Children in Prison Allege Being Tortured by Kurdish Security Forces

by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Seventeen children imprisoned by the Kurdistan Regional Government (“KRG”) stated that they were tortured or abused by government security forces while in detention. Human Rights Watch (“HRW”) reported that the children were detained due to suspicion of involvement with the Islamic State (“ISIS”).

Children allege being burned with cigarettes and electrocuted during interrogations (Photo courtesy of Human Rights Watch)

 

HRW stated that it had privately interviewed nineteen boys, ranging in age from eleven to seventeen, who were being held on suspicions of terrorism. The interview took place at the Women and Children’s Reformatory without the presence of a security or intelligence official. The rights group reported that the children were “held in stress positions, burned with cigarettes, punched and kicked, beaten with plastic pipes and cables, and shocked with electricity” by the KRG. A young boy stated that he “felt that my eyes were popping out” while being interrogated with an “electricity machine” after being drenched in water. Another child indicated that he could not breathe after his face was covered up with a towel and tied with tape. He was subsequently beat for over eight hours while being told to confess. The officer then pulled down the young boy’s pants and “threatened to rape him if he did not confess an ISIS affiliation.” Furthermore, five children also reportedly had marks from cigarette burns or electric shocks administered during interrogation.

Most children stated that they denied any involvement with ISIS. Others, however, admitted that they were associated with the group because of “family connections, desire to earn money or pressure from recruiters.” A deputy director at HRW, Ms. Lama Faikh, indicated that security forces are not granted permission to “beat, manhandle or use electric shocks on children” on the basis of “legitimate security concerns.” While characterizing children escaping from ISIS as “victims,” she stated that many are faced with further abuse from Kurdish security forces. Ms. Faikh strongly urged the KRG to “thoroughly investigate” the allegations of child abuse in prisons, and prosecute those who may be responsible.

The seventeen children are among at least 183 other boys under the age of eighteen who have been imprisoned by KRG based on alleged ISIS involvement. Most, if not all, are being held without charge, and were not permitted access to an attorney during interrogation. The report further indicates that government officials have not informed the children’s families of their whereabouts, and most children have not been permitted to contact their families since being detained.

In response to the HRW report, the KRG denied the allegations of torture by Kurdish security forces. The Head of the KRG High Committee to Evaluate and Respond to International Reports, Dr. Dindar Zebari, stated that KRG authorities are “strongly prohibit[ed]” from using physical and psychological torture on prisoners. He stated that detainees’ rights are protected through established policies, legislations and practices against torture.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian—Children held in Iraq over suspected Isis links ‘say they were tortured’—29 January 2017

Human Rights Watch—Children Allege Torture by Security Forces—29 January 2017

RT—Kurdish militia tortured children to extract ISIS confessions – HRW—29 January 2017

International Business Times—Beaten, electrocuted and abused: Kurds accused of torturing Isis child soldier suspects—29 January 2017

ARA News—Iraqi Kurds deny torturing ISIS child soldiers—30 January 2017

 

Italy Dedicates 200 Million Euros to African Migrant Fund

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

 

ROME, Italy — On Wednesday, Italy pledged 200 million euros ($215 million) to several African countries to aid in their efforts of better controlling their borders. The goal of the fund is to reduce the number of migrants who leave these countries and risk their lives traveling to Europe by preventing them from leaving their home countries. The fund also hopes to deter human traffickers and smugglers who control the migration routes from Africa to Europe.

Migrants disembark from an Italian coast guard vessel in the Sicilian harbor (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)
Migrants disembark from an Italian coast guard vessel in the Sicilian harbor (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

The fund, known as the Africa Fund, will aid in the “fight against human trafficking and illegal migration” according to Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano. The money will help train each nations’ security forces that control the borders, as well as pay for equipment to better monitor their borders. The funding will also be allocated partially towards Libya’s coastguard, as well as United Nations refugee and migrant agencies that can use the money to improve the living conditions of migrants in those countries.
At a press conference, Alfano further explained the fund’s goal of focusing efforts on the African countries migrants leave from, saying that Italy does not “build walls in the Mediterranean – we can’t and don’t want to do that.” Instead, Alfano emphasized the need to “strengthen the bond between solidarity and security.”
Some European leaders have suggested the possibility of financing camps in different locations on the southern shores of the Mediterranean to house potential refugees, however Alfano’s goal with the Africa Fund is to prevent exactly this. According to him, there have not been talks of setting up camps in Tunisia or Libya yet due to the lack of security in those nations. Italy is “trying to work so that there will be no need for camps.”

