Evidence of Mass Killings Comes as Hunt for Qaddafi Continues

By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Libya — Rebel forces making sweeps around Tripoli to clear out the last of Qaddafi’s forces have found a warehouse containing the charred remains of a large number of prisoners who were killed and burned.

The site was located near the southern Tripoli headquarters of the Khamis Brigade, Libya’s most notorious military unit.  Residents who lived near the warehouse say they heard shooting and explosions on Tuesday evening.  Due to the continued fighting no one was able to investigate until Saturday when residents and rebel forces discovered the remains of at least 53 people.

In addition to the news of the horrific find, Libyan rebels are also concerned over the fate of thousands of other prisoners, who had been held in Tripoli by the Qaddafi regime. Rebel military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani said almost 50,000 people arrested in recent months are still unaccounted for.

It is believed that prisoners of the Qaddafi regime were kept in underground bunkers, which were subsequently abandoned during the rebel push into Tripoli.  Human rights groups have noted evidence of human remains near prisons, but the rebels have yet to accuse anyone of killing the prisoners.

Specifically, Human Rights Watch has documented evidence of at least 17 detainees who were killed in a makeshift prison in Tripoli around August 21. “Torture was rife in Qaddafi’s prisons but to execute detainees days before they would have been freed is a sickening low in the government’s behavior,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The evidence we have been able to gather so far strongly suggests that Gaddafi government forces went on a spate of arbitrary killing as Tripoli was falling.”

Despite the hesitation from the rebel forces to label the missing prisoners as dead they are still attempting to get information on them.  “Between 10,000 and 11,000 prisoners have been freed up until now…so where are the others?” asked Colonel Bani.  Rebel forces are attempting to gather intelligence in hopes of finding clarifying information.  Bani further noted that it would be “catastrophic” if the prisoners had been killed.

This harrowing news, which likely adds evidence for any future war crimes prosecution against the Qaddafi regime, was announced simultaneously with an admittance from the rebels that they have no real leads on where Qaddafi might be hiding.  Rumors place him everywhere from Tripoli to his hometown of Sirte.

An offer was made over the weekend by a spokesperson for Qaddafi to open talks with the rebel government.  It was flatly denied, and described by observers as “delusional.”  The rebel government identifies Qaddafi as a war criminal, and has expressed their desire to put him on trial for war crimes upon his arrest.

For more information, please see:

BBC News — Libya rebels fear for Gaddafi’s prisoners — 28 Aug. 2011

Human Rights Watch — Libya: Gaddafi Forces Suspected of Executing Detainees — 28 Aug 2011

Daily Mail — Libya: Inside Gaddafi’s torture chamber: The bloodstained cells inside a former primary school used to brutalise his enemies — 27 Aug. 2011

Sky News — “Mass Killing” Evidence Found in Libya — 27 Aug. 2011

The Telegraph — Human slaughterhouse discovered in Tripoli — 27 Aug. 2011

No Plans to Evacuate NYC Prisoners before Deadly Hurricane Strikes

by Warren Popp
Impunity Watch Editor-in-Chief

NEW YORK, NY – According to several news outlets, the New York City Department of Corrections does not have an evacuation plan for the approximately 12,000 prisoners held at Rikers Island, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg clearly stated at a news conference on Friday that “We are not evacuating Rikers Island.”

Aeriel view of Rikers Island (Photo Courtesy of Julia Robertson, AP).
Aeriel view of Rikers Island (Photo Courtesy of Julia Robertson, AP).

These revelations have revived stories of prisoners that were not evacuated when hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana in 2005.  Solitary Watch quoted the following excerpt from an American Civil Liberties Union Report:

[A] culture of neglect was evident in the days before Katrina, when the sheriff declared that the prisoners would remain “where they belong,” despite the mayor’s decision to declare the city’s first-ever mandatory evacuation. OPP even accepted prisoners, including juveniles as young as 10, from other facilities to ride out the storm.

