A Voice for the Voiceless

UPDATE: Uzbek Critic Sentenced

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – According to rights group Human Rights Defenders Initiative, Uzbek dissident Yusuf Juma has been sentenced to five years forced labor for resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer (see prior Impunity Watch article here).  He was charged with the crimes in December after conducting a protest against Islam Karimov’s third bid for president.  While being held prior to trial, his family claims that he was tortured.

His son Bobur, who had also been arrested during the protest, was given a suspended sentence of three years after admitting to the charges.  A family member said that Bobur only confessed after being beaten, and after authorities told him that without his confession, his father would be sentenced to 20 years.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Uzbek poet ‘sentenced over demo’ – 15 April 2008

Impunity Watch – BRIEF: Family of Uzbek Critic Say He Is Being Tortured by Government – 12 April 2008

CORRECTION

After receiving a comment from Committeeman Whiteside, the Impunity Watch Staff has learned that we made factual errors in our article “Gains and Losses for People’s Charter and NCBBF” (found here).

– First, we reported that the gentleman in question was named Dennis Whitehead, instead of his real name Desmond Whiteside.
– Two, we misreported one of Mr. Whiteside’s comments by referring to the “cost factor”, rather than the cost benefit factor. 

We apologize for these errors.

Egypt Jails 25 Members of the Muslim Brotherhood

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – An Egyptian military court convicted 25 members of the Muslim Brotherhood on various charges including money laundering and supporting terrorism.  Specifically, they were alleged to have financed a banned organization and provided students with weapons and military training.

Of the 25 sentenced, five received ten year sentences, two received seven years, five were sentenced to five years and the remaining thirteen received three years sentences. 15 individuals were acquitted of the charges but are not yet released.

Among those convicted were the Muslim Brotherhood’s chief strategist, Khayrat al-Shater, and its prominent financier, businessman Hassan Malik.  Shater and Malik were each sentenced to seven year imprisonment.  Malik and six other convicted men were tried absentia.

The group’s lawyer, Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsud, told Daily News Egypt that “it is a harsh sentence and there was no case in the first place.”  “This was a politically-motivated case tried in a court which guarantees no rights to those standing trial.”

Amnesty International spokeswoman Nicole Choueiry stated, “The sentences handed down against 25 members of the Muslim Brotherhood today are a subversion of justice in Egypt.”  Amnesty International claimed that the trial was politically motivated from the beginning: “Today’s sentences leave no doubt that the Egyptian authorities are bent on continuing their relentless campaign to undermine at all levels the main opposition group in the country.”

Even though all 40 defendants on trial were civilians, they were tried before a military court.  Under the framework of a military court, Egypt was able to exercise more control over the trial.  For example, when the verdict was announced, defendants’ lawyers were not present, nor were family members permitted into the court.  In addition, independent observers, some sent by Amnesty International, were not permitted to attend the sentencing.

Another important difference between military court and civilian court is the defendant’s ability to appeal the verdict.  In a military court, the defendants are able to appeal to the Supreme Court of Military Appeals, but that court is only able to examine procedural matters, not the merits of the case.

The political aspect of the trial is evidenced by the fact that the accused were referred to a military court by presidential decree.  Earlier, a civilian criminal court threw out charges against 17 of the accused.

Additionally, 34 individuals were arrested during scuffles between demonstrators and state police outside the court building.  The incident began as relatives of the accused tried to force their way into the closed sentencing.

For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera –  Egypt Jails Brotherhood Leaders – 15 April 2008

Amnesty International – Perversion of Justice – 25 Face Jail in Egypt – 15 April 2008

Associated Press – 25 Egypt Opposition Members Sentences – 15 April 2008

BBC – Egyptians Jail 25 Brotherhood Men – 15 April 2008

Daily News Egypt – Brotherhood Trials Ends in Prison Terms as Trouble Erupts Outside Court – 15 April 2008

Middle East Times – Egypt Jails 25 Islamists in “Political” Trial – 15 April 2008

East Timor President To Return with New Conviction

By Hayley Campbell
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

DILI, East Timor — After an assassination attempt nearly claimed his life, East Timor President, Jose Ramos-Horta, will return from a two month recovery this Thursday. As President Horta’s own wounds continue to heal, he has emerged from February’s attack eager to mend the pervading violence and poverty that have characterized East Timor’s past.

