European Convention on Human Rights to Rule on Ireland’s Abortion Ban

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch, Reporter

STRASBOURG, France – The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will hear an action on Wednesday brought by three Irish women, alleging that Ireland’s abortion ban has put their health and well-being at risk.

Abortion was originally banned and the procedure criminalized in Ireland in 1861 by the Offences against the Person Act.  A 1992 Ireland Supreme Court ruling legalized abortions when there was a “real and substantial risk to the life of the mother.”  This exemption included the risk of potential suicide on the part of the woman.  There has still been no statutory language from the national government to clearly establish the correct application and scope of that court decision.  Ireland is a signatory to the ECHR.

All three women involved in this case were forced to travel to England to obtain an abortion.  According to the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), since 1980 138,000 women have been forced to travel abroad from Ireland to gain access to an abortion.  This has resulted in “extreme…physical, financial and emotional hardship” on the women affected.  IFPA noted that the Irish abortion ban goes “against the majority of [Irish] citizens…[are] broadly in favor of liberalising the law.”

The Ireland Attorney General, Paul Gallagher, is heading the legal team that will represent the official state position in front of the ECHR.  He is expected to argue that Ireland is “entitled to rely on the ‘margin of appreciation doctrine'”.  Traditionally, this doctrine has allowed individual member states to have a degree of discretion in interpreting the ECHR’s law differently than other states.  Additionally, since domestic alternatives to the issue at hand have not been exhausted, the ECHR lacks jurisdiction.

The Irish women who brought the case are supported by the IFPA.  Their argument centers on a claim that the Irish abortion ban violates numerous provisions of ECHR, including Article 2 (right to Life), Article 3 (prohibition of Torture), Article 8 (Right to Respect for Family and Private Life) and Article 14 (Prohibition of Discrimination).

If their claim is successful it would create minimum degree of access for women, not just in Ireland but all signatory nations, to an abortion that has the purpose of protecting the woman’s health and well-being.

For more information, please see:

IRISH EXAMINER – Criticism ahead of abortion ban fight – 8 December 2009

TAIWAN NEWS – European Court of Human Rights puts pro-life Ireland in hot seat – 8 December 2009

INDEPENDENT – State defends ban on abortion as women take case to Europe – 7 December 2009

THE GUARDIAN – Women challenge Irish abortion ban in court – 7 December 2009

Iranian Police Clash With Student Protesters

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On December 7 thousands of Iranian’s took to the streets and rallied against the government at universities throughout the country. The protests took place on Iran’s Student Day and were an effort coordinated by a number of opposition websites. The protests, which were focused on the controversial June presidential election, set off altercations between students and police around campuses. Protesters hurled rocks and set fires. Police officers and plain clothes Basij militia members were with tear gas, chains, truncheons and stun guns.

The Iranian government attempted to stop any chance of protests erupting on Student Day. The night before the protests government opponents shouted “Death to the Dictator” and “God is great” from their rooftops. Government officials attempted to kill off internet access on the eve of the protests. Additionally, authorities warned journalists working for foreign media to stay in their offices for three days. On the day of the protests Iranian authorities shut down the mobile phone network in the center of Tehran to stop opposition protesters from contacting each other.

Opposition leader, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s opponent in the disputed June presidential election, Mir-Hussein Moussavi announced his support for student demonstrations. He additionally stated on his website that the religious establishment couldn’t silence students and that they were losing legitimacy in the Iranian people’s minds. Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has also thrown his support behind the opposition, accusing Iran’s hard-line rulers of silencing constructive criticism.

Clashes erupted during the Student Day protests as thousands of individuals filled the street. According to witnesses riot police fired tear gas and Basij militiamen charged the crowd as protesters chanted. The Basij beat protesters on the head and shoulders as the crowd scattered. The protesters also chanted against Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei has accused the opposition of creating opportunities for Iran’s enemies.

The protests mark the first major showing showing by the opposition in more than a month.  The BBC’s Jon Leyne claims that the main objective of the opposition is to keep their movement alive. Reports are that dozens of individuals have been arrested. The protests continued throughout the day. By nightfall a number of student groups held candlelight vigils for those arrested during the day.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Iran Police ‘Clash With Protesters’ – 7 December 2009

BBC – Iran Opposition Protesters Clash With Security Forces – 7 December 2009

Guardian – Iranian Police Use Tear Gas and Batons in Clash With Protesters – 7 December 2009

New York Times – Iranian Student Protesters Clash With Police – 7 December 2009

AP – Iran Chokes Off Internet on Eve of Student Rallies – 6 December 2009

Opposition Has Called for the Return of Civilian Control in Guinea

By Jennifer M. Haralambides

CONAKRY, Guinea – A regional African bloc has called for Guinea to return to civilian control.

General Sekouba Konate, the vice president of the military junta, has assumed control of the country following the assassination attempt on their leader.

Guinea’s military leader Captian Moussa “Dadis” Camara was airlifted to Morocco on Friday for emergency surgery after an aide shot him in the head during a firefight between rival factions of the Guinea army.  Lieutenant Abubakar Diakite, the aide who allegedly shot Camara is currently on the run.

Diakite is not only suspected of trying to kill Camara, but for attempting a coup d’etat.  There have been reports that shots were heard near the barracks of the presidential guard hours after a television broadcast solicited information about Diakite’s whereabouts.

Human rights groups also blame Diakite, who had commanded the elite presidential guard, for the violent crackdown on protesters that left more than 150 people dead.  The United Nations is investigating the incident.

General Konate was rushed to Guinea’s capital from overseas to assume control immediately after the attack.

