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European Court of Human Rights Says Same Sex Marriage is Not a Universal Right

By Yoohwan Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Photo: All EU member states do not allow same sex marriages. [Source: Justout.com]

STRASBOURG, France – On June 24 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that European nations are not legally obliged to allow and recognize same sex marriages.

An Austrian couple, Hörst Schalk and Johann Kopf, brought a case against Austria in 2004 after the couple sought a marriage permit in Vienna in 2002.  Austrian law only recognizes marriages between a man and a woman, and the country refused to give the gay couple a marriage license.

Schalk and Kopf battled through the Austrian court system with no success.  After the constitutional court of Austria upheld the lower courts’ decision to refuse their permit, the couple brought their case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.  They claimed that the Austrian courts’ ruling violated their right to marriage under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Following Article 9 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the seven judges of the European court held that the Austrian couple is not guaranteed a right to marriage.  Each European country should decide their individual laws and how far they wish to recognize the legal status of same sex marriages.

The court stated that marriage has “deep rooted social and cultural connotations which may differ largely from one society to another.”  Each nation should implement their own policy and the “court reiterates that it must not rush to substitute its own judgment in place of that of the national authorities, who are best placed to access and respond to the needs of society.”

Some countries, like Sweden and the Netherlands are socially liberal, while other ones are more religious and conservative, such as Poland.  Six out of European Union’s 27 member states have legalized same sex marriages.

Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, Norway, and Spain are the six nations that allow gay marriages.  In addition, there are about a dozen other nations, such as Britain, Germany, France, and (since January 2010) Austria, which currently recognize legal partnerships that carry the same legal status as marriage.

Despite the lack of an EU-wide law, the European Court of Human Rights did acknowledge “an emerging European consensus” that same sex marriages should have legal recognition in Europe.  Furthermore, the court found that gay couples are entitled to protection under charter definitions of family life.

Although Austria does not recognize same sex marriages, the country passed a Registered Partnership Act in January 2010.  This Act permits a registered partnership between gay couples, but differs from a legal marriage under the Austrian law.  A same sex couple is restricted in having a choice of name, adopting children, and using artificial insemination.

For more information, please see:

AP – Court: Same-sex Marriage is Not Universal Right – 25 June 2010

BBC NEWS – European Human Rights Court Rejects Gay Marriage Bid – 25 June 2010

IRISH TIMES – Same-sex Marriage Ban Upheld by Court – 25 June 2010

Over 160 Arrested in a Violent Opposition Strike in Bangladesh

By David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Dozens of political activists have been arrested in Bangladesh after the main opposition parties called for a dawn-to-dusk general strike across the country.  The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister, said the strike on Sunday was in protest against misrule by the government.

Walid Hossain, a police spokesman, said at least 12,000 officers had been deployed in Dhaka to prevent violence as the shutdown of transportation and businesses brought much of the capital and the country to a standstill.  Hossain said around 200 opposition activists were arrested in a precautionary crackdown, many of whom were picked up for torching and damaging vehicles on Saturday night.

 

Over 100 opposition activists were arrested in a police crackdown in the run-up to the strike
Over 100 opposition activists were arrested in a police crackdown in the run-up to the strike

Sahara Khatun, the interior minister, gave warning that the government would prevent violence and lawlessness by all means.

Among those held were at least five leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).  Officers said they provoked the strikers to damage public property.

Security forces used tear gas and batons in some areas to break up unruly demonstrations, Police Commissioner A.K.M Shahidul Hoque told CNN by phone from Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital.  About 18 officers were injured when protesters pelted them with stones, he said.

But Hoque claimed the 12-hour shutdown had little impact on attendance in government offices.  In addition, rail, river and air traffic was normal, although private long-route transport mostly stayed off the road, he said.

In Dhaka, between 1,000 and 1,500 activists held demonstrations in small groups, Hoque said.  The largest protest in the city numbered about 300 strikers, he added.

Bangladesh television said activists of the ruling Awami League party clashed with opposition supporters near a university in Dhaka where witnesses said a legislator and 10 others were injured as police used batons to halt street marches.

Public transport and most businesses remained closed across the country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who leads the Bangladesh Awami League, said on Saturday: “The BNP and its stooges are out to frustrate democracy and create anarchy.”

