Malawi Reexamines Laws Criminalizing Homosexuality

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

LILONGWE, Malawi—Moving against the grain in Africa, Malawi’s government is now moving to get rid of laws against homosexuality and has ordered law enforcement officers not to arrest people for same-sex acts until the country’s anti-gay laws are reviewed by Malawi’s parliament. Human Rights Watch called Malawi’s decision “courageous” and hoped that it would inspire other African countries that criminalize homosexuality to follow suit.

This Openly Gay Couple Were Pardoned From 14 Year Jail Sentence as a Result of the Moratorium. (Photo Courtesy of The Washington Post)

Malawi’s anti-gay laws, which are some of the toughest in the world, can put someone in jail for up to 14 years with hard labor. Justice Minister Ralph Kasambara last week said that parliament will soon meet to discuss these laws.

Several months ago, in May, President Joyce Banda made an announcement that she wants to repeal Malawi’s laws against homosexual acts going against the continent’s trend in which gays are consistently singled out for criminal prosecution. Many traditionalists and religious leaders condemned the President saying that she was only doing this to try to please Western donor nations. These traditionalists further argue that homosexuality is alien to Malawi’s cultural and religious values.

Malawi received a lot of attention in December 2009 after law enforcement officers arrested the country’s first openly gay couple. The couple spent five months in jail without bail until they received another sentence of 14 years in jail after their conviction five months later in May 2010. Eventually the two were pardoned after the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s arm-twisting of the late President Bingu wa Mutharika.

Tiseke Kasambala, a Malawian who is the Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch said, “Malawi has taken a bold step forward, putting respect for its own constitutional guarantees of equality front and center.” Kasambala further added “Malawi’s decision has given hope to thousands who risk prison sentences under such laws.” Amnesty International also noted that Malawi took a “historic step in the fight against discrimination in the country.”

According to Human Rights Watch, at least 76 countries, 38 in Africa, actually criminalize consensual same sex conduct. Human rights organizations around the world hope that these countries follow the lead of Malawi and take a closer look at their homosexuality laws.

 

For further information, please see:

Angola Press – Rights Group Laud Malawi on Gay Law Moratorium – 8 November 2012

The Washington Post – Malawi Government Moves to Suspend Law Against Homosexuality – 8 November 2012

Yahoo News – Malawi Lauded on Anti-Gay Law Moratorium – 8 November 2012

The Maravi Post – Society Human Rights Watch Lauds Malawi on Homophobic Law Moratorium – 7 November 2012

Activist Sattar Beheshti Tortured and Killed in Prison

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Facebook activist Sattar Beheshti has been reported dead in Iran.

Beheshti was just arrested on October 30, 2012, and is already reported dead just a week later.

Beheshti was a thirty-five year old blogger who cared deeply for his fellow Iranians. Sattar once said “that he saw the faces of the people in his country, how difficult their lives were and how poor they were, and that he couldn’t be quiet as long as they suffered.”

Beheshti was arrested in his family home in the city of Robat Karim by Fata [cyber] police. He was detained for alleged opposition activism on Facebook. Beheshti is one of many Facebook activists to have recently been arrested in Iran. While Facebook is blocked in Iran, millions of Iranians still utilize the site through virtual private networks and proxy websites.

Just prior to his arrest, Beheshti wrote that, “[t]hey threatened me yesterday that my mother would wear black because I don’t shut my mouth.” It now appears that the Iranian authorities have made good on their threat. Many believe that the Fata were using Beheshti as an example to warn other Tweeters and Facebook posters about what would happen to them if they wrote negatively about the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Beheshti was initially brought to Evin prison to be interrogated. In places like the Evin prison and Kahrizak Dention Centre, the phrase interrogation is synonymous with torture. It was reported by prisoners of the Evin ward that Beheshti was badly beaten and that there was not a square inch of his body that was not left black and blue. While it has yet to be independently verified, its been said that Beheshti died “under torture” while being interrogated by security officials at Kahrizak.

Claims of Beheshti’s death have surfaced as a result of phone calls made from the authorities to Beheshti’s family. Beheshti’s sister said to Masih Alinejad, a U.K.-based Iranian journalist that, “[t]oday they called my husband and asked him to prepare me and my mother and buy a tomb for his dead body.” Another family member reported to Sahamnews that, “[t]hey called us today and asked us to collect his dead body tomorrow from Kahrizak.”

Alistair Burt, the U.K.’s minister for the Middle East and North Africa, is in disbelief of the tragedy that has occurred stating that all Beheshti did was advocate for human rights over the internet. He holds the Iranian regime fully responsible for the prisoner’s welfare in prison and urges the authorities to confirm what has happened.

Beheshti is allegedly not the first person to have died while being tortured at Kahrizak. Other prisoners have also claimed to have been raped. In 2010, a doctor came to the detention center to examine victims, and was shot dead, not long after.

Beheshti’s death, while meant to be a warning, may have served to further unite the opposition. Reza Mohajerinejad, one of the original student organizers of 18 Tir, is enraged and asks his fellow people, “How long will we watch this regime take the lives of our young people? How long will we wait?”