The majority of the funding will be given to Niger, Libya, and Tunisia, which are three major departure points for African migrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean and reach Italy. Other African countries can also request money to improve their border control.

Last week, the EU’s executive European Commission proposed making another 200 million euros available for other African countries to prevent migrants from leaving their home countries to journey across the Mediterranean Sea in hopes of reaching Europe.

 

For more information, please see:

Daily Nation — Italy Pledges 200 Million Euros to African Countries to Address Immigration — 1 February 2017

Euractiv — Italy Sets up Fund to Help African Countries Stop Migrants — 1 February 2017

European Online Magazine — Italy Unveils 200-Million-Euro Africa Fund to Curb Migration — 1 February 2017

 Reuters — Italy Sets up Fund to Help African Countries Stop Migrants — 1 February 2017

Landmark Case for Transgender Man Gives LGBT Activists Hope

By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China- The LGBT communities of China and Taiwan have been gaining increased attention over the past few years. Rights activists are applauding some small, yet encouraging victories, in an ongoing effort to legalize gay marriage and gain equal rights.

Activists march at a pride event in China. Photo courtesy of: CNN News
Activists march at a pride event in China. Photo courtesy of: CNN News

In December 2016, a Taiwanese legislative committee approved draft changes on a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. The proposed amendments to Taiwan’s civil code have been sent to party caucuses for negotiation and further review. Once this process is complete, a final version of the legislation will be voted on. Though the measure has yet to be passed, it is a major step towards gaining equal rights and protections for Taiwan’s LGBT community.

China has received similar attention for a December 2016 landmark ruling in a discriminatory dismissal case. A Chinese court held in favor of Mr. Chen, a transgender man who claims he was illegally dismissed from his position at a Chinese medical clinic after only one week on the job. Though the court ruled in favor of Mr. Chen, finding his dismissal illegal and awarding him a month’s wages, it was not willing to declare that Mr. Chen’s dismissal was due to discrimination against transgender individuals.

Nonetheless, advocates are thrilled that a Chinese court agreed to hear the case. Gay marriage is illegal in China, and homosexuality was long considered a mental illness. It was only in 2014 that Chinese courts ruled against therapy to “correct” homosexuality.

Though LGBT rights are still absent in both Taiwan and China, many are hopeful that change is on the way. Mr. Chen’s case has given activists hope that a legal remedy may be possible in the future.

For more information, please see:

New York Times – On Taking Gay Rights From Taipei to Beijing: Don’t Call It a ‘Movement’ – 18 January, 2017

BBC – China: Limited victory for man in transgender dismissal case – 3 January, 2017

BNA – China: Despite Landmark Ruling, LGBT Rights Lacking in China’s Workplaces – 19 January, 2017

The Guardian – Chinese transgender man wins landmark wrongful dismissal case – 3 January, 2017

 

 

Kuwait’s First Executions in Four Years Draw International Criticism

by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — On January 25th, Kuwait carried out executions, by hanging, of seven people. These executions were the first time in four years that the state had carried out a death penalty.

Seven people were executed in Kuwait for the first time since 2013 (Photo courtesy of Middle East Eye)

The executions, which were authorized by the country’s ruler, were carried out in the central prison. Among the seven executed prisoners were citizens of Bangladesh, Philippines, Ethiopia, Kuwait and Egypt. They included a member of the royal family as well as a woman who had been convicted of killing 58 women and children after setting fire to a wedding tent. Six of the deceased had been convicted of murder. The seventh prisoner, a Bangladeshi citizen, had been convicted of rape, theft and kidnapping.