Most Bangladeshis have observed a general strike called by the opposition.  Such general strikes are a regular part of political life in Bangladesh.  Many people treat them as holidays but others avoid going to work in case opposition supporters attack them, he adds.

For more information, please see:

CNN World – More than 160 arrested in violent Bangladesh strike – 27 June 2010

Al-Jazerra English – Bangladesh hit by general strike – 27 June 2010

BBC – Bangladesh opposition stages general strike – 27 June 2010

Beating Death of Young Man Illuminates Culture of Police Impunity in Egypt, Sparks Public Uproar

By Dallas Steele
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

[Warning: Graphic photo at the end of the article.]

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt– Twenty-eight-year-old Khaled Said was forcibly dragged from an internet café and savagely beaten to death by two plainclothes police officers in broad daylight. Although Khaled’s death occurred on June 6, 2010, public prosecutors have not yet summoned for interrogation any of the key players involved in the incident, including the two plainclothes officers involved in the death.  The lack of accountability by investigators, and allegations that Khaled was intentionally murdered by the police have sparked a wave of demonstrations across Alexandria.

One of the nine witnesses that came forward as witnesses to the beating, Haitham Misbah, the son of the internet café owner, told investigators how the plainclothes officers did not ask Khaled any questions before they began to beat him. Misbah described how the officers continually smashed Khaled’s head against a marble wall and iron wrought fence before he fell to the ground and was continually kicked long after he stopped moving. Numerous witnesses say Khaled’s last words were, “I am dying. I am going to die.” Allegedly, the plainclothes officers replied:“You’re already dead.”

Misbah said that when he attempted to intervene, the officers told him to stay out and threatened to shut down the café. Other witnesses have only recently come forward for fear of reprisal from law enforcement authorities in the area.

The initial investigation by the local prosecutor concluded that Khaled died of asphyxiation after swallowing a packet of drugs when he saw the plainclothes officers approaching him. The investigation into Khaled’s death reportedly failed to gather any evidence from the scene of the crime or interview any witnesses. The two plainclothes officers allegedly responsible for Khaled’s death remain on active duty and have yet to be questioned by the prosecutor. Furthermore, reports have emerged that the officers responsible for Khaled’s death returned to the area of the incident days later and threatened people not to cause trouble for them.

After public protest over the incompetence of the first inquisition, a second, higher-level investigation was conducted. The forensic medical investigation in the second inquest also said that the cause of Khaled’s death was asphyxiation. However, the second medical report also stated that Khaled suffered numerous injuries from the beatings and concluded that there was “nothing to prevent the injuries from having occurred as a result of beating during the arrest of the victim.”

The entire incident has caused a public uproar in Egypt, and has resulted in various demonstrations. Certain individuals protesting Khaled’s death and the two inquests are claiming that Khaled was targeted for trying to expose official corruption in the area. Others are claiming that Khaled’s death is direct evidence that Egypt’s emergency law, created thirty years ago following President Sadat’s assassination by an Islamic militant, has created a culture of police impunity in Egypt.

Khaled Said apparently died of asphyxiation
Photographs of Khaled Said from the Facebook group organized to protest his death. (Photo Courtesy of Facebook)

For more information, please see:

BBC – Mohamed ElBaradei leads Egypt ‘police death’ protest – 25 June 2010

CNN – Demonstrators in Egypt rail against brutality, man’s death – 25 June 2010

Human Rights Watch – Egypt: Prosecute Police in Beating Death – 24 June 2010

Female Genital Mutilation Remains Widespread Practice Among Iraqi Kurds

By Dallas Steele
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Kurdish Girls and Women are at Risk of Forced Female Circumcisions. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)
Kurdish girls and women remain at risk of receiving forced circumcisions. (Photo Courtesy of AFP)

SULAIMANIYA, Iraq– In the autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan, female circumcision continues to occur, and has become increasingly prevalent in the last decade. The procedure, medically known as clitoridectomy, involves the partial or total removal of the clitoris.

In Kurdistan, the operation is typically performed by individuals who have not received medical training, and often conducted with an unsantized razor blade. The practice, which is neither mandated by Islam nor found in the Koran, is intended to deprive young girls and women of any sexual urges or desires in order to preserve their fidelity.

Although the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) does not keep statistics on female circumcisions or post-operative medical consequences, it is believed that at least forty percent of girls and women in Iraq’s Kurdistan region have undergone the procedure. Other studies have found that up to eighty percent of women fourteen years of age and older have had at least a partial clitoridectomy.

