News

Taiwan Court Recognizes Same-Sex Marriage

By: Brian Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

TAIPEI, Taiwan – On May 24, 2017, Taiwan’s constitutional court ruled in favor of same-sex couples and declared that the couples have the legal right to marry. The first such ruling in Asia, the court struck down the Civil Code’s legal definition of marriage as being only between a man and a woman.

Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrating the court’s ruling in Taipei. Photo courtesy of NYT.

The court declared that the Civil Code’s definition of marriage violated articles of the constitution and allowed the legislatures two years to change existing marriage laws. If the body fails to pass a legislation in the next two years, the court wrote that the same-sex couples “shall be allowed to have their marriage registration effectuated to the authorities in charge of household registration.”

The court made its ruling in response to two petitions to review the existing law. One was brought by a longtime gay rights campaigner, Mr. Chi Chia-wei. Mr. Chi was in favor of changing the Civil Code’s definition of marriage. The other petition was brought by the city government of Taipei after being sued for rejecting same-sex couple’s marriage applications.

The decision was celebrated by many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activists. Hundreds of supporters gathered to celebrate the decision in Taipei, the nation’s capital.

Democratic Progressive Party that overwhelmingly swept national elections last year supported this change and a bill to enforce the court’s ruling has been presented.

For more information, please see: 

Reuters – Taiwan court rules in favor of same-sex marriage, first in Asia – 24 May, 2017

NYT – Court Ruling Could Make Taiwan First Place in Asia to Legalize Gay Marriage – 24 May, 2017

Washington Post – Taiwan is set to become the first Asian country to legalize gay marriage – 24 May, 2017

United Kingdom’s terror threat level lowered to “severe” in wake of Manchester terror attack

By: Sara Adams
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Europe 

A vigil is held in central Manchester to honor the victims of Monday’s attack. Photo courtesy of Reuters.

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom – Five days after the devastating events of May 22 in Manchester, England, British Prime Minister Teresa May lowers the terror threat level from “critical” to “severe”. Wounded survivors are treated by medical staff in hospitals in the city. Families begin the grieving process after losing their loved ones.

It is the aftermath of another terror attack that has shaken the world. This time, during the closing set of American pop star Ariana Grande’s concert at the Manchester Arena in the United Kingdom.

Late Monday night, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive in the space between the Manchester Arena and the Victoria train station.

The blast led to the deaths of 22 people, with reports of 59 others left wounded, some critically.

Reports suggest that this is the worst attack in the United Kingdom since the London Underground bombing of 2005.

The concert venue was filled to capacity with Ms. Grande’s fans. The majority of the concertgoers were young women and teenagers. In the aftermath, a nearby hotel opened up its doors for those who were looking for family members.

Though the Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attack, this has not been verified. The British authorities continue to investigate and make arrests on those they find were involved in the planning of the attack. As of May 27, 11 people are currently detained in connection with the events.

Terrorism is used as a way to threaten the rights of others through violence and fear. Some have seen this attack as an attack on young women, who were the predominant patrons of the concert. Some find it as a general threat against democracy and individual freedoms.

Yet others are using the events to fuel hate crimes against others as they affiliate terrorism with a specific religion. The Greater Manchester Police told the BBC News on Wednesday that reports on hate crimes doubled from 28 to 56 after Monday’s attack. These included a bomb threat to a school after students were asked if they were Muslim.

Mohammed Ullah, Muslim chaplain of Manchester’s Metropolitan University told the BBC, he “encourage[s] the people to remain undivided.”

Ms. Grande would likely echo this sentiment. Upon her return to the United States, she sent a message out on her Instagram.

“Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder and live more kindly and generously than we did before,” she writes.

