By Brandon Cottrell 
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America 

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – Carlos Alberto Orellana Chavez, 62, was found Monday shot to death.  The shooting came hours after Chavez, a broadcast journalist, was reported missing.  With his passing, a total of four journalists have been murdered in Guatemala this year.

Chavez’s shooting comes one week after Freddy Rodas, a regional correspondent, was seriously wounded in a shooting.  Guatemalan police do, however, have a suspect in custody regarding Rodas’ shooting.  Additionally, last week gunmen shot at the home of Vernick Gudiel, an investigator for a Guatemala City daily newspaper.  No injuries were reported in that shooting, however.

Carlos Lauria, coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, has called for the authorities to “thoroughly investigate the murder of Carlos Alberto Orellana Chávez and the shooting of Fredy Rodas, determine the motives, and bring those responsible to justice.”

As authorities continue to investigate the murder, Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez rejected the notion that journalists as a group are under attack.  Lopez believes that the shootings are based on personal motives, indicating that Chavez may have been killed during a carjacking.

Maria Martin, director of the Guatemalan journalism training organization Gracias Vida, rejects Lopez’s notion and offers two additional explanations.  First, Martin states “organized crime and the drug cartels are gaining more power . . . and that makes it more dangerous for rural and regional journalists.”  Additionally, she states, “you have Guatemala between Honduras and Mexico, where the killing of journalists has become an open sport . . . it was just a matter of time before the bad guys would take a lesson from both of these countries, where journalists are killed and no one is called into account.”

President Otto Pérez Molina, meanwhile, announced the creation of a task force that will investigate the murders of all four journalists that have been murdered this year.  Molina said that, “we put together a special team to run the investigation so we can make sure this does not go unpunished.”  He also announced a new program that is aimed at protecting journalists who work in Guatemala.

 

For further information, please see:

The Guardian – Guatemalan Journalist Shot to Death – 22 August 2013

Info Sur Hoy – Guatemala Task Force to Probe Journalist Deaths – 21 August 2013

Journalism in the Americas – Regional Reporter in Guatemala Gunned Down, the Fourth This Year – 21 August 2013

One India – Journalist Slain in Guatemala, one Suspect Held – 21 August 2013

 

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – A Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court decision declassified by the Obama Administration last Wednesday revealed that some of the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance programs were deemed unconstitutional.  In accordance with that decision, the NSA made monetary restitution to upstream service providers like Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft.

The FISA Court decision, made in October 2011, pointed to the NSA’s inability to separate domestic communications from overseas traffic as evidence of Fourth Amendment violations.  Information provided to the Guardian by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden shows the Agency’s struggle to bring operations into compliance with the FISA Court ruling.  The ruling is unrelated to PRISM; however, it provides evidence of a financial relationship between the NSA and tech companies.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee,  said Friday that the NSA inspector general’s office gave the committee a report stating that there was evidence of “roughly one case per year” over the last decade that the NSA willfully violated surveillance rules to inappropriately gather information.

The NSA ordinarily has the FISA Court issue annual certifications as the legal support for conducting surveillance operations, but since the October 2011 ruling, the Court has repeatedly issued shorter, temporary certifications. Compliance with these temporary certifications, which must be frequently extended, costs tech companies millions of dollars.

Federal law allows tech companies to seek reimbursement for compliance with law enforcement requests, including requests for US phone meta-data and internet traffic. The Guardian reported that so far only Yahoo has admitted to requesting reimbursement for information turned over to the NSA.

News of the reimbursement program has civil liberties activists worried about the implications of tech companies being paid to hand over customers’ information.

The Washington Post reports Michelle Richards, a legislative counselor for the American Civil Liberties Union, as stating, ““The line you have to watch for . . . is the difference between reimbursement for complying with a lawful order and actually a profit-making enterprise.”

For more information, please see:

Fox News – Report: NSA pays tech companies for data – 24 August 2013

The New York Times – N.S.A. Said to Have Paid E-Mail Providers Millions to Cover Costs From Court Ruling – 23 August 2013

The Washington Post – The NSA paid Silicon Valley millions to spy on taxpayers – 23 August 2013

USA Today – NSA reimbursed tech firms millions for data – 23 August 2013

The Guardian – NSA paid millions to cover Prism compliance costs for tech companies – 22 August 2013

By Brandon Cottrell 
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – On May 26, twelve teenagers were kidnapped from an after-hours club.  This past week, a mass grave containing thirteen bodies was found in a neighborhood outside of Mexico City.  Of the thirteen bodies recovered, at least five of the bodies were identified as those of the kidnapped teenagers.  Authorities believe that the remaining bodies will soon be identified as the other teenagers.

The bodies, which were covered in lime and asbestos and buried under concrete, were decapitated.  The decapitation is reminiscent of murders preformed by the drug cartel in other parts of Mexico.  While the drug war has caused little violence in the capital region, this murder is believed to be a “gangland battle for control of the lucrative drug trade in the poshest bars and nightclubs” in Mexico City.

Authorities believe the kidnapping is linked to an upstart gang from Tepito, which is home to most of the victims involved.  The Union of Insurgentes, a wealthy and powerful drug gang, is likely to have orchestrated the mass murder as a warning to other gangs trying to seize their territory in Mexico City.  The families of the victims, however, say the teenagers were not involved in drug trafficking, despite some of the family members themselves being involved in gang activity.

Many Mexicans believe that Mexico City’s top law-enforcement officials downplayed the kidnapping and “were at best incompetent in trying to find the bodies.”  Beatriz Loza, the aunt of victim Monserrat Loza, said Saturday that, “The investigation failed. I can’t believe that three months have passed.”  Other relatives to the victims claim that law-enforcement moved slowly in fear of what a legitimate investigation would reveal.

