Australian Asylum-Seekers Unhappy, Start Hunger Strike

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia — Nearly half of the asylum-seekers being held in an Australian detention center on the Pacific island of Nauru began a hunger strike on Thursday, protesting the conditions at the facility.

Asylum-seekers at an Australian immigration center on Nauru Island have begun a hunger strike to protest the conditions at the detention facility. (Photo Courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald)

Of the nearly 400 people held at the center, the Australian Department of Immigration said at least 170 have stopped eating their meals and refused their water.

“This is a clear message that we are not happy here,” the protesters wrote in a statement addressed to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the Nauru government, human rights commissions, and the international community.

“We want to go back from this hell to Australia, and we request to the Australian government to start our processing,” the statement continued.

Australian immigration authorities embraced tough new offshore processing policies earlier this year, including the reopening of the Nauru detention center.  The policies have sparked criticism and concern from Australian and international human rights organizations about the treatment of people seeking asylum.

Earlier this week, the Australian government approved increasing the capacity at the Nauru facility to 1,500 people.  Current detainees are kept in tents, and advocates have reported conditions there as hot and unbearable.

Asylum-seekers claimed their Internet access was cut off on Thursday as a way of censoring their access to human rights supporters and the media.  But authorities said that was untrue.

“It is well known that on Nauru, there are Internet service problems,” an Immigration Department spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald.

But the Australian Human Rights Commission said there was reason for the public to be concerned about the detainees’ health and well-being.

“Asylum-seekers have been left with no idea when their claims will be processed and what will be their ultimate fate,” said Ian Rintoul, a refugee advocate.  “They have no choice but to protest.”

Yet while the uncertainty caused some asylum-seekers to begin a hunger strike, it prompted others to, at least temporarily, give up on their immigration hopes.  Six detainees chose to leave the Nauru detention center and return to their home country this week.  They marked the first Iraqi and Iranian nationals to voluntarily give up their asylum claims.  More than 80 people have chosen to return to their home country since the new Australian immigration policies took effect in August.

But that has not caused Australia to reverse course regarding new immigrants.

“People arrive by boat will be sent to Nauru and Papua-New Guinea,” an immigration spokesperson said.

For further information, please see:

ABC Radio Australia — Australian Human Rights Commission Concern for Nauru Hunger Strikers — 2 November 2012

The Sydney Morning Herald — Asylum Seekers on Hunger Strike — 2 November 2012

The Sydney Morning Herald — ‘Unhappy’ Asylum Seekers on Hunger Strike — 2 November 2012

Fraser Coast Chronicle — Asylum Seekers Voluntarily Leave Nauru to Go Home — 1 November 2012

Green Left — Refugees Tell Gillard Nauru Is ‘The Worst Condition of Our Lives’ — 1 November 2012

Juju Man sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

LONDON, United Kingdom – On Monday, a British court sentenced Osezua Osolase to 20 years in prison for smuggling three Nigerian orphans into the United Kingdom to sell as sex slaves.

Osezua Osolase (in baseball cap) with young victims under surveillance at Stansted Airport. (Photo courtesy of The Daily Mail)

Osolase was apprehended by UK Border Agency officials at Stansted Airport where he was caught travelling with the three girls aged 14, 16 and 17.

Depicted by the local press as a “British linchpin of a multi-million pound global child sex trafficking ring”, Osolase reportedly used West African “Juju” witchcraft rituals to instill fear in the children and to force their obedience and silence.

Osolase, who worked at a trendy London fashion shop, found his victims begging on the streets of Nigeria and promised to take them to the UK to get an education.

“Osolase led these girls to believe a better life awaited them in the UK,” said Insp Eddie Fox from Kent and Essex Serious Crime Inspectorate. “The mental and physical scars inflicted by Osolase will remain with the victims for the rest of their lives. Juju is a well established belief but Osolase corrupted it in a bid to gain control and bend the wills of his victims,” Fox added.

The young victims were sexually abused and subjected to voodoo-style rituals once in the clutches of the  trafficking ring. The girls were told they would die or never bear children if they tried to escape or revealed what had happened to them.

Osolase’s home was a secret staging post for vulnerable teenage orphans as they were smuggled from Africa to several European countries.

The authorities discovered evidence that Osolese had smuggled at least 28 other victims in and out of Britain over a 14-month period, earning him up to £1.5million.

