Khmer Rouge Survivor Testifies at UN-Backed Tribunal

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – One of the last remaining survivors, Vann Nath, of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison gave his testimony today at Cambodia’s war crimes tribunal. Also in attendance facing charges was Comrade Duch (a.k.a. Kaing Guek Eav), a senior Khmer Rouge official in charge of the infamous prison. Up to 16,000 men, women, and children were tortured under his command and later taken away to be executed in the late 1970’s. Vann Nath is one of only seven to have survived the prison, and only one of three currently living.

“The conditions were so inhumane and the food was so little…I even thought eating human flesh would be a good meal,” Vann Nath told the UN-backed tribunal in Phnom Penh. During his testimony, Nath, now 67, told the tribunal that he was fed twice a day, and each meal consisted of three teaspoons of rice porridge. “We were so hungry, we would eat insects that dropped from the ceiling… We would quickly grab and eat them so we could avoid being seen by the guards.”

Nath testified that he only survived his imprisonment at the jail and was spared torture because Comrade Duch liked his paintings of the Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot. Comrade Duch is the first senior Khymer Rouge leader to face trial and the only one to take responsibility for his actions. Duch is charged with crimes against humanity and is the first of five defendants scheduled for trials by the UN-assisted tribunal. The four other Khmer officials will face trial in the coming year.

Duch himself has previously testified that being sent to Tuol Sleng prison was “tantamount to a death sentence,” and that he was only following orders to ensure his own safety. Earlier in his trial, the 66-year-old admitted responsibility for his role as governor of the jail, and begged forgiveness from his victims. The Khmer regime’s policies caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people nationwide through execution, torture, disease, and malnutrition.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Khmer Rouge Survivor Testifies – June 29, 2009

CBC News – Ex-Khmer Rouge Prisoner Testifies at Trial in Cambodia – June 29, 2009

Reuters – Pol Pot Paintings Saved my Life – June 29, 2009

Moroccan Activist Sentenced to Three Years for Contempt

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RABAT, Morocco– On June 24, Moroccan human rights activist Chekib El-Khiari, was sentenced to three years imprisonment for “gravely insulting state institutions” and for minor violations of Moroccan foreign account regulations. In addition, El-Khiari has been fined about 753,000 dirhams (US $90,360) for his actions. El-Khiari has been actively speaking out against Morocco’s drug policies for several years.

Human Rights Activist Chekib El-Khiari, Image Courtesy of Global Voices Online

El-Khiari was convicted of “gravely insulting state institutions” for his criticism that Morocco is failing to regulate and reign in the drug trade. This crime carries a maximum sentence of one month to one year imprisonment and a fine between 1,200 and 5,000 dirhams (US $144 to US $600), according to the Moroccan Penal code articles 263 and 265.

El-Khiari was also convicted of violating Moroccan foreign finance regulations for opening a bank account abroad in Melilla, in which he deposited € 225 (US $288) after he received authorization from the Moroccan exchange office. This money was payment for an article that El-Khiari wrote for the Spanish daily El País in 2006.

Human Rights Watch has speculated that the financial charges were only added in order to increase the maximum sentence El-Khiari could receive, and to further discredit El-Khiari and his statements. “Morocco is opening up in some respects, but its treatment of Chekib El-Khiari shows that when someone speaks out in ways that truly bother officials, they come down on him like a ton of bricks,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. Whitson further charged that the verdict against El-Khiari violates the basic right of freedom of expression, and that the verdict was meant to silence other activists in Morocco’s Rif region and to intimidate others.

Moroccan news agency MAP reported that Khayari also has been accused of taking money from foreign leaders in order to lead a campaign to discredit Moroccan efforts to stop drug trafficking.
El-Khiari is being held at Oukacha Prison in Casablanca, and his lawyers are planning to appeal the June 24 verdict.    

For more information, please see:

E-Taiwan News- Moroccan Activist Gets 3 Years in Jail on Contempt– 26 June 2009

Global Voices Online – Morocco: Human Rights Activist Jailed for Whistleblowing– 26 June 2009

Reuters- Morocco Court Jails Critic of Govt Drugs Policy– 24 June 2009

Human Rights Watch- Morocco: Narco-Traffic Whistleblower Unfairly Sentenced-24 June 2009

BRIEF: UN Works with Fiji Security Forces to Ban Torture

SUVA, Fiji – The United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights is helping Fiji’s security forces ensure that detainees will not be tortured or ill-treated.

International law dictates that torture or ill-treatment of those arrested or detained is illegal. Matilda Bogner, a regional representative, said that Fiji already has a strong commitment to banning torture and ill treatment.

