Internet Crackdown Intensified in China

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Chinese government has shut down 91 websites for pornographic and other “vulgar” content, as well as a political blog portal, according to the state media.  The latest crackdown on Internet content targeted many big names, including Google, Microsoft’s MSN and homegrown market-leading rival Baidu, for undermining public morality.  It is the first time that officials have targeted such major companies.

Bullog.cn, a Chinese blog portal with many famous bloggers, including some signatories of the pro-democracy “08 Charter,” has been shut down.  The “08 Charter” is an online petition signed by 303 Chinese citizens, calls for sweeping political change in China.  Luo Yonghao, the founder of Bullog.cn, confirmed that the website had been closed because of “amount of political harmful information,” citing a notice from government. The Human Rights Defenders network has said that more than 100 of the 300 original signatories had been questioned, detained or harassed by police.

The Chinese government publicly announced its anti-porn campaign a couple weeks ago.  Some observers say that the move signals the government’s determination to control the net amid a string of politically sensitive anniversaries.  “While the publicly stated purpose of cracking down in the past week has been porn and internet smut, we have also seen the shutdown of Bullog and a number of websites,” said Rebecca MacKinnon, assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong and an expert on China and the internet.

“From talking to people who work in web companies here it’s pretty clear they feel under increased pressure to control political content as much as smut … I’m being told that all of those companies are beefing up their staff who are employed to police content and the software and other mechanisms to flag content which gets them in trouble.”  Xiao Qiang, director of the China Internet Project at the University of California at Berkeley said.  He also suggested Bullog’s closure reflected the Chinese government’s deep concerns about the growing influence of the internet.

For more information, please see:

AP – Edgy China blog site shut amid Internet porn sweep – 12 January 2009

Forbes – Beijing’s Own ‘Yellow Peril’ Is Online – 12 January 2009

Guardian – China closes 90 websites as internet crackdown intensifies – 12 January 2009

Reuters – China closes 91 websites in crackdown – 12 January 2009

Calls for Israeli War Crimes Tribunal Mount

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

LONDON, England – On January 11, the Times ran an editorial endorsed by 27 prominent lawyers and academics, which called the Israeli operations in Gaza war crimes.  While calling the Hamas rocket attacks “deplorable,” these legal scholars argue that the attacks do not justify Israel’s actions.  They reject Israel’s argument that the operations in Gaza are justified as self defense and state that under international law, self defense is subject to the principles of necessity and proportionality.

The editorial states: “The killing of almost 800 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 3,000 injuries, accompanied by the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN compounds and government buildings, which Israel has a responsibility to protect under the Fourth Geneva Convention, is not commensurate to the deaths caused by Hamas rocket fire.”

The group contends that Israel’s actions amount to aggression, not self-defense, “not least because its assault on Gaza was unnecessary.”  In addition, the group argues that Israel’s invasion and bombardment amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s 1.5 million residents.  Also, “the blockade of humanitarian relief, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and preventing access to basic necessities such as food and fuel, are prima facie war crimes.”

The group recognized that Hamas rocket and suicide attacks are also war crimes.  The group also recognized that “Israel has a right to take reasonable and proportionate means to protect its civilian population from such attacks.”  However, the manner and scale of Israel’s operations amount to acts of aggression and are “contrary to international law, notwithstanding the rocket attacks from Hamas.”

Similarly, condemnation from states and human rights groups continue to increase as the Israeli operations in Gaza enter their third week.  For example, on January 12, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeman, Hassan Qashqavi, stated that it is expected that an international court will bring to justice the Israeli leaders for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.  Qashqavi’s statements followed a call by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to leaders of the regional states to support a demand for an international war crimes tribunal.

In addition, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi tabled 10 resolutions before the UN General Assembly relating to Israel’s operations in Gaza.  Specifically, one urged the General Assembly to immediately set up an International Crimes Tribunal to investigate and prosecute suspected Israeli war criminals involved in the atrocities against Palestinians.