Amnesty International, which opposes the death penalty, immediately responded to the executions with criticism, condemning them as “shocking and deeply regrettable.” Ms. Samah Hadid, an Amnesty International official, stated that Kuwait had “displayed a wanton disregard for the right to life” by reinstating the death penalty. She further noted that the executions “signaled a willingness to weaken human rights standards.”

The executions further garnered criticism from Human Rights Watch. Ms. Sarah Leah Whitson, the organization’s Middle East director, noted that the executions “reflect[] a growing trend in the region to increase the use of, or lift moratorium on, the death penalty.” By executing three people in early January, Bahrain had ended its six-year freeze on use of the death penalty. Similarly, in December 2014, Jordan had carried out its first death penalty in eight years by executing eleven people. Ms. Whitson urged the Kuwaiti government to “reinstat[e] the moratorium on the death penalty” rather than executing prisoners.

In response to international criticism, Kuwait issued a statement in which it “insist[ed] that all legal avenues had been exhausted.” In rejecting international disdain, the Gulf state indicated that the seven prisoners’ executions had been carried out in accordance with the country’s Penal Code. Mr. Ghanim Al Ghanim, Kuwait’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs, stated that the prisoners had been convicted of premeditated murder, and their death sentences had been based on “indisputable evidence [that] the[y] committed the crimes as charged.” He assured that all prisoners had been given fair trials in which all due process guarantees provided by Kuwaiti law had been met.

For more information, please see:

Washington Post—Kuwait hangs 7 prisoners, including royal, in mass execution—25 January 2017

Middle East Eye—Kuwait executions part of worrying trend: Rights group—26 January 2017

Human Rights Watch—Kuwait: First Executions in 4 Year—26 January 2017

Newsweek—Kuwait’s Execution of Prince and Six Others Part of ‘Alarming Trend’ in Middle East—26 January 2017

Gulf News—Kuwait rejects criticism of execution of seven convicts—28 January 2017

Bahrain News Agency—Kuwaiti ministry: Executions based on Penal Code—27 January 2017

FARC ‘Abortion Nurse’ Will Face trial in Colombia

By Cintia Garcia

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA—Former Farc member, Hector Arboledo Albeidis Buitrago, a Spanish national, is accused of carrying out three-hundred forced abortions on female FARC fighters. Buitrago was arrested in Madrid Spain in 2015. Spanish officials have agreed to extradite Buitrago to face trial in Colombia at the request of the Colombian Justice Ministers.

FARC gueriila fighters were forced to have abortions from 1998-2000. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)
FARC gueriila fighters were forced to have abortions from 1998-2000. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

Buitrago had been working as a nurse in Colombia where, with no medical training, he performed illegal abortions on women fighters, including an estimated fifty juvenile girls. A majority of the pregnancies were the result of rape by other FARC fighters. The abortions occurred between 1998 and 2000. His arrest came after a formal investigation related to 150 cases of forced abortions. Colombian prosecutors claim that Buitrago took part in most of the abortions. Lead prosecutor, attorney general Eduardo Montealegre, stated that “there was evidence that FARC fighters used forced abortions to avoid losing female fighters ‘as an instrument of war.’” FARC has denied these accusations. In Colombia, Buitrago was known as ‘The Nurse.’ Buitrago is facing charges of murder, attempted murder, abortion without consent.

According to the women forced to have these abortions, they were “carried out in filthy conditions, with no medication, on women who were often in their final months of pregnancy.” Another woman stated that “she had been forced to have five abortions [because] women in that organization were expected to fight, and those who were allowed to have babies considered themselves lucky.” Prosecutors believe these women should have been protected and relieved from fighting during their pregnancies.

A date of extradition has not been revealed.

For more information, please see:

BBC—Colombia: Spain Agrees to Extradite Farc ‘Abortions Nurse’—28 January 2017.

International Business Times—Spain Agrees to Extradite Former Farc ‘Abortions Nurse’ to Colombia—28 January 2017.

The Guardian—Spain Arrests Man Known as ‘The Nurse’ for Forced Abortions on Colombia Rebels—13 December 2015.