On February 11, rebel ex-soldiers shot President Horta at his home in the capital city of Dili. President Horta recalls seeing the gunman and turning quickly to avoid gunfire. The would-be assassins used “dum dum” bullets, which the Geneva Conventions banned because they expand in the body sending an explosion of shrapnel. Although the gunman aimed for his chest, President Horta was hit twice in the process of turning to take cover. The sudden movement may have saved his life. One bullet hit him in the back, a piece of shrapnel coming within 2 mm of his spinal cord.

After a two month recovery in Darwin, Australia, President Horta feels he has been given a second chance to repair his country’s civil strife. “Our country will need to get to the bottom of these events to heal from them,” President Horta said. The President is returning to his home, despite advice from security officials to move to a better protected location.

Last month, President Horta named Marcelo Caetano as his shooter. Caetano is one of 600 former military members turned rebels who lost their jobs during a 2006 strike. As the army became divided along factional lines, violence resulted in the death of 37 and drove 150,000 people from their homes. East Timor had to rely on foreign troops to help restore peace. In addition, around 2,500 foreign peace keepers remained to aid the country’s recovery.

Security forces tracked down and killed two rebels, including rebel leader, Alfredo Reinado. But the search continues for many rebels that remain in hiding.

The overwhelming support from citizens has humbled the President, who was admittedly unaware of the positive influence he has had on the country. Newspapers reported on Monday that the streets display banners proclaiming, “Mr President, Timor prays and waits for you.” His home was “cleansed of evil spirts” and nearby trees were whitewashed in anticipation of his arrival.

President Horta, a Nobel Peace prize winner, now plans to concentrate his efforts on solving East Timor’s poverty and creating a “zone of peace where all forms of violence are abandoned.”

When asked whether the President was concerned for his future safety, he replied, “No, God is on my side, the people of Timor are on my side.”

 

For more information, please see:

CNN.com — Commentary: How would-be assassin’s bullets changed me — 14 April 2008

The Sydney Morning Herald — Home exorcised as Ramos-Horta prepares to return — 14 April 2008

ABC News — Rock-star farewell expected for Ramos-Horta — 14 April 2008

Reuters, Asia — East Timor President Horta to return home Thursday — 13 April 2008

International Herald Tribune — East Timor president plans to return home this week after surviving assassination attempt — 13 April 2008

ABC News — Ramos Horta to return to E Timor — 13 April 2008

Macau Daily Times — East Timor president to return home next week — 13 April 2008

Pro-democracy Party in Myanmar calls for international observers on Constitution Vote

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar’s main opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD) called on international observers to take part in the country’s referendum on a new constitution.  The NLD statement said the military government is allowed to campaign openly and without restriction in favor of the proposed constitution, while people campaigning against a new, military-backed charter were being assaulted and their materials seized.

“Local authorities are committing acts of suppression by trying to seize documents of the NLD and detain or interrogate township organizers,” NLD said a day after the junta-drafted charter was made public.  NLD spokesman Nyan Win told Reuters at least three NLD were attacked by unknown assailants as they campaigned against the constitution in Yangon.

Myanmar Information Minister Kyaw Hsaw promised last month the vote would be “free and fair”, but he bluntly rejected offers of U.N. technical assistance and monitors.  Pinheiro, a U.N. special reporter on Myanmar called Myanmar’s plans for constitutional referendum as “surreal”,  He also said he saw no credible moves towards political transition in the military-ruled country while the government continues detaining and repressing people who are trying to do some campaigning for a ‘no’ in the referendum.”  He also said the constitutional process could not be considered democratic given that all delegates of the constitutional assembly had been picked by the government.

The junta, who has tighten its control over Myanmar’s media, has urged the country’s 53 million people to back the charter, which is a key step in the military’s seven-point “road map to democracy” that is meant to culminate in multiparty elections in 2010.

For more information, please see:

International Herald Tribune – Myanmar pro-democracy party calls for international observers at constitution vote – 10 April 2008

Reuters – Myanmar crackdown on “no” campaign begins: opposition – 10 April 2008

Reuters – U.N. rights expert calls Myanmar vote plan “surreal” – 14 April 2008