News

Suicide Bombers Attack two Locations in Niger for Revenge

By Danielle Gwozdz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NIAMEY, NIGER – Suicide bombers affiliated with the jihadist Mujao group (movement for unity and jihad in West Africa) attacked two locations in Niger around 5:30 A.M. on May 23.

Niger army soldiers patrol northern Niger. (Photo courtesy of AFP)

The first attack occurred at a barracks in Agadez, the largest city in northern Niger.  This attack killed about 19 people, including 18 soldiers and one civilian.  The suicide bombers drove a Toyota truck through the barrier of the town’s military base and detonated the explosives when soldiers opened fire. An Agadez resident, Barka Sofa, said he heard a strong explosion outside the army base, followed by heavy weapons’ fire. A local journalist reported heavy damage inside the camp.

The second attack occurred 30 minutes later and 150 miles north of Agadez in the Somair mines in the town of Arlit.  One person died and roughly 50 people were injured, mostly security agents at the mine.  A man driving a 4×4 packed with explosives had been mixed in with Somair workers.  Once his vehicle was in front of the mine he blew up the vehicle.

The mine in Arlit is controlled by a French-run operation, Avera, the world’s second largest uranium producer, which extracts more than one-third of uranium from Niger and has been operating there for more than 40 years. Areva stated that the mine had been “badly damaged” and they were forced to stop production.

Four of the Mujao attackers died in the explosions, while one is still alive and is holding four army officers hostage.

The jihadist Mujao group is part of a loose Islamist coalition which seized control of North Mali last year before being ousted by a French-led offensive in January.  Niger has been singled out because of its role in the military intervention in Mali and for its relationship with France and the United States, which signed an agreement this year to establish a new military base in the country.

A jihadist Mujao spokesman stated that they attacked these two locations in Niger because they were “enemies of Islam” and referred to Niger and France’s involvement in combating Islamists in Mali.

This attack occurred four months after a previous terrorist attack in neighboring Algeria.  Al-Qaeda linked militants seized a desert gas plant in a siege that left 38 hostages dead and had been in retaliation against the intervention in Mali.

Niger states that the attacks had been an inevitable consequence of the government’s decisions to intervene in Mali.  However, it states that the intervention had not been a mistake because it shares borders with Mali and would have been affected by the crisis regardless of its intervention.

French President Francois Hollande vowed to help Niger “destroy” the militants and would back all efforts of Niger to stop the hostage situation. However, it will not intervene as it had in Mali, but has the same willingness to cooperate to fight against terrorism.

 

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Niger Suicide Bombers Target Areva Mine and Barracks – 24 May 2013

Africa Review – 19 Killed in Niger Suicide Bomb Strike – 23 May 2013

The Dawn News – At Least 20 Killed in Al Qaeda-Linked Militant Attacks in Niger – 23 May 2013

The Guardian – Suicide Attacks Rock Niger – 23 May 2013

Ahram Online – Islamist Bombers Kill 20 in Niger Attacks, Seize Hostages – 23 May 2013

Yahoo! News – Islamist Bombers Kill 20 in Niger, Seize Hostages – 23 May 2013

 

ICTY Marks the 20th Anniversary of its Inception

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Managing Editor, News

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Members of the UN Security Council marked last Saturday as the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of the UN’s International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), created  to prosecute war crimes committed during the Balkan conflict of the 1990’s.

May 25, 2013 marked the 20th anniversary of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia’s inception. (Photo Courtesy of UN News Centre)

Twenty years ago, The ICTY was unanimously established on May 27, 1993 under the UN Security Council’s Resolution 827.  Since then, the international community has provided more than two billion dollars for the tribunal’s continued performance.  The ICTY has indicted 161 persons for serious violations of human rights committed between 1991 and 2001.  Proceedings against 131 people were completed, while 25 others still currently await their sentence.  The tribunal will adjourn for the final time in 2016.

The ICTY sentenced some of the most notorious human rights offenders who were active during the Balkan War, including then-Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who died in the ICTY detention center during the trial for his crimes committed in Bosnia – Herzegovina, Croatia, and in Kosovo.

The Security Council recalled the resolution in a statement made to the press last Saturday.  In the statement, the Security Council stated the necessity of passing the resolution, and also recognized “the contribution of the ICTY in the fight against impunity for “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.”

ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz also hailed the achievements of the ICTY.  “One of the achievements is for sure that there are no fugitives at large any more,” said Brammertz.  The court’s president, Judge Theodore Meron, said that the biggest achievement for the ICTY was being able to show that “an international court could deliver justice impartially.”

