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Jobless Protests Lead to Violence in Tunisia

By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch, Africa

Protestors struggle against police in an effort to raise awareness about social services neglect and unbelievable unemployment.
Protestors struggle against police in an effort to raise awareness about social services neglect and unbelievably high unemployment in Tunisia (Photo Courtesy of CNN).

TUNIS, Tunisia- Police used batons to end demonstrations today in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, after weeks of clashes between those protesting the high unemployment rates in the North African country and officials. Today’s events come just three days after police opened fire on a group of 1,000 protesters in Menzel Bouzaiene, killing one and injuring several more. The demonstrations started earlier this month after two men attempted suicide in the Sidi Bouzid province of Tunisia, citing lack of employment and poor living conditions.

One of the young men, a jobless graduate, Mohammed Bouazizi, doused himself in gasoline and then lit himself on fire after being cited by police for selling fruits and vegetables without a permit. The second young man electrocuted himself shortly after in the same town. In a statement made to the AP, Sami Tahr, head of the union for high school teachers said “We’re gathered today in solidarity with the population of Sidi Bouzid and to salute the memories of the martyrs of repression who seek only their right to working.”

Officials claim the protests are isolated and being used by the opposition to garner support for their radical agenda. In a statement released by the Tunisia government, officials say protesters burned a national guard building using malatov cocktails and threw stones at police. The statement reports that several police suffered severe burns during the demonstrations and that two are currently in comas as a result of their injuries. Student representative Mohamed Fadhel, said the man who was shot during Friday’s demonstration was 18-year-old Mohamed Ammari and that police had surrounded the city, not allowing any travel in or out.

Protest in Tunisia is rare and the violent protest in the capital is the first of its kind in approximately ten years. Despite being a relatively stable and wealthy North African country, Tunisia’s President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, who has been in power for the last 23 years, has been criticized by the international community for repressing political dissent and quashing public protest. In response to the recent demonstrations, on Thursday the government promised to use eight million euros to create jobs but with no details on the program released, including when it will start, protests continue.

For more information, please see;

CNN-Tunisian Forces Kill 1, Hurt 4 Protestors– 24 Dec., 2010

BBC- Tunisian Jobs Protests Reach Capital Tunis– 27 Dec., 2010

BBC- Tunisia Security Forces Shoot Dead Protester- 24 Dec., 2010

Reuters- Police Disperse Jobs Protest in Tunisian Capital– 27 Dec., 2010

MSNBC- Rare Rally in Tunisian Capital Against Joblessness– 27 Dec., 2010

AMERICAN CHARITY FOUNDER SENTENCED FOR SEXUALLY ABUSING HAITIAN BOYS IN HIS CARE

By Erica Laster                                                                                                                       Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

NEW HAVEN, United States – Federal Judge Janet Bond Arterton sentenced Douglas Perlitz to 19 years and 7 months for the sexual abuse of over 8 Haitian children after condemning him as a serial rapist and molester today.  Founder of Project Pierre Toussaint, Perlitz traveled to Haiti to open the charity for boys in 1997.  After claims of sexual abuse from a number of boys, authorities investigated and charged Perlitz for his crimes, to which he pled guilty in August.

American native of Colorado sentence to nearly 20 years for sexually abusing Haitian boys under guise of his charity. Photo courtesy of CNN.
Colorado native, Douglas Perlitz, was sentenced to nearly 20 years for sexually abusing Haitian boys under the guise of his charity. Photo courtesy of CNN.

From 1997-2008, Project Pierre Toussaint operated as a 10 acre compound sheltering homeless Haitian boys.  Court documents indicate that with over $2 million made from donors between 2002 and 2008, the compound utilized classrooms, dorms and a soccer field.  In 2002, Fairfield University, Perlitz’s alma mater, gave him an honorary degree for his work.  When reports of abuse arose in 2007, neither the public, nor the charities donors believed them.

Donor Brian Russell stated “There was no way that this man could have committed these things that people were accusing him of. It seemed utterly out of the realm of possibility.”

