by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 BRASÍLIA, Brazil – This past Tuesday morning Brazilian citizens woke up and found the famous Copacabana Beach, in Rio de Janiero, full of brooms.  594 brooms, painted yellow and green, were placed along the beach in the shape of the federal congress building.  Each broom symbolized one of the 81 Senators and 513 Lower House Representatives in Brazil’s government.  The brooms signified the need for Brazil’s government to “clean house” and “sweep out” the existing corruption they are plagued with.

The protest was put together by a non-governmental organization, Rio for Peace.  “The purpose of our initiative is to make people aware of the extent of rampant corruption and to demand greater transparency in the management of public funds,” said Antonio Carlos Costa, who leads the group.

The group’s expressive protest follows a September 7 March Against Corruption, fittingly organized on Brazilian Independence Day.  In Brasília alone, roughly 25,000 supporters marched down the streets wearing black clothing; face paint, red clown noses and toting posters denouncing corrupt government officials.  The protesters dressed as clowns to contrast with their slogan that corrupt officials are the real clowns. 

President Dilma Rousseff took office just 9 months ago in January.  Since then her Chief of Staff as well as the Ministers of Tourism, Agriculture and Transport have been forced to resign. Ex-Chief of Staff, Antonio Palocci resigned when news broke that over the past four years his net worth increased to be 20 times greater than when he took office.  The three Ministers all stepped down amid claims of corruption; accepting bribes and skimming from public funds.  All four deny any wrongdoing.

The acquittal of Federal Deputy Jaqueline Roriz has also garnered intense public scrutiny and outcry.  In a secret vote by Congress, at the end of last month, Roriz was cleared of all charges.  She faced claims of accepting a bribe of $33,000 US in public funds back in 2006.  Roriz was caught on tape accepting the money.  Congress justified their decision with inadequate excuses that at the time she accepted the bribe, Roriz was not yet a federal deputy, she was only a state deputy.

Citizens are doubly upset.  Not only was a clearly corrupt official cleared of responsibility for her wrong-doing but it was done in an unrepresentative secret vote procedure.  This has undoubtedly furthered the culture of political impunity that currently exists.

Brazil’s Bar Association, combining with the Brazilian Press Association and Catholic Bishops’ Conference made calls for more transparency in government spending.  They are also demanding a new “Ficha Limpa” (Clean Criminal Record Law) to keep those with criminal records from running for elective office.  A final objective is to end the secret vote procedures used to protect officials. 

For more information, please see;

The Christian Science Monitor – Brazil Fights Corruption at Home as it Signs Open Government Partnership With the US – 20 September 2011

MercoPress – Hundreds of Brooms in Rio’s Beaches to Protest Brazilian Rampant Corruption – 20 September 2011

The Rio Times – Brazilians Protest and March Against Corruption – 13 September 2011

BBC News – Brazilians Rally Against Corruption – 7 September 2011

The Christian Science Monitor – Brazilians March Against Corruption to Mark Independence Day – 7 September 2011

BBC News – Brazil Corruption: President Loses Fourth Minister – 17 August 2011

BBC News – Brazil’s Chief Minister Antonio Palocci Resigns – 7 June 2011

By Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia — Amnesty International released a new report today demanding more action from the Colombian government and justice for women and girls in Colombia who have been long-time victims of physical and sexual abuse through out the country’s 45-year civil war.

Despite claims of progress by the Colombia government, Amnesty reports that acts of sexual violence have almost doubled in the past decade. In 2010, the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science reported 20,142 cases of sexual crime in Colombia compared to 12,732 cases in 2000. The actual number of sexual crime cases, however, is most likely a much larger number since eight out of ten cases typically go unreported by victims due to fear or shame.

Susan Lee, a director at Amnesty International, stated in the report that women are being used as “trophies of war” and that the issue of sexual violence within the military is being swept under the rug by government officials.

Included in the report were gruesome testimonies of emotional and physical suffering by Colombian women who have fallen victim to rape by paramilitary.

Shirley (name change) came forward in 2008 and told her story “so people would know this sort of thing happens.”  She stated that she was raped continuously by over 35 men for three months in 2005 until she managed to escape. None of the men she identified to authorities, however, are in jail.

“I couldn’t even tell when I was having my period, because I bled all the time. There were so many men,” she stated.

In response, the Colombian government placed Shirley in “safe housing” with other victims and — ironically– her rapists that had left the paramilitary years earlier.

Other testimony include that of women who were raped and tortured for attempting to report crimes of sexual violence to the authorities. According to a victim, although the Office of the Attorney General rehoused her, she was only afforded protection for a year and then kicked out of the protection program.

Obstacles to justice for women of sexual crime include: a lack of political and historical tradition of taking initiative in addressing these crimes, poor judicial training, and the fact that rape is not considered a crime under International law.

