A Voice for the Voiceless

Syria: Holistic Approach Needed for Justice ICC, Other Measures Essential to Combat Climate of Impunity

Press Release

(New York, December 17, 2013) – Concerned governments should take steps toward a comprehensive approach to accountability for the serious crimes committed in Syria, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Policymakers and international donors who support credible criminal prosecutions for grave violations in Syria should learn from the successes and shortcomings of accountability efforts in other parts of the world.

The 20-page report, “Syria: Criminal Justice for Serious Crimes under International Law,” underlines the urgent need for accountability and examines a number of concrete measures that would contribute to the fair investigation and prosecution, in a properly constituted court, of people responsible for abuses in Syria. The document outlines short-term actions as well as longer-term policies and practices that countries should adopt to demonstrate their commitment to justice.

“The international community should understand that accountability for the horrendous crimes in Syria will be essential for a durable peace,” said Balkees Jarrah, international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch. “The world will need both a variety of judicial tools for justice in Syria and a long-term vision that avoids pitting one measure against another.”

Human Rights Watch outlined a series of recommendations on accountability, including on the involvement of the International Criminal Court (ICC), criminal prosecutions by Syrian courts, and national prosecutions in foreign courts outside of Syria under the principle of universal jurisdiction. The paper also discusses the potential benefits of a specialized court or chamber within the national justice system that would have both international and Syrian staff and would work with the ICC and other Syrian courts on mass atrocity cases.

Human Rights Watch noted that criminal prosecutions are only one element of a larger justice and accountability process. Broader truth-telling mechanisms, reparations, vetting, economic development, and reconstruction will also be needed as part of the process of moving Syrian society forward in a sustainable way.

Over the last two-and-a-half years, Human Rights Watch has extensively documented abuses by government and pro-government forces and concluded that they have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes. The government continues to conduct indiscriminate air and artillery strikes on residential areas and to arbitrarily detain, torture, and extra-judicially execute civilians and combatants.

Human Rights Watch has also documented serious abuses amounting to war crimes by some opposition groups, including the indiscriminate use of car bombs and mortars, kidnapping, torture, and extrajudicial executions. Human Rights Watch has also documented systematic kidnapping and intentional killings of civilians by some opposition groups that may amount to crimes against humanity.

The Syrian government has not taken any meaningful steps to bring to account government and pro-government forces responsible for violations. The authorities have demonstrated a lack of political will to ensure credible justice for past and ongoing grave human rights abuses. Moreover, there are serious concerns about whether the Syrian judicial system has the capacity to effectively address these large-scale crimes. Opposition forces have not adequately addressed accountability for abuses by their members. As a result, national prosecutions are not an option for now, Human Rights Watch said.

Against this background, Human Rights Watch has urged the United Nations Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC as a crucial first step toward justice for victims of atrocities by all sides. Sixty-four countries, including six Security Council members, have expressed support for an ICC referral.

A referral to the court could yield short- and long-term benefits. Most immediately, the court’s involvement in the course of the ongoing conflict in Syria would send a clear message to all parties that the commission of grave crimes will not be tolerated and will lead to serious consequences. This credible threat of prosecution may help stem further abuses.

In a post-conflict period, the ICC can play a vital role, given that the Syrian justice sector will most likely be ill-equipped to address complex and politically charged cases. The court can also set a valuable reference point for other judicial initiatives, including national trials.

Even with the ICC’s involvement, fair and effective investigations and prosecutions at the national level will remain essential to narrow the impunity gap. However, beyond the practical difficulties posed by the scale of the violations, it will take time for the national system to be in a position to deliver meaningful justice impartially and independently, Human Rights Watch said.

Indeed, the success of any effort to bolster the national justice system will hinge on the authorities of the day. Without the necessary political commitment to credible justice at the outset, it will also be impossible to consider establishing other national judicial entities, such as a specialized court or chamber focused on atrocity crimes. Those concerns are a reminder about why the ICC was created in the first place, Human Rights Watch said.

Steps can still be taken during the conflict to help prepare the Syrian justice system for any future trials. In particular, concerned governments could support efforts to identify the necessary changes in Syrian law to ensure that domestic law covers international crimes and guarantees a fair trial, including independence of the judges.

“There will, of course, be a need for additional cases in Syrian courts to bring full accountability beyond what the ICC process could yield,” Jarrah said. “But we need to be clear-eyed about what it’s going to take in the long run for fair national prosecutions for the crimes being committed in Syria.”

“Syria: Criminal Justice for Serious Crimes under International Law” is available at: 
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/12/17/syria-criminal-justice-serious-crimes-under-international-law

To read a Q&A on Syria and the ICC, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/09/17/qa-syria-and-international-criminal-court

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Syria, please visit: 
http://www.hrw.org/middle-eastn-africa/syria

Rare Winter Storm Brings Snow, Ice and Flooding to the Middle East

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – A rare winter storm has brought rain and snow to the Middle East creating stunning images of a winter wonderland in the Holy Land and across the Middle East from Egypt to Syria. However, the storm System has also brought devastating flooding and freezing temperatures to the region, leaving hundreds without heat or power.