Meron also shared his criticism of the court when he commented on the efficiency of the court due to the complexity of the crimes.  Referring to the inability to hand a final sentence to Milosevic, who died before the end of his four-year trial, Meron said “I wish we could have gone faster, but I do believe that we have such special problems that if you focus on our cases you see that our progress has been quite reasonable.”  Bosnian war crimes investigator Mirsad Tokaca commenting on the length of trials, said “[i]t is impermissible that the trials should last so long, absolutely impermissible.”

Many Serbs also criticized the court, saying that they were unfairly targeted and form the majority of the suspects.  Yet some Serbs, like former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, who was initially convicted by the court of war crimes and later acquitted after a retrial, praised it. “This is the only institution or arbiter that went (through) with it, so if the question is, is it worth that we have it or it would have been better not to have something like that?  I must say it was worthy to have it,” said Haradinaj.

For further information, please see:

CP24 — Mixed Reviews for UN Yugoslav War Crimes Court — 27 May 2013

Euronews — Ex-Yugoslavia War Crimes Tribunal Marks 20 Years of Business — 25 May 2013

UN News Centre — Security Council Recognizes Contribution of UN Yugoslav Tribunal – 25 May 2013

Dalje — ICTY Marks 20th Anniversary Amid Divided Assessments of its Work — 24 May 2013

Activists Consider Ukraine’s First LGBTI March Successful

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KYIV, Ukraine — Despite a ban issued by the city and upheld in court, LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, and Intersex) activists held Ukraine’s first gay rights march for forty minutes during the Kyiv Pride 2013 forum. And it appears that the police granted the activists protection.

Police remove Orthodox protestor who attempted to block Kyiv’s first gay pride event. (Photo Courtesy of Kyiv Post)

One organizer of the march, Stas Misthenko stated that the 2013 event was important to demonstrate possible change “[n]ot just in Ukraine, but for Russia, for Belarus, for Moldova.” Last year, organizers canceled their demonstration following both a statement that police could not guarantee protection for participants and the beating of an activist in broad daylight. Since then, one non-governmental organization (NGO) in Kyiv has received reports of twenty-nine violent attacks and thirty-six threats against LGBTI persons.

Recently, however, Ukraine has been under pressure to improve its human rights. For instance, the European Council established deadlines for Ukraine to demonstrate such progress by making judicial and electoral reforms, as well as releasing political prisoners. Also, the CEO of Amnesty International Ukraine, Tetiana Mazur declared, “The Ukrainian legislation doesn’t provide an adequate protection and sometimes violates the rights of [LGBT] people. Ukraine is unable to guarantee the protection of their principal freedoms. The right for freedom from the discrimination, the right to security of person, integrity and the right to freedom of assembly.”

Mazur also called for Ukraine to oppose legislation that would criminalize the “propaganda of homosexuality”, and instead promote legislation addressing LGBTI discrimination. According to Misthenko, the vast majority of LGBTI people hide their sexual identities for fear of being beaten in the streets or fired from their jobs.

Several right-wing and religious groups in Ukraine threatened that, if held, this year’s march would result in violence. Archpriest Greorgy Kovalenko of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church explained that rather than a chance to defend rights, the Equality March “was propaganda for sin and sodomy.”

On May 21, 2013, Kyiv officials sought to bar events from the city center on May 25 not linked to the Kyiv City Day celebration, including the Equality March. The Kyiv city administration stated that in light of several applications for rallies supporting opposing views, the government was “obliged to take the necessary measures to ensure public order and protect people’s lives and safety.”

To prevent violence, a court in Ukraine upheld the ban on March 23.

Nevertheless, on March 25, 2013, the Equality March took place amidst strong police presence. Reports indicate that over one hundred pro-LGBTI activists were present. While demonstrators marched on Victory Avenue, Orthodox Christians denounced them by shouting slogans. One slogan included: “Ukraine is not America. Kyiv is not Sodom.”

After police detained thirteen persons protesting against gay rights, improvement appears very likely for Ukraine’s human rights.

For further information, please see:

Kyiv Post: Police Detain about ten Opponents of Equality March in Kyiv — 25 May 2013

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty — Gay Pride Activists Briefly March in Kyiv — 25 May 2013

Reuters — Ukraine’s First Gay March Held under Police Protection — 25 May 2013

EuroNews — Kiev Court Cites Security Reasons for Banning Gay Pride Rally — 24 May 2013

Interfax Ukraine — Organizers Try to Hold Gay Pride Parade in Kyiv on May 25 Despite Court Ban — 24 May 2013

Amnesty International — Ukraine: Kyiv Authorities in Shameful About-Face on Pride March — 23 May 2013

Human Rights Watch — Ukraine: Allow Equality March, Protect Participants — 23 May 2013

National Radio Company of Ukraine — Court Bans LGBT Equality March in Kyiv on May 25 — 23 May 2013

Reuters — Ukranian Court Bars Gay Pride Event, Citing Security Concerns — 23 May 2013

Guardian — Ukraine Gay Pride Marchers Ready to Defy Violence — 18 May 2013

Kyiv Post — Amnesty International Urging Ukraine to Adopt Laws to Combat Discrimination against LGBT People — 17 May 2013

Brazil Follows Uruguay And Effectively Approves Gay Marriage

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil – 2013 has certainly been a telling time for same-sex relations. While some misguided Catholics appreciated that the Pope approved of same-sex unions, the real story comes from the approval of same-sex marriages in Latin America.  Authorities in Brazil have effectively legalized same-sex marriage, following Argentina and Uruguay in providing equal rights to couples.

