Iran states ‘stoning as punishment is not a human rights issue’

By Alyxandra Stanczak
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

A demonstrator in London protests Irans punishment of stoning for Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani
A demonstrator in London protests Iran's punishment of stoning for Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani

TEHRAN, Iran – This past Tuesday, the European Union condemned the stoning of Iranian women for the crime of adultery. The condemnation comes in light of the sentencing of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was convicted of murder and adultery. Ashtiani confessed to both crimes after receiving ninety-nine lashes. She has since recinded her confession and her lawyer is adamant that it was made under duress.

During the holy month of Ramadan, which ends on 1o September, there is a customary stay of any death penalties; during this time, Ashtiani’s lawyer has appealed to Iran’s supreme court and they are reconsidering her case. Though Ashtiani is the center of the international debate on stoning, the punishment she could face is not rare for Iran to implement. Approximately forty-five people have been sentenced to death by stoning since 2003.

The international outcry to this event is overwhelming. France’s foreign minister Bernard Kouchner stated that he would personally fly to Tehran and do whatever it takes to free Ashtiani. Similar sentiments have been expressed by the Vatican, who stated that they would attempt behind-the-scenes diplomacy to save Ashtiani’s life. Brazil has offered Ashtiani political asylum. International human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have also taken a lead roll in advocating on behalf of Ashtiani by placing telephone calls petitioning the government to reconsider their sentence.

In response to European criticism, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Ashtiani faced charges of murder and infidelity and the case shouldn’t be linked to human rights.

Stoning was implemented as a form of punishment after the 1979 Iranian revolution. The current government maintains that the death penalty, which includes hanging and stoning, is essential to maintain public order. According to Amnesty International statistics, ten people were put to death by stoning in 1995, making it one of the worst years in Iran’s history for that form of punishment. For a brief period in 2002, the Iranian judiciary put a moratorium on death by stoning. However, in recent years and despite the international outcry, stoning has been increasing in frequency.

For more information, please see:

The Huffington Post – Iran stoning case: EU condemns ‘barbaric’ plan, Iran scoffs at European concerns – 7 September 2010

Reuters – Iran tells the world: don’t make stoning a rights issue – 7 September 2010

Voice of America – Iran: Stoning case not human rights issue – 7 September 2010

Now Public – Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani Sentenced to Death by Stoning in Iran – 5 July 2010

Zambian Police Urged to Stop Abuse

By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Police Guard at Lusaka; Photo Courtesy AFP
Police Guard at Lusaka; Photo Courtesy AFP

LUSAKA, Zambia- Human Rights Watch has released a new report on the torture tactics used by police in Zambia.  HRW interviewed inmates at six different prisons throughout the country and learned that police routinely physically abuse detainees and offer to release female detainees in return for sex.  In particular, many reported being hung from a ceiling and beaten with metal and wooden rods and electric prods.  Rona Peligal, Africa director for HRW stated “The government needs to call an immediate halt to police abuse, investigate violations, and strengthen grievance mechanisms.”

The agency in Zambia charged with handling complaints made against the police, the Police Public Complaints Authority, settled only 27 of its 245 cases.  Additionally, reports from the U.S. Department of State and Human Rights Commission show that many reports were dropped last year after the officer in question intervened through coercion or payment to the complainant to end the investigation.  Many cases of police abuse have gone unreported altogether due to fear or lack of knowledge about the Police Public Complaints Authority.  The Authority itself is largely ineffective due to inadequate funding and resistance from police.

Many of those who have suffered police abuse in Zambia still bear scars and injuries.  Detainees report they have permanent nerve damage as the result of being handcuffed too tightly for extended periods of time.  Some have lost feeling in their hands or have fingers left crooked from being broken with bats and batons.  Tandiwe, a 27 year old woman currently held in the Lusaka Central Prison recounted her arrest in detail, stating she was undressed, whipped and then hung from the ceiling.  Police swung her while beating her and when she started to cry out they put a cloth in her mouth.  Tandiwe was beaten so severely she fainted from the pain.  When she was taken to a doctor a month later for her injuries, she says the officer told the doctor, ‘Just a simple torture that she was given, not much.’

As it has done in the past, Zambia’s government is not responding to any of the allegations.  Neither acting police spokesman Ndandula Fiyamana nor Police Minister Mkhondo Lungu have commented on the Human Rights Watch report.  Peligal stated “The government needs to call an immediate halt, train police to interrogate suspects properly, and punish violators.”

For more information, please see;

Times Live- Torture in Zambian Prisons– 7 September, 2010

Zambian Watchdog- Zambia Police Hang Suspects From Ceilings to Coerce Confessions– 7 September, 2010

AP- Rights Watchdog Accuses Zambian Police of Abuse– 7 September, 2010

AFP- Zambia’s Police Torture Inmates: Human Rights Watch– 7 September, 2010

U.S. Dept. of State- 2009 Human Rights Report: Zambia– 11 March, 2010

Italian Cities Close Roma Camps

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ROME, Italy – This week Rome began implementing a plan to demolish over 200 illegal Roma camps around the Italian capital.  The plan calls for the destruction of 4-5 camps per week over the coming months, displacing an estimated 1,000 Roma (otherwise known as Gypsies).