Men build a snowmen outside of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem’s Old City. (Photo courtesy of Business Insider)

On Thursday poorly built homes in Northern Gaza collapsed as a result of freezing rain and sleet from the powerful storm system, several residents began seeking refuge in local schools. The United Nations has called the most severally effected regions “a disaster area” and more than 5,000 people have been evacuated from flood-damaged homes in the region.

In a statement on Saturday the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), which is reasonable for the administration of refugee camps in the Palestine territory, said “Large swathes of northern Gaza are a disaster area with water as far as the eye can see.

Palestinians attempt to warm themselves by fire while seeking shelter in a local school after being evacuated from their flooded homes in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 13, 2013 (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

The freezing weather, coupled with fuel shortages and the fact that many Palestinian do not live in quality homes with adequate heading systems, many Palestinian have been forced to use fires to heat their homes, which creates a risk of deadly house fires. A government spokesman said that a 22-year-old Palestinian man died as a result of smoke inhalation on Saturday which he suffered after lighting a fire to heat his home.

The Gaza Health Ministry reported 100 other people had been injured as a result of the flooding after the rising waters damaged poorly built homes along the coastal territory. Among the injured were people who had been hit by debris falling from inundated buildings. Several people were also injured as a result of car accidents on flooded roadways.

Chris Gunness, a spokesperson for the UNRWA spokesman, said areas near a refugee camp in northern Gaza “have become a massive lake with two-meter-high waters engulfing homes and stranding thousands.”

Israel has responded to the crises by opening a main crossing with Gaza on Friday in order to allow fuel supplies and four water pumps into the territory to help victims of flood damage and to help end blackouts, which have lasted longer than 21 hours.

Gaza is home to 1.8 million people, governed by Hamas. The region has already endured blackouts caused by fuel shortages, often lasting for 12 hours of blackouts daily since Gaza’s only power plant was switched off last month due to a fuel shortage resulting from tunnels connecting the region to Egypt being shut down.

The enclave lies on the coast, sparing it the snow that has fallen across other parts of the region, but heavy rains felled trees and damaged nearly 200 homes.

Fayez al-Yazghi, a shop owner in Gaza described the crises as “the worst weather we’ve had in 20 years. There’s no electricity, fuel and cooking gas. Many homes are flooded and destroyed” he went on to say the region is in “need urgent intervention from the whole world to save our lives.”

For more information please see:

The Guardian – Gaza Receives First Fuel Shipment in Weeks after Winter Storm – 15 December 2013

ABC News – Gaza Strip Receives Fuel After Storm Batters It – 14 December 2013

The New York Times – Gaza, Vexed By Floods, Gets Fuel and Power – 15 December 2013

Scientific American – More Than 5,000 Evacuated From Gaza “Disaster Area” Floods – 14 December 2013

Al Jazeera – Icy Floods Force Gaza Residents from Homes – 13 December 2013

Press Release: New Magnitsky Justice Campaign Project Launched To Expose Russian Officials Involved in the Cover Up of Sergei Magnitsky’s Death

Press Release

16 December 2013 – Following the adoption last week of the EU-wide Magnitsky sanctions resolution by the European Parliament, the Magnitsky Justice Campaign today launches a new project: “Magnitsky Case Cover up Revealed in Persons and Documents.”

The first exposé of the new project features the role played by Russia’s Deputy General Prosecutor Victor Grin in the cover up of Sergei Magnitsky’s ill-treatment and death.

“The aim of the new Magnitsky justice project is to expose the officials in the Russian government who concealed the criminal liability of those involved in Magnitsky’s torture and killing and the crimes he had uncovered,” said a Hermitage Capital representative.

The Magnitsky Law adopted in the United States [http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/pl112_208.pdf] stipulates the imposition of targeted sanctions for those involved in the efforts to conceal the legal liability for detention, abuse or death of Sergei Magnitsky.

“The new documents show that Prosecutor Grin was the key official overseeing Magnitsky’s case while Sergei was in custody. Yet, in spite of his conflict of interest, after Magnitsky’s death he was assigned as the key official deciding on whether there were any violations of the law,” said a Hermitage Capital representative.

Documents published today feature the role of Prosecutor Grin, including:

  • The failure by Deputy Prosecutor Grin to address the complaint about Magnitsky’s ill-treatment in custody filed by Magnitsky’s colleague Jamison Firestone in October 2009. It was assigned to Prosecutor Grin for an immediate probe, following an intervention from the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, ten days before Sergei Magnitsky’s death in custody[http://followmydata.net/SMRULE/D1720.pdf].

 

  • A secret conclusion issued by Prosecutor Grin 18 months after Magnitsky’s death, on 20 May 2011, which stated that there had been no violations of the law by Interior Ministry investigators who mistreated Magnitsky in custody [http://followmydata.net/SMRULE/D1910.pdf]. This decision was then used by the Russian Investigative Committee to justify their failure to prosecute Interior Ministry’s officials in the Magnitsky case.

