News

Human Rights Report Criticizes DC Police on Rape Cases

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States — A report out Thursday from the Human Rights Watch accused the Washington, D.C. police department of failing to investigate roughly a third of reported sexual assaults during a three-year period.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier decried a recent Human Rights Report attacking the department’s handling of rape cases, calling the findings “sweeping allegations” that lack factual support. (Photo Courtesy of the Washington Times)

Now, the head of the city’s public safety committee hopes to hold a hearing on the report’s findings.

“This deserves a very cautious and thoughtful review to be sure we don’t respond with window dressing,” said Councilmember Tommy Wells.  “We want to find a way to reassure people that have been victimized through sexual abuse that they have a government that will effectively respond to what they need.”

The New York based human rights group released the 197-page report, called “Capitol Offense,” on Thursday.  It said that Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department failed to take women’s rape claims seriously or to investigate their allegations properly.

The report found that out of 480 sexual assaults reported between October 2008 and September 2011, at least 171 did not have initial police reports filed or file numbers issued for tracking.

“It was really disappointing that in one of our largest cities that police still seem to have the same attitudes toward sexual assault and [do] not actively pursue these cases more aggressively,” said Sara Darehshori, Human Rights Watch’s senior counsel, in an interview with Reuters.

The police department disputed the findings.  D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier released a statement after the report’s release, saying “sweeping allegations that are not backed by facts undermine the credibility of HRW.”

Both sides have requested that federal investigators from the U.S. Justice Department review the report’s findings.  A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed the requests to the Washington Post but said no decision has been made.

The Human Rights Watch report contained summary from more than a dozen women.  Police said that is a fraction of the 1,500 rapes investigated in the three-year period contained in the report.

Still, the department also said it had acted to remedy some reported shortcomings.  Chief Lanier said she wanted police interviews with victims to be recorded to document the detective work.  Prosecutors, however, are not so eager.

“While videotaping victims’ statements can be beneficial in some kinds of cases, we believe that the practice carries a risk of adding to the trauma and discomfort already felt by victims of sexual assaults,” Kelly Higashi told the Washington Post.  Higashi is chief of the sex offense and domestic violence section of the U.S. attorney’s office.

For further information, please see:

Chicago Tribune — Washington, DC, Police Ignored Some Sex Assaults–Rights Group — 24 January 2013

Salon — Report: DC Police Treatment of Sexual Assault Victims “Traumatizing” — 24 January 2013

Washington Times — Rights Group Faults D.C. Police on Rape Cases — 24 January 2013

Washington Post — Public Safety Chair Wants Hearing on Report that D.C. Police Didn’t Investigate Rape Cases — 24 January 2013

Former Nepalese Colonel Appears Before Court for Torture Charges

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KATHMANDU, Nepal – Yesterday, former Nepalese Colonel Kumar Lama, 46, appeared at a 40-minute preliminary hearing before Judge Fulford in London’s Old Bailey Court for two charges of torture.

The Old Bailey where Mr. Lama appeared before Judge Fulford. (Photo Courtesy of The Guardian)

Mr. Lama, a current British resident, is accused of inflicting severe pain or suffering while commanding a Nepalese army barracks in 2005. According to The Guardian, the purported crimes occurred at the Gorusinghe army barracks in Kapilvastu, Nepal, between April 15, 2005 and May 1, 2005.

The charges against Mr. Lama relate to two men, Janak Bahadur Raut and Karam Hussain, under the Criminal Justice Act of 1988, Section 134.

According to France 24, London’s Metropolitan Police clarified that because torture is a crime prosecuted under international jurisdiction, they were required to arrest Mr. Lama. A prior concern was that the alleged crimes occurred in Nepal and therefore, London authorities possessed no right to detain Mr. Lama.

Nonetheless, London’s Metropolitan Police stated that no charges have been brought by the Nepalese authorities, who are currently demanding Mr. Lama’s release.

If jurisdiction holds, Mr. Lama’s case will be the first in Nepal’s history that a serving security officer has been arrested in foreign land in human rights violation case under universal jurisdiction.

The provisional date for the trial is June 2, 2013, in London’s Kingston Crown Court and is an projected to last between four and six weeks. A case management and plea hearing will is set for May 10, 2013. Mr. Lama is currently in custody after the court denied his application for bail.

“We have no option except waiting for the next hearing and subsequent court ruling,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha relayed to The Himalayan Times.

