ICC Opens War Crime Probe in Central African Republic

By Erica Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BANGUI, Central African Republic — The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened up an investigation into alleged war crimes taking place in the struggling Central African Republic (CAR).

ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

The preliminary investigation is going to look into recent account of violence in the country, including lynchings and beheading. Fatou Bensouda, the ICC chief prosecutor, has reviewed many reports of “extreme brutality” and her offices feels  that allegations of crimes committed “possibly fall within the ambit of the jurisdiction of the ICC”.

“The allegations include hundreds of killings, acts of rape and sexual slavery, destruction of property, pillaging, torture, forced displacement and recruitment and use of children in hostilities….In many incidents, victims appear to have been deliberately targeted on religious grounds.”” Bensouda said in a statement.

The CAR has been plagued by violence since Seleka Rebels, who are Muslim, overthrew the government in March of 2013. The conflict has recently started to show religious undertones with the Seleka fighting mainly Christin groups known as as anti-balaka (machete), the favorite weapon of the Seleka.

The efforts of the ICC will be in carried out in conjunction with the African Union and the UN. “In conformity with the complementarity principle, my Office will also be engaging with the CAR authorities with a view to discussing ways and means to bring perpetrators to account, including at the national level,” Bensouda said

The African Union and France have sent troops to the CAR to try to restore order, but so far they have been unsuccessful.

On Wednesday soldiers publicly lynched a suspected ex-Seleka member after a military ceremony. The UN refugee agency said 9,000 people, mostly Muslims, have fled to neighboring Cameroon over the past 10 days alone. The violence has see a marked increase in recent weeks  and has “reached intolerable and unprecedented levels,” the Doctors Without Borders group said in a statement Friday.

“Civilians remain in constant fear for their lives, and have been largely left to fend for themselves,” the charity’s emergency coordinator Martine Flokstra said.

CAR is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which led to the formation of ICC. The court has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

 

For further information please see:

Aljazeera — ICC to open war crimes probe in CAR– 8 February 2014

BBC News — ICC opens CAR ‘war crimes’ preliminary investigation — 7 February 2014

Detroit Free Press — Muslims flee sectarian violence in Central African Republic amid war crimes probe — 7 February 2014

Global Post — ICC launches C.Africa war crimes probe — 7 February 2014

 

Spanish Universal Jurisdiction May Soon Become Undone

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MADRID, Spain – Faced with political and economic pressure from China, Spanish legislatures continued support changes to Spanish universal jurisdiction law. Human rights groups chastised the move as a step backward in international law.

 

China has rebuked Spanish courts for a decision to issue arrest warrants for Chinese officials in Europe, on grounds of universal jurisdiction. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

Almost two decades ago, Spain enacted legislation to support universal jurisdiction. The doctrine allowed Spanish judges to reach beyond their borders to investigate serious human rights abuses. In 1998, Spain made headlines by using the doctrine to arrest Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet in London.

When faced with pressure from the US regarding cases relating to Guantanamo Bay prisoners around 2009, Spain limited universal jurisdiction to cases that had a relevant connection to Spain, as long as no other national court would take the case.

In January 2014, the People’s Party (PP) tabled legislation that would curb the use of universal jurisdiction. The new law would essentially erase Spanish universal jurisdiction, applying the doctrine only for defendants who were Spanish citizens or residents, and only victims and public prosecutors could bring a case.

On 11 February 2014, Spanish Members of Parliament voted to continue support for a bill that limits the Spanish judicial power to try extra-territorial criminal cases. According to human rights organizations, the move would end Spain’s role as a leader in enforcing international justice.

PP Spokesman Alfonso Alonso defended the change, calling universal jurisdiction “inefficient” and something that “promises a lot but leads to nothing more than diplomatic conflicts.”

The vote came after a Spanish court ordered Interpol to issue arrest warrants for Chinese officials, including former President Jiang Zemin, for decades-old human rights abuses. While Spain sought to deepen trade relations with China to boost the European country’s economy, the court order caused China to issue a sharp rebuke.

“China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed to the erroneous acts taken by the Spanish agencies in disregard of China’s position,” said a foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying. “But I believe this incident concerns the sound development of bilateral relations, so we hope that the Spanish government can properly deal with this matter and tell right from wrong.”

“This reform makes it even harder to probe into severe human rights abuses,” said Ignacio Jovtis, of Amnesty International Spain. AIS is among nearly two dozen human rights groups urging the government to abandon the change. “It’s a step backwards for human rights and justice.”

Reed Brody, of Human Rights Watch, expressed concerns over the double standards in international justice. “It’s OK to use international justice for El Salvador, Chile and Chad, but when it comes to US or China or Russia, there’s no justice. That really threatens to undermine the entire architecture of international justice.”

