Iranian Journalist Zhila Bani-Yaghoub Goes to Prison

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Ever since the 2009 presidential election that saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad retain control of the country, Iranian journalists and rights activists have been targeted as criminals for peacefully writing or saying anything that can be construed as anti-government propaganda. On Sunday, Zhila Bani-Yaghoub–also known as Jila Bani-Yaghoub, Jila Baniyaghoob, or Jila Jacob–arrived at the women’s wing of Evin prison to serve at one-year sentence. There, she will join many of her former colleagues, including activists Nasrin Sotoudeh, Bahareh Hedayat, and Mahsa Ambradi.

Zhila Bani-Yaghoub heads to prison. (Photo Courtesy of the Guardian)

“Journalists in Iran face numerous restrictions on their legitimate work, including peaceful criticism of the authorities and reporting on human rights,” wrote Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s Deputy Programme Director for Middle East and North America.  “The Iranian authorities must relax unlawful restrictions on them and release all journalists held solely for their journalism and human rights work.”

Bani-Yaghoub was the editor of the women’s rights website, Focus on Iranian Women. In 2009, she was awarded the Courage in Journalism prize by the International Women’s Media Foundation. Additionally, in 2010, she was awarded the Freedom of Speech Award from Reporters Without Borders.

In addition to serving a one-year prison term, Bani-Yaghoub also faces a thirty-year ban on any journalistic or media activities.  The sanctions against her stem from a 2010 charge of “spreading propaganda against the regime” and “insulting the president.”  The charges followed articles she wrote during the campaign period for Iran’s 2009 election .

At the same time, her husband, Bahman Ahmadi-Amoui, was also arrested. Ahmadi-Amoui was the editor of the business paper, Sarmayeh.  He wrote articles that were critical of the Ahmadinejad government which earned him the charges of “propaganda against the state,” “insulting the president,” “acting against the national security,” and “disrupting public security.”  Ahmadi-Amoui was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison, as well as thirty-four lashes.  On appeal, his sentence was reduced to five years in prison.

Ahmadi-Amoui originally started his jail stay in Evin prison but was “violently transferred” to a solitary confinement cell in Rajai Shahr prison. Human Rights Watch reported, through an anonymous source, that “during the transfer, authorities harassed and insulted Ahmadi-Amoui, and subjected him to a strip search.”  The authorities at Rajai Shahr have consistently denied him visitation rights and phone privileges.

Bani-Yaghoub and Ahmadi-Amoui are not the first Iranian journalists and activists to be imprisoned for peacefully exercising their rights of freedom of expression, nor will they be the last; nor will their charges be the worst.

Arzhang Davoodi, a peaceful political activist who preached freedom and democracy, has been imprisoned in Iran since October 2003.  Despite being jailed for nine years, he was brought back in front of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran on August 28 for a hearing on a new charge of “enmity against God,” which carries a possible death sentence.

For further information, please see:

Guardian – Iranian Activist Zhila Bani-Yaghoub Packs Her Bags and Heads to Prison – 5 September 2012

Amnesty International – Iran Must Release Prisoner of Conscience Zhila Bani-Yaghoub – 4 September 2012

Iranian – Jila Bani-Yaghoub: Prisoner of the Day – 3 September 2012

Focus on Iranian Women – Jacob in Prison Jila + Photos – 2 September 2012

Amnesty International – Iran Must Immediately Release Prisoner of Conscience Arzhang Davoodi – 24 August 2012

Human Rights Watch – Iran: End Abuse of Imprisoned Journalists – 13 July 2012

Tanzania’s Ban on Political Rallies Claims a Local Journalist’s Life

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

DODOMA, Tanzania – A Tanzanian journalist was killed by police during an alleged political rally on September 2, 2012.

Widow of slain journalist, Daudi Mwangosi, mourning at his grave. (Photo courtesy of The Daily Maverick)

Daudi Mwangosi, a journalist for the local station Channel Ten and the Chairperson of the Iringa Press Club, was covering a gathering of members of the conservative opposition party Chadema cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) in Nyololo village when he was killed by police.

Law enforcement officers arrived on the scene to order the Chadema members to disband the assembly in compliance with the government’s ban on political rallies. Chadema supporters, however, denied that they were holding a rally. They argued that they were merely conducting an internal meeting.

As these two opposing forces clashed, Mwangosi, was trying to question Regional Police Commander Michael Kamuhanda. Other journalists reported that Kamuhanda was frustrated with Mwangosi’s persistent interrogation that he snapped at him asking, “why are you always not satisfied with the answers?”

A few minutes later, the police started to break up the crowd by force. Eyewitnesses report that the police assaulted and arrested both Chadema members and journalists. Some members of the crowd attempted to appease the law enforcement officers by sitting with their hands on their heads to show they were not a threat. Despite this, however, the police fired teargas into the crowd.

