Thailand Mistreats Illegal Immigrants

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter

BANGKOK, Thailand – Refugees International, a US based human rights group, has accused Thailand of mistreating illegal immigrants that travel to Thailand by boat. Many of these refugees, dubbed ‘boat people’ by the Thai officials, are from neighboring Myanmar-Burma and Bangladesh.

There are about 500 survivors that are now recovering from severe dehydration in India’s Andaman Islands and Aceh provinceof Indonesia. Survivors told BBC journalists that the Thai navy would tie their hands and send their boats back out to sea without engines. During a press release on Monday, 4 refugees have died and 300 refugees are reported missing.

The Thai officials declined to comment and only confirmed that the Thai navy would push Asylum seekers’ boats back out to sea. Refugees International said the Thai government “should instruct its Army to desist from its new and troubling policy of pushing refugees and migrants intercepted on boats back out to sea.”

Many of these refugees are Rohingya peoples, a Muslim ethnic minority that live in western Burma. Rohingya are among one of the most persecuted peoples in the world.  They have no legal rights, including the right to own property in Burma, because the country is predominately Buddhist. Due to oppression many Rohingya have sought refuted along the western coast of Thailand. Many of these asylum seekers are detained by the Thai military that leave Rohingya refugees to fend for themselves in international waters.

International human rights advocate, Sean Garcia said, “The Thai government is taking highly vulnerable people and risking their lives for political gain. Instead they should be engaging the Burmese government on improving conditions at home for the Rohingya if it wants to stem these flows.”

For more information, please see:

BBC – Thais ‘Leave Boat People to Die’– 15 January 2009

Irrawaddy –Thailand Urged to Stop Pushing Refugees Out to Sea– 15 January 2009

AsiaNews – The Tragedy of Rohingya Refugees Arrested in Thailand and Abandoned in the High Seas– 15 January 2009

UPDATE: Appeal Postponed for Tunisian Trade Union Leaders

GAFSA, Tunisia – On January 13, the appeals of the sentences of Tunisian Trade Union Leader Adnan Hajji and several other union workers were postponed until February 3.  The men were arrested due to  protests during the summer of 2008 and they each face up to 10 years in prison.  They are charged with forming a criminal group with the intent to destroy property. 

Protests arose in the region over the summer in response to a promotion lottery that was allegedly rigged by the large mining companies to prevent certain people from being selected for promotion.  Tunisian authorities arrested several people, including those mentioned above.  Hajji and 37 others were tried by Tunisian courts in December and several were sentenced with the 10-year maximum sentence.

Amnesty International has called the trials unfair, stating that at least four of the accused were tried in absentia.  They describe the prison sentences as a “travesty of justice.”

Amnesty International – Tunisian Trade Unionists’ Appeal Postponed – 13 January 2009

Impunity Watch – Tunisian Trade Leader and Others to be Tried for Protests – 9 December 2008

Egypt Detains Gaza Protesters

By Nykoel Dinardo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Egyptian police detained 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood on January 14, bringing the total number of people detained during the week to over 100.  On January 13, Egypt detained at least 18 and at least 64 were detained on January 12.  At least 20 people were arrested on January 10 and 11 as well. The detainments began in response to protests against the Egypt government over the Gaza Strip.  Egyptian officials stated that those being detained are suspected of involvement with the protests.

On January 12, Egyptian police entered several homes in the Nile Delta town of Damanhur and arrested 17 Muslim Brotherhood members.  The detainees were questioned about their roles in organizing protests.  Later that day, another 47 people were arrested at protests that had gathered throughout the day.  They were arrested for obstructing traffic.   Others were detained in Sharqiya, Damietta, and Tanta provinces.  A security official confirmed that the arrests were related to the protests and that those arrested were also suspected of being members of an illegal organization. 

The Muslim Brotherhood is the chief opposition to Egypt’s current ruling party.  The Egyptian government has declared it an illegal organization but until recently it has been allowed to continue to operate within Egyptian borders.  In the 2005 parliamentary elections Brotherhood members gained a fifth of the popular vote, despite police intervention.  The Brotherhood claims that Egyptian authorities currently hold more than 700 members in custody.

The Muslim Brotherhood has idealogical ties to Hamas and thus has been particularly sensitive to the situation in Gaza.   They have called on Egyptian authorities to allow for freedom of expression of the people due to the public anger over the situation in Gaza.  Despite the detentions, protests continue to gather in many cities in Egypt as well as elsewhere in the Middle East.

For more information, please see:

Jordan Times – Protesters Gather Outside the Egyptian Embassy – 14 January 2009

Reuters – Egypt Police Hold 16 Islamists After Gaza Protests – 14 January 2009

Easy Bourse – Egypt Holds Over 35 Muslim Brotherhood Members Over Gaza Protests – 13 January 2009

Reuters – Egypt Police Detain At Least 18 In Gaza Protests – 13 January 2009

Reuters – Egypt Police Detain 64 In Delta Protest For Gaza – 12 January 2009

Reuters – Egyptian Police Hold 21 Islamists After Gaza Rally – 11 January 2009

Activist Sentenced to 104 Years in Jail

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar court has freed six people who called for the release of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi last December, but sentenced another activist to 104 years in prison.  Bo Min Yu Ko, a member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), was sentenced to 104 years in prison, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). Three others activists remained in detention, according to the relatives.

Bo Min Yu Ko was arrested on September 18, 2008 and charged under different laws, said the AAPP.  He was not allowed to be represented by a lawyer, and his family was prevented from attending the trial.  “This is yet another harsh and cruel sentence handed down by the regime’s kangaroo courts,” said Bo Kyi, joint AAPP secretary. “The courts are not independent and simply follow orders from the regime,” he adds.

Three other members of the ABFSU were also sentenced in late December.  Kay Thi Aung, who is pregnant, was sentenced to 26 years; Ko Nyi was sentenced to 50 years; and Wai Myo Htoo was sentenced to 26 years, according to Tun Tun, an ABFSU member.

Since October 2008, Myanmar courts have tried and sentenced at least 280 political activists.
Courts have handed down hundreds of jail sentences ranging up to 65 years to political prisoners.   Some says that the apparent effort is to clear the country of dissent before a scheduled general election in 2010.  Myanmar has been under Junta rule since 1962 after Junta crushed a nationwide pro-democracy uprising. It held elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results after Suu Kyi’s party won.

For more information, please see:

AP – Report: Myanmar activist gets 104 years in jail – 14 January 2009

EarthTimes – Myanmar dissident gets 104 years in jail – 14 January 2009

Irrawaddy – 104 Years Given to Political Dissident – 14 January 2009

BRIEF: Tonga Will Not Support Fiji Suspension from Pacific Forum

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga – Tongan officials have spoken out against discussing Fiji’s possible suspension from the Pacifc Islands Forum when the Forum gathers in two weeks.

In December, leaders from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu met to discuss the political situation in Fiji. The Pacific Island Forum Ministers Contact Group expressed their dissatisfaction with Fiji’s efforts to uphold its promise to restore democracy.

The last Forum meeting focused on whether to suspend Fiji as punishment for its lack of commitment to holding democratic elections by 2009. Tongan leaders in support of Fiji’s interim government are now asking the Forum to remove any discussion of suspension from the meeting’s agenda in two weeks.

The Forum secretariat has not commented on whether the next meeting will include talks of Fiji’s suspension.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International – Forum should rule out talk of Fiji suspension, says Tonga – 14 January 2009

Matangi Tonga Online – Tonga not in favour of suspending Fiji from Forum – 14 January 2009