Syria Issues Arrest Warrants in case relating to Hariri Assassination

By Alyxandra Stanczak
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Jamil al-Sayyed, former Lebanese general, at an interview in 2009. Photo courtesy of hurriyetdailynews.com.
Jamil al-Sayyed, former Lebanese general, at an interview in 2009. Photo courtesy of hurriyetdailynews.com.

BERUIT, Lebanon – Rafik Hariri, former Prime Minister of Lebanon, was assassinated when his motorcade was hit by a suicide bomber in 2005. After the incident, four pro-Syrian officers were detained and held without charges. In 2009, the officers were released due to lack of evidence. Among the officers was ex-Lebanese general Jamil al-Sayyed.  Al-Sayyed brought a case in Syrian courts against people he believed misled the investigation of Hariri’s assassination which resulted in his four-year imprisonment.

Al-Sayyed is a Shiite ex-Lebanese general who is backed by Hezbollah. Although a primarily Lebanese group, Hezbollah receives a lot of support from Syria and Iran.

This past Sunday, a Syrian judge issued arrest warrants for thirty-three people of interest in the case who have been ignoring court summons. Al-Sayyed brought the suit in Syria, citing distrust in Lebanon’s judiciary. It is unlikely that the arrest warrants will be executed outside of Syria.

Among those issued arrest warrants are senior Lebanese judges and international officials.

When the initial investigation of the suicide bombing occurred, western-backed parties in Lebanon believed that Syria and Hezbollah were responsible for the attack. This claim was denied by both parties. The allegation has since been denied by Saad Hariri, current Lebanese Prime Minister and son of Rafik Hariri. Saad Hariri was quoted as saying the allegation arose from political motivations.

Al-Sayyed maintains he brought the case, of which the issuance of arrest warrants was necessary, because at least six of the defendants in his case are Syrian. Additionally, he maintains the Lebanese judiciary as well as the U.N. backed tribunal, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, refused to look at his case of false witnesses.

For more information, please see:

Daily Star – Syria’s warrants add to the chaos – 5 October 2010

People’s Daily Online – Lebanese PM says Syria’s arrest warrants over Hariri’s killing disappointing – 5 October 2010

Al Jazeera – Syria orders arrests in Hariri case – 4 October 2010

Jerusalem Post – Lawyer: Syria posts arrests warrants in Hariri case – 4 October 2010

Associated Press – Syria posts arrests warrants in Hariri case – 3 October 2010

Capital Punishment Eligibility in the United States Questioned Amid Human Rights Concerns

By Erica Laster

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America 

WASHINGTON, United States – In the past 20 years, the United States has killed over 1,000 people in its execution chambers under the death penalty.  Georgia’s execution of a man with inadequate representation as well as Virginia’s execution of a woman with borderline mental retardation have cast a spotlight on the enduring practice of capital punishment.  The implications of human rights violations have left many in the legal field, legislature and human rights coalitions in doubt over its practicality, effectiveness and Constitutionality.

Is Capital Punishment Becoming an Archaic and Inhumane Practice? Photo Courtesy of Greatdebate2008.com.
Is Capital Punishment Becoming an Archaic and Inhumane Practice? Photo Courtesy of Greatdebate2008.com.

Brandon Rhodes, a former Georgia inmate, was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and organic brain damage.  Rhodes became the 40th execution this year in the state of Georgia for a crime committed at the age of 18, despite a suicide which left him wholly incompetent.  One medical expert declared that Rhodes was “actively disassociating, losing his grip on reality.”  Six days after the attempt, Rhodes was put to death by lethal injection on September 27, 2010. 

Similarly, a Virginia woman was sentenced to death after being convicted of being the “mastermind” behind the murders of her husband and stepson in 2002.  Assessed as having “borderline mental retardation,” Lewis became the first woman executed in nearly 100 years in Virginia on September 23, 2010.   Lewis confessed to planning both murders for money, for which she hired her lover and a second gunmen who carried out her wishes. 

Despite their convictions for these crimes, Amnesty International and various Human Rights groups have condemned the United States for their practice of utilizing capital punishment.  Both the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church and the ARC of Virginia, advocates for the mentally disabled, petitioned for a reduction in Lewis’ sentence to life in prison without success.

