Ecuadorians Still Searching for Justice in Chevron Case

By Delisa Morris

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

QUITO, Ecuador — Litigation that began in 1993 continues to forge on.  In 1993, a group of attorneys filed a class action suit in New York on behalf of Ecuadorian farmers and indigenous tribes in Ecuador against the oil giant Texaco.  Texaco produced oil in the Amazon during the 70s until the 80s.  After nine years, the case was dismissed because of a lack of jurisdiction.  The court stated that the suit should be brought in Ecuador.

Destruction from oil in the amazon. Image courtesy of assets.inhabitats.org

In 2001, Texaco was acquired by Chevron.  Steven Donziger, another New York attorney later took over the case and used celebrity support, sympathetic media coverage and financial backing from hedge funds to restart the case in Ecuador in 2003.

In the mean time, no one has cleaned up the oil.  Waste oil remains in open pits near rural hamlets and people drink from oil contaminated streams daily.

Eight years after the restart in 2003, the suit led to a $19billion verdict against Chevron.  The company’s liability was confirmed by Ecuador’s top court, but the damages were reduced to $9.5billion.

Even after the damage cut, Chevron refused to pay for three reasons: it’s impossible to tell Ecuador’s pollution apart from Chevrons, Texaco had cleaned up its fair share of pollution and received a blanketed release by the Ecuadorian government and according to Chevron, Donziger used fabricated evidence, coercion and bribery to win the suit.

Just when the Ecuadorians believed that they would have clean drinking water, or a new medical center to take care of their oil induced injuries, Chevron filed a countersuit in 2011.

Chevron’s countersuit basically accused Donzinger of conducting a corporate shakedown.  This past March a U.S. District Judge agreed and invoked the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.  Judge Kaplan concluded that the litigation against Chevron was irrevocably marred by fraud and corruption, orchestrated in large by Donziger.  The judge said Donziger had forged court documents, bribed Ecuadorian judges and submitted false technical documents disavowed by his own paid experts.  The judge decided to punish both Donziger and his clients, the Ecuadorian farmers and indigenous tribes for his wrongdoing.

Was this a fair outcome for the Ecuadorians?

Donziger has appealed the judgment and a federal appellate court in New York will hear arguments in the upcoming month.  Meanwhile, the highest court in Canada, is reviewing if the decision from Ecuador can be enforced in Canada where Chevron has extensive operations.

International legal correspondent Michael D. Goldhaber states “hope was that the Ecuador case would for the first time establish non-U.S. courts as a viable alternative to hold companies accountable when they are complicit in wrongs overseas.”

For more information, please see:

Bloomberg Businessweek – A Way to Clean Up Ecuador’s Oil Mess – 18 Sept 2014

Forbes – Ecuador, Chevron and Steven Donziger: The Travesty Described in Detail – 8 Sept 2014

Huff Post Business – How Chevron’s Scientists Misled Courts and Public About Death and Disease in Ecuador – 18 Sept 2014

Rolling Stone – Sludge Match: Inside Chevron’s $9billion Legal Battle With Ecuadorian Villagers – 28 Aug 2014

 

Australian Police Raids Conducted Across Sydney Over Domestic ISIS Threat

By Max Bartels

Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

 

Canberrra, Australia 

The largest counter-terrorism operation in the history of Australia took place today as somewhere between 800 to 1,000 Australian police officers took part in raids across Sydney to apprehend members of ISIS plotting terror acts in the city. 15 suspects were arrested and over a dozen raids executed on properties across Sydney. The Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott stated today that he was briefed by Australian intelligence agencies Wednesday night about a potential plot by ISIS member in Sydney to stage a public execution in an attempt to demonstrate the groups reach. The police have further stated that they have gathered evidence showing that ISIS supporters in Australia have been plotting these attacks since May.

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Australian police arrest suspects in pre-dawn raids across Sydney Thursday Morning (Photo Curtesy of The Independent)

Calls for attacks in Australia have apparently been coming from an Australian who is reported by Abbott to be high up in the ISIS ranks. Abbott refused to state the name of the suspected high up Australian ISIS member. Police arrested a 22- year- old member of ISIS, who prosecutors say planned to gruesomely behead a randomly selected person in public with a clear intent to shock and horrify. The police have since stated that 9 of the 15 suspects arrested during the raid have been released on bail.