Documents published today further show how as part of the cover-up of Interior Ministry officials, Prosecutor Grin initiated two criminal cases falsely targeting Sergei Magnitsky after he died. Lawyer for the Magnitsky’s family protested these posthumous decrees by Prosecutor Grin as being contrary to Russian domestic and international legal obligations and based on falsehoods but to no avail:

New materials also reveal that Prosecutor Grin also played a key role in the cover up of the thefts uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky.

Firstly, Prosecutor Grin was directly responsible for the failure to conduct a proper probe into the original complaint about the frauds uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky. The complaint was filed by the Hermitage Fund on 3 December 2007, three weeks prior to the $230 million theft, with General Prosecutor Chaika[http://russian-untouchables.com/rus/230m-theft-from-budget/#D250]. On 5 December 2007 this complaintwas sent to Prosecutor Grin http://followmydata.net/SMRULE/D1908.pdf] but instead of investigating it, the complaint was then forwarded to the same Interior Ministry officials who were named in the complaint and covered up.

Second, it was Prosecutor Grin who signed the indictment for the $230 million theft which found that a“sawmill employee” (Victor Markelov) was responsible for the largest known tax rebate fraud in modern Russian history. The indictment signed by Prosecutor Grin exonerated the tax officials who approved the $230 million refund stating they were “tricked” by Markelov into doing it [http://followmydata.net/SMRULE/D1022.pdf].

 “According to the documents revealed today, Deputy Prosecutor of Russia Victor Grin has been personally involved in covering up Sergei Magnitsky’s persecution and death and the criminal conspiracy that Sergei Magnitsky exposed,” said Magnitsky’s former law partner Jamison Firestone.

“Since the beginning of the campaign, we get questions all the time how it is possible that impunity continuesfor everyone involved in Magnitsky’s death in Russia. Our objective is to shed light on the materials which reveal how the cover up is done, who is involved, and who contributes to it,” said a Hermitage Capital Management representative.

Six People Killed in Grenade Attack in Nairobi

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – At least six people have been killed and several injured by a grenade attack on a bus in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the interior ministry says.

The bus of the grenade attack on Saturday (photo courtesy of Reuters)

The blast hit the 32-seater near the Eastleigh suburb, which is home to thousands of ethnic Somalis.

Nairobi police chief Benson Kibue said a suspect was being questioned over the attack on Saturday.

“We lost two of the victims in hospital where about 30 others are still admitted,” Kibue said. “We now have six people dead out of the incident.”

Police were trying to determine whether the powerful explosion was caused by a grenade or an impoverished explosive device and whether it was placed on the bus, carried by a passenger or flung from outside.

The blast hit several cars near the bus, killing at least one of the motorists, according to witnesses.

No group has claimed responsibility yet for the attacks.

One witness, Peterson Mwaura, said, “I was passing waiting for the traffic to clear so I can cross, then I hear a loud explosion and metals and other pieces from the vehicle were flying all over the place, and people shouting.”

“I ran back. People were crying for help, they were screaming, but the one lying here (at the scene) appeared to have died on impact.”

Kenya has been the scene of multiple terrorist attacks since the country sent its military to Somalia in 2011 to fight the extremist Somali militant group al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the Westgate attack, saying it was in retribution for Kenya’s involvement in Somalia. The group, which is linked to al-Qaida, had threatened large-scale attacks for years, and it has said more will be carried out unless Kenya withdraws.

Kenya has been grappling with its large population of Somali refugees since the Westgate attack, with government officials announcing plans to speed up their return home. Nearly 500,000 Somali refugees live in Kenya, most of them in the sprawling Dadaab refugee settlement near the Somali border.

In the last several years, Somali refugee camps, particularly in Dadaab, have been hit by a spate of blasts by grenades and other improvised explosive devices.

“The attack is an unfortunate and cowardice incident which will not be tolerated,” the interior ministry said on its Twitter account, appealing for information from the public.

Police said the bus had been close to a girls’ school when it was hit.

Late on Friday, at least one person was killed and three others seriously wounded when twin explosions rocked the Kenyan town of Waji near the border with Somalia, police said, indicating it was likely the work of al-Shabab insurgents or their sympathizers.

Also near the border with Somalia, gunmen on Tuesday killed eight Kenyans, including five policemen, in an ambush.

Another policeman is missing following the attack.

For more information, please visit:

BBC News – Nairobi bus hit by deadly grenade attack – 14 December 2013
South China Morning Post – Death toll from Nairobi bus blast rises to six: police – 15 December 2013
The Christian Science Monitor – At least 3 killed in Kenya minibus attack – 15 December 2013
International Business Times – Six Dead in Nairobi Bus Attack – 15 December 2013
Time World – Explosion Inside Kenya Minibus Kills at Least 4 – 14 December 2013