A Voice for the Voiceless

Iran set to release an American hiker accused of spying

By Alyxandra Stanczak
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

American hikers Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal. Photo courtesy of USA Today.
American hikers Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal. Photo courtesy of USA Today.

TEHRAN, Iran – An American accused of spying and illegally entering the country last year when she crossed over the Iraq-Iran boundary by accident while hiking with her friends is set to be released on bail. Sarah Shourd, a 32 year old teacher from California, has been detained for thirteen months along with her traveling partners, Joshua Fattal and Shane Bauer. Shourd’s bail has been set at $500,000 and has been offered due to severe health conditions she is suffering. All three hikers are being held at Tehran’s Evin prison.

Shourd’s bail was negotiated through the Swiss embassy, who handle all diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran.

Even though Shourd has been allowed to leave Iran upon setting bail, she is still set to stand trial and is expected to return to the country when the trial occurs.  Prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi has told reporters that there is enough evidence to find the three hikers guilty of spying.  The United States has denied these allegations. Jafari-Dolatabadi also stated that there is more than enough reason to accuse the three hikers of espionage.

The judicial branch has almost completed their case against the three hikers and has prepared an indictment.

Iranian political experts have commented on the odd turn this case has taken. Iran’s judiciary is independent and is not as subject to other parts of the oligarchy to political influence. Ghanbar Naderi, an Iranian political analyst, said there is “Obviously there is some kind of miscommunication between these two bodies.” This statement comes in light of the fact that Shourd’s expected release date was pushed back to this coming weekend, instead of the end of Ramadan.

Iran-United States relations have been strained recently because of Iran’s pursuit of uranium enrichment. Though Iran denies the enrichment program is for military use and claims it is simply to provide nuclear energy, the United States is adverse to the entire process. The goodwill shown on Iran’s part by releasing Shourd and possibly, as Naderi speculates, the other two hikers will possibly serve to ease rising political tensions between the two countries.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Iran to release US woman on bail – 12 September 2010

The Guardian – Iran demands $500,000 to free US hiker Sarah Shourd – 12 September 2010

Los Angeles Times – Iran: American hiker Sarah Shourd may be released; bail set – 12 September 2010

Three Chinese set themselves ablaze after being evicted

By Joseph Juhn
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Three people in eastern China were in serious condition in hospital on Sunday after they set themselves on fire in protest against forceful eviction by the local government officials, according to reports from Chinese state media.

Instantly after the incident in Jiangxi province, Chinese online reports showed graphic pictures of at least two people engulfed in flames, but it is suspected that many other reports were quickly deleted by government Internet censors.

Pictures showed one person standing on the roof of a residential building entirely engulfed in flames, while another photo showed another person jumping from the building while on fire. The trio remained in life-threatening condition, the report said.

This incident took place on Friday in Fuzhou when Luo Zhifeng, 59, her daughter Zhong Ruqin, 31, and family friend Ye Zhongcheng, 79, set themselves on fire, according to reports from rednet.cn, an official news website based in Hunan province.

The three were reportedly discontent with compensation provided in return for their forced eviction from their homes and neighborhood to make way for a bus terminal.

In recent days, China has witnessed a surge of violent protests over land seizures as local government officials forcibly evict residents to make way for infrastructure projects and property developments, thus causing official discomfort over potential social unrest.

Such incidents began to emerge last year as profit-minded officials and businesses sought to exploit on a nationwide trend of property boom by forcing residents out and developing their land, according to previous reports.

This led to a fatal incident in April, when a Communist Party official in Henan province was detained after he allegedly ordered a truck driver to run over a protester, who died as a result, in a land dispute.

Another case involved a 47-year-old woman who set herself on fire in November in Sichuan province over the planned demolition of her husband’s garment-processing business. She also died 16 days later.

These incidents, in addition to growing public anger over rapidly increasing housing prices, led to the government’s adoption of a series of preventive measures to stabilize the property market.

For more information, please see:

ABC Radio Australia – Three Chinese Set Themselves Ablaze in Property Row – 12 September 2010

Etaiwannews – Three Chinese Set Themselves Ablaze in Property Row – 13 September 2010

Adelaide Now – Three set themselves ablaze in China row – 12 September 2010

Human Rights Lawyer Detained in Iran

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was detained Thursday by authorities in Iran for allegedly spreading propaganda and conspiring to harm the national security of the country.  Ms. Sotoudeh has represented numerous Iranian opposition activists against the government, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi.  It is believed that Ms. Sotoudeh is currently being held in solitary confinement.

Nasrin Sotoudeh Arrested in Iran (Photo courtesy of Radia Zamanneh)
Nasrin Sotoudeh Arrested in Iran (Photo courtesy of Radia Zamanneh)
Since the disputed elections in June 2009, hundreds of individuals have been arrested for expressing their opposition to the Islamic regime.  Ms. Sotoudeh’s arrest comes at a time when Iran is facing tough international criticism for the sentencing of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtian to death by stoning.  Ms. Sotoudeh currently represents a number of individuals, including a fellow human rights lawyer, who were arrested following the 2009 election.

Ms. Sotoudeh has called the charges against her “absurd” and believes that her arrest is a reaction to her legal representation of Iranian activists.  She further stated that her clients will not be prevented from pursing their trials and having a chance to respond to the accusations levied against them.   Ms. Sotoudeh’s husband reported that his wife’s detention is indefinite and that he has been prohibited from visiting or contacting his wife.

