Treason Cases in Russia Increase as Tension Continues to Grow Between East and West

By Kyle Herda

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Svetlana Davydova, a Russian mother of seven, is facing 12 to 20 years in prison on charges of high treason. Davydova allegedly overheard a conversation while on public transportation regarding Russian conscripts being moved undercover into Ukraine to assist pro-Russian rebels, and is accused of reporting that information to the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow. The irony is that Russia denies even having a military presence in Eastern Ukraine, so Davydova’s alleged report to the Ukrainian Embassy would be not state secrets justifying a treason charge, but merely what Russia regards as lies.

Davydova is the most recent Russian facing treason charges. (Photo courtesy of The New York Times)

The first attorney appointed to Davydova did not even dispute the claims, merely stating that the charges were based on facts. Journalists and activists, however, came to her aid and hired a new attorney who helped release Davydova on bail. Davydova is not the only one in need of help against Russian treason charges, however. Savy serviceman Sergei Minakov, Gennady Kravtsov, former nuclear scientist Vladimir Golubev, and Russian Orthodox Church employee Yevgeny Petrin have all been charged with treason over the past year for allegedly giving information to foreign sources.

This rise in treason charges comes as the ruble continues to drop following multiple rounds of sanctions by the US and EU over the past year, and Russia faces even more due to renewed fighting in Eastern Ukraine. While a meeting to discuss peace is scheduled to occur soon between Russia, England, France, and Ukraine in Belarus, tensions are steadily climbing. After a discussion with German Chancellor yesterday, Obama talked with Putin today and was warned that the United States’s recent discussion about giving lethal aid to Kiev would be seen as an act of war by Russia.

The US has also made the decision to send 12 A-10 Thunderbolt attack planes, which were initially designed to attack Soviet tanks during the Cold War, and 300 personnel to an airbase in Germany to bolster NATO’s strength in Europe. This is all in addition the US decision to give further training to Kiev’s troops fighting in Eastern Ukraine, where fighting continues to intensify. Given the strengthening of Russia’s foes and the weakening condition of the Russian economy, along with instability across their border in Eastern Ukraine, and even some instability within their own borders (which peaked during 2011 and 2012 protests regarding Putin’s third election as President), a picture begins to take shape possibly explaining why Russia is cracking down on treason charges that are likely meant to scare the public into conformity at the expense of the few accused.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo Finance – Ukraine Tensions Hit Boiling Point as Obama Confronts Putin – 12 February 2015

Business Insider – The US is redeploying A-10s to Europe – 11 February 2015

RT – US military to train Kiev troops fighting in E. Ukraine – US Army commander – 11 February 2015

The Moscow Times – Russia’s Sudden Spate of Treason Cases Are Scare Tactic, Analysts Say – 10 February 2015

BBC – Ukraine crisis: ‘Don’t arm Kiev’ Russia warns US – 10 February 2015

The New York Times – High Treason, a New Russian Low – 9 February 2015

U.S And Cuba May Need To Compromise on Guantanamo Before Restoring Diplomatic Relations

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

HAVANA, Cuba – Recently, Roberta Jacobson, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America traveled to Havana, Cuba for two days of talks with Cuban officials regarding the restoration of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba. It was the highest-level trip to Cuba by a United States official in 35 years. The talks come after a 17 December announcement that Cuban President, Raul Castro, and US President, Barack Obama, will be moving towards restoring full diplomatic relations between their respective countries. The countries have agreed that the first step in renewing these relations is the reopening of embassies in both the United States and Cuba.

Pictured above is Cuban President Raul Castro (Photo Courtesy of the Telegraph).

Castro has laid out his long-term objectives for the compromise, which include the United States returning the Guantanamo naval base and prison, lifting the embargo, and compensating for damages. Cuba’s most pressing demand is an end to banking restrictions, which is linked to its U.S. designation as a “state sponsor of terrorism.” The United States is working toward diplomatic relations but government officials state that if these problems are not resolved then the restoration of diplomatic relations will not make any sense.

The Cuban government has stated that it has no intention of changing its system. The United Sates State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Castro’s remarks. However, the Obama administration has stated that it will not consider handing over the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, which was a central demand of Castro. On the other hand, it is likely that the U.S. government will concede to lifting Cuba from the list designating it as a sponsor to terrorism in the coming months.

While the United States is likely to make some concessions in order to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba, many of Castro’s demands are highly unlikely which may ultimately hinder the two countries hope for future diplomatic relations.

 

For more information, please see the following

BOSTON GLOBE – US Won’t Return Guantanamo To Improve Ties With Cuba – 5 Feb. 2015.

THE GUARDIAN –Raul Castro Demands That US Return Guantanamo Base To Cuba – 28 Jan. 2015.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS – U.S. Rules Out Returning Guantanamo Bay To Improve Ties With Cuba – 5 Feb. 2015.

THE TELEGRAPH – Raul Castro: US Must Return Guantanamo To Cuba – 28 Jan. 2015.

