News

Guatemalan High Court Overturns Rios Montt’s Genocide Conviction

By Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

 

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – The trial of former Guatemalan dictator General Efrain Rios Montt took a surprising turn on Monday when the Constitutional Court overturned Montt’s 80-year sentence for genocide. Citing illegal proceedings at the trial level, the Constitutional Court struck all proceedings in the trial subsequent to April 19.

Rios Montt’s time as dictator of Guatemala is believed to be the most violent period of the Guatemalan Civil War. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

Trial judges dismissed Rios Montt’s attorney, Francisco Garcia, multiple times throughout the trial for attempting to have the judges recused “for bias”. The Constitutional Court noted that the trial should have been suspended to hear appeals rather than delaying them until after a conviction. Following the Court’s decision, Rios Montt’s attorney told a Washington Post reporter that he would be seeking his client’s freedom on Tuesday.

Rios Montt was on trial for the deaths of 1,771 Ixil Mayans during his 18-month rule as dictator from 1982-83. He originally gained power after a military coup during the 36-year Guatemalan Civil War. Over 100 witnesses came forward to testify at trial about rapes, killing of women and children, and other human rights violations committed by government forces during the period when Rios Montt was in power. The Civil War is estimated to have resulted in more than 200,000 deaths and over a million refugees. However, Rios Montt’s time in power is believed to have been the most violent of the War.

Rios Montt’s conviction marked the first time in history that a head of state was tried and convicted of genocide in a domestic court. His trial was met with heavy opposition from the Foundation Against Terrorism and the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (CACIF). Both groups ran advertisements denouncing both the trial and it supporters. The Foundation also brought hundreds of supporters from the Ixil region, including former military and indigenous people, to protest the trial.

Mario Polancko, director of a Guatemalan human rights group, told CNN that the Constitutional Court’s decision had “served the interests of those in power, and when it is one of the representatives of those in power who is on trial, they will resort to any means.” Polancko added, “I think there has been an abuse in the interpretation of the law.”

The Constitutional Court’s ruling does not signal the end of Rios Montt’s legal battle, however. The Court’s Secretary, Martin Guzman, told the Washington Post that the trial must be rolled back to April 19 to address the numerous appeals. Both sides will now have to return to court to redo the final weeks of the trial.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Guatemala annuls Rios Montt’s genocide conviction – 21 May 2013

CNN – Guatemala genocide conviction overturned – 21 May 2013

The Washington Post – Guatemala’s top court overturns genocide conviction of former leader Efrain Rios Montt – 21 May 2013

Al Jazeera – Guatemala: Rios Montt genocide trial ends with historic verdict – 15 May 2013

French Soldier’s Stabbing Believed to be Act of Terrorism

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France – A French soldier was stabbed while on patrol in La Defense, a business district west of Paris, on Saturday. Private First Class Cedric Cordier, 23, was approached from behind and stabbed in the neck with a small-bladed knife.

23-year-old Cordier was stabbed while on duty on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of The Local)

The suspect, described as being a bearded, athletically-built man of North African origin, was captured on security cameras before fleeing into a crowded shopping area and evading detention by police and the other patrolling-soldier.

Reports indicate that the suspect was seen “praying” before the knife attack, increasing fears that the attack was an act of terrorism.

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls told reporters, “…there are components which could lead you to think we’re dealing with an act of terrorism.”

Last Wednesday, a British soldier was killed on a London street by two men allegedly acting out of revenge for violence against Muslims.

Valls told reporters that, “there are elements- the sudden violence of the attack- that could lead one to believe there might be a comparison with what happened in London…But at this point, honestly, let us be prudent.”

Similarly, French President Francois Hollande said there was no sign of a direct link with the London killing, but that authorities are “exploring all options.”

France is on high alert for attacks by Islamic militants following its military intervention in Mali in January, which prompted threats by the North African wing of al Qaeda. Jihadist rebels threatened to “strike the heart of France.” France’s Vigipirate anti-terrorist alert system was raised to “reinforced red” as a result.

The higher state of alert is one of the reasons why some 450 soldiers are on patrol at metro and train stations and other vulnerable locations in Paris. The Vigipirate scheme sees troops deployed at high-profile tourist, business and transport sites.

Cordier, who was in uniform patrolling the underground corridors where shops and crowded public transport lines converge under the Arch of La Defense, was released from a military hospital on Monday morning. The stab wound was reportedly just two centimetres away from his carotid artery. The 23-year-old soldier had lost a considerable amount of blood, but remained stable.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian vowed to continue France’s “implacable” fight against terrorism. Anti-terrorism investigators are handling the case.

Currently, a police hunt is under way for the suspect. He is described as being 1.90 metres tall, and though initially thought to be wearing a djellaba (a traditional North African robe), later reports indicated he was wearing a black pullover.

For more information, please see: 

The Local – Suspect ‘prayed’ before knifing French soldier – 27 May 2013

Al Jazeera – French anti-terrorism police probe stabbing – 26 May 2013

BBC News – Knife attack on soldier in Paris treated as terrorism – 26 May 2013

France 24 – French soldier stabbed on patrol outside Paris – 25 May 2013

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