In 2008, the board members of Toussaint charity conducted an internal investigation, revealing the abuse of not one, but several boys by Perlitz for at least 10 years.  Russell expressed his feelings of betrayal, noting that “When I heard these stories, I felt broken and betrayed.”  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Perlitz in September of 2009.

Six of the victims were flown to Connecticut to testify regarding Perlitz’s crimes.  “He always told me, “Don’t tell anybody about it. If you tell anybody about it, I will put you out on the street,” one victim stated through the use of a Creole interpreter.

After apologizing to his victims, Perlitz asked the judge for leniency regarding his sentencing, requesting that she take into account the charitable work he accomplished in the Caribbean despite his horrible crimes.  Perlitz stated, “They say a convicted sex offender has no future, but I would like to try to prove people wrong. At times I would rather die than carry this burden to be honest.”

The defense argued that Perlitz suffered from sexual abuse from a priest while studying at Fairfield University.  However, the prosecution struck down the argument, stating that Perlitz’s actions “shows him to be nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing — an American man who traveled to Haiti purporting to care for homeless children when in reality he preyed upon the desperation of these children so that he could sexually abuse them.”

 For more information, please visit:

CNN – American To Be Sentence in Haitian Sexual Abuse Case – 21 December 2010

HuffingtonPost –  Haitian Children Testify On Douglas Perlitz’s Abuse – 21 December 2010

Fox News – Man Gets Nearly 20 Year Sentence In Haiti Sex Abuse Case – 21 December 2010

International Committee for the Red Cross Newsletter

ICRC
Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada


Click here to access the following stories from the ICRC December 2010 Newsletter:

  • Afghanistan: A People Trapped Between Sides
  • ICRC Presents Record Field Budget for 2011
  • Interview with Pierre Krahhenbuhl, ICRC Director of Operations
  • ICRC Selection of Photos 2010
  • Announcing the Winners of the ICRC Young Reporter Competition

Britain Imposes Ban On Export Of Lethal Injection Drug Used By The United States

By Erica Laster                                                                                                                       Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

NEW YORK, United States – At the behest of Human Rights groups and activists, the British have issued a ban on the export of lethal injection drug sodium thiopental to the United States.  The United Kingdom originally opposed the ban under the assumption that someone else would provide the drug to the U.S. and that the drug was only being used for medicinal purposes.  Some States have sought other means to execute prisoners, including the use of drugs commonly used to kill animals.

Sodium thiopenta banned by the British after learning of its use in executions. Photo courtesy of static.guim.uk
Sodium thiopental banned by the British after learning of its use in executions. Photo courtesy of static.guim.uk

Reprieve, a legal charity, campaigned for the past month in support of banning the drug used in executions.  The charities Director, Clive Stafford Smith expressed concern that a number of prisoners are set to be executed in California this week.  According to Smith, “”There is urgent work to do. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation – so named, notwithstanding their plan to execute a number of prisoners – expects to receive enough drugs to kill 86 people this week, perhaps as early as today, probably again from Britain.”  Smith remains hopeful that urgent steps are taken to prevent any current shipments from reaching the corrections facility.   

The charity further notes that British pharmaceutical company Archimedes Palma may have unknowingly been used as the U.S. source for supplying the drug used for lethal injections.  

With such protests and oppositions to the use of drugs for lethal injections, states are finding other methods to continue executions. Oklahoma for instance, is attempting to use Phenobarbital as a replacement: a common drug used to kill animals.  

An order issued by British Secretary of State for Business Vince Cable requires that companies seeking to export the drug abroad must prove that the sodium thiopental will be used for the purpose of legitimate medicinal purposes and not execution. 

The ban is the result of Reprieve and British based law firm Leigh Day’s suit in support of the ban.  Leigh Day attorney Jamie Beagent praised the Secretary of State’s decision as one that “has finally come to recognize that banning drugs from the UK for use in executions overseas is the morally right thing to do.”

For More Information Please Visit:

IPS – Britain Bans Exports of Execution Drug Sought by U.S. – 30 November 2010

 BBC News – US Lethal Injection Drug Faces UK export Restrictions – 29 November 2010

Washington Post – British Imposes Controls On Lethal Injection Drug – 29 November 2010