Syria Deeply: In Hameh, a Snapshot of Life After a Cease-fire

Syria Deeply

The civilians’ situation was terrible. Our appeals to save the area were not heard, and we suffered from a severe food shortage.

Hameh, an area in the countryside of Damascus), has witnessed some of the most vicious battles between the Syrian government and rebel forces aligned with the Free Syrian Army (FSA). For the last three years, the town has had to survive with very little food or fuel, as all surrounding roads were closed. Hama has had a fluctuating two-year-old truce that has broken down repeatedly.

Saber, 25, is a law student and resident of Hameh. He told Syria Deeply about the truce and the area’s fragile state of affairs.

Syria Deeply: How did the regime and the rebels come to the decision to call for a truce?

Saber: After the intense clashes between the Syrian army and the FSA, the regime suggested the truce in our area to ease the pressure on its forces on other fronts in the country. The rebels needed to make a deal because of the daily shelling and the constant lack of electricity, food and medicine.

Syria Deeply: What were the terms of the truce?

Saber: A committee was formed consisting of the sheikhs and elders of Hameh and surrounding areas. It was called the Reconciliation Committee, and it was responsible for suggesting the temporary truce to bring food and medicine into the town.

The FSA and the regime both proposed their own terms and conditions for the truce, but they were unsuccessful at first. But the pressure for a truce increased due to the many displaced people who came to Hameh from different areas of the Damascus countryside. These people numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and they needed food and drink.

This influenced the cease-fire for a short period of time, but none of the parties adhered to the truce. The living situation kept deteriorating, and the committee couldn’t reach clear terms that both sides would agree on.

Syria Deeply: How would you describe the living conditions for civilians in the area during this period?

Saber: The civilians’ situation was terrible. Our appeals to save the area were not heard, and we suffered from a severe food shortage. A few days after the truce’s failure, it was announced that all roads to the city were to be closed; some of these roads are still closed now. Then all kinds of food and in particular bread was prevented from entering the area, and the bakery stopped producing as a result of a lack of supplies. Shops and markets became totally empty, it was truly suffocating. Serious diseases and injuries among children and teenagers such as intestinal infections, hepatitis and malnutrition increased.

Syria Deeply: How did things evolve during this siege, and what was the role of the Reconciliation Committee?

Saber: Things evolved in a negative and unsatisfying manner. We demanded that sick people be let out of the area, and that food and medical supplies be allowed to be brought in.

The Reconciliation Committee held another meeting because the health and livelihood situation had gotten so bad. A basic agreement was made and some roads to the town were opened. The Red Crescent brought food to the displaced people in town, and the siege was partially cleared as they brought food and medical materials, but fuel was not allowed, and many roads were still closed. The truce lasted for almost five months, but things were not stable, markets were not reopened, and the shortage of items was not filled.

After five months, the area was surprised with heavy missile shelling for five straight hours – almost three missiles every five minutes. This shelling disabled all the facilities that had started to function again. The result was the death of six women and great destruction of buildings. Then there was another, longer, siege, and as a result people fled to other areas.

Some mediators from Damascus got involved, and they issued a new truce with sufficient terms for both sides, and food was brought into the area with the cooperation of the Red Crescent again. But until now the deal was not made to open the roads completely, and it’s not enough.

Syria Deeply: How are people of the area living now during the truce?

Saber: People appreciate the truce as a way of escaping death, because they’ve suffered from homelessness and damage. But fuel and building materials are still not allowed in, and the electricity is shut down for 20 hours a day, in addition to the damage to the electricity wires due to the shelling, which remain unfixed.

Syria Deeply: How is the situation of other facilities like schools, hospitals and markets?

Saber: Schools are in a miserable situation due to the lack of teaching staff, so some educated young people volunteered to work in schools without any salaries. There’s also a big shortage of schoolbooks.

As for hospitals, there aren’t any in the area. We completely depend on medical charity, and it’s a very primary clinic not equipped to host surgery. It’s also poor in medicine and lacks specialist doctors.

As for shops and markets, they’re closed and empty almost all the time.

We need a radical solution. It’s very important to open the roads in and out of this place: I think this alone could ease the crisis.

 

Somali Member of Parliament Killed In Mogadishu Ahead Of Cabinet Vote

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Immunity Watch, Managing Editor

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Al-Shabab fighters have shot and killed Abdulahi Qayad Barre, a member of Somalia’s Parliament in Mogadishu. “Abdulahi Qayad Barre was shot dead, men killed him as he left his house to go to parliament,” fellow Member of Parliament Abdukarim Hajji announced on Monday. The killing is the latest in a string of assassinations of politicians in the war-torn nation of Somalia. At least five Members of Parliament were assassinated in 20014, Barre was the first to have been assassinated in 2015. The al-Shabab rebels, an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organization, are fighting to overthrow the country’s internationally-backed government. The fighters claim they are targeting members of the Somali Parliament because they allowed the deployment of foreign troops in Somalia through the African Union’s peacekeeping mission known as AMISOM. Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia have contributed troops to the region.

