By William Miller

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

 

OTTAWA, Canada – Canada’s Supreme Court began to hear arguments in the appeal from a lower court decision finding that the Canadian government must ask the United States to return Omar Khadr to Canadian custody. Khadr, now twenty-three, is currently being held at Guantanamo Bay Prison. He has been in U.S. custody since he was accused of killing a U.S. solder at age fifteen.

Khadr was born in Toronto, Canada. His father was born in Egypt and his mother was born in Israel to Palestinian parents. Canadian officials claim that his family has close ties to Al-Qaida. In 2002, Khadr was arrested in Afghanistan after he threw a grenade in a battle with U.S. solders killing one of them. He has been held at Guantanamo Bay ever since.

U.S. Officials have now announced that Khadr will be one of five detainees whose case would be heard at military commissions. He will face several terrorism charges including murder, conspiracy, and support of terrorism. It is not yet known where he will be transferred but some have speculated he will be transferred to a naval prison in South Carolina. President Obama has ordered the prison at Guantanamo to be closed by January 22 of next year.

Khadr’s lawyers argue that Canada must request his return under international law. They say it is necessary to protect him as a child soldier and to repudiate torture. The United States has denied any allegations of torture saying that Khadr has been treated humanely.

The Canadian government’s main argument is that federal courts do not have the authority to order the government to make such a request. Federal lawyer Robert Frater said: “The government has the right to decide what requests should be made, how they should be made, and when they should be made. The courts are not in the best position to do that.” They also argue that Canada is not bound to protect the rights of its Citizens abroad and must only consider there requests.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has consistently refused to ask the U.S. for Khadr’s release into Canadian custody. He has asserted that it is important to allow the U.S. legal system to “play out.” Parliamentary Secretary Pierre Poilievre has also supported the U.S. saying “We acknowledge the decision of the Obama administration to prosecute Omar Khadr through the U.S. military commission system and we believe the U.S. military process announced today should run its course.”

Last April, a federal judge found that Khadr’s Rights had been violated by the government’s refusal to ask for his return. He also found that Khadr had not been granted special status as a minor and had been subject to isolation and sleep deprivation. The Supreme court has not decided on the case yet having reserved there ruling for a later date.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Canada Court Urged to Bring Home Guantanamo Inmate – 13 November 2009

Associated Press – Canada Supreme Court Hears Gitmo Case – 13 November 2009

Liberal.ca – Conservitives Show Indifference to Human Rights Abuses Against Canadians Abroad – 13 November 2009

 

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

UTAH, United States – On Tuesday, the Salt Lake City Council passed an ordinance that outlawed discrimination because of sexual orientation in housing and employment within the city. The ordinance was passed after a number of back room meetings over the past few weeks. The ordinance was also supported by the Church of Latter Day Saints. It was the first time that the Mormon Church supported gay rights legislation.

The Mormon Church has been criticized over the past year for not supporting California’s Proposition 8, which would have allowed homosexual couples to marry in the state. The Church does not support homosexual marriage. However, the Church was crucial in passing the Salt Lake City ordinance. According to Michael Otterson, public relations director for the Mormon Church, the leaders of the religion supported the ordinance because it did not make homosexuals a special class of people and protect the institution of marriage. He stated that the Church respected all the dignity of all classes of people and that the ordinance promoted basic civil rights.

The Salt Lake City Council passed the ordinance unanimously. It was the first city in Utah to pass such protections. The ordinance will take effect in April. The mayor must appoint an administrator to investigate complaints of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identification. Besides Salt Lake City, approximately one hundred cities across the United States have passed similar anti-discrimination ordinances.

Gay rights and transgender rights supporters see the passage of the ordinance and the Mormon Church’s support as a welcome sign. Will Carlson, a manager of Equality Now, Utah’s largest gay rights support group, stated that the Mormon Church’s support was “huge.” Also, the statement of the Church in regards to the ordinance gave Carlson hope that the Church would support more legislation. Equality Now initiated a program of “common ground” bills in 2009 that would halt the discrimination of homosexuals and transgender people.

Opponents of homosexual and trans-gender rights felt the passage of the ordinance brought the passage of homosexual marriage closer to being law. According to the Sutherland Institute: “Each new inclusion in the law of such vague terms as sexual orientation and gender identity represents a mounting threat to the institution of marriage.”

For more Information, please see:

AP – Mormons Throw Support Behind Gay-Rights Cause – 11 November 2009

NYTIMES – Mormon Support of Gay Rights Statute Draws Praise – 11 November 2009

Salt Lake City Tribune – Salt Lake City Adopts Pro-Gay Statutes, with LDS Support – 11 November 2009

By Brenda Lopez Romero
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America desk

TIJUANA, Mexico – The first oral arguments in front of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington were heard for the torture allegations by the Military in Baja California. The families of the police and civilian detainees by the Military testified that they survived the pain and fear of torture. The survivors claimed that they were assaulted, given electric shocks, and warned that if they died their bodies would be throw randomly on the streets. They denounced the torture when they were in prison in Tepic, Nayarit. The victims claim that agents of the Secretary of Public Safety in Tijuana, Baja California participated “actively in acts of torture” of persons held under preventive detention.

Human rights organizations accompanied the families and presented elements and testimony before IACHR.  The Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights documented several cases where the so called “war on organized crime” was lead to torture policy being used as a general rule not an exception.

The petitions filed included requests to implement safeguard procedure en Tepic and to establish a working committee in Tijuana with representatives from all the Government branches, human rights advocates, and survivors and their families to find a resolution for prevention, sanctions, and documentation of torture.

