UN Announces Release of List of Syrian War Crimes Suspects

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria — Human rights complaints have increased in Syria, as United Nations human rights investigators said last Monday in a press conference in Geneva that they have drafted a new secret list of Syrians they suspect of committing war crimes.

UN Inquiry Commission Chief Paulo Pinhero (left) announced the release of a new list of Syrian war crimes suspects last Monday. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera)

“We have good evidence in terms of summary executions, forced disappearance, arbitrary detentions, torture and sexual violence from both sides,” said Paulo Pinhero, head of the investigative panel.  The UN decided not to publicly release the names on its list, because “the commissions follow a lower standard of inquiry as compared to the courts of law,” Pinhero said.

Pinhero also said of the violations that they were “a dramatic escalation, indiscriminate attacks on civilians in the form of air strikes and artillery shelling leveled against residential neighborhoods.”

The report states that the incidents occurred in the northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, and also in the coastal region of Latakia.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that opposition groups must also shoulder the blame for human rights violations.  Even though opposition forces have told HRW that “they have taken measures to curb abuses,” the organization still believes that opposition forces have participated in the acts of torture and unlawful executions.

HRW spoke to a prisoner named “Sameer,” who was captured by the Free Syrian Army in early August, and claims that he was tortured by opposition forces when they beat the soles of his feet with a wooden stick for about two hours until he confessed.

HRW also documented more than a dozen extrajudicial and summary executions by opposition forces, claiming that two FSA fighters informed them of executing four people after the battalion stormed a police station in the town of Haffa, executing two people immediately after capture, and the others after a trial.

While western governments are seeking another condemnation of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, Faysal Khabbaz Hamouia, a representative of the Syrian government, had slammed the report, calling it inaccurate and biased.  Hamouia also claims that the international community is guilty of “stoking the flames of the conflict,” while 17 countries were sending “jihadist terrorists” to fight for the “fragmentation of the Middle East into Islamic emirates.”

Lakhdar Brahimi, the joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, met with Assad in Damascus last Sunday, where he said that the Syrian conflict threatens both the region and the world.  “The crisis is getting worse, and it is a threat to the Syrian people, the region and the world,” said Brahimi.

The UN currently places the death toll in Syria at 20,000.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Widespread Rights Abuses Alleged in Syria — 17 September 2012

Human Rights Watch — Syria: End Opposition Use of Torture, Executions — 17 September 2012

Middle East Online — UN Probe Seeks ‘Appropriate Action’ as Syria Abuses Soar — 17 September 2012

The Telegraph — UN Expands Secret List of War Crimes Suspects — 17 September 2012

Family of Dead Guantanamo Detainee Vows Quest for Answers

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States — The family of a Yemeni citizen found dead nearly two weeks ago at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay said this weekend they want answers.

The parents of Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif doubt their son died from natural causes in his Guantanamo Bay detention cell on Sept. 8. (Photo Courtesy of National Yemen)

Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif, 32, was found unconscious in his cell on Sept. 8.  The military said efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.  Government officials said Latif’s death was due to natural causes, but his family was doubtful.

“He is dead now, but this case will live until the truth is revealed,” said Latif’s father, Farhan Abdul Latif, in an interview with the English-language United Arab Emirates newspaper, The National.  “All along, he was being held illegally.”

U.S. forces captured Latif in January 2002 following the invasion of Afghanistan in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001.  The U.S. government accused Latif was of traveling from Yemen to Afghanistan to attend terrorist training camps.  But Latif said he was traveling to Pakistan for medical care after a car accident, only to be captured with other expatriate Arabs after 9/11.

“Whatever the cause, it was Guantanamo that killed him,” said Latif’s lawyer, Michael Remes, who was scheduled to meet with his client on Tuesday.  Indeed, Latif had been on hunger strikes and made suicide attempts during his decade in prison.

“I prayed to see him before I die [but] my prayer was not accepted,” Latif’s mother told The National.  She described her son as the “most obedient of all my children” who “only wanted good health.  This was his only crime.”

Prosecutors never had proof that Latif was linked to Al Qaeda or the Taliban.  That lack of evidence led a federal judge to order the Obama Administration in 2010 to release Latif to Yemen as soon as possible.  The ruling followed a recommendation by government officials earlier that year—as well as in 2008—that Latif be transferred out of Guantanamo as a low-level threat.

But last October, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that court order.  In a split opinion, the appellate majority held that the government’s uncorroborated intelligence about Latif must be treated as reliable and accurate, like official tax receipts, unless there was “clear evidence to the contrary.”