Somalia Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke during a ceremony in the capital Mogadishu, December 17, 2014 (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

“Shebab commandos shot and killed Barre, and all the so-called MPs are a legitimate target subject to be killed or captured, to face the justice of Allah,” al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Abdul Aziz Abu Musab said. “This [is] the fate of all non-believers.” Al-Shabab’s recent attacks in Somalia have targeted key government and security facilities in an attempt to discredit claims by the government and by African Union troops that they are winning the war.

The assassination occurred amid heightened security as lawmakers gathered to vote on whether to approve a new cabinet, after parliament first rejected the new prime minister’s last list of candidates. Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke was named prime minister in December.

Somalia’s parliament approved the new cabinet on Monday despite the assassination. The approval is considered a pivotal step in preparing Somalia to vote on a new constipation and hold presidential elections in 2016. Western donors have put considerable pressure on the Somali government to adopt a new cabinet. “The new cabinet now has little time left to deliver against the priorities that the Somali government set out in Vision 2016 and that formed the basis for international support,” European Union envoys said in a joint statement.

The United States department of State welcomed the announcement from the Somali government. “The United States welcomes the February 9 parliamentary confirmation of Somalia’s Council of Ministers. As the new Council of Ministers assumes office, we urge the Federal Government of Somalia to make swift progress in the important work that remains to realize its Vision 2016, including a constitutional referendum and national elections, a state department statement said. “Somalia’s progress toward realizing the peacebuilding, governance, and security goals is of critical importance to the people of Somalia and the broader region. The United States is committed to supporting the government and people of Somalia. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with the Somali Government and people as they work to stabilize and rebuild their country.”

For more information please see:

United States Department Of State – Confirmation of New Somalia Council of Ministers – 10 February 2015
Al Jazeera – Somalia Lawmaker Shot Dead in Mogadishu – 9 February 2015
Reuters – Al Shabaab Militants Kill Another Somali Lawmaker in Mogadishu – 9 February 2015
Reuters – Somali Parliament Approves Cabinet after Weeks of Wrangling – 9 February 2015

 

Indonesia Set to Execute Two Australian Nationals Convicted of Drug Smuggling

By Max Bartels 

Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania 

 

Jakarta, Indonesia

Indonesia is in the process of performing more executions of convicted drug smugglers, many of who are foreign nationals. Indonesia has recently clamped down on the drug smuggling trade and resolved to pass more strict sentences. Two Australian citizens have been convicted by the Indonesian courts and sentenced to death. Both Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are being held on death row on the Indonesian island of Bali. They are member of the “Bali Nine” and were attempting to smuggle heroin from Indonesia into Australia.

Andrew Chan on the left and Myuran Sukumaran on the right. (Photo curtesy of ABC News)

The Australian Government has been pleading with the Indonesian government and the President Joko Widodo. Over 100 Australian federal politicians have written to the Indonesian Ambassador pleading for the lives of both prisoners. The letters ask that the sentences for both convicts be commuted to appropriate sentences so that they can be deported back to Australia. The politicians letters all make clear that they understand the terrible impact the drug trade has on Indonesian society but asks them to consider rehabilitation and to think of prisoners suffering and their families suffering. The letters also mention that the tip that led to both the arrests was given by the Australian Federal Police and that the harm of the crime was intended for Australia and not on Indonesia.

Andrew Chan’s mother traveled to Bali to visit her son on death row. She made statements to the press pleading  clemency for her son’s life in the hope that President Widodo would hear her plea. Both Ms. Chan and Myuran Sukumaran’s mother,  traveled to Jakarta to meet with Indonesia’s Human Rights Commission to get support against the death penalty. Ms. Sukumaran pleaded that her son is not the same man who committed the crime 10 years ago and pointed out the differences from other capital cases that Indonesia has executed recently, including that the drugs were meant to be smuggled into Australia.

Indonesia has now informed Australia that the executions will be delayed. Indonesia’s Justice and Human Rights Minister cited the current political situation as well as conflict between corruption investigators and the National Police as the reason for the delay. The National Police is known to be the most corrupt government agency in Indonesia. It remains to be seen if the Indonesian government will carry out the executions but they have recently executed foreign nationals convicted of drug smuggling charges without regard to pleas from foreign states or families.

For more information, please see: 

The Guardian — Bali Nine: Australian Politicians Plead for Indonesia to Spare Condemned Pair — 10 February 2015

The Sydney Morning Herald — Suspected Bali Nine Mastermind Living in Luxury as Andrew Chan and Myrun Sukumaran Sit on Death Row — 10 February 2015

ABC News — Bali Nine: Confusion in Indonesia Government Over Whether Executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran Will be Delayed — 10 February 2015 

ABC News — Bali Nine: Andrew Chan’s Mother Helen Makes Impassioned Plea for Her Son’s Life — 9 February 2015