Vietnamese Student Sentenced to Jail for Anti-government Post

By: Katherine Hewitt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HANOI, Vietnam – On 25 October 2017, Vietnamese student, Phan Kim Khanh went to trial for spreading propaganda against the Vietnamese government under article 88 of their penal code. He was arrested in March 2017. While his trial only lasted half day, he will be serving 6 years in jail followed by 4 years probation.

Picture of Phan Kim Khanh. Photo Courtesy of Human Rights Watch/ private. 

Khanh owns two blogs titled “Vietnam Weekly” and “Newspaper of Anti-Corruption.” He also manages several social media accounts and a YouTube channel. The main purpose of these was to expose corruption not to spread propaganda. He pleaded that he didn’t realize that was a crime. Human Rights Watch reported that the Vietnamese Government vaguely interprets many of the countries security provisions to target critics.

The evidence provided in court against Khanh was vague and groundless. The Court accused him specifically of promoting multiparty democracy and press freedom.

Kahn is a well-distinguished university student with multiple honors from both his university’s student association and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth League of the Thai Hanoi section. He is also a member of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative.

This is not the first ‘crackdown’ of dissent in Vietnam. More than 100 people are in jail for freedom of expressions violations. The only crimes that Phan Kim Khanh and the other committed were expressing a political opinion that differed from the government of Vietnam. Human Rights Watch Asia Director says that these claims of propaganda are just “ designed to silence peaceful critics of the Vietnamese authorities.”

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Vietnam jails student activist six years for propaganda against the state – 25 October 2017

The Washington Post – Vietnam jails student activist for anti-state propaganda – 25 October 2017

Human Rights Watch – Vietnam: Drop Charge Against Student Activist – 24 October 2017

U.S. Stops Funding for Demining in Cambodia

By: Katherine Hewitt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Years after the Vietnam War, Cambodia remains littered with mines. Cambodia is ranked as one of the highest countries with unexploded ordnances. Approximately 2 Cambodians die or are injured every week from encountering hidden mines.  A large portion is of U.S. origin.

Sight of a mine in Cambodia. Photo Courtesy of Tang Chhin Sothy/ AFP.

However, on 7 November 2017 the United States announced that it will be cutting $2 million in grant money to Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC). This will go into affect next year.  For the moment this years efforts will not be affected.  No reason was given for why the funding was recalled.

The Director General of CMAC was not aware of any dispute between them or the U.S. Government in how matters were being handled.   Even during meetings held in July and early fall with the State Department over the 2018 budget, there were no mentions of cuts. The Director general finds this decision rather disappointing as the U.S. has “a moral obligation and goodwill obligation because they dropped a lot of bombs on the Cambodian people.”

Finding new donors in time to fund next year’s work shall be tricky as this was a last minute decision. The Cambodian Government does not appear to be concerned about the cut in funding for de-mining processes. Hun Sen, the current Prime Minister pledges to support CMAC’s efforts.

This lack of funding will have a huge impact on the work that CMAC does. Up to 300 mine clearing employees could have their jobs impacted. Additionally, this will affect the number of mines that CMAC can reach next year. Which means that less people can be taken out of the way of danger in their day-to-day life. A second issue is that farmland will continue to be rendered useless because of the presence of mines. This means that farmers are limited in the crop size they produce for market. More than 80% of Cambodians rely in this land for their survival.

For more information, please see:

Voice of America – US Demining Cut Provokes Cambodia – 7 November 2017

Reuters – U.S. cuts $2-mln funding to Cambodia’s mine removal effort amid crackdown – 7 November 2017

The Phnom Penh Post – US cuts funding to CMAC amid government’s war of words with superpower – 7 November 2017

Ratko Mladic Found Guilty of Genocide, Sentenced to Life in Prison

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Cheers erupted as Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb army commander responsible for mass murder and other crimes against humanity during the Bosnian War, was sentenced to life in prison by an international tribunal on Wednesday, November 22nd.

Mother of Srebrenica Massacre Victim Reacts to Sentencing of Ratko Mladic. Photo Courtesy of Phil Nijhuis.

The verdict was read by presiding judge Alphons Orie, who called Mladic’s crimes “among the most heinous to humankind.”

Between 1992 and 1995, Mladic oversaw some of the most brutal and horrific crimes against humanity carried out in Europe since World War II. During these years, he lead the Bosnian Serb forces on a relentless ethnic cleansing campaign to rid the country of non-Serbs and became known as the “Butcher of Bosnia.”

The war began after Bosnian Muslims and Croats voted for independence in a referendum strongly opposed by Bosnian Serbs. The country soon descended into war between Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Serbs.

Mladic was in charge of the army until the conflict came to an end in 1995, at which time he was indicted on war crimes and went on the run. He was captured in 2011.

In the worst atrocity committed in Europe since World War II, Mladic directed the massacre of more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslims at a town called Srebrenica in July 1995. Men and boys between the ages of 12 and 77 were rounded up and machine-gunned by troops in a field outside of town and then buried in mass graves.

Other crimes committed under Mladic’s unrelenting reign included mass rapes of Bosnian Muslim women and girls, the indiscriminate murder of civilians, deportations and destructions of homes and mosques. Many were imprisoned in camps where they died of malnourishment and disease. Upwards of 100,000 lives were lost between 1992 and 1995.  Another 2.2 million people were displaced.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia found him guilty on one count of genocide and nine crimes against humanity. The trial lasted for 530 days and included over 500 witnesses and 10,000 exhibits. Mladic has denied all the charges against him and plans to appeal.

U.N. Human Rights Chief Zeid Ra’as al-Hussein called Mladic “the epitome of evil,” and said that his prosecution was “the epitome of what international justice is all about…Mladic presided over some of the darkest crimes to occur in Europe since World War II, bringing terror, death and destruction to thousands of victims, and sorrow, tragedy and trauma to countless more.”

