Update: Extra Crispy Fried Chicken in Lebanon as Protests Continue

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Another day has passed, and chaos ensues in the Middle East as demonstrators continue to violently protest America. These protests are in reaction to an anti-Mohammed film, The Innocence of Muslims, made by one fairly unknown American filmmaker.

Tripoli branches of American restaurants chains Hardee’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken were set on fire. (Photo Courtesy of the Guardian)

Demonstrations have taken place all over the Middle East and Northern Africa. So far protesters have congregated in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Egpyt, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Pakistan, Kashmir, Bangladesh, and Jakarta.

Many of these demonstrations have been violent and have involved the storming of U.S. embassies in these countries. There have been casualties on both sides of this conflict. On Tuesday in Libya four Americans were killed at the U.S. Embassy including Ambassador Stevens. In many of these countries, to keep protesters from rioting the embassies, police have used tear gas, guns, and water cannons when necessary. On Friday, three protesters were reported dead outside of Tunis, another was killed in Tripoli, and another in Khartoum. Many others have been injured.

Protesters run from tear gas fired at them during a demonstration in front of the embassy in Tunis. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Just outside the embassy in Tunis, protesters chanted, “Obama, Obama, we are all Osamas.”

While nearly all of the Middle East is protesting this anti-Mohammed film, not every country has turned to violence. Religious leaders in Afghanistan have urged their people to protest, but peacefully. As they assembled in Jalalabad they burned an effigy of Obama and a U.S. flag but have made no attempts to riot on any embassy. Two U.S. marines were killed at Camp Bastion in south Helmand but that involved a complex Taliban attack unrelated to demonstrations against the film.

For further information, please see:

Guardian – Middle East Live – 14 September 2012

Reuters – Middle East and North Africa Live – 14 September 2012

Impunity Watch – YouTube Video Fuels Islamic Unrest Across the Middle East – 13 September 2012

Death Toll Rises in Kenyan Ethnic Conflict

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – 38 people, including 16 men, 5 children and 9 police officers died on Monday due to renewed ethnic clashes in the southeastern village of Kilelengwani.

Orma villagers displaced by ethnic clashes.
(Photo courtesy of AFP, Carl de Souza)

Members from the Pokomo and Orma tribes have been attacking each other since last month in what is reportedly Kenya’s worst tribal conflict in years. Tribe members from both sides, armed with guns, spears, bows and arrows, would attack each other’s villages, burn homes and kill people. The conflict has now claimed approximately 116 people and 167 houses.

The two tribes have a long history of violence. The dispute between them has mainly been about the use of land and water in the Tana River delta, an ecologically rich area in the country. Cattle-grazing rights have also been a prevailing issue of contention between the Pokomo, a settled farming community, and the Orma, a semi-nomadic cattle-herding tribe.

What is remarkable about the current wave of hostilities between the Pokomo and the Orma is that the fighting seemed to have intensified. Phyllis Muema, executive director of the Kenya Community Support Centre observed that an influx of weapons from neighbouring Somalia has exacerbated the conflict. “This is actually a massacre. The level of killing shows very clearly that this is not just a resource-based conflict… The sophistication of the arms they are using indicates that they have acquired them, we suspect, from neighbouring Somalia,” says Muema.

Local people, meanwhile, attribute the latest violence to politics. “We were born into the conflict between Pokomos and Ormas,” Kadze Kazungu, a Pokomo, told reporters. “We have fought over land and water before. But whenever that occurs, elders from both tribes always find a way of resolving the issue. This time it is not about land. It is politics. Bad politics,” he added.

Human rights groups have received reports that politicians in the area have been involved in inciting violence as a strategy to win seats in the March 2013 election. Political parties would traditionally pit ethnic groups against each other to draw support from a specific tribe.

Next year’s election is said to have higher stakes than previous ones. Kenyans, for the first time, will be able to vote for county governors and senators making local votes more significant than before.

However, despite reports to authorities on the suspected involvement of politicians, not much has been done by the police. Robert Ndege, a political risk consultant at Africapractice, described their response as “pathetic”. “If [the security forces] can’t contain one flashpoint, what happens if this is repeated across the country,” he asked.

A dusk-to-dawn curfew has been in place since Monday. Houses continue to be raided and people killed, notwithstanding.

