ICC Charges Sudanese President with Genocide

ICC judges issued an arrest warrant charging al-Bashir with three counts of genocide: by killing, by causing mental and physical harm, and by deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction. (Photo Courtesy of ABC)
ICC judges issued an arrest warrant charging al-Bashir with three counts of genocide: by killing, by causing mental and physical harm, and "by deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction." (Photo Courtesy of ABC)

By Sovereign Hager
Managing Editor- News, Impunity Watch

THE HAGUE, Netherlands-The Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a second arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir. The chamber found reasonable grounds to believe Bashir responsible for three counts of genocide committed against the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa ethnic groups.

The ICC issued its first arrest warrant against Bashir in March of 2009 and it continues to be in effect. The first arrest warrant is for five counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape. It also included two counts for war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population and pillaging.

The initial arrest warrant rejected the genocide charge, which the Prosecutor appealed on July of 2009. In February of 2010, the Appeals Chamber reversed the decision unanimously on the genocide charge due to an erroneous standard of proof. The Appeals Chamber then ordered the Pre-Trial Chamber to decide the genocide charge again based on a correct standard of proof – reasoable grounds.

The Pre-Trial Chamber I concluded that in fact there was reasonable grounds to believe that Bashir had the specific intent to destroy in part three ethnic groups.

In issueing the warrant, the Pre-Trial Chamber I seeks international co-operation in obtaining the surrender and arrest of Bashir for the charges on both the first and second arrest warrants. A request has been sent to the Sudanese authorities as well as to all State Parties to the Rome Statute, and the United Nations Security Counicl members that are not parties to the Rome Statute.

The United Nations Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC via resolution 1593, on March 31, 2005. Four cases are being heard under this resolution.

The Sudanese government criticised the ICC decision, calling it a “political decision” and stating that “Sudan does not pay attention to this political campaign and will respond to it with more economic achievements. Sudan’s minister of information called the indictment a “desperate attempt to create instability in Sudan in order to stop its development process.” Bashir refuses to recognize the ICC’s authority and refuses to stand trial.

Genocide is considered the gravest crime in international law, requiring proof of an intent to wipe out “in whole or in part” a racial, religious, or ethnic group. ICC Prosecutor, Moreno-Ocampo accused Bahir of keeping 2.5 million refugees from specific ethnic groups in Darfur in camps “under genocide conditions, like a gigantic Auschwitz.”

For more information, please see:

Open Democracy-The Omar al-Bashir Indictment: the ICC and the Darfur Crisis-15 July 2010

International Criminal Court-Trial Chamber Issues a Second Warrant of Arrest Against Omar Al Bashir for Counts of Genocide-12 July, 2010

Rueters-Omar Bashir Indicted for Genocide-12 July, 2010

Gilad Shalit update: Israeli PM Netanyahu meets with captured soldier’s parents

By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Gilad Shalits parents meet with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo Courtesy of BBC.)
Gilad Shalit's parents meet with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo Courtesy of Ha'aretz.)

JERUSALEM, Israel – Last Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara held an hour-long meeting with the parents of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Noam and Aviva Shalit reached Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem following a twelve-day march, in an effort to secure their son’s release. Gilad, now twenty-three years old, was captured in June 2006 by Palestinian militants and has been held in Gaza by Hamas militants who have demanded the release of as many as one thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit’s release.

Shalit’s family set up a protest tent at the culmination of the protest march, vowing to demonstrate outside the weekly cabinet meetings until their son is released. Over the weekend, visitors streamed in and out of the tent, in a showing of support for the family.

Following the meeting with Netanyahu, Noam Shalit said that there was no new news, but also indicated that the family did not have high hopes prior to their meeting with Netanyahu.

“We have received no news yet that might calm us or change the situation. We’ll remain in the tent as planned; there is no change. We’ll stay here until Gilad returns,” Noam said.

Netanyahu, who recently returned from a trip to the United States, told the couple that the issue of their son’s release was one of the topics discussed with U.S. President Barack Obama and other senior officials in Washington.

“It’s not just the tens of thousands of marchers who support you, but all the citizens of the state of Israel,” Netanyahu told the Shalits. “There are also millions of people abroad who are with you, as are my wife and myself.”

Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported on Sunday that Netanyahu asked former U.S. president Bill Clinton to help mediate the release of Shalit. Netanyahu met with Clinton during his trip to Washington, where he proposed that Clinton visit Gaza to negotiate with senior Hamas officials.

Netanyahu has said that Israel will release one thousand Palestinian prisoners, though not all the ones that Hamas wants. Some that might be released are serving multiple life sentences for their roles in organizing suicide bombings.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Netanyahu meets Shalit’s parents – 9 July 2010

Ha’aretz – Shalit family to protest outside weekly cabinet meetings – 11 July 2010

Ha’aretz – Report: Netanyahu asks Bill Clinton to mediate Shalit release – 11 July 2010

The Media Line – Public Support for the Release of Gilad Shalit Continues after Five Years – 12 July 2010

Colombia’s New President To Face Questions Regarding Involvement In Civilian Deaths

By Ricardo Zamora
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – President-elect, former defense minister Juan Manuel Santos, may be taking the high office in August, replacing the popular Alvaro Uribe, as the UN vows to investigate Santos’ and Uribe’s involvement in many civilian deaths.
 
