South America

Ecuador Grants Assange Asylum, Incites Demonstrations

By Margaret Janelle R. Hutchinson
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 QUITO, Ecuador – Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño announced Thursday that Ecuador would grant asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.  In the days before the decision demonstrators gathered outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, as well as, the British embassy in Quito.

Demonstrators step on a British flag during a protest outside the United Kingdom’s embassy in Quito. (Photo courtesy Albany Times Union)

In a televised statement, Patiño said, “the government of Ecuador, true to its tradition of protecting those who seek refuge in its territory, on the premises of diplomatic missions, has decided to grant diplomatic asylum to citizen Assange based on the request he made.”

He added that the government made a fair and objective assessment of the situations described by Mr. Assange, and shares the concern that Assange may be a victim of political persecution.

In advance of the announcement from Quito, supporters of Mr. Assange gathered outside the embassy in London on Thursday, refusing police orders to move across the road until officers bundled three of them into police vans and arrested them.

The minister said his government had taken the decision after the authorities in Britain and the United States had refused to give guarantees that, if Mr. Assange were extradited to Sweden, he would not then be sent on to America to face other charges.

Patiño also said he hoped Britain would permit Mr. Assange to leave the embassy in London for Ecuador — a guarantee Britain has refused to give, saying it has a legal obligation to extradite Mr. Assange to Sweden, where is wanted to face questioning about allegations of sexual misbehavior.

President Rafael Correa, in his Twitter account, MashiRafael said “right now, Foreign Minister, Ricardo (Patiño) will announce a formal decision on the case in Ecuador concerning Assange. Nobody is going to scare us!”

Ecuador accused Britain on Wednesday of threatening to storm its London embassy to arrest Julian Assange after the U.K. issued a stern warning to the South American nation ahead of its decision on an asylum bid by the WikiLeaks founder, inciting demonstrations outside the British embassy in Quito.

In a televised address Wednesday, Patiño said that the Ecuadorian government had received a written notice from British authorities that they would “assault” the country’s embassy in London if Ecuadoran authorities failed to hand over Assange to British authorities.

“We are not a British colony,” he said. “Those times are passed.”

Analyst and professor at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, Julio Echeverria, told The Associated Press that, “Ecuador has a completely unpredictable foreign policy and does not reflect an institutional maturity with regard to respect for principles, rights, procedures and internationally accepted standards.”

“Ecuador’s position means a breakdown of a relationship with both England and Sweden, because it assumes that justice is conducted under Swedish political criteria, which is unacceptable, as is the assumption that the justice of these countries would be conducted under pressure from a third country like the United States, which is also inconceivable,” Echeverria said.

For more information, please see:

Albany Times Union – Ecuador Grants Political Asylum to Assange – 16 August 2012

CNN – Ecuador Grants Asylum to WikiLeaks’ Assange – 16 August 2012

The New York Times – Ecuador Grants Asylum to WikiLeaks Founder – 16 August 2012

El Universal – Ecuador anuncia decisión de otorgarle asilo a Julian Assange – 16 August 2012

USA Today – Ecuador Grants Political Asylum to WikiLeaks’ Assange – 16 August 2012

 

Ecuador to Rule on Asylum Request of Alleged Rapist and WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange

By Margaret Janelle R. Hutchinson
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuador has announced that it will make a decision on the asylum request of infamous WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, 41, by the end of the week.  Assange has been ensconced at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since June 19, avoiding extradition to Sweden where he will face charges of sexual molestation and rape.

Ecuador’s President wary of United States “secret courts” sentencing Assange to death, will personally decide whether to grant the WikiLeaks founder asylum. (Photo courtesy of The Sydney Morning Herald)

Mr Assange has said he fears if he is extradited he may later be sent to the US to face espionage charges, which could carry the death penalty. However, this argument was dismissed by prosecutors at his extradition hearing who said Sweden provided “protection against that sort of threat and violation”. No formal charges have been filed by Washington.

WikiLeaks, which facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information, has published about 250,000 confidential U.S. diplomatic cables, causing embarrassment to the government and others. It also has published hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. documents relating to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa shares Assange’s fears, stating in a television interview Monday evening that,

“The process in Sweden needs to be reviewed, you have to consider the possibility of extradition to the United States, if there’s a secret tribunal there, if there’s any risk of a death penalty. It requires a large amount of information, an analysis of international law to make an informed, absolutely responsible and sovereign decision.”

A decision could be made as early as Wednesday.  Correa stated on Monday that the delay in the decision making has been due to the complexity of the case, but earlier reports indicated that Correa was waiting until after the conclusion of the Olympic games in London.

It is not clear how Assange would travel to Ecuador if he is granted asylum. By diplomatic convention, British police cannot enter the embassy without Ecuador’s approval. But he has no way of boarding a plane to Ecuador without passing through London and exposing himself to arrest.

Assange was arrested in Britain in 2010 because Swedish authorities wanted to question him about the sexual molestation and rape allegations, which he denies. His bail conditions included staying every night at the home of a supporter outside London.

