News

Venezuelan President will not address UN after shocking human rights report

By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS,Venezuela – After a scathing human rights report by the UN, Venezuelan President Maduro cancels plans to address the UN Human Rights Council on September 11, 2017. Maduro will send newly-appointed foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, in his place to address the Council on its opening day.

Venezuelan President Maduro. Image Courtesy of Venezuelan Analysis.

Many see Maduro’s decision not to speak as a response to the U.N.’s human rights report and increased activism against his policies. The report calls for further investigation and accountability by the Venezuelan government. It also asks the UN Human Rights Council itself to take measures to prevent these human rights violations.

On August 30th, The UN reported extensive human rights violations and abuses in Venezuela. These come in the wake of anti-Government protests as tensions between the Government and the opposition increase. The report indicates a repressive policy with the use of excessive force and arbitrary detention against protesters. The government’s actions toward protesters, led by Maduro, point to “the existence of a policy to repress political dissent and instill fear in the population to curb demonstrations.”

The President, as one of the 47 current member states, planned to speak at this three-week UN Human Rights Council session. He last addressed this audience in November 2015. The Council does not invite dignitaries to participate in meetings, but it is protocol to honor member states’ requests to speak.

Although he was granted speaking time, a Council spokesman released a statement that Maduro would not address the council without giving a specific explanation.

The U.N. report paints a disturbing picture of the country. Reliable sources estimate the number of people detained since the beginning of April to be 5,000, including 410 children. Many detained victims have described it as “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.” Other detainees, both men and women, also reported threats of sexual violence and death perpetrated by the guards. Conditions in detention centers are alarming with accounts of over-crowded cells, rat and insect infestations, and lack of drinking water and bathroom facilities. The U.N. found these victims’ accounts to be consistent and corroborated by medical records.

President Maduro does not allow the U.N. investigation to enter the country, so this report is based on phone interviews with victims, families, NGOs, journalists, lawyers, first-responders and doctors. There are reported attacks to journalists and media workers to stop them from covering the demonstrations. These demonstrators and journalists have been designated “terrorists” and “enemies” by authorities.

Maduro’s spot at the podium was already being criticized. Critics were outraged and did not want to see the UN stage used by a dictator. Days earlier, 12 human rights activists called for an urgent Council meeting to discuss Venezuela’s membership and protest Maduro’s appearance.

For further information, please see:

CNS News – Maduro Cancels Plans to Address UN Human Rights Council; Activists Want Venezuela Expelled – 6 September 2017

Reuters – Venezuelan President Maduro will not go to U.N. rights forum – 5 September 2017

Fox News – UN rips Venezuelan human rights abuses, as government orders opposition leader’s wife to court – 2 September 2017

UN News Centre – Human rights violations indicate repressive policy of Venezuelan authorities – 30 August 2017

Cambodia’s Main Opposition Leader Arrested for Treason

By: Brian Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – On Sunday, September 3rd, Cambodia’s main opposition leader, Kem Sokha, was arrested for treason. He is accused of violating Article 443 which prevents officials from “colluding with foreigners.” If convicted, Mr. Sokha could face a 30 year jail term.

Kem Sokha was arrested outside his house in Phnom Penh. Photo courtesy of New York Times.

The opposition leader was arrested during a heavy crackdown on critics of Prime Minister Sen’s government. The government officals accused Mr. Sokha of discussing plots with the United States government to undermine Cambodia.

The government, as evidence, disclosed a four-year-old video of Mr. Sokha giving a speech and stating that he has received advice from the United States government on establishing an opposition group in Cambodia.

According to Mr. Sokha’s daughter, Ken Monovithya, more than 100 police officers surrounded their home and arrest her father without a warrant. She stated that Mr. Sokha was handcuffed and escorted to an unmarked vehicle by numerous officers. It is reported that he is currently being held at a remote prison near the Vietnamese boarder. He has not been given an opportunity to speak to an attorney.

Upon Mr. Sokha’s arrest, the United States Embassy in Phnom Penh commented that the charges “appear to be politically motivated.”

The Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen, and his ruling Cambodian People’s Party will face a tough election next year. After ruling the country for more than three decades, Mr. Sen’s critics have accused him of trying to eliminate his oppositions prior to the upcoming election.

The New York based Human Rights Watch group has recently stated that “the government and the ruling CPP have manufactured these treason charges against Kem Sokha for political purposes, aiming to try and knock the political opposition out of the ring before the 2018 electoral contest ever begins.”

NYT – Cambodia Arrests Opposition Leader, Accusing Him of Treason – 2 September, 2017

Reuters – Cambodia charges opposition leader with treason – 5 September, 2017

Aljazeera – Cambodia politician Kem Sokha charged with treason – 6 September, 2017

UN Report Denounces “Extensive” Human Rights Abuses By Venezuelan Government As Opposition Leader’s Wife Is Barred From Leaving Country

By: Max Cohen
Impunity Watch News Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – The United Nations has released a report chastising the Venezuelan government over extensive human rights violations committed in the wake of anti-government protests. Additionally, Venezuelan authorities have opened an investigation into Lilian Tintori, the wife of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, after allegedly discovering a large amount of cash in her car. She has since been barred from traveling outside the country to attend meetings with European leaders scheduled for the week of September 3rd-9th.

Lilian Tintori demonstrates a picture of jailed anti-government protestors in a meeting with foreign journalists. Photo courtesy of AP.

The UN report documents the systematic use of excessive force during demonstrations and the arbitrary detention of protesters, noting that all evidence indicates that these were not the actions of a few isolated officials. It calls on the UN Human Rights Council, of which Venezuela is a member, to take measures to prevent the human rights situation from worsening. Venezuela’s government has slammed the report as shoddy and biased, though the report says that victims’ accounts were consistent and corroborated by medical reports and NGO reports.

The report also indicates that of the 124 deaths linked to the protests, security forces are allegedly responsible for 46, while pro-government armed groups are responsible for 27. More than 5,000 people have been detained since the protests began in April, with 1,000 still being held.

On Thursday, August 31st, Venezuelan authorities discovered around 200 million bolivars, equal to about $60,000, on the nation’s weakest official exchange rate or $10,000 on the more commonly used black market rate, in the car of Lilian Tintori. It’s unclear what crimes she has being investigated for, since possession of cash in Venezuela is not a crime. However, Tintori is convinced that the actions are government sanctioned persecution targeted towards her.

She also claims that the money was to pay for emergencies, including the hospitalization of her grandmother. Tintori claims that cash was necessary since inflation has decimated the value of Venezuela’s currency, and because no bank would give a credit card or open an account for the wife of an opposition leader. She has also since been banned from leaving the country, a move that came a day after she was ordered to appear before a judge on September 5th.  Tintori was expected to travel to Europe to convince leaders there to institute sanctions against Venezuela.

For more information, please see:

Bloomberg – Venezuelan Opposition Activist Says She Was Barred From Traveling to Europe – 2 Sept, 2017

Fox News – UN rips Venezuelan human rights abuses, as government orders opposition leader’s wife to court – 2 Sept, 2017

ABC – Venezuela probes wife of opposition’s Lopez for cash in car – 1 Sept, 2017

United Nations News Centre – Human rights violations indicate repressive policy of Venezuelan authorities – 30 Aug, 2017

British soldiers, civilian arrested for involvement in Neo-nazi terror group

By: Sara Adams
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Europe

National Action gives Nazi salutes at a rally in the UK. Image courtesy of Joel Goodman, LNP.

LONDON, United Kingdom – Members of neo-Nazi group National Action were arrested on September 5th under charges stemming from the Terror Act of 2000.

The four men arrested are all serving members of the British Royal Army.  A fifth person, a civilian, has been arrested on the same charge.

National Action was labeled a terror organization in December 2016 by the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd. Subsequently, an order was released by Parliament to make it a criminal offense to be affiliated in any way with National Action.

The group is the first of its kind to be banned outright in the United Kingdom. The majority of the groups banned under the Terror Act of 2000 are extreme Islamists.

When the decision was made, Ms. Rudd released a statement openly condemning National Action, saying that it is a “racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic organization.”

