Men Indicted for Alleged Ties to Hezbollah

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania– On Tuesday, four men were indicted by a grand jury in Philadelphia for an alleged plot to support Lebanese based Hezbollah through a number of illegal practices, including providing the group with hundreds of weapons.

The indictment filed Tuesday says two suspects sought to provide over a thousand machine guns to Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon.  The indictment states that two of the alleged plotters were to purchase the weapons in Philadelphia and then ship them to a port city in Syria where they would eventually be distributed to Hezbollah.  The two other indicted men were accused of trying to raise funds for the terrorist group with fake passports and counterfeit cash said U.S. Attorney Michael Levy.  According to Levy, “They were selling counterfeit visas.  They were trying to sell counterfeit U.S. currency as a way of raising money for Hezbollah.”  The FBI has said that an undercover agent thwarted the plotter’s plans.

In a released statement, Levy noted that the indicted men were seeking to support Hezbollah with some serious firepower.  He added that “the purchase of stolen goods- or what they believed were stolen goods- was a way of raising money by selling those items.  The purchase of machine guns is clearly buying military weapons, which can only be used in warfare.”

In addition to the four men indicted, eight others were charged with lesser offenses related to schemes to traffic in stolen or counterfeit goods.  In all, federal authorities have said that thirteen suspects are in custody, while eleven more were being sought in connection with the alleged plot to aid Hezbollah.

The indictment comes just a day after officials say they broke up a similar plot.  That plot was disrupted when undercover meetings in Philadelphia unearthed plans to send machine guns and anti-aircraft missiles to Syria.  Said Levy, “We have, in this case, charged a number of people who are basically part of a supply stream for a terrorist organization.  But this is just part of an ongoing fight we’re going to have for a long time.”

For more information, please see:

Associated Press- Feds: Philadelphia Plot to Buy Weapons for Hezbollah– 25 November 2009

Fox News- Grand Jury Indicts Four Men for Alleged Plot to Support Hezbollah– 25 November 2009

KYW Newsradio- Four Indicted in Philadelphia in Alleged Plot to Support Terrorists– 24 November 2009

Turkey Drafts Human Rights Bill for Kurds

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ANKARA, Turkey– The Turkish government in Ankara is considering a human rights bill aimed at finding a political solution to remedy longstanding issues with Kurdish minorities in the country.

Besir Atalay, the Turkish Interior Minister, said the government was preparing a human rights bill complete with anti-discriminatory measures to send to lawmakers for their approval.   Atalay added that the government reforms which, in addition to easing restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language, will establish independent commissions to investigate human rights violations.

Atalay also noted that there were plans for a trilateral committee of U.S., Iraqi and Turkish officials to discuss the resettlement of members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from camps in northern Iraq to compounds inside his country.

The reform is meant to boost Turkey’s chances of joining the European Union and encourage the PKK guerrilla group to disband. The PKK is seeking self-rule for the Kurds in southeastern Turkey and is considered a terrorist group by the government in Ankara, as well as by the EU and the United States. It has been engaged in a conflict with the Turkish government since 1984 that has left more than forty thousand people dead.

The bill, in its current form, will allow Kurdish-majority towns to again use their Kurdish names.  It will also allow politicians to campaign in the Kurdish language, which is a concession that builds upon earlier efforts by the ruling AK Party (AKP) to expand Kurdish cultural rights.

However, the proposed bill is not being well received by all in the Turkish government.  The main opposition party leader, Deniz Baykal, said that the government’s reforms were a “plan to destroy and split Turkey.”  In response, Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan responded that “there are some people who want martyrs (dead Turkish soldiers) so they can exploit it better.” This comment prompted Baykal and other members of his party to walk out of the talks mid- session.

For more information, please see:

Deutsche Welle- Turkey Outlines Plan to Expand Kurdish Rights– 20 November 2009

Kurdish Human Rights Project- KHRP Urges Turkey to Protect Kurdish Children from Discrimination– 20 November 2009

BBC News- Hopes of Peace in Turkey’s 25 Year Conflict– 19 November 2009

Rapp Visits International Criminal Court

November 20th, 2009

Rapp Visits International Criminal Court

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – On Thursday, the United States ambassador for war crimes spoke to the governing body of  the International Criminal Court in the Hague. It was the first time that a U.S. official has spoken to the governing body of the ICC since its inception. The ICC was created by the 2002 Rome Treaty.  The U.S. supported the creation of the ICC, but has not become a signatory of the treaty.

Before becoming the U.S. ambassador for war crimes, Rapp served as the chief prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Rapp gave a speech to the governing body of the ICC expressing U.S. interests and issues with it.  Rapp stated that the U.S. has concerns with the ICC. Those concerns primarily revolved around the crime of aggression. The first concern was to define the crime of aggression.  The second concern dealt with the ICC’s jurisdiction. Rapp stated that jurisdiction over aggression “should follow a Security Council resolution that aggression has occurred.” Another concern that the U.S. has with the ICC is the threat of politically motivated prosecutions. More specifically, the U.S. was concerned with the ICC prosecuting United States soldiers based upon politics.