For more information, please see:

BBC  News – Ratko Mladic, the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’ – 22 November 2017

CNN – Ratko Mladic Guilty of Genocide, Sentenced to life in Prison – 22 November 2017

NPR – Remembering the ‘Monstrous’ Legacy of Ratko Mladic – 22 November 2017

The New York Times – Mladic Conviction Closes Dark Chapter in Europe, but New Era of Uncertainty Looms – 22 November 2017

The Washington Post –  Ratko Mladic, the ‘Butcher of Bosnia,’ Guilty of Genocide in Last Balkan war Crimes Trial – 22 November 2017

BBC News – Ratko Mladic Jailed for Life Over Bosnian War Genocide – 23 November 2017

Huffington Post – Ratko Mladic Sentence – 26 November 2017

North Korean Soldier Shot Defecting Across DMZ

By: Katherine Hewitt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea – On 13 November 2017, an unarmed, low-ranking member of the North Korean military attempted to escape to South Korea.  He did so through the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).  He drove to the border through what is known as a ‘peace village’ until a wheel fell off his vehicle.  From there he proceeded on foot.  The North Korean military opened fire on him, totaling 40 rounds.  He was hit in the shoulder and the elbow.  He managed to take cover behind a South Korean structure inside the DMZ.  Later, U.S. and South Korean soldiers crawled out to rescue him.

He was air lifted to a hospital, where doctors began work immediately.  While his injuries are critical, doctors believe his life will be saved.  There are also reports of severe intestinal damage.  Doctors identified enormous numbers of parasites in his body that complicate the man’s recovery.  The doctor reported that he had never seen anything like this during his career spanning 20 years.

Hospital where North Korean Soldier is being treated. Photo Courtesy of Hong Ki-won.

This is the first defection to occur across the DMZ this year and the third to ever occur since the end of the Cold War.  Most defectors cross the border with China, as the security is less intense.  The North Korean military has been increasing border control recently, and South Korea has seen a reduction of defectors coming in.  So far this year, 780 North Koreans fled to South Korea.

North Korea has yet to release a statement or say anything about the event.  South Korea broadcasted, over the loudspeaker in the DMZ, that doctors were treating the soldier.

This is also the first time that North Korean soldiers fired shots in the direction of the South.

For more information, please see:

The Times – Lousiana Man Arrested After Trying TO Cross into North Korea for ‘Political Purposes’-  13 November 2017

BBC – North Korean soldier shot while defecting at DMZ to South – 13 November 2017

BBC – North Korean defector found to have ‘enormous parasites’ – 17 November 2017

Reuters – Defecting North Korean soldier critical after escape in hail of bullets – 14 November 2017

60,000 Far-Right Demonstrators March In Poland

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

WARSAW, Poland – An estimated 60,000 far-right demonstrators marched through Warsaw on Poland’s 99th Independence Day.

Aerial Photo of Far-Right March. Photo Courtesy of Radek Pietruszka.

On Saturday, November 11th, tens of thousands of people gathered in what is being described as one of the biggest gatherings of far-right supporters in recent years.

The march, organized by far-right groups, is held annually on Poland’s Independence Day. The march has become an international magnet for far-right supporters and white supremacists.

The crowd welcomed far-right leaders from Britain and Italy. Richard Spencer, the American white nationalist who organized the Charlottesville, Virginia protest that killed a young counter-protester, was scheduled to attend but cancelled his plans after the Polish government advised him that he was not welcome in the country.

The National Radical Camp (NRC) was one of the lead organizers of the march. The NRC has previously marched against Muslim immigration into the country, gay rights and the European Union. Anything that is considered to undermine Polish Catholic values is a target of the nationalists.

Tomasz Dorosz, a member of the NRC, took the stage on Saturday. “Europe and the world is in decay: culturally, politically, economically. We Poles have to be the alternative,” said Dorosz. “There will be a national Poland or none.”

Demonstrators wearing masks carried signs containing such phrases as “Clean Blood”, “Pray for an Islamic Holocaust” and “Europe Will Be White.”  They threw red-smoke bombs as they marched.

One far-right demonstrator interviewed by a Polish television station said he was on the march to “remove Jewry from power.”

“It’s 50,000 to 100,000 mostly football hooligans hijacking patriotism,” said one counter-protester. “For me, it’s important to support the anti-fascist coalition, and to support fellow democrats, who are under pressure in Poland today.”

The march has grown in numbers steadily since it began in 2009. Nick Loweles, member of the anti-extremism group Hope Not Hate, said that “the numbers attending this year seem to be bigger and, while not everyone on the march is a far-right activist or fascist, it is undoubtedly becoming more significant and is acting as a magnet for far-right groups around the world.”

A smaller group of about 5,000 counter-protesters showed up at the march. Several counter-protesters carrying a banner that read “Stop Fascism” were injured when nationalists pushed and kicked them. A heavy police presence and separation of the groups kept further violence at bay.

Many criticize the Polish government and believe that its behavior has fostered intolerance and xenophobia and emboldened the nationalists.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Warsaw Nationalist March Draws Tens of Thousands – 11 November 2017

The New York Times – Nationalist March Dominates Poland’s Independence Day – 11 November 2017

Aljazeera – Why 60,000 People Joined a Nationalist March in Poland – 12 November 2017

CNN – Thousands of Nationalist Protesters Disrupt Poland Independence Day – 12 November 2017

The Guardian – ‘White Europe’: 60,000 Nationalists March on Poland’s Independence Day – 12 November 2017

The Washington Post – ‘Pray for an Islamic Holocaust’: Tens of Thousands From Europe’s Far-Right March in Poland – 12 November 2017