Mall Seige Over, Mourning Period Declared by Kenyan President

By: Dan Krupinsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – The four-day siege at Nairobi’s Westgate Mall is finally over, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced on Tuesday.

Kenyan soldiers move into position outside of the mall. (Courtesy: Reuters)

In an address to the nation, Kenyatta said that five terrorists were killed, while 11 others believed to have been connected to the attack have been taken into custody. 61 civilians and six soldiers are also among the dead, according to Kenyatta, but more bodies, including possibly those of additional terrorists, may be buried in rubble, after three stories of the mall collapsed during the attack. The Red Cross put the death total at 62, and said that 65 people are still unaccounted for.

Kenyatta praised the people of his nation for their united stance and support during the siege.

“Fellow Kenyans, we have been badly hurt and feel great pain and loss, but we have been brave, united and strong.  Kenya has stared down evil and triumphed,” he said.

Somalia’s al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it was payback for Kenya’s military operations in Southern Somalia.

According to witnesses, the attackers questioned many of the civilians about their religious beliefs, and allowed Muslims to go free.

Remarkably, reports have circulated that a four-year old British boy was spared after he confronted a gunman and told him that he was a ‘very bad man’ as he protected his six-year old sister and mother, who had been shot in the leg.

The gunman then reportedly handed the children candy bars, and said “Please forgive me. We are not monsters.”

While most of the gunmen reportedly spoke English, Kenyatta would not confirm reports that some of the attackers were from outside the region, and possibly Westerners.

“Intelligence reports had suggested that a British woman and two or three American citizens may have been involved in the attack,” he said.  “We cannot confirm the details at present, but forensic experts are working to ascertain the nationalities of the terrorists.”

Reports of the potential involvement of a British woman have caused many to wonder it could be Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of one of the bombers responsible for the London subway attacks in 2005. She has been dubbed “white widow” by the British press.

Lewthwaite is wanted for planning other attacks in Kenya, and has been linked to terrorist groups in the country.

Kenyatta declared that the attackers will be held fully accountable for the “mindless destruction, deaths, pain, loss and suffering we have all undergone as a national family.”

“These cowards will meet justice as will their accomplices and patrons wherever they are,” he vowed, pledging to work with allies in fighting terrorism.

Kenya will officially have a three-day mourning period.


For further information, please see:

All Africa – Kenya: Govt Says Army in Control of Besieged Mall, All Hostages Free – 24 September 2013

CNN – Attackers defeated in mall siege, Kenya’s president says – 24 September 2013

Daily Mail – Astonishing Moment: British boy, four, confronted Kenyan mall gunman – 23 September 2013

Voice of America – Kenyan President Declares Mall Siege Over – 24 September 2013

Washington Post – Kenyan president says siege of Nairobi mall is over, declares mourning period for the dead – 24 September 2013

Egyptian Court bans all Muslim Brotherhood Activities

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan

Impunity Watch, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt –An Egyptian court issued a verdict Monday effectively banning  the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist political party that was  nation’s most powerful political group under the regime of the democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi. The Muslim brotherhood, its supporters and other Islamist groups in Egypt have been involved in protest against the July 3 coup that took President Morsi out of power.

Muslim Brotherhood supporters protesting in Cairo, Egypt, this month. (Photo courtesy of The Guardian)

The Presiding Judge, Mohammed al-Sayed, said “The court bans the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood organization and its non-governmental organization and all the activities that it participates in and any organization derived from it.” According to MENA, the Egyptian state media, The Cairo Court for Urgent Matters decision to issue a ruling “to ban all activities by the Muslim Brotherhood organisation, the group emanating from it and its non-governmental organisation,” effectively amounts to a ban on the political party and any organization with ties to it. The ruling is a temporary action, it amounts to a preliminary injunction banning the activities of the organization. The ruling will stand until a higher court issues a permanent verdict.

The court was unclear about its reasons for deciding to ban the Muslim Brotherhood but the decision was issued after the leftist party, Tagammu, had sought the immediate action. The Tagammu party accused the Muslim Brotherhood of inciting “terrorism” and of exploiting religion for political gain.

The move has essentially returned the Muslim Brotherhood to its status as an illegal political organization it held under former President Hosni Mubarak. The Muslim Brotherhood has been outlawed for most of its 85 year history.

