News

Prison Riots Leaves 57 Dead In Overcrowded Venezuelan Prison

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – 57 prisoners were killed in one of the bloodiest prisoner riots to strike Venezuela.in a routine and peaceful inspection prison guard met armed resistance from irate prisoners in the Uribana prison in Venezuela’s Lara province.

The National Guard taking action against rioters in Venezuela’s Uribana prison. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

Early Friday prison guards and the National Guard planned an operation in an attempt to disarm prisoners from the violent prison facility. Sparked by a surge of prison violence earlier in the week as internal gangs battled for control, the guards had hoped for a peaceful inspection. Instead, as the sun rose Guardsmen were met with gunfire from an entrenched inmate position. When the dust settled and the National Guard had quelled the riot Nearly 60 people were dead, with another 120 wounded. While the official reason for this uprising is being investigated, human rights experts note that Venezuelan prisoners are notoriously overcrowded and filled weapons and drugs that have been smuggled in by corrupt prison guards and gang ‘mafias.’ Beyond the dead inmates, two protestant pastors and one soldier was killed in firefight.

Originally designed in 1997, the model prison of Uribana was built to hold 850 prisons, however when violence erupted the 23,500 square meter penal colony was holding 2,400.

Criticism has been levied on the nature of the inspections and the administration itself. Humberto Prado, leader of the activist group Venezuelan Prisons Observatory stated “It’s clear that the inspection wasn’t coordinated or put into practice as it should have been. It was evidently a disproportionate use of force.” He continued that while necessary, they should not be carried out in the warlike attitude that they have been.

Since peace has been restored, the surviving 2003 male and 132 female inmates have been moved to nearby prisons, and while another 49 inmates were discharged, 46 prisoners remain hospitalized.

The National Assembly has since begun investigating the causes of the riot at Uribana and what protocol steps can be taken in the future.

With allegations from abuse from prisoners, Correctional Service Minister Iris Varela has officially denied any allegations that inmates were run over by the National Guard, or that the population was naked while the National Guard was hitting them. Henrique Capriles, opposition leader against President Chavez’s levied heavy criticism on the administration. Stating that the vice-president ordered an investigation and then went to summit in Chile in contrast to President Rousseff of Brazil cancelled his trip. Taking advantage of the situation Capriles continued “Here, they go away to a summit. They dispose of it as if it were one more matter, one more little problem.”

For more information, please see:

Venezuela Al Dia – Parliament Began Research On Violent Events In Uribana – 28 January 2013

El Universal – Uribana Was Designed As A Model Prison – 28 January 2013

US News – Inmates Moved After Bloody Venezuela Prison Clash – 27 January 2014

El Nacional – Varela Announced That 58 Prisoners Were Killed By Violence In Uribana – 27 January 2013

CNN – Report: Prison Riot Kills Dozens In Venezuela – 26 January 2014

TV Director Convicted for Criticizing President

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

PORTO-NOVO, Benin – Last Thursday, human rights groups and press organizations demanded the Benin government to release a TV director who was imprisoned for airing a program that criticized President Boni Yayi.

President Yayi Boni accused several TV stations of disturbing public order after they criticized his administration for corruption last year. (Photo courtesy of Afriqueenelles)

On September 18, 2012, TV station Canal 3 broadcasted a press conference where former Presidential Adviser and Spokesperson Lionel Agbo accused the President of enabling his cabinet members’ corrupt practices.

The following day, President Yayi filed a complaint against the director of Canal 3, Berthe Cakpossa, before the High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC), Benin’s media regulatory body. In the complaint, President Yayi denied all of the accusations Agbo made against him, claiming that these were mere fabrications. According to him, by airing the press conference, Canal 3 “disturbed public order” and “undermined national cohesion”. Two months later, the HAAC suspended two of the TV station’s programs:  “Actu matin” and “Arbre à Palabre” for two weeks and three months, respectively.

