By Brianne Yantz
Impunity Watch Reporter,  North America

CHICAGO, United States – Two American citizens can sue former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for torture, the Seventh Circuit Court ruled on Monday.  The two men pursuing the lawsuit, Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel, allege that U.S. Forces tortured them for months after suspicions of illegal activity arose against their employer, a private Iraqi company called Shield Group Security.

Court records revealed that in 2005 Vance and Ertel had begun to suspect that their employer was bribing Iraqi officials and that some employees were engaging in illegal weapons trafficking. Shortly thereafter the two men became FBI informants. In April of 2006, however, Shield Group Security confiscated their credentials and they were left trapped in the Red Zone of war-ravaged Iraq.

After calling their government contacts, Vance and Ertel were assured that U.S. Forces would rescue them. Instead, the two men were arrested and thrown in confinement. According the Herald Sun, the two allege that while detained they were subjected “to violence, sleep deprivation and extremes in light and sound.”

It was further reported by the Chicagoist that the two men were “often deprived of food and water, walled, denied medical care and subject to various forms of psychological torture.”

Vance and Ertel were eventually released; the two men were dropped off at an airport in Baghdad. They were never charged or designated as security risks. They later decided to sue Rumsfeld as well as other unnamed U.S. officials.

Immediately Rumsfeld sought to dismiss the case, arguing he “had immunity for actions taken while working as defense secretary, and that U.S. citizens [could not] sue for violations of their rights that occurred in war zone,” BBC News reported.

However, according to BBC News, the Seventh Circuit reasoned Rumsfeld did not have immunity because the “plaintiffs [had] alleged sufficient facts to show that Secretary Rumsfeld personally established the relevant policies that caused the alleged violations of their constitutional rights during detention.”

The Seventh Circuit’s 2-1 decision affirmed the ruling of the lower district court, which also found that Rumsfeld lacked immunity.

In an interview quoted by the Herald Sun, Vance’s lawyer, Michael Kanovitz, said of the Court’s decision, “it’s important because what the court does here is it affirms the very basis of constitutional doctrine.” He further commented that absolute discretion should not be given to the executive branch.

Meanwhile, Rumsfeld’s lawyer, David Rivkin, quickly denounced the ruling, arguing “it saps the effectiveness of the military, puts American soldiers at risk, and shackles federal officials who have a constitutional duty to protect America,” Courthouse News Service reported.

Although whether Rumsfeld will be found accountable remains to be seen, the Seventh Circuit’s decision comes a week after a district judge in Washington ruled that a former American military contractor, who also alleges he was tortured in Iraq, could sue the former defense secretary.

For more information, please see:

Chicagoist – Court Rules Citizens Allowed to Sue Rumsfeld for Torture – August 10, 2011

Courthouse News Service – U.S. Citizens Can Sue Rumsfeld for Torture – August 9, 2011

Herald Sun – Donald Rumsfeld can be held liable for alleged torture, court rules – August 9, 2011

Wall Street Journal – Donald Rumsfeld Faces Another Torture Lawsuit – August 9, 2011

BBC News – ‘Tortured’ US citizens allowed to sue Donald Rumsfeld – August 8, 2011

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States – In an effort to curb future human rights violations, President Obama signed a proclamation that will bar human rights violators from entering the United States.  Further, Obama will establish an Atrocities Prevention Board as an early warning system for future human rights violations.

The Atrocities Prevention Board will be comprised of officials from the White House, the State Department, the Pentagon, and other agencies, according to The New York Times.  The Board will work with U.S. allies in order to prevent atrocities as soon as there is potential for abuse.  According to a fact sheet released by the White House, the new tactics aim to strengthen the United States’ ability to prevent mass atrocities.

In addition to establishing the Atrocities Prevention Board, President Obama issued a proclamation that “explicitly bars entry into the United States of persons who organize or participate in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of human rights,” according to the fact sheet distributed by the White House.  While the United States already prevents some human rights violators from entering the country, this new tactic will fill in some of the gaps.

The major reason President Obama wanted to create this board, according to The New York Times, is to avoid a situation where the president only has two options: either intervene militarily or do nothing at all.

This proclamation comes sixty-six years after the Holocaust, and seventeen years after the Rwandan genocide.  President Obama stated, “[T]he United States still lacks a comprehensive policy framework and a corresponding interagency mechanism for preventing a responding to mass atrocities and genocide,” as reported by United Press International (“UPI”).