It was around this moment when Mwangosi saw a fellow reporter being harassed by a police officer for taking pictures of the commotion. He interfered to rescue his colleague, but as another journalist recalled, “police turned on him and started to beat him. Seeing that his life is in danger Mwangosi started to struggle, apparently seeking to disentangle himself from the grips of the law enforcers. One unidentified police officer fired a teargas canister at Mwangosi, ripping off his stomach and injuring another policeman who was standing nearby. After seeing Mwangosi’s dismembered body, people started to scamper for their lives.”

Media groups in Tanzania report the death of Mwangosi, a father of four, as the first work-related fatality for a journalist in the country since it began keeping detailed records in 1992. The same groups have also pleaded with the government to “immediately lift the indefinite ban on rallies and demonstrations” so as to uphold its Constitution and international human rights obligations.

Meanwhile, organizations such as the Tanzania Constitution Forum called for the resignation of Commander Kamuhanda. Deus Kibamba, the Forum’s Chairman, said at a press conference that “there will be no fair and free investigations if the involved people are left in office.”

 

For further information, please see:

IPPmedia – Fire all police officers involved-Press clubs – 7 September 2012

The Citizen – Suspend officers in Mwangosi killing case, minister urged – 6 September 2012

AllAfrica – Tanzania: The Shocking Death of a Journalist Tests Democracy – 6 September 2012

AllAfrica – Tanzanian Journalist Killed in Political Rally – 5 September 2012

Detox Program for Agent Orange Victims

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HANOI, Vietnam – Yesterday, the Church of Scientology announced that it would treat victims of Agent Orange.  During the Vietnam War, American troops used this defoliant against communist insurgents.

Helicopter spraying Agent Orange in the Mekong delta. (Photo Courtesy of The Business Insider)

According to the Guardian, between 1962 and 1971, the United State’s military sprayed at least 20m gallons of Agent Orange, among other herbicides, on approximately a quarter of South Vietnam resulting in 5m acres of deforestation.  Furthermore, according to the Business Insider, during the late 1990s, the Vietnam Red Cross conducted a survey revealing that approximately 3 million Vietnamese men and women were affected by this toxin, including 150,000 children born with birth defects.

A doctor at the Vietnam Military Medical University, Nguyen Ba Vuong, shared with the New York Times that the Association for Better Living and Education, a group financed by the Church of Scientology, trained members of his clinic.

Moreover, Vietnamese news sources relayed to the New York Times that the program treated approximately 300 victims so far.  The “Hubbard Method” includes, among other things, vitamin and mineral intake, vigorous exercise, and sauna sessions to induce perspiration.  After 9/11 in New York City, Scientologists offered said services to those who may have been exposed to toxins.  These measures have also been used to aid in alcohol and drug-related rehabilitation.

“I hope my wife and I will fully recover completely and will not suffer after-effects to pass on to my descendants,” said Nguyen Dai Sang to the Viet Nam News daily.  Though those in Mr. Sang’s situation are hopeful, many researchers doubt the “Hubbard Method.”

“I would not expect that it would lower the body burden of dioxin in a given person,” stated Dr. Marcella L. Warner, a research epidemiologist at the University of California, Berkeley.  Dr. Warner has studied the long-term health effects of dioxin exposure.  Though she is not well versed in the “Hubbard Method,” Dr. Warner believes a program’s emphasis on excessive perspiration is not effective.

In addition, a spokesman for the American Embassy in Hanoi, Christopher Hodges, stated, “We are not aware of any safe, effective detoxification treatment for people with dioxin in body tissues.  The best way to reduce health risks associated with dioxin is to prevent human exposure to dioxin.”

Although the United States purports that no link between Agent Orange and health problems exists, last month, it initiated a project to clean the toxins from a former airbase, where American troops previously stored and mixed the toxin.  Furthermore, since 2007, Vietnam has received approximately $60m from the United States for forest restoration and social services.

For more information, please see:

The Business Insider – Vietnamese Citizens are Turning to a Scientology Detox Program to Cure Effects of Agent Orange – 06 Sept. 2012

Fox News – Vietnam Agent Orange Victims get Scientology ‘Detox’ – 06 Sept. 2012

The Guardian – Agent Orange Victims in Vietnam to get Scientology ‘Detox’ Treatment – 06 Sept. 2012

New York Times – Agent Orange Victims Get Scientology Treatment – 05 Sept. 2012

Guatemalan Commission Presents Anti-Impunity Plans to United Nations

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — A commission dedicated to fighting impunity in Guatemala presented a new strategy to the United Nations on Thursday.

Francisco Javier Dall´Anese Ruiz, head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (left), presented a new strategy at the United Nations on Thursday to protect human rights.

The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, known by the Spanish-language acronym CICIG, identified four focus areas.  Commissioner Francisco Javier Dall’Anese Ruiz, alongside Guatemalan Vice President Roxana Baldetti, announced efforts to reduce impunity rates, boost anti-crime measures, stop illegal security forces, and educate people about the threats impunity poses on democracy.

The plans came one week after a United Nations independent expert warned that many Guatemalan children are victims of sexual exploitation and forced labor, despite the government’s protection measures.

