News

South African Teen Dies After Gang Rape Attack

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa—Today, Wednesday February 6, 2013, a 17-year-old South African girl died of injuries inflicted on her in a gang rape several days before. Her death stimulated outrage today in a country that has one of the world’s highest levels of sexual violence.

Many reports of sexual violence continue to go unreported in South Africa. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

The young victim had been sliced open from her navel to her genitals and left on a building site in the town of Bredasdorp, about 130 kilometers east of the country’s capital. The victim was able to identify one of her attackers before she died as the hospital staff who fought to save her life also counseled her due to the horrific nature of her injuries.

In the hours after the attack, the young girl was taken to three different hospitals—the town’s Otto du Plessis hospital, then the main hospital in Worcester, and finally the Tygerberg hospital.

Troy Martens of the ANC Women’s League said, “It is difficult to find reason behind the many different acts of gang rape, child rape, rape of the elderly, corrective rape and male rape.” The South African police figures and records show that about 64,000 sexual offense cases were reported last year, and that many attacks still go unreported.

South Africa’s statistics agency concluded 13 years ago, in the year 2000, that it had the highest reported rape rate of all 120 Interpol member countries. The report also recognized that even when suspects are caught, only about 12 percent of cases end in a conviction. With these statistics comes the reality that sexual crimes rarely spark outrage; until today.

The death of this young girl has sparked outrage in South African and has been condemned by female politicians of the country’s governing party. Martens argued that the women’s league and the other few women’s non-governmental organizations would no longer be the “lone voices crying out against rape.”

Martens continued saying, “Men and women need to join hands around this issue and fight this epidemic together. The Women’s league and a few women’s NGOs can no longer be the lone voices crying out against rape.”

 

For further information, please see:

BBC News – South African Gang Rape Murder Angers ANC Women – 6 February 2013

IOL News – Girl, 17, Identifies Attacker Before Dying – 6 February 2013

Reuters – South African 17-Year-Old Dies of Gang Rape Injuries – 6 February 2013

Voice of America – South African Teen Dies of Gang Rape Injuries – 6 February 2013

Somali Woman Sentenced for “Falsely Accusing” Security Personnel of Rape

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali woman who accused state security forces of rape and the journalist who interviewed her were each sentenced to a year in jail on Tuesday.  The judges held that Luul Ali Osman, 27, had falsely accused the government.  Human rights groups condemned the decision, stating that the government is attempting to conceal rampant sexual abuse of women by the security forces.

Mogadishu court chairman Ahmed Aden Farah reads a verdict inside a court in Mogadishu on February 5, 2013. (Al Arabiya News via AFP)

Osman was charged on multiple counts.  She faced charges for insulting a government body, inducing false evidence, simulating a criminal offense, and asserting a false accusation.  Freelance journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur was charged with insulting a government body, and inducing the woman to give false evidence.

During the trial, the judges refused to entertain evidence from three witnesses who intended to testify on behalf of Osman and Abdinur.  It was reported that the judges largely based their decision upon medical evidence that showed Osman was not raped.

The National Union of Somali Journalists described the trial as a suppression of press freedom.  Moreover, it expressed shock that Abdinur was convicted of entering Osman’s home without her husband’s permission, although he was never charged with that crime.

Three others charged in the case, including Osman’s husband, were acquitted Tuesday.  Osman’s prison term will be delayed, as she is currently breastfeeding her child.  Osman and Abdinur plan to appeal the court’s decision.

“The court’s decision to convict an alleged rape victim and the journalist who interviewed her is a terrible miscarriage of justice, and sends a chilling signal to victims of sexual assault in Somalia,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

Reporters Without Borders ranks Somalia 175th out of 179 countries surveyed in its 2012-2013 World Press Freedom Index.  This placed Somalia one place ahead of Syria.

In September, the international community applauded Somalia for its first peaceful elections since military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.  The United States State Department referred to the case as “a litmus test” for the future of Somalia.

Thus far, the international outcry surrounding the case serves as an embarrassment for current Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.  After the elections, the international community welcomed Mohamud as the beginning of a new era following decades of Somalian conflict and instability.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Somali Woman Who Alleged Rape Given Jail Term – 5 February 2013

NY Daily News – Somali Court Sentences Rape Victim, Journalist to One-Year in Jail Over “False Accusations” – 5 February 2013

Reuters – Somali Court Sends Alleged Rape Victim and Journalist to Jail – 5 February 2013

The Guardian – Somali Woman is Jailed for a Year After Claiming She Was Raped – 5 February 2013

Tunisian Opposition Leader Chokri Belaid Assassinated

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia — Chokri Belaid, a leading Tunisian opposition figure, and also, one of the leaders of the Popular Front coalition, was shot dead today as he was leaving his home in Tunis on Wednesday. A bullet had struck his neck and another hit his head.