As floodwaters rose in the OPP buildings, power was lost, and entire buildings were plunged into darkness. Deputies left their posts wholesale, leaving behind prisoners in locked cells, some standing in sewage-tainted water up to their chests…

Prisoners went days without food, water and ventilation, and deputies admit that they received no emergency training and were entirely unaware of any evacuation plan. Even some prison guards were left locked in at their posts to fend for themselves, unable to provide assistance to prisoners in need.

Further heightening the level of concern and indignation amongst critics, the prisoners housed at Rikers Island include juveniles, a large number of mentally ill persons, and even pre-trial detainees, with the latter group not convicted of any crimes. Also adding to the concerns is that more that three-fourths of the island is built on a landfill, which is believed to be more vulnerable to natural disasters.

The Office of the Mayor has responded to criticisms by asserting that the prisoners safety is not being compromised, and that no part of Rikers Island is in Zone A (the mandatory evacuation area). The Wall Street Journal quotes the Mayor’s spokesman as saying, “[w]e are focused on the areas where real dangers exist.” However, Rikers Island is reportedly one of the only islands in the area that is not listed in any of the areas zoned for evacuation.

The Office of the Mayor reasoned that the prisoners do not need to be evacuated because the island, like other islands in New York City, does not actually touch the Atlantic Ocean.  The Mayor’s spokesperson was also quoted as saying that the jail is able to sustain itself and is “prepared to operate and care for inmates in extended emergency conditions,” with a full staff to remain on the island.

These words of reassurance have done little to satisfy those concerned about the plight of the Rikers Island prisoners.  The Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights said that “[i]t is appalling that the City administration is abandoning the men and women at Rikers even after the lessons of hurricane Katrina.”  He called on the Mayor to “take appropriate action immediately to protect the life and safety of everyone confined at Rikers Island and all vulnerable corrections facilities in New York City. Their lives should not be treated as less valuable than those of other New Yorkers.”

For more information, please see:

Center for Constitutional Rights – CCR Says NYC Must Act Immediately to Protect Prisoners at Rikers Island from Hurricane Irene – 27 August 2011

Mother Jones – Rikers Island Prisoners Left Behind to Face Irene – 27 August 2011

New York Magazine – No Evacuation for Rikers Island [Updated] – 27 August 2011

Wall Street Journal – No Evacuation Planned at Rikers Island – 27 August 2011

Solitary Watch – Locked Up and Left Behind: Hurricane Irene and the Prisoners on New York’s Rikers Island – 26 August 2011

Pre-Trial Hearing for Accused War Crimes Criminal, Ratko Mladic

By Alexandra Halsey-Storch
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Mladic was arrested in May of this year, and is awaiting trial at the Hague (Photo Courtesy of MSNBC).
Mladic was arrested in May of this year, and is awaiting trial at the Hague (Photo Courtesy of MSNBC).

THE HAGUE, Netherlands–On Thursday, notorious genocide suspect and former commander of the Serbian Army, Ratko Mladic appeared at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal of Yugoslavia (ICTY) for a pre-trial hearing at The Hague. He wore a gray suit, crème colored shirt and “sober black tie.” Lead defense attorney Branko Lukic, to whom Mladic left most of the talking, accompanied him.

At his arraignment in July, Mladic was thrown out of court after shouting at the judges.  Pursuant to international law, A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf by the presiding judges.

On May 26, after 16 years of hiding, Mladic—one of the United Nation’s most wanted fugitives—was found north of Belgrade in the small farming town of Lazarevo.  Officials arrested him after receiving a tip. He was thereafter indicted on 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity that were committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.  He has been incarcerated at The Hague prison. Should he be found guilty, Mladic faces life in prison.

At the hearing, presiding Judge Alphons Orie explained that the purpose of the hearing was to set deadlines for pre-trial procedures.  He expressed concern over the inevitably long length of the trial and Mladic’s purported bad health, and asked when prosecutors would be ready to turn over evidence to the defense that could demonstrate Mladic’s innocence.

While the pre-trial hearing on Thursday was largely procedural, at controversy was Mladic’s health and its potential effect on the trial; however, due to privacy rules, the conversation was conducted without the media being present, in a closed session.

