U.S. Plans to Hand Bagram Over to Afghanistan

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BAGRAM, Afghanistan – The US recently released a statement divulging a definite plan to relinquish its absolute military control over the Bagram air-base.  Although both Afghan and US officials acknowledge that the process will entail some convoluted technicalities, there seems to be a mutual promise of greater transparency and humane practices regarding the treatment of inmates.  The US’s designs to give up full control of Bagram over seems to be part fulfillment of the Obama administration’s statement made in the late months of 2009 regarding openness in procedures in the miltary prison.

Both the US and Afghanistan agree that the US will retain some degree of functioning in the operation of Bagram, but the prison will be ultimately under the rule of Afghanistan.  Both governments aspire to create a situation in which Afghanistan can fully oversee Bagram’s operations by January 2011.

Bagram air-base currently holds approximately 750 inmates, about 30 among them being foreign nationals.  The prison was also significantly renovated in the 2009, expanded to accommodate over 1,100 inmates and a larger military presence within the walls of the complex itself.  The Obama administration’s promise of greater transparency regarding the treatment of inmates was delivered soon after the completion of the Bagram renovation project.

Although the Afghan government’s control over the air-base turned prison could signify a progressive step towards more humane practices, Bagram’s notoriety could continue to attract criticism and the scrutiny of the international community.  The prison has drawn inevitable comparisons to Guantanamo Bay, and human rights groups have even stated that the conditions and treatment of prisoners in Bagram is actually worse.  Prisoners have actually complained that they have been afforded less civil rights than the inmates in Guantanamo.

Numerous investigations into the conditions and practices and Bagram have been conducted to confirm the mistreatment of inmates.  Many of the inmates were taken from nations surrounding Afghanistan and transported to the prison without knowing the reason for their detention.  Also, in 2002, two inmates died in Bagram and investigations revealed that they had been subject to sleep deprivation and severe beatings.  Other rights violations in the prison include the confirmed detention of inmates under the age of sixteen, subject to the same harsh treatment as all other inmates.

The Afghan control over Bagram could be an opportunity to protect the rights of prisoners and maintain a more transparent mode of operations within the facility.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – US unveils Bagram handover plan – 27 February 2010

Current.com – US Signs Agreement to Hand Over Bagram Military Prison to Afghanistan – 11 January 2010

Xinhua – US to hand over detention center to Afghan gov’t – 11 January 2010

Quebec Woman Files Complaint After Being Expelled for Face Covering

By William Miller

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

QUEBEC, Canada – A Quebec woman has filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission after being expelled from a state funded French class for refusing to remove her niqab, a veil which covers the face leaving only the eyes exposed. Yolanda James, spokeswoman for the Immigration Minister in Canada, says the state stands by the decision because religious face coverings interfere with the teacher’s ability to conduct the class.

Luc Fortin who spoke for James while she was out of the country on vacation said, “It is important for the teacher to see the student’s mouth to teach good elocution. A niqab interferes with that objective. We cannot allow the learning environment to be compromised.”

Neama, a Quebec Citizen was expelled from French class after refusing to remove her veil when speaking in class. (PHOTO: CBC)
Neama, a Quebec Citizen was expelled from French class after refusing to remove her veil when speaking in class. (PHOTO: CBC)

Neama who asked only to be identified by her first name emigrated from Egypt with her husband. She is currently a permanent resident of Canada. When she enrolled in a course designed to teach French to immigrants she informed the school that she could not remove her niqab because there were male students in the class.

At first the school went to great lengths to compromise with Neama. She was allowed to sit in the front of the class so only the female teacher would see her face should she need to remove her veil. She was also permitted to give oral presentations from the rear of the class so no male student could see her. The Government run school finally expelled her when she refused to remove the veil when male students in the back of the class could see her.

The decision has sparked debate between were limits on religious freedom should be placed. President of the Muslim Rights Council in Montreal, Salam Elmenyawi said “To deny a person the chance of integration just because they follow what they believe is correct for them is wrong. It’s this idea of manufacturing cases of manufacturing cases of hysteria over reasonable accommodation.”

The government however has stuck to the position that the veil was disruptive to the classroom environment. Fortin said that Neama’s refusal to remove her veil even when allowed to give her presentation at the back of the room because male students might still see her face created a tense atmosphere. Others find the face covering to be offensive, viewing it as a symbol of woman’s oppression.

Neama has started taking French classes at another school. The commission will review her case this coming spring.

For more information, please see:

Toronto Star – Student Files Rights Case over Quebec Niqab Ban – 4 March 2010

CBC – Quebec to Address Niqab Issue – 3 March 2010

Montreal Gazette – Niqab Heats up Rights Controversy – 3 March 2010

At Least 60 Die in Indian Temple Stampede

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

UTTAR PRADESH, India- At least 63 people have died in a stampede after the gate of a Hindu temple collapsed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police say.  Dozens were also injured in the panic that in ensued at the temple in Pratapgarh district, 400 miles southeast of Delhi.  Police say that so far all of the dead identified are women and children.  The temple gate was still being built.  Hundreds of people have been killed in stampedes at crowded Indian temples in recent years.

Thursday’s incident happened at a popular Ram Janaki temple in the town of Kunda in Pratapgarh district, about 15 miles north of the city of Allahabad.  The owner of the temple is Jagadguru Kripalu Ji Maharaj, a Hindu holy man, who was marking the anniversary of the death of his wife with ritual feast, police say.

A large number of people had gathered for the ceremonial feast and clothing hand-out.  The stampede occurred when people rushed to collect the offerings being handed out.  Local journalists stated that those in the stampeded were mostly poor people from local villages.