Ibrahim Moneir, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, called the court’s ruling a “totalitarian decision.” He said that despite the ruling the organization “will remain with God’s help, not by the orders by the judiciary of el-Sisi.” The “judiciary of el-Sisi” refers to General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who led the military coup that resulted in the overthrow of President Morsi on July 3.

The Muslim Brotherhood stated its belief that it will not be destroyed by the courts ruining on its official twitter feed. The tweet read; “The Muslim Brotherhood is part and parcel of Egyptian society. Corrupt and politically motivated judicial decisions cannot change that,” the Brotherhood said via its Twitter feed, in response to the verdict.

More than 2,000 Egyptian Islamists have been arrested over the past two months, the majority of those arrested have were Brotherhood supporters. Protests organized Pro-Morsi protesters, including Brotherhood supporters, have been violently cracked-down by the military government and many of the organizations leaders and supporters, including Morsi, have been arrested for “inciting terrorism.”

For More Information Please See:

Al Jazeera – Egypt Court Bans all Brotherhood Activities – 23 September 2013

The Guardian – Muslim Brotherhood Banned by Egyptian Court – 23 September 2013

National Public Radio – Egyptian Court Bans the Muslim Brotherhood – 23 September 2013

The New York Times – Egyptian Court Shuts Down the Muslim Brotherhood and Seizes Its Assets – 23 September 2013

Israeli Forces Prevent EU Diplomats From Delivering Aid to Villagers in West Bank

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KHIRBET AL-MAKHUL, West Bank – Diplomats from various European countries, representing the United Nations, have spoken out to hold Israel accountable after soldiers from the Israeli Defense Forces prevented them from delivering aid and supplies to citizens in Khirbet al-Makhul in the West Bank.

French Diplomat Marion Fesneau-Castaing being dragged out of her vehicle. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

The diplomats have reported that as they arrived to the village of Bedouin in Khirbet al-Makhul, they were ordered out of their trucks and instructed not to unload the contents.

Supplies and aid were being delivered by the European diplomats after many homes in the area were demolished pursuant to an order of a High Court. Last Monday, the homes of these villagers were destroyed as Israeli’s High Court ruled that they were built without permits in the first place. Many of the Bedouin villagers have refused to leave the land, however, as their ancestors have lived on the land and grazed sheep there for generations.

The European diplomats reported that a dozen Israeli army jeeps bombarded them when they arrived in the area. A French diplomat, Marion Fesneau-Castaing, said she was forced to the ground from her vehicle.

“They dragged me out of the truck and forced me to the ground with no regard for my diplomatic immunity. This is how international law is being respected here,” Fesneau-Castaing has stated.

A spokesman for the British Consulate General in Jerusalem stated it was “concerned at reports that the Israeli military authorities have prevented the affected community from receiving humanitarian assistance. We have repeatedly made clear to the Israeli authorities our concerns over such demolitions, which we view as causing unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; as harmful to the peace process; and as contrary to international humanitarian law. 

The Israeli Defense Forces have contended that the diplomats may have abused their privileges, and reported that that dozens of Palestinians, foreign activists and diplomats had tried to set up tents, which it called a “provocation.”

UN Humanitarian Coordinator James Rawley stated that the Israeli authorities should “live up to their obligations as occupying power to protect those communities under their responsibility.”

Last month, the first Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in three years were held in Jerusalem.

In 2010, the discussions disintegrated amid disagreement on the issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Middle East war, and the talks are aimed at reaching a permanent peace settlement with the Palestinians.

For more information, please see:

Russia Today – EU Calls for Explanations From Israel Over Diplomat Scuffle – 22 September 2013

Fars News Agency – Israeli Troops Attack EU Diplomats, Seize West Bank Aid – 21 September 2013

BBC News – Diplomats Protest Over West Bank Clash With Israeli Troops – 20 September 2013

Reuters Canada – Israeli Forces Manhandle EU Diplomats, Seize West Bank Aid – 20 September 2013

Brazilian Rancher Convicted for 2005 Murder of an American

By: Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

BRASÍLIA, Brazil – In 2005, Dorothy Stang, age 73, was murdered after being shot six times near the northern state of Para, Brazil.  Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura, a rancher who had been arguing with Stang at the time over land use, was convicted and sentenced to thirty years in prison for the third time.

Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura sits in a courtroom during his trial for the murder of U.S.-born nun and activist Dorothy Stang. (Photo Courtesy Reuters)

Prior to her death, Stang spent over thirty years trying to save the rainforests in Brazil.  In particular, she wished to prevent wealthy landlords from exploiting the rainforests.  She also defended the rights of the poor settlers, who were being confronted by ranchers trying to take their land. Her continually campaigning resulted in an attempt to prevent Moura from seizing land.

Prosecutors say that Moura is one of several who hired gunmen to kill Stang.  This is also not the first time that violence has plagued a conflict involving Brazil’s natural resources.  Over the past thirty years, at least one thousand people have been murdered and many others have been kidnapped, with many of these crimes occurring in Para.  These crimes, which are generally carried out by gunmen hired by the loggers, ranchers, and farmers who wish to silence protestors like Stang are very rarely prosecuted and those that are prosecuted rarely result in convictions.

While prosecutors were able to convict Moura of murder in 2007 and in 2010, Moura’s lawyers were able to get the conviction overturned both times.  Moura’s lawyers argued that there was not sufficient evidence linking him to the crime in 2007 and that they did not have enough time to prepare his defense in 2010.

Of the others involved in the murder of Stang, one is appealing his thirty-year sentence and the self-confessed killer is serving the remainder of a twenty-seven year sentence under house arrest.  Another suspect, however, is still at large.

Barbara Richardson, Stang’s sister, said that while the repeated trials have been upsetting that it at least “keeps the injustice of the system before the people’s eyes.”  Additionally, many of Stang’s fellow activists were happy to see justice in this case, as they have “fiercely criticized Brazil’s judiciary system as moving to slowly and being too lenient.”

Others also tout the conviction as “a symbol of the end of impunity for the killings of landless squatter farmers who often have clashed with big landowners.”

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – Rancher Convicted Over Murder Of US Nun Dorothy Stang – 20 September 2013

Global Post – Brazil Rancher’s Conviction Upheld In US Nun’s Death – 20 September 2013

Reuters – Brazilian Rancher Found Guilty Of Ordering American Nun’s Death – 20 September 2013

USA Today – Rancher Gets 30 Years In Death Of U.S. Nun – 20 September 2013

 

Russia Accuses the West of Exploiting Syrian U.N. Deal

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 DAMASCUS, Syria-Accusations of exploitation have been directed towards the U.S. and other major Western players involved in dealing with Syria’s chemical weapons.  Russia has claimed that the West is using the chemical weapons deal in the United Nations to threaten force against President Bashar al-Assad.

Lavrov and Kerry discussing Syria on Sunday.

The U.S., France, and Britain are pushing for a council resolution of the United Nation’s Charter, which if passed would authorize military intervention or sanctions if Damascus were to back out of its commitments.

The first commitment issued to Assad by the U.S.-Russia accord was met with compliance when he provided information about Syria’s chemical arsenal to the United Nations.  However, major powers on the U.N. Security Council have been in disagreement with how to further proceed.

Russia and China have blocked three draft resolutions on Syria since the start of the 2011 uprising against Assad.  Both countries oppose Western threats against an ally which Moscow has continually armed and supported during the civil war.

“They [the West] see in the U.S.-Russian deal not a chance to save the planet from significant quantities of chemical weapons in Syria, but as a chance to do what Russia and China will not allow, namely to push through a resolution involving the threat of force against the regime and shielding the opposition,” stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Lavrov further claimed, “An international presence is needed on the perimeters of the areas where the experts will work.  We are willing to send our troops and military police to participate.”

Lavrov concluded saying, “I do not think that there is a need for a major contingent.  I think military observers will be sufficient.”

In responses, a U.S. State Department official reported that other council member states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons had not yet seen the information regarding the chemical weapons status in Syria.  “We will make an evaluation of the document after it has been distributed to member states,” said the official.

Should the council resolution be passed, the world would see the destruction of nearly 1,000 tons of mustard gas, VX, and sarin which are believed to be in the possession of Syria.  The U.S.-Russia accord has also shown promise of a revised international political solution to the Syrian conflict as a whole.

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera-Russia says West exploiting Syria deal-September 22, 2013

Reuters-Russia says West exploiting Syria deal to threaten force-September 22, 2013

Voice of America-Lavrov: US Trying to Blackmail Russia on UN Syria Resolution-September 22, 2013

Voice of Russia-Russian foreign chief Sergei Lavrov says US ‘overtly blackmailing’ Moscow on Syria-September 21, 2013