News

Change of Rape Law in Morocco

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RABAT, Morocco –There once was a time in Morocco where a rapist could avoid any charges against him, if he were to marry his victim. The times, they are changing, as is Moroccan rape law.

Amina al-Filali’s suicide triggered protests that would eventually lead to the amending of Article 475. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera)

The tradition that safeguarded the rapists was codified in Article 475 of the penal code which stated that those who were found to have “corrupted” or “kidnapped” a minor could go free if they married the victim. This practice was encouraged by the courts of Morocco because of the antediluvian judgment that a woman’s loss of virginity out-of-wedlock would tarnish the respect of the family.

The strict translation of Article 475 from French reads, “When a minor removed or diverted married her captor, the latter cannot be prosecuted on the complaint of persons entitled to apply for annulment of marriage and cannot be sentenced until after the cancellation of marriage has been pronounced.”

This effort to change the law comes approximately a year after sixteen-year-old Amina al-Filali killed herself with rat poison after she was forced into an abusive marriage with Moustapha Fellak, whom had previously raped her.

Women’s rights activists are happy to see reform in this law, but are still calling for many more changes to be made. President of the Democratic League for Women’s Rights, Fouzia Assouli, explained that, “the code only penalizes violence against women from a moral standpoint, ‘and not because it is just violence’.”

For instance, the new article that was just proposed carries a twenty-year penalty for consensual sex that follows the corruption of a minor that results in “deflowering,” but carries only a ten-year penalty if no “deflowering” occurs. Similarly, there are no penalties for conjugal or marital rape, whereas nearly fifty percent of all attacks against women take place between married couples.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane defends his country and its practices by insisting that the change in law is more a formality than a dramatic departure from current practices. He claims that, “in five-hundred and fifty cases of corruption of minors between 2009 and 2010, only seven were married under Article 475 of the penal code, the rest were pursued by justice.”

Before the amended article becomes law, it must be passed by both houses of parliament. Parliament has been slow in the past at passing laws on women’s rights, as a law to combat violence against women has been neglected by parliament for the past eight years.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Morocco to Change Rape Marriage law – 24 January 2013

Feminist – Morocco to Change Rape law that Forces Marriage – 24 January 2013

Jurist – Morocco to Change Rape law Allowing Marriage – 24 January 2013

National Sexual Violence Resource Center – Morocco Plan to Change Rape Marriage law – 23 January 2013

Masked Serbian Police Remove Albanian Rebel Memorial

By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PRESEVO, Serbia – By order of the Serbian government, 200 heavily armed special police officers, their faces covered, removed a memorial from the ethnically mixed Presevo Valley that bore the names of 27 ethnic Albanian guerrillas killed during a 2000 insurgency in the region.

An armed officer stands by while the Presevo war memorial is loaded into a truck. (Photo Courtesy of France24)

During and after the Kosovo war (1998-1999, with insurgency in the southern Serbian regions of Presevo, Medvedja, and Bujanovac continuing though 2001), Albanian rebels fought against Serbia.  The Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac (LAPMB) hoped to free these regions from Serbian control and unite with Kosovo.  To Serbian authority, these rebels were seen as terrorists.  However, to ethnic Albanians, they were heroes.  However, the LAPMB laid down their arms under a NATO-brokered peace deal in 2001 in which Serbia agreed to greater rights and economic opportunity for the impoverished South.  Such progress has been slow.  Furthermore, Serbia has never recognized Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence in 2008, and still considers it to be a southern province.

The Presevo Valley memorial held particular significance to the Albanian community.  Although there are other memorials in the area, the two-meter (six-foot) rectangular stone monument stood with pride in Presevo’s central square, in front of the local council building.  The slab bore the LAMPB insignia and the inscribed names of the 27 guerillas who died in the insurgency.  It had been erected in December by the primarily ethnic Albanian local council, and local officials refused an order from the Serbian government to remove it by Thursday at 11pm.

In January, several attempts were made to reach a resolution between the government and Presevo authorities, but all were rejected by the Presevo city Hall

Then on Sunday January 20, beginning overnight and backed by armored personnel carriers, 200 heavily armed, masked police officers moved in on Presevo and removed their war memorial.

Declaring that the monument had been erected illegally, Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said, “We showed enough patience. Our clear and strong message is that the law should be respected and that no one is stronger than the state.” He further stated that “no one has the right to humiliate Serbia.”

The removal came only days after the European Union had praised Serbia for making progress in normalizing relations with Kosovo.  Kosovo warned that the removal could hurt EU-mediated talks aimed at such normalizing.

The head of the Albanian National Council in Presevo, Galip Beqiri, called the removal “an unacceptable act of vandalism” and said that plans to launch protests were being discussed.

Accordingly, at least 2,000 ethnic Albanians in Presevo took to the streets on Monday in protest.  They waved Albanian flags and banners that read “Stop discrimination” and “Europe, open your eyes”.