The petitioners included Mayra López Pineda who testified about twenty-five police officer detained for forty days that were tortured. The police officers were never informed why they were detained and claim were torture to sign a confession declaration while their eyes were covered. Luis Castellanos testified for his brother Ricardo Castellanos and alleged his brother was beaten, shocked, and asphyxiated. Blanca Mesina, daughter of a police officer, testified to the similar torture of her father. 

Raúl Ramírez Bahena, director of IACHR stated: “We are not opposed to the presence of the military nor do we want to mire their work, but we are sure that they should not realize horrible actions such as torture, you cannot combat crime by committing crimes.” The Court is expected to announce its recommendation to the State authorities in December. 

For more information, please see:

La Cronica – Denuncian ante CIDH torturas de familiares arraigados – 11 November 2009    

EFE – Denuncian participación de funcionarios mexicanos en las torturas de detenidos – 5 November 2009 

El Mexicano – Analizarán violación a derechos humanos – 31 October 2009

 

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

VIRGINIA, United States – Governor Tim Kaine denied a stay of execution order submitted by John Allen Muhammad on Tuesday. Muhammad is the Washington, D.C. sniper who took the lives of several people during a three week killing spree in 2002. He is set to die by lethal injection at 9pm EST.

In 2002, Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo terrorized the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Muhammad’s victims were innocent bystanders doing everyday tasks such as pumping gas into their cars or shopping. During a three week period they killed ten people. They were apprehended by police at a gas station on October 24, 2002. Police discovered that they had cut out a hole in the trunk of their car in order to shoot out of the back of the car.

Muhammad’s sentence came after his conviction for the murder of Dean Harold Meyers at a Virginia gas station. Maryland prosecutors then indicted Muhammad and brought him to the state to be tried for the murder of the six Maryland residents. At that trial, Malvo testified that the purpose of the shootings was to extort the government and to use that money to establish a terrorist training facility in Canada. Muhammad testified at the trial that his purpose was to disrupt authorities so that he could kill his ex-wife and sneak away with his three children to Canada, pinning the blame on the suspected serial killers.

Governor Kaine denied Muhammad’s stay of execution stating that he found no “compelling reason to set aside the sentence that was recommended by a jury.” Muhammad’s lawyers appealed to the United States Supreme Court before appealing to the governor. They argued that Muhammad was mentally ill and suffers from brain damage caused by beatings he received as a child. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case. However, three justices objected to the quickness of the execution. Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Sonia Sotomayor wrote that they did not disagree with the execution of Muhammad but did believe that more time was needed to carefully examine his appeal.

Death penalty opponents disagreed with Governor Kaine’s and the Supreme Court’s decision not to stay the execution. Beth Panilaitis, executive director of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty stated that “incarceration has worked and life without the possibility of parole will continue to keep the people of Virginia safe.”

For more information, please see:

Examiner – One D.C. sniper will die tonight, though the other lives on – 10 November 2009

MSNBC – Clemency for D.C.-area sniper is denied – 10 November 2009

NYTIMES – Virginia Governor Will Not Stay Sniper Execution – 10 November 2009

By William Miller

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

 

VANCOUVER, Canada – The Canadian Border Service Agency suspects at least one of the seventy-six Sri Lankan immigrants aboard the Ocean Lady which sailed into Canadian waters on October 17 may have ties to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil, a group the Canadian government believes to be a terrorist organization. All but one of the seventy-six migrants are in Canadian custody.

The CBSA initially recommended that the Sri Lankan migrants be detained until their identities could be determined. Now, they are asking that the men be detained until it can be determined which of the migrants, if any, are tied to the Tamil Tigers. On Tuesday, a judge agreed that there was reasonable suspicion to justify holding the men until their connections to the group could be determined.

The Immigration and Refugee Board postponed several status hearings for the migrants which were already underway after the CBSA raised their concerns. All seventy-six of the migrants have applied for refugee status.

The Tamil Tigers are associated with the Tamil Separatist Movement in Sri Lanka, and have served as the movement’s Militant wing during a civil war with the government. The government defeated the Tamil Separatists earlier this year. Canada has considered the group a terrorist organization since 2006 because they promote the use of suicide bombings.

The Canadian government relied heavily on the testimony of Professor Rohan Gunaratna, a Singapore-based terrorism expert who cited unnamed sources in Canada in claiming the Ocean Lady had been used by the Tamil Tigers in the past to smuggle weapons. Lawyers supporting the migrants argue that Gunaratna may be biased against the Tamils and is not credible as a witness.

Lorne Waldman, who represents fifteen of the migrants, said “He’s [Gunaratna’s] very controversial, to say the least. He often relies on unverifiable sources as the basis for the assertions that he makes. In the context of the Tamil Tigers, he’s basically biased. He’s clearly been associated with the Sinhalese [the Sri Lankan majority] cause for many, many years. And independent observers are convinced that he’s not objective, especially in relation to the Tamil issue.”

The CBSA also pointed to traces of petaerythroitol tetranitrate and TNT found on clothing aboard the ship. Both chemicals are used in explosives. The CBSA said they were particularly concerned with the presence of TNT as petaerythroitol tetranitrate could have possible innocent explanations.

The migrant accused of having connections to the Tamil Tigers was present at the hearing on Tuesday. Canadian immigration law forbids releasing his name however he is one of the migrants who speak English and no translator was needed at the hearing.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Canada Ties Sri Lanka Migrant Ship to Tiger Rebels – 4 November 2009

Globe and Mail – Tamil Migrant Held Over Possible Ties to Terror Groups – 4 November 2009

National Post – Tamils’ Ship Alleged to Have Traces of Explosives – 3 November 2009