By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DELHI, India –

Police in India’s Kerala state have arrested 13 people in connection with the fireworks explosion that killed over 100 people at a temple last week. Nearly 400 people were also injured during the explosion.

Five of the detainees are officials at the Puttingal temple, where the explosion occurred during a celebration of the Hindu new year. A spark from one of the fireworks ignited the rest of the fireworks that the temple had obtained. Many temple-goers were trapped inside the temple as the explosion caused the temple to catch on fire and collapse.

Many of the deaths occurred when the temple collapsed. Chunks of concrete falling from above crushed a number of people, and many more were trapped in the debris. Some people were also injured in a stampede following the blast. Rescue efforts were slowed by emergency workers’ late arrival and a power outage in the area.

Authorities had previously denied the temple permission to host the display. The temple decided to go ahead with the display after being pressured by the crowds gathered to celebrate the new year.

Formal judicial and criminal investigations are ongoing. Several of the temple’s officials turned themselves in to police and are being investigated for violations including culpable homicide, illegal storage of fireworks, and violation of an authority’s orders. They are expected to be formally charged in court later this week. Several other individuals, including contractors in charge of the fireworks display, are also being questioned in connection with the explosion.

The High Court of Kerala has issued an order banning noise-generating fireworks at places of worship during the nighttime hours and banning heavy-duty explosives in fireworks displays altogether.

Following the explosion, Kerala’s Home Minister, Ramesh Chennithala, stated that the government will compensate families of those killed or injured in the blast. Prime Minister Narendra Modi then announced a compensation package for the families of the dead and injured, which will be covered by the government’s Disaster Management Fund.

For more information, please see:

The Indian Express – Kollam Temple Fire: From the Initial Spark to the Arrests – How It All Unfolded – 12 April 2016

The New York Times – 13 Arrested in Connection With Fireworks Explosion at Temple in India – 12 April 2016

Time – Five Surrender to Police Over Indian Temple Fire – 12 April 2016

BBC News – Puttingal Temple: Five Detained Over India Fireworks Blast – 11 April 2016.

The Guardian – Five Arrests Over Deadly Fireworks Explosion at Indian Temple – 11 April 2016

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar –

Myanmar has released 69 student activists from prison. A town court dropped all charges against the activists, who were detained for over a year after protesting educational reforms last March. An additional 30 students are still being held on bail for similar charges.

The student activists had gathered in Letpadan, a town in central Myanmar, to protest against a law restricting academic freedom. Police used violent force to break up the protests, and many of the students were charged with unlawful assembly and rioting.

The students’ release came soon after Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kii, promised to release all political prisoners in the country. Ms. Suu Kyi has taken on a parliament-created role of state adviser within Myanmar’s government, which will give her a great deal of influence over the country’s affairs. Her first statement as state adviser highlighted her pledge to release all political prisoners, many of whom were arrested prior to Myanmar’s democratic elections late last year.

Around 400 political prisoners remain in prison at this time, and Ms. Suu Kyi has stated that the release of those prisoners has been delayed by necessary legal processes. The remaining political prisoners are set to be released after the Burmese New Year holiday, which ends next week.

Amnesty International has called for Myanmar to release all remaining prisoners of conscience and to ensure reform of laws that violate civil rights including freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly.

In late March, Amnesty published a report on Myanmar emphasizing authorities’ use of laws to silent dissent and to imprison human rights activists. It described such laws and their enforcement as “creating a climate of fear among human rights defenders and other activists in the country.”

Myanmar’s previous government, which was military-run, routinely jailed dissidents. Ms. Suu Kyi herself spent 15 years under house arrest, and several members in her new government are also former political prisoners.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Myanmar: New Suu Kyi Government Releases 69 Prisoners – 8 April 2016

Amnesty International – Release of Student Leader in Myanmar Must Lead to More Reform – 8 April 2016

BBC News – Myanmar Court Frees Dozens of Student Activists – 8 April 2016

The New York Times – Myanmar Releases Dozens of Student Activists From Jail – 8 April 2016

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

LONDON, England –

Amnesty International released a report this week stating that the worldwide execution rate is currently at its highest point since 1989. More than 20,000 people remain on death row worldwide.

The report noted that at least 1,634 people were executed in 2015, more than a 50 percent increase since 2014. Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty accounted for 89% of the executions. That figure excludes China, where most execution records are kept secret.

Amnesty stated in its report that China remains the country with the highest execution rate, with thousands put to death or sentenced to death in 2015. It was unable to give an exact estimate of the number of executions due to the secrecy surrounding the death penalty in China. It also stated that there were signs that China’s use of the death penalty had actually decreased in recent years, but that again, it was impossible to confirm for certain.

Pakistan executed 326 people in 2015. The country had continued a “state-sanctioned killing spree”, according to Amnesty, which followed a lifted moratorium on civilian executions in 2014. The report cited an attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, as prompting the government’s resumption of executions in 2014. The moratorium was initially lifted for any charged with terrorism-related crimes, but was subsequently lifted for perpetrators of all capital crimes.

Amnesty’s report did note, however, that most countries have fully abolished the death penalty from their criminal justice system and that countries using the death penalty are now in the minority. It stated that 102 countries had abolished use of the death penalty by the end of 2015, with four countries eliminating the death penalty during 2015. In comparison, only 60 countries had abolished use of the death penalty by year-end in 1996.

Amnesty also named Saudi Arabia, the United States, Iraq, Somalia, and Egypt on its list of countries with the highest execution rates, among others.

In a statement accompanying its report, Amnesty said that the death penalty breaches the right to life and the right live free from torture, both fundamental human rights under he United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN in 1948.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Report Finds ‘Alarming Rise’ in Executions in 2015 – 6 April 2016

BBC News – Amnesty Highlights ‘Disturbing Rise’ in Global Executions – 6 April 2016

International Business Times – Amnesty Documents ‘Dramatic’ Rise in Global Executions in 2015 – 6 April 2016

Voice of America – Amnesty: ‘Disturbing’ Rise in Executions Worldwide in 2015 – 6 April 2016