To defend Mr. Lama, Nepal’s embassy in England hired London solicitor on criminal justice, Caplan and his Kingsley Napley firm associate, Barness. Prior to his representation of Mr. Lama, Mr. Caplan defended Former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet.

Neither the police nor the Crown Prosecution Service gave additional information regarding the case’s background or the circumstances until said information arrives in court.

Before his arrest last year, Mr. Lama served as a UN peacekeeper in South Sudan and was to return.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Nepal torture suspect appears in court – January 24, 2013

The Himalayan Times – London court dismisses Col Lama’s bail plea – January 24, 2013

France 24 – Nepalese colonel to face torture trial in London – January 24, 2013

Zimbabwe: Helicopter Donations and Diamond Fraud Affect Party Politics

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe — The last Zimbabwean elections, held in 2008, were marred by violence and allegations of rigged voting.  With presidential elections on the horizon, Zimbabwe has had an interesting week between diamonds and helicopters.  As South Africa prepared to ship a surplus of military helicopters to Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe’s party called for the investigation of multiple provincial leaders’ diamond fraud.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe (R) and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. (Photo Courtesy of Voice of America)

The announcement that the South African military had agreed to donate its surplus of aging French-designed Alouette helicopters to Zimbabwe for “imminent delivery” was met with protests from regional civic campaign groups.

AfriForum, a human rights group, protested South Africa’s military donations.  And today a court in South Africa has temporarily halted a delivery of helicopters to the Zimbabwean military.  High Court Judge N. B. Tuchten prohibited South Africa’s government from exporting any Alouette helicopters or spares to Zimbabwe until a full hearing could be held on February 19.

Willie Spies, AfriForum’s legal spokesperson, was confident that the order would be upheld next month. “We know that Zimbabwe has got a record of human rights abuses,” Mr. Spies said.  Moreover he stated, “We know what happened during 2008 with the second round presidential elections.  We know the Zimbabwe Defense Forces are not a neutral defense force committed to defending the Zimbabwean state.”

Furthermore, Mr. Spies said, “[The military is] an aggressive force that’s been used against the people of Zimbabwe to suppress the opposition.”

Earlier on Friday, South Africa’s Mail and Guardian newspaper reported that it had seen confidential minutes of a meeting held two months ago between the defense chiefs of South Africa and Zimbabwe detailing the “disposal of Alouette helicopters and spares”.  South Africa’s defense department told the paper the donation was part of an agreement that dated back to 1997.

Coinciding with the controversy surrounding South Africa’s military donation are Mugabe’s efforts to “clean up” his party image.  President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party launched an investigation into alleged diamond fraud involving five of its officials, who have exposed the party’s control of the Chiadzwa diamond fields.  The case involves more than $750,000 that the five party members allegedly “swindled” from mining companies for ZANU PF activities.  The money was then reportedly used in part to finance the officials’ personal lives.

It is already widely speculated that ZANU PF has been using the diamonds fields to generate cash for the party.  ZANU-PF has endorsed Mugabe, 88, as its candidate for the presidential vote.  The coming election is expected to be hotly contested as it is widely believed that Mugabe’s policies ruined Zimbabwe’s economy.

For more information, please see:

All Africa – Zimbabwe: Zanu-PF Investigating Party Diamond Fraud – 18 January 2013

BBC – South Africa Court Halts Zimbabwe Helicopter Donation – 25 January 2013

Reuters – Zimbabwe Order Diamond Fraud Probe as Elections Looms – 25 January 2013

The Washington Post – Campaigners Try to Stop Zimbabwe Helicopter Gunship Delivery from Neighboring South Africa – 25 January 2013

Egypt Celebrates Anniversary of Revolution with More Protests

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Exactly two years ago, on January 25th, the Egyptians underwent a revolution to oust the military dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. On the second anniversary of this revolution, thousands of Egyptians have taken to the streets to demonstrate against the country’s Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi.

Thousands of Egyptians rallied in the streets to protest President Morsi on the anniversary of the Mubarak uprisings. (Photo Courtesy of Al Arabiya)

Demonstrations became clashes with stone-throwing, gunfire, and tear gas between protestors and police in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, and Port Said. Two state-owned buildings, one in Damietta and another in Kafr el-Sheikh, and one office used by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood were also set ablaze by arsonists.

So far nine individuals have been killed. Seven of which were protestors and the other two were police. As reports are updated, the numbers continue to change, however, at the moment approximately two-hundred and eighty civilians have been injured, while another fifty-five security personnel have been hurt.

