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INDICTMENTS HANDED OUT FOR HARIRI MURDER

By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch, Middle East Reporter

BEIRUT, Lebanon–With the UN serving as the backbone, four members of the Lebanese Muslim movement known as Hezbollah have been indicted for the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

A banner of the late Rafik Hariri. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)
A banner of the late Rafik Hariri. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) gave the indictments to state prosecutor Saeed Mirza. The indictments are meant to remain sealed for 30 days to allowed Mirza to examine them. But it is believed by multiple directions, international and local outlets citing judicial sources, that the arrest warrants named four men: Mustafa Badreddine, Salim al-Ayyash, Hassan Issa, and Asad Sabra.

Rafik Hariri and 22 others were killed in February 2005 in central Beirut when a huge bomb went of as his motorcade moved through the streets. The STL was established in the Hague in 2009 by the UN to try those individuals alleged to have carried out the bomb responsible for the deaths that occurred.

Badreddine is Hezbollah’s chief operations officer, according to multiple sources. He replaced his former cousin and brother-in-law Imad Mugniyeh in the position after Mugniyeh was assassinated in Syria in 2008. The indictment alleges that Badreddine hatched and supervised the plan to kill Hariri, while al-Ayyash led the cell that actually carried out the bombing.

Saad Hariri, Rafik’s son and former Prime Minister, shared these sentiments after receiving news of the indictments.

“The days of the murderers are gone. My heart is full of joy. The martyrs may now rest in peace. I vow ahead of you to keep this country in peace under the ceiling of security.”

Hezbollah officials declined to comment on the situation. But the group has consistently denied any involvement in the assassination. The group claims that the STL is a plot involving the United States, Israel, and France. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has threatened to cut the hand of anyone who tries to arrest the group’s members.

Currently, Hezbollah has three members in parliament. The group forced the eventual collapse of Hariri’s administration in January after he refused to stop working with the STL. Hezbollah and its allies resigned from Hariri’s administration just days before the head prosecutor for the tribunal filed his petition for the indictments to a pre-trial judge.

The United States State Department has already come forward and supported the indictments and four arrest warrants. Spokesman Mark Toner expressed these words in urging the government of Nijab Mikati to act:

“An important step toward justice and ending impunity for political assassinations in Lebanon. The sealed indictments have been handed over. We’re now going to look to see what the Lebanese government does next. We’re looking for it take action.”

There have long been fears inside Lebanon that indictments of Hezbollah members over the assassination of the prominent Sunni Muslim leader, who served as prime minister for several terms between 1992 and 2004, could intensify conflicts between sectarian factions within the country. The two sides have been struggling with the legacy of the 1975-1990 civil war.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera-Indictments issues in Hariri probe-30 June 2011

BBC-Hariri murder: UN tribunal issues arrest warrants-30 June 2011

CNN-Four Hezbollah members indicted in Hariri death, says source-30 June 2011

Reuters-U.S. urges Lebanon to act on Hariri indictments-30 June 2011

deadly standoff continues at Venezuelan Prison

By Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – For the past two weeks, the Venezuelan National Guard has been in a standoff with the inmates of the Rodeo II prison.  Inmates gained control of the prison back on June 12 during an armed conflict between two prisoner gangs, vying for control of the prison.  The fighting between the rival gangs killed at least 29 and injured many others.

Soldiers oversee inmates of El Rodeo during an attempt to regain control. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)
Soldiers oversee inmates of El Rodeo during an attempt to regain control. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

Authorities state that an earlier raid of the Rodeo I prison resulted in the seizure of a number of weapons, drugs and cell phones.  During this raid two members of the police force and one inmate were killed.  The Rodeo II unit remains under siege.

Roughly 4,000 members of the National Guard were stationed at the Rodeo prison in Guatire, 50 kilometers east of Caracas.  Worried family members of prisoners have also gathered, some of them throwing stones at the soldiers.  In response, soldiers have fired tear gas at the crowd to try and disperse them.  Inside Rodeo II, there remain up to 1,200 inmates, with only 50 of them being a part of the resistance. 

The government announced that one member of the National Guard was killed and 19 others injured.  They do not know if any casualties have been suffered by the inmates.  However, a recently posted YouTube video, allegedly from within the prison, shows two white freezers being opened to reveal a dead body in each.  The narrator is heard saying “two of the compatriots who have died in the fight.”  As the video comes to an end, the sound of gunfire can be heard in the background.

An inmate, one of the 36 prisoners that the National Guard was able to rescue on Monday night, claims that the soldiers want to massacre everyone inside the prison.  He said that the soldiers killed several prisoners during the rescue mission. 