On January 16, a Cotonou court found Cakpossa guilty of “offending the head of state”, sentencing the director to three months in prison with hard labor. Cakpossa was also ordered to pay a fine of 500,000 francs CFA (US$1,000), and symbolic damages of 1 franc CFA. In its decision, the Cotonou court cited the country’s 1997 press law which states that journalists are considered the author of third-party statements they report.

Agbo was likewise arrested for the same charges.

According to Cakpossa’s lawyer, Claret Dedie, they recently appealed the court’s decision which they hope will suspend the execution of the sentence. In an interview with the local news, Dedie said that she was surprised to learn about her client’s arrest since prison terms of less than six months do not require immediate incarceration in Benin. She also found it peculiar that out of all the cases filed against Cakpossa in connection with the controversial broadcast, Cakpossa had been convicted only in the case in which the complainant was the President.

“President Yayi retaliated against a journalist who conveyed a message he did not like and then pressured the courts to impose his will. He is sending a message that his government is off-limits to critical scrutiny,” noted Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “We call on the appeals court to overturn this verdict, which is a stain on Benin’s image as a free, democratic nation.”

Other human rights and media organizations such as the Media Foundation for West Africa (MWFA), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), and the Union of Media Professionals of Benin (UPMB) have joined the CPJ in urging the appeals court to set Cakpossa free.

 

For further information, please see:

Horn Portal – Benin TV chief jailed for program slamming presidential palace – 26 January 2013

Spy Ghana – Berthe Cakpossa sentence was illegally motivated by the Benin government – William Gomes – 26 January 2013

IFEX – TV station director sentenced to hard labour in Benin – 25 January 2013

Committee to Protect Journalists – Benin TV director convicted for offending president – 24 January 2013

 

Factory Fire in Bangladesh Kills 7 and Brings Into Question the Country’s Commitment to Labor Rights

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Questions of worker safety and possible foul play are raised after seven workers die in blaze at a small factory in Bangladesh.

Survivor, Laiju, stands inside the damaged factory after the fire claimed the lives of her fellow employees. (Photo courtesy of The Times of Northwestern India)

On Saturday, a fire ravaged a small factory owned by Smart Exports Garment Ltd in the Dhaka metropolitan area.  Roughly 50 people were injured in the stampede, 6 had to be rushed to the hospital and at least 7 women workers were found trampled to death amidst the chaos.

Executive Director of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity, Kalpona Akter, reported that Smart Exports Garment Ltd had been subcontracted to fill orders by other garment factories.  This particular company was not a member of the Bangladesh garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association.  Lacking membership, the company was unlicensed by fire prevention and labor governing bodies.

Factory worker, Raushan Ara, reported to a local newspaper that the emergency exit was locked when workers tried to flee the blaze.  Spectators reported that some of the trapped workers attempted to jump out of second story windows.

Jahangir Kabir Nanak, a government official, has been assigned to investigate the possibility of foul play due to the allegations that the emergency exit was locked, trapping many of the workers inside the factor during the fire.

Altaf Hossain, father of one of the casualties sustained in the fire, is seeking legal action, bringing cases of negligence against three of the directors of the factory.  The police have begun their own independent investigation into the alleged crimes.

Abdul Halim, a fire official, has reported that the actual cause of the fire continues to remain a mystery as the fire department continues their investigation.  Preliminary findings suggest that the fire was caused by electrical short circuit in the upper floor of the two-story building.

International labor rights groups, including The Worker Rights Consortium, Clean Clothes Campaign, the Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights, and the International Labor Rights Forum, have called for better accountability in the apparel industry to improve garment workers’ rights in this part of the world.

The large brand companies that contract these factories to make their clothing continue to keep their internal audit and investigation results secret, marginalize trade unions, and simply walk away from these types of tragedies when convenient.

Bangladesh currently operates roughly 4,500 garment factories and is one of the world’s largest exporters of clothing.  The garment manufacturing industry currently makes up about 80% of Bangladesh’s $24 billion in annual exports.

It is unclear whether or not the clothing made in this particular factory was destined for western markets as initial reports have been conflicting.  This tragedy comes merely two months after one of Bangladesh’s worst factory fires which occurred in the Tazreen Fashions Ltd factory, killing 112 workers and injuring 150 others.

