British Court Says US Asked Detainee to Drop Torture Claim

23 March 2009

British Court Says US Asked Detainee to Drop Torture Claim

By Gabrielle Meury
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
LONDON, U.K.- A British court says U.S. authorities asked a Guantanamo Bay detainee to drop allegations of torture in exchange for his freedom. A ruling by two British High Court judges published Monday says the U.S. offered Binyam Mohamed a plea bargain deal in October. Mohamed refused the deal and the U.S. dropped all charges against him later last year. He was released last month.
Mohamed is an Ethiopian who moved to Britain when he was a teenager. He was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and claims he was tortured both there and in Morocco. He was transferred to Guantanamo in 2004. Mohamed alleges that he was tortured and interrogated during more than six years in detention as a terror suspect. He says his ordeal included rendition to Morocco where he was held and cut with a scalpel on his chest and penis.
Reprieve director Clive Stafford Smith, who has represented Mr Mohamed for four years, said after the release: “The facts revealed today reflect the way the US government has consistently tried to cover up the truth of Binyam Mohamed’s torture.He was being told he would never leave Guantanamo Bay unless he promised never to discuss his torture, and never sue either the Americans or the British to force disclosure of his mistreatment. Gradually the truth is leaking out, and the governments on both sides of the Atlantic should pause to consider whether they should continue to fight to keep this torture evidence secret.”
Then-U.S. military prosecutor Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld is quoted in the ruling as saying Mohamed would be given a date for his release if he agreed to the terms. Vandeveld, who has since resigned, had said Mohamed would need to plead guilty to two charges in exchange for a three-year sentence and to testify against other suspects, according to the court documents.
For more information, please see:
Associated Press- Court says US asked detainee to drop torture claim– 23 March 2009
Press Association- “Torture evidence” details released- 23 March 2009

Fiji Times Editor-in-Chief’s House Bombed, Newspaper Will Continue to Speak Out

By Sarah E. Treptow
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – Kerosene bombs aimed at the homes of two high-profile Fiji men were designed to kill, report police.  The bombings are believed to be linked to a series of attacks against individuals who have spoken out against Fiji’s interim government.  Bombs were thrown at the homes of a former senior army officer, Colonel Sakiusa Raivoce, and the Fiji Times editor-in-chief, Netani Rika.  Mr. Rika said three home-made bombs in beer bottles filled with kerosene were thrown at his house windows in Nasese, marking the second attack on his property in less than two weeks.

Fiji’s Rewa Provincial council is asking those involved in the politically motivated vandalism to consider the consequences of their actions.  The Rewa High Chief, Ro Teimumu Kepa, said, “We’ve heard that some are saying they’re just carrying out orders.  But these orders have been given to people who are supposed to have brains and they should think twice about the orders that are given to them and think of the consequences that might happen.”  She says the freedom to speak out is provided for in the Fiji constitution, a document the miliary and interim government say is still intact.

Mr. Rika has said the attacks will not stop the Fiji Times from speaking out against the interim government.  He said, “There is a time to speak out and I think there’s a time to speak out responsibly.  I think we have done that, we will continute to do that.  It’s unfortunate that the people who have different views do not use the newspaper to make these views known and continue to move around under the cover of darkness to attack innocent people.”

The interim government will meet on Tuesday to discuss whether or not security should be provided for these civilian targets.  Interim Defence Minister Ratu Epeli Ganilau has said police will not be provided for security unless it is specifically requested or if it is deemed absolutely necessary.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International – Molotov cocktail attacks in Fiji on homes of high profile individuals – 22 March 2009

Radio New Zealand International – Rewa Council in Fiji urges politically motivated vandals to consider consequences – 23 March 2009

Radio New Zealand International – Fiji Times editor vows to continue his work – 23 March 2009

Fiji Times – State in conflict over security concerns – 23 March 2009

American Soldier Seeks Asylum in Germany

22 March 2009

American Soldier Seeks Asylum in Germany

By Karla E General
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States – Andre Shepherd, an American Iraq veteran who has been in hiding in Germany since April 2007 after walking off the American army base in Katterbach, is seeking political asylum in Germany. “I could no longer support this illegal war in Iraq with a clear conscience…It has been proved that Saddam Hussein was not a direct threat to the United States and the war is simply being waged in order for the U.S. to gain access to raw materials in the Middle East,” said the 31-year-old Apache helicopter mechanic.