The KRG has received increasing pressure to enact legislation banning the practice on young girls and unconsenting adult women. The KRG’s Justice Ministry circulated an order in 2007 announcing that it would arrest and punish any practitioners of female genital mutilation. Furthermore, a draft law banning the practice was enacted by the Kurdistan Regional Parliament in 2007.  However, both efforts by the KRG to suppress the practice have largely been ignored.  

Kurdish women who have undergone the procedure have testified to the damaging effects that procedure has, physically and mentally. Baxcha A., a twenty-two-year-old married woman, relayed her nightmarish experience to members of Human Rights Watch as they conducted a survey on the topic in 2009. Baxcha told the advocacy organization how, at the age of five, she was held to the ground, and was forced to undergo the surgery. Baxcha reported that she only given water and ash to place on the wound after the procedure.

Human Rights Watch, and other human rights groups, have called on Kurdish authorities to outlaw the practice and enforce a ban on female genital mutilation. Kurdish officials have responded by downplaying the statistics of various studies concerning female circumcision in the area. Furthermore, Mariwan Naqshbandi, spokesman for Kurdistan’s Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs, has dismissed the surveys and stated that Kurdistan has “issues far more important” to confront than female genital mutilation.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Human rights group urges Kurds to ban female circumcision – 17 June 2010

BBC – HRW presses Iraqi Kurds to ban female circumcision – 16 June 2010

The New York Times – Kurdistan Is Urged to Ban Genital Cutting – 16 June 2010

U.S. Sponsors Mexican Drug Cartels

By Erica Laster                                                                                                                   Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

Masked police officers outside of a Ciudad Juarez, Mexico drug rehabilitation center after gunmen killed 17 last September. Photo courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – The above accusation came just two days ago from Mexican President Calderon in a video address to his nation while attending the World Cup. The Washington Post reports that President Calderon indicated Mexico’s deadly drug war stemmed directly from the fact that their neighboring country is “the biggest drug addict in the world,” feeding cartels with billions of dollars which have made them rich and bold.  He asked Mexicans to continue to support his effort to rid the country of drugs despite armed resistance from local cartels. Over 23,000 have died since President Calderon declared a war on drugs in 2006.

In the past 5 days, hundreds have fallen victim to the drug war which has resulted in targeted killings of police, drug addicts and young children. This past Tuesday, Mexican police raided a home after acting on a tip in Taxco, a popular tourist town. The Mexican army’s firefight with the suspected drug cartel resulted in the deaths of 14 gunmen. Earlier this week, armed gunmen set a bus on fire to act as a blockade on a major highway, ambushing 12 federal police officers and wounding 8. Thursday, a local drug rehabilitation center in Chihuahua was hit by two dozen armed gunmen. After being thrown to the floor, 19 of its patrons were killed execution style. One teenager was able to call his mother on his cell phone, being heard crying out, “Mommy, they’vecome to kill us!” The victims ages ranged from 16-63. In Mexico, patients at local rehabilitation centers are often low level workers in the drug trade. President Calderon issued another statement Thursday from Johannesburg condemning the gunmen’s “barbaric acts,” the Washington Post reports.

In an effort to terrorize, drug cartels have also been responsible for many kidnappings throughout Mexico. Since 2006, kidnappings have exploded with approximately 2,450 taking place within three years of President Calderon taking office. High ranking officials, wealthy businessmen and ransom experts are among the many casualties. Just eight days after the kidnapping of former presidential candidate Diego Fernandez de Cevallos in May, authorities suspended their investigation pending an alleged willingness to pay ransom by his family. A public outcry ensued, as many believe the government is backtracking on its promise to end the popular tactic by prohibiting ransom payments to criminals.

Just across the border from El Paso in Ciudad Juarez, about eight people are killed each day from drug related violence and almost 1,200 deaths havebeen reported in the city this year alone. Mexican newspapers keep running tallies of the drug related violence’s victims reporting that 85 deaths occurred in a 24 hour period last week, a record high. Experts estimate that anywhere from $10-$25 billion dollars flow from the United States to Mexico as a result of the drug trade.

For More Information Please See:

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/…/AR2010061503174.html

 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704463504575300920373347404.html?KEYWORDS=mexico

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703280004575308730570231438.html?KEYWORDS=mexico