By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States — New York State Police announced on Thursday they arrested nine people connected to a sex trafficking operation in upstate New York involving a minor.

After a nine-month investigation, Troopers charged Lynette Tilden of Utica, Edward Tilden of Orwell, and Alexandria Davall of Utica with felony trafficking.  Troopers said the Tildens—25- and 30-years-old, respectively—used an online classifieds website called Backpage.com to advertise in the Northeast for sex with the victim.  Police did not describe the role Davall, 23, played in the operation.

Troopers also charged two men from the Utica area with rape, two others with endangering the welfare of a child, and two others with a criminal sex act.  Investigators did not release the age of the victim.

The bust came a little more than a week after New York City Police and the New York Attorney General’s Office announced the break-up for a $7 million, three-state prostitution and money laundering ring.  On Nov. 20, authorities arrested more than a dozen people and rescued two human trafficking victims.

A 16-month investigation into Somad Enterprises Inc. revealed it operated a “one-stop shopping vehicle for prostitution rings,” authorities described.  The ad agency created listings for escort services on television and websites, including Backpage.com.

The 180-count indictment charged 19 people and one corporation with enterprise corruption, money laundering, and prostitution, among other crimes.  So far, only 17 of those indicted have been arrested, and each faces up to 25 years in prison.  Reuters reported three prostitution clients also were charged.

These arrests highlighted a growing concern about sex trafficking in other parts of the United States, as well.  In Colorado, investigators said an aspiring model who disappeared last month may have fallen victim to trafficking.

Kara Nichols, 19, was last seen on Oct. 9 when she went to a modeling gig in Denver.  But according to an El Paso County Sheriff’s Office bulletin obtained by KKTV, investigators feared she became trapped in a sort of front for a modeling business.

A search of modeling and fashion websites authorities believe Nichols visited involved drugs and prostitution, according to police.

“Someone that has big dreams with limited resources sometimes turn to the internet,” Lt. Jeff Kramer said in an interview with the Daily News.  He hoped someone who knows something might come forward to shed light on what happened to Nichols.

Dangers like those that may have befallen Nichols have prompted the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to pass a motion to investigate sex trafficking.

County officials said the majority of youths arrested on prostitution charges in LA County are from the foster care system. Supervisor Michael Antonovich cited FBI and U.S. Department of Justice data showing the average entry age into prostitution in 12-years-old, and that participation lasts seven years.

For further information, please see:

The Corning Leader — Police: Upstate NY Sex Trafficking Ring Broken Up — 29 November 2012

The Huffington Post — LA Teen Prostitutes Come from Foster Homes a Majority of the Time, County Says — 28 November 2012

The Daily News — Missing Model May Be Victim of Colorado Sex Traffickers: Authorities — 26 November 2012

The Chicago Tribune — Human Trafficking Victims Freed in U.S. Prostitution Bust — 20 November 2012

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States — Two dozen middle school students in western New York State recently held a unique event to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

The 25 students from Springville Middle School, about 35 miles south of Buffalo, held a “Sleepover for Syria” to simulate the refugee experience.  That included sleeping under a tarp supported only by four chairs and a sleeping bag without extensive air mattresses or pillows to use.

“Not all life is fair or perfect,” one student said in reflection of the 17-hour experience.  “Not everyone has it as good or as worse as you.”

Every participating student raised at least $25 in pledges that were donated to the International Rescue Committee’s Syrian Relief Fund.  All told, the students raised $500 for Syrian refugee relief.

“Refugees have it hard due to sickness, lack of food/water, and protection,” reflected another student.  “That’s all chance.  It could have been any of us starving or dying.”

During the program, the students had conversations via Skype with ABC News reporter Lara Setrakian from Dubai, as well as humanitarian Jordan Hattar from outside the refugee camps in the country of Jordan.  Setrakian also leads a worldwide effort called “Syria Deeply,” which aims to give people a new way to understand and engage in the crisis.

Students said the experience was eye-opening for them and made them more appreciative of their own lives.

“It is so important not to take anything for granted and, most importantly, connect on a human-to-human level with the refugees,” said one student.

For further information, please see:

Tumblr — IAmSyria — 16 November 2012

Springville Students for Human Rights — Sleepover for Syria — 15 November 2012

ABC Medianet — Lara Setrakian biography — 2012

Syria Deeply — Syria Deeply — 2012

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — American officials on Wednesday deplored the killing of a Honduran teenager by soldiers trained, vetted, and equipped by the U.S. government.

The Honduran military chased down and killed 15-year-old Ebed Yanes the night of May 26 after he drove through a military checkpoint.  His father, Wilfredo Yanes, uncovered a high-level cover-up, including new information leaked this week that the unit in question previously had U.S. support.

