Police and Protesters Clash in Zimbabwe as Protests Turn Violent

HARARE, Zimbabwe— Police and protesters clashed in Harare and other towns in Zimbabwe on July 4th.  Minibus and taxi drivers were protesting excessive road blocks where police often collect bribes.  Drivers said that the payment of these bribes is costing them nearly $50 a day.  This is in a country where most of the population lives on less than $1 a day.

 

zimbabwe

Protests turn violent as police clash with protesters. (Photo Courtesy of VOA)

The protests started out peacefully, but negotiations soon broke down between police and protesters.  Protesters began to set up barriers to mock the road blocks that they deal with from the police.  Local businessmen tried to negotiate between the police and protesters, though violence broke out despite their efforts. Police launched tear gas and water cannons to clear the crowds. A warning against public violence was also published by the government and said that “all those who are inciting and engaging in violence that such misconduct will be severely dealt with.”  Media reports show that 30 protesters have been arrested.

Zimbabwe has been facing economic difficulties since gaining independence from Britain in 1980.  The country’s leader President Robert Mugabe has faced criticism over his inability to stimulate the economy since he came to power.  Most recently, banks have run out of notes and government employees have not received their paychecks.  These unpaid government workers are were expected to strike by Tuesday if not paid.

For more information see:

Africa News – Zimbabwe police cracks down on protesting drivers – 4 July 2016

Al Jazeera – Taxi drivers’ protest turns violent in Zimbabwe – 4 July 2016

BBC – Zimbabwe police clash with rioting minibus drivers – 4 July 2016

VOA – Riots Rock Zimbabwe – 4 July 2016

Investigation Demonstrates President Rousseff’s Innocence – and Guilt

By Cintia Garcia

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil—Impeached president Dilma Rousseff was found innocent of fiscal pedaling in an investigation conducted by government auditors in a 233 page report. Although she was found innocent of fiscal pedaling, the auditors did find that Dilma Rousseff signed three executive orders providing supplementary credit without the approval of Congress—a crime of fiscal responsibility.

President Dilma Rousseff claims her innocence. (Photo Courtesy of Forbes)

The impeachment process against President Rousseff began when her administration was accused of making late payments from the treasury to the public banks, as well as hiding budget shortfalls. It is believed President Rousseff’s mishandling of the budget was part of an attempt to win re-election.

The impeachment proceedings  against President Rousseff are also closely related to the Petrobras investigation. Petrobras is an oil company that many political appointees and those within the private sector have used for fiscal pedaling.

The dual findings of the report have been leveraged by Rousseff’s supporters and her critics. The report is not the final word on the subject, the verdict will be announced the day before the close of the Rio 2016 Olympics. If she is indeed impeached, interim President Michel Temer will replace her permanently.

Currently, Rousseff is raising money through a crowd-fund created by her supporters since her government funds have been frozen. She is using the funds to campaign through out the country against the illegitimacy of the impeachment. In one day she raised $155,000 from supporters. She claims her impeachment was a cover for a coup led by opponents. Her claims of a coup have gained momentum these past few weeks through the release of leaked tape recordings in which opposition leaders were heard discussing obstructions in the Petrobras investigation. And this latest report by the auditors continues to bolster her claims.

The unstable political climate and the Petrobas scandal have led to a failing economy putting Brazil on the brink of an economic disaster. The debt in Brazil may increase by 10% within the year and about 11 million nationals are unemployed.

For more information, please see:

Forbes—Latest Brazil Study on Impeachment Unlikely to Save Dilma—June 27, 2016

Telesur—Senate Report Clears Rousseff of Budget Manipulation—27 June 2016

Folha de S. Paulo—Rousseff is Guilty of Decrees, but not Fiscal Pedaling, According to Investigation—28 June 2016

Business-Standard—Rousseff Raises Funds to Fight Impeachment—1 July 2016

Italian Police Weaken Large Migrant-Smuggling Network

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

ROME, Italy —  The Italian Police have issued detention orders for 38 people suspected of smuggling migrants into Italy.  On Monday morning, 23 of the 38 people were taken into custody. Those arrested were were a mix of Eritreans, Ethiopians, and Italians.  The remaining suspects who have not yet been caught are all South African nationals.  These arrests occurred in ten different cities across Italy including Rome, Palermo, and Milan.

Police officers in Palermo escort a woman amidst a crackdown on a network smuggling migrants into Italy (Photo Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal)

Investigations last May led to the discovery of the large migrant-smuggling network between Italy and Africa.  According to the investigation, migrants paid smugglers through a system called ‘hawala’ which is a cash transfer system based entirely on trust, and leaves no paper trail.