For further information, please see:

The Global Times – Foreign labels found in latest Bangladesh factory fire – 27 January 2013

The Times of Northwestern India – Bangladesh probing if factory’s 1 exit was locked – 27 January 2013

Reuters – Labor rights groups seek action after Bangladesh factory blaze – 27 January 2013

Belfast Telegraph – Bangladesh factory fire kills seven – 26 January 2013

Malian and French Forces Take Control of Gao

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BAMAKO, Mali—The French and Malian forces, working together, pushed forward to the desert town of Timbuktu today, as the two-week-long French mission began gathering momentum against the Islamist extremists, who have been in control of the region for more than nine months.

A French military convoy makes its way toward Timbuktu. (Photo Courtesy of The Guardian)

This move toward Timbuktu comes just a day after the French army announced that they had succeeded in seizing the airport and a key bridge in Gao, which is one of the other northern provincial capitals currently under the control of the Islamist insurgents. Diarran Kone, a spokesman for Mali’s Defense Ministry said, “Since yesterday the Malian army has been in Gao, controlling the airport.” “Police actions are under way,” he continued.

Gao is the largest city in northern Mali. It was seized more than nine months ago, by a mixture of al-Qaida linked Islamist fighters. This group of fighters turned the city into a replica of Afghanistan under the Taliban. The group also has close ties to Moktar Belmoktar, an Algerian national who has been operating in Mali for a long time, and claimed responsibility for the attack on a BP-operated natural gas plant in Algeria.

Gao is one of the main strategic points and represented the biggest move yet in this battle to retake the northern half of the country. The French Defense Ministry spokesman, Colonel Thierry Burkhard, said that Malian, Nigerian and Chadian troops were now deploying in Gao after the French special forces took the airport yesterday. “The taking of control of Gao, which has between 50,000 and 60,000 inhabitants, by Malian, Chadian and Nigerian soldiers, is under way,” he noted.

However, in Paris, a defense ministry official clarified that the city of Gao has not yet been completely liberated. While a lot of progress has been made, the process of freeing the city still continues.

Yesterday, Saturday, January 26, 2013, the United States said that it would provide aerial refueling for France’s warplanes. This decision increases American involvement, which until yesterday had consisted only of transporting French troops and equipment, while also providing some intelligence, including but not limited to satellite photographs.

Since France began its operation, the insurgents have retreated from three small towns in central Mali: Diabaly, Konna, and Douentza. The Islamists continue to control much of the north. This conflict will now dominate the African Union summit in Ethiopia on Monday.

 

For further information, please see:

The Guardian – Mali Conflict: French and Malian Troops Begin Restoring Control in Timbuktu – 27 January 2013

The New York Times – French Troops in Mali Push On to Timbuktu – 27 January 2013

The Wall Street Journal – In Mali, French Troops Step Up Role – 27 January 2013

The Washington Post – French Forces Press Ahead Toward Malian Town of Timbuktu – 27 January 2013

Russian Duma Overwhelmingly Backs “Homosexual Propaganda” Ban

By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – On Friday, Russia’s lower house of Parliament, the State Duma, passed the first reading of a bill that would ban spreading “homosexual propaganda” among minors.  Police arrested about 20 protestors outside the Duma after a fight broke out between supporters and opponents of the ban.

Interior Ministry officers detain gay-rights activists for participating in a protest outside the State Duma. (Photo Courtesy of RFE/RL)

Deputies of the Duma passed the first of three required readings with near-unanimous support: 338 voted in favor of the bill, 1 (Sergei Kuzin of United Russia) in opposition, and 1 (Dmitry Gudkov of A Just Russia) abstained.  In addition to passing the readings, the bill must also be approved by the Federation Council, and be signed by President Vladimir Putin to become law.

Although the bill was introduced in the Duma last March by lawmakers from Novosibirsk in Siberia, where locally such laws are already in effect, the bill’s consideration date was pushed back several times.

