Somali Woman Sentenced for “Falsely Accusing” Security Personnel of Rape

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali woman who accused state security forces of rape and the journalist who interviewed her were each sentenced to a year in jail on Tuesday.  The judges held that Luul Ali Osman, 27, had falsely accused the government.  Human rights groups condemned the decision, stating that the government is attempting to conceal rampant sexual abuse of women by the security forces.

Mogadishu court chairman Ahmed Aden Farah reads a verdict inside a court in Mogadishu on February 5, 2013. (Al Arabiya News via AFP)

Osman was charged on multiple counts.  She faced charges for insulting a government body, inducing false evidence, simulating a criminal offense, and asserting a false accusation.  Freelance journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur was charged with insulting a government body, and inducing the woman to give false evidence.

During the trial, the judges refused to entertain evidence from three witnesses who intended to testify on behalf of Osman and Abdinur.  It was reported that the judges largely based their decision upon medical evidence that showed Osman was not raped.

The National Union of Somali Journalists described the trial as a suppression of press freedom.  Moreover, it expressed shock that Abdinur was convicted of entering Osman’s home without her husband’s permission, although he was never charged with that crime.

Three others charged in the case, including Osman’s husband, were acquitted Tuesday.  Osman’s prison term will be delayed, as she is currently breastfeeding her child.  Osman and Abdinur plan to appeal the court’s decision.

“The court’s decision to convict an alleged rape victim and the journalist who interviewed her is a terrible miscarriage of justice, and sends a chilling signal to victims of sexual assault in Somalia,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

Reporters Without Borders ranks Somalia 175th out of 179 countries surveyed in its 2012-2013 World Press Freedom Index.  This placed Somalia one place ahead of Syria.

In September, the international community applauded Somalia for its first peaceful elections since military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.  The United States State Department referred to the case as “a litmus test” for the future of Somalia.

Thus far, the international outcry surrounding the case serves as an embarrassment for current Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.  After the elections, the international community welcomed Mohamud as the beginning of a new era following decades of Somalian conflict and instability.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Somali Woman Who Alleged Rape Given Jail Term – 5 February 2013

NY Daily News – Somali Court Sentences Rape Victim, Journalist to One-Year in Jail Over “False Accusations” – 5 February 2013

Reuters – Somali Court Sends Alleged Rape Victim and Journalist to Jail – 5 February 2013

The Guardian – Somali Woman is Jailed for a Year After Claiming She Was Raped – 5 February 2013

Tunisian Opposition Leader Chokri Belaid Assassinated

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia — Chokri Belaid, a leading Tunisian opposition figure, and also, one of the leaders of the Popular Front coalition, was shot dead today as he was leaving his home in Tunis on Wednesday. A bullet had struck his neck and another hit his head.

Chokri Belaid, a leading member of Tunisia’s opposition party, was assassinated outside of his home on Wednesday. (Photo Courtesy of Tunisia Live)

His brother confirmed that he was pronounced dead at a Tunis hospital. “My brother was assassinated. I am desperate and depressed,” said Abdelmajid Belaid.

In a statement made after Belaid’s murder, the Unified Democratic Nationalist party confirmed that “Chokri Belaid was targeted as he left his house in the capital.” It is unclear what the motive for Belaid’s assassination was.

Belaid, the leader of the left-leaning opposition Democratic Patriots party, was a vocal critic of the moderate Islamist party Ennahda, who currently controls much of the Tunisian government.
Belaid, a lawyer and human rights activist, was a constant critic of the government, calling it a puppet to the small yet wealthy Gulf state of Qatar. Ennahda denied any involvement in the assassination.

Government spokesman Samir Dilou commented on Belaid’s assassination, calling it an “odious crime.” Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, who mentioned that the identity of the attacker is unknown, condemned the assassination, and called it “a strike against the Arab Spring Revolution.” Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said he would “fight those who opposed the political transition in his country.”

After Belaid’s assassination, 8,000 protesters amassed outside the Interior Ministry in Tunis, calling for the fall of the government. Thousands more held demonstrations throughout the cities of Tunisia, including Mahdia, Sousse, Monastir, and Sidi Bouzid, where Arab Spring demonstrators had originally gathered two years ago to call for the overthrow of the long-time dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

“This is a black day in the history of modern Tunisia… Today we say to the Islamists, ‘get out’… enough is enough,” said Souad, a teacher who took part in the demonstrations outside of the Interior Ministry. “Tunisia will sink in the blood if you stay in power.”

