Crime Bosses Order Attacks in São Paulo City

By Margaret Janelle R. Hutchinson
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASÍLIA, Brazil – According to the Governor of São Paulo State and Brazilian news sources, the alarming increase in violence in Brazil’s largest city over the past few months is due to direct orders from organized crime bosses to execute military police and members of rival criminal organizations.

Shooting deaths, executions and drive-bys, have been the core of intentional homicides in the last two weeks. Military police launched operations in São Paulo’s favelas in an effort to quell the surge in violence (Photo Courtesy mdz).

The escalation of violence in the greater São Paulo area is unquestionably on the rise judging by the number of murders that occur every night in and around the city, the total number of homicides in the past month alone reaching over 160, according to today’s report.

But the violence is not limited to the metropolitan region.  Since September there have been roughly 600 murders throughout the state, approximately 100 of which were law enforcement officers.

The São Paulo state government, led by former opposition presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin initially refused federal assistance to combat the increasing violence in his state.  Then barbs were exchanged between the São Paulo Secretary for Public Security and the Federal Minister of Justice this week.

State Security Secretary Antonio Ferreira Pinto publicly denied that he had been offered federal aid, which was resolutely refuted by the Ministry in a press release.

On Thursday, President Dilma Rousseff personally telephoned Governor Alckmin and offered to send Federal Police intelligence agents, and other assistance, to work with the civil and military police in São Paulo.

At a news conference the yesterday morning, Alckmin said he was open to discussing a solution in partnership with the federal government.

The President and Governor have agreed to commence meetings next week, members of the Secretary for Public Security, Secretary of Prison Administration and the Ministry of Justice, will begin to examine possible solutions to the security crisis.

Direct contact between the two leaders coincides with São Paulo’s “Operation Saturation” wherein state military police have conducted operations in the capital’s slums, called favelas.

Militarized police conducted an operation in the favela Paraisópolis, yesterday, in which 22 people were arrested and 15 weapons, 324 rounds of ammunition of various calibers, 2.4 kilograms of cocaine, 254 kilograms of marijuana and 50 units of synthetic drugs were seized.

Paraisópolis is the only favela still under the control of the military police.

The escalation of violence in the richest region of the country is the worst since May 2006, when the organized crime group Primer Comando de la Capital (roughly translated to First Capital Command) carried out a series of attacks on police and civilian targets, bus fires, executions, and riots in some 50 prisons across the country.

The federal government intervened back in 2006 to help stop the violence.

As of yesterday there had been 83 murders committed in an 11 day period in Brazil’s largest city and financial capital.  Between that report and today another 19 people were shot and 10 died.

For further information, please see:

Correio do Brasil – Dilma oferece Exército para conter violência; Alckmin recusa – 3 November 2012

Folha de S.Paulo – Dez pessoas são mortas e um PM baleado em São Paulo – 3 November 2012

Jornal Hoje – Violência na região metropolitan de São Paulo provoca mais dez mortes – 3 November 2012

mdz – Brasil: violencia en Sao Paulo deja más de 160 muertes en un mes – 3 November 2012

Fox News – Violence continues in Brazil’s largest city – 2 November 2012

 

 

 

Anti-Islamist Activist Fined in Tunisia

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia – This past Tuesday, the District Court in Menzel Temime found two journalists, Sofiane Chourabi and Mehdi Jlassi, guilty of “drunkenness and public indecency.” Each were ordered to pay a 104 dinar ($67) which consisted of an 100 dinar fine for indecency and a four dinar fine for drinking alcohol in public during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Anti-Islamist blogger Chourabi plans on appealing what he alleges is a sham conviction. (Photo Courtesy of Amnesty International)

The two were arrested on August 5th for drinking alcohol on a Kelibian beach where they were camping. The trial was the result of a case brought by a man claiming that he was a victim of the “moral offense.” Chourabi and Jlassi could have faced six-months in prison.

“I will appeal the court’s decision because it confirms accusations which I totally reject and deny,” said Chourabi. “It is an unfair trial, completely made up and baseless. It is about intimidating the opponents of Ennahda’s policies.”

Chourabi insists that he and Jlassi did not disturb anyone. He claims that at the time of the arrest the two were asleep in their tents in an isolated place. He also alleges that the confession he made back in August was phony and forced “under police pressure.”

Chourabi first gained notoriety for his criticisms of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali policies. Since Ben Ali had been removed, Chourabi has been critical of the current ruling Islamist party Ennahda. A day before his arrest, he had called for a demonstration before the Interior Ministry to protest moves by the religiously conservative Ennahda party that would serve to stifle public freedom.

