News

Saudi Arabia Bans Domestic Abuse

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – On Wednesday, Saudia Arabia’s cabinet passed the “Protection from Abuse” law. The purpose of the law is to protect women, children, and workers from domestic abuse. The law is the country’s first of its kind and has been celebrated by human rights activists.

A poster utilized in the King Khalid Foundation’s campaign against domestic abuse. (Photo Courtesy of the King Khalid Foundation)

The law explicitly lays out that physical and sexual abuse both at home and in the workplace are illegal. Anyone found guilty of abuse under the new law may face up to a year in prison and $13,300 in fines.

“This is a good law that serves major segments of the society in the kingdom, including women, children, domestic workers and non-domestic workers,” said Khaled al-Fakher, secretary-general of the National Society for Human Rights, a government-licensed body.

“We are always in favour of an explicit law that does not need interpretations or personal judgment,” said Fakher, whose organisation helped draft the law.

The passage of the “Protection from Abuse” law comes after years of international pressure from other countries, human rights groups, and the United Nations. Local organizations such as the King Khalid Foundation were a driving force behind the law’s passage as well.

In April, the King Khalid Foundation began an anti-abuse campaign that encouraged women report cases of domestic abuse. The campaign’s calling card became an advertisement (shown above) that featured a veiled woman with a bruised eye and the slogan “Some things can’t be covered. Fighting women’s abuse together.” The advertisement quickly gained notoriety for its portrayal of a typically taboo topic.

While the new law is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, many are waiting to see how it is implemented.

Rights activist Waleed Abu al-Khair said the law gives women some independence: “Women were required to bring in a male relative if they showed up at a police station to file a complaint,” he said. This will not now be necessary.

However, women are still required to receive permission from a male guardian to carry out business, apply for jobs, or travel out of the country. Further, women are often accompanied by a male guardian whenever they leave the home, which may inhibit a victim’s ability to report abuse.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Saudi Arabia outlaws domestic violence –  30 August 2013

Guardian – Saudi Arabia passes law against domestic violence  – 29 August 2013

Huffington Post – Saudi Arabia Passes Domestic Abuse Ban For First Time – 29 August 2013

BBC – Saudi Arabia cabinet approves domestic abuse ban – 28 August 2013

NSA Reimburses Tech Companies for Compliance with Surveillance Programs

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – A Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court decision declassified by the Obama Administration last Wednesday revealed that some of the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance programs were deemed unconstitutional.  In accordance with that decision, the NSA made monetary restitution to upstream service providers like Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft.

The NSA has repeatedly made headlines for requesting tech companies to hand over phone meta-data and internet traffic reports of US citizens. (Photo courtesy of The Washington Post)

The FISA Court decision, made in October 2011, pointed to the NSA’s inability to separate domestic communications from overseas traffic as evidence of Fourth Amendment violations.  Information provided to the Guardian by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden shows the Agency’s struggle to bring operations into compliance with the FISA Court ruling.  The ruling is unrelated to PRISM; however, it provides evidence of a financial relationship between the NSA and tech companies.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee,  said Friday that the NSA inspector general’s office gave the committee a report stating that there was evidence of “roughly one case per year” over the last decade that the NSA willfully violated surveillance rules to inappropriately gather information.

The NSA ordinarily has the FISA Court issue annual certifications as the legal support for conducting surveillance operations, but since the October 2011 ruling, the Court has repeatedly issued shorter, temporary certifications. Compliance with these temporary certifications, which must be frequently extended, costs tech companies millions of dollars.

Federal law allows tech companies to seek reimbursement for compliance with law enforcement requests, including requests for US phone meta-data and internet traffic. The Guardian reported that so far only Yahoo has admitted to requesting reimbursement for information turned over to the NSA.

News of the reimbursement program has civil liberties activists worried about the implications of tech companies being paid to hand over customers’ information.

The Washington Post reports Michelle Richards, a legislative counselor for the American Civil Liberties Union, as stating, ““The line you have to watch for . . . is the difference between reimbursement for complying with a lawful order and actually a profit-making enterprise.”

