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Decision by Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice Sparks Outrage

By Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil — Amnesty International and human rights activists around the world are showing outrage at a Superior Court of Justice’s decision this week, which ruled that sex with a 12-year-old does not necessarily constitute statutory rape. The head of Amnesty International’s Brazil branch, Atila Roque, is concerned that this ruling will serve as a green light to rapists and discourage victims of sexual abuse from reporting their abusers.

A model wearing clothes made by sex workers in a Brazilian red light district. (Photo Courtesy of The Global Post).

A Brazilian law, adopted in 2009, forbids sex with anyone under the age of 14. This week, however, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice did not convict a man accused of having sex with three 12-year-olds because, among other things, the girls had previously worked as prostitutes and the incident occurred in 2002.  Amnesty International said in a statement that “It is of extreme concern that the protections provided by Brazil’s legislation in cases such as these have not been implemented.”

Brazil’s human rights minister, Maria do Rosario Nunes, believes the court’s ruling “would in practice spell impunity” and has pledged to try to get the case overturned. Tourism Minister, Gastao Vieira, agrees, and stated on Tuesday that “the exploitation of sex is a crime and those responsible for it must be punished.”

According to the court’s president, Ari Pargendler, the court is open to revisit the decision.

Underaged prostitution has drawn many tourists to Brazil over recent years. Brazil’s Tourism Ministry stated on Tuesday that over 2,000  websites have been found, many of them hosted in the United States, promoting Brazil as the “sex tourism” destination in 2011. The websites show pictures of women in sensual poses and encourages sexual encounters with minors.

Taking down and reporting these websites is going to be one of the many steps the Brazilian government will take to combat the sexual exploitation of underaged girls during the 2014 World Cup. Last year, members of the Brazilian government distributed posters and sponsored advertisements across the country containing warnings that the sexual exploitation of minors is considered a crime. The posters were also distributed to the United States, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Spain.

 

For further information, please see:

ABC News – Brazil: Critics Slam Court’s Underage Sex Verdict – 30 March 2011

The Global Post – Human Rights Group Outraged At Brazil’s Underage Sex Ruling – 30 March 2012

The Washington Post – Critics Slam Brazilian Appeals Court’s Lenient Verdict in Sex With Minors Case – 30 March 2012

Associated Press – Brazil Takes on Websites That Promote Sex Tourism – 27 March 2012

 

Young Homosexual Man’s Death, From Violent Beating, Sparks Outcry for Passage of Anti-Discrimination Laws in Chile

by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile – On Tuesday of this week, 24-year-old Daniel Zamudio passed away.  His death is sparking calls for the passage of new national anti-discrimination laws in Chile.  Zamudio, an openly homosexual youth, was violently beaten up by a gang of men in a park, 25 days ago, on March 4.

Citizens have made a memorial to honor Zamudio outside the hospital where he died. (Photo Courtesy of La Razón)

The men carved swastika symbols into Zamudio’s body and stubbed cigarette butts out on him.  News reports state that the attackers beat Zamudio for roughly an hour with bottles and rocks, cut off a portion of his ear, broke his leg and left him with severe head injuries.  Doctors at the Santiago Emergency Assistance Public Hospital worked to keep Zamudio alive but on March 19 he suffered a heart attack and his condition deteriorated.

The four men accused of the attack are members of the neo-Nazi group, Nazis del Centro (Downtown Nazis).  They are all four currently in custody, on attempted murder charges, but prosecutor Ernesto Vasquez is asking that be changed to premeditated murder, which carries a life sentence.  At least one of the men already has a prior record for assaults on homosexual individuals.

Gay rights groups throughout the country are asking that torture charges be included as well.  Jaime Parada, spokesmen for Chile’s Movement for Homosexual Liberation and Integration, spoke out about how this aggressive attack highlights the fear that homosexuals in Chile must live with.

“We are fighting for an anti-discrimination law, for changes in language so people stop treating us like we are ill and make sure that the church does not treat us like sinners and so on,” said Parada.