Amnesty International is calling for the International Criminal Court to step in and take action if the Colombian authorities continue to make crimes of sexual violence by armed men an invisible issue.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Colombian authorities fail survivors of sexual violence – 21 September 2011

BBC News – Amnesty: Colombian women treated as ‘war trophies’ – 21 September 2011

Colombia Reports – Colombia is failing victims of sexual violence: Amnesty International – 21 September 2011

Trust Law – Colombia failing victims of sexual violence- Amnesty – 21 September 2011

by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter – South America 

SANTIAGO, Chile – Archbishop Fernando Karadima was sentenced by the Vatican on March 18, 2011 for his sexual assault of minors.  He was moved into retirement far away from his community, immediately upon the release of the decision.  The Vatican stated he was to spend the remainder of his life in “prayer and penitence” for his actions.

The 80 year old priest was an influential religious figure in Santiago.  His parishioners were from the upper -class of the city.  Karadima was a leader and mentor to five bishops and dozens of priests.  He was accused by four men  who were former parishioners.  They claimed they were sexually molested by Karadima as young boys, abuse that began over 30 years ago.

The Vatican decision has spurred the Chilean courts into action.  Karadima has not yet been prosecuted criminally for his sexual abuse of children.  A previous investigation was started back in 2010 but was dismissed shortly after for failure to prove misconduct.  The current investigation started once the Vatican decision came out.

Karadima has consistently maintained his innocence, attributing the claims leveled against him to jealousy and the devil.  Recently he has come forward to the judge, hearing his criminal prosecution, with claims that Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz paid more than $1million US to stop publication of a book about Karadima’s abuse of parishoners. 

Other disturbing news surrounding the delayed investigation and prosecution has emerged.  Allegations have been made by Karadima’s lawyer, Juan Pablo Bulnes, that his office was illegally searched by police forces with no legal warrant. 

Bulnes wanted the transcripts of the Vatican trials, which he had refused to turn over and were confiscated in the serach, deemed inadmissible.  However, the Chilean Supreme Court ruled on 7 September that the evidence will be permitted in future trials, despite the controversial manner in which they were obtained.

The actual court proceedings against the priest ended back on July 19 and two months later there has still not been an announced verdict. 

 

For further information, please see;

The Santiago Times – New Scandal Rattles Chile’s Catholic Church – 11 September 2011

The Santiago Times – Controversial Evidence Permitted in High-Profile Sex Abuse Case – 8 September 2011

Vatican Insider – The Karadima Scandal: The Vatican Model of Justice – 1 July 2011

The New York Times – Chilean Priest Found Guilty of Abusing Minors – 18 February 2011

By Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia — Former Director of the Administrative Security Department, Jorge Aurelio Norguera, was ordered to pay a fine of $1.9 million and sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday by Colombia’s Supreme Court of Justice for his ties with far right-wing military groups and his involvement in the murder of a human rights worker in 2004.

Noguera, 47, was found guilty of destroying public documents and giving illegal right-wing death squads names of leftist activists, students and labor union leaders so they could be killed. The Supreme Court specifically held Noguera in connection to the murder of Alfredo Correa de Andreis, a prominent sociologist and human rights worker who was shot by assassins belonging to a paramilitary group in 2004.

According to a former senior deputy at Colombia’s Administrative Department of Security (DAS), Noguera helped coordinate Andreis assassination after Andreis had reportedly investigated suspicious activity by the right-wing military.

In addition to his sentencing and fine, Noguera has also been ordered to pay $89,000 in restitution to Andreis’ family. A lawyer for Andreis’ family said public money from DAS had been used for his murder.

Noguera’s sentencing is one of many scandals to come out of Colombia’s Administrative Department of Security (DAS). Several former officials and staffers of DAS have been investigated and accused of illegally wiretapping opposition leaders and judges.

Former President of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, has also been accused of ordering DAS to wiretap his opponents while he was president. Uribe has denied any involvement with the wiretapping, stating last month “I never gave orders to do anything illegal.”

On Wednesday, Uribe referenced Noguera in a tweeter message stating: “I nominated him because of his résumé and his family. I trusted him; if he transgressed the law, it pains me and I offer apologies to the citizenry.” In a speech regarding Noguera in 2006, Uribe famously stated “I put my hands into fire for him.”

Noguera’s sentencing is the stiffest punishment to have been handed out so far to a member of Uribe’s government.

Director of the Americas for Amnesty International, Susan Lee, says Noguera’s sentencing is a critical move in the right direction for justice in Colombia. She calls for all those responsible for crimes under DAS to be promptly brought to justice.

In 2003, Colombia began a program which offered financial and legal assistance to members of paramilitary groups that voluntarily quit.

For more information, please see:

Ahram – Colombian Ex-Spy Chief Gets Stiff Prison Sentence – 15 September 2011

CNN – Colombian Court Sentences Former Spy Chief for Paramilitary Ties – 15 September 2011

NY Times – Ex-Spy Chief of Colombia Is Sentenced to Prison – 14 September 2011

The Huffington Post – Jorge Noguera, Colombia’s Domestic Intelligence Chief, Convicted Of Criminal Conspiracy – 14 September 2011