A Voice for the Voiceless

China’s “All-Out Attack” Against Lawyers

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW YORK, United States – The Chinese government has closed down a legal aid center in Beijing and has disbarred 53 lawyers in an all-out effort to silence the country’s human rights defenders.

Last Friday, Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau officials raided and closed a nongovernmental legal research center, Open Constitution Initiative (OCI).  OCI takes on “officially sensitive” cases for groups and individuals whose fight for justice is hindered by China’s political system.

The officials claimed that OCI was closed down for failure to pay taxes and for improper registration, but OCI believes that the forced closure was politically motivated.  Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch said, “The attack on OCI marks a new low in the Chinese government’s campaign against human rights defenders.  This is precisely the kind of organization whose work the government should value….”

Among the 53 lawyers who were disbarred included an eminent civil rights lawyer, Jiang Tianyong, who has represented high-profile Tibetan monks and victims of slave labor rings.  Other lawyers, whose works include representing HIV/AIDS patients and peasants in land disputes, have been taken by the police, handcuffed and beaten.  There are also reports of law firms being forced to close.

China attack rights lawyers Chinese petitioners whose legal channels have been frustrated (Source: AP)

The Beijing Justice Bureau announced that lawyers’ licenses were revoked because the individuals had failed to apply for re-registration.  However, critics argue that the Chinese government is intentionally removing means through which Chinese citizens can obtain legal assistance.  Furthermore, Beijing Bureau of Legal Affairs issued a notice to lawyers telling them to be “cautious” in defending suspects linked to the recent riots in Urumqi. 

Tang Jitian, whose license has been revoked and is under house arrest, said, “Some authorities don’t like those lawyers who speak for the people.  They think we are enemies…What police and the authorities are doing is destroying Chinese law.”

Human Rights in China and its executive director Sharon Hom also voiced their concerns saying, “This suppression will inevitably lead to…creating greater disadvantages for already persecuted groups and greater social instability.”

Human Rights Watch is urging the Chinese government to make a choice since “eliminating legal aid, banning legal research, and hobbling lawyers” will only hurt the Chinese society.

For more information, please see:

Guardian – China accused of ‘all-out attack’ on lawyers – 8 June 2009

The Huffington Post – China’s Civil Rights Lawyers: The New Enemies of the State – 20 July 2009

Human Rights Watch – China: Cease Attacks on Rights Lawyers – 17 July 2009

Watered Down Version of the Nakba Law Leaves Committee

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel– A bill that would deny government funding to state-supported groups that give monetary support to activity that is deemed “detrimental to the state” was passed through a ministerial committee on July 19. The bill was introduced by Avigdor Lieberman’s ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party.

Many Palestinians fear that this bill will effectively limit their speech, because supporting “armed struggle or terrorist acts” against Israel or “rejecting Israel’s existence as the state of the Jewish people” are examples of activities that would qualify as “detrimental to the state.”

This bill is a diluted version of a bill that was abandoned in June, after it was deemed to stringent. The original bill was also introduced by Lieberman and the Yisrael Beitenu party. The first bill would have made it a crime to observe “Nakba,” or “catastrophe,” on Israel’s Independence Day. Nakba is the Palestinian recognition of the creation of Israel. The holiday is designed to recognizethe “catastrophe” that Israel’s creation was for many Palestinian citizens.

The original bill would have also forced sixteen year-old Israelis and new citizens to take a loyalty oath in order to receive an ID card. The Loyalty oath required each citizen to pledge loyalty to the “State of Israel as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state.”

The loyalty oath provision was removed from the newer version, and instead of an explicit banning of the celebration of Nakba, funding restrictions have been imposed. While much less harsh, many Arab citizens of Israel are still very offended by the withholding of government funds for what they see as free speech.

For more information please see,

AFP – Israel Committee Passes Softened Naqba Bill – 19 July 2009

Haaretz – Revised Bill Would Ban Funding Nakba Events – 19 July 2009

Jerusalem Post – ‘Softer’ Version of Nakba Bill to be Approved – 19 July 2009

Reuters- Bill Outlawing anti-Israel Protest Nears Approval– 19 July 2009

Impunity Watch – Israel ‘Loyalty Oath’ Bill Voted Down in Committee – 1 June 2009

China Claims Riots Premeditated by Uighurs

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – China says it has accumulated evidence that the riots in Urumqi that ended up killing nearly 200 people were part of a coordinated attack.

