Saudi Arabia Executes Prince Following Murder Conviction

by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — On Tuesday, October 18th, Saudi Arabia executed a member of the royal family after he was convicted of shooting and killing another man during a brawl.

Saudi Prince was executed for shooting and killing a man during a group fight (Photo courtesy of The Daily Star)

Saudi Prince Turki bin Saud bin Turki bin Saud al-Kabeer was executed in the capital, Riyadh, for killing a man during a group fight three years ago. Although details on the method of execution were not provided, most death penalties in Saudi Arabia are carried out by beheading in a public square.

The guilty verdict was supported by an appeals court, and later authorized by the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia. A royal order was then issued to carry out the Courts’ ruling. The Saudi Gazette reported that the prince’s family made several attempts to reach an agreement with the victim’s father prior to his execution. The victim’s family, however, refused offers of “blood money” and instead demanded justice.

This is the first execution carried out by Saudi Arabia in over four decades. The Interior Ministry stated that King Salman was keen on “enforcement of security, justice and God’s judgments.” The statement released by the Ministry further warned “that legitimate punishment would be the fate of whoever tries to assault innocent people and shed their blood.”

Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s few remaining absolute monarchies, in which the members of the royal family enjoy perks not available to rest of the country’s citizens. The royal execution has been widely interpreted as a message from the monarch that “no one in the kingdom is above the law.” A prominent Saudi lawyer, Mr. Abdul-Rahman al-Lahim, stated “the greatest thing is that the citizen sees the law applied to everyone, and that there are not big people and other small people.” Other Saudis praised the monarch, King Salman, under an Arabic hashtag which translated to “Decisive Salman orders retribution for the prince.”

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Shariah law and is often criticized by human rights groups and Western governments for what they consider to be harsh and arbitrary punishments. Human Rights Watch stated that the country has executed 134 people as of January 2016. Amnesty International reported that at least 158 people were executed in Saudi Arabia in 2015.

For more information, please see:

CNN—Saudi Arabia executes member of royal family—20 October 2016

New York Times—Saudi Arabia Executes a Prince Convicted in a Fatal Shooting—18 October 2016

Al Arabiya—Saudi Arabia: Prince executed for murder—18 October 2016

Washington Post—Saudi Arabia executes member of the royal family for first time in four decades—19 October 2016

Khaleej Times—Saudi Arabian prince’s last hours before execution—21 October 2016

 

 

Ex-Congolese Vice President Bemba Convicted of Witness Tampering

By Samantha Netzband 

Impunity Watch, Africa Desk Reporter 

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo– Ex-Congolese Vice President Bemba was convicted of witness tampering at the International Criminal Court.  Bemba and four members of his legal team were convicted on October 19th, just months after Bemba’s conviction for leading a campaign of rape and murder across the Central African Republic.  This was a ground breaking conviction for the International Criminal Court which has struggled with witness tampering since its inception.

Bemba at the International Criminal Court in March. (Photo Courtesy of The New York Times)

The Court’s conviction is based off of evidence that Bemba and his attorneys used a coded exchange in order to ensure testimony that was in Bemba’s favor.  Evidence shows that 14 witnesses were tampered with.  These witnesses testified in Bemba’s crimes against humanities case at the International Criminal Court.  Bemba was sentenced to 18 years in prison of the rape and murder of hundreds in the Central African Republic.

“No legal system in the world can accept the bribing of witnesses, the inducement of witnesses to lie or the illicit coaching of witnesses. Nor can the International Criminal Court,” Presiding Judge Bertram Schmitt said after the convictions were made.  This conviction strengthens the power of the International Criminal Court, showing that it takes witness tampering seriously.  Bemba and his attorneys could face up to five years in prison because of their convictions.

For more information, please see:

Deutsche Walle – ICC convicts DRC’s former vice president Bemba of witness tampering – 19 October 2016.

International Justice Monitor – Bemba and Four Associates Convicted for Witness Tampering – 19 October 2016.

The New York Times – Jean-Pierre Bemba, Congolese Politican Imprisoned for War Crimes, Is Convicted of Witness Tampering – 19 October 2016.

Reuters – Ex-Congolese VP Bemba convicted of witness tampering at war crimes court – 19 October 2016.

Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect: Notes for the Next UN Secretary-General

27 October 2016
Web Version

Notes for the Next UN Secretary-General

When António Guterres assumes his role as UN Secretary-General on 1 January 2017, he will become leader of an institution trying to maintain its relevance and improve its efficacy in a time of intense global crisis. With 65 million people currently displaced by war, persecution and atrocities, and with governments and armed extremist groups blatantly defying international humanitarian and human rights law, under Mr. Guterres’ leadership the UN will face immense challenges.

Historically, no single issue has done more to undermine the credibility of the UN than the failure to prevent and halt atrocities. But under a committed Secretary-General, the UN has unique political and institutional capacity to prevent mass atrocity crimes, mediate conflict and promote universal rights.

This article by Dr. Simon Adams, Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, argues that the solution to the current global exigency and a central challenge facing Secretary-General-elect Guterres is to achieve an equilibrium shift away from crisis response and towards mass atrocity prevention.

The article is available here: Notes for the Next UN Secretary-General

Justice for Sergei Magnitsky: US$14 Million Connected to Proceeds of US$230 Million Fraud Uncovered by Magnitsky Have Been Traced to Canada

27 October 2016 – US$14 Million of suspected illicit proceeds connected to the US$230 million Russian fraud uncovered by Hermitage’s murdered Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, have been traced to Canada.

