Journalist Gunned Down in Bihar, India

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BIHAR, India – Journalist Vikas Ranjan was shot dead on November 25 in Bihar, a northern state of India. Ranjan, 32, was killed outside his office in Rosera, located in the Samastipur district, by three armed men. The gunmen waited at the entrance of the office, shot Ranjan and fled on motorcycles. Ranjan was pronounced dead upon arrival to a local hospital.

It is alleged that Ranjan’s murder was connected to his investigations on local drug trafficking in recent weeks.

Bihar regional director of Hindustan’s sister newspaper, the English version of the Hindustan Times, said that his family had received threats about two weeks before his death. He reported them to police but did not get any protection.

“We call for the investigation into Vikas Ranjan’s murder to be immediate, thorough and transparent,” said Bob Dietz, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Asia Program coordinator. “Correspondents in remote areas should be protected from attacks made in retribution for their reporting.”

Relatives of Ranjan and fellow journalists gathered outside the hospital where Ranjan died, calling for immediate action by the police and protesting police failure to afford him protection against threats.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar ordered proper police investigations into the murder. The official in charge of investigations said that three suspects had been identified and would be arrested in the next few days.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has spoken with authorities in Assam and Manipur, two other northeastern states where killings of journalists are prevalent, asking them to effectively investigate their deaths and protect journalists.

“Ranjan was the third Indian journalist to be murdered in the past two weeks,” said Reporters Without Borders.

According to CPJ’s Impunity Index, India ranks at number 13. The Impunity Index is a list of those countries where governments have failed to solve journalists’ murders.

For more information, please see:

Committee to Protect Journalists – Journalist Shot Dead in Bihar – 1 December 2008

Hindustan Times – Hindustan Reporter Shot Dead in Bihar – 2 December 2008

Reporters Without Borders – Journalist Investigating Drug Trafficking Gunned Down in Bihar State – 27 November 2008

UN Security Council to Discuss Israeli Blockade

By Nykoel Dinardo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

UNITED NATIONS – On December 3 the United Nations Security Council decided to take up a complaint by Libya, who claimed that Israel unlawfully intercepted a cargo ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.  An emergency session was held at Libya’s request.  Libya claims that Israel’s actions constitute an affront to peace.

On December 1, Israel stopped a Libyan cargo ship that Libyan and Palestinian officials claim was carrying over 3,000 tons of food and humanitarian aid for residents in Gaza.  Libya says that Israel ships confronted the cargo ship and forced it to veer towards Egypt.  Unable to dock in Gaza, Tripoli officials say that the ship will have to return to Libya.

Israel claims that Libya is using its status as a member of the Security Council for public relations purposes.  Israeli Ambassador Gabriella Shalev responded to Libya’s accusations that Israel’s actions are an affront to peace by saying that Libya was not acting as a peace-maker when Hamas attacked Israel earlier this year.  Libya currently has no diplomatic relations with Israel and has criticized the handling of the situation in Gaza.

In response to Palestinian attacks, Israel has imposed a blockade against Gaza since November 2007. As of February, they allowed humanitarian aid to the region three times.  Karen Abu Zayd, the UN official in charge of humanitarian aid to the area, accused Israel of punishing the Palestinians in the area, including aid workers.  According to Zayd, Israel recently published a list of items that could not be received into Gaza; including spices, kitchenware, and paper.  She also claimed that aid workers were not allowed to send or receive mail. 

On December 2, groups held protests against the blockade in several Middle Eastern countries.  Palestinian children held a protest where they imitated sick children who lacked medical supplies.  Some children also wore loaves of bread as masks to protest hunger in Gaza.  In Lebanon, nearly 2,000 students marched on the UN headquarters in Beirut, where they sang resistance songs for 30 minutes before dispersing peacefully.

For more information, please see:

AFP – UN Council to Take Up Israel Blockade of Libya Ship: Source – 3 December 2008

The Daily Star – Scores of Children Protest Against Israel’s Seige of the Gaza Strip – 3 December 2008

New Zealand Herald – Israel Punishing Aid Workers, Says UN Official – 3 December 2008

YNet News – UN to Discuss Israel’s Refusal to Allow Libyan Ship to Dock in Gaza – 3 December 2008

Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Gaza’s Hungry Children – 2 February 2008 

Former Iraqi Defense Minister “Chemical Ali” Sentenced to Death for the Second Time

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq  – On December 2, the Iraqi High Tribunal sentenced Ali Hassan al-Mahid, also known as “Chemical Ali” to death for his role in suppressing a Shia uprising in 1991.  This is the second death sentence al-Majid has received since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The court also sentenced former Baath Party official Abdulghani Abdul Ghafour to death for the same offense.  Both al-Majid and Ghafour are scheduled to be hung, for “committing wilful killings and crimes against humanity.”  Ten other defendants on trial received sentences ranging from 15 to 20 years in prison, while some received life sentences.  It is estimated that between 20,000 and 100,000 people were killed in the regime’s attempt to put down the rebellion.