“The incident with Ebed Yanes was a tragedy, and we urge the Honduran government to assure the perpetrators are brought to justice,” said State Department spokesperson William Ostick.

Not long after the May incident, U.S. Ambassador Lisa Kubiske discussed the case with the Honduran special prosecutor for human rights, as well as the country’s armed forces.  U.S. officials “encouraged them to investigate the case fully,” Ostick said.

The Associated Press reported that the United States had vetted the unit before providing it with the Ford F-350 truck that it used to chase the teen from the checkpoint.  By law, all foreign units must undergo a vetting process before receiving any U.S. military assistance equipment, or training.

By all accounts, Ebed was an obedient son who never ventured out after dark, but on the night he died, he was trying to meet a girl he had befriended on Facebook.  He never found her.

Ebed’s body was found dead by 1:30 a.m., slumped over his father’s motorcycle, which he used to travel to meet his new friend.  He had a bullet to the back of his head.

His father, Wilfredo Yanes, vowed not to let Ebed’s death be in vain.

“I’m not only reacting to the impotence that my son’s death made me feel,” he said.  “I can’t allow for rights to be violated, and even less if it’s my family’s right to life.”

A witness told Yanes he saw at least half a dozen masked soldiers in dark uniforms approach a body, poke it with their rifles, pick up empty bullet casings, and return to their unusually large pickup truck.  The next day, Yanes picked up the casings the soldiers failed to retrieve.

The military initially said Ebed brought this situation on himself.

“Everyone who does not stop at a military checkpoint is involved in something,” the army chief, Rene Osorio, told the press.  One soldier, however, later told his own family that he was forced to lie about the shooting.

Within three weeks, three soldiers were under arrest, one of whom faced murder charges.

U.S. officials said Ebed’s death will not lead to withholding of funds from Honduras because that was already triggered earlier this year after reports that a national police chief had ties to death squads.  Instead, it has called the U.S. support for current Honduran police and military into greater question.

For further information, please see:

ABC News — US Deplores Murder of Honduran Teen by Military — 15 November 2012

The New York Times — Killing of Honduran Teenager Could Jeopardize U.S. Aid — 15 November 2012

Terra — EEUU Alarmado por Uso de Ayuda Militar en Honduras — 15 November 2012

The Republic — A Father Crusades to Get Justice for Slain Teenage Son–and Fix a Profoundly Broken Honduras — 12 November 2012

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States — With only a days remaining until President Barack Obama embarks on a historic trip to Southeast Asia, human rights organizations hope rights abuses in the countries he will visit do not go unnoticed.

On Saturday, the President leaves for visits to Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar, also known as Burma, as part of the 21st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit.  Obama’s visits to Cambodia and Myanmar will be the first to either country by a U.S. President.

The White House said Obama is going ahead with the visits despite some rights groups’ criticism of the trip being premature because the countries have yet to institute reforms after decades of military rule.

But New York-based Human Rights Watch said the upcoming trip was an opportunity.

“We’re calling on President Obama to really strongly and publicly raise these human rights concerns, to press for accountability, and to insist that it can’t be business as usual with the Cambodian government, given the gravity of these human rights violations,” said Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson in an interview with Voice of America.

The rights group released a report this week showing more than 300 people have been killed in the last 20 years in Cambodia under the rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen.  The group criticized the Cambodian government for ignoring the problem rather than investigating it, adding that some of those believed to be responsible have even been promoted.

“The moral strain on this trip is Cambodia,” an anonymous activist told Reuters after a meeting with U.S. government leaders in Washington.  The White House met with international human rights activists on Tuesday.

Officials reportedly told the rights groups that “Obama would take a tough approach with Cambodian Prime Minister Sen in private,” according to the Reuters report.

Another group calling on Obama to take action was the Committee to Protect Journalists.  On Thursday, it issued an open letter to the President on its website, asking that he stay committed protecting the right of free expression worldwide.

Specifically, the committee asked that Obama “exercise U.S. influence and seek the redress of press freedom violations in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand,” where the committee said press freedoms are worsening.

The committee noted that Burma does not have a free press, despite improvements in recent years.  It also noted that Cambodian Prime Minister Sen continues to suppress criticism of his government, and that Thailand has laws that can send some journalists to jail for comments posted on their websites.

For further information, please see:

Committee to Protect Journalists — Obama Should Address Media Rights in Southeast Asia — 14 November 2012

Reuters — Rights Groups Press Obama Aides on Myanmar, Cambodia — 13 November 2012

The Washington Post — Human Rights Group Urges Obama to Address Cambodian Abuses — 13 November 2012

Voice of America — Rights Group Urges Obama to Address Human Rights Abuses in Cambodia — 13 November 2012