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Moqtada al-Sadr Announces his Retirement to Public Life

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Prominent Iraqi Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced Sunday that he would be retiring from political life in Iraq in a letter to his website he announced that he would close all his political office, that he would not hold any political office in the country nor would a block represent him in the Iraqi Parliament.

al-Sadr’s image, seen as a face of the anti-occupation movement, became commonplace in Iraqi cities throughout the U.S. led occupation of Iraq. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

Al-Sadr inspired the Sadrist movement in Iraq, which gained popularity amongst Shiite groups across the country, especially amongst the Shiite urban poor. The Sadrist movement is a political movement follows the structure of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement by building on the Shiite faith, promoting military strength and populist programs in order to add to the movement political strength.

While Moktada al-Sadr holds no formal official position in the Iraqi government he continues he has become one of the most high profile figures in the country holding significant influence over politics in the country. Al-Sadr came to prominence in Iraq for his role in founding the Mahdi Army, a Shiite militia group that fought against both Iraqi Sunni groups and U.S. and coalition forces following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The Mehdi Army consistently clashed with U.S. and British forces throughout the occupation’ publicly demanding an end to the occupation.  In 2008 the Mehdi Army clashed with the Iraqi army, commanded by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, resulting in the arrest of many of his followers. Ultimately the Mehdi army agreed to give up arms and disband.

Ultimately al-Sadr reached a truce with Prime Minister al-Maliki. During the 2010 national elections in Iraq al-Sadr demonstrated his influence over Iraqi politics by backing Prime Minister al-Maliki of the Islamic Dawa Party. However, al-Maliki and al-Sadr relationship has become strained since the 2010 elections with the two men becoming strong political rivals, it is unclear how al-Sadr’s withdrawal from public life will affect the Prime Ministers influence in the country.

Saad Saloom, a professor of political science at Al Mustansiriya University, based in Bagdad, argued that al-Sadr’s followers may now through their support behind al-Maliki’s Islamic Dawa Party. This could give al-Maliki a much stronger hold over Iraq’s Shiite majority populations, which may fear could further weaken the influence of the country’s Sunni minority. Saloom also argued of al-Sadr’s withdrawal from political life that it is “the first modern, unique step from a religious leader to put religion away from politics.”

Prime Minister al-Maliki will face a re-election challenge in April. While the ultimate impact of al-Sadr’s departure from public life will be for Iraq it is clear that the sudden retirement of al-Sadr will have an immediate effect on the Sadrist movement and the candidates it once backed.

For more information please see:

The New York Times – Iraqi Cleric, Exiting Politics, Urges Others to Keep Serving – 18 February 2014

Al Jazeera – Iraqi Cleric Sadr Retires From Politics – 16 February 2014

BBC News – Radical Iraqi Cleric Moqtada Sadr ‘To Retire From Politics’ – 16 February 2014

The New York Times – Iraqi Cleric Says Again He’ll Quit Politics – 16 February 2014

Venezuela Anti-Government Protests Ends in Deadly Violence

By Ellis Cortez
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – At least three people were shot dead as violence erupted during anti-government protests in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, on February 12.

Opposition demonstrators throw stones against riot police during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas February 15, 2014. REUTERS-Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Opposition demonstrators throw stones against riot police during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro’s government in Caracas on February 15, 2014. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)

A crowd of demonstrators, many of them students, marched to the federal prosecutor’s office to demand the release of 13 protesters who they say were illegally detained in previous marches. The demonstration was the latest in a series of mass protests against the policies of President Nicolas Maduro.

A small group of protesters stayed behind after the end of the main march and clashed with security forces. It was at that time that a number of armed men on motorcycles shot at the crowd, triggering a stampede. Two people died after the gunmen opened fire and a third died in later clashes.

Authorities on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for Leopoldo Lopez, head of the Venezuelan opposition party, Popular Will, on charges including conspiracy and murder in connection with the recent clashes. President Nicolas Maduro accused Lopez of instigating violence that led to the death of three people during the protests on February 12. Lopez, who has maintained his innocence, said he only called for peaceful protests. Military officials visited Lopez’s house in Caracas, and the residence of his parents, yesterday and showed a warrant that included the charge of intentional homicide.

Lopez said he’ll lead a march on February 18 to the Interior Ministry in Caracas where he’ll enter alone and present four petitions that declare the government responsible for the February 12 violence, ask for the release of students currently being held, and ask for the disarmament of pro-government groups known as collectives.

Young Venezuelans clashed again Friday where police used teargas and water cannon to clear some 1,000 protesters from Altamira Square in eastern Caracas, where some of them had lit trash bonfires and blocked streets. On Saturday, supporters of the opposition gathered again to sing and chant slogans in the square. Many then set off to block a major highway.

