News

Tunisia Expels Three As Trial of Femen Activists Begins

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia – The Tunisian Interior Ministry has said that it expelled three members of the Ukrainian feminist group Femen from the country. Alex Shevchenko was expelled Tuesday night and a Femen representative confirmed her association with the group. However, the two other expelled women, one Ukrainian and one Belarusian, denied any connection with Femen, as did a Femen representative. The two women were expelled as they arrived at the country’s main airport, the Belarusian on Tuesday and the Ukrainian on Wednesday.

One of the Femen protesters outside Tunisia’s Palace of Justice. (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images)

The women were accused by the Interior Ministry of planning to engage in a topless protest in front of the court where the trial of three other Femen activists began on Wednesday. The Femen activists on trial are charged with “debauchery” which entails the use of the female body to seduce. Debauchery carries a possible six month prison sentence. Patrick Klugman, the activists’ lawyer, was sent to Tunisia by the Femen group to defend the women.

Klugman defended the women saying, “Their bodies were not exhibited to seduce but to convey a political message…which is different than debauchery.”

The three women, Pauline Hillier, Marguerite Stern, and Josephine Markmann, appeared at the trial wearing the traditional white Tunisian headscarf, known as a sefseri.

The court denied the women bail and adjourned the case until June 12. It is also considering whether several Islamist groups will be allowed to join the proceedings as a civil party. Tunisian law permits outside groups to join the trial and sue as injured parties. The addition of the Islamist groups would likely cause the trial to be drawn out. Klugman was critical of the court following the adjournment.

“Without giving a word to the Femen activists, the court has right from the beginning listened to the Salafist associations, who are not even a part of this trial,” Klugman said.

The charges against the three women stem from a topless protest in front of Tunisia’s Place of Justice. The three called for the release of Femen member Amina Sboui, also known as Amina Tyler, by waving banners and painting messages on their topless chests. The protest was the first Femen protest of its kind in the Arab world.

Tyler was arrested for possessing pepper spray and has been convicted of carrying an incendiary object. She was also arrested for allegedly writing the word “Femen” near a cemetery in the religious city of Kairouan. Possible charges include indecency and desecrating a cemetery.

Tyler’s actions were in protest of a rally to be held by conservative Islamists known as Salafists. The Salafists have been pushing for a more pious society and are often accused of attempting to limit women’s rights.

For further information, please see:

AllAfrica – Tunisia: Feminist Activists On Trial in Tunisia – 5 June 2013

BBC – Femen activists on trial in Tunisia for topless protest – 5 June 2013

Guardian – Femen protests: Tunisia expels three in Ukrainian feminist group – 5 June 2013

Middle East Online – European Femen activists remain behind bars in Tunisia – 5 June 2013

Washington Post – Tunisia expels 3 Femen activists seeking topless protest at trial of their colleagues – 5 June 2013

NSA Surveillance Programs Come to Light

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Managing Editor, News

WASHINGTON D.C., United States — This week, news came to light that the National Surveillance Agency (NSA) had siphoned personal data from the main computer servers of nine major US internet providers, including Google and YouTube, and collected the phone records of millions of Verizon customers.

It was revealed that the NSA has been tracking Verizon customers’ call records and collecting private data from nine companies. (Photo Courtesy of The Independent)

In an initiative code named PRISM, the FBI and NSA was granted access to “audio, video, photographs, emails, documents and connection logs from Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, and Apple company servers.”  It was also reported that many companies did not know that the FBI and NSA had direct access to their servers.  Google, Apple, Yahoo, and Facebook immediately denied that the government had direct access, while Microsoft said that it “did not voluntarily participate in any government data collection,” and only complied with specific requests.

The Guardian first reported that Microsoft was the first of the nine companies to participate in PRISM in December 2007.  It reported that  Yahoo then joined in 2008; Google, Facebook, and PalTalk in 2009; YouTube in 2010; Skype and AOL in 2011; and finally Apple last year.

It was also revealed earlier this week that the NSA had access to to Verizon customer phone records under a secret court order.  Under this court order, labeled “Top Secret,” Verizon must disclose “all call detail records” of its customers to the NSA, including all local and long-distance calls within the US, and calls made between the US and overseas.  This program and PRISM were initiated in 2007 during George W. Bush’s presidency.

President Obama, defended the surveillance program on Friday, saying that his administration struck “the right balance” between security and privacy, and that US citizens and residents were not being targeted.  President Obama said that both NSA programs were repeatedly authorized by Congress and are subject to continual oversight by both congressional oversight committees and secret intelligence courts.  Claiming to be skeptic about the NSA programs when he was sworn into office, President Obama said that it was necessary to preserve them for the sake of national security.  “You can’t have 100% security, and also then have 100% privacy and zero inconvenience,” said President Obama.