Raids on a smaller scale were executed in Brisbane last week, where two men were arrested for attempting to recruit members to join the AL-Qaeda off shoot group called the “Nursa Front”. These men were also preparing to leave for Syria themselves. In the wake of these recent events the Australian government has raised the terrorist threat level from medium to high. Australian intelligence agencies report that some 60 Australian citizens have gone abroad to fight for ISIS and other militant Islamic groups in the Middle East. These agencies also report that they believe that there are around  100 Australians in Australia supporting ISIS by recruiting fighters, grooming suicide candidates and providing funds and equipment.

On Thursday night a crowd of around 300 protesters gathered in Sydney to protest against the raids. Australian Islamic groups are warning the government of potential unrest over the governments new anti-terror polices. The leader of one of these Islamic groups stated that the Muslim community is being made scapegoats and that he believes  the real terrorists are the government. He further stated that Muslims in Australia do not feel safe and that the Muslim community has been victimized for years.

Last week Australia announced that it would be contributing to the international effort to combat ISIS by deploying military forces to the Middle East. Abbott stated then that there was a concern of ISIS threats in Australia. He has recently played down concerns that Australia’s involvement abroad could increase the risk of attack at home.

For more information; please see: 

NBC News — Raids Foil Alleged Beheading Plot in Support of ISIS — 18 September 2014

CBS News — Australian in Australia: We Thwarted Grisly ISIS Plot — 18 September 2014

Fox News — Australia Raids Foil Reported ISIS Beheading Plots — 18 September 2014

The Guardian — Terrorism Raids: ISIS Urging Followers to Behead Australians’, Says PM

Sex Trafficking in Europe

Despite Ukraine-Russia Truce Holding, Tension Between Russia and Baltic States Remains High

By Kyle Herda

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

VILNIUS, Lithuania – In Russia’s most recent move against the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, Moscow has sought to reopen criminal investigations into Lithuanian residents who refused to serve in the Soviet army after Lithuania declared dependence in 1990. An estimated 1500 young people refused the orders nearly 25 years ago, and now Russia wants them to pay.

NATO jets fly over Lithuania as part of Operation Reassurance. (Photo courtesy of Ottawa Citizen)

While Russia has already made this same request once prior, roughly ten years ago, the surrounding context now makes the situation more dire. The recent abduction of the Estonian border guard, coupled with Russia’s current attempt to prosecute him for allegedly spying, has forced the Lithuanian State Security Department to advise Lithuanians who withdrew from the Soviet army in 1990 to refrain from traveling outside of Lithuania, or at least outside of any European Union or NATO countries.

Lithuanian President, Dalia Grybauskaite, has taken the additional step to establish certain strategic sectors of the Lithuanian economy as those that should have major investments first vetted to the government. This comes as a matter of national security after a Russian-led company leased two large plots of land next to Siauliai airport, where NATO planes patrol the Baltic skies. NATO currently has Operation Reassurance based in Siauliai, and the aims of this operation are to preserve NATO European airspace and safeguard NATO nations from air attacks, specifically in response to Russia’s recent aggressions in eastern Europe.

Russia has also flown jets close to Baltic borders over 140 times this year, and recently successfully tested its new Bulava Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (“ICBM”) with a range of 8,000 kilometers. Russia has recently spoken out about securing the rights and interests of ethnic Russians. Russia’s Foreign Ministry chief monitor of human rights overseas, Konstantin Dolgov, in a speech in Latvia’s capital, Riga, said, “It has to be stated with sadness that a huge number of our compatriots abroad, whole segments of the Russian world, continue to face serious problems in securing their rights and lawful interests.”

As long as the military remains involved on both sides of the border, there will remain worry and uneasy feelings for all parties involved. On the one hand, worries in the Baltics are completely justified, as the situation in Ukraine prior to both Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the subsequent invasion by Russia of eastern Ukraine draws many parallels to what we are seeing now in Russia’s behavior towards the Baltic States. On the other hand, the situation in the Baltics differs from Ukraine in that NATO has already stated that a military response would come for the Baltic States in the event of a Russian invasion, citing Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty as justification of such an event.

So while concerns that this may be Crimea all over again carry heavy weight, they may not be entirely justified. While the situation began very similarly, the implications here if events continue down the same path would result in a very different, and potentially much bloodier, outcome. Perhaps this will deter either side from pushing too far, or perhaps this will allow for a much greater escalation in events.