“It stirs up hatred, glorifies violence, and promotes a vile ideology,” she stated. “I will not stand for it. It has absolutely no place in a Britain that works for everyone.”

White nationalist groups, often coined “alternative-right”, are on the rise around the world.

In August this year, neo-Nazis in the United States descended on Charlottesville, Virginia, to protest the taking down of confederate statutes. One counter-protester died when a car driven by a self-proclaimed Neo-Nazi rammed into her.

But the United States is not the only country that has faced violence from groups affiliated with white supremacy.

Jo Cox, British Member of Parliament for the Labor party, was shot, stabbed, and killed in June 2016. The evidence at trial sought to show that the shooter, Thomas Mair, was involved in alternative-right politics, including affiliation with Neo-Nazis.

At the trial, Mair identified himself to the judge saying “My name is death to traitors, freedom for Britain.”

“Death to traitors” is the same slogan that is on the former National Action website.

National Action was quick to praise the death of Jo Cox. After the news, one tweet by the group’s Twitter page read “Only 649 MPs to go.”

The Terror Act of 2000 permits arresting those suspected of being members in proscribed terror groups. While there was no imminent threat of danger to the public, the police said that the arrests were “pre-planned” and “intelligence-led.”

Four of the detainees are being held at West Midlands police station. The other is being held in Cyprus at the British army base.

The Army could only confirm that the arrests were made under the Terror Act. Any further comment was denied, stating that this is “now the subject of a civilian police investigation.”

The results of the investigation remain to be seen.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Five army men held over alleged membership of banned UK neo-Nazi group – 5 September 2017

CBS News – 4 alleged neo-Nazi soldiers accused of plotting terror – 5 September 2017

BBC News – Neo-Nazi arrests: National Action suspects are in the Army – 5 September 2017

CNN – Jo Cox’s husband remembers her death, one year on – 16 June 2017

BBC News – Far-right group National Action to be banned under terror laws – 12 December 2016

The Guardian – Jo Cox killed in ‘brutal, cowardly’ and politically motivated murder, trial hears – 14 November 2016

 

North Korea Conducts its Sixth Nuclear Test

By: Brian Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

PYONGYANG, North Korea – North Korea on Sunday, September 3rd, carried out its sixth nuclear test. It is reported that the explosion was heralded by a 6.3- magnitude earthquake near the nuclear test site. The tremor was felt near the Chinese border in Yanji.

North Korean media releases a photo of Kim inspecting the new bomb. Photo courtesy of CNN.

The North Korean officials claimed that it has tested a hydrogen bomb that can be loaded on to an intercontinental ballistic missile. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Kim Jung Un inspecting the weapon and stated that North Korea has “succeeded in making a more developed nuke.”

The South Korean officials estimated the blast to yield at between 50 to 60 kilotons. In a later report released by the South Korea’s parliamentary defense committee, the blast was as high as 100 kilotons which equates to 100,000 tons of TNT.

The regime’s sixth test is reported to be five to six times stronger than their September test. The officials estimated the fifth test to have been about 10 kilotons.

Since the test, many countries in the region have condemned North Korea and their actions. President Moon Jae-in of South Korea called the test “utterly disappointing and infuriating.” Furthermore, China strongly condemned the test and Japan asked an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. In a joint statement released from the European community, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, and President Emmanuel Macron of France also condemned North Korea’s recent test.

The North Korean leader has repeatedly used American holidays to test its missiles. It is reported that the timing of the Sunday’s test was purposefully scheduled for the American Labor Day weekend. Saturday is also the anniversary of the founding of the North Korean government.

Although hydrogen bombs and atomic bombs both involve detonating nuclear energy, hydrogen bombs are more powerful due to the usage of a second stage that increases the chain reaction.

President Trump is reported to be in conversations with world leaders and relying on similar strategy his predecessors have used.

For more information, please see:

NYT – North Korea Says It Tested a Hydrogen Bomb Meant for Missiles – 2 September, 2017

CNN – North Korea says it can make new bomb in volume – 3 September, 2017

The guardian – North Korean nuclear test confirmed in major escalation by Kim Jong-un – 3 September, 2017