Although both the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations have appealed for calm, several acts of vandalism were reported in Serb cemeteries in Kosovo.  Furthermore, police reported shots fired near a Serbian memorial for the Kosovo war in the western town of Gorazdevac, as well damage to a World War II monument in the eastern town of Vitina.

Albania and Kosovo, both having majority ethnic-Albanian populations, condemned the memorial removal.  The government of Kosovo, in addition to saying the decision would undermine normalization talks, further said in a statement, “This action by the government of Serbia is another proof that the hate against Albanians that live in the Presevo Valley is still alive.”

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Protests After Serbia Removes Memorial – 21 January 2013

RFE/RL – Albanians Protest Removal Of Presevo Monument – 21 January 2013

France24 – Police Remove Monument to Albanian Rebels in Serbia – 20 January 2013

RFE/RL – Serbia Removes Ethnic Albanian Memorial – 20 January 2013

Returns – Police remove Albanian Rebel Memorial in South Serbia – 20 January 2013

Rebel Groups in CAR Re-recruiting Child Soldiers

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BANGUI, Central African Republic – On Monday, a top United Nations (UN) official denounced the re-recruitment of child soldiers by rebel groups and pro-government militias in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Rebel groups in CAR such as Seleka have recruited children, ages 3 to 18, as soldiers according to UNICEF. (Photo courtesy of CISA News Africa)

UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Leila Zerrougui expressed her dismay and concern after learning that armed groups such as ‘Séléka’, the Convention des patriotes pour la justice et la paix (CPJP) and the Union des forces démocratiques pour le rassemblement (UFDR), have been enlisting children among their ranks once again. According to reports, such enlistments are currently on the rise in spite of previous promises made by the said groups to end this practice.

Last November, both the UFDR and CPJP entered into agreements with the UN that they will exclude minors from membership and ultimately, keep children out of the conflict. The UFDR promised to release children in its ranks to the UN, whereas the CPJP signed an action plan to end the recruitment and use of children in line with Security Council resolution 1612.

The following month, however, the UN received reports that the CPJP refused to release two girls in an incident in Aigbando. Also, former child soldiers who were already in the care of UN’s children’s agency were getting numerous death threats from the same rebel groups.

“The reports of child recruitment are a flagrant violation of commitments made by the CPJP and UFDR and must stop now,” Ms. Zerrougui said. “The same actors have been violating child rights with impunity for too long. We will continue to monitor the situation and if no progress is made, we will engage the Security Council on this matter,” she added

Ms. Zerrougui also questioned the Government’s commitment to protect children from the ongoing conflict. She received additional reports claiming that the Government has “called on youth in Bangui to mobilize and arm themselves to counter the armed groups alongside militias.”

“These developments are unacceptable,” Ms. Zerrougui insisted. “Child recruitment is a grave violation. Children separated from armed forces and groups are victims, not perpetrators, and have to be treated as such. Going forward, I urge the Government to take its responsibility to protect children seriously, and to refrain from inciting violence.”

Based on a recent report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), almost 300,000 children have been involved with various armed groups in the country even before the major outbreak of rebellion last month. Most of them were street children and orphans which made them easy targets for kidnap and recruitment. Armed militias would abuse and force these children – both boys and girls – to fight and carry supplies.

 

For further information, please see:

United Press International – Children recruited for CAR fight – 22 January 2013

Spy Ghana – UN Astonished About Central African Republic child soldiers report – 22 January 2013

All Africa – Central African Republic: UN Official Disappointed By New Reports of Child Soldiers in Central African Republic – 21 January 2013

Al Jazeera – CAR child soldiers face death threats – 19 January 2013

All Africa – Central African Republic: Seleka Rebels and Army Using Child Soldiers – 11 January 2013

 

Nine Lawyers Accused of Terrorist Affiliations

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ANKARA, Turkey — Yesterday, a court in Istanbul ordered the pre-trial detention of nine human rights lawyers.  Turkish authorities had charged them under anti-terror laws, claiming that the lawyers were affiliated with the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party (RPLP), a banned terrorist organization.  The nine were among twelve lawyers arrested, eleven during early morning raids conducted on January 18, and one arrested on January 20.

Human Rights Lawyers who advocated those accused under anti-terror laws were charged and detained under such laws themselves. (Photo Courtesy of Hurriyet Daily News)

The RPLP, a pro-Marxist organization, is responsible for many assassinations and bombings since the 1970’s.  They have not been as active in recent years.  Nearly 70 people accused by the Turkish government for being affiliated with the RPLP were also detained for questioning.  Among those targeted in the crackdown, aside from activist lawyers, were journalists and musicians.