“We will continue to honor the ones we lost.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Manchester attack: Hate crime ‘doubles’ after incident – 27 May 2017

CBC News – U.K. lowers threat level as 2 more bomb suspects arrested – 27 May 2017

NBC News – Britain’s Terror Threat Level Reduced to ‘Severe’ After Raids Linked to Manchester Bombing – 27 May 2017

The New York Times – The Latest on the Manchester Bombing Investigation – 24 May 2017

Reuters – Twenty in critical condition after Monday’s Manchester bombing – 24 May 2017

CNBC  – Manchester Arena suicide bombing: 22 die at Ariana Grande concert – 23 May 2017

CNN – 22 dead after blast at Ariana Grande concert in Manchester – 23 May 2017

NPR – Why I Think The Manchester Attack Was Aimed At Women And Girls – 24 May 2017

Ariana Grande – Instagram Photo – 26 May 2017 

Court Decision Could Allow Early Release of Human Rights Criminals

By: Max Cohen
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – On May 3, the Argentinian Supreme Court rendered a decision allowing Luis Muina, convicted of human rights abuses, to have his sentence reduced. The decision was based on an Argentinian law, known as the “2×1″ law, which mandates that, after an initial two years, every day that a person spends in pretrial detention counts as two as part of the overall sentence. The court found that, under the “most favorable law” legal principle, which dictates that defendants should benefit from laws which would lessen their sentences, that it should apply to him retroactively.

Thousands of people in Argentina protest the ruling of their Supreme Court which could allow human rights abusers to go free early. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

In the week that followed there were protests in Argentina, as many reportedly feared that the decision would free other human rights criminals. However, the country’s Congress quickly responded to the decision by passing a law rescinding the 2×1 law’s protections for those who had committed human rights abuses during the country’s military dictatorship from 1976-1983. Currently there are 350 former military officers who could have potentially benefitted if the decision is allowed to stand.

Critics point to the Court’s decision as an example of how Argentine President Mauricio Macri’s government has toned down its efforts to seek justice for the atrocities committed during the dictatorship. It should be noted that two of the justices who ruled in favor of the decision were appointed by President Macri.

Whether the Argentine government’s solution will work is set to be tested within the next month as their Supreme Court is set to issue decisions on other cases involving human rights criminals.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Fury in Argentina over ruling that could see human rights abusers walk free – 4 May, 2017

New York Daily News – Argentines unite against law helping human rights abusers – 10 May, 2017

New York Times – Argentines Fight Court’s Leniency for Human Rights Crimes – 13 May, 2017

Human Rights Watch – Making Sense of Argentina’s Ruling on Dictatorship-Era Crimes – 15 May, 2017

U.S. Strikes a Syrian Pro-Assad Regime Convoy

By: Yamillet Brizuela
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

AL-TANF, Syria – The U.S. military carried out an air strike on Thursday, May 18, against the supporters of President Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime convoy and Iranian-backed militia that neared a Western special forces unit and US-backed rebels’ base in al-Tanf.

Residents walk through damaged streets at town of Zabadani in the Damascus countryside on 18 May 2017. Photo Courtesy by AP.

On Friday, May 19, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (“SOHR”) reported that at least eight members of the pro-Assad regime forces were killed, most of them were of non-Syrian nationalities. SOHR reported that the airstrike destroyed at least four vehicles which were carrying supporters of the regime, suggesting that injuries from the destruction could cause the death toll to rise.

Syria and Russia claimed the U.S airstrike on the convoy was “government terrorism” that caused a “massacre” which killed several people, both civilians and soldiers in al-Tanf. Specifically, the Syrian government stated that the airstrikes were a “blatant attack on forces fighting terrorism.” The Russian government claimed the airstrikes violated Syria’s sovereignty.

On the other hand, the U.S. claimed the airstrike was “defensive” in nature. The U.S. Defense Secretary reported that the U.S. military determined that the convoy posed a threat to the U.S. and partner forces; he also claimed that Russia was warned prior to the airstrike that the convoy was “getting too close to coalition forces.”  The U.S. claimed airstrike to be a signal to President Bashar Assad to keep his forces out of a zone where U.S.-backed rebels are fighting the Islamic State group, and that they will continue to defend themselves against any threat to the coalition or its allies in the area.