Santos, as defense minister in the Uribe administration from 2006–2009, was in charge of the Colombian military during the height of its alleged “false positives” policy of murdering civilians. Army units allegedly killed civilians to give a false representation of combat fatalities during armed encounters against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
 
One of Santos’ primary responsibilities included leading Uribe’s mission to rid Colombia of the FARC in an effort to restore peace and security. The mission was a success insofar as it forced FARC out of urban areas and into the jungles, reducing the number of kidnapping and killings in the cities.  Colombia praised Uribe for his efforts and many even consider him “the man who saved Colombia.”
 
However, many families of missing individuals notified human rights organizations with concerns over the reasons for their disappearance and alleged that military gains over FARC were being boosted by what became known as “false positive” killings of innocent civilians.
 
Investigations following those allegations resulted in the removal of the chief of the Colombian military and 27 other officers. Santos, however, kept his post and maintains that the killings were not ordered by the government but acts committed by individual soldiers.

UN investigators openly challenge Santos’ account and believe that while the Colombian government has taken steps to prevent such killings, over 98% of the deaths remain unpunished.
 
The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings, Philip Alston, wrote in a report presented to the UN Human Rights Council last month that “[t]here have been too many killings of a similar nature to characterize them as isolated incidents carried out by individual rogue soldiers or units, or bad apples. Soldiers simply knew that they could get away with murder, he added.
 
Uribe, taking a slightly different approach than Santos has argued that the use of all necessary force to combat FARC was worth it.  He claims that the ends justified the means.
 
Human rights and UN officials are apprehensive about Santos’ ascent to the Presidency. Having been the head of Uribe’s FARC offensive in the past, he is likely to continue on the same course and time will only tell if the unjustified killings continue, and whether those responsible for past killings are brought to justice.

For more information, please see:

Guardian.Co.UK – Juan Manuel Santos Wins Colombia Presidential Election – 21 June 2010

BBC – Challenges Ahead For Colombia’s President-elect Santos – 21 June 2010

Deutsche Welle – Colombia’s New President Faces Awkward Questions – 12 June 2010

East Timor’s parliament rejects Australia’s proposal to build an asylum-seeker center

By Joseph Juhn
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SYDNEY, Australia – East Timor’s parliament has unanimously passed a resolution to reject Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s proposal to establish an offshore asylum seeker detention centre on the country.

Prior to the passage of the resolution, Ms Julia Gillard has said she hopes to cooperate with other nations in the region to establish a processing center for asylum seekers, with the possibility of setting up one in East Timor.

The Prime Minister has backed away from suggestions the centre would be located in East Timor. As it turns out, she had only discussed the plan in a phone conversation with East Timor’s president, Jose Ramos-Horta.

President Jose Ramos-Horta acknowledged that he had discussed with Ms Gillard the “possibility” of hosting a processing centre. He further stated, however, that the purpose of any centre in Timor would be to process asylum-seekers who were in danger on the high seas and had not found safety in another country. Also, he specified that it should be the UN, not Australia or Timor that should administer any holding facility in East Timor.

The resolution comes after the parliament in Dili last week formally condemned Ms Gillard’s idea as unworkable. East Timor’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao last week allowed his own party to join in a unanimous condemnation of the plan in parliament.

Ms Gillard has currently refused to set a date for the rollout of any policy.

For more information, please see:

ABC News, East Timor MPs reject asylum centre proposal, 12 July 2010

The Australian, East Timor’s parliament rejects Gillard plan for regional asylum-seeker centre, 12 July 2010

Sky News, East Timor rejects asylum seeker centre, 12 July 2010

Bangladesh Charges 824: Aftermath Post Blood Bath A Year Ago

David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Police in Bangladesh have charged 824 people for the massacre of 74 senior military officers during a mutiny by border guards in February last year.   All suspects could face the death penalty if found guilty.

Prosecutors say the border guards rebelled over low wages and poor treatment
Prosecutors say the border guards rebelled over low wages and poor treatment

Seventy-four people, including 57 senior army officers, were killed during the siege of a military base in Dhaka, the capital, in an uprising that briefly threatened the government of Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister.

Prosecutors announced the charges on Monday and the trials against the mutiny’s ringleaders and participants are expected to take at least one year to complete in Bangladesh’s civil courts.

“We have charged 824 people with murder, conspiracy, aiding and abetting murder, looting military weapons and arson,” Mosharraf Hossain Kazal, the state prosecutor, said.

Rebelling soldiers were allegedly angry about their superiors’ refusal to increase their pay and improve working conditions.

“They mowed their officers down in cold blood, using semi-automatic weapons and rifles they’d looted from the barracks,” Akhand, the police investigator, said of  mutineers who took control of BDR headquarters on February 25, 2009.

The violence has spread nationwide and Bangladesh appeared to be on the brink of civil war.

The case will be handled by Bangladesh’s civil courts in what will be the largest trial in the country’s history.

In parallel prosecutions, some 3,500 soldiers who had joined the rebellion are being tried in military courts on lesser charges.

At least 200 guards have already been convicted by the tribunals with jail sentences ranging from four months to seven years.

The mutiny erupted at the BDR headquarters in Dhaka and lasted 33 hours, during which officers were killed and their bodies dumped in sewers and shallow graves.

“A senior officer was taken to the roof of a four-storey building and thrown to the ground. The dead bodies of a few officers were set on fire.”

The mutiny took place just two months after the country returned to civilian rule under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

She had originally offered an amnesty to some mutineers but this was rescinded when the extent and nature of the bloodshed became clear.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Bangladesh charges 824 people over deadly mutiny – 12 July 2010

Al Jazeera English – More charged over Bangladesh mutiny  – 12 July 2010

Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Bangladesh charges 824 for deadly munity murders – 12 July 2010