Brazil’s National Council of Justice have issued a ruling allowing any couple in Brazil to seek a marriage without a judges consent. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

Brazil’s National Council of Justice, a panel which oversees the legal system and headed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court announced a resolution on May 14, 2013, stating that notary publics who preform marriage ceremonies cannot refuse to preform same-sex ceremonies. Having been debating this issue after a 2011 Supreme Court ruling they announced that there was no reason for the government to wait for congress to pick up the slack and pass a law extending gay couples rights they already technically and legally have. After this ruling, if a notary public officer rejects the signing of a gay marriage, he could face sanctions. Same-sex civil unions have already been authorized in the country, and this would allow same-sex unions to be converted into marriages, allowing them the same protections that already benefit heterosexual marriages in the predominantly Roman-Catholic nation. From now on, couples in all 27 states will no longer need to petition a judge in order to receive a marriage license, and that includes Brazil’s estimated 60,000 gay couples.

The 2011 ruling recognized stable homosexual unions and that the Brazilian constitution granted them the rights. Chief Justice Barbosa, chief justice of the Supreme Court called it binding, and announced that the lower courts should follow it. However a strong religious faction in congress opposes same-sex marriage and has yet to approve any laws which would support same-sex marriage reform and regulations. Citing judicial activism, Marco Feliciano of the Social Christian Party stated “it’s something most Brazilians do not want” as well that the decisions was “unconstitutional.” Congressman Feliciano, an outspoken opponent of gay rights has called AIDS a “gay cancer.” A week later on May 22, the conservative party appealed the council’s decision to the Supreme Court.

Perhaps bowing down the Brazilian resolution. 4 days later French President Francois Hollande signed into law a bill authorizing marriage and adoption by same-sex couples.

For more information please see:

On Top Magazine – Conservative Leader In Brazil Challenge De Facto Gay Marriage Ruling – 22 May 2013

Telegraph – Brazil Judicial Decision Paves The Way For Same-Sex Marriage – 15 May 2013

New York Times – Brazilian Court Council Removes A Barrier To Same-Sex Marriage – 14 May 2013

BBC – Brazil Judicial Decision Paves Way For Gay Marriage – 14 May 2013

Standard Digital – Brazil Paves Way For Gay Marriage – 10 May 2013

Interpol Rejects Russia’s Politically Motivated Warrant and Rules in Favour of William Browder

Press Release

24 May 2013 – Interpol has rejected Russia’s attempt to misuse Interpol systems against William Browder, the leader of the worldwide campaign for justice for Sergei Magnitsky, by deleting its request from the Interpol’s channels.

“The decision by Interpol to delete the Russian “all points bulletin” for William Browder from the Interpol system is a clear sign that a deeply corrupt regime will not be allowed to freely persecute whistle-blowers who have exposed it. We hope that one day those responsible for Sergei Magnisky’s torture and murder will be brought to justice, with help from Interpol,” said a Hermitage Capital representative.

Interpol’s General Secretariat has now deleted the request from the Russian authorities seeking to “locate” Mr Browder in order to detain him on a Russian arrest warrant.

In its decision, Interpol’s General Secretariat has followed the recommendation from Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files, who has found the Russian request to have a “predominant political character.” Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files is responsible for the observance by Interpol and its entities of Interpol’s Constitution and data processing rules. Under Article 3 of the Interpol’s Constitution, any improper use of Interpol systems for political purposes is strictly prohibited.

The decision by the Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files was issued during its 86th session held in Lyon on 23-24 May 2013.

On Monday, 27 May 2013, Mr Browder will continue his campaign for Magnitsky sanctions in Europe at the ‘Time for European Magnitsky Law’ event organised in Berlin within framework of the Symposium on Cultural Diplomacy & Human Rights 2013 (www.bhrc.de), on the invitation of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy and member of the European Parliament, Kristiina Ojuland. The Magnitsky campaign calls for visa sanctions and asset freezes on Russian officials involved in the false arrest, torture and killing of Sergei Magnitsky, and the $230 million corruption he had exposed. The law imposing such sanctions has already been adopted in the United States, and 16 Russian officials have been sanctioned by the U.S. Government.

For further information, please see:

Law and Order in Russia