Palestinian Man Shot Dead by Israeli Police After Hit-and-Run

June 13, 2010

By Dallas Steele
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

EAST JERUSALEM, Israel — As tensions remain at an unprecedented high, Israeli border police officers have shot and killed a Palestinian driver who may have intentionally hit two border police officers with his motor vehicle on Friday. The incident began when the driver, forty-0ne-year-old Ziad al-Jolani, rammed his Mitsubishi van into two border police officers. It remains unclear whether al-Jolani intended to injure the two officers or whether the entire incident was an accident.

Tensions run high in East Jerusalem between Israeli border police officers and Palestinian men restricted from travelling. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman, said that after al-Jolani struck the two officers with his van, one of the officers fired warning shots in the air and called for the driver to stop his vehicle. As the driver ignored the border police officers’ request by driving away, the officers began to give chase to al-Jolani. Al-Jolani got out of his van in an attempt to flee by foot while the border police officers continued to call for the driver to cease and desist. After continuing to ignore the demand to halt, a border guard shot al-Jolani dead.

Palestinian witnesses have given a similar account as Rosenfeld, but have made the claim that the Israeli police officers began to fire indiscriminately in al-Jolani’s direction, causing not only his death, but the serious injury of a young woman as well.

Conflicting reports have been made on the injury of the passenger in al-Jolani’s van, Mahmoud al-Jolani, as some reports have stated he was injured during the incident and others saying he was injured earlier that day in a stone-throwing incident.

The killing has come at an extreme low point in Palestinian-Israeli relations. The checkpoint where the shooting occurred was located in the neighborhood of Wadi al-Joz, an area predominantly inhabited by Palestinians, but became part of Israeli territory after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Additionally, Israeli police had just recently announced a limited-access policy for Palestinian men under the age of forty travelling from East Jerusalem to the al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers. This move was made in response to the heightened tensions in the region following last month’s clash between Israel’s commando raid on a Turkish ship bound for Gaza that left nine activists dead.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Israeli police kill Palestinian man — 11 June 2010

CNN — Palestinian driver shot dead after striking Israeli border guards — 11 June 2010

NY Times — Police kill Palestinian driver in East Jerusalem — 11 June 2010

Anti-Chavez TV Channel Owner Ordered Arrested

June 12, 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela—Venezuelan prosecutors issued an arrest warrant Friday for the owner of the country’s only remaining pro-opposition television channel. Guillermo Zuloaga, the well-known president of the Globovision channel, has been critical of President Hugo Chavez and is a frequent target of authorities.

Zuloaga’s son was also named in the warrant. The charges against the father and son are linked to a 2009 case in which they were accused of improperly storing 24 new Toyotas. Security officers could not find either man at Zuloaga’s home.

The senior Zuloaga, in addition to owning Globovision, owns and operates some car dealerships. Authorities claim that he and his son were keeping the Toyotas off the market, waiting for prices to rise. The charges had been dropped months ago, after prosecutors reviewed the case. Zuloaga has denied any wrongdoing, speculating that the charges were an attempt to intimidate him. He said the vehicles had been stored for safekeeping after one of his dealerships had been robbed. The arrest warrant appeared just one week after President Chavez publicly lamented that Zuloaga remained free.

A statement from the prosecutors’ office on Friday read: “The police are now working on capturing both citizens, who must be presented before a tribunal which will decide what legal measures to adopt.” The statement went on to say that both Zuloagas could also be charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, which alone could carry a 2 to 5 year jail sentence.

Zuloaga is no stranger to conflicts with Venezuelan authorities. In March, he was arrested and detained for hours after making “offensive and disrespectful” remarks about President Chavez on a television show. Zuloaga had commented on his worries about restricted freedom of expression in Venezuela.

Earlier this year, the Organization of American States voiced concerns about Venezuela’s use of punitive power to silence opponents. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a report stating that Chavez constrains freedom of expression and has restricted human rights. The Commission urged Venezuela to avoid using any means to silence criticism or allegations against the government. In response, President Chavez called the report “garbage.”