In a complaint filed with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and eleven other law enforcement agencies this week, Hermitage’s lawyer, Lincoln Caylor of Bennett Jones LLP, outlined US$220,000 in proceeds which were transferred to Canada from two Cyprus accounts.  These two Cyprus accounts are connected to the leader of the Klyuev Organized Crime Group, Dmitry Klyuev, who is sanctioned under the US Magnitsky Act for his involvement in the Magnitsky case. These transactions can be traced back to the $230 million tax rebate fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky in 2008.

An additional $1.5 million was wired to Canada through a number of different accounts which can also be traced back to the fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky, and a further US$12.6 million in suspicious money transfers were wired from Canada back to the money laundering network used by the Russian fraudsters.

“Based on the present information, it is clear that Canada has a role to play in investigating the crime uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky,” said Bill Browder, leader of the global Magnitsky justice campaign.

The news comes amidst the debate in the Canadian parliament on the implementation of Magnitsky sanctions legislation in Canada, similar to that adopted by the US. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Cooperation and Security in Europe, of which Canada is a member, also urged member states to adopt these sanctions in a 2012 Magnitsky resolution.

In 2008, Hermitage’s lawyer Sergei Magnitsky uncovered the US$230 million fraud and testified about the complicity of Russian officials in the fraud. He was falsely arrested by the Russian Interior Ministry, detained for 358 days without trial, tortured and killed in Russian police custody at the age of 37.

After Magnitsky’s death, Russian authorities posthumously accused him of the crime he had uncovered and exonerated all officials. Hermitage’s global justice campaign has identified numerous beneficiaries around the world who received funds laundered from the crime uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky.

Investigations into the laundering of proceeds of the US$230 million fraud have been opened in multiple countries, including the USA, France, and Switzerland.

 

The events of this case are described in the New-York Times best-seller, “Red Notice” by William Browder, and in a series of campaign videos which can be seen on the YouTube channel, “Russian Untouchables.”

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Justice for Sergei Magnitsky

+44 207 440 1777

e-mail: info@lawandorderinrussia.org

www.lawandorderinrussia.org

billbrowder.com

twitter.com/Billbrowder

Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect: Crane 1 of 1 Atrocity Alert: Syria, Iraq, Burma/Myanmar and Accountability Watch

Atrocity Alert, No. 28

Atrocity Alert is a weekly publication by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect highlighting and updating situations where populations are at risk of, or are enduring, mass atrocity crimes.

Syria

On 26 October airstrikes in Idlib governorate hit a complex of three schools in the town of Hass. At least 26 deaths have been reported so far, including 20 children. As relentless attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Idlib, Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria continue, the international community is still struggling to halt the five-year civil war and hold atrocity perpetrators accountable. Following a fifth Russian veto on a Syria resolution at the UN Security Council on 8 October, the UN General Assembly held a special briefing requested by Canada – on behalf of 69 member states – on 20 October to determine whether to call for an Emergency Special Session. The Human Rights Council also held a special session on Syria on 21 October and adopted a resolution calling for the Commission of Inquiry on Syria to conduct an investigation into possible war crimes in Aleppo and identify those responsible for alleged violations of international law.

Iraq

Since the Iraqi government announced the launch of its offensive to liberate Mosul from the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on 17 October, over 50 villages have been retaken and at least 10,725 civilians have been displaced by fighting. ISIL has conducted retaliatory attacks against Iraqi and Kurdish forces across the country, including in Kirkuk, Rutba and Sinjar. On 25 October the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said they had received preliminary reports of mass atrocities perpetrated by ISIL in areas surrounding Mosul, including the discovery of at least one mass grave, and expressed the “fear that these will not be the last such reports we receive of such barbaric acts by ISIL.” There have also been reports of ISIL fighters using civilians as human shields as Iraqi forces advance. It is essential that all parties participating in the battle for Mosul take effective measures to ensure the protection of all civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Burma/Myanmar

On 9 October a series of attacks on border posts were carried out by a pro-Rohingya armed group in Burma/Myanmar’s Arakhan/Rakhine state. Reports of mass arrests and extrajudicial killings of Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group who face systematic persecution by the government of Burma/Myanmar, have continued to surface since an army operation began on 10 October in response to the attacks. Since 23 October army officers have also forcibly removed an estimated 2,000 villagers from their homes. On 24 October the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee – together with four other UN Special Rapporteurs – issued a joint statement condemning human rights violations in Burma/Myanmar. The Special Rapporteurs called upon the government to undertake thorough investigations of all alleged abuses during Army operations and prevent incitement against the Rohingya.

Reuters

Accountability Watch

During October several African states have formally challenged the capacity of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to conduct impartial investigations and trials and announced their intention to withdraw from the Court. On 26 October Gambia announced that it would join South Africa and Burundi in abandoning the ICC, noting that the decision came as a result of the Court seeming more like “an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans.” Gambia’s human rights record has been widely criticized internationally and President Yahya Jammeh, who has been in power since a military coup in 1994, has been accused of threatening to exterminate the Mandinka ethnic group and of inciting violence against gays and lesbians. An investigation of potential mass atrocity crimes in Burundi is currently underway and South Africa was previously criticized for not arresting President Bashir of Sudan, under indictment for genocide and crimes against humanity, while he was visiting the country during June 2015 for an African Union Summit. On 25 October Botswana issued a press release criticizing the South African decision and saying that the government was turning its back on victims of atrocities and undermining the battle against impunity.

It is essential that all States Parties to the Rome Statute encourage Burundi, Gambia and South Africa to reconsider their positions. In contrast to the message sent by these actions, during September Gabon self-referred itself to the ICC following violence during the country’s August 2016 presidential elections.  Of the 9 African cases currently being investigated by the ICC, the majority have been self-referred.

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