Over 200 Protesters Arrested in Chile on Anniversary of 1973 Military Coup

By Ellis Cortez
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile – On September 11th, more than 260 people were arrested and 42 police officers were injured during protests marking the 40th anniversary of the 1973 military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet.

Masked protesters at a demonstration in Valparaiso on 11 September 2013
President Pinera said those behind the violence should be severely punished. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Police say six officers were listed in serious condition with gunshot wounds and burns from acid. Gen. Rodolfo Pacheco, one of the Chilean capital’s top police chiefs, was taken by helicopter to a hospital after being struck in the head with a petrol bomb.

The protests spread across Huechuraba, San Bernardo, Estacion Central, Pudahuel, La Reina, Peñalolen and Lo Prado, all located around Santiago. The protests started on September 11th, and ended in the early morning hours of September 12th.

Protesters set up barricades and attacked police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons. Six buses and seven cars were set on fire by protesters armed with fire bombs. In Santiago, four businesses were looted, and electricity lines were severed, prompting power cuts in 200,000 homes.

“Last night was a violent night, but it could have been much more violent if it hadn’t been for the efficient response of police,” President Sebastian Pinera told reporters. Pinera called on judges to punish those behind the clashes “with severity.” Chilean protests are often infiltrated by violent anarchist groups and end with clashes between police and hooded vandals who throw rocks, firebombs and acid.

The government had deployed more than 8,000 police throughout the capital to prevent a repeat of the violence seen in previous years. Pinera recently said that in the last two years, “more than 700 police officers have been injured by the cowardly acts of hooded vandals, including recent victims who were burned with acid or Molotov bombs.”

President Sebastian Pinera submitted a bill to Congress earlier this year that strengthens penalties for those who insult or physically harm police and makes it a crime to attack police headquarters or vehicles.

Approximately 40,000 people suffered human rights abuses in Chile under Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s brutal dictatorship from 1973 to 1990. The government estimates more than 3,000 were killed or forcibly disappeared during Pinochet’s rule. More than 1,000 human rights cases are still ongoing in Chilean courts.

For more information please see:

ABC News – Chile Coup Anniversary Toll: 264 Arrests – 12 September 2013

The Washington Post – Chile’s toll from coup anniversary violence, arson: 42 police officers wounded, 264 arrests – 12 September 2013

BBC – Hundreds arrested in Chile clashes on coup anniversary – 12 September 2013

Fox News Latino – Hundreds arrested, scores hurt in disturbances in Chile – 12 September 2013

BBC – Clashes in Chile on anniversary of 1973 military coup – 11 September 2013

 

 

A Bipartisan Group of Congressmen Has Introduced a Resolution Calling for the Immediate Establishment of a Syrian War Crimes Tribunal

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Middle East

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America — A resolution has been introduced to the United States House of Representatives calling for the immediate establishment of a Syrian War Crimes Tribunal. The resolution was introduced on 9 September 2013 and referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where it will be considered before moving to the House or Senate for a vote. The resolution has bipartisan support and has been cosponsored by eight Republican and two Democratic members of Congress.

New Jersey Republican Chris Smith has introduced a resolution to Congress calling for the establishment of an ad hoc tribunal to prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes in Syria (Photo courtesy of NJ.com)

The Resolution, H.CON.RES.51, calls upon President Barack Obama to use the “voice and vote of the United States” at the United Nations to promote the immediate establishment of an ad hoc court to prosecute the perpetrators of serious crime committed during the civil war in Syria, including Bashar Al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people. The chemical attack killed more than 1,000 people in Ghouta on 21 August 2013, including more than 400 children.

The Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s human rights panel introduced the resolution on Monday. Smith wrote in an editorial for the Washington Post that “there is a non-lethal way to help ensure that Bashar al-Assad and other perpetrators of atrocities in Syria are held to account—not someday far in the future—but beginning now.” Smith believes a war crimes tribunal can be an effective alternative to the use of force and can offer justice to the Syrian people without putting the lives of innocent Syrian civilians at risk.

Congressman Smith argued that country-specific ad hoc courts may offer a more effective means of holding those responsible for atrocities accountable; especially in a case like Syria because Syria is not a party to the Rome Statute or a member of the International Criminal Court—which has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes—which presents a challenge for prosecuted the perpetrators of atrocities during ongoing civil war in Syria. The resolution acknowledges that ad hoc tribunals established by the international community in the past, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone, “have successfully investigated and prosecuted war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.”

Congressman Jared Huffman of California, a Democrat, is cosponsoring the resolution. Huffman said, “I don’t think anyone should get away with killing children with chemical weapons.” He believes the establishment of an ad hoc tribunal can offer the possibility of justice to the Syrian people without the use of military force.

Virginia Republican Congressman Scott Rigell, who led the calls for President Obama to seek congressional authorization before using force in Syria to punish Syrian Bashar al-Assad for the using chemical weapons against innocent civilians, voiced his support for the resolution. “Assad should spend every day for the rest of his life paying for the crimes he has committed against humanity,” Rigell said.