British police say he violated his bail by staying at the embassy. After he entered it, they served him with notice to turn himself in — an order he ignored, marking a further violation.

Assange has not indicated why he chose to seek out Ecuador.  He interview Correa back in May, and the two seemed to share a similar outlook.  The interview showed a shared distaste for U.S. foreign policy and big media outlets.

“Cheer up. Welcome to the club of the persecuted,” Correa told Assange at the end of the 25-minute interview.

Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino confirmed that President Correa would personally determine the outcome of Assange’s application.

”The president will decide … We will have a meeting with the president to give information of what we have done. We have done a lot, we talked with Britain, we talked to Sweden,” Mr Patino told a news conference on Monday.

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said yesterday that the Australian government had no interest in Mr Correa’s consideration of Assange’s asylum application.

”That’s a matter between him and Julian Assange,” Senator Carr said.

”I’d just say again – if America were interested in Julian Assange they could have sought his extradition from the UK at any time in the last two years.”

For more information, please see:

 BBC News – Ecuador to make Assange asylum bid decision ‘this week’ – 14 August 2012

The Christian Science Monitor – Ecuador to decide about Assange asylum this week – 14 August 2012

CNN – Decision on WikiLeaks founder’s asylum request coming, Ecuador says – 14 August 2012

The Sydney Morning Herald – Assange awaits Ecuador verdict – 15 August 2012

Brazilian Women Rebel Against Mandatory C-Section Births

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil—Mariana Mignon knew that she wanted her child born through a natural birth since the day she discovered that she was pregnant. Only weeks before her due date, Mignon completely abandoned her obstetrician, health plan, and her own private hospital room to have a chance at a real vaginal birth in a free public hospital in Rio.

Brazil Has One of the Highest C-Section Rates in the World, But That Trend is Beginning to Change. (Photo Courtesy of MSNBC)

In Brazil, natural childbirth has fallen out of favor, with about 82 percent of children born via cesarean section among women with private health insurance. “If I’d stayed with my health care plan and my doctor, I would have had a C-section,” said Mignon. Brazil, on its own, has one of the highest cesarean section rates in the world.

The trend toward the C-section method may be shifting throughout the country as more women push for more of a say in their childbirth options—whether it be C-section or naturally, home or in the hospital, or with a midwife or a medical doctor. Olimpio Moraes Filho, a head doctor with the Brazilian Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists noted that, “We need to have a serious discussion in this country to see what can be done to change this culture.” “Women are starting to rebel, and they should,” Filho also noted.

The catalyst to this rebellion began in July when a medical regulating agency in Rio made it forbidden for doctors to conduct home births and for labor coaches from helping out in hospitals. In defense of this new rule, the agency argued that “there are many complications possible during labor that require immediate medical attention.”

Responding to this, women began to organize marches in 13 cities around Brazil. In the city of Sao Paulo, women bared their breasts, marched with posters that said “Our Children, Our Decision,” and chanted “Brazil, don’t follow Rio’s example.” By the end of the month, the resolution was reversed by court order and over 200 people gathered in Rio to celebrate the news.

According to the World Health Organization, people should avoid unnecessary surgeries, especially during childbirth—as there are many risks for a mother including infections, complications form anesthesia, hemorrhage, dangerous clots and an even longer recovery.

To reverse the trend toward C-section, Brazil’s federal government has decided to create a program called “The Stork Network” with the goal of “humanizing” the birthing process and teaching mothers and heath practitioners about the benefits of natural childbirth.

 

For further information, please see:

Mercury News – Brazilian Women Rebel Against C-Section Births – 12 August 2012

MSNBC – Brazilian Women Rebel Against C-Section Births – 12 August 2012

The Sun – Brazilian Women Rebel Against Cesarean Births – 12 August 2012

Yahoo News – Brazilian Women Rebel Against Cesarean Births – 12 August 2012

Argentine War Cemetery Vandalized in Falklands

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Last Wednesday night, August 1, 2012, the Argentinian foreign ministry sent a letter to the British government repudiating the desecration and vandalism of Argentina’s Falklands war cemetery. The cemetery was found vandalized a few days before and is the final resting place of 649 Argentine soldiers and also holds a glass case protecting Argentina’s patron said, the Virgin Mary. The glass case was found smashed.

A Statue of the Virgin Mary Stands Behind the Shattered Glass of the Vandalism. (Photo Courtesy of The Guardian)

The cemetery marks the memory of a war over possession of the islands that claimed the lives of over 600 Argentinians, 255 British soldiers, and three elderly islanders. While Argentina lost the war, the country has not given up its claim to the territory and has accused the British of ignoring UN resolutions encouraging talks over the sovereignty of the islands.

Families of the Argentinian soldiers laid to rest in the cemetery sent letters to the Argentinian foreign minister Hector Timerman and the British ambassador in Buenos Aires demanding an immediate, urgent, and exhaustive investigation.

