Deportations of Somali Immigrants “Inhumane” says Human Rights Watch

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Thousands of Somali immigrants in Saudi Arabia have been deported to the war torn city of Mogadishu, reports Human Rights Watch.  Calling the government’s policy “inhumane,” the rights organization has found that roughly 2000 Somali immigrants have been sent back into the war zones of Mogadishu since this summer.  International law prohibits the forcible return of refugees to any place where they may face further oppression and violence. 

Noting that the deportations have placed hundreds of refugee children back in harm’s way, Rona Peligal, the Africa Director at Human Rights Watch stated “[d]eporting anyone to a war zone like Mogadishu is inhumane, but returning children is beyond comprehension.”  The human rights situation in Somali remains abysmal as domestic conflict continues to engulf the country.  The United Nations estimates that approximately 1.4 million civilians have been displaced in recent years and up to 270,000 civilians have fled the capital city in the last year alone. 

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reiterated these concerns and called upon the Saudi government to stop the deportation of Somali refugees from the country.   The U.N. agency stressed that civilians face a “risk of serious harm” in Somali.   The Saudi government ignored the U.N.’s initial demands in July of this year to stop deportations of Somali immigrants and it appears that a change in policy is unlikely in the near future. 

Saudi Arabia has not been the only country receiving international condemnation for deportations.  In July, Human Rights Watch and the UN criticized the government of the Netherlands for forcibly deporting Somali refugees back to their home country, citing similar fears that civilians face continued violence in the country.  Ensuring the safety of Somali refugees continues to be an important goal for the United Nations.  Despite initiatives to protect and facilitate the resettlement of displaced citizens, more action is necessary at the national level to prevent the deportations of those fleeing internal conflict.

For more information please see,

Agence France Presse – Saudi Deportations to Mogadishu Inhumane: HRW – Dec. 22, 2010

Human Rights Watch – Saudi Arabia: Stop Deporting Somalis to Mogadishu – Dec. 22, 2010

Human Rights Watch – Somalia Documents / Reports – 2010

Africa News – Somalia: UNHCR Decries Saudi Arabia’s Deportation of Somalis – July 26, 2010

‘WikiLeaks’ Allegations of UK Trained ‘Government Death Squad’ Confirmed

David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch, Asia

DHAKA, Bangladesh – The British government has been training a Bangladeshi paramilitary force condemned by human rights organizations as a “government death squad”, leaked U.S. embassy cables have revealed.  Death Squad, or RAB (Rapid Action Battalion), members have been taught “interviewing techniques” and “rules of engagement” by the UK authorities for 18 months, according to the leaked cables.  Another cable makes clear that the US would not offer any assistance other than human rights training to the RAB, and that it would be illegal under U.S. law to do so knowing the battalion commits gross human rights violations with impunity.

Members of the Bangladesh death sqaud on a routine sweep
Members of the Bangladesh 'death sqaud' on a routine sweep

Pervasive claims have alleged that they operated an “arrest-interrogate-kill” policy towards alleged criminals.

The RAB was set up, 9,000 strong in 2004; RAB is accused of more than 550 killings. In addition, officers from the paramilitary force are alleged to have been involved in kidnaping and extortion, and are frequently accused of taking large bribes in return for carrying out crossfire killings.

A cable dated, May 2009, published by the Guardian, that the US ambassador to Dhaka, James Moriarty, wrote: “The US and UK representatives reviewed our ongoing training to make the RAB a more transparent, accountable and human-rights compliant paramilitary force.

Sabir Mustafa, BBC Bengali editor, say’s several hundred criminal suspects have died in RAB custody since 2005, and there are strong grounds to doubt what the unit’s claims, that these deaths occurred as a result of “encounters” or “cross-fire”.

The lack of prosecution for these fatalities is creating the impression that they operate under the guise of impunity, even though killings by RAB have been declining since 2008, but have not stopped completely.

Brad Adams, the organization’s Asia director, said: “RAB is a Latin American—style death squad dressed up as an anti—crime force. The British government has let its desire for a functional counter—terrorism partner in Bangladesh blind it to the risks of working with RAB, and the legitimacy that it gives to RAB inside Bangladesh”.

Amnesty International has also repeatedly condemned the RAB, while the Bangladeshi human rights organization Odhikar has scrupulously documented the RAB’s involvement in extra—judicial killings and torture since the creation of the force in 2004.

Successive Bangladeshi governments have promised to end the RAB’s use of murder. The current government promised in its manifesto that it would end all ‘extra judicial killings’, but they have continued following its election two years ago.

Yesterday, the 21st of December, the RAB announced it had shot dead a 45—year—old man and three men in separate incidents, Anisur Rahman, said to be a member of the Communist party in the west of the country.

One cable describes U.S. Ambassador James Moriarty as saying the battalion is the “enforcement organization best positioned to one day become a Bangladeshi version of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

British High Commission officials in Dhaka told the BBC that the UK training program for the RAB was due to finish in March 2011.