Chokri Belaid, a leading member of Tunisia’s opposition party, was assassinated outside of his home on Wednesday. (Photo Courtesy of Tunisia Live)

His brother confirmed that he was pronounced dead at a Tunis hospital. “My brother was assassinated. I am desperate and depressed,” said Abdelmajid Belaid.

In a statement made after Belaid’s murder, the Unified Democratic Nationalist party confirmed that “Chokri Belaid was targeted as he left his house in the capital.” It is unclear what the motive for Belaid’s assassination was.

Belaid, the leader of the left-leaning opposition Democratic Patriots party, was a vocal critic of the moderate Islamist party Ennahda, who currently controls much of the Tunisian government.
Belaid, a lawyer and human rights activist, was a constant critic of the government, calling it a puppet to the small yet wealthy Gulf state of Qatar. Ennahda denied any involvement in the assassination.

Government spokesman Samir Dilou commented on Belaid’s assassination, calling it an “odious crime.” Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, who mentioned that the identity of the attacker is unknown, condemned the assassination, and called it “a strike against the Arab Spring Revolution.” Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said he would “fight those who opposed the political transition in his country.”

After Belaid’s assassination, 8,000 protesters amassed outside the Interior Ministry in Tunis, calling for the fall of the government. Thousands more held demonstrations throughout the cities of Tunisia, including Mahdia, Sousse, Monastir, and Sidi Bouzid, where Arab Spring demonstrators had originally gathered two years ago to call for the overthrow of the long-time dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

“This is a black day in the history of modern Tunisia… Today we say to the Islamists, ‘get out’… enough is enough,” said Souad, a teacher who took part in the demonstrations outside of the Interior Ministry. “Tunisia will sink in the blood if you stay in power.”

Omar bin Ali, a member of the Tunisian Trade Unions, believes that Islamists were responsible for Belaid’s murder. “This is what they have been calling for in mosques,” said bin Ali, who took part in the demonstrations in front of the Interior Ministry. Bin Ali does not believe that the orders for Belaid’s assassination came from another country. “Tunisia is a friend of all nations. It is hard to think of anyone from abroad to do this to us.”

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Leading Tunisian Opposition Politician Killed — 6 February 2013

The Independent — Tunisian Politician Chokri Belaid Shot Dead — 6 February 2013

Reuters — Tunisia Protests After Government Critic Shot Dead — 6 February 2013

Tunisia Live — Leftist Politician Chokri Belaid Assassinated — 6 February 2013

Queensland, Northern Territories Dismiss Warnings from Prime Minister on Indigenous Alcohol Bans

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia — Queensland and Northern Territories both said on Wednesday that they would move forward with their plans to deal with alcohol bans in indigenous communities, despite federal pressure to keep the policies in place.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman calls alcohol bans on indigenous communities “discriminatory” and plans to review whether the laws should continue, despite warnings from the Prime Minister. (Photo Courtesy of the Townsville Bulletin)

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said his state has no intention of backing down from a planned review of what he calls the “discriminatory” booze bans, while acting Chief Minister of the Northern Territories Robyn Lambley rejected a call to reinstate the bans that she helped lift last year.

“I simply say the policy of discrimination against Aboriginal people is not appropriate,” Newman told reporters on Wednesday in Ipswich, a community about 40 km outside the state capital of Brisbane.

The ban prohibits possession and selling of alcohol in indigenous communities, including the 19 in Queensland.  Violators face penalties including jail time.

Queensland’s review of the alcohol bans, a campaign promise in Newman’s election last March, would allow individual communities within the state to determine whether to keep the restrictions.  The review is expected to last 18 months.

In the Northern Territories, state leaders dismissed calls to reinstate its Banned Drinkers Register law.  Eliminated last year, the ban required indigenous alcohol buyers to have a photo ID scanned and checked against a list of repeat drunks.  A match would prevent the purchase.

Both states’ decisions come after a warning from Prime Minister Julia Gillard to reconsider.  During her annual Closing the Gap Address, aimed at improving opportunities for indigenous Australians, Gillard said the federal government would act against any state or territory alcohol policy that she deems irresponsible.