Despite U.S. concerns, it still supports prosecuting crimes that go against the basic morals of humanity.  Rapp stated that the U.S. has supported the prosecutions of atrocities dating back to the Nuremberg Trials after World War II. The U.S. also participated in the prosecutions for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

Supporters of the ICC welcomed Rapp’s attendance and speech to the governing body. They saw his appearance as a “sign of re-engagement.” Nevertheless, many of the countries under the ICC’s jurisdiction do not want the Security Council to have sole jurisdiction on when a crime of aggression occurs.

Today, one hundred and ten countries are members of the ICC. Besides the U.S., other countries that are not members of the ICC are Russia, Israel, and China. The ICC can only prosecute those individuals from the countries that are members.

For more information, please see:

AP – Not a Member, US Envoy Attends International Court – 19 November 2009

BBC – US War Crimes Envoy Appears at International Court – 19 November 2009

Reuters – U.S. Makes Debut Attendance at Hague War Crimes Court – 19 November 2009

Business Persons in Juarez Petition the UN for Peacekeeping Troops

20 November 2009

Business Persons in Juarez Petition the UN for Peacekeeping Troops

By Brenda Lopez Romero
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

JUAREZ, Mexico – The United Nations (UN) received a petition from business persons from the border town of Juarez.  The business leaders sought help in form of a peacekeeping mission from the UN to protect them from the drug related violence in thier city.  However, an agent of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Mexico stated that such relief is unavailable, and it is unlikely that a petition could even be heard from direct citizens of a State.  The business persons also submitted a request for assistance from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.Story.juarez.afp.gi

(PHOTO: Courtesy of AFP)

The business persons are from the Juarez Association of Maquiladoras whose business is primarily foreign owned factories and business associations generally.

Daniel Murguia, President of the Ciudad Juarez group of the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism indicted that “this is a proposal … for international forces to come here to help out the domestic [security] forces.  There are a lot of extortions and robberies of businesses. Many businesses are closing,” and added that “what we are asking for with the blue helmets [UN peacekeepers] is that we know they are the army of peace, so we could use not only the strategies they have developed in other countries … but they also have technology.”

Mexican President Felipe Calderon sent about 50,000 military forces in December 2006, in a controversial crackdown and the Mexican military continues training and joining the local police enforcement.  Nonetheless the violence has not ceased.

The violence statistics are staggering with more than 2,000 killings reported this year and records about 10 murders a day for a population of 1.5 million.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Mexico leaders call for UN help in Ciudad Juarez – 10 November 2009

CNN – Juarez business leaders petition U.N. for help with drug traffickers – 12 November 2009

New York Daily News – Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez calls for U.N. to help quell violence – 12 November 2009

Controversy Surrounds Death of Iranian Doctor

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Authorities in Iran will investigate the death of a young doctor who testified about prisoner abuses before the Iranian Parliament. Reformist web sites allege that Dr. Ramin Pourandarjani was killed in order to keep him quiet. Pourandarjani’s testimony came in the wake of Iran’s disputed presidential election. The websites claim that he was the only independent witness to be able to verify the torture charges.

Pourandarjani’s body was found November 10 in his room at a health center in Tehran’s police headquarters. Iran’s Chief of Police said on November 18 that the doctor had committed suicide as a result of depression caused by his facing five years in prison. It was not specified what crime he was being accused of.

The police chief’s statement regarding suicide contradicted earlier statements by authorities who said that the young doctor died in his sleep of a heart attack at the Tehran police medical center. Anti-government sites claim that the authorities are involved in a cover up. Additionally, Pourandarjani’s friends claim that he told them that he was a witness to alleged police misconduct at Kahrizak prison.

Pourandarjani attended to prisoners at Kahrizak, a prison that was shut down in July after several prisoners died there. He worked there as part of his military service. Pourandarjani, according to opposition websites was arrested and held for a week by authorities who were pressuring him to change his account of what happened at Kahrizak.

The twenty six year old doctor treated anti-government demonstrators at Kahrizak. The prisoners were rounded up in a crackdown on the opposition that followed Iran’s June presidential election. The opposition disputed the election result, contending that that the rigged election allowed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad to prevail.

Iran formed a parliamentary committee to look into the post-election violence that is now planning on issuing a report on Kahrizak prison. Iranian media reports that at least three protesters died at Kahrizak under suspicious circumstances. Among the three was the son of a former senior Health Ministry official. The former official claims that his son was tortured to death. Iranian authorities attributed all three deaths to meningitis.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Suspicions Over Iran Doctor’s Death – 19 November 2009

New York Times – Iran: Doctor’s Death Raises Questions – 19 November 2009

Amnesty International USA – Iranian Authorities Must Investigate Death of Detention Centre Doctor – 18 November 2009

Washington Post – Mystery Surrounds Iranian Military Doctor’s Cause of Death – 18 November 2009