Seven years ago, an anti-discrimination law was first proposed, but it was never passed due to pressure from Evangelical Christian groups. Chilean government officials are promising to focus on getting that passed.  Chile’s Interior Minister, Rodrigo Hinzpeter, currently acting as President while President Piñera is in Asia, affirmed this.  Hinzpeter spoke outside the hospital, the day Zamudio died, to a hostile crowd who booed him.

“Since this aggression, Daniel’s murder happened, we have had a relative education on how we are going to construct a more harmonious society, with more love, where no one – no one – is discriminated against for any reason, because all Chileans have the same rights.  There is no-one in our society who can feel such murderous arrogance that they can attack and assault a fellow citizen for any reason,” said Hinzpeter.

There has been a general public outcry in the wake of the attack because people feel that the government is not doing enough to protect those who are victims of hate crimes.

 

For more information, please see;

La Razón – Asesinato de Joven Homosexual Conmociona a Sociedad Chilena – 29 March 2012

The Washington Post – In Chile, Beating Death of Gay Man Stirs Change – 29 March 2012

BBC – Chile Prosecutors Seek Murder Charges Over Gay Attack – 28 March 2012

NTN24 News – Murder of Gay Man by Suspected Neo-Nazi Group Shakes Chile – 28 March 2012

EDGE – Gay Man Brutally Attacked in Chilean Capital Remains in Critical Condition – 25 March 2012

Racial Tension Rising in Trayvon Martin Shooting; Questions About “Stand Your Ground” Law

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States – By now, most of the country has heard of the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed, teenage black male.  The shooter, George Zimmerman is the community watch captain in the neighborhood.  Students have staged walkouts, the President has expressed his opinions, and thousands across the country are outraged about the lack of an arrest.

Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. (Image courtesy of ABC News)

Zimmerman claims he was acting under Florida’s “stand your ground” law, in an act of self-defense.  As mentioned above, Martin was unarmed however, causing many to question whether deadly force was even necessary.  Furthermore, Zimmerman trailed Martin, following him on his walk home from a convenient store.

Under the law, a person may use deadly force anywhere they have a right to be if they have reasonable fear an assailant could seriously harm them or someone else, according to CNN.  Also, it eliminates the “duty to retreat” and allows people to “meet force with force.”

Former Florida governor, Jeb Bush signed the bill into law in 2005, according to The LA Times.  Although he was (and presumably still is) in favor of the law, he thinks it is being abused.  As reported by The LA Times, Bush said, “Stand your ground means stand your ground.  It doesn’t mean chase after somebody who’s turned their back.”

The problem with the law as written does not require a person to prevent a possible altercation, nor does it address whether one can pursue someone who has been perceived as a threat, according to The LA Times.  For example, a Florida judge ruled that a man who chased a burglar more than a block and a half and stabbed him to death, was acting within his rights under the “stand your ground” law.

The police have not arrested Zimmerman; there is no evidence to refute the claim that he acted in self-defense.  Now, however, the FBI and the Justice Department are investigating Zimmerman for possible civil rights violations, according to ABC News.

Zimmerman is white-Hispanic and Martin was black.  Zimmerman’s lawyer, Craig Sonner believes that Zimmerman’s life is in danger and has encouraged him to keep a low profile, reports CNN.  He said, “This case is spinning out of control…I hope there’s a way to rein things in so it doesn’t become an issue of a racial battle.”

Many believe that it already is a race battle and are insistent upon an arrest.

The New Black Panther Party (different from the more widely known Black Panther Party formed in the 1960s) has resorted to a reward.  The group put a $10,000 bounty for his capture.  According to CNN, the group is a “virulently racist and anti-Semitic organization.”  The City of Sanford responded to the bounty by demanding no vigilante justice.

Walkouts across the country including New York, Virginia, Georgia, California, and Trayvon’s old high school have become prevalent.  There is also a movement associated with the hoodie that Trayvon Martin was wearing when he was killed.  Miami Heat basketball players made a statement wearing the hoodies, and there are plans for a “Million Hoodie March” in Rochester, New York, reports CNN.

