Discrimination Against Roma Children Continues In Czech Schools

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Report, Europe

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Discrimination against Roma children continues to exist in the the public educational system in the Czech Republic, according to Amnesty International.

The report by the international human rights watchdog indicated that it has become common practice in the Czech Republic for the children of Roma, or Gypsies, to be transferred by the government to schools designed to house those with mental disabilities.  These schools, now known as ‘practical’ schools, offer limited academic opportunities.  The limited opportunities result in many Roma becoming unable to receive the necessary vocational or academic skills to obtain adequate employment.  Approximately fourth-fifths of the students in these alternative schools are of Roma descent, while only 2% of the children of the non-Romi majority attend.

The Europe program director for Amnesty International, Nicola Duckworth, has stated that “education is a way out of a vicious circle of poverty and marginalisation that affects a large part of the Roma population in the country.  Unless the Czech authorities give them equal opportunities, they will be denying Romani children their chances for a better future and full participation in the life of the country.”  The Amnesty International report, which studied four schools in the eastern portion of the country, calls for an immediate freeze on the placement of any student in the ‘practical’ schools in the 2010-2011 school year.

There are approximately 300,000 Roma in the Czech Republic, and over 8 million Roma in all of Europe, mostly in the center of the continent.  The Roma have historically faced educational and work discrimination across Europe.

This report does not mark the first time a human rights group that attempted to push for a change regarding the treatment of Roma in the Czech school system.  Over a dozen organizations, including the European Roma Rights Center, have sought to end the segregation that is resulting from the student transferring process.  In 2007, as a result of a case brought by eighteen Roma, the European Court of Human Rights ordered the Czech Prague to discontinue this practice, amending the educational system if necessary.  Amnesty International, in its report, stated that the changes made by the Czech government following the 2007 court ruling have not been sufficient.

The Czech government has offered no response to the conclusions drawn in the Amnesty International report.

For more information, please see:

SOFIA ECHO – Amnesty: End segregation in Czech schools – 14 January 2010

ROMEA – Amnesty International calls on Czech Republic to guarantee full education for all – 14 January 2010

AP – Report: Czechs Still Segregating Gypsy Kids – 13 January 2010

BBC – Amnesty says Czech schools still fail Roma Gypsies – 13 January 2010

FINANCIAL TIMES – Roma children segregated in Czech schools – 13 January 2010

Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Missing

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – It has been almost a year since the Nobel Peace Prize nominee and leading human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was taken by the Chinese authorities.

After reports surfaced saying that Gao has been “missing” since September, there is speculation that Gao may have been tortured and killed in a detention center.

Gao’s brother came to Beijing to inquire the whereabouts of his brother and was told by a police official that Gao lost his way while out on a walk and then went missing.

Gao has been under the radar of the Chinese authorities for his work in defending members of the outlawed Falun Gong and for working with underground Christian organizations.  He was also accused of being too pro-American.  Gao’s license to practice law was revoked back in 2005.

Human rights activists are particularly worried about Gao’s disappearance because of the gross mistreatment Gao suffered during his previous incarceration.

Gao published a letter after his release few years ago saying that he was subjected to more than a month of torture where he was jabbed with an electric baton and his genitals were pierced with toothpicks.  He said the guards also urinated on him and beat until he could not stop shaking.

Gao said he was told that he would be killed if he ever spoke publically about his detention.

His wife and two children have been granted asylum in the United States.  His wife, surprised to find out that the police could not account for her husband’s disappearance, said, “If he’s alive, let us see him.  If he’s dead, tell us where his body is.”

Another lawyer and a friend of Gao, Teng Biao, also said, “This is the first time the police have come up with ‘went missing’ as an excuse.  That’s impossible.  Gao was in their custody and could go nowhere.”

Advocates say that Gao is the victim of the “legal system whose corruption he worked to expose.”  In addition to human rights, Gao had been fighting for judicial independence, rule of law and impartiality in Chinese legal system.

Rights group like Human Rights in China are demanding that the Chinese authorities stop acting with impunity and provide full and immediate account of Gao’s whereabouts.

For more information, please see:

The Independent – Did the Chinese security forces kill Gao Zhisheng? – 16 January 2010

NYT – Chinese Lawyer Declared ‘Missing’ After Arrest – 15 January 2010

WSJ – Where is Gao Zhisheng? – 17 January 2010

Afghan Suicide Bombing Kills Twenty

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan- On Thursday a suicide bomber blew himself up at a crowded market in a restive district of southern Afghanistan, killing up to 20 people in the deadliest attack in four months.

The bombing which occurred in the Dihrawud district of Uruzgan province comes as attacks by the Taliban militia increase in frequency. Afghan army General Abdul Hameed, commander of national forces in Uruzgan said, “This was a suicide bomber on foot who detonated himself at the gate of a money exchange market.” He added, “Up to now, 20 civilians have been killed and 13 wounded,”

The bomb could have gone off prematurely as the bomber waited for a military or police convoy to attack, said a deputy police commissioner.

In early September, 22 people were killed by a suicide bomber outside a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, and at least 43 died in an attack in Kandahar in August just days after President Hamid Karzai returned to power, following a fraud-tainted presidential election.

In another attack in the neighboring province of Helmand, a police officer was killed and five others were injured, NATO and Afghan authorities said.