For more information, please see:

Ottawa Citizen – Photos: CF-18 and F-16 Falcons over Lithuania – 17 September 2014

Reuters – Lithuania to vet more investments for national security risks – 17 September 2014

Baltic Review – Lithuanians Strongly Advised to Refrain from Traveling to Countries Outside the EU or NATO – 17 September 2014

The Baltic Times – More Russian jets near Baltic borders cause for concern, says army chief – 17 September 2014

The Moscow Times – Russia Sees Need to Protect Russian Speakers in NATO Baltic States – 16 September 2014

Canada National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces – Operation REASSURANCE – 12 September 2014

The Moscow Times – Russia Proves Nuclear Muscle With Ballistic Missile Launch – 10 September 2014

 

Military Violence Ignited Public Fury in South Korea

By Hojin Choi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea – There are two recent cases that implicitly demonstrate the abuse problems in the South Korean military.

In June, Sergeant Lim opened fire on his fellow soldiers. Five soldiers were killed and seven were injured. They were returning to their base after training, and, surprisingly, it was not a shooting spree since the sergeant aimed at each one of the victims. He attempted to commit suicide, but was arrested with severe injury.

The group memorial altar for five dead soldiers who were killed by Sergeant Lim (Reuters)

In April, Private Yoon died in his military base after being beaten to death by his senior troops. Yoon had suffered from habitual abuse and bullying at the hands of his fellow troops. This incident was unknown to the public until the Korean civic group, the Center for Military Human Rights, revealed it.

These two cases have several similarities. First, at the outset, there were bullying problems. Second, Both Lim and Yoon faced their situations by themselves without any help from outside. The only difference is that Yoon had endured his suffering until he died while Lim exploded his anger through extreme retaliation, murdering his comrades. Several Korean media stated that if Lim did not kill the aggressors, he would have ended up like Sergeant Yoon.

What the 20-year-old private, Yoon, had suffered is close to torture. He was denied food and forced to consume phlegm and his own vomit. He was beaten with fists, feet, and mop handles until they broke. When he became groggy, he was hooked up with intravenous drip to be revived and beaten again as he woke up. He was ordered to hold “horse-riding” stances for hours and forced to have an irritating salve rubbed on his genitals. On April 6, he was forced to eat frozen food right after being punched and kicked. He died thereafter.

The last moment of Private Yoon (CNN)

One of the key causes leading to such severe military violence is the closed environment of the military. Its strict and conservative hierarchy system tends to obscure the violence even after someone dies. This tendency is related to promotions of higher rank officials. Moreover, a strong “pecking order” within Korean society makes its people more vulnerable to bullying problems not only in the military but also at work places and in schools.

In Yoon’s case, several officials did recognize Yoon’s situation, but did not take action to intervene. The military officially confirmed his cause of death as choking. However, after the public outcries, it changed its report to “death from shock” by intensive physical abuses. The military has since brought murder charges against the suspects in Yoon’s case.

In addition to the characteristics of the military and society, the conscription system makes the violence function as a vicious circle. In South Korea, it is mandatory for all male citizens to join the military for 2 to 3 years. When lower rank soldiers become senior ranks, they repeat the violations that they have suffered on the new soldiers.

According to a statistical inquiry, there are 152 dead bodies, which are classified as death from “failure to adjust to military life,” kept in the military morgue. Their families have refused to take the bodies until the “truth” is revealed by independent investigations that include civil experts. In recent five years, over 120 soldiers have died in the military and 80 of them were classified as “suicides.” Allegedly, some of the bodies with “suicide” tags are not even real suicide cases.

In South Korea, people who could legally avoid the military duty by substituted work or low levels of physical condition are called “sons of god.” Private Yoon’s mother, Ahn Mi Ja, said to CNN that “I wanted to do to them exactly what they did to my son.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – South Korean soldiers face murder charge amid bullying claim – 4 September 2014

The New York Times – Outrage Builds in South Korea in Deadly Abuse of a Soldier – 6 August 2014

Asian Human Rights Commission – SOUTH KOREA: Military camps or government run torture centres? – 28 August 2014

BBC – South Korea military under fire over abuse – August 27 2014