The Sunshine Slate reports that even though two major figures have stepped down in connection with the shooting, it does nothing to ease the rising racial tensions.  There is widespread and continued distrust of the Florida police by the black community.  The Sunshine Slate reports that historically, Sanford has already dealt with documented racial tensions.

The “stand your ground” law will be carefully looked at and possibly amended after this tragedy.  Sonner is questioning whether to argue that the law even applies to his client, or whether it was merely self-defense, which has always been an acceptable avenue to take.

For more information, please visit:

ABC News — Trayvon Martin Shooter ‘Could Not Stop Crying’ After Shooting — 25 Mar. 2012

CNN – Lawyer: Federal Hate Crime Charge Against Trayvon Shooter a “Challenge” — 25 Mar. 2012

The Los Angeles Times — “Stand Your Ground” Law Criticized After Trayvon Martin Shooting — 25 Mar. 2012

The Sunshine Slate — Trayvon Martin: State Attorney Steps Aside, Chief Steps Down — 24 Mar. 2012

2 Nurses in Uruguay Charged with Killing at least 16 Patients – Attorneys Maintain These Were Mercy Killings

by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – On March 19, two male nurses in Uruguay were charged with the murders of 16 patients and held without bail after confessing their guilt in front of Judge Rolando Vomero.  The names of the two men have not been released to the press at this time.  Instead they have been simply identified as J.A.A. age 46, and M.P.G. age 39.

Uruguayan Minister of Public Health, Jorge Vengas, reacts during a press conference to news that both nurses have admitted to more killings. (Photo courtesy of San Jose Mercury News)

The two nurses do not appear to have been working together.  J.A.A. worked at the Asociación Española, a private caregiving facility, where he admits to killing 11 patients.  M.P.G. was employed at the Hospital Maciel, where he admitted to causing the deaths of another 5 patients.  A single female nurse was also arraigned with them on charges of covering up their deeds.

The charges against the two men are for the deaths of at least 16 patients at this time.  Reports have surfaced that there are more than that so investigators are currently looking in depth at patient’s records for the two hospitals.  Public news outlets in Uruguay believe that dozens more patients were killed by the men.  At a recent news conference one of the men said he had killed at least 50 patients and the other said he had lost count long ago of how many he had killed.

The hospital’s spokespeople and the health minister of the government are stressing that there is substantial rebuilding now required to instill faith and credibility back in to the health system.  The first step is to establish just how extensive this operation was.

Ines Massiotti, a lawyer for one of the nurses, stressed that both her client and the other nurse acted out of pity due to their extensive years working in the intensive care units and being exposed to death and suffering.

“My client is fully aware of his actions.  He fully confessed in front of the judge [and] prosecutor, and his defense is he did it out of mercy,” said Massiotti.

Attorney Santiago Clavijo echoed a similar statement noting that these were not “vicious” killings but rather done to stop the pain they witnessed the patient’s experiencing.  Prosecutors contest this noting that many of the patients targeted were not terminally ill.  In fact, one of the victims had release papers signed the day before she was killed.

Investigators believe that the two were killing patients in a number of ways, including; overdosing patients with the drug morphine and injecting air bubbles into their blood streams.  Health officials expressed profound concern for the situation and stressed that they would be fully cooperative during the investigation.

 

For more information, please see;

Latin American Herald Tribune – Nurses Accused of Killing 16 in Uruguay Hospitals – 21 March 2012

CNN – 2 Nurses in Uruguay Charged in Slayings of Patients – 20 March 2012

BBC – Nurses Confess to Killing 16 Patients at Uruguay Hospital – 19 March 2012

CBS – Uruguay Nurses Charged with Murdering 16 with Morphine – 19 March 2012

Daily Mail Reporter – Two Nurses Arrested in Uruguay After Poisoning 200 Hospital Patients in Mercy Killings – 19 March 2012

Spanish Judge Off The Hook For Franco Probe

By Terance Walsh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MADRID, Spain — Baltasar Garzon, a well-known judge in Spain, was acquitted Monday of abuse of power charges.  His charge stemmed from his alleged improper investigation of human rights violations under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

Baltazar Garzon, Spanish judge accused of abuse of power (Photo courtesy of Amnesty International).