Regional blocs are against Konate’s temporary rule, and want government control to return to civilians until the January elections.  There is hope that a reshuffle prompted by the absence of Camara may create some movement in the political system in Guinea.  The country is supposed to be holding a presidential election at the end of January and the opposition adamantly wants a civilian-run transitional government until then.

The Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) has called on junta to relinquish power over fears that the struggle between rival commanders will destabilize the region.  ECOWAS also called for junta to set up a transitional authority and organize elections excluding all junta members.
For more information, please see:

AP – West Africa Bloc Calls for Civilian Rule in Guinea – 6 December 2009

BBC – Guinea President “Favourable” After Head Surgery – 6 December 2009

Guardian.co.uk – West African Leaders Call for Civilian Rule in Guinea – 6 December 2009

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL – African Group Urges Guinea Transition – 6 December 2009

Impunity Watch – Guinea Leader Wounded in Shooting – 4 December 2009

Israeli Settlers Destroy Palestinian Trees, Property

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

NABLUS, West Bank – Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian automobiles, farm equipment, and buildings, and uprooted over fifty trees in the early morning on December 6. The settlers were allegedly protesting the Israeli government’s decision of a ten-month suspension in settlement construction in West Bank. The decision was a response to the Palestinian demand to freeze construction as a precondition for restarting peace talks.

 

Settlers reportedly set fire to property belonging to two Palestinian farmers in the town of Einabus, near Nablus, as well as a car and barn in the same area. Firefighters from the Palestinian Civil Defense Department were able to contain the fires, and reported that the property losses amounted to $40,000 (US).

 

The Israeli Defense Forces told the Ma’an News Agency that they could not confirm that the arsons were revenge attacks for the temporary construction suspension, but that a large military contingent was in the area, operating under the assumption that it was indeed “a revenge act.”

 

Settlers from the Yizhar settlement were likely involved, according to sources. The day before the arsons, a rabbi from the Yizhar settlement published an article that promoted confrontation to protest the settlement suspension.

 

“If there is no quiet for the Jews, there will be no quiet for the Arabs,” the article said. “A Civil Administration base can serve as a target for a quick, precise infiltration that could damage and destroy one of their offices. You destroy ours, we destroy yours!”

 

Many settlers have expressed outrage at what they deem to be a betrayal by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who they say was elected to preserve Israeli rule over the West Bank. Other Israelis believe Netanyahu is merely responding to pressure from the United States.

 

Prime Minister Netanyahu held a two-hour meeting with settlers in Tel Aviv on December 2, in which Netanyahu promised building could resume after the ten-month period. The settlers at the meeting widely dismissed any promises made by the Prime Minister.

 

Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law.

 

For more information, please see:

 

Ha’aretz – Youth Protesting Settlement Freeze Block Jerusalem Entrance – 7 December 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Settlers Torch Palestinian Property, Uproot Trees – 7 December 2009

 

Palestinian News Network – West Bank Settlers Reject Netanyahu’s Plea for Support – 7 December 2009

 

BBC News – West Bank Settlers Reject Netanyahu Plea for Support – 3 December 2009

 

Christian Science Monitor – In Israeli Settlements, Residents and Builders Push Back on 10-Month Freeze – 1 December 2009

Canada to Review U.S. Soldier Asylum Claim

07 December 2009

Canada to Review U.S. Soldier Asylum Claim

By William Miller

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

TORONTO, Canada – A Canadian federal court has ordered Canada to review the rejected application for asylum filed by a soldier in the United States military who fled the U.S. after being persecuted for being a lesbian. The court said the Immigration and Refugee Board erred in rejecting her refugee claim.

Private Bethany Smith fled Fort Campbell, Kentucky after months of harassment, which included hundreds of threatening notes and a death threat. Smith reported that the letter was pinned to her barrack’s door and that it said “they were going to break into the supply room and get the keys to my room and beat me to death in my bed.” The harassment started after another soldier saw her holding hands with a woman and told other soldiers on the base.

Fort Campbell has been the site of anti-gay violence in the past. In 1999, a gay soldier was beaten to death at Fort Campbell with a baseball bat.

Smith had applied for a discharge after receiving the threat, but was denied. Although the U.S. Military has a policy of discharging openly gay solders, Smith was told her application would not be processed until after her next rotation to Afghanistan. After her discharge was denied she drove two days to the Canadian border and settled down in Ontario under the name Skyler James.

Smith took her case to the Canadian federal courts after her application was rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board in 2007. The court overturned the decision on November 20, 2009, finding that the board unfairly dismissed evidence that gays face brutality and harassment in the U.S. military and that it had an obligation to assess the likelihood that U.S. military law would discriminate against Smith. According to the judgment, “[i]t is true that the board member summarized at some length the evidence offered by the applicant, but he has by no means considered it, let alone analyzed it and provided reasons for dismissing it.”

Smith claims she would face court martial for abandoning her post and other charges for being in a same-sex relationship. She further claims that a jury of her peers would most likely share the same views as those who harassed her before she fled.

Although the Canadian Parliament has urged government agencies to accept the more than 200 American military servicemen and women who fled to Canada to avoid transfer to Iraq and Afghanistan, the courts and immigration officials have failed to comply. At least two soldiers have been deported and several more are at risk of meeting the same fate. None have been given refugee status so far. This stands in stark contrast to policy implementation during the Vietnam War, when thousands of U.S. citizens received permanent residency after fleeing to Canada to avoid the draft.

For more information, please see:

Women’s Enews – Lesbian Who Fled Army Opens Legal Grounds in Canada – 7 December 2009

AFP – Canada to Review U.S. Lesbian Soldier’s Asylum Claim – 20 November 2009

Associated Press – Lesbian U.S. War Deserter Wins Stay of Deportation – 20 November 2009