Investigators were able to gain more insight into the network through the testimony of Nuredin Wehabrebi Atta, an Eritrean man who was arrested in 2014 for his connection to the smuggling network.  Atta’s testimony led to the police raid of a perfume store in central Rome.  Migrants would bring cash to the store and give the cash to two intermediaries who were then caught on film transferring the money to smugglers in several African nations via the hawala system.  At the perfume store, Italian police seized nearly €526,000 ($600,000) and $25,000 in cash, as well as an address book with the names and phone numbers of members involved in the migrant-smuggling network.  According to Atta, migrants who were unable to pay in cash for their voyages were involved in the removal and selling of their organs.

Smugglers utilize different schemes to illegally transport the migrants into Italy.  Palermo Prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi singled out the two main hubs of the network – Sicily and Rome.  The smugglers often organize fake events in Italy, such as weddings or family reunions, to allow the migrants to stay in the country legally.  Lo Voi also revealed another network scheme which involved legal migrants within Italy falsely stating that they had relatives who wanted to reach them in Italy.  This scheme operates under the Italian law which gives immediate family members who live outside of Italy permission to enter the country.  Smugglers will also scoop up migrants who were brought to Sicily after being rescued from a ship, so they can bring them to alleged family members in northern European countries.

For more information, please see:

ABC – Italy Detains 38 in Crackdown on Migrant Trafficking Ring — 4 July 2016

Daily Mail — Italian Police Smash Suspected People-Smuggling Ring, Arrest Dozens — 4 July 2016

Express — Italian Police Arrest 33 People Suspected of Smuggling Thousands of Migrants into Europe — 4 July 2016

The Telegraph — Migrants who Cannot Pay are being Sold for Organs, Smuggler Tells Italian Authorities — 4 July 2016

The Wall Street Journal — Italian Police Arrest 23 in Fresh Crackdown on Migrant Smuggling — 4 July 2016

Lebanese Christian Village Attacked by Suicide Bombers

By Zachary Lucas
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A majority Christian village in Lebanon was attacked by suicide bombers on Monday June 27. The suicide bombings occurred in waves leaving five people dead and numerous people injured.

Christian church in Qaa attacked by suicide bombers (Photo Courtesy of Telegraph)

The village of Qaa is located near the Lebanese-Syrian border and is home to a majority Christian population. The first wave of attacks occurred early in the morning. At around 4am, a man walked outside of a house and detonated the bomb vest strapped to his body killing five people, all civilians. Lebanese soldiers and civilians went to investigate the explosions and check on the injured when a second wave of suicide bombers attacked. Three bombers blew themselves up injuring many including four soldiers. A fourth suicide bomber was chased by soldiers before the bomber blew himself up.

Following the initial bombings in the morning, another series of attacks occurred in the evening. At least another four suicide bombers were involved in the evening attacks. Two of the suicide bombers detonated outside a church where villagers were gathering for a funeral of the victims in the morning. At least 15 people were hurt but no one was killed in the evening attack.

After the attacks the Lebanese government warned people in the village to stay in their homes and to “shoot anyone suspicious.” The Lebanese army has the city on lockdown while they sweep the area for potential threats. Residents of Qaa state they are fearful to leave their homes. Near Qaa, Syrian refugees have set up an informal camp. Following the attacks the provincial governor set a curfew for the refugees in that camp.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks on the Christian village . However, Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite group, stated the attacks were carried out by the Islamic State (IS), a radical Sunni group. Hezbollah also claimed that IS was still in the area preparing more attacks with car bombs.

Lebanon has seen numerous militant attacks since the Syrian Civil War began. Hezbollah is currently supporting the Syrian Regime in the war with both arms and fighters. However, Qaa, has seen few instances of violence during the course of the war, despite being a border town. It is not clear as to why the village was targeted now.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Lebanon: Christian village hit by multiple suicide attacks – 27 June 2016

BBC – Elaborate Suicide Attack Hits Christian Village in Lebanon – 27 June 2016

Reuters – Eight suicide bombers target Lebanese Christian village – 27 June 2016

Telegraph – Lebanese Christians hit by double wave of suicide bombings – 27 June 2016

The Killing of 6567 Civilians in the First Half of 2016… 1271 civilians killed in June 2016