To ensure accountability for atrocities committed in the world, the world must deeply consider whether those with great power should run in the face of great responsibility.

For further information, please see:

Euronews – Spain Bows to Chinese Pressure and Backs Law to Curb Pioneering Judges – February 12, 2014

Guardian – Spain Moves to Curb Legal Convention Allowing Trials of Foreign Rights Abuses – February 11, 2014

Reuters – China Bristling, Spain Seeks to Limit Its Judges’ International Rights Powers – February 11, 2014

CNN International – Spanish Judge Issues Arrest Warrants for China’s Former President, Prime Minister – February 10, 2014

Iran Executes Activist Poet, Calling Him an “Enemy of God”

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – According to local human rights groups, Hashem Shaabani, an Arab-Iranian human rights activists has been executed by the Iranian government who called him an “enemy of God” and a threat to national security. According to BBC Persian, officials from the Ministry of Information informed the Shaabani’s family that they had carried out the execution and told them of the location where he had been buried. Both Hashem Shaabani were executed on January 29, without their attorneys or families being notified.

Hadi Rashedi and Hashem Shaabani, members of an Arab cultural organization, were executed without their attorneys or their families being notified. (Photo courtesy of The Iranian Human Rights Documentation Center)

Shaabani was a member of Iran’s Arab-Speaking ethnic minority and had spoken out against the treatment of ethnic Arabs in the province of Khuzestan. Shaabani founded the Dialogue Institute, an organization aimed at promoting Arab culture in Iran, and was well known for his Arabic and Persian poetry.

In  statement the human rights group Freedom House condemned Iran’s decision to execute Shaabani, saying: “His judicial murder underscores two important trends in Iran: Violent repression of ethnic minorities, of which Shaabani’s execution is only one among many examples, remains government policy. And the government’s human rights record has not improved under President Rouhani. During the first two weeks of January, some 40 individuals were executed; Iran is believed to be second only to China in the number of executions.”

Shaabani was hanged in an unidentified prison on January 27. He had been incarcerated since February or March 2011 after being arrested for being a Mohareb, or an “enemy of God”. In 2012, he appeared on Iran’s state-run TV, where, according to human rights activist, he was forced to confess to being a “separatist terrorist.” Shaabani was reportedly subjected to torture while in prison.

Last year Iran executed 625 people, including 29 women and political prisoners, many political prisoners faced the charge of being an “enmity against God” or for somehow being a threat to “national security.”

According to Amnesty International Iran executed 40 people over a two week period in January and according to the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre (IHRDC) more than 300 people have been executed since President Rouhani, called by some a reformist, took office in August. The majority of the executions in January were for drug related charges, according to Amnesty.

Activists are concerned over the steep increase in executions that has been seen in Iran since Rouhani took office last year. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

The Iranian government has defended its use of capital punishment, arguing the practice is necessary to maintaining order. The state maintains that it is used only when judicial proceedings have been exhausted. However activists have criticized the state for using Capital punishment as a means of suppressing political dissidence.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran Ahmed Shaheed and the UN’s expert addressing executions Christof Heyns urged Iran last month to stop the surge in executions that has been going on since the start of the year.

As the Iranian government celebrates 35 years since it came to power during the 1979 Iranian Revolution it is clear that the government remains willing to use “judicial murder” as a means of silencing the voices of those who question it.

For more information please see”

National Public Radio – Book News: Poet Hashem Shaabani Reportedly Executed In Iran – 11 February 2014

Al Jazeera – Iranian Poet Executed For ‘Waging War on God’ – 10 February 2014

The Jerusalem Post – Rouhani Orders Executions of Iranian-Arab Poet, Rights Activist – 03 February 2014

Iranian Human Rights Documentation Center – IRI Executes Two Ahwazi Arab Men – 31 January 2014

Al Jazeera – Iran Executes 40 in Two Weeks: Rights Group – 28 January 2014

North and South Korea Engage in ‘High-Level’ Talks

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea--North and South Korea have held their first “high-level talks” in almost seven years, in an apparent effort to improve strained relations at the suggestion of the North.

The talks, held Wednesday at a border village, came as South Korea and the United States prepared to engage in another round of military drills that have antagonized Pyongyang, Reuters reported.

The meeting was set up with unusual speed and great secrecy at the North’s suggestion last week. This is just the latest example of conflicting signals from Pyongyang, which abruptly cancelled an invitation for a US envoy to visit a few weeks ago.

