Human Rights Abuses in China’s “Black Jails”

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Rights activists and petitioners in China are being abused in a network of illegal “black jails” in major Chinese cities.

Human Rights Watch said, “Since 2003, large numbers of Chinese citizens have been held incommunicado for days or months in secret, unlawful detention facilities known as ‘black jails’ by state agents who violate detainees’ rights with impunity.”

Government agents and security forces regularly abduct people off the streets of Chinese cities and imprison them after stripping them of their possessions.  The black jails are operated in state-owned hotels, nursing homes and psychiatric hospitals.

Those who are usually jailed in the black jails are Chinese from rural areas who come to Beijing from rural areas of China looking for redress of abuses ranging from illegal land confiscation to police torture.

2007_China_BlackJails 

Detainees in China’s black jails.  Courtesy of Reuters.

The detainees are held without legal justification and face physical torture, theft, extortion and intimidation and are deprived of food, sleep and medical care.

The “black jails” also function as holding centers where petitioners, rights activists and members of illegal religious groups are held before being transferred to other facilities.

One detainee from Jiangsu province said, “[The abductors] are inhuman…two people dragged me by the hair…my two hands were tied and I couldn’t move…two women…beat my head [and] used their feet to stomp my body.”

Another detainee said, “They never told me the reason why they detained me…and didn’t tell me how long they were going to detain me for.” 

In addition, those in black jails are psychologically abused, including receiving threats of sexual violence.  A former detainee said that the guards told her that if she ever tried to escape, she would be taken to a male prison where inmates would take turns raping her.

China’s Foreign Ministry has denied the existence of black cells in China.  However, Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch said, “The existence of black jails in the heart of Beijing makes a mockery of the Chinese government’s rhetoric on improving human rights and respecting the rule of law.”

For more information, please see:

Earth Times – Rights group exposes China’s ‘black jails’ – 12 November 2009

Human Rights Watch – China: Secret “Black Jails” Hide Severe Rights Abuses – 11 November 2009

Mail Online – China accused of human rights abuses in secret ‘black jails’ – 12 November 2009

Prosecution’s Cross-Examination of Taylor Doesn’t Go As Planned

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk

THE HAGUE,Netherlands-In his second day of cross-examination Charles Taylor was confronted with questions by the Prosecution that did not please him, or his defense counsel.  The Prosecution’s lead counsel, Ms. Brenda Hollis, asked Taylor questions about certain provisions in the Lome Peace Accord, which was a peace agreement signed between the Sierra Leonean government and the country’s main rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), in 1999. It was when she attempted to present a copy of the agreement to Taylor to discuss specific provisions that benefitted the RUF, that Taylor’s defense counsel quickly objected to what he called an attempt to introduce “fresh evidence” after the case was closed.

The objection was sustained, and the presiding judge, Justice Richard Lussic reasoned that “the interests of justice require consideration of all evidence against the accused, but it was necessary to balance such need for justice with the fair trial rights of the accused.” The judges ruled that the prosecution could not introduce new evidence in the form of documents which had not been presented as part of the prosecution’s case and were not used by the defense in direct-examination of the accused.

The court however insisted that the Prosecution, instead draft a motion, allowing the defense an opportunity to respond about the inclusion of the Lome Accord. Upon that, the judges could make a ruling on whether the new documents could be introduced as part of the prosecution’s cross-examination of Taylor.

This ruling seems to have put a dent in the Prosecution’s strategy. This is evidenced by the Prosecution’s request the next day to adjourn early to allow more time to “rearrange” strategies for the cross examination of Taylor.

For more information please see:

All Africa – Judges Caution Prosecution On The Introduction of New Evidence – 11 November 2009

Charles Taylor Trial – Judges Caution Prosecution On The Introduction of New Evidence In The Cross-Examination of Charles Taylor – 11 November 2009

Charles Taylor Trial – Judges Give Prosecution More Time to Rearrange Strategies For The Cross-Examination of Charles Taylor – 12 November 2009

Northern Iraqi Minorities Face Human Rights “Catastrophe”

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ERBIL, Iraq – A report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) warns of a possible disaster for northern Iraqi minorities. The human rights organization released their analysis on November 10, declaring that the policies and tactics of the Kurdish authorities were posing a significant risk to the rights of the region’s minority groups.

The HRW report, released in the Kurdish region’s capital, Erbil, was focused on Christians, Shabaks and Yazidis located in the Nineveh Province. Members of these groups are singled out by insurgent groups. The minority groups are caught in the middle of a battle for land and resources. The battle has pitted the Arabs and the central government against the leaders of Iraq’s Kurdish region.

The Nineveh province of Iraq is one of the most ethnically diverse regions of the country with both Arab and Kurdish leaders laying claim to the territory. After decades of repression under Saddam Hussein, Kurdish groups have grown in strength since the beginning of the U.S.-led invasion.

While the Kurdish Regional Government has offered financial inducements to win the support of minorities, the HRW says that they are simultaneously using repressive measures to control the groups. Among these measures include “arbitrary arrests and detentions, intimidation, and in some cases low-level violence.”

The HRW also reported that the extremist elements of the Sunni Arab insurgency views the minority groups as “crusaders” and “infidels.” The Sunni Arab insurgency is particularly strong in Nineveh and in August 2007 truck bombings, allegedly by Sunni Islamists, killed more than three hundred Yazidis. This marked the single worst attack against civilians since the beginning of the war.

