Victims Speak Out About Khmer Rouge Pain

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia– Three decades have passed since the Khmer Rouge caused the deaths of as many as two million Cambodians. Despite the long-awaited, and much-delayed, Khmer Rouge tribunal, many survivors and families of victims are beginning to speak out against the lack of justice, even though for the first time at an international criminal tribunal, victims have been represented as well as the defense and prosecutors.

Chem Mey, a 78-year old survivor, commented that he, “lost my family,” and that the regime “killed my children and my wife. Nobody had rights or freedom then. That’s why now I want to find justice – for the victims and the younger generation.” The former mechanic not only lost his family to the Khmer Rouge, he also suffered torture and beatings at the notorious S-21 detention center in Phnom Penh. At least 14,000 inmates passed through the tiny cells of Phnom Penh and torture chambers in the late 1970s; and Chum Mey is one of only three confirmed, living survivors.

At the tribunal, along with almost a hundred other people, Chum Mey was accepted as a civil party in the trial of the man who ran S-21, Kaing Guek Eav, commonly referred to as Comrade Duch.

After closing statements in November, civil parties like Chum Mey felt that their rights to speak and question witnesses had been restricted. Lawyers of many civil parties complained that little interest was shown in their testimony. According to one civil party lawyer, Silke Studzinsky, “They felt that the trial chamber was not very receptive to their sufferings.” She went on to say that “This left for them the impression that the trial chamber was rather uninterested in their stories.” Despite the frustration, various local and international lawyers worked with several different groups of victims through the closing statements, but there seemed to be little coordination among them.

Although it is too late to impact the trial of Duch, a second trial, believed unlikely to start until the middle of 2011 is expected to take a different approach to give voice to victims such as Chum Mey. Instead of a myriad of lawyers, there will be one lead counsel for the civil parties to mirror the approach taken by the prosecution and defense.

For more information, please see:

BBC World News – Khmer Rouge survivors feel justice denied -January 4, 2010

Earth Times – Historic Khmer Rouge tribunal has lessons for the world – December 13, 2009

Phnom Penh Post – Genocide charges laid at KRT – December 17, 2009

Several Foreigners Among Detainees in Iran

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – The Iran State Media released information that several foreigners were detained during violent protests in December 2009. 

A video of the clashes with police posted to the internet.  Courtesy of YouTube.com.

In a speech made on state television, Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi told the people of Iran that several foreigners had been arrested during the protests.  He went on to explain that these detainees are suspected of “pursuing propoganda and psychological warfare” against the government of Iran.  Several of the foreigners had arrived in Iran only two days before the protests; Moslehi explained that their belongings, including cameras and equipment, have been seized. 

Moslehi did not specify an exact number of foreigners seized, only that several were detained.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic News Agency, an state-run Iranian company, released a report on January 4 that accuses sixty-two American and European institutes and foundations of assisting with the political disturbances following the Iranian presidential election in 2009.  The report accused these foundations and institutes of participating in false “public diplomacy” and “media diplomacy,” while creating a “soft war” against the government of Iran. 

The report named several of the accused institutions, including the Woodrow Wilson Center, Freedom House Charities, the Hoover Institute of Stanford University, Yale University and all affiliated centers and programs, and Human Rights Watch.  According to a statement by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Information, cooperation with these organizations is considered contrary to the Holy Islamic Republic.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Foreign Nationals Among Protest Detainees, Says Iran – 4 January 2010

Al Jazeera – Foreigners ‘Among Iran Arrests’ – 4 January 2010

Islamic Republic News Agency – نقش 62 بنياد و موسسه امريکايي و اروپايي در ايجاد اغتشاشات پس از انتخابات (The Role of 62 American and European Institutes and Foundations in Creating Disturbances After the Election)[Available in Farsi only] – 4 January 2010

Reuters Canada – Iran Says Several Foreigners Arrested in Protests – 4 January 2010

YouTube – نبرد تن به تن و نفس گیر مردم با گارد ویژه – عاشورا (Video of Protests on Ashura) – 30 December 2009

Turkey Vows Changes in 2010

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ANKARA, Turkey– Recently, critics across the globe have said that Turkey is drifting away from the West in its foreign policy.  In response, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, predicts a strong Turkey in 2010 by which the country will have a 360-degree view of the globe from Ankara.

Davutoglu expects a very strong Turkey in the upcoming year.  “Turkey’s foreign policy has three main principles: it is vision oriented, not crisis oriented; it is proactive, not reactive; and it is integrated and systematic beyond just a single axis,” said Davutoglu last week during his last press conference of 2009.

In further explaining his visions for the coming year, Davutoglu foresees an EU-member Turkey that is able to spread peace to its neighboring countries in addition to becoming one of the ten most influential countries in the world.

To that end, Davutoglu said there was no room for terror and human rights violations in that vision.  “Freedoms and security should not be set against one another.  The two are valuable once they are both together.  The more the sphere of democracy gets wider, the less the sphere terrorism covers,” said Davutoglu.

In meeting that vision, Turkey’s foreign policy will act quickly in the New Year.  Davutoglu is traveling to Saudi Arabia this week to discuss Turkish foreign policy.  In addition, all of Turkey’s ambassadors throughout the world will convene in Ankara the first week of January to discuss all aspects of the country’s foreign policy.  This meeting, titled “Democracy, Security and Stability: Outlook for 2010 in the World and in Turkish Foreign Policy,” is a full scale attempt by the government in Ankara to generate solutions to problems in the twenty-first century.

Despite their promises to spread peace in the region, Turkey’s recent moves have raised fear among rivals in the region and those in the West because the move comes after years of Turkey ignoring those in the region and so their newfound motive is being questioned.

For more information, please see:

Hurriyet Daily News- Turkish Foreign Minister Meets with Saudi King– 3 January 2010

Hurriyet Daily News- Foreign Minister Vows a Stronger Turkey in 2010– 31 December 2009

Sunday’s Zaman- A Stronger Turkey Means More Rivals in the Region– 13 December 2009

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