Many of the protestors present at these rallies were not shy to speak ill of their current president, Mohamed Morsi. Senior member of the Free Egyptians, Karim Abadir, stated that, “there’s no military dictatorship any more, but there are the beginnings of a theocratic one.”

Hisham Abdel-Latif, a protestor from the Cairene suburbs remarked that Egyptians are, “now ruled by a gang that is exactly the same as the Mubarak gang, except they now have beards.”

Protestor Moustapha Magdi said, “I’m here to get rid of Morsi. . .First Mubarak, then Tantawi, now Morsi. We are only ruled by bastards.”

Others chanted the mantra of 2011’s revolution, yelling as they marched, “the people want to bring down the regime,” and “Leave! Leave! Leave!”

The main complaints against Morsi are that he is only concerned with instituting Islamic law and that he has failed to address Egypt’s struggling infrastructure.

Not all of Egypt feels this way. A recent poll revealed that Morsi boasted an approval rating of sixty-three  percent. There are also other individuals who believe that Morsi has not been given a chance.

The Muslim Brotherhood does not believe that these violent protests are beneficial to the fragile country. Additionally, the Brotherhood notes that its rivals are refusing to properly adhere to the results of the free elections of the new democracy that placed the Brotherhood at the helm of the country.

Morsi, himself, took to Twitter to criticize the stone throwing protestors. He tweeted that, “the ugly violence aims at tainting the civilized nature of Egypt’s revolution. . . I call on all citizens to hold onto the noble principles of the Egyptian revolution to peacefully and freely express their views.”

For further information, please see:

Ahram – Live Updates 2: Nine dead on Egypt’s Uprising Anniversary as Morsi Offers Condolences – 25 January 2013

Arabiya News – Egypt Protesters Attack Official Buildings, Torch Brotherhoods HQ – 25 January 2013

Al Bawaba – Clashes Across Egypt on Second Anniversary of Revolution – 25 January 2013

Guardian – Violence Flares in Egypt on Anniversary of Revolution – 25 January 2013

Reuters – Five die in Egypt Violence on Anniversary of Uprising – 25 January 2013

Britain Introduces Law To Legalize Same Sex Marriage

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, United Kingdom – On Friday, the British government created a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. The Marriage Bill extends marriage to gay couples; however, also prevents clergy in the Church of England from having to carry out the ceremonies.

British government will vote next month to legal same-sex marriage. (Photo Courtesy of Irish Examiner).

Since 2005, gay couples in Britain were permitted to form civil partnerships, which give them the same legal protection, adoption and inheritance rights as heterosexual married partners. However, their partnerships lacked the label of marriage.

The new bill will allow couples who previously entered into civil partnerships to convert their relationship into a marriage, while also including specific provisions that intend to satisfy religious opponents of same-sex unions while simultaneously stopping religious leaders from criticizing the bill.

Equalities Minister, Maria Miller, stated, “We feel that marriage is a good thing and we should be supporting more couples to marry and that is exactly what the proposals being brought forward today do.”

However, she continued, “We are trying to make sure that there are the protections there for churches who feel that this isn’t appropriate for their particular beliefs. We know that there are churches who do want to take part in same-sex marriages, so we have made sure that there are provisions there so they can.”

Additionally, Maria Miller rejected claims that teachers could face disciplinary action if they refuse to “promote” gay marriage in schools. She says, “Teachers are able to, and entitled to, express their views about same-sex marriage and there is no requirement at all for them to promote it. But obviously we wouldn’t expect teachers to be offensive or discriminate in any way about anything.”

She concluded, “Of absolutely paramount importance to me is that when it comes to civil society, we should be treating people equally and fairly and the measures we are putting forward today are doing that.”

The Bishop of Leicester, the Right Reverend Tim Stevens, stated his opposition; marriage should continue to be “a union between one man and one woman. It is a social institution that predates both church and state and has been part of the glue that has bound countless successive societies together.” The “absence of an overwhelming public consensus for change ought at least to give pause for thought.”

While some traditionalist Conservative lawmakers say they will vote against it, conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, many members of his Cabinet, and most Liberal Democrat and Labour lawmakers support the new marriage bill.

The first debate and vote are scheduled for Feb 5.

For further information, please see:

Associated Press – Britain Introduces Same-Sex Marriage Bill – 25 January 2013

BBC News – Gay marriages: Government Publishes Legislation – 25 January 2013

Irish Examiner – British Govt Publishes Gay Marriage Bill – 25 January 2013

USA Today – Britain Considers Same-Sex Marriage Bill – 25 January 2013