News

Houston Police Arrest Five Men for Kidnapping 115 Immigrants

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

HOUSTON, United States – Police arrested five men on Tuesday, charging them with kidnapping 115 people at gunpoint and holding them in a small Houston area home.  The 115 people are suspected illegal immigrant, who were told by their captors that they must pay a ransom in order to continue their entry into the United States.  Sixteen of the 115 captors were minors.

Police found ninety-nine men and sixteen women in a 1300 square foot Houston area home last week. (photo courtesy of BBC News)

The five men – identified as Jose Aviles-Villa, Jonathan Solorzano-Tavila, Antonio Barruquet-Hildiberta, Jose Cesmas-Borja and Eugenio Sesmas-Borja – appeared before a federal judge Tuesday on hostage taking, weapons, and conspiracy charges.  The judge denied bail to all five suspects, believing them to be a flight risk for trial.

Conviction for the hostage taking charges could result in a 10 year sentence with a potential for 20 years for the conspiracy charges, plus fines.

A criminal complaint drafted by agents from the Department of Homeland Security claimed that agents found the 115 hostages in the Houston area home last week stripped of their shoes and most of their cloths.  The complaint said they were threatened with violence if they did not comply and there were instances of some being kicked and beaten and females being groped.

The captives told authorities that they were held under armed guard, the doors were locked with deadbolts, and the windows were covered with plywood to prevent their escape.  Authorities recovered a shotgun, rifle, stun gun, ammunition, and wooden paddle from the home.

Police found the 115 captives after a Chicago resident contacted Houston police about the possible abduction of her daughter.  The criminal complaint alleges that she paid $15,000 for the return of her daughter and two grandchildren.  After she paid the original ransom, the complaint claims the captors demanded an additional $13,000.

Houston police traced the phone call from the captors and began surveillance on the house, ultimately finding the captives.  Stash houses of more than one hundred captives are not rare in South Texas, but this was the largest in the city in several years.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – 5 Charged in Houston Human Smuggling Operation – 25 March 2014

BBC News – Five charged with holding 115 hostages in ‘stash’ house – 25 March 2014

The Guardian – Five men charged with hostage-taking after 115 people found in Texas house – 25 March 2014

Star Tribune – 5 charged in Houston human smuggling operation after more than 100 immigrants rescued – 25 March 2014

USA Today – Police find more than 100 immigrants in stash house – 20 March 2014

Turkish Court Orders Termination of Twitter Ban

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ANKARA, Turkey – A Turkish court ordered the country’s Telecommunications Authority to restore access to Twitter throughout the country through a court-issued injunction.

Demonstrators against the Twitter ban in Ankara. (Photo courtesy of BBC)

Five days ago, the Telecommunications Authority blocked access to Twitter throughout the entire country. The social network had been a large source of links that provided recordings implicating government corruption. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to “rip out the roots” of the social network, and accordingly ordered the Telecommunications Authority to block the website. The Telecommunications Authority had accused Twitter of not following Turkish court orders to remove certain content from the website.

Since the enactment of the Twitter-ban, lawyers, opposition parties, and journalists both inside and outside the country had advocated for the abolishment of the ban. Pro-Twitter advocates contended that the ban was unconstitutional. The ban drew a lot of international criticism and many Turkish Twitter users found ways to access Twitter during the ban. The Turkish President Abdullah Gul tweeted his opposition to the blockage after it was enacted.

The administrative court in Ankara based its decision on Wednesday on freedom of expression and the right to communicate freely, both of which are cited in the country’s Constitution, as well as the European Convention on Human Rights.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc stated that the Telecommunications Authority would obey Wednesday’s court decision after it received official notice from the administrative court, but that it was reserving the right to appeal the decision. An anonymous government source stated that the Authority has thirty days to implement the court’s decision.

This upcoming Sunday, Turkey will be holding elections which are being regarded as a referendum on Prime Minister Erdogan’s time in office. During a recent election rally in northern Turkey, Prime Minister Erdogan accused opposition parties and media who criticized the Twitter ban of being the “advocate of companies who don’t recognize Turkey’s laws and treat Turkey as a Third World country.” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag stated that the Telecommunications Authority had been merely implementing court orders: “Is it against the Constitution to implement court orders?”

