MOSCOW, Russia – On Friday, the Moscow City Court affirmed for the second time, its decision to ban gay pride parades for the next century. The ruling came after Nikolay Alexeyev, Russia’s best-known gay rights advocate, challenged the city council’s ban on gay pride parades after the city rejected his application for a parade license. According to the city court’s decision, any public gathering that could be classified as a gay pride march or celebration is prohibited from March 2012 until May 2112. In support of its position, the city government argued that gay pride parades might instigate public disorder, and that most Muscovites do not support such marches.
Russia’s best-known gay rights advocate, Nikolay Alexeyev. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News) Continue Reading
By Heba Girgis Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
SUCRE, Bolivia—A rebel mob in the town of San Matias, Bolivia dragged two Brazilian murder suspects from the Bolivian jail, beat them and burned them alive. Allegedly, the Brazilians had shot to death three Bolivians and wounded two others in a drunken dispute in Tuesday, August 14. The reason for the dispute still remains unclear.
The Town of San Matias Lies on the Border of Bolivia and Brazil and is Occupied by Many Drug Traffickers and Car Thieves. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)
The seven police officers who were responsible for keeping the Brazilians in custody were completely overwhelmed by the mob that attacked the prison and were unable to control the situation. They fired several shots into the air with no avail.
The two bodies of the Brazilian prisoners were delivered to Brazilian police late Tuesday night. Col. Lily Cortez, Bolivia’s regional police commander has vowed to arrest and prosecute the members of the mob responsible for the deaths. As of today, no one has been arrested.
The lynching of the alleged criminals occurred in the town of San Matias, a town located on the border of Bolivia and Brazil with an active community of drug traffickers and car thieves. Bolivian police officers noted that the town of San Matias has now become a kind of refuge for Brazilian criminals and that violent behavior is not altogether uncommon in this particular part of the country.
In many areas of rural Bolivia, these types of lynchings are common, as law enforcement officers and judicial workers are rare.
Claudio Rojas, the town councilman, told the Associated Press that, “It’s barbarous what occurred Tuesday night, but people are tired of so much insecurity. No one is in charge of this town, where criminals do whatever they please.”
In the past, there have been many instances where innocent individuals have been injured or killed by angry mobs. According to these groups, they wanted nothing more than to simply bring swift justice. While Bolivia’s constitution did legalize “traditional justice,” the Bolivian legislative assembly passed a law in 2010 making it clear that lynching and any form of the death penalty are strictly forbidden.
The Brazilian foreign ministry now voices its deep concerns over the situation and demands that its embassy in La Paz, Bolivia call upon Bolivian authorities to establish new measures to protect prisoners and prevent this kind of incident from occurring again in the future.
The Brazilian ministry has also strongly urged the Bolivian authorities to carry out a “swift and rigorous” investigation into these types of criminal activities.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Following a series of protests, human rights groups are urging the authorities to free 17 prominent Muslim leaders on Wednesday, 15 August.
An Ethiopian Pilgrim. (Photo courtesy of Michel Hoebink/ RNW)
Since mid-July, Addis Ababa’s Awalia and Anwar mosques saw the arrest, harassment and assault on hundreds of Muslims, with local journalists and media outlets covering the protests also coming under fire. And though most of the detainees have been released, 17 are still in captivity.
For months, these protesters would march to the streets after their Friday prayers. According to the reports, most Ethiopian Muslims believe that the government is unconstitutionally interfering with their religious affairs. Such interference is reflected in the government actively imposing candidates from a moderate Islamic sect known as al Ahbash to the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs as an attempt to control the operations of some mosques. Also, several Ethiopian Muslims feel that majority of the members of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs do not represent the interests of the country’s Muslim community.
On the other hand, the government has repeatedly denied the claims of interference; rather, it has insisted that these protests are part of a ploy of “extremist groups” “to turn the nation into an Islamic state”. The Muslim protesters, as far as the government is concerned, have been deliberately disrupting the “peaceful” public and stirring the Muslim community to further such ends.
A dominantly Christian nation, Ethiopia used to be a picture of religious tolerance. But as of late, religious related conflicts have been a major concern.
The families of several Muslim protesters have been included in the crackdown. Law enforcement officers have reportedly searched their houses. Some were even placed under house arrest. For instance, the families of two journalists, Akemel Negash and Isaac Eshetu, were prohibited from leaving their residences and placed under surveillance for at least ten days. The police also seized the personal belongings of other journalists including their cellphones, cameras and computers.