SNHR has published its monthly report for the month of June in which it documented the killing of 1271 civilians in June and 6567 civilians in the first half of 2016 at the hands of the main influential parties in Syria.
The report points out the notable and relatively good decline in killing rates after the commencement of the Cessation of Hostilities statement on 27 February 2016 compared to the previous months since March 2011 especially in areas controlled by armed opposition factions given that other areas such the areas controlled by the Democratic Union Parties and the Syrian regime are not targeted with a heavily and daily aerial bombing which is the main cause behind the killing of more than 60% of victims, destruction of building, and displacement of residents. However, one day after the High Negotiation Committee decided to postpone its participation in Geneva talk on 19 April, government forces and Russian forces resumed bombing areas outside the Syrian regime’s control and the killing rates increased back to its former levels before the Cessation of Hostilities.

Additionally, the report notes that SNHR team encounters difficulties in documenting victims from armed opposition factions as many of those victims fall on battlefronts and not inside cities. Also, we aren’t able to obtain details such as names, pictures and other important details on account of the armed opposition forces’ unwillingness to reveal such information for security among other reasons. Therefore, the actual number of victims is much greater than what is being recorded.
The report notes that It is almost impossible to access information about victims from government forces and ISIS, and the margin of error is considerably higher due to the lack of any applicable methodology in this type of documentation. The Syrian government and ISIS don’t publish, reveal, or record their victims. From our perspective, the statistics published by some groups on this category of victims are fictitious and are not based on any actual data.
Therefore, the report only includes civilian victims who were killed by all parties and compare them
The report noted that 3417 civilians were killed by government forces in the first half of 2016 including 590 children (four children are killed every day), 422 women, and no less than 230 individuals due to torture.

The percentage of children and women among civilian victims is 30% which suggests that government forces are deliberately targeting civilians.
Also, the report recorded that 1378 civilians including 310 children and 179 women were killed by allegedly Russian forces.
Self-administration forces killed 78 civilians, including 10 children, three women, and two individuals due to torture.
Furthermore, 785 civilians were killed by extremist Islamic groups as follows:
ISIS killed 764 civilians including 103 children, 146 women, and seven individuals due to torture, while Al-Nussra Front killed 21 civilians including two children, one woman, and two individuals due to torture.
The report also recorded the killing of 462 civilians including 118 children, 109 women, and two individuals due to torture at the hands of armed opposition factions during the first half of 2016.
On the other hand, international coalition forces killed 127 civilians including 54 children and 22 women.
Additionally, the report documented the killing of 266 civilians including 70 children and 38 women who either drowned to death as they were feeling, or in bombings that were carried out by parties that SNHR has not been able to identify or by unknown armed groups to SNHR.
Also, the report included civilian death toll for the month of June 2016 where government forces killed 706 civilians including 101 children (four children are killed every day), 79 women, and 32 individuals at least due to torture.
The report also notes that 187 civilians including 57 children and 32 women were killed by allegedly Russian forces.

Furthermore, self-management forces (consisting mainly of the Democratic Union Party forces, a branch for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party) killed 38 civilians including four children and two women.
ISIS killed 116 civilians including 19 children and 10 women.
The report also records that armed opposition factions killed 72 civilians including 17 children and 16 women, while international coalition forces killed 76 civilians including 39 children and 11 in June.
Also, 76 civilians, including 22 children and 11 women, either drowned to death as they were fleeing or in bombings carried out by parties that SNHR has not been able to identify or by unknown armed groups to SNHR.
The report emphasizes that government forces and Russian forces have violated the international human rights law which guarantees the right to life. In addition, there are tens of cases that fulfill all the elements of war crimes in relation to murder. Evidences and proofs, according to hundreds of eyewitnesses’ accounts, suggest that 90% at least of the widespread and single attacks carried out by government forces and its loyal forces were directed against civilians and civilian facilities.
Moreover, Extremist Islamic groups perpetrated a number of extrajudicial killings that amount to war crimes.

The report also notes that some of the armed opposition factions perpetrated extrajudicial killings that amount to war crimes as well. Additionally, the Democratic Union Party forces perpetrated war crimes through the crime of extrajudicial killing.
The report calls on the security council and the relevant international institutions to uphold its responsibilities with respect to the continuous and ceaseless killing crimes, and to press on the Syrian government to cease the indiscriminate and deliberate bombing against civilians.
Furthermore, the report considers the Russian regime, all Shiite militias, and ISIS foreign parties that are effectively involved in the killings, and holds it and all the funders and supporters of the Syrian regime legally and judicially responsible.

 

Read the full report here.