Shepherd’s case rests on a European Union law guaranteeing asylum to soldiers who are likely to face prosecution for desertion of military service that violates international law. Despite such a high likelihood of prosecution in their home country, over 25,000 other American soldiers have abandoned their military bases in opposition to the war in Iraq. Rudi Friedrich, a member of Iraq Veterans Against The War, weighs in on Shepherd’s asylum situation: “For us it’s quite clear that this war is wrong and contravenes human rights – which is why anyone who refuses to take part in this war, and is threatened with punishment and prison as a result, should be protected. That is exactly what the asylum laws here guarantee.”

Shepherd is the first Iraq veteran to apply for asylum in Europe, and there are widespread fears that a positive outcome in his petition for asylum may encourage the 60,000 American soldiers based in Germany to follow his tracks. Some argue that granting asylum to Shepherd would strain U.S.-German relations by recognizing the Iraq war as illegal. Wolfgang Bosbach, Christian Democrat politician, voiced concern with granting asylum to American soldiers: “A soldier deserting the army because his conscience no longer allows him to carry out his military duties is clearly not a reason for him to be granted political asylum here.”

The German immigration office will determine the outcome of Shepherd’s request within the next few months.

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For more information, please see:

BBC – Asylum Dilemma For U.S. Deserter – 19 March 2009

Short News – U.S. Iraq Veteran Seeks Asylum in Germany – 19 March 2009

France 24 – U.S. Army Deserter Seeks Asylum – 18 March 2009

BRIEF: Rabuka Wants 2011 Elections

SUVA, Fiji – Major General Sitiveni Rabuka, leader of Fiji’s two 1987 military coups, says he wants Fiji elections to be held in 2011.  He believes the interim government should ignore the Commonwealth’s order to hold elections by September.

Mr. Rabuka also says the constitutional and electoral reforms proposed by the interim government can only be made by the Parliament and the reforms should be put to the people of Fiji in a referendum.  He explained, “In that way we do not change the constitution unconstitutionally, and we leave it to parliament to make the changes that the interim government feels it should have supported or not supported in the referendum of 2011.”

Describing why 2011 is an ideal year for elections, Mr. Rabuka said, “In my opinion, the best time to have elections would be 2011, as that would be five years after the interim Government came into power.  And normally, we give a tiem frame of five years for the new government and budget cycle to work.”

For more information, please see:

Islands Business – Ignore Commonwealth deadline, elections best held in 2011: Rabuka – 18 March 2009

Radio Australia – Former Fiji PM wants 2011 elections – 19 March 2009

Pakistani Activists Detained by Government

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – The Pakistani government has arrested or detained at least 300 opposition activists led by the Pakistan Muslim League since March 10, 2009. Authorities hope to prevent the demonstration set in Islamabad, where they will end their march. Activists demand that the government reinstate judges who they claim were illegally fired under former President Perviz Musharraf.

Nawaz Sharif, former Prime Minister who resigned because of Musharraf’s deposing of judges, has rallied Pakistanis to join the march. Sharif and the Pakistan Muslim League demand the restoration to office of Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudry, the Supreme Court chief justice.

In response, the government has banned protests in the Punjab and Sindh provinces.

Among the activists are many Pakistani lawyers who also demand the reinstatement of judges. “These images have raised the passions of everyone who wants an independent judiciary,” said Aitzaz Ahsan, a spokesman for the lawyers.

Human Rights Watch, among other humanitarian groups, calls for the immediate release of the opposition activists.

“It’s a disgrace for elected public officials to mimic the discredited military government by using old and repressive laws to stifle political expression,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, senior South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The protesters who were arrested should be freed right away and allowed to demonstrate peacefully without fear of violence or arrest.”

There has been a sharp political division in Pakistan as of February 25, when the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that banned Sharif from elections. The Court also dismissed Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz Sharif, from continuing in his capacity as chief minister of the Punjab province. As a result, Sharif has declared a “rebellion” against the government and urges Pakistanis to join the march which will converge in Islamabad on March 16.

“Pakistan’s transition to democracy is imperiled by the government reacting to a political dispute with unnecessary force,” said Hasan. “Regardless of political differences, rights-respecting leaders don’t lock up people for trying to participate in their country’s political process.”

For more information, please see:

AP – Pakistan: Opposition Should Seek Reconciliation – 13 March 2009

Human Rights Watch – Pakistan: Free Detained Opposition Activists – 11 March 2009

Times Online – U.S. and British Diplomats Scramble to Defuse Pakistan Crisis – 12 March 2009