 

For further information, please see:

AFP – Militia behind Kenya’s Tana River killings, say villagers – 14 September 2012

The Guardian – Deadly clashes in Kenya fuel fears of election violence – 13 September 2012

Al Jazeera – Dozens killed in Kenya ethnic clashes – 10 September 2012

BBC – Kenya Tana River renewed ethnic clashes kill 30 – 10 September 2012

Support for Euthanasia Grows After High Court Dismisses Assisted Suicide Case

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A new poll this week showed increasing support for legalizing euthanasia after the country’s High Court dismissed charges against a man accused of helping his wife commit suicide.

Support for legalizing euthanasia in New Zealand grows after the country’s High Court dismissed without conviction the case of Evans Mott (right), who was charged with assisting his wife’s (left) suicide after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. (Photo Courtesy of The New Zealand Herald)

The poll, released on Friday, showed 63 percent of respondents supported a change in the law, compared to 12 percent who were opposed.  The poll’s margin of error was roughly two percent.

“Why should the law prevent you from [assisting in a loved one’s suicide], or prevent someone who loves you to assist you from doing that,” said Member of Parliament Maryan Street, who has introduced a bill that would legalize euthanasia.

Street’s “Right to Life” bill would allow people 18-years-old or older to be assisted in their own death if certain conditions were met.   At least two doctors, in consultation with the person’s family, would have to determine that the person is mentally competent.  The person then would have to wait a one-week “stand down” period before they would be allowed to proceed.  The bill has yet to be taken up for consideration.

The renewed interest in changing New Zealand’s euthanasia laws came after the High Court dismissed the case of Evans Mott.  The Auckland man was charged with helping his wife, Rosie, commit suicide late last year after her four-year battle with an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis.  Mott, 61, had pleaded guilty earlier this year.

“It’s a miracle [and] it’s so good that New Zealand had the vision to tell right from wrong,” Mott told TVNZ after the justices discharged him without conviction.  “If you know someone who’s got a hideous disease that’s degenerative, you’re hardly going to say wait until you’re a basket case.”

In discharging Mott’s case, High Court Justice Patricia Courtney said his was vastly different from other cases and the consequences of conviction would outweigh the gravity of what he had done.

“You acted out of love, and your motivation was to support your wife in the decision she made,” Justice Courtney said in court, adding that she wished Mott luck.  She also pointed to increasing public support for a change in the law.

The court’s decision marked a distinct change in precedent.  Just last November, an Auckland man was sentenced to five months of home detention for assisting the suicide of his terminally ill mother.

Opponents were quick to call the Mott outcome “a dangerous precedent” for future cases.

“[This] has opened the door for others to assist in suicide and not suffer any consequences,” said Colleen Bayer of the Family Life New Zealand lobby group.  “This decision also flies in the face of New Zealanders’ concern over the high suicide rate in our country.”

For further information, please see:

The New Zealand Herald — Courts Mirror Mood on Euthanasia MP — 15 September 2012

Radio New Zealand News — Court Decision Fuels Euthanasia Debate — 15 September 2012

The New Zealand Herald — Euthanasia Debate: Wife’s Death Video — 14 September 2012

Stuff — Support Grows for Euthanasia — 14 September 2012

TVNZ — Man Discharged over Wife’s Suicide Can Now Move On — 13 September 2012

British Producer Arrested for Gay Play in Uganda

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda – British producer, David Cecil, is facing at least two years of imprisonment in Uganda for staging a play that dealt with homosexuality.

David Cecil detained in a court cell in Kampala the Ugandan Capital. (Photo courtesy of The Telegraph/Sandra Wandera/AP)

“The River and the Mountain” ran from August 17 to 23 in a small cultural center in Kampala managed by Cecil and his girlfriend. The play was initially scheduled to be held in the Uganda National Theater, but was transferred to a different venue out of fear of a police raid.

“The River and The Mountain” by British playwright Beau Hopkins, tells the story of Samson, a gay Ugandan businessman, who faces violent reactions from his family and colleagues after he comes out at a party following a promotion. His mother contracts a Christian pastor and a witch doctor to try to “cure” her son. Samson is eventually killed by his colleagues.

The play was intended to further dialogue about homosexuality and homosexual acts. Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda and draw condemnation from church pastors and politicians.

Cecil was charged for ignoring an advance warning from the Uganda Media Council that the play was not to be staged until they obtained official clearance. The Media Council issued the warning on August 16, the day before the play premiered. On August 29, after the shows had ended, the Media Council ruled that the play was not to be staged because parts of the production “implicitly promote homosexual acts” which “are contrary to the laws, cultural norms and values of Uganda”.

Cecil said he, along with British playwright Beau Hopkins, Ugandan director Angella Emurwon and the Ugandan actors, decided to go ahead with the staging because the Media Council’s warning letter “in no way” made reference to any potential legal consequences. “Even my Ugandan lawyer read the letter and said: ‘It does not clearly constitute a legal order,'” Cecil explained.