Although there has been no immediate claim of responsibility, both attacks bore the hallmarks of the Taliban.  In the Helmand attack, an explosive-packed car was responsible for killing the police officer and injuring four others.  “According to initial reports one Afghan police officer has been killed and four wounded in a suicide-vehicle IED strike in Musa Qala,” NATO’s International Security Assiatance Force said.  Abdul Salem, the district chief of Musa Qala, confirmed the attack.

Innocent civilians caught in the cross-fire between insurgents and Afghan and Western troops have borne the brunt of the violence.

A UN report released on Wednesday said the number civilians killed in violence in 2009 was higher than in any year since the Taliban were removed in 2001.  The UN Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) reported that civilian casualties rose by 14% in 2009 compared with 2008. In total more than 2,400 civilians were killed in 2009. The report also said that 67 percent of civilian deaths were caused by Taliban attacks, while international troops and Afghan security forces were responsible for 25 percent.

For more information, please see:

BBC News- Suicide Bombing Kills 20 in Afghanistan Market– 14 January 2010

Associated Foreign Press- Afghan Market Suicide Bombing Kills 20 : General– 14 January 2010

Los Angeles Times- Afghanistan Suicide Attack Kills 20 – 15 January 2010

Indigenous Radio Shut Down in Ecuador

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SUCUA, Ecuador-Radio Voice of Arutam, the primary radio station broadcasting to the Shuar indigenous community in the Amazon region, was taken off the air last week for violating Ecuador’s Broadcasting Act. The government contends that the station violated Article 58 of the Act when it allegedly incited violence during protests against the government in October 2009.

International rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch have denounced the government’s actions. the Committee to Protect Journalists referred to the government shut down as “nothing but an attempt to intimidate the media into silence.”

The community was protesting to protect their “Plan of Life,” against government proposals that would allow their territory to be used for mining without their consent. A teacher and community member died during the protest after he was shot.

The Shuar have pledged to continue their legal battle in the courts, arguing that they provide a community service by airing messages in their own language to a poor community where TV and electric power are almost unknown.

The station argues that even though Arutam was issued a commercial frequency license, they acted as a community service station allowing thousands of their people to communicate with others through the use of a simple message. For example, to notify family members that one has arrived safely at a destination after traveling by car, canoe, or by foot. The Shuar use the radio station, known as “the voice of the jungle” to pass along this information.

Thirteen other radio frequencies have been taken off the air. The government also shut down a television broadcasting company for violating a rule prohibiting false information that could lead to social disturbances.

In the first instance, the station allegedly made a false report that the government’s electoral commission had a “clandestine center” where voting results were manipulated. The second offense was an allegedly false report stating that people on the island of Puná would not be able to fish for six months because of proposed exploration for natural gas.

The Arutam plan on taking their case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights if the court decision stands. They have also pledged to broadcast clandestinely.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian-Power Versus the Press-8 January 2009

Global Voices-Ecuador:Radio Voice of Arutam Taken Off the Air-14 January 2010

The Huffington Post-Media Battles in Latin America Not About Free Speech-17 January 2009

Chemical Ali Receives Fourth Death Sentence

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On January 15 Ali Hassan al-Majid was sentenced to death by hanging by an Iraqi court. Saddam Hussein’s senior aide, also known as “Chemical Ali,” was convicted of ordering the gassing of the Kurds in the Iraqi town of Halabja in 1988. The attack killed an estimated five thousand people and took place near the end of the Iran-Iraq War. This marked the fourth time that Majid has been sentenced to death.

During the 1988 attacks, Iraqi jets swooped over the small north eastern Iraqi town. The jets proceeded to spray Halabja for five hours with a deadly cocktail of mustard gas and Tabun, Sarin and VX, all nerve agents. The was part of Iraq’s Anfal campaign, which Majid was in charge of overseeing. Most of the five thousand Kurds that died were women and children. Majid said “thanks be to God” as the sentence was being read.

Majid was a close cousin of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. He earned his moniker from ordering the poisonous gas attacks in a campaign of bombings and mass deportations that killed over one hundred eighty thousand Kurds during the 1980s. He received his first death sentence from these attacks.

“Chemical Ali” received his second death sentence in December 2008 for war crimes committed during a 1991 Shi’ite uprising in southern Iraq that proved to be ill-fated. His third death sentence came in March 2009 for the 1999 murders of dozens of Shi’ites in Sadr City and Najaf.

It is not clear when Majid will ultimately be executed. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said that it woudl take place soon. Dabbagh told Reuters that “it will not take a long time for Hassan al-Majid to receive his just punishment for the crimes he committed against the Iraqi people.” Despite the wishes of Iraqi authorities, Majid still has the right to appeal to the sentence.

Majid’s first execution was due to be carried out by October 2007. It was ultimately delayed so as not to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Majid was first captured in August 2003, five months after US-led forces invaded Iraq.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Iraq’s ‘Chemical Ali’ Sentenced to Death – 17 January 2010

Al Jazeera – ‘Chemical Ali’ Sentenced to Death – 17 January 2010

BBC – Fourth Death Sentence for ‘Chemical Ali’ – 17 January 2010

Reuters – Iraq’s “Chemical Ali” gets 4th Death Sentence – 17 January 2010