Aftermath of Russian Prison Scandal Results in Wider Prison Reforms

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed legislation this week aimed at reforming his country’s prison system.

Under the new legislation, which amends the country’s criminal code, those who commit a tax crime but then agree to pay the back taxes, as well as the appropriate fine, will avoid any jail time.  Those awaiting trial for tax crimes also can no longer be jailed during the pretrial proceedings.  The requisite amount of money that will qualify a particular situation for the application of more serious tax evasion charges has also been increased.  Responsibility for future alleged tax crime investigations will also be shifted from the Interior Ministry to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Medvedev has indicated that it is his hope that these changes will decrease the common practice in Russia of prosecutors attempting to force suspects in giving confessions rather than carrying out a proper investigation.

These changes are part of a larger groups of proposed reforms that President Medvedev says are necessary to modernize Russia criminal justice system which “has not changed for decades”.  There are also expected to be additional changes in the future regarding those convicted of economic and non-violent offences.  These reforms come in the aftermath of the death of lawyer Sergei L. Magnitsky, who died in a Moscow prison while awaiting trial on charges of tax evasion for more than a year.  Regional and international focus on this incident increased the pressure on Russia’s leaders to take this action.

Medvedev also dismissed Alexander Piskunov, the deputy director of the Federal Penitentiary Service system.  Piskunov’s dismissal marks the twentieth firing of a leading prison system official since the death of Magnitsky this past December.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Medvedev bans imprisonment of tax offence suspects – 29 December 2009

CBS – Russian President Bans Tax Crime Suspects’ Jailing – 29 December 2009

MOSCOW TIMES – No Jail for Tax Suspects – 21 December 2009

NEW YORK TIMES – Russia: No Jail for Tax Fraud Suspects – 29 December 2009

RT – Medvedev goes mild on tax evasion – 29 December 2009

Volleyball Bomb Death Toll Climbs to More Than 90

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, AsiaISLAMABAD, Pakistan-The death toll from a suicide attack on a volleyball match in northwest Pakistan has risen as rescuers searched for bodies at the scene.  Ninety-three people have been confirmed dead after the bombing in Lakki Marwat.

Police say elderly people and children were watching the game when the suicide-bomber drove his vehicle onto the field.  Police state that at least six children were among those killed and more than 100 people were injured.  It was the deadliest attack in the region since a Peshawar bombing in October which killed over 100.

Since the beginning of October more than 600 people have died in militant attacks, most of which are believed to be in retaliation for the Pakistan army’s new campaign against the Taliban.

Attacks on sporting events is unusual, and no group has claimed responsibility for the blast, but analysts say that is not uncommon when many civilians are killed. Police say the attack may have been retaliation for attempts by local residents to get rid of militants.  Chief Ayub Khan told news agencies ” Locals set up a militia and expelled the militants from this area.  This attack seems to be a reaction to their expulsion.” Among those killed are believed to be members of a local peace committee who have been campaigning for an end to the violence.

A member of the committee, Mushtaq Marwat, said the attack occurred as the committee met in a nearby mosque. On Saturday, body parts remained strewn across the field and emergency services were still searching the rubble for victims in the attack.  A man injured in the explosion said: “All the people had gathered together watching [the game], when suddenly a [Mitsubishi] Pajero came in the middle of the field and blew up…Suddenly there was a huge blast.  We went out and saw bodies and injured people everywhere.”

The military was deployed to help authorities with the clean-up process. Lakki Marwat lies near North and South Waziristan, where insurgents have launched attacks across north-west Pakistan, as well as into parts of Afghanistan.  In response to the attack , security was increased as a precaution for a boxing tournament in Karachi on Saturday, featuring teams from India and China.

This is the second bombing in a week. On Monday a bombing left 43 people dead in a Shiite Muslim march, an attack for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.

For more information, please see:

BBC News- Pakistan Volleyball Bomb Toll Climbs To More Than 90– 2 January 2010

SkyNews- Death Toll Rises In Volleyball Game Attack – 2 January 2010

ABC News- Volleyball Blast Death Toll Rises To 93– 2 January 2010

Chinese Activist Camped Out at Tokyo Airport

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NARITA, Japan– Since November 4, 2009, Feng Zhenghu has been living at Japan’s Narita International Airport.  Feng sleeps on a plastic bench at the airport and survives on crackers and noodles from the airport staff and passengers.

Feng is a Japan-educated Chinese scholar and human rights activist who has been barred from returning to China.  Although Feng carries a valid Chinese passport, he has been denied entry into his homeland China eight times since last June.

He last attempted to return to China in November and got as far as Shanghai’s Pudong Airport, but Chinese officials forced him back on the plane to Japan.

Chinese at naritaFeng Zhenghu at Japan’s Narita Airport. Courtesy of BBC.

Feng said, “I’m a Chinese citizen, and I just want to go back to China.  It’s outrageous that I can’t return to my own country.”

China has denied Feng’s re-entry because of his writings on the misconduct of Chinese authorities and for his support of student protests, which have angered the Chinese authorities.

Frustrated, Feng has decided to camp out in Japan’s Narita Airport.  He wears a shirt that says “Return to China” in English and spends time on his mobile phone and laptop talking to his supporters and reading the news.

Confined to an area that leads to immigration control, Feng has no access to shops.