In its report to the United Nations, the United States defended its stance on the death penalty indicating that subject to procedural safeguards, the death penalty may be imposed on those who commit heinous crimes.  This echoes the United States Supreme Court’s indication that “capital punishment must be limited to those offenders who commit a narrow category of the most serious crimes and whose extreme culpability makes them the most deserving of execution.”

Amnesty International argues that despite the abolition of the death penalty in 139 countries, selection of individuals for capital punishment in the United States is little more than a lottery where race, politics, lack of representation and jury composition affect the outcome.

For More Information Please Visit:  

CNN – Georgia Death Row Inmate Denied High Court Review – 4 October 2010

Washington Post – Virginia Executes Teresa Lewis for Role in Slayings of Husband, Stepson in 2002 – 23 September 2010

Amnesty International – USA: Cruel, Inhuman, Degrading: 40th Execution of the Year Approaches – 24 September 2010

Amnesty Internatinoal – USA: Death Penalty Still A Part of the “American Experiment,” Still Wrong – 22 September 2010

One Killed In Papua After Clashing With Indonesia Police

By Joseph Juhn
Impunity Watch, Oceania

TIMIKA, Indonesia – One man was killed and at least three injured in a clash between Indonesian police and dozens of locals on Monday. The incident occurred over a security check dispute in the restive province of Papua, an official said.

Stationed Police at an airport in Wamena district had wanted to check two bags that were “suspected to contain suspicious items” arriving from Jayapura district but were refused permission by these individuals, according to Wachyono, provincial police spokesman.

“They (the locals) then attacked police with sharp objects and stones. In that situation, police had to open fire,” he said.

Three policemen were injured by flying stones, he added.

“Police wanted to check those bags because several times, we’ve found evidence that ammunition and weapons had been sent through Wamena,” Wachyono said.

As a result, three people were arrested for allegedly attacking the police, he added.

However, Papuan tribal representative Dominikus Sorabut, from the Papuan Customary Council, said the locals were members of the council’s security body and the bags had contained berets.

He alleged that one of the group members was killed and two others injured after police shot at them, but police denied the charge and said an autopsy needs to be carried out to determine the cause of death.

This incident is one of series of violent clashes in recent months between Indonesia police and local population whose anger and distrust against the government are escalating. Just last month, police killed two men and wounded a woman after a dispute over a traffic accident got out of control in West Papua province.

Indonesia’s police are widely accused of violating and abusing the basic rights of indigenous Melanesians in Papua, where a low-level insurgency has simmered for decades.

As a result of the growing concern over instability in this region, the United States has called for Indonesia to move forward on autonomy in its Papua region and emphasized that it would not overlook human rights violations.

Representative Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, called on Indonesia to end violence and resolve the internal problems in West Papua during a hearing on West Papua issue on September 22, 2010.

Faleomavaega said that the people of West Papua have suffered for a long period of time at the hands of Indonesia’s brutal military and police forces, and many experts suggest that West Papuans have been subjected to genocide.

“Whether or not genocide has taken place, one thing is clear. Indonesia’s military has committed indisputable crimes against humanity through the murder, torture and rape of more than 100,000 West Papuans,” the Chairman added.

For more information, please see:

The Jakarta Globe – One Killed in Papua Clash with Indonesian Police – 4 October 2010

Radio New Zealand – US Calls On Indonesia To Advance Papua Autonomy – 3 October 2010

China.Org – Indonesia urged to end violence in West Papua – 28 September 2010

Ecuador’s President Claims He Was Targeted in Failed Coup

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Soldiers guard the presidential palace Friday to maintain order. (Photo courtesy of Christian Science Monitor)
Soldiers guard the government palace Friday to maintain order. (Photo courtesy of Christian Science Monitor)

QUITO, Ecuador—Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa maintains that he was physically abused and detained against his will during an attempted coup Thursday.  The attack was waged by police officers protesting a new law that they believe would deprive them of bonuses and minimize compensation. Correa argues that the officers had not even read the law and misunderstood it.