Local authorities have said they are giving displaced Roma options of resettlement, integration, or repatriation.  Sveva Belviso, who works for the mayor of Rome, said less than 1,000 Roma will be evicted and the city will “offer assistance to the young, old, and sick.”  The city is also preparing at least 10 official camps on the outskirts of the city, which will accommodate approximately 6,000 Roma.

Despite these measures, there is a growing fear amongst aid workers that thousands of Roma will be forced on to the streets, according to The Guardian.  “The number is in fact likely to be over 1,000 and with the city’s financial straits and overflowing accommodation I wonder where they will put up and feed these people,” Mario Squicciarini of the Red Cross said. “What is worse is that when the bulldozers go in they often do not give you time to get your possessions out.”

Authorities in the city of Milan also plan to close Roma camps, dismantling several of their 12 authorized settlements.  This continues a crackdown on Roma camps that has gone on for years.  Riccardo De Corato, the deputy mayor of Milan, said that in three years the city has shut down 315 settlements, reducing the Roma population from 10,000 to 1,200 currently.

According to the New York Times, local authorities in dozens of Italian cities are implementing similar plans to deal with the Roma, who number between 150,000 and 300,000 throughout Italy, by shutting down both authorized and unauthorized camps.

The issue of Roma expulsion and repatriation was brought to international attention in July when France’s Nicolas Sarkozy ordered illegal camps shut down and Roma expelled from France.  The move drew widespread criticism, from the United Nations, the European Union, and various human rights organizations.

Robert Maroni, the Italian interior minister, recently stated that Sarkozy “was doing nothing more than copying Italy.”

For more information, please see:

SOFIA NEWS AGENCY – Italy Begins to Destroy Illegal Roma Camps – 7 Sept. 2010

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH – Europe accuses Sarkozy of Roma gypsy “witch-hunt” –  7 Sept. 2010

EXPATICA – Italian police dismantle Roma camps – 7 Sept. 2010

THE GUARDIAN – Rome prepares to demolish 200 illegal Gypsy camps – 5 Sept. 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – Italian Cities Plan to Shut Roma Camps – 3 Sept. 2010

ADNKRONOS INTERNATIONAL – Italy: Mayor moves to demolish Roma Gypsy camps – 1 Sept. 2010

BBC – EU presses France on Roma deportations – 2 Sept. 2010

BBC – France Rejects UN Roma criticism – 27 Aug. 2010

Venezuela Moves Toward Rationing Food

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Venezuelan Food Shortages Makes Citizen Look For Food In Garbage Heap (photo courtesy of moonbattery.com)
Venezuelan Food Shortages Force Citizen To Look For Food In Garbage Heap (photo courtesy of moonbattery.com)

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelans fear that a new food-card issued by President Hugo Chavez is the first step to the country rationing food.  The card, which President Chavez called the “Good Life Card,” is being implemented to “make shopping easier,” according to President Chavez, but others expect that the card will be used to control where the citizens can shop and what they can buy.

Many suspect that the food card will be similar to the one that rations food in Cuba, but will likely be more technologically advanced so that Venezuelan citizens can only shop at certain places and only buy a certain amount of food.  The Cuban equivalent emerged when goods became scarce in the country, but later became a means to control Cuban citizens ability to buy food because the Cuban food markets were all owned and operated by the Cuban Government.

President Chavez stated that the card is to “purchase what you are going to take and they keep deducting. It’s to buy what you need, not to promote communism, but to buy what just what you need.”  However, the concerns are not unwarranted as it appears the card will only work at government-run markets.

Venezuela is facing a recurring shortage of supply, and many see this card as an effort to resolve the problem without expressly calling it rationing.  This move comes months after the Chavez Government began cracking down on hoarding, which includes police raids on food stores and warehouses.

While many experts think that supply shortages could be curbed by simply finding a sustainable means to get supplies to all markets, the Venezuelan Government seems preoccupied with focusing solely on the supply and consumption in regards to the government-run markets.

Experts are accusing President Chavez of lacking accountability for his own government’s failures.  Rather than admitting that Socialism has not succeeded in Venezuela, Chavez seems content with digging the country into a bigger hole.  In the end, Venezuelan citizens pay the ultimate price because they will not have the right to buy the types of food they want, the amount of food they want, and will have limited shopping options.

For more information, please see:

New American – Venezuela “Good Life Card” comes at a Great Cost – 5 September 2010

RightPundits.com – Hugo Chavez Begins Food Rationing in Venezuela – 5 September 2010

The Miami Herald – Venezuela Introduces Cuba-like Food Card – 3 September 2010