Opposition parties expressed their outrage to the arrests, including the Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD), in which all nine lawyers were members of.  “Police raids against lawyers at 4 a.m., their arrest and imprisonment are part of a wider clampdown on those who oppose the government,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, the senior Turkey researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Mahmut Tanal, the deputy to the main opposition party, Republican People’s Party (CHP), said that he believed the attorneys were detained because of the part they played in advocating for those accused in some of Turkey’s most controversial human rights abuse incidents.  “This is an attempt to put lawyers on trial for artificial links with terror organizations.  This is intimidation for all lawyers and citizens.  Accusations and questions addressed to the lawyers show that there’s no legal protection for citizens in Turkey,” said Tanal.

Hasip Kaplan, a lawmaker for the Peace and Democracy Party, said that charging human rights lawyers under anti-terror laws prevent them from diligently defending people accused under anti-terror laws, or speaking critically of the Turkish government.  “The first message given to lawyers is that lawyers defending the suspects of [alleged terrorist] organizations could be put on trial for links with the same organizations.  The second message is that their participation in public demonstrations could be considered evidence of being a member of an illegal organization…,” said Kaplan.  Kaplan said that the Turkish government’s incentive in charging people under anti-terror laws is to spread fear in society from participating in protests, and, for lawyers especially, to not defend anyone accused under such laws.  “Those lawyers were detained just because of their professional activities…,” said Kaplan.

Human Rights groups frequently criticize Turkey for charging activists and journalists under their broad anti-terrorism laws.  The charges are often accompanied by prolonged pretrial detention.

For further information, please see:

Committee to Protect Journalists — Several Journalists Jailed in new Turkish Crackdown — 22 January 2013

Human Rights Watch — Turkey: Nine Human Rights Lawyers Imprisoned — 22 January 2013

Turkish Weekly — More Lawyers Arrested in Crackdown on Leftists — 22 January 2013

Hurriyet Daily News — Nine Lawyers Arrested on Alleged Terrorism Links — 21 January 2013

Washington Post — Lawyers Arrested in Turkey for Alleged Links to Leftist Militants — 21 January 2013

 

Religious Group Defends Exemptions in New Australian Human Rights Bill

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia — As the Australian government tries to overhaul anti-discrimination legislation, the Christian lobby is rejecting any effort to eliminate religious exemptions in the bill.

Australia’s Christian Lobby calls suggestions that a proposed law will allow religious groups to discriminate against sinners is overblown. (Photo Courtesy of the Herald Sun)

The draft of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill integrates five current discrimination laws into one law, but it allows religious organizations to discriminate against certain groups lawfully when hiring or firing someone.

“Anti-discrimination laws should be about protecting those affected by discrimination, not protecting those who conduct the discrimination themselves,” said New South Wales independent MP Alex Greenwich, who has been a long-term campaigner for gay and lesbian rights.

Greenwich and others urged Prime Minister Julia Gillard to reconsider whether the religious exemptions should be allowed, especially when taxpayer money is involved.

“I hope the government seizes the opportunity of this review,” Greenwich told ABC News, “to make some real change to help those who are affected by discrimination on a daily basis.”

But Jim Wallace, head of the Australian Christian Lobby, said religious groups need to be able to hire people who share and reflect their values and philosophies.

“The church wants to reflect through its staff the philosophy of Christ,” he said to Sky News.

Wallace also downplayed the issue and described the effort to characterize the exemption as a “freedom” to discriminate gays and other people they consider sinners as “a complete beat-up.”

“I’m not aware of any Christian organization that has refused to hire anyone (based on their sexuality,” he told reporters.  “I’ve looked.”

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Australian Human Rights Commission received nearly two dozen complaints in 2012 from people claiming they were discriminated against at work based on their sexuality.  While the commission kept no record of whether the work was with a religious organization, its president said some of the complaints were against religious groups.

“We can and do receive complaints about discrimination in employment with faith-based organizations on the ground of sexual preference,” Gillian Triggs told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Some critics of the exemption also worry that faith-based groups, including schools and hospitals, will be able to refuse to hire women who are pregnant or potentially pregnant.

Anna Brown, the advocacy and strategic litigation director of the Human Rights Law Centre, called the bill a “missed opportunity” to narrow the broad exemptions available to religious groups.

Still, Triggs called the bill an important first step in creating a coherent federal human rights system.  But she added that more work needs to be done.

“In a secular society such as Australia,” she said, “one does not want to give any sort of particular priority to one freedom above the right of people to non-discriminatory employment.”

For further information, please see:

Sydney Morning Herald — Religious Groups Free to Discriminate Against Pregnant Women — 17 January 2013

Sydney Morning Herald — Review ‘Missed Opportunity’ to Separate Church and State — 17 January 2013

ABC News — Christian Lobby Rejects Push to Remove Religious Exemptions — 16 January 2013

Herald Sun — Sinners Story a Complete Beat-up, Says Australian Christian Lobby — 16 January 2013