Press Release: Sergei Magnitsky Posthumously Honoured by the Allard Prize Committee for International Integrity

October 5, 2015

5 October 2015 – Sergei Magnitsky, the Russian lawyer who exposed a $230 million corrupt scheme by Russian officials, has been posthumously honoured by the Allard Prize Committee for International Integrity. The recognition comes one month before the 6^thanniversary of his murder in Russian police custody at the age of 37.

Sergei Magnitsky’s mother, wife and son attended the award ceremony held in Vancouver, Canada at the University of British Columbia’s Peter A. Allard School of Law.

On accepting the honourable recognition on behalf of Sergei Magnitsky, his mother said:

“I would like to thank all people who remember Sergei. Because when the person is remembered, that person is alive. I recently saw a person who said I am alive because of Sergei’s sacrifice.”

Valery Borschev, chair of the Moscow Public Oversight Commission, who investigated how Sergei Magnitskyhad been tortured and murdered in police custody, said:

“Magnitsky lived like Solzhenitsyn wrote – don’t be afraid, don’t beg. I think he is a hero.”

Sergei Magnitsky was one of four finalists for the 2015 Allard Prize for International Integrity. The other finalists included Indonesia Corruption Watch, and two recipients of the prize – John Githongo, who exposed a $1 billion corruption scandal in the Kenyan government, and Rafael Marques de Morais, a journalist writing on issues of conflict diamonds and army brutality in Angola. (View the Allard Prize short film about Sergei Magnitsky and the other finalists)

The Allard Prize for International Integrity recognizes individuals and organisations who show exceptional courage and leadership in combating corruption.

Sergei Magnitsky’s name has become synonymous with the lack of rule of law in Russia. His torture and killing in Russian police custody after he uncovered and testified about Russian officials involved in the $230 million theft has led to the adoption of the 2012 Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act in the United States which imposes targeted sanctions in the form of visa bans and asset freezes on those involved in his case, as well as in other gross human rights abuses. A Global Magnitsky Bill which would apply similar sanctions to cases of human rights violations around the world is currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate after its approval by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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Kunduz Takeover Underscores Taliban’s Threat in Afghanistan

October 5, 2015

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KABUL, Afghanistan –

On Monday, Taliban militants captured Kunduz, a provincial capital in Afghanistan. Afghan military forces regained the center of Kunduz on Thursday, but Taliban soldiers still remain in other areas of the city.

Kunduz, a city of 300,000, was taken over by the Taliban before dawn on Monday, taking Afghan troops and police by surprise. The Taliban occupied Kunduz for three days before retreating as Afghan forces regained control of the city center.

The Taliban has been accused of committing extrajudicial killings and other atrocities including rape and torture against civilians during its three-day takeover. The militants also looted Kunduz’s banks and military weaponry and set fire to government buildings.

Taliban fighters hugging after their takeover of Kunduz (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

The capture of Kunduz was a victory for the Taliban’s new leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, because it is one of the most strategic and wealthy cities in Afghanistan and is the first provincial capital to fall to the Taliban since the U.S. intervened in 2001.

The Deputy Chief of Staff for the Afghan army, Murad Ali Murad, has stated that most Taliban fighters had fled Kunduz, but that some are hiding in the homes of the civilians. A spokesman for the Taliban told Reuters that Taliban forces had retreated to the edges of Kunduz in an effort to surround Afghan and U.S. soldiers.

Thousands of civilians are reported to have fled from Kunduz during the fighting. The number of civilians killed during the fighting in Kunduz is currently unknown. As of Wednesday, around 30 people had been killed and around 340 were wounded.

Hospitals in Kunduz are running low on supplies due to Taliban roadblocks on the route from Kabul to Kunduz. Medical professionals are unable to get to the hospitals due to continued fighting in Kunduz.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has doctors working in Kunduz, has expressed growing concerns about the welfare of Kunduz citizens and the lack of proper medical supplies and personnel. The ICRC has emergency medical supplies ready to be flown when it is safe to land at Kunduz airport, which has been the staging area for Afghan forces attempting to retake control of the city.

The Taliban has started to gain ground recently, raising the question of whether NATO-trained Afghan security forces are prepared to face the Taliban’s insurgency on their own. NATO forces ended their combat mission in Afghanistan last year, but there are currently around 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan who have the role of training, advising, and assisting Afghan security forces.

Before the Taliban regime was overturned by a U.S.-led intervention in 2001, its five-year-long rule over Afghanistan was characterized by acts such as public executions and the denial of rights to women.

For more information, please see:

New York Times – U.S. Strikes Positions in Afghanistan as Taliban Gain Momentum – 2 October 2015

Reuters – Afghan Forces Push Into Taliban-Held Kunduz City Amid Fierce Clashes – 2 October 2015

Reuters – Taliban Hold Out in Northern Afghan City, District in Northeast Falls – 2 October 2015

BBC News – Taliban Triumph in Capture of Kuduz – 1 October 2015

CNN – Why the Taliban Takeover of Kunduz is a Big Deal – 29 September 2015

Coalition Demands Russia Focuses Attacks on the Islamic State

October 5, 2015

By Brittani Howell

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria –On Friday, over the course of 24 hours, Russia launched 18 airstrikes in Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry reported 18 attacks against 12 Islamic State facilities.

Man rides past the rubble of Wednesday’s airstrike in northern Hama. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters).

There is doubt in the International Community that Russia is only attacking the Islamic State. Many of the targeted areas are located in the western and northern parts of Syria. The Islamic State is mostly present in eastern areas in Syria.

The US-led coalition urged Russians, “to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and to focus its efforts on fighting ISIL.” It continued, “We express our deep concern with regard to the Russian military build-up in Syria and especially attacks by the Russian Air Force on Hama, Homs, and Idlib since yesterday which led to civilian casualties and did not target Da’esh.”

