Judges Hear Cases Against Guantanamo Detainees

17 November 2009

Judges Hear Cases Against Guantanamo Detainees

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Since the United States Supreme Court decisions in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, fifteen Federal District Court Judges have heard and assessed habeas corpus petitions filed by Guantanamo Prison Facility detainees. These hearings continue as President Obama announced that ten detainees, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will be prosecuted in the U.S. in either federal court or by military commission. The judges have ordered the release of thirty Guantanamo prisoners since the hearings began.

The judges hearing the prisoners cases cited many reasons in granting their release, the main rationale being that there was a lack of evidentiary material to support a conviction. Judge Gladys Kessler wrote in granting the release of one prisoner that much of the government’s evidence was suspect because it contained second- and third-hand hearsay statements that were obtained by way of torture. Also, some of the statements and documents offered by the government could not be authenticated.

An example of a detainee that was released was a prisoner name Janko. Before being captured by the U.S. military, Janko was tortured by Al-Qaida for three months and was forced to falsely confess that he was an American spy. He was then imprisoned by the Taliban for a year and a half. Despite this evidence, the government argued that Janko had ties to al-Qaida. In ordering his release, Judge Richard Leon wrote that “surely this extreme treatment of that nature evinces a total evisceration of whatever relationship might have existed” between Janko and the terrorist organization.

Not all of the detainees who have had their cases heard have been released. For example, Judge James Robinson wrote that Adham Mohammed Ali Awad was a part of Al-Qaida despite questionable evidence that indicated otherwise.

The habeas corpus hearings last approximately one to two days. The prisoners are allowed to present testimony in their own defense. They participate in their hearings by a secure video link. Those detainees that have been granted release have either been repatriated to their original country or have been released to other countries. Those prisoners that have had their habeas petitions denied await their trial in either a federal district court or by military commission.

For more information, please see:

MSNBC – Gitmo Detainees Finally Get Day in Court – 16 November 2009

AP – Excerpts From Rulings in Guantanamo Bay Cases – 15 November 2009

NYTIMES – Uighurs Leave Guantanamo for Palau – 31 October 2009

Iraq Investigates Bribery Charges Against Blackwater

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Senior Blackwater executives approved the payment of over one million dollars to Iraqi officials. A report by the New York Times alleges that these payments came after the company’s guards killed seventeen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007. The goal of the alleged bribery was to “silence (the) criticism” against the US security firm coming from Iraqi officials.

The shootings that forced the alleged bribery took place in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square. According to the report, Blackwater’s President at the time, Gary Jackson, approved of the payments. The money given to the Iraqi officials went through Jordan before getting to the company’s top manager in Baghdad. Executives made reference to in the Times’ report did not know if the payments were actually delivered.

One Blackwater employee pleaded guilty in United States court to a manslaughter charge over the 2007 attack. Five other company guards pleaded not guilty in January to charges against them. Blackwater has denied any wrongdoing for the shootings.

Cofer Black, a former Blackwater official and veteran of the CIA, issued a statement saying that he was “unaware of any plot or guidance for Blackwater to bribe Iraqi officials.” Additionally, Blackwater’s company spokesman, Stacy DeLuke, dismissed the allegations of bribery as “baseless” and said that the company refused to comment on their former employees. Despite this, Iraqi officials plan on determining the validity of the claims made against the US security firm.

Iraq’s Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, in an interview with CNN, said that he had ordered the investigation into whether the top officials at Blackwater had approved the bribes alleged in the New York Times report. Bolani said that he is still in the process of gathering information regarding the allegations and explained that he hopes that individuals with information will come forward and help with the investigation.

Blackwater has been a topic of much controversy in Iraq even before the 2007 shootings. This comes from the company’s size and aggressive nature in the country. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called the 2007 incident a massacre and was unhappy that their contract was renewed. The US Government has asked Blackwater to provide security services to US diplomats in Iraq until the newly hired firm is ready to take over.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Iraq Probes ‘Blackwater Bribes’ – 12 November 2009

AFP – U.S. Firm Blackwater in Iraq Bribery Scandal: Report – 11 November 2009

New York Times – Charges Prompt Iraqis to Look Into Blackwater – 11 November 2009

Reuters – Blackwater Approved Payments in Iraqi Shooting – NYT – 10 November 2009

Former Nazi Charged For WWII Massacre Of Jewish Laborers

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BERLIN, Germany – A 90 year-old German has been charged with the World War II killings of 58 Jews in March of 1945.

According to German prosecutors, Adolf Storms was a squad leader within the 5th SS Panzer Division operating in Duisburg, Austria.  He took part of the murder of 57 Jewish forced laborers.  The remains of the massacre were found in 1995.

With the war winding down, Storm allegedly devised the plan to kill the prisoners he was guarding.  He escorted the Jewish laborers into a wooded area, where he proceeded to execute each one.

Storms participation in this massacre was discovered last year by an 28-year old University of Vienna student, Andreas Forster, while researching the massacre.  After looking up Storms in the telephone book Forster informed his professor, Walter Manoschek, of his discovery.  Manoschek went to Storms home in Duisburg, Germany and interviewed him regarding his activities in WWII.  Forster turned over the information to German state prosecutors.  In December of 2008 local authorities raided Storms’ home.

