Taylor Says He Was Tricked By Nigeria Into Leaving Liberia

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk

THE HAGUE, Netherlands-Today, prosecutors at The United Nation’s Special Court for Sierra Leone began their cross-examination of former Liberian President, Charles Taylor. Taylor is facing charges for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Taylor has been the defense’s first witness, and has spent the last thirteen weeks under direct examination of his defense attorneys. During the course of these thirteen weeks, much of it has involved Taylor dismissing the prosecution’s case against him as a series of lies.

With their first opportunity to respond to Taylor’s cries of “lies”, the prosecution opened their cross-examination of Taylor by asking, who was lying? In the course of questioning, the prosecution said, “Now Mr. Taylor, you have said to this bench throughout your direct examination that all of this evidence here before you, it’s all lies. And you have talked about how perhaps, cunning is not the word you used. But Mr. Taylor, it’s true isn’t it that of all the people who have come before these judges, you are the one who has the most reason to lie?”

Taylor subsequently responded by disagreeing with the prosecutor’s assertion that he is the one lying, because he has the most to lose. Taylor says, I have been truthful before this court. Unless you can point to me. I have told this court the truth. And I suggest that you point to me and present the evidentiary fact before this court that I am lying.”

Taylor is pleading not guilty to an eleven count indictment that includes murder, rape, enslavement, and conscription of child soldiers. Taylor’s defense attorneys today questioned the legality of Taylor being turned over to the court after he was granted political asylum in Nigeria. In conclusion of his defense testimony, Taylor said he agreed to resign as Liberian President in 2003 for the sake of peace, but was tricked by the “international community.” Taylor says in reference to the charges against him, “This was about regime change, and everything was put into place to accomplish that regime change.” Taylor later spoke of how he was repeatedly assured by other African leaders, specifically then Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo that he was not going to be turned over to the Special Court.

Taylor is convinced that “Washington” and “London” were determined to see him stand trial, and thus he claims they influenced other African nations such as Nigeria to turn him over to the Special Court.

For more information please see:

BBC  – Charles Taylor “Duped” by Nigeria – 10 November 2009

Charles Taylor Trial – “I Decided That I Will Leave Liberia For The Sake of Peace” – 9 November 2009

VOA – Cross Examination Begins in War Crimes Trial of Former Liberian President – 10 November 2009

Russian Constitutional Court Considers Ending Ban On Death Penalty

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
MOSCOW, Russia – The Russian Constitutional Court is considering the reinstatement of the death penalty in the country’s criminal justice system.

When Russia joined the Council of Europe in 1996 it agreed to outlaw executions in accordance with Protocol Six of the European Convention.  However, the Council’s proposed ban on the death penalty was never ratified by the Duma, the Russian legislature.  In 1999 the nation’s Constitutional Court found that the death penalty could no longer be used until jury trials were established in all of the country’s regions.  Currently jury trials have been established in every region except Chechnya.  But given the coming expiration of this ban on January 1, when the Northern Republic of Chechnya adopts jury trials, the Constitutional Court has been asked by the Russian Supreme Court to review this ban to see whether it needs to be extended.

In addition to addressing the issue of the moratorium, the Constitutional Court must also address the issue of whether the reinstating of the death penalty would violate Russia’s international obligations.  Russia is currently the only member of the 47 countries that make up the Council of Europe to not ratify the ban.

Although the death penalty remains in the nation’s criminal code, the death penalty moratorium is still adhered to in Russia.

There have been some calls for the reinstatement of the death penalty to be applied to those involved in terrorism in Chechnya.  Polls indicate that a majority of Russians are in favor of the death penalty.  President Dmitry Medvedev and many of the leaders in the Duma, however, have indicated their desire to not see the death penalty re-introduced.  A spokeswoman for the Federation Council, the upper house of the legislature, expressed the sentiment of some legislators.  “The states that kills criminals – its citizens – should not expect an improvement in the moral climate of the country.”

Vladimir Lukin, Russia’s chief human rights ombudsman, noted statistics that the use of the death penalty in other countries has not acted as an effective deterrent to crime.

Not all Russian political leaders are supportive of continuing the moratorium.  Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the investigative committee of prosecutors, is among those supporters.

A spokesman for the Constitutional Court indicated that the court’s decision may come before the new year.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Russia to decide on death penalty moratorium – 10 November 2009

RIA NOVOSTI – Russia’s Constitutional Court hears arguments on death penalty – 10 November 2009

AP – Russian court looks at death penalty ban extension – 9 November 2009

FOCUS NEWS – Top Russian court set to rule on death penalty moratorium – 9 November 2009

REUTERS – Russian High Court Debates Reinstating Death Penalty – 9 November 2009

RT – To kill or not to kill, that’s the Supreme Court’s question – 31 October 2009

Iran Charges Detained U.S. Hikers With Espionage

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Three American hikers detained in Iran will be charged with espionage. Tehran’s general prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Doloatabadi confirmed the news on November 9. Doloatabadi also said that the investigation into the actions of the three would continue. Under Iranian law, the hikers face death if convicted of the espionage charge.

The three Americans, Shane Bauer, Sarah Shroud and Joshua Fattal, are thought to have crossed into Iranian territory while hiking in the Kurdish region of Iraq. The area is known to have a poorly marked border and their loved ones insist that this was an innocent mistake on the part of the three hikers.

