News

Police Brutality Protests in Nigeria: The Lekki Massacre

By: Alexis Eka

Impunity Watch Staff Writer

LAGOS, Nigeria – Following the breakout of protests in Nigeria on October 8, 2020, violent protests occurred at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020. The protests in support of the #EndSars Movement resulted in several injuries and at least 56 deaths of Nigerian citizens.

Lekki Toll Gate Part-Destroyed On Night of Protest. Photo Courtesy of BBC.

Protestors have been peacefully demonstrating in the streets of Lagos, demanding an end to the police brutality, extrajudicial executions, and extortion by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), the unit of the Nigerian police force that oversees violent crimes.

On October 20, 2020, several peaceful demonstrators were shot when the Nigerian army opened fire on Nigerian citizens at the Lekki Toll Gate. An investigation led by Amnesty International confirmed that the Nigerian army and police have also been found responsible for the deaths of these Nigerian citizens.

The timeline suggests that on the evening of Tuesday, October 20, 2020, army tanks left the Bonny Camp military base and drove on the Lekki-Epe Expressway for approximately seven minutes. They continued toward the Lekki Toll Gate at 18:29 local time. At around 18:45, the Nigerian military opened fire on the protestors. Moments before the Lekki massacre, video footage captured peaceful protestors gathered together at the Lekki Toll Gate. The protestors were seen dancing, singing, and styling their hair. Many of the hair stylists inscribed the words #EndSars on their heads, while speeches were made from a platform at the front of the Lekki Toll Gate.

After the continuous stream of violence that occurred that night, there were several bullet casings found in the streets of Lagos, and the Lekki Toll Gate was destroyed. Members of the Lagos State Judicial panel investigated the allegations of excessive force and visited the Lekki Gate Toll bridge to gain insight into the events that transpired on that evening. The panel was led on a tour by the head of Lekki Concessions Centre, the group that supervises and runs the gate.

Through the investigation, a series of photos were taken and the Judicial panel investigated the room that housed the CCTV Footage from the evening. There were several holes in the windows leading the panel members to assume the holes were caused by bullets. Members of the panel found the bullet casings about one week after Amnesty International announced the shootings. However, the Nigerian police and the army have dismissed Amnesty International’s contentions claiming them to be fictitious and unfounded.

Leaders worldwide have spoken directly to President Muhammadu Buhari to end the violence in the streets of Lagos. Britain’s Secretary of State for Foreign affairs, Dominic Raab, called for an end to the violence in Nigeria and demanded a series of wide-ranging reforms. Rabb stated, “The Nigerian government must urgently investigate reports of brutality at the hands of the security forces and hold those responsible to account.”

Representatives from the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (the Commission) have voiced sincere concern for the lethal force that has been used against protestors. News outlets including Amnesty International Nigeria, ActionAid Nigeria, and the Human Rights Watch have created a list of demands including an “urgent review and implementation of the various reports on police and security reform” and “the respect and protection for the rights to peaceful protest and assembly.” Like many, the Commission has called upon the Nigerian government to take proactive measures in the process of dismantling the SARS officers including withdrawing military forces and implementing measures for comprehensive reform of the Nigerian law enforcement.

For further information, please see:

African Commission on Human and People’s Rights – Press statement on unlawful killings by security forces in Nigeria – 22 Oct. 2020

Amnesty International – Nigeria: The Lekki Toll Gate massacre – new investigative timeline – 28 Oct. 2020

BBC NEWS – Bullet Casings found at site of  #EndSars Protest – 30 Oct. 2020

Human Rights Watch – Nigeria: End Excessive Force Against Protesters – 22 Oct. 2020

PRNewswire – EndSARS Protest: Majority Condemns Killings and Offers Free Calls to Nigeria – 22 Oct. 2020

Reuters – Britain calls for an end to violence in Nigeria – 21 Oct. 2020

Philippine Government Sparks Anger Over Death of Infant Taken From Incarcerated Mother

By: Elizabeth (Lizzy) Wright

Journal of Global Rights and Organizations, Associate Articles Editor

MANILA, Philippines – On October 9th, 2020, new mother Reina Mae Nasino experienced the worst tragedy possible; her three-month-old baby, River Emanuelle died of pneumonia. However, Nasino’s tragedy greatened when Manila Regional Trial Court 47 decided she would only be allowed to grieve her daughter over a three-day furlough from the jail she was being held in. This was only for the court to amend its decision the next day and allow her 6 hours to attend River’s wake.