Additionally, Raji Sourani from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said the Palestinian Authority will conduct legal proceedings against top Israeli officials for alleged war crimes committed during the Gaza operations.  According to Sourani, “The repeated bombing of clearly marked civilian buildings, where civilians were sheltering, crosses several red lines in regard to international law.”

According to Richard Falk, Israel’s violations include collective punishment, targeting civilians, and disproportionate military response.  While UN figures state that only a quarter of the casualties have been civilians, Mezan Center for Human Rights said that 85 percent of those killed were noncombatants.  In particular, the center mentions that over 200 children have died since Operation Cast Lead began on December 27. 

The Mezan Center explains the difference between their figures and the UN’s figures is the UN’s reluctance to include men, other than the elderly or infirmed, as noncombatants.  The center notes that the vast majority of men killed are not “Hamas militants,” but rather they are teachers, students, shopkeepers, construction workers, laborers, students, as well as the civil policemen.  Under international law, police officers are considered noncombatants and are not legitimate targets 

For more information, please see:

Free Gaza – ‘Spirit of Humanity’ Leaves for Gaza – 12 January 2009

ISRIA – Iran Calls for Trial of Israeli Leaders for War Crimes in Gaza – 12 January 2009

Sun2Surf – Investigate, Prosecute Israelis for War Crimes, UN Urged – 12 January 2009

EasyBourse Actualités – Syrian Foreign Min Accuses Israel of Gaza ‘War Crimes’ – 11 January 2009

Times – Israel’s Bombardment of Gaza is Not Self-Defence – 11 January 2009

Wall Street Journal – George E. Bisharat: Israel Is Committing War Crimes – 10 January 2009

Anti-War.com – Israel May Face Charges for War Crimes – 8 January 2009

Alter.Net – Israel’s War Crimes – 7 January 2009

Foreign Policy Association – Palestinian Authority to File War Crimes Charges Against Israel – 7 January 2009

Saudi Arabia Frees Jailed Human Rights Activist After 8 Months in Prison

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia– On January 11, Saudi professor and human rights advocate Matrook al-Faleh, was released from a maximum security prison near Riyadh, after being held for eight months without being charged.

Al-Faleh’s detention was in violation of the Saudi criminal code, which states that no individual may be held for more than a six month period without being charged.  According to a report by Human Rights Watch, it is not clear why the Saudi government initially arrested and detained al-Faleh.  However, the report stated that al-Faleh’s detention occurred just two days after he publicly criticized the prison conditions at Buraida General Prison, where the government had unlawfully imprisoned two other human rights activists at the time.  Al-Faleh’s subsequent arrest and detention has been heavily criticized by both Saudi and international human rights organizations.

To focus public attention on the conditions of prisons and the 11 political detainees, including al-Faleh, held without charges, in November 2008, more than 70 people participated in a hunger strike, protesting the government’s unlawful detention of human rights advocates.  The participants declared their commitment to fast for two days by using Internet forums such as facebook to publicize the strike, and remained in their homes during the strike to avoid violating a Saudi law that prohibits unauthorized public assemblies.  According to Saudi human rights activist Mohammad al-Qahtani, as a result of the widespread support for the political detainees throughout Saudi Arabia following the hunger strike, several of the detainees have been released, and prison conditions have slightly improved.

Al-Faleh is a well-known advocate for reform in Saudi Arabia.  In 2004, he was imprisoned after organizing a petition demanding that Saudi Arabia become a constitutional monarchy and create an elected parliament.  Although initially sentenced to seven years in prison, he was freed in 2005 and was later pardoned by King Abdullah. 

 

For more information, please see:

The National –Saudi Political Activist Released from Prison  – 12 January 2009

AP –Saudi Authorities Release Activist Jailed in May  – 11 January 2008

CNN – After 8 Months, Saudi Professor Released from Prison  – 11 January 2009

International Herald Tribune –Saudi Reformer Freed After 8 Months in Jail  – 11 January 2009

Middle East Online –Jailed Saudi Democracy Activist Freed  – 11 January 2009

Israel Denies Illegal Weapons Use

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza – On January 10, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of illegal use of phosphorus munitions.  In their statement, HRW said that on January 9 and 10, its researchers observed multiple air-bursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over what appeared to be the Gaza City and the Jabaliya refugee camp.