The new initiative comes in the middle of a worsening situation in Syria, where the government has taken a violent stand against pro-democracy protestors, according to The New York Times.  Additionally, there are worries about ethnic cleansing in Sudan.  As of now, the U.S. is imposing economic sanctions on Syria, but many are calling for harsher punishment.

Although the new initiative may not change how and when Washington addresses issues of genocide, Tom Malinowski, the Washington director at Human Rights Watch, says that “[the new] directives should help to overcome the bureaucratic resistance and indifference that often delays steps that might prevent such catastrophes in the first place,” as reported by ThirdAge.com.

The White House announced that with the new directive, “we will be able to more effectively shame those who are organizing such conduct,” according to UPI.  The United States needs to stand up for humanitarian law and avoid becoming a safe haven for human rights abusers.

The Atrocities Prevention Board will be set up within 120 days from Thursday, August 4.

For more information, please visit:

ThirdAge.com — Human Rights Watch Welcomes Atrocities Initiative — 8 Aug. 2011

UPI.com — Obama Creates Atrocities Prevention Board — 4 Aug. 2011

WhiteHouse.gov — FACT SHEET: President Obama Directs New Steps to Prevent Mass Atrocities and Impose Consequences on Serious Human Rights Violators — 4 Aug. 2011

The New York Times — Obama Takes Steps to Help Avert Atrocities — 3 Aug. 2011

By Brianne Yantz
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Earlier this week, Jose Agustin Silvestre, a Dominican TV reporter, was kidnapped from his home in La Romana and found murdered a few hours later.

Several news reports indicate that four men grabbed Silvestre, beat him, and drove away with him in an SUV on Tuesday morning. He was discovered with several gun shot wounds to the head and abdomen.

Silvestre was the twentieth journalist killed in Latin America this year, and in the Dominican Republic alone more than 30 journalists and press workers have been attacked since January.

Silvestre was the host of “La Voz de la Verdad,” or “The Voice of Truth,” on Cana TV and published a bi-weekly magazine of the same name. He was well known for making controversial claims regarding drug trafficking in his hometown of La Romana. He had long been the target of death threats and just last week there had been a failed attempt on his life.

According to Dominican Today, Silvestre was to appear in a San Pedro court on the day of his murder to face libel charges filed by La Romana prosecutor Jose Polanco. Silvestre had accused Polanco of favoritism and corruption, and had also compared him to an alleged drug baron.

The murder of Silvestre brings concern for journalists’ freedoms regarding speech and expression. Journalism.co.uk reported that the Inter-American Press Society had recently highlighted the weakened press freedom standards in the Dominican Republic, which has been in steady decline over the past decade.

In an interview with Journalism.co.uk, Benoit Hervieu, head of the Americas desk at Reporters Without Borders, explained that the Dominican Republic was “the hidden face of drug trafficking” in Latin America and that those journalists who reported on the nation’s rampant political corruption or widespread organized crime often received death threats.

Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, was quick to condemn the Dominican Republic for Silvestre’s killing. She also insisted “a full investigation [needed to] be carried out into [his] case for journalists to be able to continue exercising their basic human right of freedom of expression.”

Susan Lee, the Americas Director at Amnesty International, expressed similar sentiments, arguing that those responsible must be brought to justice. She further called for better protections for journalists and for full disclosure regarding Silvestre’s death. “If it emerges that his death could have been prevented through better protection, the authorities must make that information public,” Lee stated.

Lee was adamant in her demand to protect those journalists who may be at risk. She argued such protections were vital because “journalists must be able to carry out their jobs without fearing for their lives.”

For more information, please see:

UN News Centre – Murder of Dominican journalist sparks condemnation from UNESCO – August 5, 2011

Dominican Today – Slain journalist Jose Silvestre buried amid cries for justice – August 4, 2011

Amnesty International – DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: JOURNALIST’S KILLING MUST SPUR BETTER PROTECTION – August 3, 2011

Journalism.co.uk – Twentieth journalist killed in Latin America this year – August 3, 2011

Dominican Today – Gunmen kill journalist who linked Dominican Prosecutor to drugs – August 2, 2011

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States – A report this week shows disturbing numbers regarding political asylum petitions in the United States.  Specifically, two El Paso judges have denial rates well above the national average.  The El Paso, Texas location deals mostly with immigrants seeking asylum from Mexico or Central America locations.

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (“TRAC”) is a non-partisan center based at Syracuse University.  The TRAC reports on the enforcement activities of the federal government, according to The Texas Tribune.  This most recent report found that the national average for judges who have heard 100 cases or more is a denial rate of 53.2%.  Judges William L. Abbott and Thomas C. Roepke however, have denied political asylum to 83.3% of their combined 346 cases.