Mother Reina at Baby River’s Wake During her 6 Hour Furlough. Photo Courtesy of Aljazeera.

From the beginning of her case, Reina has been fighting against the Philippine Government’s controversial rule. Housing in the Philippines is a major issue, and the city of Manila is said to have the highest rate of homelessness in the world. Reina is a known activist, as a member of the group known as Kadamay. Reina and Kadamay were involved in protesting the privatization of low-income governmental housing by occupying an old homeless shelter that was due to be torn down. This led to officials going to Reina’s residence, searching it, allegedly finding unauthorized firearms, and arresting her. Reina has maintained her innocence and claims that officials planted the weapons.

At the time of her arrest, Reina did not yet realize that she was pregnant with baby River. She only realized she was pregnant during a medical examination in jail a few months later. For the first month of River’s life, she was allowed to remain with Reina, and during this time, she petitioned the court to allow her to breastfeed River for her first year. The court denied this petition and forcibly removed River from Reina’s care only four weeks after birth. Reina then asked the court for a temporary release related to COVID-19 jail downsizing; she was denied.

During the two months between River’s separation from her mother and her death, her health declined significantly and she was hospitalized. Knowing this, Reina continued to ask the court to reunite her with River but was ultimately denied. Reina’s family argues that River’s sickness was due to the inability to breastfeed.

As previously mentioned, Reina was allowed to attend River’s wake for only six hours. During the wake, Reina was escorted by 20 armed law enforcement individuals. Law enforcement then broke up the wake early and had the hearse carrying the coffin speed away. The family chased the hearse on foot as it left. These events have sparked an international outcry and scrutiny regarding the way mothers are treated while incarcerated in the Philippines.

Pregnancy and motherhood are two key things that make female incarceration significantly more complicated than male incarceration. Different countries have created remedies for this issue. For example, some countries allow babies to remain with their incarcerated mothers for up to four years.

The actions of the Philippine Government inflicted serious trauma on Reina, River, and their family. The Government claims that separating babies from their mothers, as a rule, is in the best interest of the child. However, this reasoning is flawed. These babies often end up in foster homes and do not reap any of the benefits that come with being physically close with their mothers. Studies show that physical closeness between mother and baby is good for both; it creates feelings of security for the baby and gives the mother an awareness of the needs of the baby.

Reina and River’s case is, unfortunately, one of many that demonstrate the need for incarceration reform in the Philippines and other countries, like the United States, that routinely separate babies from their mothers.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Anger over death of baby separated from jailed mother – 15 Oct. 2020

BenarNews – Phillippine Rights Group: Shortened Furlough for Inmate whose Baby Died ‘Merciless’ – 14 Oct. 2020

IBON Media and Communications – While poor remain homeless, private business gains from “socialized” housing – 22 March 2017

Reuters – Manila’s homeless set to move into more empty homes if official handover delayed – 28 Mar. 2018

Reuters: The Wider Image – Jailed Philippine activist lays to rest her three-month-old baby – 16 Oct. 2020

The Journal of Perinatal Education: Advancing Normal Birth – Care Practice #6: No Separation of Mother and Baby, With Unlimited Opportunities for Breastfeeding – Summer 2017

Is China Using COVID-19 as an Excuse to Silence Its Dissenters?

By: Madison Kenyon

Impunity Watch Staff Writer

BEIJING, China — On December 31, 2019, the government in Wuhan, China announced that health authorities were in the process of treating dozens of individuals who all had similar symptoms. A few days later, the Wuhan government confirmed that these individuals had all been infected with a new virus: COVID-19. Now about five months later, the spread of the virus seems to be slowing down in cities throughout China, and thus China has begun lifting its lockdown measures.

