News

Al-Qaeda-Affiliated Group Claims Responsibility for Murders of Two French Journalists in Mali

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GAO, Mali – The Al Qaeda-linked militant group, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has claimed responsibility for the deaths of two French journalists, who were murdered in Mali on Saturday.

Dupont and Verlon were abducted and murdered by a subset of Al Qaeda on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

The Mauritanian news agency, Sahara Medias, stated that it received the message in the form of an email. In the email, AQIM claimed it was responsible for the deaths of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, journalists from Radio France International.

Dupont and Verlon were found dead just outside of Kidal in northern Mali hours after being abducted at gunpoint. Sahara Medias stated the email said the murders had been carried out by a unit led by Abdelkrim al-Targui, a Malian national who has risen to prominence internally in a branch of Al Qaeda that is led by Algerian jihadists. Sahara Medias, often sent statements by Islamic militants in Mali, stated it received the email from fighters loyal to Targui.

“This operation was a response to crimes committed by France against Malians and the work of African and international forces against the Muslims of Azawad,” the email stated.

France had launched a military operation in the ground and air in Mali in January earlier this year, with the objective of reclaiming territory seized by Islamist militants in the northern part of Mali.

The AQIM statement also suggested that the murders were “the minimum debt” owed by the French people and President François Hollande “in return for their new crusade.”

Targui is a native of the Kidal region of Mali and is also believed to be responsible for the previous kidnappings of two French nationals, Philippe Verdon and Serge Lazarevic. Verdon and Lazarevic were abducted from the town of Hombori in northern Mali in 2011. Lazarevic remains in captivity, while Verdon was executed earlier this year.

AQIM grew in the 1990’s out of a movement started by radical Algerian Islamists who sought the overthrow of the Algerian government and to replace it with Islamic rule. The organization joined forces with Al Qaeda in 2006 and has spread itself across the Sahel region abutting the southern Sahara desert.

On Tuesday, France stated that it had sent seven investigators, including intelligence and police officials, to Mali to assist in the search for Dupont and Verlon’s killers. A member of the Malian security forces said that roughly thirty five suspects had been arrested in connection with the murders.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – “Al-Qaeda killed” French Reporters Dupont and Verlon in Mali – 6 November 2013

France 24 – Al-Qaeda-Linked Group Claims Murder of French Journalists – 6 November 2013

New York Times – Killing of French Journalists Reverberates in France and Mali – 6 November 2013

Reuters – France, Malian Forces Hunt Suspects Behind Journalist Killings – 4 November 2013

 

Egypt Court Upholds Ban on Muslim Brotherhood

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – On Wednesday, a court in Egypt upheld an earlier ruling that banned the Muslim Brotherhood and ordered their assets confiscated. Muslim Brotherhood lawyer Osama el-Helw announced that they would appeal the ruling and may do so on multiple grounds and in multiple courts.

Mohamed Morsi supporters protest outside of the Cairo Police Academy, where his trial took place on November 4.

The group was originally banned on September 23 as a result of the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi. In that ruling, the court ordered the Brotherhood’s assets to be seized until the criminal trials of the now removed president and the leaders of the Brotherhood are complete.

The original verdict was viewed as a pretext to move against the Muslim Brotherhood’s assets which include schools, hospitals, charities, and businesses. On October 2, members of the ruling government created a committee to review the assets, but thus far have not moved against them.

The leftist Tagammu party, which filed the case demanding the banning of the group, said the new ruling should give the authorities the green light to move.

“The government must take urgent measures to implement the court ruling … and prove it is serious about implementing the law,” Hani el-Husseini, a Tagammu member, told the official MENA news agency.

El-Helw said the government has already violated due process by forming the committee and allowing it to begin its work while the group had filed for suspension of ruling.

“We will pursue legal means. Let the law be the arbiter,” el-Helw said.

Although an appeal is planned it will not stop the government from moving forward unless it is accepted by another court. Legal experts say it is unlikely that the ruling will be overturned despite the fact that the court may have been improper and failed to provide clear guidelines for monitoring the Brotherhood’s assets.

The Muslim Brotherhood has already begun feeling the effects of the new regime, specifically in a charitable capacity.

Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from Cairo, said: “We have been speaking to charities that are affiliated with the organization who say that over the past couple of months, things have gotten very difficult for them indeed, and their donations have all but totally dried up. But now we will see things get even tougher for the Muslim Brotherhood as a financial entity and as a political entity too.”

For further information, please see:

ABC – Egypt Court Upholds Muslim Brotherhood Ban – 6 November 2013

Al Jazeera – Egypt court upholds Muslim Brotherhood ban – 6 November 2013

BBC – Egypt court rejects Muslim Brotherhood ban appeal – 6 October 2013

CNN – Egypt court upholds ban on Muslim Brotherhood activities – 25 October 2013

Ugandan Officers Force Rwandan Refugee to Return to Country he Fled

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

KAMPALA, Uganda – A Rwandan refugee was forcibly returned to Rwanda by Ugandan police after he went missing for six days. The refugee, Joel Mutabazi, is now in police custody in Rwanda in an undisclosed location.