Da’esh, ISIL, and ISIS are all acronyms for the Islamic State.

Russian warplanes flew over the Homs province on Friday. Homs province, which was under attack earlier this week, is held by anti-Assad rebels, but lacks an Islamic State presence. Prayers were cancelled Friday in fear that the mosques would be targeted.

On Thursday, a mosque located in Jisr al-Shughour was destroyed by a Russian airstrike. The mosque had been taken over by Islamic insurgents earlier this year.

Khdaier Khushfa, a Syrian activist, spoke with CNN and reported 17 civilian deaths in Talbiseh and 11 civilian deaths in Zafaraniya, as a result of Russian airstrikes on Wednesday.

Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, stated, “I would like to stress that there were no strikes against civilian infrastructure, especially against buildings where there could have been or were peaceful residents.”

The U.N. Special Envoy to Syria had to suspend humanitarian operations as a result of the attacks. The operation would have allowed for safe passage out of Zabadoni for Sunni insurgents and their families, in return for the safe passage for Shi’ite families in Foua and Kfarya.

Syrian rebel training camps were struck by two Russian airstrikes on Thursday. The rebel group in Idlib is backed by the CIA and is tasked with aiding in the fight against the Islamic State. No deaths were reported for the attacks on the training camps.

Russian’s support for Assad stems from ties between Assad’s father and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Russia believes Assad should be at the center of the efforts to fight militants. The coalition, on the other hand, blames Assad for attacking citizens, which led to radicalizations of the rebels.

It is alleged that Russia’s support for Assad may be a driver for the airstrikes that were conducted in areas with very little to no Islamic State presence.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Spokesman: Russia Launches 18 Attacks in Syria in the Last 24 Hours – 2 October 2015

Reuters – U.S., Allies Demand Russia to Halt Syria Strikes Outside IS Areas – 2 October 2015

The Associated Press – The Latest: Hollande: Only 1 of Russia’s Raids Hits IS – 2 October 2015

The New York Times – Russia Hits ISIS Territory in Syria with Airstrikes but Ignores Western Demands – 2 October 2015

Syria Deeply: Under Russian Bombs, Syrians Speak out

October 3, 2015

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the weekly Syria Deeply newsletter. In addition to our special coverage of this week’s United Nations General Assembly summit, an annual meeting of global leaders that largely focused on the situation in Syria, we have rounded up the most important stories and developments about Syria and the Syrians in order to bring you valuable news and analysis.

Under Russian Bombs, Syrians Speak Out

As Russian fighter jets carried out their second straight day of air raids this week, Syria Deeply spoke to people on the ground about their reactions to Moscow’s military intervention.

‘A Huge Hole in Our Lives’

Exactly three years after her father’s disappearance, 21-year-old Raneem Ma’touq told Syria Deeply her family’s story and what life is like for human rights defenders and their loved ones in Syria.

My Syria Diary Part 41

Marah, a teenage girl from one of Syria’s besieged cities, shares her stories of life in the war. She recently moved to Damascus to continue her education, deciding to focus her college studies on prosthetics, which she hopes to use to help heal the injured in her country’s conflict.

The Battle for Borno

October 3, 2015

By Tyler Campbell

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – The Nigerian state of Borno is caught in the middle of a violent struggle between the new Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari and a militant Islamist group, Boko Haram. The latest acts of violence happened on October 1, when a number of explosions ripped through the city of Maiduguri, the capitol of Borno. This latest attack is believed to have taken 14 lives.

(Site of a suspected Boko Haram suicide bomb attack from June in Borno Photo courtesy of The Gardian)

The fight between Boko Haram and the Nigerian establishment has been raging for quite some time. It recently intensified when the new Nigerian president Buhari took office. Before he has elected Buhari published a list of a 100 promises to the Nigerian people. One of these promises was that he would eliminate rebel and terrorist groups like Boko Haram. These types of groups have long plagued Nigeria. Buhari’s war against them was a main selling point that helped him take Nigerian presidency.

Since Buhari took office there have been multiple attacks throughout Nigeria and spilling into Chad, Cameroon, and Niger. On August 12 a bomb went off in Sabon Gari, a southern Borno city, which killed 28 and injured 79. More recently was the blast that happened on the first of October in the capitol of Borno. (Described above) This attack left 14 dead and 39 others injured. Four of the dead were believed to be the suicide bombers. Yesterday, two bombs went off near Abuja, the capitol of Nigeria. This attack took the lives of 21. All three of these attacks were claimed by Boko Haram. These three attacks, with multiple others, put the death toll from Boko haram related deaths at 1,260 since Buhari took office in May.

Even with all the casualties Buhari has not relented on his stance of eliminating terrorist organizations in Nigeria. He has even given his military commanders a deadline of November to achieve his goal, which seems unlikely to be met at this time.

The fight against Boko Haram has not been all negative. The same day as bombs went off in Borno the Nigerian army announced that 80 Boko Haram militants had surrendered. The captured 80 consisted of commanders tp to food suppliers but included no big names in the Boko Haram organization. Surrender has been held out as the only option for these terrorist organizations by the Nigerian army. It is this or face “total annihilation” a statement from the army said. “Achievement of total peace is a must.”

For more information, please see:

All Africa – Maiduguri Bomb Blast – 14 Killed By Four Suicide Bombers – 2 October 2015

The Guardian – Boko Haram suspected after Nigerian capital Abuja hit by bomb blasts – 2 October 2015

The Guardian – Explosions hit Nigerian city in suspected Boko Haram suicide attacks – 1 October 2015

BBC – Nigeria market blast ‘kills 28 in Borno’ – 12 August 2015