For more information, please see:

Fox News – Report: NSA pays tech companies for data – 24 August 2013

The New York Times – N.S.A. Said to Have Paid E-Mail Providers Millions to Cover Costs From Court Ruling – 23 August 2013

The Washington Post – The NSA paid Silicon Valley millions to spy on taxpayers – 23 August 2013

USA Today – NSA reimbursed tech firms millions for data – 23 August 2013

The Guardian – NSA paid millions to cover Prism compliance costs for tech companies – 22 August 2013

Moscow Mayoral Candidate Detained by Police After Holding Public Rally

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Alexei Navalny was briefly detained by police on Sunday after holding a rally for his supporters in Sokolniki Park in Moscow.

Navalny is detained by police after a rally on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera).

Navalny, an opposition candidate in Moscow’s mayoral race, was arrested for alleged violations on the law of mass demonstrations.

A police spokesman stated that Navalny was “invited to a police department for a conversation in connection with violations” made during his rally.

Navalny, a starch opponent of President Vladimir Putin, is a notorious whistle-blowing blogger who gained fame in 2011 after leading a massive protest against President Putin during the winter of 2011. In a widely surprising move, Navalny was allowed to run for mayor after a court sentenced him to five years in prison last month for embezzlement charges that were believed to be politically motivated. Navalny was promptly released pending an appeal.

A YouTube video posted by Navalny’s campaigners shows two-dozen police officers sifting through the rally crowd, and Navalny can be heard telling the crowd to “go home” as he is escorted off the stage by officers. Navalny stated that he was taken to Northeastern Moscow in a police van and later released after an officer stated that “nobody detained him.”

About ten other individuals were also detained at the rally for “hooliganism” but were later released as well.

The Moscow Electoral Commission issued Navalny a verbal warning last Friday, accusing him of illegally distributing campaign literature. The Commission said it would soon discuss the violations of Navalny’s campaign.

His rival, incumbent mayor Sergey Sobyanin, is a pro- Kremlin politician who is considered the favorite to win the election next month.

“Opinion polls show that I have every chance to get into a second round and win. They will do everything to stop this scenario,” stated Navalny.

For more information, please see:

The Moscow Times – Navalny Briefly ‘Invited’ to Police Station After Rally – 26 August 2013

Al Jazeera – Russian Opposition Leader Briefly Detained – 25 August 2013

France 24 – Russian Opposition Leader Navalny Briefly Detained by Police – 25 August 2013

The Telegraph – Alexei Navalny Temporarily Detained After Campaign Rally in Moscow – 25 August 2013

 

Mexican Kidnapping Victims Found Dead in Mass Grave

By Brandon Cottrell 
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – On May 26, twelve teenagers were kidnapped from an after-hours club.  This past week, a mass grave containing thirteen bodies was found in a neighborhood outside of Mexico City.  Of the thirteen bodies recovered, at least five of the bodies were identified as those of the kidnapped teenagers.  Authorities believe that the remaining bodies will soon be identified as the other teenagers.

A relative to one of the victims speaking to reporters. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

The bodies, which were covered in lime and asbestos and buried under concrete, were decapitated.  The decapitation is reminiscent of murders preformed by the drug cartel in other parts of Mexico.  While the drug war has caused little violence in the capital region, this murder is believed to be a “gangland battle for control of the lucrative drug trade in the poshest bars and nightclubs” in Mexico City.

Authorities believe the kidnapping is linked to an upstart gang from Tepito, which is home to most of the victims involved.  The Union of Insurgentes, a wealthy and powerful drug gang, is likely to have orchestrated the mass murder as a warning to other gangs trying to seize their territory in Mexico City.  The families of the victims, however, say the teenagers were not involved in drug trafficking, despite some of the family members themselves being involved in gang activity.

Many Mexicans believe that Mexico City’s top law-enforcement officials downplayed the kidnapping and “were at best incompetent in trying to find the bodies.”  Beatriz Loza, the aunt of victim Monserrat Loza, said Saturday that, “The investigation failed. I can’t believe that three months have passed.”  Other relatives to the victims claim that law-enforcement moved slowly in fear of what a legitimate investigation would reveal.