President Nicolas Maduro condemned the incidents, which he blamed on a “neo-fascist upsurge”. The president called for peace, but stressed that those who engaged in violence would not go unpunished. Maduro said state and senior military officials will work together to reduce violence.

Venezuela’s state prosecutor said 25 of 99 people arrested in connection with this week’s violence had been freed pending trial.

Maduro insists he is facing a slow-motion coup. “I want to alert the world. We are facing a developing coup plan against the democracy and the government that I preside over, orchestrated by a small group of irresponsible leaders, violent, full of hatred and personal ambitions,” he said Wednesday.

The U.S. State Department expressed concerns about the state of affairs in Venezuela. “We are deeply concerned by rising tensions, by the violence surrounding this February 12 protest and by the issuing of a warrant for the arrest of the opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez,” said spokeswoman Marie Harf. “We join the secretary general of OAS (Organization of American States) in condemning the violence and calling on authorities to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for the death of peaceful protesters.”

Students are fed up with the lack of security and the poor state of Venezuela’s economy. Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in the world and is deeply politically polarized, with the opposition blaming the government for the country’s economic troubles and for shortages of basic products in stores. Inflation, at 56.2%, is the highest in the world. Amid stringent price and exchange controls, Venezuela is running out of hard currency to pay foreign suppliers of goods and services.

Maduro’s critics say he is ruining the economy by sticking with failed Chavez-era policies such as currency and price controls, which many local economists blame for the shortages.

For more information please see:

Fox News Latino – Venezuela Anti-Government Protests: Security Forces Search For Opposition Leader – 16 February 2014

Bloomberg News – Venezuela Opposition’s Lopez Says He’s Willing to Face Arrest – 16 February 2014

Reuters – ‘Chavistas’ march in Venezuela, opposition protests continue – 15 February 2014

CNN – Protests, violence continue in Venezuela – 14 February 2014

BBC – Venezuela student protest ends in deadly violence – 13 February 2014

North and South Korea Engage in ‘High-Level’ Talks

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea--North and South Korea have held their first “high-level talks” in almost seven years, in an apparent effort to improve strained relations at the suggestion of the North.

The talks, held Wednesday at a border village, came as South Korea and the United States prepared to engage in another round of military drills that have antagonized Pyongyang, Reuters reported.

The meeting was set up with unusual speed and great secrecy at the North’s suggestion last week. This is just the latest example of conflicting signals from Pyongyang, which abruptly cancelled an invitation for a US envoy to visit a few weeks ago.

Kim Jong-un, who requested the negotiations with the South, is believed to be using the talks as a jump-off for future plans to visit China. (Photo Courtesy Reuters)

The North is expected to repeat demands for the South and the United States to abandon their military drills. Both sides have numerous incentives to seek a deal that could break their long stalemate.

“For the North, if it comes back with an accomplishment in terms of improved South-North ties, it will mean a better atmosphere for Kim Jong-un to visit China and a justification to pursue high-level talks with the United States,” Cheong Seong-chang, an expert at the Sejong Institute outside Seoul, reported.

Kim is believed to be plotting a visit to China, Pyongyang’s largest ally and main benefactor, to reinforce his legitimacy as dictator in the eyes of a skeptical international community. Kim took power when his father died suddenly in 2010.

Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from the South Korean capital Seoul, said while the atmosphere surrounding negotiations appeared “calm,” any major announcement was unlikely to be brought out in the near future.

“We’re all a bit in the dark” as to the content of the discussions, correspondents said.

Seoul officials told the Associated Press that the meeting was requested by the North, which has launched a recent “charm offensive” after raising tensions last spring with threats to fire nuclear-tipped missiles at Seoul and Washington.

Pyongyang, which has repeatedly vowed to expand its nuclear arsenal and further develop nuclear technology, is trying to build nuclear-armed missiles that can reach the continental US. Most experts say the country has yet to master the technology needed to mobilize an atomic bomb via missile.

In addition to demanding a halt to the military drills, North Korea was expected to demand that South Korea agree to restart a lucrative joint tourism project and increase humanitarian aid efforts.

South Korea, meanwhile, was looking to discuss ways to ensure that planned reunions of families separated a half-century ago in the Korean War went smoothly, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said.

The South Korean delegation is led by President Park Geun-hye’s deputy national security adviser, while North Korea has sent its second-highest ranking official in the ruling Workers’ Party department, who is also in charge of maintaining ties with the South.

The meeting is the highest level in years between the Koreas, which held a series of similar meetings in 2007.