Photo Courtesy of Operation World.

Mutabazi had been living in a “safe house” under Ugandan police protection before going missing.

Uganda’s conduct is a violation of Mutabazi’s refugee status and raises concerns about Mutabazi’s safety in Rwanda.

Mutabazi has survived an abduction in Uganda, as well as an assassination attempt, in which both cases the perpetrators were unknown. The Ugandan police were aware of these incidents and agreed to provide him with 24-hour security protection.

Ugandan authorities say they are investigating the incident and have suspended the Ugandan officer who arrested Mutabazi and erroneously handed him over to Rwandan authorities.

An Ugandan representative for the United Nations refugee agency, Mohammed Adar, said that Mutabazi’s case was not subjected to judicial review before he was handed over to Rwandan authorities.

“We don’t understand how he managed to get out of the country and how he was handed over to the Rwandan government,” he said. “He survived two attempts in the past to take him back to his country . . . We are concerned about his safety.”

Rwandan police are holding Mutabazi in an undisclosed location after he was arrested by Ugandan police and handed over to Rwandan authorities. The Human Rights Watch is concerned he will receive an unfair trial like “other alleged criminal suspects whom the government accused of having links with the opposition.”

Rwandan officials have previously said that Mutabazi, a Rwandan army lieutenant who served President Paul Kagame’s security detail before defecting, was wanted back home over alleged robbery charges. He is accused of robbing a bank in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, more than two years ago.

They also claim Mutabazi is accused of terrorism and was the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by Rwanda. But the Ugandan government statements admits that handing Mutabazi to Rwanda without court proceedings is contrary to “established legal procedure” and the “Police Code of Conduct.”

“The Ugandan police have utterly failed to protect this refugee, who was clearly at serious risk,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director. “It’s unconscionable that they handed him over summarily to the police force of the country whose persecution he fled.”

Human Rights Watch says that Ugandan authorities should immediately put in place effective measures to protect Rwandan refugees and asylum seekers, particularly those whose security is at risk. The Ugandan authorities urgent should complete the investigation they have announced into Mutabazi’s handover to Rwanda and publish its findings without delay.

Further, Human Rights Watch states that Mutabazi should be transferred back to Uganda and subject to a formal extradition procedure in a Ugandan court, including consideration of the human rights implications of the transfer and his refugee status.

Many journalists and former civilian and military officials have fled Rwanda, alleging persecution. In the most prominent case, Gen. Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, a Rwandan army chief who once was a close Kagame ally, defected to South Africa in 2010 and later accused Rwanda’s government of ordering a failed attempt to assassinate him. Rwanda denied the allegations.

For more information, please visit:

Human Rights Watch – Uganda/Rwanda: Forcible Return Raises Grave Concerns – 4 November 2013
allAfrica – Uganda/Rwanda – Forcible Return Raises Grave Concerns – Rwandan Government Should Ensure Returnee’s Safety, Fair Trial – 4 November 2013
Topix – Uganda/Rwanda: Forcible Return Raises Grave Concerns – 4 November 2013
Zimbio – Uganda/Rwanda: Forcible Return Raises Grave Concerns – 4 November 2013
azfamily.com – Rwandan in Uganda sent home despite safety fears – 5 November 2013
abc News – Rwandan in Uganda Sent Home Despite Safety Fears – 5 November 2013
St. Louis Today – Rwandan in Uganda sent home despite safety fears – 5 November 2013
SRN News – Rwandan in Uganda sent home despite safety fears – 5 November 2013

 

Seven Members of Austrian Neo-Nazi Party Convicted of “Re-Engagement with National Socialism”

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

VIENNA, Austria – Seven members of the Austrian Neo-Nazi Political Party, “Object 21” were sentenced to up to six years in prison for “re-engagement with National Socialism.”

Jewish Man Protesting the Nazi Movement in Paris. (Photo courtesy of The Jerusalem Post)

The judge started at the conviction that these convictions should serve as an example to the rest of the country. Austria, which has a sensitive Nazi past, criminalized re-engagement with National Socialism in 1947.

The members of the Object 21 Party were convicted on late Monday. The prosecution’s witnesses linked the Party members to an illegal prostitution scheme. The trial had been held in the Upper Austria province.

The prosecution and police, who had surveyed the Party since 2009, stated that the Object 21 party is known for committing widespread arson attacks, dealing weapons and drugs, and the prostitution scheme.

The prosecution’s evidence included a video showing the Party members giving a “Sieg Heil” salutes in their meeting building, known as the “Arms Factory”. The two main members of the group were sentenced to four and six years in jail, respectively, and stated they intend to appeal the conviction. The others were given sentences of between 18 months and two and a half years. All seven members of Object 21 had pleaded not guilty.