Security officials were quoted on Monday in the state-run press as saying that surveillance videos showed women in Islamic robes and head coverings issuing orders to rioters. One woman is said to have given out clubs for the attack. “Such dressing is very rare in Uqumqi, but these kind of women were seen many times at different locations on surveillance cameras that day.”

The rioting broke out several hours after police allegedly calmed a crowd of thousands of protesting Uighurs, a Turkic minority. The Uighurs were speaking out against the discrimination they face by the Chinese authorities. Authorities claim that “gangs” of Uighurs attacked the Han majority of China at random, and rampaged through Urumqi, a city of 2.3 million. The state-run media sources claim the attacks began simultaneously at 50 different locations throughout the city.

The Chinese government has been insisting that the riots were planned, and are now presenting evidence after being criticized internationally for not stopping the violence. Rohan Gunaratna, a Singapore-based “terrorism expert” said, “It is true that there is significant radicalization of a tiny segment of the Uighur community, but the Chinese government has not as yet presented convincing evidence that this was a coordinated attack.”

The Uighurs used to be a majority in northwestern China, but have now become a minority having lost jobs and influence due to a heavy influx of the Han population. Rebiya Kadeer, president of the World Uighur Congress, said, the Chinese government is “obscuring the truth in order to conceal a mass killing of Uighurs by Chinese security forces.”

For more information, please see:

Los Angeles Times – China Says it has Evidence Riots were Planned – July 20, 2009  

The New York Times – China Says its Forces Killed 12 – July 20, 2009 

The Wall Street Journal – Uighurs Lose Economic Ground to Han – July 20, 2009  

BRIEF: Solomon Islands to Include Public in Anti-Corruption Workshops

HONIARA, Solomon Islands – The Solomon Island’s government has announced it will hold several workshops through its Anti-Corruption Taskforce in order to include the public in finding a solution to corruption.

According to Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister, Dr. Derek Sikua, the greatest challenge to political stability is corruption. Dr. Sikua says that corruption threatens the health of the country’s essential services such as its health care, education, and the legal system.

The workshops, intended to address such concerns, will be funded by the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). Dr. Sikua and RAMSI Special Coordinator, Graeme Wilson, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which states RAMSI’s support in conducting the workshops.

Dr. Sikua says the workshops will seek help from both the public and private sectors, as well as NGOs, in determining the government’s approach to dealing with corruption.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International – Public in Solomons to be consulted over fight against corruption – 19 July 2009

UN Condemns Jakarta Hotel Bombings

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 Jakarta blast                                    Jakarta’s Marriott hotel after the blast (Source: AFP)

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Nine people were killed in Friday’s suicide bombing attacks in Jakarta’s Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriott hotels.  As Indonesian officials get closer to identifying the mastermind behind the blasts, the UN Security Council released a statement voicing outrage and sympathy.

The 15-member Security Council offered “deep…condolences to the victims of these heinous acts of terrorism and to their families, and to the people and Government of Indonesia.”

The bombings in two luxury, American hotels came at a time when Indonesia was enjoying great stability, including a peaceful presidential election just weeks ago.  Officials believe that the goal of the attacks was to embarrass the Indonesian government.

 Jakarta blast2 Noordin Mohamed (Source: BBC)
The country’s anti-terror chief told reporters he believes that Noordin Mohamed is behind the bombings.  Noordin is the key financier for Jemaah Islamiah, a militant group linked to Al-Qaeda and responsible for numerous bombings in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali bombing.  Indonesian police said they are sure this is the work of Noordin considering the target, location and the contents of the bomb.  The bombs used in Friday’s attacks contained nails and bolts, contents identical to the bombs Jemaah Islamiah uses.

The Security Council stressed that perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of the attacks must be brought to justice, adding that governments must take all measures to right terrorism by fulfilling their obligations under international human rights and refugee and humanitarian law.

The Council members also said, “The Security Council reaffirms that…any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.”

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono, condemning the attacks as “cruel and inhuman,” said a terrorist group is responsible for the attacks and vowed to find the perpetrators.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Fugitive linked to Jakarta blasts – 18 July 2009

The Hindu – UNSC deplores hotel bombings in Indonesia – 18 July 2009

MSNBC – Cops eye fugitive terrorist in Indonesia blasts – 18 July 2009