Fines for drunkenness and indecency are necessary to maintain public order, however, they should not be used harass and unfairly bully the ruling party’s opposition.

“Restrictions of individual freedoms in the name of public order must be necessary and proportionate, and must never be used as an excuse for prosecuting government critics and other political activists,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa program.

She went on to say that “[t]hese convictions must be quashed, and the Tunisian authorities must refrain from prosecuting individuals who freely exercise their fundamental rights, including their right to freedom of expression.”

“It is disappointing to see that at a moment when Tunisia should be proving its commitment to human rights, these convictions send out quite the opposite message and are reminiscent of practices under Ben Ali.”

For further information, please see:

Amnesty International – Tunisia Must Overturn Journalists’ Convictions – 30 October 2012

Daily Star Lebanon – Tunisian Anti-Islamist Blogger Fined for ‘Indecency’ – 30 October 2012

Middle East Online – Tunisian Anti-Islamist Blogger Fined for ‘Indecency’ – 30 October 2012

Tunisia Times – Tunisie: Sofiane Chourabi et Mehdi Jelassi Condamnés à 104 Dinars D’Amende – 30 October 2012

Controversial “Blacklist” Law Implemented in Russia

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Russia passed a new law that allows the government to block certain Internet sites with the purpose of protecting children from harmful Internet content. The government aims to ban websites that contain sexual abuse of children, details about how to commit suicide, encouragement of drug use, and sites that solicit children for pornography. The government is able to blacklist and force certain sites offline without a trial.

New “blacklist” law will also ban extremist websites. (Photo Courtesy of RFE/RL)

The houses of parliament approved the law, and President Vladimir Putin signed the law in July.

The new controversial “blacklist” law that aims to protect children has prompted fears of censorship.

Information rights expert, Ilya Rassolov, states, “This law can be seen as one of the elements that can, if the need arises, curb freedom of speech.” Similarly, Yuri Vdovin, vice-president of Citizens’ Watch, said, “Of course there are websites that should not be accessible to children, but I don’t think it will be limited to that. The government will start closing other sites – any democracy-oriented sites are at risk of being taken offline. It will be [an attack on] the freedom of speech on the internet.”

Free speech advocates fear that the implementation of this “blacklist” law could open the door to widespread censorship. Critics also fear that the government will use the new law to block opposition websites. For example, Reporters Without Borders criticized the Russian government for failing to “resolve the law’s contradictions and to eliminate those that pose threats to freedom.”

In contrast, the country’s telecom minister, Nikolai Nikiforov, believes the concerns of censorship were over exaggerated. He states, “Internet has always been a free territory. The government is not aimed at enforcing censorship there. LiveJournal, YouTube, and Facebook showcase socially responsible companies. That means that they will be blocked only if they refuse to follow Russian laws, which is unlikely, in my opinion.”

Ilya Rassolov declares, “The law simply spells out the rules of the game, the norms according to which this is done. Despite all the talk surrounding this law and how it can be used, it’s still better to have transparent procedural norms than not. How this law will be implemented is another issue.”

For further information, please see:

The Atlantic — Russia’s New Internet Blacklist – 2 November 2012

The Huffington Post — Russia’s ‘Internet Blacklist’ Law Will Fuel Internet Censorship Say Human Rights Groups – 1 November 2012

RFE/RL — Russia’s Internet ‘Blacklist’ Law Sparks Free-Speech Fears – 1 November 2012

BBC News — Russia Internet Blacklist Law Takes Effect – 31 October 2012

Guatemala Wants Answers in Texas Trooper Shooting That Left Two Immigrants Dead

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States — A Guatemalan diplomat this week questioned the actions of Texas Rangers who fired gunshots from a helicopter on a pickup truck of undocumented immigrants hiding in the bed.

Civil rights activists hold a vigil and protest for two undocumented immigrants from Guatemala killed by Texas Rangers. (Photo Courtesy of The Brownsville Herald)

The incident, which happened near the U.S.-Mexico border on Oct. 25, killed two people and injured one.

“I have a lot of questions,” said Alba Caceres, the Guatemalan consul in McAllen, a border city about 15 miles east of where the incident took place.

The Department of Public Safety, which is in charge of the elite squad of Texas Rangers, said troopers suspected the truck was smuggling drugs because of the covered pickup bed.  Instead, six men lay under that cover, along with three men in the pickup cab, a driver, and a human smuggler.

“Why aren’t the narco-traficos pursued this way?” Caceres asked, referencing drug smugglers.  “Maybe if the officer explained why they made the determination to shoot them, we would understand.  Right now, I am very confused.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that troopers have authority to fire from helicopters to stop a driver, defend themselves or someone at risk, or make an arrest.