Latif becomes the ninth detainee to die at Guantanamo since the prison was established after 9/11.  The Pentagon said six have killed themselves, while the other two died of natural causes.

Human rights supporters expressed hope that Latif’s case would bring attention to those being detained indefinitely without trial at Guantanamo.

“It’s time for the Obama administration to make good on its promise to close Guantanamo, and either charge the remaining detainees in civilian court or release them,” said Andrea Prasow of Human Rights Watch.  The nonprofit says only six of the remaining 167 detainees at Guantanamo face active charges.

Meanwhile the family promised it would not to let their son’s death be in vain.

“This case is far from over,” Latif’s father told The National.  “We are holding US President Barack Obama responsible for the killing of my beloved son.”

For further information, please see:

Yemen Times — The Face of Indefinite Detention — 17 September 2012

The National — Questions Linger for Parents of Yemeni Prisoner Who Died in Guantanamo — 16 September, 2012

National Yemen — Yemeni Guantanamo Bay Detainee Found Dead in Cell — 16 September 2012

Salon — Guantanamo Prisoner’s Tragic Letter — 16 September 2012

CNN — Guantanamo Still a Blight on U.S. Record? — 15 September 2012

The New York Times — Death at Guantanamo Bay — 15 September 2012

Russian Activist Harshly Sentenced for Drug Violation

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – In November of 2010, a Russian opposition activist, Taisiya Osipova, was arrested when four grams of heroin were found in her home. Initially, as a result of her crime, Osipova was sentence to ten years in prison. Osipova’s prison sentence sparked immediate outrage because the sentence is twice as long as prosecutors requested.

Osipova sits behind bars in a Russian courtroom. (Photo Courtesy of RFE/RL)

Although Osipova was originally sentenced to 10 years for the drug violation, upon request, her case was reviewed after ex-President, Dmitry Medvedev, categorized Osipova’s ten-year sentence as “too harsh.”

At the review, Osipova continued to protest her innocence. She claimed that the police planted the drugs as revenge because she refused to testify against her husband, Sergei Fomchenkov, a leader of the Other Russia movement. Furthermore, a witness for the defense testified at Osipova’s trial that he saw a police officer put the drugs in her apartment. As a result, a higher court diminished her sentence by two years.

Taisiya Osipova’s unexpected verdict was decided two weeks after the punk band, Pussy Riot, was jailed for two years for their anti-Vladimir Putin performance in Moscow. Osipova’s verdict, as well as the Pussy Riot’s jail sentence, sparked a tremendous amount of criticism as disproportionate.

Eduard Limonov, the leader of the Other Russia party, stated that the Osipova verdict “is not only a political one, its also terrifying revenge”. Additionally, one of Russia’s most prominent opposition figures, Sergei Udaltsov, called the sentence “schizophrenic and monstrous”, and “the triumph of lawlessness and cynicism”.

Many opposition activists have staged regular protests against Osipova’s prosecution, arguing that the charges were the police’s revenge tactic.

In February, Osipova’s name was included on a list of prominent activists described as political prisoners that was presented to then-President, Medvedev. Ultimately, The European Parliament passed a resolution on September 13 condemning Russia’s use of its judiciary for political purposes.

For further information, please see:

RFE/RL — Russian Prosecutor Says Activists’ Sentence Too Harsh – 17 September 2012

The Independent — Activist Taisiya Osipova’s prison sentence is called ‘terrifying revenge’ – 29 August 2012

BBC — Russian activist Taisiya Osipova given long sentence – 28 August 2012

The Huffington Post — Taisiya Osipova Jailed: Wife Of Russian Opposition Sentenced To 8 Years In Prison – 28 August 2012

Factory Fires in Pakistan Kill over 300 Workers

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KARACHI, Pakistan – Factory fires in Pakistan kill over 300 workers and raises questions about substandard worker safety and poor labor regulations.

Woman searches for her missing family member. (Photo Courtesy of The New York Times)

A garment factory in Karachi was set ablaze and caused the death of what officials believed to be 289 workers from a nearby blue collar neighborhood.  A second fire in a shoe factory in Lahore caused the death of roughly 25 workers.  Officials investigating have yet to determine the cause of the fires but faulty wiring is believed to be the predominate cause of the fire in Karachi and  sparks from a back-up generator is believed to be the cause of the fire in Lahore.

