News

UN: Syrian President Assad Linked to Crimes Against Humanity

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – An inquiry conducted by United Nations inspectors implicates Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other high level officials in war crimes committed during the Syrian conflict.

U.N. Human Rights Chief Pillay spoke to reporters on Monday about the evidence of war crimes in Syria and President Assad’s possible role. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

On Monday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated that President Assad and other officials were also responsible for crimes against humanity. The U.N. Human Rights Chief later clarified her remarks stating that the report she received pointed to responsibility at the highest level and that she was not directly accusing President Assad.

However, Pillay said that the U.N.’s inquiry into Syria has produced “massive evidence… [of] very serious crimes, war crimes, crimes against humanity. The scale of viciousness of the abuses being perpetrated by elements on both sides almost defies belief.”

Pillay urged world powers to make accountability for these crimes a priority ahead of the Syria peace talks scheduled for January 22. She has pushed the U.N. Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court, yet the Security Council has neglected to do so.

The inquiry and previous reports from U.N. investigators have stated that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been perpetrated by both sides. However, investigators have maintained that the Assad regime is responsible for the majority of reported offenses. Further, the inquiry points to a policy of abuse implemented by the government.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad disregarded the U.N. Human Rights Chief’s remarks. “She has been talking nonsense for a long time and we don’t listen to her,” he said.

Mekdad was in Geneva to lobby for more supplies and money to aid with Syria’s chemical weapons removal. He said that more trucks and armored vehicles were necessary to safely transport the chemicals to Latakia, where they will be loaded onto a U.S. naval vessel for destruction. He said that part of the risk was from terrorists that might attempt to steal the weapons.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is in charge of the chemical weapons removal. A spokesman for the organization stated that strict guidelines will be applied to any equipment and donations for the disarmament to ensure they are not abused by the Syrian government.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – UN: Evidence links Assad to Syria war crimes – 2 December 2013

BBC – UN implicates Bashar al-Assad in Syria war crimes – 2 December 2013

New York Times – Top U.N. Rights Official Links Assad to Crimes in Syria – 2 December 2013

Washington Post – UN: Syria crimes evidence ‘indicates’ Assad role – 2 December 2013

Guantanamo Bay Detainees Sue Poland over Alleged CIA-Affiliated Torture

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

STRASBOURG, France – Two terror suspects currently held at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba brought a case to the European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday, alleging that Poland was contributing to human rights abuses against them by the United States.

The European Court of Human Rights heard the case on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of Polskie Radio)

Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri claim that they were tortured at a secret prison in Poland affiliated with the CIA from 2002 to 2003. The two suspects allege that they were subjected to torture and isolated detention while in Poland. They claim that they were interrogated with waterboarding, and had mock executions performed on them while being told their family was going to be sexually abused.

Zubaydah, a 42-year-old Palestinian, was accused of coordinating travel arrangements for jihadis loyal to Osama Bin Laden, including those who carried out the September 2001 attacks in the U.S. al-Nashiri, 48, a Saudi, was accused of organizing the 2000 attack on the USS Cole warship in Yemen, in which 17 sailors died.

The U.S.’s war on terror allegedly included CIA operated detention centers in several European countries, according to reports by a Council of Europe investigator. The detention center at issue in Poland is known as Stare Kiejkuty, an intelligence training base near Szczytno in northern Poland.

The suspects were allegedly flown to Poland on the same rendition plane in December 2002. Former U.S. President George W. Bush authorized the rendition policy shortly after the 9/11 attacks to allow the CIA to interrogate terror suspects secretly outside the US.

Zubaydah and al-Nashiri’s lawyers are representing them in Strasbourg and a court statement said their submissions are based mainly on publicly available sources, because of the restrictions imposed on them at Guantanamo Bay.

An investigator at the human rights group Reprieve, stated, “European support for the CIA’s torture program is one of the darkest chapters of our recent history – it is encouraging that the court now looks set to bring it to light, where the [Polish] government has sought to sweep it under the carpet. We have now heard overwhelming and uncontested evidence that the CIA was running a secret torture prison on Polish soil, with the Polish government’s knowledge.”

“The Polish government has failed to contest that it knew prisoners were being held beyond the rule of law and tortured by the CIA inside their own country. It has also become clear that the Polish government’s investigation into the issue was in reality nothing more than a smoke-screen, which was neither designed nor intended to get to the truth,” the investigator stated.