“I have a real fear that the rivers of grog that wreaked such havoc among indigenous communities are starting to flow once again,” she said.  Big Pond News reported that Gillard was referencing, in part, the Northern Territories lifting its BDR and five recent alcohol-related deaths in Alice Springs.

But leaders from both states dismissed the Prime Minister’s comments.

“For Julia Gillard to start dictating from Canberra how we should implement alcohol policies and what they should be is an absolute nonsense, Lambley told ABC radio.  “I think that she should be listening to us more than we should be listening to [her].”

Newman said Australia as a whole needed to reconsider how to best address the problems related to alcohol because they are not limited to the indigenous populations.

“We need to tackle alcohol abuse issues across the board,” he said.  Newman added that the laws have not worked in reducing alcohol-related violence.

But Queensland’s minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Glen Elmes disputed that claim, saying the bans were effective in reducing crime and improving school attendance.  Elmes added that under the review, any community wanting to lift the ban will have to show it can ensure public safety and not reverse the school attendance rates.

For further information, please see:

The Australian — Abbott, Gillard United on Grog Bans — 6 February 2013

Big Pond News — Butt Out of NT Grog Decisions – CLP — 6 February 2013

Brisbane Times — Alcohol Bans Discriminatory: Newman — 6 February 2013

Townsville Bulletin — Alcohol Bans Discriminatory: Newman — 6 February 2013

Herald Sun — Aboriginal Alcohol Ban Not Solution, Says Member for Cook David Kempton — 10 October 2012

Courier Mail — Indigenous Councils to Rule on Liquor Bans — 3 October 2012

Israel Arrests Palestinian Lawmakers, Activists

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel — Last Monday, Israel arrested 23 Hamas members in the West Bank. Three of them were lawmakers.

At least 23 Palestinians, including 3 legislators, were arrested by Israeli military last Monday. (Photo Courtesy of Palestinian News Network)

The three lawmakers, Ahmed Attoun, Hatem Qafisha, and Mohammed Al-Talhad were arrested during the early hours of Monday morning. The three men are part of the Change and Reform Bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council, a Hamas backed organization. At around 5 A.M., during morning prayers, Israeli forces in military Jeeps raided several cities throughout the West Bank and arrested the political leaders.

“It is a criminal act that will not succeed in stopping their struggle,” Hamas said in a statement made shortly after the three men were arrested. “We in the Hamas movement strongly condemn the campaign of arbitrary arrests that took in dozens of Hamas leaders.”

An Israeli military spokeswoman neither confirmed nor denied that any lawmakers were arrested. “25 Palestinians were arrested, 23 of them belonged to Hamas,” she said. In confirming that arrests were made last Monday, she did not disclose the names of those arrested nor gave any reason as to why they were arrested.

Senior Palestinian Official Hanan Ashrawi denounced the arrests, describing them as “deliberate Israeli plans to destabilize the internal situation, interfere in Palestinian institutions… and deal a blow to national reconciliation” between Fatah and Hamas, who govern the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, respectively.

Hamas also reports that 21 well known activists were additionally among the arrests made in the West Bank.

A Hamas affiliated website stated that detainees’ family members recounted that “soldiers broke into their homes with dogs, arrested activists and took them to Israeli security facilities.”

Palestinian sources also reported that Israeli soldiers broke into the headquarters of Tul Karm, a charitable organization, and confiscated papers and equipment, including computers.

Like Ashrawi, Hamas and the Ramallah-based Ahrar Center for Human Rights believe that the arrests are intended to “undermine Palestinian reconciliation efforts between the radical Islamist movement ruling Gaza and its main rival, President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party.

Hamas, a vocal critic of the security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and Israel, condemned the arrests but refrained from making any criticisms about the Palestinian Authority at the moment.

The recent arrest raises the number of lawmakers held in Israeli jails to sixteen. of those imprisoned, thirteen members represent the Change and Reform Bloc, and out of the remaining three, two are from the ruling Fatah party. Ahmad Saadat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, is also in an Israeli prison, serving several life terms.

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya — Israel Arrests Hamas Lawmakers in West Bank — 4 February 2013

Gulf News — Israel Arrests 25 Hamas Members in West Bank — 4 February 2013

Haaretz — Israel Arrests Dozens of Hamas Activists, Lawmakers in West Bank — 4 February 2013

JTA — Israeli Security Forces Arrest Hamas Lawmakers — 4 February 2013

Palestine News Network — Sixteen Lawmakers Held in Israeli Jails, Says Group — 4 February 2013

Reuters — Israel Arrests 23 Hamas men Including Three Lawmakers in West Bank — 4 February 2013