Omar bin Ali, a member of the Tunisian Trade Unions, believes that Islamists were responsible for Belaid’s murder. “This is what they have been calling for in mosques,” said bin Ali, who took part in the demonstrations in front of the Interior Ministry. Bin Ali does not believe that the orders for Belaid’s assassination came from another country. “Tunisia is a friend of all nations. It is hard to think of anyone from abroad to do this to us.”

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Leading Tunisian Opposition Politician Killed — 6 February 2013

The Independent — Tunisian Politician Chokri Belaid Shot Dead — 6 February 2013

Reuters — Tunisia Protests After Government Critic Shot Dead — 6 February 2013

Tunisia Live — Leftist Politician Chokri Belaid Assassinated — 6 February 2013

Queensland, Northern Territories Dismiss Warnings from Prime Minister on Indigenous Alcohol Bans

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia — Queensland and Northern Territories both said on Wednesday that they would move forward with their plans to deal with alcohol bans in indigenous communities, despite federal pressure to keep the policies in place.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman calls alcohol bans on indigenous communities “discriminatory” and plans to review whether the laws should continue, despite warnings from the Prime Minister. (Photo Courtesy of the Townsville Bulletin)

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said his state has no intention of backing down from a planned review of what he calls the “discriminatory” booze bans, while acting Chief Minister of the Northern Territories Robyn Lambley rejected a call to reinstate the bans that she helped lift last year.

“I simply say the policy of discrimination against Aboriginal people is not appropriate,” Newman told reporters on Wednesday in Ipswich, a community about 40 km outside the state capital of Brisbane.

The ban prohibits possession and selling of alcohol in indigenous communities, including the 19 in Queensland.  Violators face penalties including jail time.

Queensland’s review of the alcohol bans, a campaign promise in Newman’s election last March, would allow individual communities within the state to determine whether to keep the restrictions.  The review is expected to last 18 months.

In the Northern Territories, state leaders dismissed calls to reinstate its Banned Drinkers Register law.  Eliminated last year, the ban required indigenous alcohol buyers to have a photo ID scanned and checked against a list of repeat drunks.  A match would prevent the purchase.

Both states’ decisions come after a warning from Prime Minister Julia Gillard to reconsider.  During her annual Closing the Gap Address, aimed at improving opportunities for indigenous Australians, Gillard said the federal government would act against any state or territory alcohol policy that she deems irresponsible.

“I have a real fear that the rivers of grog that wreaked such havoc among indigenous communities are starting to flow once again,” she said.  Big Pond News reported that Gillard was referencing, in part, the Northern Territories lifting its BDR and five recent alcohol-related deaths in Alice Springs.

But leaders from both states dismissed the Prime Minister’s comments.

“For Julia Gillard to start dictating from Canberra how we should implement alcohol policies and what they should be is an absolute nonsense, Lambley told ABC radio.  “I think that she should be listening to us more than we should be listening to [her].”

Newman said Australia as a whole needed to reconsider how to best address the problems related to alcohol because they are not limited to the indigenous populations.

“We need to tackle alcohol abuse issues across the board,” he said.  Newman added that the laws have not worked in reducing alcohol-related violence.

But Queensland’s minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Glen Elmes disputed that claim, saying the bans were effective in reducing crime and improving school attendance.  Elmes added that under the review, any community wanting to lift the ban will have to show it can ensure public safety and not reverse the school attendance rates.

For further information, please see:

The Australian — Abbott, Gillard United on Grog Bans — 6 February 2013

Big Pond News — Butt Out of NT Grog Decisions – CLP — 6 February 2013

Brisbane Times — Alcohol Bans Discriminatory: Newman — 6 February 2013

Townsville Bulletin — Alcohol Bans Discriminatory: Newman — 6 February 2013

Herald Sun — Aboriginal Alcohol Ban Not Solution, Says Member for Cook David Kempton — 10 October 2012

Courier Mail — Indigenous Councils to Rule on Liquor Bans — 3 October 2012

Tunisian Judiciary Independence Challenged by Arbitrary Detention of Fehri

By Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia –  A statement from Amnesty International, released last week on the 29th of January, calls for Tunisian authorities to release Sami Fehri.  Fehri is a TV producer and director of Ettounsiya Television.  He has been jailed since 28 August 2012.

Judges and lawyers gather outside the courthouse in Tunis to protest the shortcomings in the judiciary. (Photo Courtesy of Al-Monitor)

Fehri has been held unjustly since 28 November 2012, after Tunis’ highest court, the Cassation Court, overturned the decision of the Accusations Chamber of Tunis’ Court of Appeal to indict and detain him.  At that point Fehri should have been released but he was not.  On 5 December 2012, the Cassation Court confirmed their previous decision to overthrow the detention order and referred the case back to the Accusation Chamber of the Court of Appeals.