No judgment was issued on Tuesday, however one will be issued at an undisclosed future date.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Two Terror Suspects Sue Poland Over “CIA Torture” – 3 December 2013

The Guardian – Guantanamo Bay Detainees Claim Poland Allowed CIA Torture – 3 December 2013

Polskie Radio – Human Rights Court Examines CIA Prison in Poland Allegations – 3 December 2013

The Voice of Russia – Terror Suspects Sue Poland For Conniving in CIA Torture – 3 December 2013

North Korea Ousts Another Top Official

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PYONGYANG, North Korea–In another sign of an escalating power struggle amongst North Korea’s elite, South Korea’s intelligence agency reported Tuesday the “No. 2 man” in the isolated North appeared to have been disposed from power.

Former Vice Chairman of the North’s National Defense Commission, Jang Seong-thek has been ousted from his powerful position according to South Korean intelligence sources. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

 

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told South Korean lawmakers that Jang Song Thaek, uncle of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, was “recently ousted from his position” as Vice Chairman of North Korea’s powerful National Defense Commission, and that “two of his closest confidantes — Ri Yong Ha and Jang Soo-Kil — were publicly executed in mid-November,” according to opposition lawmaker Jung Cheong Rae.

Still unverified, Jang’s ousting could represent the most serious political shakeup in North Korea since former leader Kim Jong-Il’s death in December 2011.

Jang was widely regarded as second in command in the North Korean leadership, owing to his blood-link to the ruling family, and his visible presence abroad. He married the daughter of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung in the early 1970s and was a close confidant of late leader Kim Jong-il.

“The NIS has assessed the cause of Jang’s fallout to be an internal power struggle,” Cho Won-jin, a conservative lawmaker who was briefed by the NIS, told reporters. “It was a power struggle to consolidate Kim Jong-un’s one man rule.”

Jang was known to have played a critical role in ensuring the smooth succession of his nephew into his role as the head of North Korea’s intelligence and police agencies. Jang was also known as one of the more pro-market reformers among North Korea’s powerful elite.

His influence was on display during a state visit to China in August 2012, on which he brought along fifty North Korean representatives to discuss the two countries’ cooperation in special economic zones near the border. He was received by the then-Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabo.

Some South Korean experts suggest the instability created by this alleged power struggle could lead the isolated nuclear-armed state to take even greater provocative actions on the world stage, in an effort to quell discord and reinforce unity, and reinvigorate the North’s international perception.

“In looking at past cases, when the North Korean regime becomes unstable, there could be more frequent provocations directed against the South,” Yang Moo-jin, a North Korean expert at the University of North Korean studies in Seoul, told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. “If so, then the South-North Korean relations could worsen and the tension on the Korean peninsula will heighten.”

Other experts were not surprised by the reports of Jang’s ouster.

“The signs have been there for some time that Jang was fading. He has been appearing less and less frequently in Kim Jong Un’s presence, or indeed, at all. If that change in his previously high-profile visibility was not caused by health problems, it suggested a political problem,” said one expert, who spoke to CBS News. 

The expert also suggested that Jang’s appearance as a “top leader” was hyperbolic, and indicated that the regime is, and always has been, top-centric.

“There is no power in North Korea except that at the top. From the moment Kim Jong Il died almost two years ago, Jang was vulnerable. He probably had a lot of enemies, but he no longer had any top cover,” said the expert. “It wouldn’t be surprising if Kim Jong Il had told his son to watch Jang carefully, and to cut him down when the time came.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News–North Korea powerbroker ‘dismissed’— 3 December 2013

Washington Post–Kim Jong Un’s uncle ‘very likely’ removed from power— 3 December 2013

Bangkok Post–N. Korean leader’s powerbroker uncle ousted, says South Korea— 3 December 2013

CBS News–North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un reportedly sacks his uncle Jang Seong-thaek, No. 2 man in regime— 3 December 2013

Al Jazeera–N Korean leader’s powerbroker uncle ‘sacked’— 3 December 2013

NSA Monitors Porn Habits to Discredit Dissidents

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – The National Security Agency spied on porn habits of suspected Muslim “Radicalizers” to discredit them according to a report released by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.  The slides Snowden provided to the Huffington Post described “personal vulnerabilities” of six Muslim targets that “view[ed] sexually explicit material online.”