“The phenomenon of sexually exploited girls in prostitution is very worrying, “said Najay Maalia M’jid, the Special Rapporteur on child trafficking, in a press release on Aug. 29.

Last month, a Guatemalan police officer was arrested and charged with using a 14-year-old as a sex slave.  Fox News Latino reported that about two-thirds of the 318 sexual violence reports were minors, according to the country’s human rights office.

“The strengthening of institutions that are tasked to implement, coordinate, and evaluate prevention and protection strategies for children should take advantage of the continued technical assistance of the United Nations and the international community,” Maala M’jid added.

There was no indication that Thursday’s announcement by CICIG that its four-focus plan was a product of Maala M’jid’s recommendation.  But UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco said UN leaders greatly values the commission’s work and deserves strong support from the international community.

The United Nations helped establish CICIG in 2006 with the Guatemalan government.  The goal was to create an independent body to help prosecutors, police, and other agencies investigate an illegal security organizations and dismantle them.  In its press release this week, CICIG said its efforts have led to more than 130 people being charged.

The list of Guatemalan dignitaries at Thursday’s announcement included Commissioner Ruiz, Vice President Baldetti, Supreme Court of Justice President Thelma Aldana, President of Congress Gudy Rivera, Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz, and Minister of the Interior Mauricio Lopez Bonilla.

For further information, please see:

The Commission against Impunity in Guatemala — Commissioner Presents CICIG’s 2012-2013 Work Plan at UN Headquarters — 6 September 2012

The Guatemala Times — CICIG’s 2012-2013 Work Plan Presented at UN Headquarters Today — 6 September 2012

UN News Centre — UN-backed Commission Presents Plan to Fight Impunity in Guatemala — 6 September 2012

UN News Centre — Many Children in Guatemala Still Facing Sexual Exploitation, Forced Labour – UN Expert — 30 August 2012

Fox News Latino — Guatemalan Cop Accused of Holding Teen as Sex Slave — 17 August 2012

Morocco Expels Group of Sub-Saharan Migrants

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

RABAT, Morocco—Very early on Tuesday morning, September 4, 2012, several units of Spain’s paramilitary Civil Guard rounded up a group of hopeful African immigrants on a small and uninhabited island on the North African coast. After securing the group, the Spanish paramilitary shipped them off back to the shores of Morocco—a country that is only a few dozen yards away from their rocky sanctuary.

African Immigrants on the Border Between Morocco and Algeria. (Photo Courtesy of International Herald Tribune)

The Spanish media has reported that ten “would be” immigrants—two mothers and eight children—would be allowed to remain on the territory per an agreement between Spain and Morocco. The approximately seventy others were taken back to Morocco and now face a possibility of expulsion to a no-man’s land region between Morocco and its neighbor, Algeria.

Describing the failure of this small group of African migrants attempting to escape to what they believe to be the prosperity of Europe, Spain’s El Mundo said, “Thus ended the dreams of dozens of sub-Saharans.”

This type of incident highlights the lengths to which people will go to fight for a better future. However, it also shows that authorities will create obstacles for these migrants. European governments are facing pressure to stop illegal immigration as it seems to be putting even more pressure on the scarce resources of the continent as the economies of southern European countries are struggling themselves.

The capture of these migrants was the outcome of an overnight joint operation by both Spanish and Moroccan authorities only several days after more than two dozen undocumented Africans either swam or waded across the narrow channel that connects Morocco to Isla de Tierra. Isla de Tierra is a remnant of Spanish presence in Northern Africa along with other enclaves along the African coast.

Although these European countries are trying to protect themselves in these situations, human rights groups have criticized these nations and have expressed concern that in doing so, they are neglecting the rights of migrants especially those who may have a real case for asylum.

Amnesty International, a world-wide organization, has estimated that 600,000 men, women and children have been detained in Europe each year for immigration and migration control reasons. The organization noted that, “There has been a growing trend of ‘criminalization’ of irregular migration in Europe.” Amnesty International also said, “Today, Europe is failing to promote and respect the rights of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees” and that, “Hostility is widespread and mistreatment often goes unreported.”

A Moroccan human rights group made the argument that the state is responsible for the safety and security of these migrants. However, instead of being handed over to the government they are subjected to beatings, by both the authorities and hired thugs or as stated before, they are sent to the border near Algeria.

According to many different human rights organizations, there are between 20,000 and 25,000 unregistered sub-Saharan immigrants currently living in Morocco who may also try to flee to what they believe to be more opportunity in southern Europe.

 

For further information, please see:

Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Rights Group Slams Morocco Expulsion of Immigrants – 6 September 2012

Zimbabwe Independent – Human Rights Group Slams Morocco Government – 6 September 2012

El Pais – Expelled From Spanish Rock, Immigrants Regroup in Morocco for Next Border Bid – 5 September 2012

ANSA Med – Immigration: Morocco Expels 200 Sub-Saharan Migrants – 4 September 2012

International Herald Tribune – On the Fringes of Europe, a Crackdown on Migrants