Kim Jong-un, who requested the negotiations with the South, is believed to be using the talks as a jump-off for future plans to visit China. (Photo Courtesy Reuters)

The North is expected to repeat demands for the South and the United States to abandon their military drills. Both sides have numerous incentives to seek a deal that could break their long stalemate.

“For the North, if it comes back with an accomplishment in terms of improved South-North ties, it will mean a better atmosphere for Kim Jong-un to visit China and a justification to pursue high-level talks with the United States,” Cheong Seong-chang, an expert at the Sejong Institute outside Seoul, reported.

Kim is believed to be plotting a visit to China, Pyongyang’s largest ally and main benefactor, to reinforce his legitimacy as dictator in the eyes of a skeptical international community. Kim took power when his father died suddenly in 2010.

Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from the South Korean capital Seoul, said while the atmosphere surrounding negotiations appeared “calm,” any major announcement was unlikely to be brought out in the near future.

“We’re all a bit in the dark” as to the content of the discussions, correspondents said.

Seoul officials told the Associated Press that the meeting was requested by the North, which has launched a recent “charm offensive” after raising tensions last spring with threats to fire nuclear-tipped missiles at Seoul and Washington.

Pyongyang, which has repeatedly vowed to expand its nuclear arsenal and further develop nuclear technology, is trying to build nuclear-armed missiles that can reach the continental US. Most experts say the country has yet to master the technology needed to mobilize an atomic bomb via missile.

In addition to demanding a halt to the military drills, North Korea was expected to demand that South Korea agree to restart a lucrative joint tourism project and increase humanitarian aid efforts.

South Korea, meanwhile, was looking to discuss ways to ensure that planned reunions of families separated a half-century ago in the Korean War went smoothly, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said.

The South Korean delegation is led by President Park Geun-hye’s deputy national security adviser, while North Korea has sent its second-highest ranking official in the ruling Workers’ Party department, who is also in charge of maintaining ties with the South.

The meeting is the highest level in years between the Koreas, which held a series of similar meetings in 2007.

For further information, please see:

ABC–Koreas Hold Senior-Level Meeting at Border Village–11 Feburary 2014

BBC News–North and South Korea hold rare high-level talks–12 February 2014

Al Jazeera–Koreas hold rare talks to ease tensions–12 February 2014

CNN–North and South Korea to hold ‘high-level’ meeting–11 February 2014

Ex-Guatemalen Soldier Convicted for Failure to Disclosure Involvement in Massacre

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA, United States –  Former Guatemalan special forces officer Jorge Sosa was sentenced Monday to 10 years in a federal prison for failing to disclose information in his immigration documents about his involvement in a massacre back in Guatemala. Sosa will also be stripped of his citizenship as part of the sentence.

Sosa, 55, is expected to be sent back to Guatemala after serving his ten year sentence. (photo courtesy of the LA Times)

Sosa was convicted of lying on his 2007 naturalization paperwork about his participation in the killing of at least 160 unarmed civilians in the village of Dos Erres in 1982.  The former second lieutenant was not tried for war crimes but instead found to have failed to disclose that he participated in the massacre.

Prosecutors said Sosa was able to become a citizen because he did not disclose his affiliation with the Kaibiles, an elite team of soldiers in the Guatemalan military.  During the trial, the prosecutors explained that Sosa’s unit was dispatched to Doe Erres to recover firearms but instead, at Sosa’s direction, his men raped and killed the villagers.  No weapons were ever recovered.

“These are the crimes the defendant lied about and didn’t disclose,” Judge Virginia Phillip said to the court. “The particular facts of what occurred on Dec. 7, 1982, at Dos Erres cannot be characterized in any other way than as crimes.”

Sosa is not the first to be prosecuted for his part in that massacre.  Several members of that unit have been prosecuted in Guatemala.

Sosa claimed innocence, saying he was not in the village during the massacre. His lawyer, Shashi Kewalramani, considered the sentence excessive and announced Sosa’s intention to appeal the conviction. Kewalramani added that the trial served as a forum to try Sosa for his alleged involvement in the massacre and not the charges at hand.

“Over our objections, the government made it a murder case, basically supplanted the Guatemalan court and decided to try that case up in the United States,” Kewalramani said.

For more information, please see:

Fox News – Ex-Guatemalan soldier linked to massacre is sentenced for lying on US citizenship forms – 11 February 2014

ABC News – Ex-Guatemalan Soldier Sentenced to 10 Years in US – 10 February 2014

LA Times – Ex-Guatemalan soldier linked to massacre gets 10-year sentence  – 10 February 2014

SF Gate – Ex-Guatemalan soldier sentenced to 10 years in US – 10 February 2014

USA Today – Ex-Guatemalan soldier sentenced to prison for lying – 10 February 2014