Survivors from the Karachi fire say the high death toll was due to a lack of available exists in the factory and barred windows.  All exits, except one, in the factory were locked to prevent workers from leaving their shifts early and the barred windows, factory managers claim, were installed to prevent break ins.

Employees working on the top floors of the Karachi factory immediately began breaking the metal bars on the windows with tools when smoke and fire roared up the stairs.  Some workers managed to break through the bars and jump out of windows multiple stories up and suffered broken bones from the fall.  Those less fortunate scrambled for the single congested exist and were trampled and crush by the wave of panicking workers attempting to escape the flames.  Officials say that the majority of the workers died from smoke inhalation and severe burns.

Survivors of the Lahore fire say that the main exit to their factory was also blocked, trapping unlucky workers inside.  Due to rolling blackouts prevalent in Pakistan, workers at the Lahore factory attempted to start the back-up generator when the electricity went out.  The sparks from the generator may have ignited nearby chemicals used to make shoes.  The factory in Lahore was illegally set up in a residential neighborhood in the city.

Workers’ rights in Pakistan are guaranteed in their constitution.  The Hazardous Occupation Rule 1963, under the 1934 Factories Act, provides legal protections for workers including an entire section, added in 1997, concerning fire safety.  Pakistan has also signed the International Labor Organization’s labor inspection convention which mandates governments to inform their workers of their legal rights and calls for labor inspections and the proper reporting of any problems.

Despite Pakistan’s prior commitment to workers’ rights, an executive order issued under the Punjab Industrial Policy 2003 has abolished many of labor inspections which helped monitor and guarantee workers’ rights.  The new executive order was aimed at bolstering a more business-friendly environment and increasing industry in Pakistan.  These bans on labor inspections were adopted under fierce pressure by wealthy industrialists.

 

For further information, please see:

BBC – Karachi fire: Factory owners granted bail – 14 September 2012

The Guardian – Karachi’s factory fire exposes Pakistan’s lax health and safety regime – 14 September 2012

Al Jazeera – Hundreds killed in Karachi factory fire – 13 September 2012

The New York Times – More Than 300 Killed in Pakistani Factory Fires – 12 September 2012

Reuters – Fires engulf Pakistan factories killing 314 workers – 12 September 2012

Udate on South African Mining Strike

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa—South African police, yesterday, began to crack down on the striking minors who have been condemned and criticized by the South African Council of Churches. The police fired rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowds that caused men, women and children to rush back into their homes.

South African Police Arrest Miner at Lonmin’s Platinum Mine. (Photo Courtesy of The Telegraph)

Several people were injured by the rubber bullets at one of South Africa’s largest platinum mines, Lonmin’s, after the government order to stop the unrest. This crack down has targeted, not only illegal gatherings, but also weapons, incitement, and threats of violence. About a half dozen men were arrested for possession of arms and drugs and another six were arrested. The police told the leaders of the protest that they actually needed permission to carry out the protest.

This show of force followed the vow by the government to halt these illegal protests and disarm the strikers who, when they stopped working, destabilized the country’s most affluent mining sector.

Analysts who have been following the strike’s impact on South Africa’s mining companies have estimated that just this week, Lonmin has lost 102m rand in revenue since the beginning of the labor unrest. Should this continue, the worst-case scenario is that the group may lose as much as $239m before the situation is resolved and the company’s production finally returns to normal levels.

Gaddhafi Mdoda, one of the workers’ committee members at Anglo American Platinum, noted, “The police have blocked us. They are dispersing us. Now we are telling our people to go back to where we came from.” Other protestors have commented as well, saying, “The government is against people of South Africa and allows people to be killed. But we are suffering as workers of mines, they are forcing us to go to work as they did under apartheid.”

Yesterday, Saturday, September 15, Lonmin decided to raise its pay offer, which would more than double the increase that the company offered just a few days ago. The raise, however, still does not meet the workers’ demands of 12,500 rand a month. Lonmin’s acting chief executive, Simon Scott, said that the workers’ wage demand would cost the company 2.3 billion rand to actually implement.

Scott told the press, “We have had our wake-up call, as has the rest of South Africa.”

 

For further information, please see:

News.com.au – South African Police Block March by Miners – 16 September 2012

The Telegraph – South Africa Deploys Army to Deal with Lonmin Dispute – 16 September 2012

Reuters – 3 S. African Police Fire Tear Gas at Strikers Near Massacre Site – 15 September 2012

The Washington Post – South African Police Fire Tear Gas – 15 September 2012