In a statement made late-night on Thursday, Director of National Intelligence Jams Clapper denounced the leaks, and said that “Americans would suffer.”  “The unauthorized disclosure of a top secret US court document threatens potentially long-lasting and irreversible harm to our ability to identify and respond to the many threats facing our nation,” said Clapper.

For further information, please see:

ABC — US Declassifies NSA Program Details After Uproar Over Verizon Phone Records — 7 June 2013

BBC News — Barack Obama Defends US Surveillance Tactics — 7 June 2013

The Independent — Obama Defends Spying Tactics of Prism Programme Mining Private Data from Google, Apple, YouTube, and Facebook — 7 June 2013

Policymic — NSA Phone Records: A Look at the Courts That let the Feds Tap our Phones — 7 June 2013

USA Today — NSA Taps Data from 9 Major Net Firms — 7 June 2013

Engadget — Washington Post: NSA, FBI Tapping Directly into Servers of 9 Leading Internet Companies (Updates) — 6 June 2013

Wall Street Journal — Government is Tracking Verizon Customers’ Records — 6 June 2013

American Jailed in Cuba Loses Suit Against US Government

By Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

 

HAVANA, Cuba –  A federal district judge in Washington dismissed a case brought by Alan Gross against the United States government on Tuesday.  Gross, a contractor for the State Department, was detained by Cuban authorities in 2009 for distributing communication devices to Jewish communities in Cuba as part of a democracy building program.

Alan Gross received a fifteen year sentence for his contract work with the State Department. (Photo Courtesy of ABC)

Gross was convicted of using communications technology to undermine the Cuban government in March 2011 and sentenced to fifteen years in prison.  The US government made attempts to negotiate Gross’s release.  However, the Cuban government attempted to tie the release of Cuban spies held in the US into negotiations.  When diplomatic efforts to free Gross failed, Gross’s wife brought suit against the US government and Developer Alternatives, Inc., the private contractor that hired him.

Developer Alternatives has since settled with Gross; however, his legal battle with the US government is far from over.  One of Gross’s attorneys, Scott Gilbert told the Washington Post that Gross “plan[s] to file promptly a notice of appeal”.

Legal experts expressed little surprise that the district court dismissed Gross’s complaint, citing a rule barring lawsuits against the US government under the Federal Tort Claims Act for harms suffered in foreign countries.  Gross argued against the exception, reasoning that the alleged negligence of the State Department took place within the US.  However, the district judge disagreed, noting that Gross’s injury – being imprisoned – took place in Cuba.

While Gross’s legal prospects look grim, his suit has illuminated embarrassing details of the democracy building programs run by the State Department and Developer Alternatives.

In his suit, Gross alleged that he was sent to Cuba on five separate occasions without proper training, protection, or knowledge of relevant Cuban laws.  Gross further claimed that he wrote memos after returning from each trip that expressed concern about the high risk involved in the trips.

Gross asserted in his complaint that the State Department and Developer Alternatives were aware of the growing risk to his safety and ignored the danger.

Gross’s legal battle may have stalled for the moment.  However, as Peter Phillips, founder of the Cuba Research Center, notes, the “bigger battle is trying to get him free.”

 

For further information, please see:

Washington Post – Lawyers for American imprisoned in Cuba appeal ruling dismissing case against US government – 31 May 2013

ABC – Alan Gross, lawsuit against U.S. dismissed – 29 May 2013

Global Post – American jailed in Cuba loses lawsuit against US – 29 May 2013

The Blog of LegalTimes – Court: American Jailed in Cuba Can’t Sue U.S. Government – 29 May 2013

The New York Times – American Contractor Held in Cuba Loses a Lawsuit – 29 May 2013

Russia Ignores Interpol’s Ruling and Re-Applies to Interpol for a Red Notice for William Browder to Block Magnitsky Justice Campaign

Press Release

5 June 2013 – Today, Russian authorities have announced they arere-applying to Interpol to seek a Red Notice to arrest William Browder in spite of the Interpol’s earlier decision rejecting Russian requests for him asillegitimate and politically motivated.

“The Russian authorities can’t seem to be able to take a hint, – said a Hermitage Capital representative. –  Officials in the Russian Interior Ministry are apparently more afraid of losing their jobs if they don’t act on Putin’s political order to persecute Mr Browder, than they are of losing any remaining credibility Russia has with international bodies.”

On 24 May 2013, Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files, an independent body responsible for compliance with Interpol’s Constitution, considered Russian proceedings against William Browder and ruled that they were of “predominantly political nature.” The Interpol Commission recommended that all information in relation to Mr Browder should be deleted from Interpol systems (http://www.interpol.int/News-and-media/News-media-releases/2013/PR063).

On the same day, Interpol’s General Secretariat deleted all information in relation to Mr Browder and informed all member countries about its actions, and also made the information public (http://www.interpol.int/News-and-media/News-media-releases/2013/N20130528).

The Russian authorities, nevertheless, demonstrated complete defiance over Interpol’s decisions and rules.