Alejandro Aguirre, the president of the Inter-American Press Association in Aruba, condemned the arrest warrant against Zuloaga. “Once again it’s been shown that in Venezuela there’s no independence of powers, an essential value of democracy, since the judicial branch seems to act every time the president speaks or orders it,” Aguirre stated.

Globovision has been the only anti-Chavez television channel on air since a similar channel, RCTV, was forced off cable and satellite TV in January.

For more information, please see:

Voice of America-Venezuela Orders Arrest of Anti-Chavez TV Boss-12 June 2010

AP-TV channel owner ordered arrested in Venezuela-12 June 2010

Wall Street Journal-Venezuela Issues Arrest Warrant For Anti-Chavez Businessman-11 June 2010

Taliban Justice? 7 Year old Child Spy Executed

June 12, 2010

David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch Reporter; Asia

KABUL, Afghanistan – The Taliban plague and reign of terror continues amidst the government’s limited ability to regulate and control their activities. The execution of a 7 year old boy, which has the Taliban thugs being branded internally as “inhuman” allegedly executed the boy after a hurried kangaroo court where the boy, allegedly the grandson of a village elder, was found guilty of being a spy.

: Unbridled mayhem worsens as Taliban executes 7 year old kid

The latest episode demonstrates an expression of unbridled authority which has led to a 7 year-old boy’s murder, in what has been regarded to be an apparent act of retribution. The boy had allegedly been providing allied forces with information on Taliban movements.

Daoud Ahmadi, spokesman for the provincial governor of Helmand, said that the killing happened days after the boy’s grandfather, Abdul Woodod Alokozai, spoke out against militants in their home village. In the past, militants have carried out similar killings of those accused of spying, Ahmadi said. Three years ago, a 70-year-old woman and a child in the Musa Qala district of the province were executed following the same allegations, he said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai after looking into reports of the execution, condemned the act if confirmed to be true. “I don’t think there’s a crime bigger than that that even the most inhuman forces on earth can commit,” Karzai said. “A 7-year-old boy cannot be a spy. A 7-year-old boy cannot be anything but a 7-year-old boy, and therefore hanging or shooting to kill a 7-year-old boy… is a crime against humanity.”

Dawoud Ahmadi, said “The innocent boy was not a spy, but he may have informed the police or soldiers about planted explosives,” Ahmadi told Central Asia Today. “If this is true, it is an absolutely horrific crime,” added British Prime Minister David Cameron, while on a stop in Kabul. “I think it says more about the Taliban than any book, than any article, than any speech could ever say.” Ahmadi said: “His grandfather is a tribal elder in the village and the village is under the control of the Taliban. His grandfather said some good things about the government and he formed a small group of people to stand against the Taliban. That’s why the Taliban killed his grandson in revenge.”

Qari Yousef Ahmaid, the Taliban spokesman, denies that any of his militants were involved. “The Taliban’s enemies are the Afghan Government and the foreign forces,” he said. “We never kill children. Everyone knows a seven-year-old can’t be a spy.”

For more information, please see:

CNN World News – Officials: Taliban executed boy, 7, for spying – 10 June 2010

London Times – Taleban hang 7-year-old boy to punish family – 11 June 2010

Pattaya Daily News – Taliban Hang 7-Year-Old Allegedly Spying for Allied Forces – 11 June 2010

New York Daily News – Taliban hang 7-year-old boy accused of being a spy – 10 June 2010

Kuwait Continues to Detain Journalist-Blogger and Ban Media Coverage

June 12, 2010

By Warren Popp,
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Al-Jasem has been held for more that the 21 days allowed under Kuwaiti law. (Photo Courtesy of AFP)

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait – As Kuwait maintains the detention of the prominent Kuwaiti journalist-blogger, Mohammad Abdel Qader al-Jasem, domestic and international pressure for his release have grown. These pressures include condemnation and calls for al-Jasem’s immediate release by human rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Reporters Without Borders, along with protests by hundreds of Kuwaiti legislators, former members of parliament, and political and rights activists. The government has also drawn condemnation for its decision to ban media coverage of his case.