The officers became violent after Correa had stood in the window of a barracks and challenged, “If you want to kill the president, here he is! Kill him, if you want to! Kill him if you are brave enough!”

According to Interior Minister Gustavo Jalkh, the officers’ reaction proves they intended to overthrow the government.  “The president was talking with some police who wanted to talk with us. We were talking. Why else would they throw bombs at a politician?” he said.

President Correa was battered by members of the angry group and surrounded by tear gas.  He claims he was not allowed to leave the hospital where he was taken for treatment afterward.  As his military rescued him that night, his SUV was struck by bullets.

At least four people were killed in the violence and over 200 were injured in related bloodshed throughout Ecuador.  Three days of national mourning began on Friday out of respect for the victims.

The government responded quickly to the unrest, declaring a week-long state of emergency and placing armed forces in charge of security.

Correa believes that the police officers who sparked the violence wanted to kill him; yet he says he recognizes the efforts of many others who remained loyal, including the officers who rescued him at the hospital.  The national police force is comprised of 42,000 members.  Their chief resigned on Friday.

No group or individual has admitted any involvement in the alleged coup attempt, but three colonels are being investigated.

Some have questioned Correa’s account of the attack, and others see the president’s confrontation in the barracks as a provocation.  Analyst Roberto Izurieta told CNN, “The elements for a coup do not exist. There was no political movement or a call for the president to leave office. What occurred was an uprising from part of the police.”

On Friday, the government said the law the police officers had been protesting would be revisited.

Correa received support from the international community, including Venezuela’s President Chavez and U.S. Secretary of State Clinton.

Ecuador is no stranger to unrest; three of the last eight presidents lost power after protests.

For more information, please see:

LA Times-Ecuador ‘coup attempt’ draws attention to Rafael Correa’s presidency-4 October 2010

NPR-Foreign Policy: The Power Of Ecuador’s Democracy-4 October 2010

CNN-Ecuador’s government maintains unrest was coup attempt-4 October 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune-Judge Releases 3 Colonels Arrested in Ecuador Policy Mutiny-3 October 2010

South Africa’s Media Bill Debate

By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

South Africas President jaboc Zuma heavily supports the media bill; Photo courtesy The First Post UK

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa- South Africa’s Protection of Information bill, currently in front of the African National Congress (ANC), is being attacked by many in the media as a constraint on the rights of the press.  The bill would allow the government to imprison journalists for anywhere between 3 and 25 years for disclosing information considered in the “national interest”.  Critics claim the ANC’s definition of “national interest” is too broad since it includes “all matters relating to the advancement of the public good [and] the survival and security of the state.”  The ANC claims it is simply trying to protect the government by curtailing sensationalism in the media.  However, many fighting the bill believe it is trying to prevent any unflattering news about the government from being published.
Anton Harber, a former editor who heads the journalism department at the University of the Witwatersrand, acknowledged there has been inaccuracy and dishonesty in South Africa’s media, stating “Has there been a reluctance to apologize timeously [sic] and appropriately? No doubt.”  Harber also stated there was a push amongst the editors in the industry to work together to end these problems with their reporters but the ACN’s bill had forced the media to close ranks and fight what they see as an attack on their fundamental freedoms.
Helen Zillie, a former reporter turned ACN opposition leader, says the restrictions posed by this new bill are worse than the apartheid measures she encountered while still a journalist.  During her time as a reporter in the 1970’s, she was found guilty of “tendentious” reporting for publishing a story that Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko had not died of a hunger strike while in custody, later proven to be true.  Groups and individuals like Zillie outside of the press have joined in their protests, forming large coalitions speaking out against the bill.  The South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) has enlisted almost 200 different civil organizations and individuals to join in a week of protests against the bill set to start today.  In a statement released Thursday, a dozen journalism schools in South Africa said, “[c]ritique can only bear fruit in an environment that allows for unhindered investigation, the gathering of sound empirical evidence and the free exchange of ideas.”

For more information, please see;

UPI– S. African Reporters Protest Media Tribunal– 18 Sept. 2010

AllAfrica– South Africa: Civil Groups to Protest Media Restrictions– 30 Sept. 2010

NYT– Proposed Media Law Causes Alarm in South Africa– 22 Sept. 2010