage Attacks Home Office Immigrant Spot Checks as ‘Un-British’ – August 2, 2013

Guardian – Home Office Tactics in Illegal Immigration Crackdown Prompt Twitter Storm – August 1, 2013

The Times of India – UK’s Move for £3,000 Visa Bond ‘Retrograde Measure’: Anand Sharma – July 31, 2013

The Wall Street Journal – Cash-Strapped Nations Race to Attract Chinese Immigrants – July 30, 2013

Guardian – ‘Go Home’ Campaign against Illegal Immigrants Could Go Nationwide – July 29, 2013

Reuters – Germany Learning to Open Arms to Immigrants – July 21, 2013

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, England – A British Court of Appeal upheld a ruling on Wednesday that the country’s law on assisted suicide cannot be changed by the courts, which quashed an appeal by a paralyzed man named Paul Lamb, and the family of the late Tony Nicklinson.

The Lord Chief Justice, sitting with the Master of the Rolls Lord Dyson and Lord Justice Elias, affirming a High Court ruling, rejected the Nicklinsons’ and Mr. Lamb’s right-to-die challenges.

The Lord Chief Justice stated Parliament represented the “conscience of the nation” as applied to life and death matters, such as capital punishment and abortion.

The late Tony Nicklinson suffered from locked-in syndrome, where an individual is aware and awake but is paralyzed and cannot communicate. Mr. Nicklinson passed away in 2012 after refusing food following the initial High Court decision to reject his right-to-die claim

“We will carry on with the case for as long as we can so that others who find themselves in a position similar to Tony don’t have to suffer as he did. Nobody deserves such cruelty,” stated Nicklinson’s widow, Jane.

Paul Lamb, 57, who has been paralyzed from the neck down after a car accident 23 years ago, joined the right-to-die cause shortly after Nicklinson’s death. Lamb stated he is in constant pain, and has to be injected with drugs, including morphine, on a consistent basis due to his spinal injuries.

“I was hoping for a humane and dignified end- this judgment does not give me that,” Lamb stated.

Lamb and the Nicklinson family stated they will now take their case to Britain’s Supreme Court, and the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.

“I am doing this for myself as and when I need it. I’m doing it for thousands of other people living what can only be described as hell. Many of them have been getting in touch with me begging me to continue this fight. The more it goes on the stronger I am getting,” Lamb stated.

As the law stands currently in Britain, anyone who aids another individual in killing themselves commits an offense of assisted suicide, while a person who carries out euthanasia commits murder.

In a separate case on Wednesday, however, the Judges ruled that another locked-in syndrome sufferer should be allowed to take his case to the Supreme Court. The man is seeking clarification of whether a medical professional would face trial if they helped him travel abroad to a Swiss suicide clinic.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Right-to-Die Campaigners Nicklinson and Lamb Lose Battle – 31 July 2013

The Independent – Barbaric and Inhumane: Paralyzed Man Paul Lamb Hit Back After Judges Dismiss His Right to Die Appeal – 31 July 2013

The Telegraph – Right-to-Die: Laws Must Clarify Whether Doctors Can Aid Euthanasia – 31 July 2013

Yahoo News – British Court Dismisses Landmark Right-to-Die Appeal – 31 July 2013

 

 

Press Release

26 July 2013 – Today, the General Secretariat of Interpol has announced that Interpol cannot be used by the Russian Federation to arrest William Browder, who is running a global justice campaign to sanction Russian officials responsible for the torture and murder of 37-year old lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

“INTERPOL cannot be used by the Russian Federation to seek the arrest of Mr William Browder,” said Interpol’s General Secretariat in the official announcement posted on its website (http://www.interpol.int/News-and-media/News-media-releases/2013/N20130726).

The public statement from Interpol came a day after the Russian Interior Ministry announced that it had sent a request to Interpol to search for Mr Browder on orders from the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office. The news of the Russian authorities targeting Mr Browder with one more international search warrant was covered by 139 news outlets in several hours since its release.

This morning Interpol’s General Secretariat refused the Russian Federation’s request to search for and arrest Mr Browder in order to extradite him back to Russia because the Russian proceedings in relation to Mr Browder have already been found by the Interpol’s governing bodies to be “of a predominantly political nature” and “contrary to INTERPOL’s rules and regulations” following a review held in May 2013 by the Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files. In accordance with the Commission’s recommendation, the General Secretariat of Interpol has deleted all information related to the Russian request concerning Mr Browder from its information systems.

“All information related to this request for Mr Browder’s arrest has been deleted from INTERPOL’s databases and all INTERPOL member countries have been informed accordingly,” said Interpol’s General Secretariat in its official statement.

“It is remarkable that Putin has become so desperate to persecute whistleblowers that he is ready to humiliate himself and Russia in front of key international organizations. The fast response from INTERPOL in this case is an indication that it has put in place effective systems to protect themselves from Putin’s attemtps to draw them into his own corrupt political vendettas”,said a Hermitage Capital representative.

For further information, please see:

Law and Order in Russia