Originally sentenced in April to six months in prison on charges of slandering the prime minister of Kuwait, HRW reports that al-Jasim now faces charges of “instigating to overthrow the regime,” “slight to the personage of the amir [the ruler of Kuwait],” and “instigating to dismantle the foundations of Kuwaiti society.” These charges are based on posting on his blog over the past 5 years that are critical of the government and public officials, as well as three books on politics in Kuwait.

According to HRW, al-Jasem has been the object of more than 20 formal complaints throughout his career in relation to his writings and statements, including “remarks he made at a private gathering in the house of a member of parliament at which he allegedly questioned the prime minister’s fitness for office and called for his removal”—the source of the main allegations against him in his April trial.

Al-Jasem has now been detained for more than the 21 day maximum that is allowed under Kuwait’s criminal procedure laws for pre-trial detentions without an extension by a court order. The Court did order that Al-Jasem, who reportedly is in ill-health, to be examined by a medical commission.

Kuwait’s spokesman and Communications Minister, Mohammad al-Baseeri, stated,
“Jassem is now in the hands of the judiciary and we trust its justice and we do not accept any external interference.”

Human Rights Watch has reviewed some of the articles that allegedly were written to incite violence and “instigat[e] the overthrow of the regime”, and found that they are simply criticism of public officials.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Rights Body Urges Kuwait to Stop Prosecuting Writer – 8 June 2010

Arab Times – Court Shuns Demands to Call PM, Hire New Lawyer – 7 June 2010

Gulf Daily News – Hundreds Rally to Free Writer – 11 June 2010

Human Rights Watch – Kuwait: End Persecution of Journalist-Blogger – 7 June 2010

Kuwait Times – ‘Legal Amendments Needed to Prevent Recurrence of Incident’ – 20 May 2010

Reporters Without Borders – Mohammed Abdel Qader al Jassem has Detention Extended – 7 June 2010

Seven Bosnian Serbs Convicted for 1995 Srebrenica Massacre

June 11, 2010

By Tristan Simoneau
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – On Thursday seven former Bosnian Serb military leaders were convicted for war crimes related to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of thousands of Muslim men in the former Yugoslavia. A total of 5,300 exhibits were admitted and 315 witnesses were heard during the four-year trial, the biggest to date at the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Two of the military leaders, Ljubisa Beara and Vujadin Popovic, were sentenced to life in prison by the UN court. Beara and Popovic received life sentences for “genocide, extermination, murder, and persecution”. The judges found they were key henchmen of commander General Ratko Mladic, who is still on the run. Five other officers were sentenced to between 5 and 35 years for lesser crimes. The ICTY has so far indicted 21 individuals for crimes committed in Srebrenica.

The Srebrenica massacre resulted in the deaths of more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys. Most were killed while trying to escape through the woods, or arrested and then taken to places of execution before burial in mass graves. The executions took place between July 13 and 23, 1995 after Bosnian Serb forces overran Dutch peacekeepers in the UN-protected zones of Srebrenica and Zepa.

“The scale and nature of the murder operation, with the staggering number of killings, the systematic and organized manner in which it was carried out, the targeting and relentless pursuit of the victims, and the plain intention, apparent from the evidence, to eliminate every Bosnian Muslim male who was captured or surrendered proves beyond reasonable doubt that this was genocide,” the trial chamber found. The five-day slaughter was the worst European massacre since World War II.

The Srebrenica massacre is part of indictments against Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, whose trial is still ongoing, and Bosnian Serb army leader Ratko Mladic, who is still being sought for genocide. Mladic has been a fugitive for 15 years and is the most wanted man in Europe. His fugitive status is a major obstacle for Serbia’s ambitions of joining the European Union. The Serbian Parliament officially condemned the massacre in March.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Seven convicted over 1995 Sebrenica Massacre — 10 June 2010

INDITOP – Seven Bosnian Serbs convicted for Srebrenica Massacre — 10 June 2010

REUTERS – Bosnian Serbs convicted for Sebrenica war crimes — 10 June 2010