Samuel Gonzalez, a security consultant and former federal anti-drugs prosecutor, stated that,  “The capital’s authorities have the political and moral obligation to quickly figure out what happened in this case, otherwise it will demonstrate their inability (to stop such crimes) and it could foment violence in the city.”  Police presence was increased over the weekend, as many authorities believed a retaliatory attack was likely.

Meanwhile, Mario Ledezma and Ernesto Espinosa Lobo, two of the owners of the club where the victims vanished from, were arrested.  According to witnesses, both Ledezma and Lobo have ties to the Union of Insurgentes.  Ledezma, however, claims that the Insurgentes threatened him, telling him that the gang would sell drugs in the club or he would be killed.  Three other individuals, including a driver and a security guard for the club, have also been arrested.

 

For further information, please see:

CBS News – Mass kidnapping, beheadings disturb Mexico City – 25 August 2013

CNN – 5 bodies ID’d as those of kidnapped Mexican youths – 25 August 2013

CBC News – Bodies in Mexican mass grave confirmed as kidnap victims – 24 August 2013

Global Post – Mexico City, an oasis tarnished by mass kidnap – 24 August 2013

By Brandon Cottrell 
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America 

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Dwayne Jones, age 16, was murdered on July 22, when he attended a street party dressed as a woman.

Prior to attending the party, Jones confided in a girl from his church that he would be attending dressed as a woman.  Upon his arrival, the girl’s friends asked Jones if he was a man or a woman; once the group determined that Jones was a man, they began verbally assaulting him.  Jones attempted to run from the group, but was unable to escape.  He was then beaten for several hours, stabbed, shot and run over by a car.  The group also beat two of Jones’ friends who attended the party with him.

Annie Paul, a blogger at the Jamaican University of the West Indies said that, “Judging by comments made on social media, most Jamaicans think Dwayne Jones brought his death on himself for wearing a dress . . . in a society that has made it abundantly clear that homosexuals are neither to be seen nor heard.”

Jamaica is often portrayed as one of the most hostile countries for gay and transgendered people.  Just last year alone, two homosexual men were murdered and thirty-six others were victims of mob violence.  Homosexuals are also often victim to arbitrary detention and harassment by police.  Due to such hostility, much of the gay community keeps their sexual orientation secret.  In addition, many of their parties and church services must be held in secret locations.

Some believe that much of the homophobia in Jamaica stems from centuries-old laws that ban sodomy.  Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller, however, vowed during her election campaign that the anti-sodomy law would be evaluated and potentially repealed by Parliament.  Additionally, Simpson-Miller said she was open to appointing homosexuals to her cabinet, a stark contrast to former Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s stance.

Meanwhile, Senator Mark Golding condemned Jones’s murder and called on police to “spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators to justice.”  Additionally, leading human rights groups in Jamaica have called on the government to condemn the killing and investigate the crime.  Prime Minister Simpson-Miller and many other prominent leaders, however, have been silent.

To date, the investigation of Jones’ murder has not revealed any suspects and no arrests have been made.

 

For further information, please see:

Jamaica Gleaner – Gov’t Shouldn’t Let Dwayne Jones’ Death Go In Vain – 13 Aug 2013

International Business Times – Jamaica: Transgender Teenager Dwayne Jones Murdered by Homophobic Mob – 12 Aug 2013

CBS News – Transgender teen stabbed, shot and run over by Jamaican mob – 11 Aug 2013

Human Rights Watch – Jamaica Cross-Dressing Teenager Murdered – 01 Aug 2013

 

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Private First Class Bradley Manning, a former intelligence analyst for the US Army, read a statement at the sentencing phase of his court martial Wednesday.  Pfc. Manning was convicted of 17 of 22 charges brought against him for leaking military intelligence to the information distribution system WikiLeaks. 

While Pfc. Manning originally faced a maximum sentence of 136 years, Judge Colonel Denise Lind set aside some of the duplicate charges.  Pfc. Manning now faces a potential sentence of up to 90 years in military prison.

Manning took the stand, stating “I’m sorry [my actions] hurt the United States.”  Manning went on to say “When I made these decisions I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people.”

Earlier in the day, Judge Lind heard testimony from Army Commander David Moulton, a military psychiatrist, who explained that Manning showed signs of stress-induced behavioral disorders.  Cmdr. Moulton offered an example from April 2010, when Manning struck a fellow soldier with a knife after soldiers found Manning curled up in ball.  Moulton further revealed that Pfc. Manning was struggling with gender identity crisis during his deployment to Iraq.

Moulton noted that Manning’s lack of a support structure in dealing with his crisis added “incredible” pressure to the Private First Class.

Judge Lind also heard testimony that Manning emailed a picture of himself wearing a wig and lipstick to his superior, Master Sergeant Paul Adkins, who did not notify the brigade leaders.  The email, which contained the subject line “My problem,” came to Adkins at a time when he admitted having increasing concerns about Manning’s mental health. NBC news reports that, in a memo written to psychologists at the time, Adkins stated that Manning’s mental health was a “constant source of concern.”

Adkins added that a when a captain saw the photograph of Manning several months after his arrest, the unnamed captain would have immediately pulled Manning from working in the vault where classified information was processed.

For more information, please see:

Daily News – Revealed: Photo of WikiLeaks source Pfc. Bradley Manning dressed as a woman released – 14 August 2013

NBC News – ‘I’m sorry that I hurt the United States’: Bradley Manning apologizes in court – 14 August 2013

NPR – Bradley Manning: ‘I Am Sorry … I Hurt The United States’ – 14 August 2013

USA Today – Pfc. Bradley Manning’s apology – 14 August 2013

The Guardian – Bradley Manning supervisor ‘ignored photo of soldier dressed as woman’ – 13 August 2013