Text messages sent from inside the prison are pleas for the government to spare the lives of those not involved in the resistance.  Other messages describe the soldiers opening fire on prisoners who had come out into the courtyard, waving a white flag above their heads as a sign of surrender.       

The conditions of Venezuelan prisons have been a concern for human rights groups since 2008.  “In Venezuela, prisoners are often held in cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions and violence is endemic,” said Guadalupe Marengo, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Americas Division.  At the El Rodeo prison roughly 3,600 prisoners were imprisoned but the facilities were only built to contain 750 people.

Marengo urges the Venezuelan government to “promptly launch an independent investigation into what went wrong at El Rodeo, establishing responsibility for the high level of weapons in the prison, and ensure that similar incidents are not repeated in the future.”

Director of El Rodeo II, Luis Rafael Aranguren and Rubén José González Heredia, Vice-director of El Rodeo I have been arrested on allegations of illegally facilitating the movement of drugs and arms into the prison and corruption charges.

For more information, please see;

The Guardian – Venezuelan Prison Siege: El Rodeo Directors Arrested – 28 June 2011

Amnesty International – Deadly Clashes Highlight Need for Urgent Prison Reform in Venezuela – 22 June 2011

 CNN – Standoff is Latest in Venezuelan Prisons’ History of Problems – 21 June 2011

 The Guardian – Venezuelan Government Troops Continue Assault on Riot-Torn Prison – 21 June 2011

 International Business Times – Stand-Off Continues in a Venezuelan Prison – 20 June 2011

 BBC News – Venezuelan Forces Storm Prison ‘to Protect Lives’ – 17 June 2011

FARC forcing recruitment of indigenous child soldiers

By Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 BOGOTÁ, Colombia – Fighting with the rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) recently occurred in the southwestern Cauca region.  On June 4, 2011 army reports from a skirmish with the guerilla fighters revealed that FARC is still actively recruiting child soldiers. 

adolescent FARC soldiers (Photo Courtesy of Latin American Studies Organization)
Adolescent are actively recruited by FARC. (Photo Courtesy of Latin American Studies Organization)

 Three members from FARC forces were arrested after the skirmish, two of them were minors.  The three arrested all confirmed that FARC has been active in recruiting children from the indigenous populations in the Huila, Cauca and Valle de Cauca regions.  The two child soldiers stated that in the past two months, roughly 15 children between the ages of 12 and 15 years old have been forcefully recruited.

 Child soldiers are sometimes used in armed combat but more commonly, they act as FARC’s transporters for explosives, rations and anti-personnel mines.  Recent decisive moves by the Colombian army resulted in the death and capture of many FARC fighters.  The army believes this has led to a need for replacements and thus prompted the surge in forced child soldier recruitment. 

The two child soldiers were placed in the care of the state and officials urged indigenous communities to report these recruitments to authorities.  In an effort to relieve fear of reprisal, authorities stated that indigenous communities should not fear condemnation by the state. 

 Indigenous groups have asked for a more concerted and swift response from the government to eradicate this widespread practice.  Aída Quilcué, the leader of the Cauca Regional Indigenous Council, stated; “[w]e have cases of minors from 8 years of age to 15 who have been forcefully recruited by the FARC.  We are asking for the government’s help so this situation stops.  We are tired of seeing women raped, tortured, children dead and children obligated to join the FARC’s ranks.”

 For more information, please see;

 Child Rights Information Network – Colombia: ‘FARC Are Recruiting Indigenous Children’ – 9 June 2011

 Latin America Press – FARC Recruiting Indigenous Minors – 9 June 2011

 Colombia Reports – FARC Are Recruiting Indigenous Children – 4 June 2011

 Ejército Nacional – Las FARC Estarían Reclutando Menores en Cabildos Indígenas – 4 June 2011

Environmentalists Murdered in Brazil

By Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Three environmentalists were murdered in Brazil in the last few weeks.  On May 24, 2011, José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva, a husband and wife team, were shot and killed in the state of Pará.  The two were leaders of the National Council of Extractive Workers (CNS) which advocates for sustainable uses of the rainforest and protests illegal logging and deforestation.

Police watch the body of Jose Claudio Ribeiro da Silva (Photo Courtesy of Associated Press)
Police inspect the body of José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva (Photo Courtesy of Associated Press)

Just days later, on May 27, 2011, Adelino Ramos was gunned down in the state of Rondônia.  Ramos was the leader of the Movimento Camponês de Corumbiara (Corumbiara Peasant Movement), which advocates for sustainable land reform.