What is known is that the defense attorney argued that Mladic, whose poor health has been a persistent issue since his arrest, might be too ill to stand trial.

When Mladic appeared in court on May 27, his questioning was postponed to the following day as a result of illness. Furthermore, according to the defense, Mladic was committed last week to a hospital in The Hague for a hernia operation; however, the court claimed that to the contrary, Mladic had not left the detention center.

In response to Mladic’s poor health, the prosecution proposed in a motion that the trial be set up into two phases.  First, the prosecution would try Mladic as the mastermind behind the worst genocide since World War II: the death of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in July of 1995, who were “mowed down” with their “hands behind their backs” by the Serbian Army.  The prosecution said that sufficient evidence for this atrocity could be collected within a year as ICTY had already collected relevant evidence from the preceding trials of Mladic’s subordinates and Radovan Karadzic.

The prosecution further proposed that once a decision had been entered for the first crime, Mladic would be tried in a following trial for the remaining crimes, foremost, the three and a half year siege of Sarajevo where 10,000 people died, including 1,500 children.

Lukic responded that this procedure would not be conducive to the defense’s argument; however, he has until August 31 to respond in greater detail to the motion before the judge makes a ruling.

The next pre-trial hearing is set for October 6.

For more information, please see:

The New York Times — Serbian Says Jailed Mladic Will Face War Crimes Trial — 27 May 2011

CNN.com — Mladic back in court after Croatia suspect pleads not guilty — 25 August 2011

Expatica.com — Court gives Mladic lawyers week to decide on split trial — 25 August 2011

Monsters and Critics — Mladic back in ICTY courtroom for procedural hearing — 25 August 2011

The Washington Post — Former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic back in court for pretrial hearing — 25 August 2011

Radio Netherlands Worldwide  — Mladic: 2 pre-trial plans? — 27 August 2011

Children with Disabilities denied education in Nepal

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

KATHMANDU, Nepal – A report by Human Rights Watch expressed concern that children living with disabilities in Nepal are denied access to education.

Sixteen-year-old student, Amman, is forced to crawl up the steps to reach his classroom each day (Photo Courtesy of Human Rights Watch).
Sixteen-year-old student, Amman, is forced to crawl up the steps to reach his classroom each day (Photo Courtesy of Human Rights Watch).

Contributing to this concern is the inaccessibility of school structures, lack of instructors who are properly trained to accommodate children with disabilities and neighborhood schools denying admission to disabled children.

These factors result disproportionately in low school attendance and high dropout rates for disabled children when compared to children who do not suffer from a disability. According to Education Ministry officials, disabled students comprise a significant number of the almost 330,000 students who are not in school despite being school aged.

Shantha Rau Barriga of Human Rights Watch reports, “[t]ens of thousands of children with disabilities in Nepal are being shut out from or neglected by the school system.” Barriga also states that these failures exist despite a national policy of inclusive schools.

According to the Human Rights Watch report, “Futures Stolen: Barriers to Education for Children with Disabilities in Nepal” which is based on 97 interviews, more than half the interviewed families of disabled children stated that their children had been denied admission to schools and many of the parents were not even made aware that their children had the right to an education.

The inability of parents to enroll their children in schools has prompted some parents to state that they have “…no choice but to lock their children with disability in a room or tie them to a post” according to the report.

One parent reported to Human Rights Watch that she would be unable to care for her other child and manage the household  if she had to constantly care for her disabled child and therefore locks him in a room, only letting him out one or two times a day to see the sun.

The problem facing Nepal’s disabled children also extends to those who manage to attend school.  Classes are often segregated and the classes offered to disabled students are generally inferior to classes attended by children who are not disabled.

In one case, Nepal’s failure to take into account differences in learning ability caused a fifteen year old boy to spend three years in Class one, three years in Class two and then one year in Class three. Despite the time spent in school, the student reports that he still does not know the alphabet and only passed because teachers began to take exams for him.