Under the government’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, which has been criticized for being vague and in violation of fundamental due process rights such as holding suspects to up to four months in custody without charge, authorities have convicted at least 34 opposition members, journalists, and others since 2011.
In April 2012, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said freedom of religion is respected under the constitution, but some Ethiopian Muslims were engaged in revolutionary acts and attempts to establish an Islamic state.
By Mark McMurray
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
MANAMA, Bahrain — On Thursday, a Bahraini opposition activist was given a three-year jail sentence for hs participation in anti-government protests.
Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera)
Nabeel Rajab, founder and president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was found guilty of taking part in “illegal gatherings.” The human rights activist has led a number of protests against the Al Khalifa family ruling the nation. Rajab has been influential in organizing the protests occurring in the country which began last February.
This week, the judge ruled in three cases against Rajab. The cases, all related to participating in protests, carried one-year sentences each. Human rights campaigners have found the ruling very disturbing. Activists have called Thursday’s verdict a “dark day for justice” in the country. Citing the peaceful nature of the protests, Rajab’s lawyer, Mohammed al-Jishi, said the ruling was surprising.
Al-Jishi said in similar cases where others have been found guilty, they have been given six-month sentences and some were even freed on bail. “It is a very stiff and unexpected ruling, I am surprised. They are peaceful protests, not violent ones,” al-Jishi added. He plans to appeal the ruling at a hearing to take place next week.
Following Thursday’s verdict, the U.S. government contacted Bahrain over the ruling. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called for the government to respect the fundamental rights of its citizens.
“We’ve long made clear that it’s critical for all governments, including Bahrain, to respect freedom of expression, freedom of assembly,” Nuland said. “So we are deeply troubled by the sentencing today.”
At the time of the court’s ruling on the protest charges, Rajab was serving a three-month sentence for criticizing the prime minister online. In July, prosecutors claim they received complaints from the residents of the town of Muharraq who said Rajab had “libeled” them on Twitter. He has more than 155,000 followers on Twitter. In July, he tweeted that the Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa should not continue in his present position. Citing the residents of Muharraq in his tweet, Rajab also wrote that they had only welcomed the prime minister to their town because he had offered them government subsidies.
The U.S. government has expressed concern over the treatment of Rajab and other opponents to Al Khalifa’s government. Bahrain serves as the base of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, and recent turmoil in the country has placed the U.S. in an awkward position between its ally and pro-democracy protesters. The U.S. has called on the Sunni government to speak with the Shiite-led opposition leading the protests in an attempt to bring peace to the country.
KIEV, Ukraine – Former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko started her appeals hearing on Thursday against her convictions on abuse of power charges.
Tymoshenko supporters hold a protest in front of the court. (Photo courtesy of France 24).
Tymoshenko’s five lawyers argued that she should be released because no crime had been committed. A representative of the state energy company, Naftogaz, and the prosecutor call for the appeal to be rejected. The final ruling is expected to be give on Tuesday after the opinion of the second prosecutor is heard.
“There is no proof of Tymoshenko’s guilt,” her lawyer Sergiy Vlasenko told journalists after the hearing.
Olexander Plakhotniuk, another of Tymoshenko’s lawyers, told the court: “”I consider that the sentence of the court (last October) is unlawful. The court incorrectly applied criminal law and this is the basis for overturning the sentence.”
Tymoshenko has been imprisoned since August 2011. In October of that year, she was sentenced to seven years on accusations she abused her power as prime minister by signing a gas contract with Russia, that Ukraine had decided was against its interests at the time.
If the court does not release Tymoshenko, she is able to bring her case in front of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), to be able to do this she must have exhausted all the legal options in Ukraine. Tymoshenko already has an appeal in process to the ECHR regarding another arrest that is scheduled for August 28.
The European Union sees the Tymoshenko case as a political trial and has caused a rift between Ukraine and the West. The EU sees Tymoshenko as a victim of selective justice by President Viktor Yanukovych, her political rival . Tymoshenko was the leader of the 2004 Orange Revolution which derailed President Yanukovych’s first bid for the presidency. In February 2010, the two had a run-off for the presidency.
Tymoshenko is currently being treated for a back condition in a state hospital and was unable to attend the first day of trial.
Parliamentary supporters of Tymoshenko attempted to nail a reproduction of a Renaissance painting depicting a corrupt judge being flayed alive. Judge Stanlislav Myshchenko warned supports that further disturbances would result in being expelled.
Russia’s best-known gay rights advocate, Nikolay Alexeyev. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News) Continue Reading
