12 Journalists Killed in Mexico in 2009

25 December 2009

12 Journalists Killed in Mexico in 2009

By Brenda Lopez Romero

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – The National Commission for Human Rights reported that as of today twelve journalists have been killed throughout the Republic of Mexico. It stated that eight persons considered disappeared should be added to the list of violence against reporters. Seven of the reporters had been victims of attempted killings.

The Commission stated that “Mexico has become one of the highest risks for working as a journalist.” The Commission also opened up an investigation to expedite the homicides of many of the victims, and has demanded that the government take a more proactive and efficient approach in their investigations in order to obtain justice.

The Commission reported that since 2000, a total of fifty-seven journalists have been victims of aggression with countless more in complaints of abuses against journalists. It reiterated that there are also countless more that go unreported. The Commission stated “every time there are more communicators that in the exercise of their profession, they are victims of threats, intimidations, persecutions, attempts, and forced disappearances.”

For more information, please see:

Milenio.com – Doce periodistas asesinados en Mexico durante 2009 – 25 December 2009

El Algora – Doce peiodistas han sido asesinados – 11 December 2009

Reporteros Sin Fronteras – Asesinados doce periodistas en Mindanao: “Un dia negro para la libertad de infromar – 23 November 2009

Prominent Chinese Dissident Sentenced to 11 Years

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– Liu Xiaobo, China’s most famous dissident, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for criticizing the Chinese government. 

The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People Court handed down a ruling on Christmas Day saying that Liu was “guilty of inciting subversion of state power.”  In China, those found guilty of inciting others by “spreading rumors…to subvert the State power” are subject to imprisonment of no less than five years.

Some have suggested that this verdict foreshadows that other detained activists will also face harsh punishments as China began tightening its already strict stance against dissidents. 

Many believe that Liu’s sentence is a warning against other activists, including human rights lawyers whose licenses to practice law have not been renewed by the government this year.

Phelim Kine, a researcher at the rights group Human Rights Watch, said, “The fact is that Liu Xiaobo is neither a subversive nor a criminal and the severity of the verdict against him suggests that the Chinese government is ready and willing to take an unyieldingly harsh line against human rights activist in the year ahead.”

One of Liu’s attorneys, Ding Xikui, said they will be appealing the decision as there were some flaws during the trial procedure.  In fact, Human Rights Watch has criticized the Chinese government for violating Liu’s rights and for showing contempt for China’s commitment to universal human rights.

Human Rights Watch’s Asia director, Sophie Richardson, added, “The only purpose of this trial [was] to dress up naked political repression in the trappings of legal proceedings.  Liu’s crimes are non-existent, yet his fate has been pre-determined.  This is a travesty of justice.”

However, appeals on political charges almost never succeed because political agenda supercede the written law in China.

Chinese officials were not available for comment, but China’s Xinhua news agency released a statement from the court which said that legal procedures were strictly followed and that the court fully protected Liu’s litigation rights.

Nonetheless, U.S. Embassy official Greg May said, “We are deeply concerned by the sentence…Persecution of individuals for peaceful expression of political views is inconsistent with internationally recognized norms of human rights.”

In addition, German Chancellor Angela Merkel responded to Liu’s sentence by saying that the Chinese government “still massively restricts freedom of opinion.”  However, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has remained silent.
For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – China: Liu Xiaobo’s Trial a Travesty of Justice – 21 December 2009

Inner City Press – UN’s Ban Silent as China Sentences Liu Xiaobo and Five Uighurs to Death – 25 December 2009

WSJ – China Sentences Dissident to 11 Years for Subversion – 25 December 2009

Bus Attacked in Northern Lebanon

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Lebanon–   A bus carrying Syrian workers came under fire Monday in northern Lebanon.  One person was confirmed killed and several others were reported injured by shattered glass during the attack.
The bus was transporting Syrian workers along one of the main highways between northern Lebanon and Syria near an army checkpoint in the Deir Emar district, approximately three miles north of Tripoli.

According to an eyewitness, the vehicle’s tires were riddled with bullet holes and several of the windows on the driver’s side were shattered by the shots.  The person killed was believed to be a seventeen year old migrant worker.

A Syrian police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that gunmen were responsible for the attack although he acknowledged that no motive was known.  In addition to the lone fatality,  three other people were wounded by flying glass on board the bus which was carrying twenty-five Syrian workers.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem described the attack as a criminal act and pledged to inform his Lebanese counterpart of the results of the investigation, the identity of the attackers, and who was behind the shooting without delay.