On 25 May 2013, the day following the Interpol’s decision, the Russian Interior Ministry publicly stated that they will continue to seek Mr Browder’s arrest via Interpol upon completing various formalities with the Russian Prosecutor’s Office(http://ria.ru/incidents/20130525/939429919.html).

Today, it was announced that the Russian law enforcement authorities are going to Interpol again to request his arrest following the Russian Moscow City Court’s rejection of the appeal from Mr Browder’s lawyer who sought to recognise the in absentia arrest as unlawful and unjustified and breaching numerous legal provisions. (http://www.rapsinews.ru/moscourts_news/20130605/267674181.html). The Moscow court’s decision came a day after Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Russian Investigative Committee and Russia’s most senior law enforcement official, publicly stated his “solidarity” with the proceedings against Mr Browder organised by his colleagues in the Russian Interior Ministry (http://5-tv.ru/news/71223/).

William Browder is running a global campaign for justice for late Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, who was tortured and killed in Russian police custody after exposing the $230 million theft, the largest publicly known case of fraudulent tax refund perpetrated by Russian officials and organized criminals. The campaign culminated last December with the adoption of Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act in the United States which imposes visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials responsible for the ill-treatment and death of Mr Magnitsky and the conspiracy he uncovered. On 12 April 2013, the US Government published a list of 16 Russian officials involved in the Magnitsky case. On the same day, the Russian Interior Ministry initiated a request for an in absentia arrest of William Browder.

William Browder is currently advocating for the adoption of Magnitsky sanctions in the EU similar to those adopted in the US. The renewed attack on Mr Browder by Russian authorities is aiming to block his ability to campaign across Europe.

“If Russian authorities continue in their non-compliance with Interpol’s Constitution and abuse Interpol’s systems for the purpose of political persecution, their access to Interpol databases must be suspended under the Interpol rules,” said a Hermitage Capital representative.

For further information, please see:

Law and Order in Russia

Five Defendants in Russian Journalist’s Murder are Granted Jury Trial

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – A preliminary hearing was held in the trial of five men accused in the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya on Monday.

To date, only one individual has been convicted in what is believed to have been a conspiracy in the murder of Politkovskaya (above). (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

The defendants were granted the right to a jury trial, as Russian law guarantees murder defendants the right to be tried by a jury, though most cases in Russia are decided by judges.

Anna Stavitskaya, the lawyer for Politkovskaya’s family, was pleased with the judge’s granting of a jury trial, stating, “From our point of view, a jury trial is the best option since it fully respects the adversarial principle between the sides.”

Politkovskaya, who was one of Russia’s most prominent investigative journalists, was shot to death in her apartment building on October 7, 2006. She had frequently criticized the Kremlin, and also accused the Russian military and pro-Moscow Chechen authorities of human rights abuses. At the time of her death, Politkovskaya worked for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

The case has caused an international stir and outraged human rights groups in Russia, and it has become a symbol of attempts to suffocate opposition of Vladimir Putin.

Russian leaders, including President Vladimir Putin and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadrov, have stated that the murder was an outrageous act of violence that struck at the freedom of speech and required a thorough investigation.

“In my opinion murdering such a person certainly does much greater damage from the authorities’ point of view, authorities that she strongly criticized, than her publications ever did,” President Putin stated.

The five accused, Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, his three nephews Rustam, Ibragim and Dzhabrail Makhmudov, and a former Moscow police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, all participated in Monday’s hearing.

Ibragim and Dzhabrail Makhmudov and Khadzhikurbanov had already been acquitted of the murder in 2009, but that verdict was overturned by Russia’s supreme court.

Gaitukayev is believed to have organized the murder of Politkovskaya, while Rustam Makhmudov is believed to have been the actual gunman in the murder. The other two Makhmudov brothers are believed to have been accomplices to the murder.

Another former police officer, Dmitry Pavlyuchhenkov, was sentenced to eleven years in prison last year for supplying the murder weapon after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit the murder. Pavlyuchhenkov had implicated the current five defendants.

Currently, three of the defendants, Gaitukayev, Khadzhikurbanov, and Rustam Makhmudov, are being detained by Russian authorities, while Ibragim and Dzhabrail Makhmudov are restricted from traveling outside Russia.

The jurors are to be selected later this month on June 20th, with the first public hearing to be held shortly afterwards.

For more information, please see:

The St. Petersburg Times – Murder Suspects Demand Jury Trial – 5 June 2013

BBC News – Politkovskaya Murder: Defendants to have Jury Trial – 4 June 2013

Al Jazeera – Russia Murder Suspects Back on Trial – 3 June 2013

The Independent – Anna Politkovskaya Murder Trial is Rerun Six Years After Fatal Shooting of Anti-Corruption Journalist – 3 June 2013

Impunity Watch – Former Russian Policeman Sentenced for the Murder of Journalist – 24 December 2012