Samuel Gonzalez, a security consultant and former federal anti-drugs prosecutor, stated that,  “The capital’s authorities have the political and moral obligation to quickly figure out what happened in this case, otherwise it will demonstrate their inability (to stop such crimes) and it could foment violence in the city.”  Police presence was increased over the weekend, as many authorities believed a retaliatory attack was likely.

Meanwhile, Mario Ledezma and Ernesto Espinosa Lobo, two of the owners of the club where the victims vanished from, were arrested.  According to witnesses, both Ledezma and Lobo have ties to the Union of Insurgentes.  Ledezma, however, claims that the Insurgentes threatened him, telling him that the gang would sell drugs in the club or he would be killed.  Three other individuals, including a driver and a security guard for the club, have also been arrested.

 

For further information, please see:

CBS News – Mass kidnapping, beheadings disturb Mexico City – 25 August 2013

CNN – 5 bodies ID’d as those of kidnapped Mexican youths – 25 August 2013

CBC News – Bodies in Mexican mass grave confirmed as kidnap victims – 24 August 2013

Global Post – Mexico City, an oasis tarnished by mass kidnap – 24 August 2013

Egypt Becoming Increasingly Hostile Towards Journalists, Reporters Without Borders Says

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt has become an increasingly dangerous environment for journalists as Egyptian forces have cracked down on free press, as well as protests. Several journalists have been arrested or killed since Egyptian forces began cracking down on protests.

Al Jazeera demands the release Shami, left, detained last week, and Badr, right, held since last month. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

 

Tamer Abdel Raouf, Regional Bureau Chief for the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram’s, was shot in the head after soldiers opened fire on his car last week at an army checkpoint in Damanhur, Egypt during a government enforced curfew. Hamed Al-Barbari, a reporter for the Egyptian Daily Al-Gomhuria, was traveling with him; he was injured during the shooting and hospitalized in Damanhur.

Raouf and Barbari were returning to their homes in the town of Kafr Al-Dawwar when the shooting took place. They were returning from a meeting with several other journalists and Beheira’s governor.

According to Barbari, they decided to take a different route home as they approached the checkpoint and the military opened fire as they were turning their car around. Military officials claimed in a statement released Augusts 20, the day after the shooting, that soldiers fired on the car after the two journalists allegedly attempted to drive through the checkpoint at high speeds ignoring calls for the them to stop.

Raouf is the fourth journalist to be killed in Egypt since 14 August, the day that the new authorities began using force to disperse the sit-ins being staged by deposed President Mohamed Morsi’s supporters.

The Egyptian government ordered the curfew, set to last for at least the next month, after security forces violently broke up two protests camps demanding the reinstatement for of Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday, August 14. The government enforced curfew in Egypt allows for an expectation for health officials and journalists, allowing them to move freely at night. However, according to Union of Journalists member Khaled Al-Balchi, many journalists have complained that the military officials is respecting this exemption for journalists.

Several journalists have been arrested since Egyptian forces began cracking down on protests. Abdallah Shami, a reporter for Al Jazeera has been held since August 14. He was detained by Egyptian forces during the government’s deadly crackdown on supporters of overthrown president Mohamed Morsi. No formal charges have been brought against him. Metin Turan, a reporter for the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), has been held since August 16 without charges. Mohamed Badr, a cameraman for Al Jazeera has been held in Egypt for more than a month; his detention recently extended for another 15 days pending further investigation.

Reporters Without Borders has called the arrests a sign of “growing hostility” towards journalists in Egypt. The group said in a statement that “the climate for journalists became even tenser on 17 August when the State Information Service issued a statement to the foreign media condemning their coverage of recent events.”

For further information please see;

Al Jazeera – Egyptian Journalist shot Dead After Curfew – 19 August 2013

Reporters Without Borders – Two Journalists Still Held, Others Arrested or Attacked – 19 August 2013

Al Jazeera – Al Jazeera Demands Release of Journalists – 20 August 2013

Reporters Without Borders – Egyptian Journalists Shot Dead During Night Curfew – 20 August 2013