For further information, please see:

Iranian – The Killing of Sattar Beheshti – 7 November 2012

Baztab – درگذشت یک وبلاگنویس حین بازجویی، نگذارید به سرنوشت پرونده کهریزک تبدیل شود
– 7 November 2012

Guardian – Iranian Facebook Activist Sattar Beheshti Feared Dead in Custody – 7 November 2012

Sahamnews – Sattar Beheshti Tortured to Death – 7 November 2012

Bahrain Revokes the Nationality of 31 of its Citizens

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East 

MANAMA, Bahrain — State news agencies reported last Wednesday that Bahraini authorities revoked the citizenships of 31 people, two of them being former members of parliament, for having “undermined state security.”

Those whose citizenships were revoked are accused of “undermining state security.” (Photo Courtesy of Foreign Policy)

Among the names are London-based dissidents Saeed Al-Shehabi and Ali Mushaima, the son of the jailed opposition leader Hassan Mushaima. Mushaima is known for having scaled the roof of the Bahraini embassy in London to publicize opposition demands for democratic change.  Also among them are clerics, human rights lawyers, and activists.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) and Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) said that they had “grave concern over the systematic targeting of prominent political activists, former members of parliament, clerics and others.”  They say that the government failed to provide sufficient evidence for justifying the revocation of the individuals’ citizenships.  “The BYSHR and the BCHR express grave concern over the systematic targeting of prominent political activists, former members of parliament, clerics and others,” said in a joint statement by the two activist groups.  The decision, they said, “is intended to punish them for expressing peaceful dissent and thereby intimidate others from exercising their right to freedom of expression.”

The ministry’s report that was released with the names of the individuals whose citizenships were revoked  says that all those affected will have a right to challenge the decision in court.  The revocations were applied under Article 10 of the Nationality Law, granting the “withdrawal of nationality of any Bahraini citizen who causes damage to state security.”

The two MPs whose citizenships were revoked, brothers Jawad and Jalal Fairouz, are leading figures from the Shia majority Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.  A former MP who is also affiliated with Al-Wefaq, Matar Matar, informed AFP that some of those named on the list were acquitted by the military court while others were not actually charged with “undermining state security.”  “They want to replace us as a pro-democracy movement via nationalization of mercenaries and revoking our nationality,” said Matar.  Matar claims that Bahrain’s decision “is a reflection of a complex persecution policy against race, sect, and political orientation.  It is against Bahrain’s Persian minority, Shi’ites and the pro-democracy movement in general.”

Amnesty International believes that Bahrain made the decision to withdraw citizenships on the basis of their political views.  “Most worryingly, the authorities are making some in the group stateless.  This, as well ass any arbitrary deprivation of nationality is prohibited under international law,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Bahrain Revokes Citizenships of 31 People — 7 November 2012

Foreign Policy — Bahrain Revokes Citizenship of 31 Opposition Activists — 7 November 2012

Khaleej Times — Bahrain Revokes Citizenship of 31 Nationals — 8 November 2012

Reuters — Bahrain Revokes Nationality of 31 over National Security — 7 November 2012

Could New Argentina Voting Age Change Presidential Outcome?

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina recently made a bold move and passed a new measure lowering the Latin Nations voting age to 16.

Argentinian Youth Celebrate New Voting Age. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

Passed by overwhelming support by the representatives of the lower house, it passed the Argentinian Chamber of Deputies early last week. However the discussion turned bitter as deputies from the Chamber saw accusations fly between members before the opposition walked out in disgust. Without any opposition left in the chamber the resolution passed 131 to 2.

Lauded by the younger generation, they will now follow Brazil, Ecuador and Nicaragua whose citizens can vote at age 16. Voting is compulsory for all argentines aged 18 and older, which includes some 29 million people. However it will be optional for those aged 16 and 17, which will grant the vote to 1.2 million more Argentinians for the 2013 election.

Critics believe that it was made with the intent of boosting the incumbent President Cristina Fernandez’s chances in her re-election campaign for 2013.  opponents have said this change is designed to increase support for the Victory Front coalition in the 2013 legislative elections. With greater support in both houses, these opponent s believe it is being made with the intention of allowing Fernandez to run again for the presidency in 2015.

While the Victory Front Coalition has a majority in both houses of Congress, she would need the support of two-thirds of legislators to change the constitution to allow the first female Argentinian president to seek a third term.

While President Fernandez has reiterated that she is simply expanding the liberties of the youth of Argentina. she has issued no comment on any plans to change the Argentinian constitution.

Despite this deputies in both house have gather over 100 signatures from the UCR, PRO and Socialism parties who have promised to vote down any constitutional reform which would allow president Fernandez to run for a new third term. However many of them will be no longer in the Chamber of Deputies when that happens, and many have speculated that the new youth vote will win new for the Victory Front Coalition.

Whatever occurs in the future, the youth of Argentina are static with their newfound civil liberties, This despite cynics who have referred to the youth as the one of the worst social problems in Argentina. Rep Eduardo Amadeo of the Peronist Front party continued “ Education is worse. The consumption of drugs is worse. Employment is worse…. and now the government has discovered them and they say, we are going to vote.”

For further information, please see:

Los Andes – Deputies Opponents Gathered 107 Signatures Against The Re-Election – 6 October 2012

BBC – Argentina Voting Age Lowered From 18 To 16 – 1 November 2012

Business Recorder  – Argentina Lowers Voting Age To 16 – 1 November 2012

Washington Post – Argentina Lowers Its Voting Age To 16 – 1 November 2012