In addition, Palestinian medics in Khan Younis said the Israelis fired phosphorus shells at Khouza, in southern Gaza, that killed a woman and caused at least 60 people to suffer gas inhalation and burns.  The hospital’s chief doctor, Dr. Yousef Abu Rish, said “These people were burned over their bodies in a way that can only be caused by white phosphorus.”

Israel categorically denied HRW’s accusation and Palestinian medics’ reports of recent casualties from white phosphorus, saying that all weapons use were legal.  In a statement issued yesterday, military spokesman’s office said: “We don’t specify operational details, nor the type of ammunition that we use, but any ammunition that is used by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is within the scope of international law.”

The 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons says that white phosphorus should not be used as a weapon of war in civilian areas, but there is no blanket ban on its use as a smokescreen or for illumination.  However, HRW believes that the use of white phosphorus in densely populated areas, such as Gaza, violates the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life. 

James Ross, the Legal and Policy Director at HRW, said “We are concerned over its use over a densely populated area…Our concern is that it is being air-fired, often at relatively low altitude. We are particularly concerned over how it can cause severe civilian harm.”  When fired into the air, the smoke can provide a useful smoke screen to mask large troop movements.  However, the incendiary effects spread over a wider area.  Thus, when used in a densely populated area, it could have a widespread devastating impact on civilians.

Munir Albarsh, the Head of Emergency Medicine at Gaza’s Ministry of Health, said that doctors were collecting tissue samples at hospitals across Gaza to send for phosphorus testing at international laboratories. He added that the ministry would demand an independent international investigation into Israel’s use of white phosphorus.

Without independent investigation, there is no way to know for certain whether Israel used white phosphorus in densely populated areas. HRW statement said that their researcher did observe Israel using white phosphorus as an “obscurant,” which is permissible under international law.  Additionally, even if the burns were caused by white phosphorus, it is not conclusive on whether its use was illegal under international law.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Israeli Army ‘Using White Phosphorus’ (Video) – 12 January 2009

Times – Gaza’s Burn Victims Add to Pressure on Army Over Phosphorus – 12 January 2009

Associated Press – Rights Group: Israel Uses Incendiary Bombs in Gaza – 11 January 2009

BBC – Israel Denies Banned Weapons Use – 11 January 2009

HRW – Israel: Stop Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza – 10 January 2009

International Middle East Media Center – Human Rights Watch: ‘Israel is Using White-Phosphorus Against Gaza – 10 January 2009

Reuters – FACTBOX – Key Facts About White-Phosphorus Weapons – 10 January 2009

Guardian – Airburst Shells ‘Are Danger to Civilians’ – 9 January 2009

Juvenile Law Center Calls on President-Elect Obama to Intervene in the Khadr Case

Citing violations of international and U.S. law, the psychological effects of torture and mistreatment of a child, and the mounting evidence of Omar Khadr ’s innocence on the most serious charge he faces, experts today issued a joint statement calling for an immediate halt of his Military Commissions trial. The joint statement calls on President-Elect Obama to immediately stop the trial upon assuming office on January 20, 2009. Absent prompt action, Omar Khadr’s fatally-flawed military trial will start on January 26th – just six days after the new administration takes office.  Over 350 children’s and human rights activists, scholars, advocates and professionals who work with youth have signed on to condemn the Bush administration’s torture and prosecution of child soldier Omar Khadr under the Military Commissions Act.

The Juvenile Law Center has issued the following press release and letter to President Obama.

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The Juvenile Law Center is one of the oldest multi-issue public interest law firms for children in the United States.  JLC uses the law to protect and promote children’s rights and interests in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, with a particular emphasis on ensuring that public systems do not harm children and you in their care.