Echoing laws in St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Novosibirsk, and other regions, the bill would impose fines on individuals and organizations promoting “homosexual behavior among minors.”  Individuals could be fined up to 5,000 roubles (£105; 124 euros; $166) and officials could face a fine of ten times that amount, or 50,000 roubles (£1,050; 1,240 euros; $1,660).  Legal entities, including businesses and schools, could be fined at 100-times the individual limit, resulting in fines of 500,000 roubles (£10,500; 12,400 euros; $16,600) per incident.

Opposition from the gay community has been strong, and gay-rights activists particularly note that the bill fails to define “homosexual propaganda.”  Like its forerunners, the bill also fails to give precise legal definition of homosexuality, bisexuality and transgender.  However, when the LGBT community attempted to challenge this lack of precise language in regional legislation last year, they were turned denied through the Supreme Court.  Accordingly, with the vague language, activities ranging from demonstrating to kissing in public, all in possible view of minors, could constitute “homosexual propaganda.”

Nonetheless, Russia’s state television has reported that members of the gay and lesbian community will be invited to attend the second hearing of the bill, which will most likely be in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, outside the Duma Friday, gay-rights activists clashed with Russian Orthodox Christians.  The gay-rights activists protested with a “kiss-in,” which drew an angered, violent reaction from the bill’s supporters, some of them holding Russian Orthodox icons or crosses.  A scuffle ensued between the two sides, which was broken up by police from the Interior Ministry, who made several arrests.

According to opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta correspondent and gay-rights activist Yelena Kostyuchenko, “”Some of them threw eggs at us, others chanted prayers. They poured ‘zelyonka’ [‘brilliant green,’ a common antiseptic that is hard to wash off] on us. They tried to attack us several times.”

Sources conflict as to whether, of the 20 people arrested by police, any proponents of the bill were among them.  However, Kostyuchenko, claiming the police were clearly on the Duma’s side, reported, “In our police van, there are only LGBT activists and their friends, people who were protesting the bill. There aren’t any fascists or so-called Orthodox activists among us here.”

Deputy Dmitry Sablin, a member of the ruling United Russia party explained the bill was necessary because “[a]lready 30 percent of children have a more or less positive attitude toward [homosexuality].”  He further stated, “We live in Russia after all; not Sodom and Gomorrah.”  Sablin concluded that defending “traditional values” is “even more important than oil or gas.”

United Russia’s parliamentary faction leader, Vladimir Vasilyev, noted the narrowness of the law in only restricting propaganda “among minors.”  In explaining the goal of the bill, he started “We want our young generation to grow up without this kind of influence.”

By contrast, Amnesty International has criticized the bill as “an attack on the right to freedom of expression,” and cautioned that the bill, which “further stigmatizes and alienates” homosexual people, could be interpreted very loosely.

In Washington, the Obama administration was “deeply concerned” over the bill.  State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the bill will “severely” restrict freedom of expression and assembly for LGBT individuals, and “indeed for all Russians.”  She called on Russia to protect its citizens’ democratic rights, without discrimination.

For related Impunity Watch posts, please see:

Russia Pushes Forward Anti-Gay Law – 22 January 2013

Russia “Gaga” Over Homosexuality Promotion Debate – 12 December 2012

For further information, please see:

France24 – Russia Backs Nationwide ‘Anti-Gay’ Bill – 26 January 2013

RFE/RL – Russian ‘Gay Propaganda’ Bill Passes First Reading Amid Scuffles Outside Duma – 26 January 2013

Amnesty International – Russia’s Anti-Gay ‘Propaganda Law’ Assault on Freedom of Expression – 25 January 2013

BBC News – Russian MPs Back ‘Gay Propaganda’ Ban Amid Scuffles – 25 January 2013

Moscow Times – Duma Passes Anti-Gay Law in First Reading – 25 January 2013

Returns – Russian Police Break up “Kiss-in” Over Anti-Gay Law – 25 January 2013

RT – Russian Duma Gives First Nod to Nationwide Ban on Gay Propaganda – 25 January 2013