Human Rights Watch publishes Report over Torture in Gaza

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

GAZA STRIP — “Abusive System: Criminal Justice in Gaza,” A Human Rights Watch (HRW) Report released on Wednesday, said that Hamas has routinely subjected Palestinian detainees to torture and abuse.  The report says that since 2007, Hamas has executed at least three men over “confessions” obtained through torture.  HRW now calls for an immediate moratorium on capital punishment in the Gaza Strip, and also for Hamas to cease the prosecution of civilians in military courts.

 

The report by Human Rights Watch says that civilians have been tried in military courts. (Photo Courtesy of Human Rights Watch)

HRW’s report describes extensive violations by Hamas security services, including warrantless arrests, failure to promptly provide families of detainees information of their whereabouts, and also accounts of torture. HRW also reported about human rights violations within Hamas’ court system, such as the denying detainees access to a lawyer.  HRW also discovered instances of detainees being deprived of their due process through warrantless arrests and abusive interrogations.

The Independent Commission for Human Rights, a non partisan Palestinian rights group, says it received 147 complaints of torture by the Internal Security Agency, the drugs unit of the civil police force in Gaza, and also by police detectives.

In a statement accompanying the report, Joe Stork, the deputy Middle East director of HRW, said that Gaza’s “ [c]riminal justice system reeks of injustice, routinely violates detainee’s rights, and grants impunity to abusive security services.”

The report charges Hamas for failing to prosecute any abusive security officials, and have essentially granted Internal Security service officials impunity from prosecution in particular.

Journalists also criticized Hamas for its reporting restrictions.  A Palestinian press freedom group recanted a scene that occurred last Sunday, where they were warned of restrictions and threatened journalists with abuse for attempting to cover a rare demonstration, which criticized Hamas officials for their failure to put out a fire that killed a three year old boy.  “We often receive threats when we cover events.  I’m calling on Palestinian authorities to provide a safe working environment for journalists,” journalist Husein Jamal said.

In a response to a claim made by HRW regarding their lack of access to detention centers, the Ministry of Interior in Gaza said in a statement, “[w]e assure you that our detention centers are open for human rights centers.”  The Ministry of Interior also accused HRW of being politically biased, and also for failing to address human rights violations in the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Hamas officials claim to have disciplined hundreds of security service members for abuses since 2007, yet it has yet to publish the details about those who have been punished.

For further information, please see:

Bikya Masr — Gaza Sees Continued Arbitrary Arrests, Torture, Unfair Trials — 3 October 2012

The Guardian — Hamas Accused of Routine Torture of Detainees in Gaza Strip — 3 October 2012

Human Rights Watch — Gaza: Arbitrary Arrests, Torture, Unfair Trials — 3 October 2012

Ma’an News Agency — Hamas Ministry Rejects Torture Allegations — 3 October 2012

Ma’an News Agency — HRW: Hamas Should Urgently Reform Justice System — 3 October 2012

New York Times — Human Rights Watch Report Critical of Hamas Justice System in Gaza — 3 October 2012

Second Human Rights Attorney Killed in Honduras in As Many Days

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Unknown gunmen killed a second human rights lawyer in as many days last week, according to a progressive blog on human rights abuses.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called on Honduras to take urgent action to stop crimes lawyers and journalists. (Photo Courtesy of The United Nations News Centre)

World War 4 Report reported that gunmen shot and killed Eduardo Manuel Diaz Mazariegos, who was a Honduran Public Ministry prosecutor in the country’s southern department of Choluteca.  The blog reported Mazariegos’s background included criminal and human rights cases.

Mazariegos’s killing on Sept. 24 came two days after another lawyer was killed at a wedding near the capital of Tegucigalpa.  Antonio Trejo Cabrera, whom the BBC described as “a prominent lawyer who represented peasants in disputes with large land owners,” was shot and killed after he stepped outside the church to answer a phone call.

“We asked the police and the prosecutor’s office for protection, and they never responded,” said Enrique Flores Lanza of the Honduran Bar Association.

Cabrera’s family said he had asked for government protection because of safety concerns, including various threats.

“Nobody cared,” his brother, Rigoberto, told the Associated Press.

Cabrera had said before his death that if he were killed, billionaire Miguel Facusse—one of Honduras’s richest men—would be responsible, according to the AP.  Facusse owns Dinant Corporation, one of the landowners in disputes with peasant cooperatives represented by Cabrera.

“Even though we had differences with [Cabrera], we mourn his death,” said Dinant Executive Director Roger Pineda, who denied that Facusse was behind Cabrera’s death.

The AP also reported that the U.S. Embassy was helping Honduran investigators piece together what happened.  According to an anonymous source, the help included “a U.S. law enforcement advisor already embedded with a specially vetted unit of Honduran police.”

The two murders brought the total number of prosecutors killed since 1994 to seven, according to World War 4 Report.  But statistics from the Honduran Bar Association showed 74 lawyers have been killed in a little more than the past three years, with little response from authorities.

United Nations special rapporteurs called the attacks on human rights defenders “totally unacceptable.”