Spain’s Supreme Court acquitted Garzon on a 6-1 vote.

The prosecution was brought by right wing private groups, as allowed by Spanish law, led by the group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands).  They accused Garzon of ignoring Spanish amnesty laws when he investigated human rights abuses that occurred between 1936 and 1975.

Franco led a military uprising in 1936 that set off three years of civil war in Spain that ended with Franco’s forces defeating republican and left-wing fighters.  He remained in power until he died in 1975.

Garzon has said that crimes against humanity deserve no amnesty because they are “permanent crimes.”

In 2008 Garzon began an investigation of the disappearance of tens of thousands of people in the build up to Franco’s rise to power.  The investigation included the excavation of mass graves.  Ultimately an appellate court ended the investigation and the next year Manos Limpias brought the prosecution.

Relatives of the victims of Franco’s human rights offenses have been some of the strongest supporters of Garzon.  They have seen the judge as their hope for justice

The groups bringing the prosecution supported their allegations by saying Garzon’s investigation “reopened wounds which we Spaniards – whatever our political beliefs – had totally recovered from.”

Human rights groups applauded Garzon’s acquittal.  “The Supreme Court has spared itself further embarrassment by rejecting these ill-advised charges,” Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch said. “Investigating torture and ‘disappearances’ cannot be considered a crime.”

In addition to the Franco investigation charges, Garzon is under fire for ordering wire taps of conversations between remand prisoners and their lawyers regarding a corruption case.  The lawyers filed suit alleging a constitutional violation of their constitutional right to confidential communications with their clients.

Garzon contends that the wiretaps were supported by state prosecutors, who did not file charges against him.  The wiretaps were ordered on suspicions that the subjects of the taps were involved in a money laundering scheme.  He was suspended from the bench for 11 years.

Supporters of Garzon argue that these convictions are meant to be retaliation for Garzon’s activism.  “It was clear they were out to get him, and now they have,” said Emilio Silva, head of the Historical Memory Association that campaigns to shed light on Francoist killings. “It is very sad. Plenty of other judges have committed the same irregularities and have not been treated this way.”

Garzon argued in a statement through his lawyers “that the Supreme Court sentence seriously violated several of the fundamental rights which he, as all citizens have under the constitution, as well as his judicial independence.”

Accordingly Garzon filed his papers with the Supreme Court to appeal the decision.  This request, however, is expected to fail and Garzon plans to appeal to the Supreme Constitutional Court.

Although human rights groups applauded Garzon’s acquittal on the Franco investigation charges, they continue to push Spain for accountability for its past misdeeds.

“It is a scandal that Spain has not yet tackled its dark past,” said Marek Marczynski, Amnesty International’s Head of International Justice.  “News about Judge Garzón is a step forward. However, what we want to see next is a full investigation into the catalogue of abuses that took place during the Civil War and Franco’s regime. There must be no impunity in Spain for these most horrible crimes.”

Amnesty International calls on Spain to continue its remediation of its past human rights abuses and set aside its law granting amnesty for crimes committed under Franco.

For more information please see:

Amnesty International — Spain: Ruling On Baltazar Garzon Is Good News, But Crimes Remain Untackled — 27 February 2012

BBC — Spanish Judge Baltazar Garzon Cleared On Franco Probe — 27 February 2012

CNN — Former Spanish Judge Acquitted Of Abusing Power — 27 February 2012

Expatica — Spanish Judge Asks Supreme Court To Annul Verdict — 22 February 2012

The Guardian — Baltazar Garzon, Judge Who Pursued Dictators, Brought Down For Wiretapping — 9 February 2012

NY Times — Truth On Trial In Spain — 4 February 2012