For further information, please see:

ABC–Koreas Hold Senior-Level Meeting at Border Village–11 Feburary 2014

BBC News–North and South Korea hold rare high-level talks–12 February 2014

Al Jazeera–Koreas hold rare talks to ease tensions–12 February 2014

CNN–North and South Korea to hold ‘high-level’ meeting–11 February 2014

Ex-Guatemalen Soldier Convicted for Failure to Disclosure Involvement in Massacre

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA, United States –  Former Guatemalan special forces officer Jorge Sosa was sentenced Monday to 10 years in a federal prison for failing to disclose information in his immigration documents about his involvement in a massacre back in Guatemala. Sosa will also be stripped of his citizenship as part of the sentence.

Sosa, 55, is expected to be sent back to Guatemala after serving his ten year sentence. (photo courtesy of the LA Times)

Sosa was convicted of lying on his 2007 naturalization paperwork about his participation in the killing of at least 160 unarmed civilians in the village of Dos Erres in 1982.  The former second lieutenant was not tried for war crimes but instead found to have failed to disclose that he participated in the massacre.

Prosecutors said Sosa was able to become a citizen because he did not disclose his affiliation with the Kaibiles, an elite team of soldiers in the Guatemalan military.  During the trial, the prosecutors explained that Sosa’s unit was dispatched to Doe Erres to recover firearms but instead, at Sosa’s direction, his men raped and killed the villagers.  No weapons were ever recovered.

“These are the crimes the defendant lied about and didn’t disclose,” Judge Virginia Phillip said to the court. “The particular facts of what occurred on Dec. 7, 1982, at Dos Erres cannot be characterized in any other way than as crimes.”

Sosa is not the first to be prosecuted for his part in that massacre.  Several members of that unit have been prosecuted in Guatemala.

Sosa claimed innocence, saying he was not in the village during the massacre. His lawyer, Shashi Kewalramani, considered the sentence excessive and announced Sosa’s intention to appeal the conviction. Kewalramani added that the trial served as a forum to try Sosa for his alleged involvement in the massacre and not the charges at hand.

“Over our objections, the government made it a murder case, basically supplanted the Guatemalan court and decided to try that case up in the United States,” Kewalramani said.

For more information, please see:

Fox News – Ex-Guatemalan soldier linked to massacre is sentenced for lying on US citizenship forms – 11 February 2014

ABC News – Ex-Guatemalan Soldier Sentenced to 10 Years in US – 10 February 2014

LA Times – Ex-Guatemalan soldier linked to massacre gets 10-year sentence  – 10 February 2014

SF Gate – Ex-Guatemalan soldier sentenced to 10 years in US – 10 February 2014

USA Today – Ex-Guatemalan soldier sentenced to prison for lying – 10 February 2014

Syria Photographs Provide Evidence of Systematic Torture by Assad Regime

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – A team of international war crimes prosecutors and forensic experts has issued a report stating that there is “direct evidence” of “systematic torture and killing” by the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

This image from the report purportedly shows ligature marks around the neck of a prisoner. (Courtesy of The Guardian)

Their report, based on thousands of photographs of dead bodies of alleged detainees killed in Syrian government custody, would stand up in an international criminal tribunal, the group says.

“This is a smoking gun,” said David Crane, the first chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and one of the report’s authors. “Any prosecutor would like this kind of evidence — the photos and the process. This is direct evidence of the regime’s killing machine.”

The bodies in the photos showed signs of starvation, brutal beatings, strangulation, and other forms of torture and killing, according to the report.

A Syrian government defector codenamed “Caesar” provided testimony and 27,000 photographs as evidence used in the report; in all 55,000 such images were brought out of the country. According to the report, Caesar worked as photographer in the military police. Once the war started, he was required to document “killed detainees.”

A complex numbering system was also used to catalog the corpses. The system allowed intelligence agencies to identify the corpses and then later to provide false documentation that the person had died in a hospital. According to the report the system may have also served other purposes such as documenting each person’s death without involving family members, proving that orders had been followed, or perhaps it was simply the way it had always been done.

The fact that all the bodies were photographed, the report’s authors say, strongly suggests that “the killings were systematic, ordered, and directed from above.”

The report was authored by Crane, Sir Desmond de Silva, former chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and Professor Sir Geoffrey Nice, former lead prosecutor against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

“Ultimately, the validity of our conclusions turn on the integrity of the people involved,” de Silva said. “We, the team, were very conscious of the fact there are competing interests in the Syrian crisis — both national and international. We were very conscious of that.”

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Why Syria’s Assad enters Geneva talks in a position of strength – 23 January 2013

CNN – Gruesome Syria photos may prove torture by Assad – 22 January 2013

Reuters – Dooming the Syria talks before they begin – 22 January 2013

BBC – Syria photos may prove claims of torture – 21 January 2013

Guardian – Syria regime document trove shows evidence of ‘industrial scale’ killing of detainees – 20 January 2013