“It is imperative that the government establishes a national protection program for human rights defenders as soon as possible,” said UN Special Rapporteur Margaret Sekaggya, who met with Cabrera during a visit to Honduras in February.  Sekaggya said Cabrera, who was active in the media denouncing abuses by landowners and politicians, repeatedly received death threats because of his work.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has called on Honduras to combat impunity for crimes against lawyers and journalists, which she said is thriving in a “menacing climate of insecurity and violence in Honduras.”

“It is essential that the people who commit these crimes are brought to justice,” she said.  “Failure to do so will only exacerbate what is already a dire situation.”

For further information, please see:

United Nations News Centre — UN Experts Voice Shock at Killing of Prominent Rights Defender in Honduras — 1 October 2012

World War 4 Report — Honduras: Second Human Rights Attorney Murdered — 1 October 2012

United Nations News Centre — Honduras: UN Official Urges Action to Tackle Chronic Insecurity for Lawyers, Journalists — 26 September 2012

The Washington Post — US Aiding Honduran Authorities in Assassination of Prominent Human Rights Lawyer — 24 September 2012

BBC News — Antonio Trejo, Honduras Rights Lawyer, Killed at Wedding — 23 September 2012

Gay Pride Parade Banned in Serbia

By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BELGRADE, Serbia – Citing security concerns and called upon to do so by Patriarch Irinej, head of Serbia’s Orthodox Christian Church, Serbia’s Interior Ministry has banned the Belgrade Gay Pride Parade planned for Saturday to cap off Pride Week.

Police clash with anti-gay protestors during the Belgrade Gay Pride Parade in 2010. (Photo Courtesy of Radio Free Europe)

Along with the parade, all other public events scheduled for Saturday have been banned in order to preserve the peace and security of citizens, according to the government.

“Conflicts and victims are the last thing Serbia needs at the moment.  All conditions to ban public meetings scheduled for October 6 are in place, including the rally which is part of the so-called Pride Parade, as well as all rallies against the parade,” said Ivica Dacic, the Serbian Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

Tensions were heightened on Wednesday afternoon, as 2,000 police in riot gear were deployed to the Center for Cultural Decontamination where a controversial exhibit opened: “Ecce Homo.” the same evening.  The art exhibit received threats from right-wing groups, angry at the exhibit’s portrayal of Jesus Christ.

Serbia has a strong orthodox Christian tradition.  Acceptance of homosexuality has been slow, and many gay rights events have ended in violence.

Patriarch Irinej, called Saturday’s planed parade a “parade of shame” that would cast a “moral shadow” on Serbia.  He characterized it as a threat to Serbia’s centuries-old Christian culture and the model of the heterosexual family as the foundation of humankind.

The LGBT community in Serbia has attempted pride rallies in the past, but has been met with violence, when the rallies were not banned outright.  In 2001, a small gathering was broken up by ultranationalists.  In 2009, gay activists wanted to hold a pride parade, but authorities canceled at the last minute due to safety concerns.

In October 2010, the Pride Parade went forward.  5,000 police in riot gear were deployed to protect a fraction of as many marchers.  They were met with violent right-wing, anti-gay protestors.  About 100 police were injured; dozens of right-wing protestors were arrested.  There was also extensive property damage across the capital Belgrade.

Officials banned the Pride Parade last year, fearing a repeat of violence.

There is concern that the government should be doing more, or is even obstructing reform.  “The state isn’t doing enough to educate, to take a stand,” Aleksandar Skundric, a 28-year-old gay Belgrade native says.  “A lot of politicians said they were eager to take the ‘blame’ for canceling the [2011] pride parade.”

Part of Serbia’s application for European Union membership is a pledge to respect human rights.  However, there is concern by activists that the government, headed by former nationalists, has little interest in protecting the LGBT community.

Goran Miletić, program director of the Civil Rights Defenders and an organizer of the Pride Parade, has condemned the government’s failure to carry out the parade.  “If last year [the decision to ban the pride] represented the capitulation of the state, today it shows an open coalition [of the state] with hooligans because the authorities have fully adopted the arguments of the extremist organizations, as well as their demands,” Miletic said.

Before the parade ban was announced, Miletić had said that the LGBT community “will not just sit” this year, and planned to take certain steps if the parade was banned.

For more information, please see:

B92 – “All Eyes on Serbia Ahead of Gay Pride Parade” –3 October 2012

B92 – Serbian Authorities Decide to Ban Gay Parade – 3 October 2012

Balkan Insight – Serbia Bans Gay Pride Amid Security Concerns – 3 October 2012

Global Post – Serbia Bans Gay Pride Parade – 3 October 2012

The Independent – Gay Pride March Banned in Serbi – 3 October 2012

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty – Belgrade Braces Itself for Gay-Pride Parade – 3 October 2012

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty – Serbian Officials Ban Gay-Pride Parade – 3 October 2012

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty – Serbia Bans Gay Parade, Other Gatherings – 20 September 2011

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty – In Serbia, Gay Activists Prepare For the Worst – 10 October 2010

Maldives’ Ex-President Boycotts Court Hearing

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MALÉ, Maldives – On Monday, Maldives’ ex-president, Mohamed Nasheed, did not attend his court hearing in Malé.  Mr. Nasheed faces charges of abuse of power for unlawfully ordering for the arrest of Maldives’ chief criminal court judge, Abdullah Mohamed.