The presiding judge had been reportedly quoted as saying the sentences were meant to have a “preventative” impact on anyone “tempted” by Neo-Nazism. A spokeswoman for the prosecution stated investigations will continue into suspected crimes by other Neo- Nazi gang members.

Austria became a democratic country shortly after World War II by passing the Anti-Nazi Prohibition Act, after the country had been a part of Hitler’s Nazi Third Reich from 1938 to 1945. In 1992, the Act was broadened to criminalize denying the Holocaust ever occurred, as well as minimizing the effects of any Nazi crimes.

In its 2012 annual report, Austria’s BVT, its counter-terrorism agency, downplayed the imminent threat of Neo-Nazi crimes, issuing a statement that a legal crackdown had deprived the Nazi revisionist movement of its leaders. With the Neo-Nazi’s suspected ringleaders on trial, right-wing radical Nazis kept a low profile, but in many regions were gaining ties with criminal gangs, the Austrian BVT said.

Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, which got more than one-fifth of the vote in the September general election, rejects Neo-Nazi ideology but attracts some sympathizers with its anti-foreigner and anti-Islam rhetoric.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Austrian Court Finds 7 Guilty of Neo-Nazi Crimes – 5 November 2013

BBC News – Austria Court Jails Seven Members of Neo-Nazi Group – 5 November 2013

Yahoo News, UK & Ireland – Austrian Neo-Nazi Group Members Get up to Six Years’ Prison – 5 November 2013

The Jerusalem Post – Austrian Neo-Nazi Group Members Get up to Six Years’ Prison – 5 November 2013

 

 

Bangladesh Court Sentences Hundreds to Death for 2009 Mutiny

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DHAKA, Bangladesh–A special court in Bangladesh sentenced 152 soldiers to death Tuesday for participation in a 2009 military mutiny in which dozens of military officers were massacred. Human rights groups have criticized the mass trial, claiming that the process falls well below the international legal standard.

Handcuffed Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) soldiers arrive at the special court in Dhaka to hear the verdict against them on November 5, 2013. (Photo Courtesy AFP)

At the special court in Dhaka on Tuesday, Judge Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman sentenced an additional 157 people, mostly border guards, to life in prison for their role in the 33-hour mutiny, while another 271 soldiers were acquitted.

“The atrocities were so heinous that even the dead bodies were not given their rights,” Akhtaruzzaman said as he started to read out the verdicts.

Approximately 823 soldiers were alleged to have taken part in the killing of 74 people, who were hacked to death or tortured and burnt alive, then dumped in sewers and shallow graves.

Security was tight at the specially-built court in Dhaka, with police and the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officers deployed outside, before the verdict’s announcement.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for a majority of the 823 soldiers charged with murder, torture, conspiracy and other offences over the mutiny that started at the paramilitary Bangladeshi Rifles (BDR) headquarters in Dhaka.

Nearly 6,000 soldiers have already been jailed by dozens of special courts over similar events that spread from the Dhaka headquarters to other BDR bases around the country.

The 823 soldiers were selected for prosecution in a civilian court after they were found guilty before military courts for their role in the mutiny.

At least twenty-three civilians have been charged with criminal conspiracy.

Baharul Islam, the lead prosecutor, said the case was the largest of its type in the world, with hundreds of witnesses participating in the trial that started in January 2011 and finished in October this year.

“So far as we know it’s the largest case in the world’s history. There were 654 prosecution witnesses,” Islam said before the verdict.

The verdict was delayed last week after the judge said he needed more time to finish writing it.

During the uprising, the mutineers stole an estimated 2,500 weapons and broke into an annual meeting of top BDR officers before opening fire on them at point blank range.

As the mutiny spread, it posed a serious threat to the new government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had been elected only one month previously.

The cause of the violence is uncertain but pent-up anger over poor benefits and resentment by soldiers against BDR senior officers has generally been considered as the main factor.

New York-based Human Rights Watch criticized the Bangladesh authorities for the mass trial, saying it would not ensure justice, and suggested that the trial implicated grave violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The group says the violations include torture and other abuse while in custody in order to extract confessions and statements.

Human Rights Watch reported at least 47 suspects had died in custody while the surviving suspects have had limited access to lawyers, and to knowledge of the charges and evidence against them.

“Trying hundreds of people en masse in one giant courtroom, where the accused have little or no access to lawyers is an affront to international legal standards,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement on Oct. 29.

Those sentenced to death are set to be hanged to death, though no time frame has been established.  Defense attorneys for several of the convicted have already begun the appeals process.

For more information, please see:

Reuters– Bangladesh court sentences 152 to death for 2009 mutiny — 5 November 2013

Al Jazeera– Bangladesh sentences hundreds to death, life in prison in mutiny verdict — 5 November 2013

CNN– 152 soldiers sentenced to die for mutiny in Bangladesh — 5 November 2013

Gulf News– Bangladesh court sentences 150 former soldiers to death — 5 November 2013