The inaccessible structure of schools also contribute to the difficulties disabled children face. One student interviewed by Human Rights Watch, a sixteen year old named Amman, reported that he is forced to crawl to his classroom because the school entrance has steps that he is unable to access any other way and no other entrance to the school. He is also unable to use the restroom without assistance and because staff is unwilling to help him, another student must either run home to get his mother or he must wait until the end of the school day.

The extent of the problem is unknown because there is no reliable data about the number of children who have a disability but it is estimated that between .45 percent and 1.63 percent of Nepal’s child population is living with at least one disability.

These failures come despite Nepal’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on March 1, 2008.

For more information, please see:

Hindustan Times – Right to Equality, but Only on Paper– 27 August 2011

Nepali Times – Educating Children with Disabilities – 26 August 2011

Daiji World – Nepal’s Hellen Kellers, Stephen Hawkings Await Their Rights – 24 August 2011

The Himalayan Times – Disabled Kids Denied School Admission – 24 August 2011

Human Rights Watch – Nepal: Separate and Unequal Education – 24 August 2011

United Nations – Convection Optional Protocol Signatures and Ratifications– 1 March 2008

Human Rights Watch Report Documents Worker Abuse in South Africa’s Wine Industry

By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Human Rights Watch (“HRW”) issued Ripe with Abuse: Human Rights Conditions in South Africa’s Fruit and Wine Industries, a 96-page report, describing unsafe working conditions for workers on vineyards that produce internationally renowned wines in South Africa. Based on 260 interviews with farm workers and owners, government officials, civil society members, lawyers, union officials, and industry representatives, the report encourages the government to respect labor laws.  Wine and fruit farms are valuable economic contributors to South Africa, the seventh-largest wine producer in the world.

Report document abuse of South Africas vineyard workers. (Photo Coutesy of BBC)
Report document abuse of South Africa's vineyard workers. (Photo Coutesy of BBC)

The report states, “Workers also often have no access to drinking water, hand washing facilities, or toilets as required by labour regulations.” However, industry group Wines of South Africa (“WOSA”) believes the report is misleading and challenges the report’s accuracy.  WOSA feels the report undermines efforts to redress past wrongs and improve workers’ working and living conditions.  However, WOSA said they would investigate the study.

Su Birch, chief executive of WOSA, commented, “Ironically, [the report] could also jeopardise the jobs of the very people it claims to be championing.” Emphasizing workers compete with South Africa’s strong currency, face a global economic downturn, and lack of government support global competitors receive, she added “[WOSA] call[s] on government to partner the wine industry in accelerating reform and in rooting out problems.”

HRW reported although some farms comply or exceed the law regarding worker’s condition, the vineyard community lacks sufficient investigators to monitor worker’s conditions.

Although South Africa has strict labor laws, these farm workers are some of the lowest paid workers in the country with women receiving lower wages than men do.

Furthermore, a majority of the workers are casual or seasonal workers who are unaware of their rights.  These workers face difficulty joining labor groups to learn about their rights.  Many workers were victims of illegal evictions that the government did not criminally investigate.  According to the HRW report, workers are also subject to inadequate housing, and Kaitlin Cordes of HRW recalls speaking “to a worker who has been living in a pig stall with his family for more than 10 years.”

Daniel Bekele, Africa director at HRW, encourages consumers “not to boycott South African products, because that could be disastrous for farmworkers” but rather urges retailers to push suppliers to amend workers’ conditions.

HRW stated, “Greater coordination within the government; more robust monitoring, resource allocation, and transparency; and clarity on responsibility for the millions of farm workers and dwellers in South Africa would go a long way towards ameliorating the intolerable abuses that they suffer.”

For further information, please see,
BBC – South Africa wine grown by ‘abused’ workers – 23 Aug 2011
Harpers – South African vineyards accused of human rights abuses – 23 Aug 2011
Mail & Guardian – Fruit of a poisoned vine – 23 Aug 2011
Reuters Africa – HRW alleges abuses in S. African wine industry – 23 Aug 2011