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Turkish Court Orders Halt to Twitter Ban – 26 March 2014

Al Jazeera – Turkish Court Orders Halt to Twitter Ban – 26 March 2014

BBC News – Court in Turkey Suspends Ban on Twitter – 26 March 2014

Reuters – Turkish Court Upholds Appeal Against Twitter Blockage-Media – 26 March 2014

Kenya Orders Somali Refugees Back to Camps after Attack

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya has ordered all urban-based Somali refugees to move into designated camps in a bid to end attacks by militant Islamists.

South-Sudanese refugees at the Kakuma camp (photo courtesy of AFP)

 

The order has been issued because of “emergency security challenges” facing Kenya.

A refugee group condemned the decision as “illegal.”

Kenyans were asked to report any refugees or illegal immigrants outside the overcrowded camps.

“Any refugee found flouting this directive will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said in a statement.

Until now, refugees who could support themselves or were in need of specialized education or medical care had been allowed to live in urban areas.

Lenku said “all refugees residing outside the designated refugee camps of Kakuma and Dadaab are hereby directed to return to their respective camps with immediate effect.”

Somalia’s al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab group has carried out a flood of attacks in Kenya in recent years.

It was behind the four-day siege at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in September, killing 67 people.

On Sunday, at least six people were killed when gunmen opened fire on a church near the coastal city of Mombasa.

This attack came amid heightened warnings of a threat of Islamist violence in Kenya despite boosted security in major cities.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

This attack also came days after police arrested two men with a vehicle stashed full of large quantities of powerful explosives prepared in pipe bombs, which experts said would have been strong enough to bring down a major building.

Kenya has repeatedly claimed that refugees crossing over from Somalia are threatening security.

Mr. Ole Lenku said refugee registration centers in Kenya’s main cities would be closed.

All refugees living in cities and towns should report to Dadaab and Kakuma camps.

Dadaab, where people often live in appalling conditions, is home to more than 400,000 mainly Somali refugees.

Kakuma, a vast desert settlement, is home to more than 125,000 refugees from across the region, including Somalia.

“Any refugee found flouting this directive will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” Mr Ole Lenku added in a statement.

BBC News says this decision will affect hundreds of thousands Somalis, many of whom who live and work in the cities. This could also worsen overcrowding at the camps.

“Kenya has signed international conventions that allow freedom of movement for refugees, and Tuesday’s decision flies in the face of those assurances,” the US-based Refugee International group said in a statement.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Kenya restricts Somali refugees to camps – 26 March 2014
The East African – Kenya orders all refugees into designated camps – 26 March 2014
Aljazeera – Kenya orders all refugees back into camps – 26 March 2014
The Sydney Morning Herald – Kenya crackdown on refugees after attacks – 26 March 2014
Reuters – Kenya orders Somali refugees back to camps after attacks – 26 March 2014

Russian Forces Storm Belbek Air Base in Crimea, Shots Fired

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BELBEK, Crimea – Russia stormed one of the last military facilities still under Ukrainian control in Crimea, amidst a growing search for stability in the region.

Russian forces expelled Ukrainian servicemen from the Belbek Air Base in Crimea, one of the last under Ukrainian control there. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

On 21 March 2014, Crimea’s military bases were still formally under Ukrainian control, but most are now occupied by Russian troops and fly Russia’s tricolor flag. Except for a Ukrainian serviceman who was killed and two others who were wounded in a shooting in Simferopol, the Russian takeover of Crimea has been largely bloodless.

On 22 March 2014, according to Deputy Commander Oleg Podovalov, Russian forces surrounding Belbek, a Ukrainian airbase in Crimea, and gave the Ukrainians an hour to surrender. Later, Russian troops forced their way into the base with armored vehicles, automatic fire and stun grenades. Belbek was one of the last military facilities in Crimea still under Ukrainian control after Russia annexed the peninsula.