Storms told Manoschek that he does not remember the killings in question.  After the war Storms was detained in a US prisoner of war camp, but was released.  It has been reported that Storms changed the spelling of his name after the war, which may explain why he has gone undiscovered for so long.

While charges have been filed against Storms, the investigation by state prosecutors continues.  Prosecutor Andreas Brendel has stated that he has gathered testimony from three former Hitler Youth members who can offer eye witness testimony that will be used against Storms.

Whether the age of Storms will influence the prosecutor’s final decision to move forward with the investigation has not been decided.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Former SS member, 90, charged over Nazi massacre – 17 November 2009

AP – 90-year-old charged in Germany for Nazi-era crimes – 17 November 2009

CNN – 90-year-old man charged over Nazi massacre – 17 November 2009

DW-WORLD – Court charges former Nazi for murdering Jewish laborers – 17 November 2009

THE GUARDIAN – Former Nazi SS member charged with killing Jewish labourers – 17 November 2009

REUTERS – German Prosecutors Charge 90 – Year – Old Former SS Man – 17 November 2009

Burma Urged to Free Suu Kyi

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

MYANMAR, Burma- On Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama urged the prime minister of Burma to release Aung San Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy leader.  Obama delivered the message when he met leaders of the south-east Asian nations in Singapore.  The President raised the issue “directly” with Prime Minister Thein Sein, according to the White House press secretary. Obama’s comments came on the heels of Suu Kyi’s fresh appeal with the military-ruled country’s highest court against her extended house arrest.

Despite the influence and violence of insurgency organizations prevalent in Afghanistan, the Oxfam survey demonstrates that the civilian population considers their regime one of the lesser issues contributing to the overall despondency in the nation.  Among the 704 Afghan men and women who participated in the Oxfam study, approximately 19% blame the al-Qaeda terrorist network for the state of seemingly constant conflict in the nation.  This statistic, though perhaps shocking upon first glance, reinforces the popular belief among the Afghan population that corrupt officials in the government are responsible for their poor mode of living.  

Further exemplifying this notion is the result showing that only about 35% of the Afghan population believes that the Taliban regime is the most critical factor for war in Afghanistan.  Juxtaposed with the finding that about 70% of the 704 surveyed subjects believe the Afghan government is the cause of the crises in the nation, it seems clear where the discontent of the people lies.   

An even smaller percentage of the Afghan population believes that external and less powerful factors are the cause of turmoil in Afghanistan.  About 15% of the interviewed subjects believed crime organizations and warlords are Afghanistan’s largest problem.  The disproportionate amount of Afghan nationals believing that corruption in the government is the most detrimental factor to the nation’s chance for peace further suggests that the main aim of the re-elected president should be to investigate his own officials.  

The Oxfam study also highlights numerous human rights violations perpetrated against Afghan citizens.  Of the 704 survey subjects, 75% have been forced to vacate their homes at least once since 1979.  10% have been imprisoned at least once, and one in six are considering leaving the country due to the untrustworthy government and the inability to live peacefully in Afghanistan.

Outside of the Oxfam study, drug traffic has also been cited as a reason for the broken state of Afghanistan.  The prevalent drug-trade in Afghanistan creates a higher-crime environment in the nation, perpetuating the killings and government corruption already plaguing Afghan nationals.  

It remains to be seen what measures President Karzai, whose own brother was once implicated in drug-related investigations, will take to regain the trust of the Afghanistan government.   

 

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Poverty and graft ‘fuel Afghan war’ – 18 November 2009

BBC – Afghans Blame Poverty for War – 18 November 2009

Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Afghans say unemployment and poverty is fueling war -18 November 2009

Drought and Fighting Create Cause For Panic in Southern Sudan

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

POCHALLA, Sudan — The Southern Sudanese people are now facing famine following low rainfall and a surge in tribal conflicts.

An increasing number of people in Southern Sudan cannot find enough to eat or adequate pasture and water for their livestock raising fears of conflict between communities over grazing lands. Adding to the problem, an increase in tribal fighting has driven many families away from their homes and sparse crops, leaving them even more vulnerable.

U.N. officials earlier this year said at least 1.2 million people in the underdeveloped region could be left without enough food after a poor start to the rainy season.

“Here the crisis is going to hit very hard, we’re just seeing the beginning of it at the moment,” UNICEF’s deputy executive director Hilde Johnson told journalists on a visit to the south’s oil-producing Jonglei state. “If we are not able to handle the situation well … we can expect very, very significant levels (of hunger) which can border on the red flag emergency which becomes a famine,” said Johnson.

“Where there was peace, there was no rain and then where there were good rains, there was insecurity,” Kuol Manyang, governor of Jonglei State, said. His counterpart from Upper Nile State, Gutlauk Deng Garang, warned that hunger would force pastoralist cattle herders to move their animals, sharply increasing the likelihood of clashes with rival ethnic groups.

More than 2,000 people have died and about 350,000 have been displaced by violence across Southern Sudan since January, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The World Food Programme (WFP), which began airdropping food in the area on 4 November, estimates that 1.2 million people are already facing serious food insecurity in Southern Sudan.

For more information, please see:

IRIN – Increasing Hunger Could Fuel Conflict in South – 16 November 2009

New York Times- South Sudan Faces Famine Danger After Poor Rains – U.N. – 8 November 2009

Reuters – South Sudan Faces Famine Danger After Poor Rains – 8 November 2009