The vandalism was believed to have happened anytime in the past week or more, said Sebastian Socodo, an Argentinian who takes care of the cemetery. Socodo also noted “It’s basically the glass that covers the Virgin Mary. They just smashed the glass. I don’t know with what or how,” and then said, “I was there a couple of weeks ago and there was no damage.”

Images of the vandalism reveal that the glass was broken by more than twelve forceful blows. The actual statue of the Virgin, whose blue and white colors are the only expression of Argentinian pride that are permitted in the islands, was removed from the cemetery to protect it until repairs can be made to the shrine and to the cemetery.

In response to the vandalism, the Argentine government has called for an “impartial investigation that identifies and punishes those responsible for a grave act that violates the sacredness of the cemetery.” The government has also presented a protest to the International Red Cross as well as the United Nations.

With the controversy over the Falklands, with the Argentine government refusing to recognize the Falklands, blamed Britain for provoking the “barbaric act” with its “hostile attitudes.”

This particular cemetery has been the main focus of attention during this past year’s 30th anniversary of Argentina’s occupation of the islands, but usually the cemetery, atop a hillside about an hour from the capital of Stanley, gets very few visitors.

 

For further information, please see:

Merco Press – Argentina Presents Official Protest to UK Over Malvinas Cemetery Vandalism – 2 August 2012

The Telegraph – Argentina Sends Britain Letter ‘Repudiating’ Desecration of Falklands War Cemetery – 2 August 2012

The Guardian – Argentina’s Falklands War Cemetery Vandalized – 1 August 2012

The Associated Press – Argentine War Cemetery in Falklands Vandalized – 31 July 2012

 

Senior Venezuelan Diplomat Charged With Murder

By Margaret Janelle Hutchinson
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – Kenyan authorities have charged the first secretary of the Venezuelan embassy with the murder of the South American country’s acting ambassador, a crime police believe was motivated by a battle over embassy leadership, though allegations of a drug-trafficking scheme have also surfaced.

Dwight Sagaray, charged with the murder of acting Venezuelan Ambassador Olga Fonseca, had his immunity waived by Venezuela. (Photo courtesy of the BBC)

Dwight Sagaray was charged in court with the murder of acting Venezuelan ambassador Olga Fonseca. He pled not guilty.

Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Sagaray’s friend and an alleged co-conspirator who has gone into hiding, was also charged with murder.

Prosecutor Tabitha Ouya said the two suspects strangled Fonseca in her home, a mere 12 days after her arrival in Kenya. She said others were also involved in the killing, but did not name them.

Judge Florence Muchemi issued an arrest warrant for Hassan and remanded Sagaray into custody until his bail application is heard. Venezuelan officials previously agreed to waive Sagaray’s diplomatic immunity so he could be charged.

Fonseca was found strangled in the embassy’s official residence. She reported to Kenya on July 15 to replace former ambassador Gerardo Carillo Silva, who left his posting in Kenya and soon faced allegations of sexual harassment by Kenyan male workers from the embassy residence.

Kenyan nationals employed at the embassy told police at the time of Sagaray’s arrest last week that relations with the new ambassador had soured quickly after her arrival because she had ordered staff who lodged sexual-harassment complaints against her predecessor to withdraw them. When they refused to retract their allegations, Fonseca fired them, local media reported.

Former ambassador Carrillo told the Venezuelan newspaper Ultimas Noticias that five or six months after Saragary’s arrival in Kenya in July 2010, the situation at the embassy grew tense because “he refused to recognize my authority.”

“I warned twice about the problem by phone: one (call) at the end of last year and another in February when the situation became unsustainable. And other diplomats of the embassy were witnesses to that,” Carrillo was quoted as saying.

Carillo said he left Kenya on May 19 after receiving instructions from the Foreign Ministry to travel to Venezuela. On May 23, Carrillo said, he received a call from Nairobi and was told that a news article appeared in which he was accused of sexual harassment.

“I reject the accusation of sexual harassment. That isn’t true,” Carrillo told Ultimas Noticias. Carrillo said he had been working at the embassy since 2005. “During those seven years nothing ever happened. Why after my departure do they make it seem that I fled?”

Police said they believe the motive behind Fonseca’s murder was a battle for the embassy’s top job, but allegations surfaced that officials at the scandal-plagued post in Nairobi may have been trafficking drugs under cover of diplomatic immunity, Kenyan media reported.

According to the information they had received, the police linked some of the embassy staff, a few locals and some foreigners in drug trafficking. The sources said the drugs were being brought into the country as diplomatic parcels which, under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, are not subjected to security checks.

For more information, please see:

The Associated Press – Venezuelan charged in diplomat’s killing in Kenya  – 06 August 2012

Fox News – Venezuelan charged with death of diplomat in Kenya – 06 August 2012

The Guardian –  Venezuelan official accused of killing diplomatic rival at Kenyan embassy – 06 August 2012

LA Times –  Venezuelan diplomat charged with murdering the ambassador to Kenya  –  06 August 2012

The Star –  Narcotics drugs cited in envoy’s murder  –  06 August 2012