The three hikers’ friends and families released a statement calling the spy allegations “entirely at odds with the people Shane, Sarah and Josh are and with anything that Iran can have learned about them since they were detained on July 31.” They  have urged the Iranian government to have compassion for the three and release them from custody.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented on the issue while in Berlin. She stated that there was “no evidence” for Iran to charge the hikers. Clinton urged the release of the hikers based on humanitarian grounds. After meeting with the family members of the three Americans, she explained that her “hear went out to all of them.” Clinton told the families that all options to getting the hikers back were being explored.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs argued that the three were innocent and that their release should come as quick as possible. As the United States does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, Switzerland has done the job of directly appealing for the hikers’ release. A Swiss diplomat has twice been allowed to visit the Americans in prison.

The most recent meeting took place on October 29 at Evin Prison in Tehran. The Swiss diplomat was able to confirm to the State Department that the detained hikers were in good physical shape. A State Department official confirmed a report that the three seemed nervous and scared, but appeared to be in good psychological health.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Families of US Hikers in Iran Deny Espionage Charges – 9 November 2009

Al Jazeera – Iran Accuses Americans of Spying – 9 November 2009

BBC – US Trio ‘on Iran Spying Charge’ – 9 November 2009

CNN – Iran to Charge 3 American Hikers With Espionage, Says Prosecutor – 9 November 2009

Judge Adjourns Bennett’s Trial for Torture Determination

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe – The trial of a Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s senior aide was adjourned in the Harare High Court on today so the judge could deliberate the admissibility of evidence that was allegedly gathered through torture.

The state’s key witness, Peter Michael Hitschmann, who was convicted of the illegal possession of weapons in 2007, alleges that he was tortured into implicating Bennett in the coup plot.  Bennett’s lawyers claim the state is insistent upon using the statements made by Hitschmann in order to show that Bennett planned to overthrow President Robert Mugabe.

Hitschmann was arrested in 2006 and initially accused of plotting to assassinate Mugabe.  Bennett had not been linked to the case until his arrest this past February.

The charges Bennett faces are for “possessing weapons for the purpose of terrorism.”  They carry a possible death sentence or life imprisonment if convicted.

Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party leaders deny any accusations of torture, saying it should be left to the judge to determine the merits of Bennett’s case.  Sources also say that Bennett has been a thorn in the side of Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party for some time.

Beatrice Mtetwa, Bennett’s defense attorney, said that Bennett “cannot have a fair trial if false, inadmissible and no[n] existent evidence is smuggled into the court.”

He [Hitschmann] has disowned that statement and does not want to testify for the state,” she added.

This trial comes at a critical time for the country because the Southern African Development Community has instructed Mugabe and Tsvangirai to resolve their differences with in the next 30 days.

Lovemore Matombo, the president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union, and another Mugabe critic, was also arrested Sunday night while addressing local union members.  Other local union leaders and national staff members were also arrested.

Tsvangirai’s party, The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has called the prosecution of Bennett a “malicious prosecution” which caused the party to temporarily withdraw from the unity government with Mugabe last month.

The judge is expected to make his ruling on the admissibility of the evidence on Wednesday.

For more information, please see:

Aljazeera – Tsvangirai Aide’s Trial Adjourned – 9 November 2009

AFP – Zimbabwe Lawyer: Witness Tortured in Weapons Trial – 9 November 2009

AP – Trial for Top Zimbabwean PM’s Aide Gets Under Way – 9 November 2009

CNN – Mugabe Opponent Bennett’s Trial Adjourned – 9 November 2009

Daily Nation – Zimbabwe Minister’s Trial Begins – 9 November 2009

Palestinians Breach Barrier on Anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

QALANDIYA, West Bank – Palestinian and foreign activists broke through the wall separating Israel and the West Bank, harkening back to the fall of the Berlin Wall twenty years ago.

The group used a large truck to pull down a two-meter by six-meter section of the wall near the West Bank town of Qalandiya, near Ramallah. The crowd of fifty cheered as the section toppled, waived a Palestinian flag and burning tires on the Israeli side. Israeli police responded by firing tear gas into the crowd, and some Palestinians threw rocks at the police.

The separation barrier has been a hotly contested issue between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Israelis claim the wall is necessary for national security, arguing it has effectively halted suicide bombers from coming into Israel. Palestinians, however, view the wall as a land grab; claiming that Israeli is effectively undermining any future of a functioning Palestinian state.

Israel began construction of the wall in 2000. The wall’s path does not hold to pre-1967 borders, but rather cuts into areas traditionally within the West Bank. Throughout the newly-formed border, the wall cuts through Palestinian towns and carves through Palestinian farmland to bring vital water resources under Israeli control. In 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled that the wall was illegal, and that it should be taken down because it crossed into occupied territory.

Aside from the breach in Qalandiya, there were other protests throughout the West Bank leading up to the Berlin Wall anniversary. Protestors in Bethlehem marked four years of their weekly march against the wall, as six villages in the metropolitan area are cut off from reasonable access to the city. The West Bank city of Na’alin also hosts a weekly march, and on November 6, masked protestors used a hydraulic car-jack to hoist another section of the wall out of place. The wall is constructed in the same inverted T-shape as was the Berlin Wall.

“Today we commemorate twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall,” said Abdullah Abu Rahma, the leader of the People’s Campaign to Fight the Wall. “This is the first step in a series of activities we will be holding in the coming days to express our firm attachment to our land and our rejection of this wall.”

For more information, please see:

 

Al Jazeera – Palestinians Break Israel’s Wall – 9 November 2009

 

Ha’aretz – Palestinians Breach Separation Fence for Second Time in a Week – 9 November 2009

 

Huffington Post – Mr. Netanyahu, Tear Down This Wall – 9 November 2009

 

VOA News – W. Bank Palestinians Tear Down Segment of Barrier Wall – 9 November 2009

 

Palestinian News Network – Four Years of Demonstrating Against the Wall in Southern Bethlehem – 24 October 2009