The actual figures, however, could be greater as one girl overheard Osolese boasting that he had been operating for 15 years while he tried to sell her for £60,000.

Investigators said the case was difficult to bring to court because human trafficking victims often feared retribution. Their experience of dealing with the authorities in their home country often left them lacking confidence in the justice system. British officials said the girls were courageous in giving evidence.

During the six-week trial, Osolase, nicknamed “Uncle”, refused to admit trafficking the teenagers, forcing them to relive the crimes in front of a jury.

Sentencing him to 20 years imprisonment, judge Adele Williams described Osolase as a man who was “devoid of conscience, devoid of compassion…”.

Osolese showed no emotion as the sentence was passed.

She said Osolase treated the girls as objects to be sold as sex slaves. The fact that he raped one girl knowing he had HIV was a “seriously aggravating” feature, she said.

Osolase also faces the possibility of deportation as the prosecution has recommended that he be deported once he has served his sentence.

 

For further information, please see:

 BBC News – Osezua Osolase jailed for ‘juju’ rituals trafficker – 29 October 2012

The Guardian – Sex trafficker jailed for smuggling Nigerian orphans into Britain – 29 October 2012

The Sun – Evil ‘Juju magic’ people smuggler jailed for 20 years – 29 October 2012

BBC News – Osezua Osolase used witchcraft on trafficked girls – 26 October 2012

The Daily Mail – ‘Evil’ Nigerian people smuggler used witchcraft to terrify girls into sex slavery – 26 October 2012

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya—The situation in Kisumu County has grown progressively more dangerous. The County stands to lose billions of shillings worth of investments if this insecurity continues. The latest riots began after a businessman was murdered in Kisumu.

Kisumu Traders Fear Riots Will Negatively Impact Investors. (Photo Courtesy of Business Daily)

The businessman, Phanuel Marwa, who is the head of Visho Security, a local security agency, was hacked to death by a number of thugs along the Kisumu Kakamega road at the Mamboleo junction just meters from a police roadblock. The thugs are believed to have trailed Marwa and his driver from his home in Mamboleo as he made his way to his security firm near the Uzima University.

His death comes only two days after the violent death of a local politician. Shem Onyango Kwega, a local candidate for parliament, was also shot by local thugs on Monday morning. His murder sparked two days of riots in which four people died as the residents protesting the insecurity clashed with Kenyan police.

Kwega’s attackers shot him in the head. He was rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Police also said that Kwega’s wife was critically injured in the attack and is now fighting for her life in the Kisumu hospital.

A senior police officer noted that three people “died from either burning or suffocation after tear gas was lobbed into a hardware shop they were hiding in.”

A police officer in a nearby province, Joseph Oli Tito, confirmed these deaths but claimed that the police were not involved in the killings. He stated, “three people inside a workshop died in a fire…There are rumors that police officers lobbed tear gas into the workshop which caused the fire, but we are disputing that and we are suspecting an electric fault.”

A Kenyan government official spoke to this question saying that “the Government of Kenya does not condone extrajudicial killings and there is no policy sanctioning such killings…The assertion that police killings are widespread, opportunistic, reckless or personal is not supported by facts.”

The region has been experiencing a wave of this kind of criminal activity after the rise of two rival gangs called China Squad and American Marines. Competition and rights between these two gangs brought business in Kisumu to a halt last month as the thugs went on a rampage destroying houses, businesses and vehicles.

 

For further information, please see:

Press TV – Violent Protests Hit Kenya After Murder of Local Politician – 1 November 2012

All Africa – Businessman Murdered in Kisumu – 31 October 2012

Business Daily – Kisumu Traders Fear Riots Over Insecurity Will Put Off Investors – 30 October 2012

The Star – Kenya’s Record on Human Rights is Not Appealing – 29 October 2012

Qatar’s Most Recent Media law Draft Restricts Free Speech

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DOHA, Qatar – Compared to its neighbors in the Middle East, Qatar considers itself to be “a center for media freedom.” Nevertheless, the last draft of Qatar’s media law, which was approved by the Shura Council in June 2012, does not meet international standards for freedom of expression, as it does not permit the right to criticize rulers or government policies. In response to this law, Human Rights Watch has censured Qatar.