However, Cecil was contacted by the police and subsequently charged for disobeying an order from the Media Council – a public authority in Uganda. The law enforcers asked Cecil, who has been living in Uganda for three years, to surrender his passport. A police bond was also issued for him.

The Ugandan ethics minister Simon Lokodo condemned the play. Lokodo explained, “This play is justifying the promotion of homosexuality in Uganda, and Uganda does not accommodate homosexual causes. We will put pressure on anyone saying that this abomination [homosexuality] is acceptable,”

As a conservative, dominantly Christian society, many Ugandans regard homosexuality as contrary to both African traditions and their faith. Homosexuals are often harassed and even killed in the country.

The Ugandan parliament is due to debate a 2009 bill that threatens the death penalty for what was termed “aggravated homosexuality”.

 

For further information, please see:

The Telegraph – British Theatre Producer Jailed for Putting on Gay Play in Uganda – 13 September 2012

BBC News – Uganda Charges British Producer David Cecil over Gay Play – 13 September 2012

The Huffington Post – Producer of Play about Gays Faces Jail in Uganda – 12 September 2012

The Observers – ‘I Play a Gay Man in Uganda, where Homosexuality is illegal’ – 11 September 2012

Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Producer of Uganda’s First Gay Play Could be Jailed – 8 September 2012

International Business Times – Producer of Pro-Gay Play Arrested in Uganda; Faces Two Years in Jail – 7 September 2012

 

UN-Backed Tribunal Deems Khmer Rouge’s ‘First Lady’ Unfit for Trial

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Yesterday, Cambodia’s UN-backed tribunal, responsible for prosecuting the members of the Khmer Rouge for crimes against humanity, released a statement that 80-year-old leng Thirith, the regime’s “first lady,” was unfit to stand trial.

leng Thirith before the ECCC. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

“There is not prospect that the accused can be tried in the foreseeable future,” the tribunal stated.

Furthermore, Neth Pheaktra, a spokesman for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC), said that leng Thirith would be released today if prosecutors did not appeal the court’s decision.

According to Reuters, under the Khmer Rouge’s rule from 1975 to 1979, approximately 1.7 to 2.2 million people, nearly a quarter of the population, died from execution, torture, disease, and/or starvation as a part of the regime’s attempt to create a peasant utopia.

leng Thirith, Khmer Rouge’s highest-ranking woman, acted as its minister of social affairs, and the tribunal accused her of participation in the “planning, direction, co-coordination and order of widespread purges.”  Leng Thirith was formerly charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, homicide, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, torture, and religious persecution.

However, according to Al jazeera, leng Thirith responded that the charges against her were “100 per cent false” and that she always worked for the benefit of the people.

According to CNN, in November of last year, proceedings against leng Thirith stopped after the ECCC decided that she suffered from dementia.

After pursuing additional medical assessments, the tribunal issued yesterday’s statement confirming that leng Thirith is suffering from a “progressive, degenerative illness (likely Alzheimer’s disease) and remains unfit to stand trial.”

The tribunal further confirmed that “all treatment options have [] been exhausted and that the accused’s cognitive impairment is likely irreversible.”  The court’s conclusion disappointed many of the regime’s surviving victims.

“I cannot oppose the court, but I am not happy with its decision,” shared Bou Meng, one of few Cambodians to survive incarceration in Phnom Penh’s Tuol Slen jail (S-21), with Agence France-Presse.  “The decision is mocking the souls of the dead, including my wife and children,” continued Mr. Meng whose wife and children never escapted S-21 alive.

The court has convicted S-21’s prison chief, Kaing Guek Eav, who oversaw the deaths of approximately 14,000 people.  The tribunal sentenced Kaing Guek Eav to 35 years in prison but he may serve only 19 years.

However, Ieng Sary, the Khmer Rouge’s former foreign minister, Nuon Chea, also known as Bother No. 2, and the regime’s former head of state, Khieu Samphan, are still on trial.  Moreover, prosecutors claimed that there is adequate evidence to charge a number other former members.

For further information, please see:

Al jazeera – Cambodia to free Khmer Rouge ‘first law’ – 13 Sept. 2012

CNN – ‘First lady’ of Khmer Rouge rules unfit for genocide trial – 13 Sept. 2012

Independent – ‘First lady’ of Khmer Rouge is judged ‘unfit to stand trial’ – 13 Sept. 2012

Reuters – ‘First lady’ of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge mentally unfit, to be freed – 13 Sept. 2012