Despite the Chinese government lifting many of its lockdown measures, over 200 cities in China now require its citizens to download software that tracks citizens’ movements. Specifically, in order to freely move throughout different Chinese regions, a citizen must download either the WeChat or Alipay App which contains this software. After downloading this, the citizen is required to answer a list of personal information questions, including: name, Chinese ID number, phone number, residential address, their place of work, their travel history, and their purpose for being in the region. Next, the citizen is required to answer a list of health questions, ranging from “Do you have any symptoms? to “Have you been in contact with someone with COVID-19?” Based on the answers to these questions, each citizen is administered a different colored scanning code – either green, yellow, or red. Those who receive a green code can move around the city freely. However, those that receive a yellow code must self-quarantine for seven days, and those with a red code must self-quarantine for 14-days.

Although these cities have not technically made it a requirement for its citizens to download this software, they have implicitly done so since citizens may not travel throughout the city without a colored code. Specifically, a citizen is required to scan into every public place they enter. The government argues this is necessary to track the travel history of someone who becomes infected with COVID-19 and track who the infected person has been in contact with.

On the outside, this appears to be a creative way to track and maintain the spread of COVID-19. However, this tracking technology concerns many human rights activists. For starters, there is no end-date for the use of this technology. Many believe the Chinese government will continue to use the “health-scare” justification to track its citizens far after this global pandemic is over. Second, there has not been much transparency from the Chinese government as to how it reaches its decision in the color code it provides to each individual. Due to this, many believe that China will use this color-coded system to silence the government’s dissenters by giving them red codes and forcing them into isolation. This is especially troublesome since this pandemic broke out amid the Hong Kong protests. As Sophie Richardson, the China Director at Human Rights Watch, stated, “This is viewed as scary stuff from a human rights perspective…It is yet another way to gather information about people to potentially use it against them in ways which there’s no legal basis.”

It will surely be interesting to see if these predictions by human rights activists come true.

For further information, please see:

CNN – China is Fighting the Coronavirus with a Digital QR Code. Here’s How it Works – 16 Apr. 2020

ABC News – China Rolls Out Software Surveillance for the COVID-19 Pandemic, Alarming Human Rights Advocates – 14 Apr. 2020

N.Y. Times – A Timeline of the Coronavirus Pandemic – 14 Apr. 2020

Business Insider – As China Lifts Its Coronavirus Lockdown, Authorities are Using a Color-Coded Health System to Dictate Where Citizens Can Go. Here’s How It Works. – 7 Apr. 2020

Appellant’s Brief Released in Ntaganda Case

By: Andrew Kramer

Impunity Watch Staff Writer

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands – On April 8, 2020, the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) released the public redacted appellate brief of former Congolese militia leader and convicted war criminal Bosco Ntaganda. The brief was originally filed on February 10, 2020 but was unavailable to the public. Ntaganda is currently appealing only his 30-year sentence of imprisonment.

Bosco Ntaganda looks on in an ICC courtroom during trial. Photo Courtesy of CNN.

Ntaganda raised twelve grounds on appeal, generally asserting that the Trial Chamber failed to assess mitigating factors properly when determining his sentence. Grounds one through four claim the Trial Chamber failed to properly assess Ntaganda’s “limited” degree of participation in various crimes committed, including rape and sexual slavery. Grounds seven through twelve claim the Trial Chamber failed to properly assess mitigating conduct of Ntaganda, both during the commission of the crimes and in the courtroom. These grounds assert the Court did not properly consider that Ntaganda saved the lives of enemy soldiers, protected civilians from attacks on occasions, protected an individual from harm, contributed to reconciliation with the Lendu community, and cooperated with the Court. 

The remaining grounds assert the Court erred in assessing aggravating factors. Ground five asserts the Court considered an improper aggravating circumstance in determining its sentence, which it claims fell outside the scope of the crimes charged. Ground six asserts the Court “double-counted” certain aggravating factors to arrive at its sentence.