The Times also reported that the immigrants, all field workers, each paid $5,000 to be smuggled through Mexico and into Texas.  They had spent nearly three weeks traveling from their hometown of San Martin Jilotepeque, about an hour outside the Guatemalan capital of Guatemala City.

In a statement, the Texas Department of Public Safety said troopers believed the driver’s recklessness was a threat to public safety, considering elementary and middle schools were located less than three miles away from the scene of the incident.

“Although it is very tragic that two lives were lost, had the vehicle continued recklessly speeding through the school zone, any number of innocent bystanders or young lives could have been lost or suffered serious bodily injury,” said DPS Director Steve McCraw.

The trooper involved in the shooting returned to work on Thursday after being placed on administrative leave.  He has been assigned administrative duties pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

The victims were identified as Jose Leonardo Coj Cumar, 32, and Marcos Antonio Castro Estrada, 29.  Coj left behind three children and his pregnant wife in order to earn money for a surgical procedure one of his sons needed.  Caceres said Coj did not want to travel illegally but had to for his son.

“We have expressed our outrage at this incident, and we will pursue all the measures necessary to ensure that this is not forgotten or filed away,” she said.

Caceres also said she was awaiting death certificates to allow the bodies to be returned to Guatemala.  The surviving Guatemalans were in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

For further information, please see:

The Brownsville Herald — ACLU Voices Concerns of DPS Shooting — 2 November 2012

The Huffington Post — Miguel Avila, Texas Trooper in Chopper Shooting of Two Undocumented Immigrants, Returns to Work — 2 November 2012

The Los Angeles Times — Guatemala Seeks Answers in Texas’ Fatal Shooting of Migrants — 31 October 2012

The Dallas Morning News — Guatemalan Diplomat: Texas Agents Who Fired on Pickup Should’ve Seen It Held People, Not Drugs — 30 October 2012

U.S. Serviceman Allegedly Assaults Young Japanese Boy While Intoxicated

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TOKYO, Japan – Japanese authorities alleged that a U.S. serviceman, stationed on the southern island of Okinawa, broke into a local home and assaulted a young boy.

Demonstrators protest the actions of U.S. servicemen. (Photo Courtesy of Huffington Post)

The U.S. serviceman, stationed at the U.S. Air Force base in Kadena, had reportedly been drinking in the village of Yomitan around 1 a.m. on Friday.  While he was intoxicated, the serviceman broke into a third floor apartment above the bar where he was drinking, damaged a television set inside, and struck a 13 year old boy inhabiting the apartment.

The assaulter attempted to flee by jumping out the third story window and sustained injuries from the fall.  The U.S. serviceman has been taken to the U.S. Navy hospital in Okinawa for treatment.  He may have sustained possible broken bones and other internal injuries from the fall.

This incident of assault comes just three weeks after the two Navy sailors were arrested for the alleged rape of a local Japanese woman.  A curfew, which was violated by the drunken U.S. serviceman who assaulted the boy, was imposed on all 52,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan after the alleged rape.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda issued a statement condemning the actions of the serviceman as “deplorable,” especially after the curfew had been installed due to the recent transgressions by other members of the U.S. military.

The Japanese government has issued a formal complaint to the U.S. government regarding the actions of the U.S. serviceman.  Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba expressed that the incident was absolutely inexcusable and said that more official protests regarding the man’s actions were to come.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry asked to meet with U.S. Ambassador to Japan, John Roos, immediately after the assault.  Roos stated that the actions of the U.S. serviceman were extremely upsetting, and the well-being of the young boy that was assaulted was a grave concern.

Roos also assured the Japanese authorities and the local public that the U.S. government does not take incidents of violence lightly and pledged to cooperate with the Japanese government in the investigations to prevent similar, future incidences.

Local opposition in Okinawa to U.S. military presence has been fierce since the bases were first established.  The U.S. maintains that the military presence is for the protection of the Japanese people, however, the locals complain about noise, problems with crime and safety, and incidents like the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen.

With the rape of the local woman several weeks ago and, now, the most recent assault on the young boy in his apartment, the tensions and distrust among the Japanese locals and the U.S. military personal is on the rise.

For further information, please see:

Daily Yomiuri – U.S. military man eyed in Okinawa home invasion – 3 November 2012

The Japan Times – U.S. airman’s home intrusion draws fire – 3 November 2012

Huffington Post – Japan U.S. Troops Incident: Airman Suspected Of Assaulting Young Boy – 2 November 2012

Reuters –  Japan deplores assault on boy by suspected U.S. serviceman – 2 November 2012