According to police officials, an iron gate leading to the temple collapsed, which lead to a crowd surge.  From the scene of the disaster, assistant superintendent police SP Pathak told the AFP news agency “We have now counted all the bodies and they include 37 children and 26 women who had come to collect free gifts.”

Emergency teams and ambulances rushed to the site , some from neighboring districts and the injured have been taken to hospitals.

Hundreds gathered at local hospitals to receive news of their relatives.  38-year-old Gudal,whose seven-year-old- daughter died in the stampede, told the AP news agency “She had just wandered in to see what was happening.”

Government officials say it appears the organizers of the event were unprepared to deal with the size of the crowd.  Eyewitnesses state that it took some time for help to arrive on the scene.  This was not an isolated incident, with many similar accidents where large numbers of people congregate in an area that is unable to handle big gatherings.

In 2008, about 300 people were killed in stampedes.

For more information, please see:
RTE News- 63 Killed In Indian Temple Stampede– 4 March 2010
EURONEWS- 60 Die In Indian Temple Stampede– 4 March 2010

“Lady Genocide” of Rwanda Arrested in France

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

PARIS, France — French police arrested Agathe Habyarimana Tuesday, the widow of Juvenal Habyarimana, the Rwandan president whose plane was shot down in 1994, setting off the massacre of 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu. Agathe Habyarimana, who had been living in a Paris suburb for the past 12 years after fleeing her country, is wanted for trial in her homeland as one of the alleged masterminds of the 1994 genocide.

French police were acting on an international arrest warrant issued by Rwanda when they turned up at Habyarimana’s home in Courcouronnes, south of Paris, shortly before 8:00 am. The Tutsi-led government in Kigali has accused the 68-year-old woman of being a member of the “akazu” Hutu inner circle that planned the mass killings, a charge she has steadfastly denied.

Her arrest came a week after President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Kigali to seal the restoration of diplomatic ties between France and Rwanda after a three-year break. Kigali broke off relations with Paris in late 2006 after a French anti-terrorist judge implicated President Paul Kagame’s entourage in Habyarimana’s assassination.

During his trip, Sarkozy stopped short of offering an apology but admitted that France had made “mistakes” by failing to recognize the scale of the killings. After touring the genocide memorial, Sarkozy said France would do everything possible to ensure that “all those responsible for the genocide are found and are punished.”

Habyarimana’s lawyer, Philippe Meilhac, said the arrest of the widow dubbed “Lady Genocide” by some rights groups was directly linked to Sarkozy’s Kigali visit last week. “You can’t not draw a link,” said Meilhac. “The extradition request from Kigali dates back to November and was obviously re-activated” after Sarkozy returned from Rwanda.

Habyarimana was refused political asylum in 2004 and lost a final appeal in October before the State Council because French judges had found she was a central figure in the Hutu government that orchestrated the genocide. It was unclear if Mrs. Habyarimana would be extradited because France has refused to hand over other suspects for fear they would not receive fair trial.

Meilhac said that Habyarimana will fight extradition and that “if she must be heard, she asks that it be in a French or international court.” “She considers that Rwandan criminal courts are not sufficiently independent or impartial,” said Meilhac.

France has transferred three Rwandan suspects to Tanzania to face prosecution before an international tribunal, but judges have so far refused to extradite genocide suspects to Kigali.

For more information, please see:

The New Times – Agathe Habyarimana Arrested for Genocide – 3 March 2010

New York Times – Widow of a Rwandan Leader Is Arrested – 2 March 2010

AFP – Rwandan Leader’s Widow Arrested in France – 2 March 2010

United States Adopts Supplemental Poverty Measure

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States – Beginning in the fall of 2011, the United States federal government will use an experimental analysis in calculating the poverty level within the country.  The experimental analysis will be based on 1995 National Academy of Sciences recommendations on how to determine the poverty income level.  The recommendations will not replace the current policy of formulating income level.

The analysis by which the federal government calculates the poverty level was established in the 1960s.  It examines two factors to determine who is poor based on income in the U.S.  The formula took into consideration a family’s or person’s income level and the cost of food.  The formula was also based on a two parent, two children household. Currently, the income level of poverty in the United States is $22,050 for a family of four.  This formula also is the baseline for qualifying for entitlement programs, such as Medicaid and welfare.

The new formula, the Supplemental Poverty Measure, is designed to gauge the needs of the poor in today’s society by taking into consideration other services that are considered basic needs.  Under the new formula, health care costs, childcare expenses, utilities, geographic location, and little more money to provide greater security will be calculated into the poverty formulation.  It will also consider the receipt of entitlement, such as food stamps, in the formulation.

Commerce Department officials stated that the new analysis of the poverty income level will not replace the current formula.  They stated that the new way to examine poverty was an alternative to the current system. Rebecca Blank, Undersecretary for Economic Affairs at the Commerce Department, stated that the alternative formula gives the Department a new lens to examine the basic needs of Americans.

Many advocates for the poor are excited about the alternative formula.  They believe that the current way of calculating the poverty level is not realistic.  Vanessa Wight, a demographer at the National Center for Children in Poverty, stated “we’re going to see a more accurate measure, based on what it really takes to get by in America.”  She also stated that “it really costs about twice the poverty threshold for families to meet ends meet.”

For more information, please see:

Christian Science Monitor – Who’s poor in America? US tweaks how it defines poverty – 3 March 2010

Washington Post – New formula to give fresh look at U.S. poverty – 3 March 2010

NY Times – U.S. Plans New Measure for Poverty – 2 March 2010