The slides, dated 3 October 2012, identified six targets accused of being involved in terrorist plots outside of the US. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

While the names of six targets in this report were redacted from the report provided by Snowden, the NSA believed all six to live outside the United States.  The report identifies these six targets as “exemplars” of how “personal vulnerabilities” may be used to undermine the views of dissenters.

One dissident was identified as a foreign national and a “respected academic.” His was listed as holding that radicalizing view that “offensive jihad is justified.”  His listed vulnerabilities are “online promiscuity” and “publishes articles without checking facts.”

News of the NSA’s proposed tactics have been met with sharp criticism, both internationally and domestically.

“This is not the first time we’ve seen states use intimate and private information of an individual who holds views the government doesn’t agree with, and exploit this information to undermine an individual’s message,” said NGO Privacy International in response to this news.

Director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, Ben Wizner said via Twitter, “The NSA scandal turns a dangerous corner,” adding, “I bet Washington is full of nervous people.”

Revelations of the latest NSA program came shortly after a group of United Nations experts adopted a right to privacy resolution.  This resolution is set to be passed by the UN General Assembly before the year’s end.

This news was perhaps more damaging to European Union’s review of its commercial data-sharing program known as Safe Harbor.  One EU executor threatened to freeze the pact, effectively eliminating the supply of information on transatlantic air passengers as well as the exchange of information intended to limit terrorist funding.

For more information, please see:

TIME – NSA Monitored Porn Habits To Discredit ‘Radicalizers’ – 27 November 2013

USA Today – NSA spied on porn habits, HuffPo reports – 27 November 2013

Fox News – NSA reportedly spied on porn habits to discredit Islamist radicals – 28 November 2013

The Washington Post – The Switchboard: NSA discussed using porn habits to discredit Muslim radicals – 27 November 2013

BBC News – NSA ‘planned to discredit radicals over web-porn use’ – 27 November 2013

Scottish Government Releases Plan for an Independence From United Kingdom Ahead of 2014 Referendum

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GLASGOW, Scotland – Scotland’s “white paper”, a legal argument for the country’s independence, was unveiled earlier this week in Glasgow.

The “white paper” was released in Glasgow on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of The Scotsman)

The 670-page document, released by Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond, set forth the democratic, social, and economic reasons for Scotland to leave the United Kingdom. The white paper arrives a year before a referendum on the issue to be held next year.

“Scotland’s future is now in Scotland’s hands,” Salmond said on Tuesday, during the launch in Glasgow. “It won’t be decided by me, it won’t be decided by our opponents, it won’t be decided by the media. It will be decided by the people.”

Salmond stated that the much-anticipated white paper will enable the dismantling of the United Kingdom. Under the plan, Scotland would continue using the pound as its currency, would retain the queen as its head of state, and the country would retain its membership in the European Union. However, Scotland would have its own defense force and collect its own taxes.

The white paper also sets out detailed plans for currency, taxation, childcare, welfare and other issues that may face an independent Scotland. Salmond stated that there would be no need to increase taxes once Scotland seceded from the U.K. Salmond also said that Scottish taxes would not be spent on nuclear programs and the United Kingdom’s nuclear missiles, currently stored in Scotland, would be relocated elsewhere.

“We know we have the people, the skills and resources to make Scotland a more successful country. Independence will put the people of Scotland in charge of our own destiny,” Salmond stated. He added that he wanted to tackle a “legacy of debt” stemming from Scotland’s union with England.

The plan calls for Scotland’s oil and gas reserves to presumably boost Scotland’s economy for the next 50 years, but the country will look to renewable energy thereafter.

Meanwhile, the UK government is campaigning to retain the more than 300-year-old union between England and Scotland. The referendum is to be held on September 18 of next year, 2014.

For more information, please see:

The Scotsman – As it Happened: Scottish Government’s White Paper Launch – 27 November 2013

Al Jazeera – Scottish Nationalists Launch Independence Bid – 26 November 2013

BBC News – Scottish Independence: Voter’s Views on White Paper – 26 November 2013

The Guardian – Scotland: Assertions of Independence – 26 November 2013