The assassinations came right as proposed modifications were being debated for Brazil’s Forest Code.  The Forest Code, a 1965 law, lays out stipulations for Brazilian landowners to maintain a certain percentage of native forest on their lands as a legally protected reserve.  The majority of landowners do not adhere to these stipulations.

The proposed changes to the Forest Code would grant amnesty to landowners who illegally deforested parts of their land, up until July of 2008.  It would also reduce the size of legal reserves that must be maintained.  In a very controversial decision, the Congress approved the changes, sending the modified bill on to the Senate who will now debate the issue.

The authorities in Brazil deny any link between the killings and the changes to the Forest Code.  Afonso Florence, the Minister of Agricultural Development, maintains that “[t]he debate has another dynamic.  There is no direct association”.

Despite this, the authorities have said that they will make environmentalist protection a priority.  An emergency meeting of the President’s cabinet produced the promises that those who receive death threats will receive state government protection as well as national armed guard protection, if necessary.

Other environmentalist group leaders are not convinced that these promises will make any difference.  As Leila Salazar-López; the Program Director for the group Amazon Watch, stated, “[t]here are over 200 unsolved murders in the Pará state alone involving Amazon activists”.  In the past 25 years, there have been 1,580 reported murders of activists in Brazil.  This resulted in only 91 trials and a mere 21 convictions.

All three of the murdered activists were victims of harassment and received death threats in the days prior to their killings.  Police reports show that nothing was removed from any of the bodies and José Silva’s ear was cut off.

For more information, please see;

Latin America Press – Moves Toward Deforestation – 2 June 2011

UPI – Brazil Acts to Protect Amazon Activists – 1 June 2011

The Rio Times – Killing of Amazon Activists Sparks Protection – 31 May 2011

Act for Climate Justice – Brazil: Environmentalists Murdered in the Amazon and Debate Over a New Forest Code: Impunity Must End – 28 May 2011

Huffington Post Green – Adelino Ramos Killed: Third Environmentalist Activist Murdered This Week in Brazil – 28 May 2011

MORE THAN 300,000 PEOPLE STILL DISPLACED IN IVORY COAST

By Tamara Alfred
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABIJAN, Ivory Coast – On Tuesday, the United Nations (UN) refugee agency reported that more than 300,000 people are still displaced from their homes as a result of ongoing violence two months after the political crisis that arose after the disputed November elections was solved.

People displaced by violence return to their villages in western Ivory Coast in April, but over 300,000 are still yet to return. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)
People displaced by violence return to their villages in western Ivory Coast in April, but over 300,000 are still yet to return. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

The UN reported that most of the displaced are living in camps or with host families in the western part of the country.  Many of the displaced people were either victims of violence or witnessed other being slashed, burned or killed, according to Xavier Simon, the head of the Ivory Coast Doctors Without Borders.

“People tell us they can’t eat or sleep properly and that they suffer from anxiety and heart palpitations,” said Simon.  “Terrified of further violence or revenge attacks, many choose to remain in hiding or as refugees.”

According to Doctors Without Border, displaced people are at further risk because they are in areas with food shortages and threats of disease, all heightened by the rainy season.

At the height of the crisis, approximately 1 million people were displaced and hundreds killed.  The violence began when Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power to the newly-elected president, Alassane Ouattara.  Both parties have been accused of atrocities in the violence.

“Many of the dead are buried in mass graves,” said Melissa Fleming, the U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman.  “Over 500 houses and a pharmacy were destroyed in five villages.  As estimated 17,000 people are displaced in that region, including an unknown number reportedly still hiding in the forest.”

On Wednesday, the head of the Human Rights Division of the UN Mission in Ivory Coast called for immediate and impartial investigations into reports of attacks by the armed forces.  On Thursday, the Ivorian government responded by announcing that it had formed a commission to investigate the crimes.

President Ouattara has repeatedly promised no mercy for human rights abusers regardless of their political party.  However, on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch released a statement saying that no one from Ouattara’s camp had yet to be arrested.  Those currently under investigation are all former officials of the government of Laurent Gbagbo.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement, “We need concerted action designed to break the cycle of impunity, bring perpetrators to justice and rehabilitate victims in their rights and dignity.”

More than 100,000 Ivorians are estimated to have sought refuge in Liberia.

For more information, please see:

Reuters AlertNet – Ivory Coast: Fear persists even after violence subsides – 17 June 2011

CNN – Ivory Coast announces commission to investigate post-election crimes – 16 June 2011

CNN – 300,000 still displaced in Ivory Coast – 14 June 2011