Prior to the Russians storming the base, Mamchur had ordered his men to their stations. But those at the gate were armed only with sticks. On demand of parley to a Russian officer, Ukrainians were ordered to leave because the base belonged to Russia. On demand for documents proving that the base belonged to Russia, the Russian officer replied, “When was the last time you watched television?”

A Ukrainian serviceman was injured, and the base’s commander, Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, was detained for talks at an unspecified location.

“We have done everything we could,” Mamchur told his men after the Russians took over the base. “You acted with honor. There is nothing we should be ashamed of.”

Mamchur told his troops he would inform the high command that they had stood their ground. The soldiers applauded, chanting “Long live Ukraine!”

Many stood to take pictures of each other in front of the Ukrainian flag, which continued to fly over the base.

After the Russians entered, a Ukrainian officer who identified himself only as Vladislav said: “We did not provoke this, this was brute force. I do not know whether this base will be formally in Russian hands by the end of the day. Ever since World War Two, this place has been quiet, and they came in here firing, with APCs and grenades. I am very worried now.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron said, and other European leaders echoed, that the best rebuke to Russia would be a strong Ukraine. The EU also sought to bolster other potentially vulnerable nations in Russia’s shadow, signaling that the bloc would tighten relations with Georgia and Moldova.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Russian Troops Storm Ukrainian Bases in Crimea – March 22, 2014

Deutsch Welle — Shots Fired as Troops Enter Ukrainian Base Belbek in Crimea – March 22, 2014

Reuters – Shots Fired as Russian Troops Force Their Way into Ukrainian Base in Crimea – March 22, 2014

Washington Post – Russian Forces Storm Ukrainian Air Base in Crimea – March 22, 2014

South Korea Seeks China’s Support to Refer North Korea to the ICC

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, S. Korea– South Korea has requested China’s support for a United Nations resolution seeking to hold North Korea’s leadership responsible for human rights violations.  To date, Beijing has opposed referring the case to an international court.

North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Un, enjoys a cigarette while overseeing military shooting exercises. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

The U.N. Human Rights Council is seeking to pass a resolution on North Korea’s bleak human rights record this week in Geneva after a U.N. Commission of Inquiry concluded last month that “crimes against humanity” have been, and continue to be, committed by ranking officials in the socialist country.

The United States, the European Union and Japan are working to bring North Korea’s human rights situation before the U.N. Security Council, which has the power to refer the issue to the International Criminal Court (ICC).  Prospects remain dismal because China, key ally of the North, holds a veto.

“We have continued to discuss the issue with the Chinese side, but Chinese officials told us that it would not be an appropriate approach to try to openly address North Korea’s human rights situation,” a South Korean diplomat said on the condition of anonymity.

“The Chinese side maintains that North Korea’s human rights situation should be handled through constructive dialogue and that it opposes such an explicit way” of referring North Korea’s leaders to the ICC, the diplomat said.

China has publicly announced that it would vigorously oppose any move at the U.N. to bring North Korea’s leaders before the global criminal court.

“To bring the human right issues to the International Criminal Court does not help improve a country’s human rights conditions,” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Feb. 17, when the U.N. commission published the report.

Concluding a year-long investigation, the U.N. commission reported widespread executions of people, enslavement and sexual violence by North Korea. It marked the clearest indictment against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, in his speech at the U.N. human rights session in early March, proposed strengthening the role of the U.N. commission on North Korea’s human rights.

“For the international community, it is now time to begin the discussions on next steps to effectively follow up on the commission’s recommendations to improve the human rights situation in North Korea,” Yun said.

“In this vein, we strongly support the strengthening of the U.N. mechanisms to implement the commission’s recommendations. We also look forward to the leading role of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea,” Yun said.

For further information, please see:

Global Post– North Korea Newsletter No. 305— 20 March 2014

Mail Online– A smoking Un! Kim Jong smiles from ear to ear as he oversees army shooting exercise— 18 March 2014

Korea Joongang Daily– EU rep says North Korea felt stable— 20 March 2014

Washington Post– While slaughtering thousands, North Korea’s dictators published children’s books— 18 March 2014