Mr. Nasheed speaks to the media. (Photo Courtesy of Radio Australia)

Last week, the Hulhumale Magistrate Court directed the ex-president to appear before it Monday but also, to not leave Malé without its permission.

In addition to his failure to appear in court, Mr. Nasheed did not seek the court’s approval when he left the capital to participate in election campaigning.

According to Associated Press, Mr. Nasheed, who served as Maldives’ first democratically elected president, believes that he was “forced from office in a coup d’etat.”

“The coup has not yet been completed,” Mr. Nasheed informed the AFP news agency after his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) held a protest in Malé last Friday to criticize the charges against him.

Furthermore, according to BBC, the ex-president denies the charges against him and believes that the trial is politically driven.  To Mr. Nasheed, the court’s purpose in restricting his travels was to prevent him from campaigning in the upcoming elections.

“Once they started to set up a fabricated court, bring in judges who are not judges of that court, and the whole structure of it is so… politically motivated, it is very obvious it is not meant to serve justice,” Mr. Nasheed shared.

In any event, if Mr. Nasheed is convicted, he may face up to three years in jail or banishment to a remote islet in the archipelago.  Furthermore, it may bar him from disputing future presidential polls.

“People will not allow the regime to steal the next election. A free and fair election is our over-arching goal,” said Mr. Nasheed.

After he either resigned or was forcibly moved by the Maldives police, Mr. Nasheed’s deputy, Mohamed Waheed, replaced him as president.

According to the Associated Press, the new president’s spokesman, Abbas Riza, denied Mr. Nasheed’s allegations against the court and said that the court order was “the usual practice, according to the country’s law.”

For more information, please see:

Aljazeera – Maldives ex-president to face trial – 01 October 2012

Associated Press – Maldives’ ex-president fails to show in court – 01 October 2012

BBC – Maldives ex- President Mohamed Nasheed defies court – 01 October 2012

Boston News – Maldives court orders police to bring ex-president – 01 October 2012

 

 

 

 

 

Cambodian Activist Gets 20 Years for Allegedly Inciting Rebellion

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Cambodian land rights activist and journalist, Mam Sonando, was sentenced to a 20 year jail term by the Phnom Penh court for allegedly inciting a mass rebellion against the central government.

 

Sonando being hauled away by police. (Photo Courtesy of The Phnom Penh Post)

A well-known critic of the current Cambodian prime minister and political administration, the 71 year old Sonando was accused of urging villagers in the eastern Kratie province to take up arms as part of a greater coup.  Hun Sen, the Cambodian prime minister, believes that Sonando was attempting to secede and establish his own separatist state with the rebelling villagers.

Sonando and his supporters have denied all allegations, and he has maintained his plea of not guilty despite being handed a guilty verdict by the panel of three judges in the Phnom Penh court.  The insistence by the central government of the existence of an actual rebellion is alleged to be mere puffery.  It is believed, by Sonando and his supporters, to be a political move to silence critics and keep the current abuses of the administration quiet.

The current administration has been known to forcibly evict Cambodian citizens from their land.  The central government’s alleged aim is to usurp private citizens’ lands and utilize it for agricultural purposes.  Industries, such as rubber, sugar, and mineral exportation, has exploded in recent years.  Cambodia has enjoyed quite an economic boom which has led to the current land disputes and possible abuses in basic land rights of private citizens.

From a special report by the U.N. Human Rights Council, Cambodia’s population is growing increasingly “desperate and unhappy” over the abuses by their government.  The government has been believed to be using these land grabs as a tool of repression.  A leading environmental campaigner and journalist, who had been reporting on issues such as the current land disputes, was found dead in the trunk of a car.

Last May, clashes between protestors and the central government’s armed forces over land disputes lead to the death of a 14 year old girl in Kratie.  Sonando has, now, been found guilty of assisting these villagers and inciting rebellion among their ranks.  His supporter’s have, however, believed that his recently found guilt and impending incarceration is a victory.  They now have possible direct evidence of abuses by the government, such as prosecuting baseless claims against government critics and activists.

The EU has been under immense pressure to freeze tariff free exports from Cambodia.  The tariff free exportation has, perhaps, contributed to the recent economic boom which has tempted the central government to forcibly and illegally steal land from private citizens.  The EU has also issued a statement doubting the legitimacy of the Cambodian courts.

 

For further information, please see:

BBC – Cambodia jails journalist Mam Sonando over ‘plot’ – 1 October 2012

International Business Times – Myanmar Revisited? Cambodian Pro-Democracy Activist Jailed For 20 years – 1 October 2012

Reuters – Cambodia rights activist jailed 20 years on disputed conviction – 1 October 2012

The Phnom Penh Post – Activist Mam Sonando gets 20 years – 1 October 2012