 

The new media law has already been approved by Qatar’s legislature and awaits ratification from Sheikh Hamad, seen above. (Photo Courtesy of Hamsayeh)

The new draft would signify the first change to Qatar’s media laws since ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, created the Doha Center for Media Freedom. The Doha Center has been promoting press freedom and quality journalism in the country since its inception in 2008. This desire to protect the press is clear, as the new law abolishes criminal penalties for media law violations. The same act, however, in article 53 also prohibits the transmission of any information that would “abuse the regime or offend the ruling family or cause serious harm to the national or higher interests of the state” or “throw relations between the state and the Arab and friendly states into confusion.”

If a person were to be sanctioned under the article 53 provision, one could face some pretty harsh penalties. A violation of the act faces a fine of up to 1 million Qatari Riyals ($275,000). Additionally, the media act serves as a cognate to article 134 of Qatar’s penal code, which makes criticism of the emir illegal. That code carries with it a five-year prison sentence.

Qatar’s constitution guarantees the freedom of expression and opinion. The country is also bound by article 32 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which grants the right to free expression. Despite these pledges, Qatar has refused to ratify the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which under article 19 stipulates that the criticism of a public figure does not warrant penalties. Allowing criticism of public officials is crucial to permitting debate about governance which is essential to true freedom of expression.

“’Qatar’s commitment to freedom of expression is only as good as its laws, which in this case do not meet the international standards it professes to support,’ said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. ‘Instead of supporting press freedom, this draft media law is a commitment to censorship.’”

While the Shura Council, Qatar’s legislative body, has already approved the law, it must still be ratified by Sheikh Hamad before it becomes official.

For further information, please see:

Alunaniya – Qatar: new Draft on Media law Restricts Exercise of Free Speech – 31 October 2012

Hamsayeh – Human Rights Watch Slams Hamad, Raps Qatar’s Media law – 31 October 2012

Guardian – Qatari Sheikh Must not Approve Media law, Says Human Rights Group – 30 October 2012

Human Rights Watch – Qatar: Revise Draft Media Law to Allow Criticism of Rulers – 30 October 2012

Bolivian Legislation Plans To Regulate Social Media

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SUCRE, Bolivia – The Bolivian government may be intending to not only regulate Social Media but has levied vague threats against critics of President Evo Morales’ regime. Last week Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera claimed to have been stalking people online and “Writing down the first and last names of the people who insult him [President Morales] on Facebook and Twitter.”

President Evo Morales Faces Social Media Insults. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

Threats aside lawmakers from the Socialism Party hope to push a proposed law regulating social media through the country’s congress and impose sanctions upon those who insult the President.

Backers of the proposed bill claim that constructive criticism is fine, but claim they are seeing something much more sinister. That people become heated and get personal beyond the realms of respect, and that hatred is what the new law will regulate on social media.  Congressmen Franklin Garvizu believes that this ‘criticism’ they are seeing online is “A case of systematically using communications mechanisms to plant hatred against the government, to harm the image of our president.” The threat is not necessarily imagined. The Arab Spring that began in late 2010 that toppled leaders in the Middle East was pushed through social media services like Twitter. They used social media to coordinate and spread information.

Opposition to Bolivia believes this to be an authoritarian aim to censor the people and social networks. The fact that people believe that the government is monitoring information on digital websites and networks has possibly exasperated the situation as people have taken to those same social networking sites to express their criticism. While many of these insults are lowered to debasing the President through racial slurs, the belief that regulating the speech of critics could be used to black out any criticism of the government. In many parts of the world, the thought of regulating free speech on social media would be seen as a breach of human rights.

There are currently 10 million Bolivian residents, 8.7 of which have cell phones with the ability to view Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, with approximately 1.7 million Facebook users. Critics of the Socialism Parties legislative act believe that the government should use this as a way to interact and promote the government rather than censor it. Eduardo Rojas, president of Bolivia’s Redes Foundation expiated, “You can defend, promote and spread human rights, and on the other hand complaints.”  And he continued “It is a device that can be used to deepen democracy,” rather than destroy it.

For further information, please see:

CNN – Bolivia Weighs Regulating Social Media – 26 October 2012

Everything PR – Bolivia Proposes Law Regulating Social Media – 26 October 2012

Texcoco Mass Media – Bolivia Warns Sanctions On Insults To Evo – 24 October 2012

Universo – Bolivian Government Worried About Insulting Evo Morales On Facebook – 24 October 2012