By Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Abdulbaki Todashev, whose son Ibragim was shot to death by FBI agents, has arrived in Florida to prepare his case.

Ibragim, who was friends with Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, voluntarily submitted to FBI questioning this past May.  The interrogation was based on Ibragim and Tsarnaev’s potential ties to a triple homicide in Massachusetts in 2011.  During the course of this interrogation, FBI agents shot Ibragim.  The circumstances that lead to the shooting remain uncertain as the agents gave conflicting narratives.

Some agents claim they were forced to shoot Ibragim in self-defense because Ibragim lunged at them with a knife; but others say Ibragim was armed only with a broomstick.  Still other agents maintain Ibragim was entirely unarmed throughout the confrontation.  Abdulbaki, meanwhile, claims that Ibragim did not pose a threat to the agents, as he was weakened by a recent knee surgery and was on crutches.

The FBI has yet to issue a clarifying statement as to what actually transpired during the interrogation and it is unlikely that such a statement will ever be released.  The FBI, however, along with the US Department of Justice, launched investigations into the confrontation to determine whether the use of deadly force was reasonable.

The Florida Council on American-Islamic Relations hired a homicide investigator and claims Ibragim was shot seven times.  The investigator’s report claims Ibragim was shot in the back of the head while he was lying on the ground.  However, because the FBI will not release the official autopsy report, the investigator’s claims cannot be confirmed.

The Florida Council on American-Islamic Relations also claims that the FBI, while questioning Ibragim’s friends, “illegally threatened to throw them in jail and take away their green cards if they did not become informants and spy on several members of their faith, their mosques, their restaurants and so on.”

Abdulbaki cannot afford a lawyer and speaks minimal English.  Therefore, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida promised to aid in the investigation.  Howard Simon, director of the ACLU says the lack of answers is disappointing, and that, “Secrecy fosters suspicion and the people of Florida deserve better than to be left without an explanation from their government about what led to a person being shot to death.”

Abdulbaki will hold at press conference Tuesday at the Florida Council on American-Islamic Relations office, where he plans to update the public on newly discovered information as well as the status of his lawsuit.

For further information, please see:

Chicago Tribune – Father of Chechen man shot by FBI after Boston bombings in U.S. to probe killing – 7 August 2013

Orlando Sentinel – Father of Chechen man shot during FBI interrogation to speak out in Florida – 7 August 2013

Russia Today – Killed Chechen’s father arrives in US to sue the FBI – 6 August 2013

Washington Times – Ibragim Todashev’s father to sue FBI; Tsarnaev’s friend was shot in Florida – 6 August 2013

The Guardian – Florida won’t investigate Ibragim Todashev shooting – 31 July 2013

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Following Russia’s decision to grant asylum to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, President Obama announced that he will not be meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin at the upcoming G20 summit in St. Petersburg. The meeting, which aimed to set the two countries’ bi-lateral agenda, was set to take place in Moscow on the heels of the G20 summit.

A White House statement cited “not enough recent progress in our bi-lateral agenda” as the reason for canceling the meeting. Gowever, the timing of the cancellation has led many news outlets to speculate that President Obama was “snubbing” Prime Minister Putin.

The Russian government’s reaction to this “snub” has been understated, with most domestic news outlets simply reporting that President Obama is coming to the G20 summit in St. Petersburg while not focusing on the now cancelled meeting in Moscow.

Foreign relations analysts predict that Obama’s “snub” could hurt US foreign efforts in China, Europe, and the Middle East, where Russia is a key player. Russia could be “a huge spoiler and also a major help [in these areas]” remarked Ariel Cohen, an expert on Russia from the Heritage Foundation.

Following President Obama’s announcement, Lon Snowden, father of Edward Snowden, had a lengthy interview with Reuters in which he reportedly said that Putin will not “cave” to political pressure from the United States. Snowden was more eager to remind Americans that the true story, the NSA mass surveillance program, was being obscured by the story of his son.

The fight isn’t in Russia,” Snowden observed. “The fight is right here. The fight is about these programs that undermine, infringe upon, violate our constitutional rights.”

Snowden has not seen his son since the former NSA contractor left the US, however, he plans to make a visit to Russia within the month.