For more information, please see:

The Hindu – U.K. police trained Bangladesh ‘death squad’ – 22 December 2010

BBC – UK training Bagladesh ‘death squad’ – 22 December 2010

MSNBC – WikiLeaks: U.K. trained ‘death squad’ – 21 December 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

Violence Against Christians Increases in Iraq

By: Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – As Christmas draws near, Christians have increasingly become targets of extremist violence throughout Iraq.  While the government has condemned the attacks and promised to do more to stem the violence, the death toll continues to rise.  The Islamic State of Iraq, a militant group with links to al-Qaeda, has taken responsibility for recent attacks against Christians and declared that all Christians will be considered “legitimate targets” for future operations.

Amnesty International stepped up its pressure on the central government to protect Christian populations within the country after an attack on a Christian church in October left 44 worshippers dead.   The human rights group noted that targeted attacks against Christians have increased in recent weeks leading up to the Christmas celebration.  The group remains concerned about the prevalence of war crimes against minority groups in Iraq and notes that Christians have been forced to flee Baghdad and surrounding cities in great numbers to find refuge.  Over a third of those Iraqis who have resettled in the U.S. are Christians and hundreds of thousands more have fled to surrounding countries within the Middle East.  Up to a million Christians have fled Iraq since 2003. 

Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa, Malcolm Smart fears that “militants are likely to attempt serous attacks against Christians during the Christmas period for maximum publicity and to embarrass the government.”  The government reported to have stopped another set of suicide attacks on Monday after killing 3 Libyan nationals in a house raid.  Police found suicide vests, bombs and explosive material in the house.  The presence of the three foreign militants in Iraq highlights the government’s growing concerns about the threat of violence from neighboring countries. 

For the government today, terrorism remains equally an internal and external threat to peace and security.  The rush of foreign militants into Iraq continues to be problematic for the government and its attempts to promote stability.  As the Iraqi leadership searches to create a unified and legitimate government, it must do more for the politically underrepresented Christians in Iraq.   Failure to find a comprehensive and religiously-neutral solution to this crisis may only further exacerbate religious divisions in Iraq and risks further violence. 

For more information, please see:

The National – Christmas is Not for Us, Say Iraqi Christian Refugees in Jordan – Dec. 21, 2010

Agence France Presse – Amnesty Calls on Iraq to Protect Christians – Dec. 20, 2010

Amnesty International – Iraqi Christians Fear Spike in Christian Attacks – Dec. 20, 2010

Washington Post – Grim Xmas for Iraqi Christians as Many Flee North – Dec. 19, 2010

Sudanese Leader Accused of Stealing Billions

 By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Sudans President Omar al-Bashir
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir. (Photo courtesy of TopNews).

KHARTOUM, Sudan – The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor has accused Sudan’s President of funneling billions of dollars in government funds to his personal bank accounts. Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC’s chief prosecutor claims the theft could be as high as $9 billion (U.S. dollar). The Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir has vigorously denied these accusations and believes the charges are an attempt by Western powers to overthrow his government.

The chief prosecutor’s claim was made public when WikiLeak’s released diplomatic cables between the United States and the chief prosecutor. The purported theft was confirmed by Mr. Moreno-Ocampo when he spoke with Reuters news agency. Although the ICC could not determine precisely how much was taken, President Bashir is accused of having stolen anywhere between several hundred million dollars to as much as $9 billion. It is widely believed that at least some of the money was stolen from Sudan’s thriving oil economy. If the $9 billion figure is correct, it would be a staggering sum, accounting for nearly 10% of the country GDP.

Additionally, it is not known where the stolen funds are located. The Wikileak’s cable claims the money is stashed in several banks outside of Sudan and possibly in Lloyd’s Bank in London. To further complicate matters, the chief prosecutor is unsure of the funds whereabouts and Lloyd’s Bank in London claims Mr. Bashir’s is not an account holder with their bank.

Outside of this most recent accusation, the ICC has already issued two arrest warrants for President Bashir. He has been charged with numerous crimes related to the Sudanese civil war and in particular, the humanitarian crisis that took place in the Darfur region. Specifically, President Bashir has been charged with genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The indictment handed down by the International Criminal Court represents the first time a sitting head of state has been accused by this government body.  Mr. Moreno-Ocampo claims the financial dealings of President Bashir were uncovered during a thorough investigation into the atrocities that took place during the country’s seven year civil war.

According to the United Nations, the conflict in Sudan between President Bashir’s regime in the north and rebels in the south has led to over 300,000 deaths and the displacement of two million. These figures stand in stark contrast to Sudanese government figures, which claim 10,000 people have been killed in the fighting.

For more information, please see:

BBC –- Sudan’s President Bashir ‘siphoned off millions’ – ICC –18 December 2010

Daily Telegraph — WikiLeaks: Sudan’s president ‘stashed $9 billion’ — 18 December 2010 

Sudan Tribune -–Sudan President stashed billions in secret bank accounts, says ICC prosecutor -– 18 December 2010

VOA — Sudan President Accused of Hiding Billions of Dollars –- 18 December 2010