Another attack on minorities occurred in late 2008, where “targeted killings and violence” resulted in the death of forty Chaldo-Assyrians. Human Rights Watch has urged Kurdish leaders and the central government of Iraq to attempt to improve the security of Iraqi minorities.

While the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) questioned the validity of the report, they promised to look into the allegations made. The KRG released a statement saying that they had “done more for protection of minorities than any other entity in Iraq.”

For more information, please see:

BBC – Iraq Minority Rights Fears Grow – 11 November 2009

New York Times – Minorities in Iraq’s North Seen as Threatened – 11 November 2009

AFP – Iraq’s minorities victim of northern conflict: HRW – 10 November 2009

AP – Rights Report Criticizes Kurds Over Minorities – 10 November 2009

Deadly Blast Rocks Pakistani Town

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia  

CHARSADDA, Pakistan- At least 24 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a car bombing in the town of Charsadda, police say.  The blast occurred as shoppers walked through the main market of the town, which lies north-east of Peshawar.  

More than 300 people have been killed in a number of attacks as Pakistani troops launched an assault against the Taliban in South Waziristan.

90 pounds of explosives were placed in a car which then exploded outside the busy market intersection.  So far no one has claimed responsibility, but authorities have blamed similar attacks in recent weeks on the Taliban.

Eyewitness said the vehicle blew up on a road lined with fruit and juice shops, leaving the ground littered with slippers, body parts, and broken push carts.  One witness told reporters “It was a terrible scene. There were injured and wounded everywhere… I joined the relief and rescue operation and myself removed about a dozen casualties.”  Early evidence points to a suicide attack, because body parts and sneakers of the suspected bomber were recovered from the site.

The attack is the third in as many days in the North West Province.  On Monday, a suicide bomber in a rickshaw killed at least three people and wounded five others near a police checkpoint in Peshawar.  On Sunday, at least 12 were killed in a suicide bomb attack near the city in the village of Mattani, including the mayor who had opposed the Taliban. Less than two weeks ago, a car bomb killed 112 people in a Peshawar market, the deadliest attack in more than two years in Pakistan.

Syed Shoaib Hasan of the BBC says ordinary citizens are becoming targets in bomb attacks at an increasing rate.  As the Pakistani army presses an offensive against Taliban militants in the border area with Afghanistan, suicide bombers have stepped attacks on civilians and police officers in northwest Pakistan in an attempt to shake the government. 

The government has pledged to press ahead with the offensive, stating that the recent atrocities against the citizens was evidence of the desperation of the militants. “They are not able to target freely, and that’s why they are targeting innocent people,” said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister for North West Frontier.  “But we and the people of Pakistan are determined to continue this jihad against terrorists undeterred.”

For more information, please see;

BBC News- Deadly Blast Hits Pakistani Town – 10 November 2009

New York Times- Car Bomb Adds to Toll in Northwest Pakistan– 10 November 2009

MSNBC- Police: Bomb Kills 24 at Market in Pakistan– 10 November 2009

Azerbaijan Bloggers Receive Prison Sentences

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 
 
 Azerbaijan law enforcement arrested two bloggers who posted an internet video depicting the nation’s president as a donkey delivering a press conference.  Police allegedly apprehended the two individuals for skirmishing at a restaurant.  The bloggers, however, claim that the hooliganism charge was a pretense for arresting them for their oppositional political statement.  

Emin Abdullayev and Adnan Hazhidzade were sentenced on Wednesday (Nov. 11) to two and two-and-a-half years in prison respectively.  The two have been in custody since the incident actually occurred in July.  The bloggers’ sentencing incited the criticism of numerous civil rights groups and U.S. officials, who claim that court’s decision signifies significant regression in the path towards democracy-based structure reform.  

The U.S. State Department also expressed concern and disfavor towards the two young men’s sentencing.  The Department’s spokesperson, Ian Kelly, blatantly berated apparent denial of the bloggers’ rights to a fair hearing, relating that the Azerbaijan courts used questionable investigations and secretive hearings to fabricate the crimes against the bloggers.  The U.S. State Department further criticized the disproportionately harsh legal penalties the two bloggers faced, particularly considering a supposed failure to properly detain and charge the two bloggers.  Ian Kelly also expressed his concern for the speech rights of Azerbaijan’s citizens. 

By disallowing its citizens the right to demonstrate disagreement with the current governmental structure, Azerbaijan denies a fundamental means of expression conducive to sociopolitical reform.  Opposition to such speech demonstrates a state’s unwillingness to accept shifts in the dynamic between citizens and the state, which promotes stagnation in political progress.  

The defense attorneys for Abdullayev and Hazhidzade assert that the State merely wants to condemn the two youths for their involvement in political activism and dissent groups.  Abdullayev himself admitted to experiencing a feeling of profound honor in enduring state sanctions for his beliefs.  Despite this pride in accepting punishment, though, the bloggers’ lawyers announced that they will immediately appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.  

Activist groups voiced concerns that the arrest of the two bloggers represents the Azerbaijan government’s minor agenda to eliminate political protest within the state.  Azerbaijan officials have yet to release statements addressing these allegations.     


For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Bloggers jailed in Azerbaijan – 11 November 2009

BBC News – Azerri bloggers given prison terms – 11 November 2009

Worldwide AP – Azerbaijan opposition bloggers sentenced to jail – 11 November 2009