The attack came a day after Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Syrian President Bashar Assad met for two days in Damascus.  The talks between the two leaders were said to be positive according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

At a press conference held at the Lebanese Embassy, Prime Minister Hariri told reporters that he was optimistic about the growing diplomatic relationship between the two countries.  “We want to have good relations with Syria based on openness and honesty,” Hariri was quoted as saying, conveying the hope that the two neighboring countries would come to a fresh start after decades of war and animosity.  President Assad echoed similar statements saying that he was optimistic about progress for the future.

For more information, please see:

Gulf Times- Lebanon Shooting Kills Syria Worker– 22 December 2009

BBC News- Bus Carrying Syrian Workers Attacked in Lebanon– 21 December 2009

The Jerusalem Post- Hariri, Assad Hold Second Meeting– 20 December 2009

Bus Attacked in Northern Lebanon

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Lebanon–   A bus carrying Syrian workers came under fire Monday in northern Lebanon.  One person was confirmed killed and several others were reported injured by shattered glass during the attack.
The bus was transporting Syrian workers along one of the main highways between northern Lebanon and Syria near an army checkpoint in the Deir Emar district, approximately three miles north of Tripoli.

According to an eyewitness, the vehicle’s tires were riddled with bullet holes and several of the windows on the driver’s side were shattered by the shots.  The person killed was believed to be a seventeen year old migrant worker.

A Syrian police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that gunmen were responsible for the attack although he acknowledged that no motive was known.  In addition to the lone fatality,  three other people were wounded by flying glass on board the bus which was carrying twenty-five Syrian workers.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem described the attack as a criminal act and pledged to inform his Lebanese counterpart of the results of the investigation, the identity of the attackers, and who was behind the shooting without delay.

The attack came a day after Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Syrian President Bashar Assad met for two days in Damascus.  The talks between the two leaders were said to be positive according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

At a press conference held at the Lebanese Embassy, Prime Minister Hariri told reporters that he was optimistic about the growing diplomatic relationship between the two countries.  “We want to have good relations with Syria based on openness and honesty,” Hariri was quoted as saying, conveying the hope that the two neighboring countries would come to a fresh start after decades of war and animosity.  President Assad echoed similar statements saying that he was optimistic about progress for the future.

For more information, please see:

Gulf Times- Lebanon Shooting Kills Syria Worker– 22 December 2009

BBC News- Bus Carrying Syrian Workers Attacked in Lebanon– 21 December 2009

The Jerusalem Post- Hariri, Assad Hold Second Meeting– 20 December 2009

U.S. Senate Passes Health Insurance Reform

24 December 2009

U.S. Senate Passes Health Insurance Reform

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – In its first Christmas Eve vote since 1895, the United States Senate passed a reform bill that will change the health care system in the United States. The bill will provide health care coverage to millions of Americans that are uninsured now.

The Senate passed the health care bill along party lines. The final tally of the vote was sixty to thirty-nine. All fifty eight Democrats and two Independents voted to send the bill to the Conference Committee with the House of Representatives. The Senate version of the health care bill is similar in some aspects to the version passed earlier by the House. However, there are some notable differences between the two pieces of legislation.

The Senate version of the health care reform bill will cost approximately $871 billion dollars. The House version of the bill costs approximately one trillion dollars. Both costs would be paid over a period of ten years. Under the Senate version of the health care reform bill about fifteen million more people would be added to the health insurance rolls.

Under both the Senate version of the bill and the House version of the bill, approximately thirty million more people would have health insurance. Both versions would prevent suppliers of health insurance from denying people coverage because of pre-existing condition. Insurers would be barred from increasing interest rates because of a person’s gender or past medical history. Both versions of the health insurance bill would make it easier for small businesses and the unemployed to purchase coverage.

Nevertheless, there are major differences between the two pieces of legislation. The most revealing difference between the two versions is that the House has a public option while the Senate does not. The public option is something that the Democrats have fought hard for since taking the majority in both the House and the Senate. Another striking difference between the two versions is how health insurance reform is going to be paid. Under the House version, those people making five hundred thousand dollars or more per year and those families making more than a million dollars a year will pay a five point four income tax surcharge. Under the Senate bill, health insurance companies would be subject a forty percent tax when they only offer the most premium plans that only the wealthy could afford.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Senate Approves Health Care Reform Bill – 24 December 2009

MSNBC – Senate Passes Historic Health Care Legislation – 24 December 2009

NYTIMES – Senate Passes Health Care Overhaul on Party-Line Vote – 24 December 2009