Narita Airport’s Security Director Teruhisa Misu commented, “Mr. Feng is camping out at the restricted area where people are not supposed to stay…[w]e worry about his health.  It gets colder…and I’m not sure he is getting enough to eat.”

Japanese officials have urged Feng to enter Japan, but he has declined.  Chinese officials have not said much regarding Feng’s case, but did insist that Feng be dealt with the relevant Chinese law.  Feng has also declined refugee status from the UN.  This deadlock can potentially last until June when Feng’s visa expires.

Feng did acknowledge that he knows he is causing trouble for Japan, but has criticized the Chinese government for being responsible for the problem and for not taking steps to resolve his predicament.

He added, “There’s no shower, no bath.  It’s very difficult because people stare at me as though I’m a beggar.  It’s very, very difficult.  It’s very hard to endure psychologically.”
For more information, please see:

BBC – China activist in for long haul at Tokyo airport – 10 December 2009

Guardian – In the next decade, I hope for a spirit of ‘sharism’ – 3 January 2010

The New Zealand Herald – 50 days camped out in an airport – 24 December 2009

Ugandan Troops Kill LRA Leader in CAR

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda – A Senior Commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army militant group in the Central African Republic (CAR) has been killed.

On Friday, along with one of his fighters, Bok Abudema was killed.  According to military and intelligence officials, he was effectively the militant group’s second-in-command, since the wounding of Deputy Commander Okot Odhiambo about a year ago.

“After Odhiambo sustained serious injuries, Abudema took over as the overall commander and deputy to Kony,” said an unnamed intelligence officer.  “[The captured rebel fighters] know him as the most senior after Kony until we got him.”

He added, “To us at the moment [Odhiambo] is immaterial because he is no longer a threat.”

Two women were found with the men and were freed, according to an army spokesman.

In a campaign to destroy the LRA, the Ugandan army is operating outside of its own borders.  The LRA was once largely concentrated in northern Uganda until a successful campaign by the army drove the group out.  The Ugandan army has since deployed to northern Democratic Republic of Congo, southern Sudan, and the CAR, where the LRA moved.

The LRA is scattered across dense forests and swamps, savannah, and deserts in a remote area, ideal locations for guerilla operations.

Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Felix Kulayigye reported that LRA Leader Joseph Kony was moving between the CAR and Sudan’s Darfur region in order to escape Ugandan army patrols.

“This was a New Year’s gift to Uganda,” said Lt. Col. Kulayigye.  “He was a notorious commander but his life has come to an end.”

A number of senior commanders in the LRA have been killed.  In November, Okello Kutti, another senior commander of the LRA, was killed.  In September, a top bodyguard to Kony was captured.

Last month, United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay demanded the capture of LRA leaders for crimes against humanity, including killings, torture, rape of hundreds of civilians, and abducting women and children for use as sex slaves and porters.

“[The carefully synchronized attacks on villages], and systematic and widespread human rights violations carried out by the LRA…may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said Pillay’s report.  “The international community, including governments in the region, should cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to search for, arrest, and surrender the LRA leaders accused of crimes against humanity.”

Kony and two other LRA leaders are wanted by the ICC on 33 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

A peace agreement was reached by rebel leaders and the Ugandan government in April 2008 but Kony has repeatedly failed to appear to sign the deal.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Ugandan Rebel Leader Killed in Cent.Africa Republic – 02 January 2010

BBC – Uganda Reports Killing LRA Commander Abudema in CAR – 02 January 2010

NY Times – Uganda Troops Kill a Rebel Leader – 02 January 2010

Mousavi Responds to Iranian Government

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi released a statement denouncing the Iranian government’s actions and calling for changes.  In the statement, he criticized the government crackdown on the protesters and called for a restoration of civil liberties to those detained in the aftermath.  Mousavi went on to say that the threats to his life would not deter him, and that he was ready to be a martyr, if necessary.

In his statement, Mousavi gave the government five proposals.  First, Mousavi argued that the administration must be accountable to the people and to parliament.  He stated that it must also be accountable to the judiciary and that the government must take resposibility for its actions.  The reformist explained that the people will not consider the administration to be competent and legitimate unless they take these actions. 

In his second proposal, Mousavi explained that Iran must draft a transparent and reliable election law.  He stated that the law should reassure the people that their elections are fair and unaffected by fraud and intervention. 

Next, Mousavi demanded that the government release the political prisoners.  He also asked that the government reestablish the reputations of those detainees. 

In his fourth demand, he asked the government to lift the restrictions on freedom of the press and and that the newspapers that were closed be allowed to reopen.

Finally, Mousavi has asked that the government respect the human and civil rights contained within Article 27 of the Constitution which allows people to gather and grants the right to freedom of association.

Iranian media has interpreted Mousavi’s proposals as his acceptance that the elections are over and that the result will not change.  Tehran Times posted that Mousavi also condemned the protesters for their actions on the during Ashura.  Western media, on the other hand, has not reported any statements condemning the protesters and continued to report only on his statements against the government.

For more information, please see:

Financial Times – Opposition Chief in Iran Ready for Martyrdom – 2 January 2010

Tehran Times – Mousavi Makes Five Proposals – 2 January 2010

CNN – Iran Reformist Criticized Government Crackdown – 1 January 2010

Los Angeles Times – Opposition Leader Denounces Iran’s Crackdown – 1 January 2010

Wall Street Journal – Opposition Leader Strikes Back in Iran – 1 January 2010