In explaining why other defendants received lighter sentences, Judge Mohammad al-Uraibi stated that “Most of them apologized and felt regret during the trial except Ali Hassan al-Majid.”

Al-Majid received his first death sentence in June 2007 after being convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for his actions during the 1988 Anfal campaign against the Iraqi Kurdish population, which killed more than 100,000 people, including many women and children.  Also part of the Anfal campaign was the gassing of the Kurdish village of Halabja in northern Iraq, killing more than 5,000 civilians.  For his role in the Anfal campaign, he received the nickname “Chemical Ali.”

During the Shia uprising in 1991, Al-Majid served as the Defense Minister and was considered to be Saddam Hussein’s “right-hand man.”  As a member of the Revolutionary Command Council, Al-Majid was routinely called upom to put down Shia and Kurdish rebellions.

During the trial for Al-Majid’s involvement in “crushing” the Shia uprising following Saddam Hussein’s defeat in the first Gulf WAr, witnesses gave testimony of the mass executions; including accounts of family members being thrown from helicopters, massacres in and around the Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, and the bombing of Shia towns and villages in southern Iraq.

The execution for Al-Majid’s prior conviction was never scheduled due to a political dispute.  The Iraqi High Tribunal has not set a date for execution following this latest conviction, leaving time for Al-Majid to appeal the decision, if he chooses.

For more information, please see:

BBC –New Chemical Ali Death Sentence  – 2 December 2008

CNN – Chemical Ali Sentenced – Again – to Death – 2 December 2008

Guardian – Iraq’s ‘Chemical Ali’ Gets Second Death Sentence for Shia Massacre – 2 December 2008

International Herald Tribune – Iraq’s ‘Chemical Ali’ Gets Second Death Sentence – 2 December 2008

Reveal the Brutality of Prison Camp in North Korea

1. Do not attempt to escape. The punishment is death.

2. Never gather in groups of over three people or move around without the guard’s authorization. The punishment for unauthorized movement is death.

3. Do not steal. If one steals or possesses weapons, the punishment is death. The punishment for failure to report the theft or possession of weapons is death.

4. Obey your guards. If one rebels or hits a guard, the punishment is death.

5. If you see outsiders, or suspicious-looking people, report them immediately. The punishment for abetting in the hiding of outsiders is death.

6. Keep an eye on your fellow prisoners and report inappropriate behavior without delay. One should criticize others for inappropriate behavior, and also conduct thorough self-criticism in revolutionary ideology class.

7. Fulfill your assigned duties. The punishment for rebelling against one’s duties is death.

8. Men and women may not be together outside the workplace. The punishment for unauthorized physical contact between a man and a woman is death.

9. Admit and confess your wrongdoings. The punishment for disobedience and refusal to repent is death.

10. The punishment for violating camp laws and rules is death.

Fiji Government Seeks Jail Sentences for Newspaper Editors, Claims There is No Plan to Curtail Media Freedom

By Sarah E. Treptow
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – Fiji’s interim government is seeking jail sentences for another newspaper editor and publisher over contempt of court charges.  The interim Attorney General is in the midst of a contempt proceeding against the Fiji Times editor and publisher because they published a letter to the editor which criticized the High Court ruling that declared the 2006 coup legal.  A second newspaper, the Fiji Daily Post, will make its first appearance in court tomorrow.  The Attorney General has said he is seeking a jail sentence against its editor, Robert Wolfgramm, and Australian-based publisher, Allan Hickling.

Deputy Information Secretary, Major Neumi Leweni, was one of the speakers at the 10th Attorney Generals Conference near Sigatoka where he confirmed that the interim Government has no plan to curtail media freedom even though they are working on media promulgation.  Major Leweni said the interim Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama has assured Fiji during the World Press Freedom Day that media freedom in the nation is guaranteed under the Constitution.

Major Leweni said, “Government recognizes that the media has a significant part to play in conveying information for the purposes of informing, educating and entertaining the public, and that information ranges from the more serious issues of politics, economic, social and cultural interests to the lesser serious matters of entertainment and sports, etc, depending on one’s perception.”

Major Leweni also said the Government recognizes that it needs to foster and cultivate an improved relationship with the media as partners in national development.

For more information, please see:

Fiji Government – Major Leweni – Address at the 10th Attorney-General’s Conference – 1 December 2008

Fijilive – We Will Not Curtail Media Freedom: Govt – 30 November 2008

Fijilive – Army work not appreciated: Major Leweni – 29 November 2008

Pacific Islands Report – Fiji Military Government Takes Aim at Editors – 28 November 2008