This is a robust brief submitted on behalf of Ntaganda. While he may find little sympathy from the Appeals Chamber for his “limited role and knowledge” in crimes of sexual violence and slavery, a merit which the Court may more thoroughly address is the question of what constitutes a proper aggravating factor. The degree of relation of the factor to the crime, relations to an uncharged crime, and how to apply the factor in a sentencing decision are all areas which the Court might provide clarity.

There is not much precedent for the appellate process of the ICC. Only two other cases have reached decision by the Appeals Chamber, both of which confirmed the Trial Chamber’s findings. In the only appellate decision, which upheld a sentence of imprisonment, the case of The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the Appeals Chamber declined to reduce a prison sentence, partially because the appellant had already served most of it. If the present case reaches a decision on the merits, it could solidify sentencing procedure, and depending on the outcome, empower or restrain the Trial Chambers in their sentencing decisions.

Once the Prosecutor responds to the Appellant’s brief, a hearing date will be set. The COVID-19 outbreak will likely slow progress of this appeal process, as all ICC staff members based in The Hague will be working remotely until at least April 28.  

For further information, please see:

International Criminal Court – Public Redacted Version of “Sentencing Appeal Brief” – 10 Feb. 2020

International Criminal Court – Case information Sheet: Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – 7 Nov. 2019

International Criminal Court – The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo – 15 Dec. 2017

Cameroonian Government Accused of Additional Human Rights Violations

By: Katherine Davis

Impunity Watch Staff Writer

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – On March 30, 2020, Human Rights Watch (HRW) raised concerns about human rights violations in Cameroon in a shadow report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). The report highlights violations of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, and other ill treatments; the right to life, the right to equal protection under the law, and violations of freedom of speech and assembly, all of which were not included in the 6th Periodic Report of Cameroon (“the Report”). HRW urges the ACHPR to consider these violations during its 66th Ordinary Session for the discussion of the Report.

Cameroon Renaissance Movement members march in protest of arbitrary arrests. Photo Courtesy of Joel Kouam, BBC News, Pidgin.

In early 2019, Cameroonian security forces arrested hundreds of members of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, including their leader, Maurice Kamto, his closest advisors, and hundreds who joined in protest. These individuals were denied access to their attorneys and then charged “with a number of offenses including hostility against the homeland, threats to public order and rebellion.”

HRW says the Report makes no mention of these arbitrary arrests and detentions or of the violent dispersals of demonstrators. According to the shadow report, “the government of Cameroon failed to uphold those freedoms for opposition members arrested during and following peaceful demonstrations.”

In addition to the depravation of basic legal rights, HRW has also notes various human rights violations by the government of Cameroon. Since late 2016, security forces have been killing civilians, burning dozens of homes and villages, and torturing and detaining individuals to extract confessions regarding opposition forces. None of which was reported to the ACHPR by the Cameroonian government, according to HRW.

“Cameroon has submitted 6 reports in the last 18 years. Cameroon’s 6th period report fails to provide any comprehensive account of efforts to mitigate further abuses by security forces against civilians and to ensure that military operations are conducted with respect for human rights,” writes HRW.

HRW urges the government of Cameroon to promptly investigate these allegations, to develop and implement safeguards in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and to provide appropriate medical care to victims of torture. They also strongly encourage ACPHR to consider the absence of these violations in their upcoming discussions during the 66th Ordinary session.

Originally scheduled to begin on April 22, ACHPR’s 66th Ordinary Session has been tentatively rescheduled for May/June 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. As of April 11, 2020, the ACHPR has not commented on HRW’s allegations.

For further information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Shadow Report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Response to the 6th Periodic Report of Cameroon – 30 Mar. 2020

African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights – Cameroon: 4th – 6th Periodic Report, 2015 – 2019 – 3 Jan. 2020

BBC News, Pidgin – Opposition say Cameroon Police Arrest About 100 Party Mimbas wey March – 2 Jun. 2019

The Guardian – Hundreds of Opposition Members Arrested in Cameroon – 4 Jun. 2019

African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights – Press Statement of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the postponement of the 66th Ordinary Session in light of the global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – 17 Mar. 2020