Reporters Without Borders denounced Sotoudeh’s arrest noting that “Sotoudeh has for the past year been the spokesperson of victims of injustice, of those the regime is trying to silence.”  The organization further contends that “[b]y arresting lawyers, the regime is trying to gag the last dissenting voices.”  Amnesty International has demanded Ms. Sotoudeh’s release and fears that as a prisoner of conscience she is at risk of being tortured. The government has not yet commented on Ms. Sotoudeh’s detention or responded to claims of mistreatment.

For more information, please see:

Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran – Amnesty International: Demand Release of Human Rights Lawyer – 12 Sept. 2010

BBC News Middle East – Iran Opposition Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Detained – 9 Sept. 2010

Associated Press – Iran Detains Prominent Opposition Lawyer – 8 Sept. 2010

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – RSF Condemns Iranian Lawyer’s Arrest – 8 Sept. 2010

International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran – Human Rights Lawyer Summoned: “Drop the Ebadi Case or Face Problems!” – 1 Sept. 2010

Evidence Thrown Out In Belgium Church Abuse Cases

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BRUSSELS, Belgium – A court in Belgium ruled on Thursday that the raids police conducted in June of Catholic church buildings in Belgium were illegal.  The appeals court deciding the matter found that the high-profile police raids on church headquarters and other church property were disproportionate.  As a result, the seized documents, which included over 500 files and a computer detailing over 300 cases of alleged sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy, were unavailable for prosecutors to use in an investigation spanning several of years.

According to the AFP, the Archbishop of Belgium Cardinal Andre-Joseph Leonard, said in response to the court ruling that it is “in everyone’s interests that the fundamental rules of law are respected.”  He also said that he is “satisfied that clarity has finally been shone on this affair.”  At the time of the raids, the Pope described the raids as “deplorable”.

The seized files were the result of investigations conducted by an internal commission set up by the church. After the raids, members of the commission resigned, but a report of their findings up to that point was released on Friday.

The 200-page report details how serious sexual abuse of children by priests existed in almost every diocese in Belgium.  The allegations of abuse spanned five decades, and involved 327 males and 161 females.  The youngest case involved a two-year-old boy.  13 suicides and 6 attempted suicides have been linked to the abuse.

Most of the abuse detailed in the report occurred in the 1960s and 1970s.  Anything over 10 years cannot be investigated by Belgian authorities.

“The exposed cases are old, of course,” said Peter Adriaenssens, head of the commission and child psychiatrist.  “Society has developed. But there’s nothing to indicate that the number of pedophiles has diminished.  Where are they today?”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Belgian court bins church paedophile raids evidence – 10 September 2010

BBC – Belgium church abuse detailed by Adriaenssens report – 10 September 2010

CNN – Catholic Church in Belgium details widespread sexual abuse – 10 September 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – Pervasive Abuse Found in Belgian Catholic Church – 10 September 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – Priest Sex ABuse Linked to 13 Suicides in Belgium – 10 September 2010

BBC – Belgian church abuse raids ruled illegal – 9 September 2010

Chilean Lawmakers Join Mapuche Hunger Strike

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile – Several Chilean lawmakers have joined the indigenous Mapuche-lead hunger strike against dictatorship-era terror laws. Tucapel Jimenez, Hugo Gutierrez, Sergio Aguilo and Manuel Monsalve, who belong to a human rights commission in the lower house of the Chilean Congress, have demanded that President Sebastian Piñera begin negotiations with the inmates.

The Chilean government has been critical of the congressmen’s actions, calling them “irresponsible and populist.”  During a recent visit to the Arica-Parinacota region of Chile, President Piñera added that he expected the lawmakers’ behavior to be “as deputies of the Republic, with responsibility” and to take measures to solve the problem instead of making it worse.

The four congressmen involved in the hunger-strike visited several Mapuche prisoners in Temuco jail. When they refused to leave, the prison guards apparently removed the legislators forcefully. 

Commenting on the removal, Congressman Aguilo said that“[w]e left a meeting we were having with the (Mapuches); we were tricked, they told us that it was to talk about a practical matter and there they told us that we would be forced to leave. They didn’t beat us, but in the scuffle my glasses were broken.”

Congressman Gutierrez said that “[t]his is the new government’s way and I think it’s a clear sign that there’s no form of dialogue here. What we experienced in one brief moment, the Mapuches have experienced historically, and I hope the government stops repressing people.”

After being removed from the facility for trying to grab onto some of the prison’s bars, the congressmen traveled to the building of the Unitary Workers’ Central and continued to vocalize the strike.

This sort of internal pressure appears to be effective to a small extent. 

Piñera recently proposed legislation that would effectively end the portion of the disputed law that allows civilians and minors to be tried by military commission.  While Piñera has taken this small step, his government has not engaged in negotiation with the Mapuche prisoners, nor does it appear that the government is willing to consider that option.

Piñera has, however, called on the Roman Catholic Church to mediate the dispute between the Mapuche and the Chilean government.

For more information, please see:

People Daily – Chilean President Criticizes Lawmakers on Strike Supporting Indigenous Mapuche – 11 September 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune – Politicians who Joined Inmates’ Hunger Strike Ejected from Chile Prison – 10 September 2010

BBC – Chilean MPs Join Hunger Protest by Indigenous Detainees – 9 September 2010

Reuters – Chilean Lawmakers Join Indigenous Hunger Strike – 9 September 2010