For more information, please see:

TIME – How Obama’s Putin Snub Is Playing Out in Russia – 8 August 2012

Reuters – Putin will not ‘cave’ to Obama pressure: Snowden’s father – 7 August 2012

The Guardian – Edward Snowden: Obama criticises Russia for granting asylum – 7 August 2012

The Guardian – Obama cancels meeting with Putin over Snowden asylum tensions – 7 August 2012

USA Today – Obama snub won’t matter to Russia, analysts say – 7 August 2012

By Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Daniel Chong, who was abandoned in his San Diego, California holding cell for four days, reached a $4.1 million settlement with the United States government on Tuesday.

In April 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration took Chong, a then 23-year-old college student, into custody as a result of a drug raid.  The DEA raided the residence of one of Chong’s friends and seized ecstasy, marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and other prescription medication.

After questioning, the Drug Enforcement Administration determined that no charges would be pressed against Chong.  As Chong sat in handcuffs, waiting to be released from his windowless, five by ten foot cell, he was forgotten about.  While it is uncertain as to how Chong was forgotten about, it took the DEA four and a half days to discover Chong.

Chong meanwhile, waited without food or water.  Over those four days, Chong attempted to draw attention to his cell by screaming and kicking.  Chong even slid his shoelaces under the door and attempted to set off the fire sprinkler in his cell.  After the third day, Chong began to hallucinate and, with the possibility of death looming, attempted to carve a farewell message to his mother in his arm.  Furthermore, confronting dehydration, Chong drank his own urine off a metal bench in his cell.

After being found, Chong had to be hospitalized for five days for dehydration, kidney failure, cramps and a perforated esophagus. He lost 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) in the ordeal.

While the DEA has yet to discipline any employees, it did issue a public apology.  Meanwhile, United States Senator Charles Grassley of the Judiciary Committee, called on the DEA to explain the incident.

Specifically, Grassley asked, “How did this incident happen? Has there been any disciplinary action against the responsible employees? And has the agency taken major steps to prevent an incident like this from happening again?”

Some of those questions remain unanswered, but the DEA has since introduced new national detention standards, such as daily inspections and camera monitoring of cells, in an effort to ensure that a similar incident will never occur again.

For further information, please see:

BBC  – US man ‘abandoned’ in US jail gets $4m in compensation  –  31 July 2013

Huffington Post – Daniel Chong, Student Left In DEA Cell, To Get $4 Million From US In Settlement  –  30 July 2013

Wall Street Journal – Daniel Chong, Abandoned in Cell, to Get $4 Million  –  30 July 2013

BBC – US man left in cell for five days ‘drank own urine’  –  2 May 2012

By Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MOSCOW, Russia – After spending more than a month in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was allowed to leave the airport on a temporary asylum. Reuters reports that a representative from the airport saw Snowden cross through immigration services and leave the airport.

Snowden, who made headlines back in June by exposing details of an NSA surveillance system intended to gather phone metadata from American citizens, applied for asylum in numerous South American and European countries before finally receiving temporary asylum in Russia.

When leaving the Moscow airport, the LA Times reported that Snowden could be seen getting into a taxi with Sarah Harrison, a legal advisor for the WikiLeaks organization. WikiLeaks has been a vocal supporter of Snowden throughout his flight from the United States and his search for asylum.

Under the terms of Snowden’s temporary asylum, he may live and travel wherever he chooses within Russia for a period of one year. NBC news reported Anatoly Kucherena as saying, “I put him in a taxi . . . and gave him his certificate on getting refugee status in the Russian Federation.” Snowden will likely file for refuge status within Russia before the year’s end.

Snowden’s success in avoiding extradition while obtaining temporary asylum caused some to question Kucherena’s connection to the Russian government. The South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong news outlet, said in an article Monday that Kucherena has possible ties to the Kremlin.

Kucherena sits on the board of the Federal Secret Service, or FBS, a combination police force and intelligence agency within Russia. Kucherena is also a political supporter of Russian President Vladamir Putin, leading to accusations by the Hong Kong news outlet that Snowden’s success in avoiding extradition and obtaining asylum were the result of a fabrication by the Kremlin.

For further information, please see:

CBS News – Edward Snowden leaves airport after Russia grants asylum, says “the law is winning” – 1 August 2013

Fox News – Edward Snowden had papers that allow him to enter Russia, his lawyer says – 1 August 2013

LA Times – Edward Snowden granted asylum, leaves Moscow airport in taxi – 1 August 2013

The Guardian – Edward Snowden’s father says FBI asked him to fly to Moscow – 31 July 2013

South China Morning Post – Snowden lawyer Anatoly Kucherena suspected of links to Kremlin – 29 July 2013