For more information please see:

The Washington Post – Establish a Syrian War Crimes Tribunal – 9 August 2013

The Press Democrat – North Coast Congressmen Pleased Vote Delayed On Syria Strike – 10 September 2013

NJ.com – N.J. Congressman’s Bill Creating Syrian War Crimes Tribunals Gains Bipartisan Support – 11 September 2013

Richmond Times-Dispatch – Rigell Backs War Crimes Tribunal For Syria – 11 September 2013

 

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Jordanian Parliament Member Opens Fire During Parliamentary Session

Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 AMMAN, Jordan-During a heated parliamentary session, one member of Jordan’s parliament, Talal al-Sharif, pulled out an AK-47 rifle and opened fire.  Aiming at a fellow member Qusay Dmisa, intervention from other parliament members prevented any wounds from occurring.

Jordanian Parliament discussing budget issues the moment before the shooting (photo courtesy of Sky News)

The dispute between al-Sharif and Dmisa arose during a closed parliament session involving budget matters.  Eye witnesses confirmed that al-Sharif left parliament to go to his car to get the gun and upon return was stopped by fellow member, Mariam Al Lozi, causing the three fired bullets to hit the ceiling and wall.

After the shooting, al-Sharif was arrested and is to be detained for the next fifteen days while King Abdullah II decides how to further proceed.  Many members of parliament have called for al-Sharif’s expulsion, but since parliament is sitting in an extraordinary session, the issue cannot be decided without special decree from the king.

Local websites showing video footage of the shooting as caused uproar from citizens and political activists that have spread through Jordan.   Many are expressing their displeasure and calling for “stern measures to be taken against the attacker.”  Others have said that the incident “damages the country’s reputation.”

Al-Sharif is facing charges of attempted murderer, possession of a firearm without a license, and resisting police arrest.  If convicted of the related charges, al-Sharif could be facing up to 15 years in jail.

This is not the first violent altercation that has occurred amongst parliament members while in session.  The 180-member parliament is prominently members of the traditional Bedoin tribes with no particular ideological agenda causing sessions to become disorderly and unruly.

During the summer, one member was overpowered by a fellow colleague when he attempted to pull a gun on another.  In other debates, members have been known to throw shoes or bottles of water during heated debates.

This was the first time that an actual firearm has been fired by a member of parliament.  However, given the members’ track record for outbursts, and their increasing intensity, it is only a matter of time before someone actual does get hurt.

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera-Jordanian MP opens fire in parliament-September 10, 2013

Al Arabiya-Jordanian MP shoots rifle during parliament session-September 10, 2013

Euro News-Mayhem as MP fires AK-47 at colleague in Jordan’s parliament-September 10, 2013

Independent-Jordanian MP opens fire on tribal rival in parliament-September 10, 2013

Sky News-Jordan MP ‘Opens Fire’ On Fellow Politician-September 10, 2013

Trial of Kenyan Deputy President Charged With Crimes Against Humanity Begins

By: Dan Krupinsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The trial of Kenya’s deputy president, William Ruto, began earlier this week, marking the first time that a serving government official has stood trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Ruto faces charges of crimes against humanity, stemming from the aftermath of the 2007 Kenyan presidential election, when more than 1,100 people died. On Tuesday, he plead not guilty to all charges against him. Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, will be tried on the same charges in November.

William Ruto sits in the courtroom, awaiting the start of his trial. (Photograph: Michael Kooren/AP)

Specifically, Ruto and Kenyatta are charged with murder, deportation and persecution of political opponents in the Rift Valley region in late 2007 and early 2008, following the disputed election.

Kenyatta and Ruto, who teamed up to win the most recent election, were political rivals at the time, with Kenyatta being a prominent member of the Kikuyu ethnic group while Ruto was a leader of the Kalenjin group.

Following the election, ethnic clashes across the nation resulted in the deaths of over 1,100 people and the displacement of some 600,000 more, and were said to be the work of Ruto and his co-defendant, Joshua arap Sang, an influential radio executive.

“The crimes of which Mr. Ruto and Mr. Sang are charged were not just random and spontaneous acts of brutality,” said the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, in court. “This was a carefully planned and executed plan of violence. Ruto’s ultimate goal was to seize political power for himself and his party in the event he could not do so via the ballot box.”

Ruto is accused of arming and organizing the attackers, while Sang’s role, according to the prosecution, was fostering hatred against Kikuyu tribe members through his radio show and broadcasting coded instructions about where to attack.

“It is difficult to imagine the suffering or the terror of the men, women and children who were burned alive, hacked to death or chased from their homes by armed youths,” Bensouda said.

Even after the Kenyan parliament voted last week to withdraw from the court, Ruto appeared voluntarily for the start of the trial, and continues to cooperate.

Ruto’s principal defense counsel, Karim Kahn, asserts that the charges against Ruto “[will] be shown to be patently false.”

“One cannot escape the reality that this investigation has been exceptionally deficient,” he said.

The legitimacy of the case is already being called somewhat into question, as prosecutors claim that witnesses have been afraid to testify, recanted their testimony after accepting money and in some cases, even killed.

The trial will resume Tuesday, September 17, when the prosecution will start presenting witnesses in a first session, which ends October 4. The second session is scheduled from October 14 to November 1.

 

For further information, please see:

All Africa – First Prosecution Witness to Testify Tuesday – 12 September 2013

BBC – Kenya’s William Ruto formed an army for war, ICC hears – 10 September 2013

The Guardian – Kenya’s deputy president William Ruto denies murder at ICC – 11 September 2013

New York Times – Deputy President of Kenya Goes on Trial in The Hague – 10 September 2013

ICC Decision on the Confirmation of Charges