Furthermore, the TRAC study notes, “the unusual persistence of these disparities – no matter how the asylum cases are examined – indicates that the identity of the judge who handles a particular matter often is more important than the underlying facts,” according to The Washington Independent.

According to The El Paso Times, in order to obtain political asylum, a person must show a well-founded fear of persecution based on his or her race, religion, nationality, or political opinion.

Mexican journalist Emilio Gutierrez fled Chihuahua, Mexico after receiving threats from the Mexican military.  He believes that if he and his teenage son return to Mexico, it is a certain death sentence, as reported by The Texas Tribune.  Gutierrez’s attorney, Carlos Spector is aware of the problems with the asylum process.

“There is a political predisposition by the judges to deny Mexican asylum claims for political and policy reasons,” Spector told The Texas Tribune.  Another immigration attorney, Jacqueline L. Watson told the Texas Tribune that it is difficult to convince judges that there is an imminent threat to life or liberty.

However, Mexico certainly has a long history of terrible human rights abuses.  Many judges deny political asylum citing the fact that things are supposedly getting better in Mexico.  “Tell them to go live in Juarez to see if it’s getting better,” Gutierrez told The Texas Tribune. 

The Washington Independent reports that many judges deny asylum specifically to Mexican immigrants because the United States has already provided political and financial backing to help fight drug cartels.  Granting political asylum could harm relations, suggesting that the [Mexican] government could not protect its own citizens.

The Syracuse report further noted that the system is overwhelmed causing major delays in the asylum process.  Consequently, Gutierrez’s case has been postponed until May 2012.

For more information, please visit:

Hispanically Speaking News — Immigration Judges at Border Have Higher Rate of Denying Asylum Petitions — 1 Aug. 2011

The Washington Independent — El Paso Immigration Judges Deny Asylum Requests at Higher Rate Than National Average, Finds Report — 1 Aug. 2011

El Paso Times — Law Inhibits Many Mexican Asylum Cases — 31 July 2011

The Texas Tribune — Border Asylum Judges Deny Most Petitions — 31 July 2011

By Brianne Yantz
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – The trial of four former Guatemalan soldiers accused of killing more than 220 people during the country’s civil war began earlier this week.  Particularly, the four men are accused of being a part of a counter-insurgency unit that carried out a massacre in the village of Las Dos Erres in 1982.

All four soldiers have pled not guilty.

The soldiers on trial – Carlos Antonio Carias, Manuel Pop, Reyes Collin and Daniel Martinez – were part of the Guatemalan Special Forces, known as the Kaibiles, during the civil war. Under the order of then military ruler General Efrain Rios Montt, a unit of the Kaibiles carried out the massacre in Las Dos Erres. It is alleged that the four soldiers on trial were a part of that unit.

According to BBC News, Los Dos Erres was targeted in December of 1982 because the military suspected the villagers were supporting or harboring left-wing guerrillas.

“Over a period of three days, the Kaibiles interrogated and then killed the inhabitants, including children, women and the elderly,” BBC News reported.  “Many inhabitants were raped and beaten before they were shot or bludgeoned to death.”

The civil war between Guatemala’s right-wing military government and its left-wing rebels finally ended in 1996, after 36 years. At least 200,000 people had either “disappeared” or been killed; most of the victims were members of the indigenous Mayan population.

In the late 1990s, following the end of the war, an investigation was launched into the massacre in Las Dos Erres, but the case dragged on for years in Guatemalan courts.

Finally, in 2009 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered Guatemala to investigate the massacre and to prosecute those who carried out the killings.

According to CNN, the state-run AGN news agency reported that early in the trial, survivors took the stand and testified about the disappearance of their families.

Petronila Lopez Mendez testified about the loss of her husband and two teenage sons during the massacre. As CNN recalled from the AGN report, Mendez also accused one solider, Carias, of withholding information about the whereabouts of her family in the aftermath of the incident. According to her testimony, she paid Carias money in exchange for her family, but they never reappeared.

As the trial of the four soldiers continues, several other suspects remain at large.

One other soldier suspected of involvement in the 1982 massacre – Pedro Pimentel Rios -was deported from the United States earlier this month. His trial date has not been set.

For more information, please see:

The Tico Times – Guatemala massacre trial begins – July 29, 2011

CNN – Guatemalan massacre trial underway – July 28, 2011

RTT News – Trial Of Former Guatemalan Soldiers Over Civil War Massacre Begins – July 25, 2011

BBC News – Guatemala Las Dos Erres civil war massacre trial begins – July 25, 2011