This airstrike has been the second of such confrontation between the United States and the pro-Assad regime. In April, U.S. President Donald Trump authorized the launch of dozens of missiles against the Shayrat airbase, destroying a number of key Syrian military assets, in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack on civilians believed to have been conducted by the Assad regime that week.

In addition, U.S President Donald Trump’s first foreign trip as president began on Friday, May 19, in the Middle East. Syria’s war and Arab-Israeli peace are said to be the top of his agenda.

For more information, please see:

ABC News- Syria Says US Airstrike Killed Several Soldiers Near Jordan- 19 May 2017

Aljazeera- Syria, Russia Condemn US-led Strike on pro-Assad Forces- 20 May 2017

BBC- Syria and Russia Condemn US-Led Attack on pro-Assad Forces- 19 May 2017

Malaysia Sun- U.S. Claims it Launched Defensive Strikes on pro-Assad Troops, but Syria and Russia Claim Dozens of Civilians and Soldiers Killed- 20 May 2017

Middle East Eye- Syria War: Russia Claims US Attack Killed Civilians- 19 May 2017

Reuters- Syrian Negotiator Calls U.S. Strike ‘Terrorism’ and a ‘Massacre’- 19 May 2017

Reuters- U.S. says Iranian-Directed Convoy Targeted by U.S. Strike in Syria- 19 May 2017

SOHR- 8 Killed Mostly non-Syrians in targeting by Coalition’s warplanes for a Military Convoy of the Regime Forces and the Militiamen Loyal to them in the Syrian Desert- 18 May 2017

Western Europe cracks down on racially charged harassment of government officials

By: Sara Adams
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Europe

Sylvana Simons speaks to the public about her newest book in March. Image courtesy of the Associated Press.

In Italy, a member of the European Parliament was ordered to pay $55,670 in damages to another member of the Parliament, Cecile Kyenge. Ms. Kyenge is Italy’s first black minister, born in the Congo but educated as an ophthalmologist in Italy. Her harasser, Mario Borghezio, had said in a 2013 radio interview that  Ms. Kyenge had “[taken] away a job from an Italian doctor” and that he did not want her to “impose her tribal traditions from the Congo” on Italians.

Before deciding to press charges against Mr. Borghezio, Ms. Kyenge had been given police protection after being physically harassed at a political rally. At the rally, she had bananas thrown at her and was compared to an orangutan by the harassers.

This ruling came at the same time as 20 people in The Netherlands were convicted of online racial and sexist hate speech. Sylvana Simons is a black politician and media personality who had received harassing comments from thousands of people on the internet. Ms. Simons was born in Suriname but raised in the Netherlands. One of her harassers had photo-shopped her face onto a picture of a Ku Klux Klan lynching.

Mr. Borghezio believed that his remarks about Ms. Kyenge were within his rights as a lawmaker to criticize a government minister. He felt as if he was being “politically prosecuted”.

In the Netherlands, four of the 20 convicted were charged with community service while the rest were fined $165 to $500 for their behavior.

Though free speech is valued in both countries, the Dutch court said that when the opinion is an “insult, threat, riot, or discrimination, there is a criminal offense.”

Ms. Kyenge, like Ms. Simons, hope that this verdict will show that racist harassment won’t be tolerated by her country. The Dutch court said they hope that this will deter people from engaging in harassing behavior in the future.

These stories come at a time where right-wing populism is on the rise, bringing with it the resentment of political correctness, or the “culture of tolerance”. It is left unclear whether the decisions by these courts really will prevent future cases of hate speech and defamation.

For more information, please see: 

New York Times – 20 Are Convicted for Sexist and Racist Abuse of Dutch Politician – 18 May 2017

BBC News – Italy’s first black minister ‘vindicated’ by racist slurs verdict – 19 May 2017

New York Times – Italian in Europe’s Parliament Convicted of Defamation for Racial Insult – 19 May 2017

BBC News – Dutch race hate row engulfs presenter Sylvana Simons – 25 November 2016

Aljazeera – Sylvana Simons: Racism is accepted in the Netherlands – 18 January 2017