Based on this, Amnesty International recently released a public statement naming Fehri’s detention arbitrary and a breach of Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).  They called for Tunisia to immediately release Fehri and that he be compensated for his arbitrary detention.

Fehri faces corruption charges for misappropriation of public funds.  He is accused of using public television funds to further his own company, Cactus Productions, that he previously co-owned with Belhassen Trabelsi, brother-in-law to Tunisia’s former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

According to Amnesty’s public statement, “the fate of Sami Fehri underscores shortcomings in Tunisia’s justice system, including the independence of the judiciary.”

Since the success of the revolution almost two years ago, that overthrew President Ben Ali and made Tunisia a democratic nation, the judiciary branch of the nation has struggled to reform itself.  A newsletter, published on 8 January 2013, in Al-Monitor, asked, “Where are the honest, clean judges?”

The answer from one judge was, “Our hands are tied, are careers are threatened and intimidated. Some of us have blood on our hands and are trying to save our own hides by showing the new rulers that we are clean. Others have focused their careers on their mission, while some combine their personal political opinions with their duties. With all this, we can only be disunited and powerless in the face of these injustices and cases of abuse.”

 

For further information, please see:

Amnesty International – Tunisia: Release Arbitrarily Detained TV Producer Without Further Delay – 29 January 2013

Al-Monitor – Tunisian Judges Should Reject Corruption– 8 January 2013

Tunis Alive – Indictment Chamber Rejects Request for Sami Fehri’s Release – 3 January 201

Tunis Alive – TV Producer Sami Fehri Begins Indefinite Hunger Strike– 18 December 2012

Foreign Policy – The Godfather of Tunis – 25 May 2012

Blogger Denied Compensation for 12 Months He Spent in a Forced Labor Camp

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

CHONGQING, China – Fang Hong, a 46 year old blogger, has been denied compensation for psychological damages after serving twelve months in a forced labor, re-education camp in 2011.

Bo Xilai, former Communist Party leader. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Fang was sentenced to twelve months in the labor camp after posting a poem online which criticized and mocked former politician and Communist Party leader, Bo Xilai, and his former police chief, Wang Lijun.  The poem highlighted the injustices that plagued Bo’s crackdown against crime in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing.

Bo garnered much praise with the ambitious social projects that he implemented in Chongqing, however, as Fang’s poem showed, not all of his policies were universally accepted.  Bo’s anti-crime campaign drew criticism after public accusations of abuses of power and serious miscarriages of justice.

Fang was a victim of one of these miscarriages of justice when he was detained by police and sent away to a forced labor camp.  Though the police did not have enough evidence to convict, China’s re-education through labor system awards the police wide discretion to hand down sentences of up to four years without trial.

This system of police handing down sentences without trial was established in China in the 1950s to punish minor criminals; however, it has been utilized to suppress political dissidents.  Fang Hong’s sentence was overturned after he served his twelve months in the labor camp and sought compensation for the wrongful conviction and time he spent at the forced labor camp.

Fang sought to recover 360,000 Yuan (roughly $59,000) and a public apology for the time he served.  Reports say that the Chongqing Dianjiang court rejected Fang’s demand and only awarded him $9,200 for the twelve months he spent in the labor camp.  The public apology was also denied.

After the ruling, Fang commented that the court’s decision was “definitely unfair,” and that the court did not fully recognize the psychological harm the twelve months caused him.  Fang also said that he would be asking his lawyer, Mei Chunlai, to appeal the decision.

The Chongqing Dianjiang court that ruled on Fang’s case could not be reached for comment.  Pundits believe that the Fang’s request for compensation, which is based on China’s national compensation laws, was denied to prevent a flood of new claims linked to Bo’s anti-crime campaign abuses.  Many also believe that Bo’s anti-crime activities were used to silence dissidents.

Estimates project that nearly 700 people were convicted during Bo’s reign in Chongqing and around 70 of those convicted were ultimately executed.  Bo’s political career unraveled last year when a scandal emerged involving his wife and the murder of a British businessman.  He now faces his own legal troubles and is likely to be convicted in a trial of his own.

Fang Hong’s case for compensation against the Bo era abuses in Chongqing is the first of its kind.  It will be seen as the initial test as to how the courts will handle the alleged miscarriages of justice that were rampant during Bo’s reign.

For further information, please see:

The Standard – No payout for blogger busted over Bo joke – 1 February 2013

Bangkok Post – China blogger sentenced for Bo joke denied payout – 31 January 2013

Reuters – China court rejects damages plea from man jailed for Bo joke – 31 January 2013

Sino Daily – China blogger sentenced for Bo joke denied payout – 31 January 2013