At the same time, Bogner says she has worked closely with Fiji Police and the Prison Authority to educate them not to take the law into their own hands, but to defer to the proper legal authority.

Bogner was also careful to point out that Fiji is not unique, and it is crucial that the UN work with other countries around the world to educate and eradicate torturous treatment of those who are arrested or detained. The UN hopes to work harmoniously together with local security forces to address these human rights issues.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International – UN works on torture ban in Fiji – 28 June 2009

Thai Red Shirts Stage Anti-Government Rally

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – In one of the biggest demonstrations to take place in the recent months, more than 30,000 Thai “red shirts” gathered in Bangkok for an anti-government rally.  The “red shirts” were silenced when the government threatened a crackdown back in April after the protest led to the worst street violence in 15 years.

Thai red shirts “Red shirt” protesters in Bangkok (Source: AP)

“Red shirts” are members of the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD).  Thai society is divided into either “red” or “yellow” shirts, the “reds” representing Thais in rural areas who support the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the “yellows” comprising Thai’s urban elite who consider the red shirts as a threat to the Thai monarchy.

Thaksin, who is currently in exile, addressed the crowd via telephone saying, “We come here because we want to see true democracy.  We loathe injustice.  We loathe double standards.  We’re here to say if you want us to stop, then return justice and true democracy.”

Supporters of Thaksin said they are calling for the current prime minister’s resignation, the dissolution of the government and for general elections.  The protesters also accuse the “yellows,” which include the military, judiciary and other unelected officials, of undermining Thailand’s democracy and orchestrating a coup back in 2006.

Nuttawut Saikua, one of the organizers of this rally, said, “We rally today because we want to get rid of the government, the aristocracy and bring back true democracy to people.”

UDD has planned three more protests in addition to this rally in Bangkok although the timing for the next rallies has not been set.  UDD’s leader Jatuporn Promphan explained that his group will evaluate several factors such as the political situation before determining the date for each rally.
For more information, please see:

BBC – Thai protesters return to streets – 27 June 2009

China View – Renewed Thai anti-gov’t rally peaceful, to disperse on Sunday morning – 27 June 2009

MSNBC – Thousands of anti-govt protesters mass in Bangkok – 27 June 2009

Palestinian Journalists Caught in Political Power Struggle

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RAMALLAH, West Bank – On June 22, Palestinian government forces shut down the offices of As-Subeh (The Morning) and detained the newspaper’s chief editor, Sari Al-Qudweh.

The closure and arrest are the latest in a troubling trend in the Palestinian Territories, as journalists are entangled in the power struggle between the competing Hamas and Fatah parties.  In May 2009, Oussid Amarena of the Al-Aqsa television network was arrested, as was Mustapha Sabri, bureau chief for the pro-Hamas newspaper Filasteen.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a report in May 2009 that since Hamas gained power in Gaza in 2007, media organizations in the Palestinian Territories have increasingly split along party lines, and have suffered threats on both sides.  While journalists in pro-Hamas organizations are detained in the West Bank, those working for pro-Fatah outlets are threatened by Gaza police.  Many journalists have been repeatedly arrested, while others have had passports revoked.  Those arrested are rarely charged with any crimes.  Reporters Without Borders has condemned the targeting of reporters by the opposing parties.

“Journalists are again paying the price of the political tension between the different Palestinian factions,” the press freedom advocacy group said in a recent statement.  “The Palestinian Authority does not allow any view but its own to be voiced in the West Bank and does not hesitate to harass pro-Hamas journalists.  The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip is no better.”

The Palestinian journalists’ union has also openly criticized the recent arrests and has called for the release of the detained journalists, saying in a statement that journalists should not be the target of political conflicts.  Both Hamas and Fatah have bans on publications they perceive as partisan.  The UNHCR reports that coercive measures by both parties have forced Palestinian journalists into self-censorship and have stifled freedom of information in the Palestinian Territories.

For more information, please see:

Ma’an News Agency – De Facto Government Shuts Down Gaza Newspaper, Detains Chief Editor – 24 June 2009

Reporters Without Borders – More Journalists Arrested as a Resule of Tensions Between Palestinian Factions   – 29 May 2009

UNHCR – World Report 2009—Palestinian Territories – 1 May 2009    

Committee to Protect Journalists – Two Journalists Released in West Bank, One Still in Prison – 3 March 2009

CNW Telbec – Palestinian Territories: Arbitrary Detention of Journalists Continues as a Result of Tension Between Hamas and Fatah – 29 August 2008