Mexican Protesters Decry Election Results as Fraudulent

By: Stuart Smith
Impunity Watch, North America Deck

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – On July 22, 2012, thousands of protesters marched through the center of Mexico City to protest the official result of the country’s recent presidential election, which declared Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Enrique Pena Nieto Mexico’s presumptive President-elect.

Protesters in Reforma Avenue, Mexico City. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

According to Xinhua News, protesters, organized by “Yo soy 132” (I am 132), a student movement, and supported by runner-up Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, took to the streets Sunday expressing their outrage at the result of the July 1 election with banners decrying the “imposition” of the PRI’s Nieto on Mexico and chanting slogans such as “Pena Out” and “Fraud, Fraud.”

The protest began when thousands of demonstrators rallied outside Los Pinos, Mexican President’s official residence and office, who then marched down the capital’s main avenue, Paseo de la Reforma, to the city’s square. Reuters reported that Mexican officials estimated as many as 30,000 protesters took part in the rally. Yet, despite the large crowd, authorities said the protest was peaceful.

Nieto and the PRI are accused of buying votes and arranging favorable media coverage from Televisa, one of Mexico’s main television networks, reported BBC News. In an interview with Reuters, Luis Martinez, a 25-year-old engineering student from Mexico City, said, “the people have woken up. The people realize that the PRI violated the elections.” Echoing similar sentiment, marcher Marlem Munoz told Fox News, “Mexico didn’t vote for fraud. Mexico wants a country that is honest and democratic. What happened in the elections was a total mockery directed at the Mexican people.”

However, the PRI denied the charges, countering that Lopez Obrador is attempting to “disqualify the entire electoral process with lies.” Televisa, also, denied accepting money in exchange for positive coverage.

Yet, despite these denials, the PRI has a history of employing fraud to win elections. The PRI’s 71-year rule, reported Reuters, which ended in 2000, was marred by allegations of corruption, vote-rigging, and violent repression of dissent.

Lopez Obrador is currently seeking to nullify the election result at the federal election tribunal. Last week, Obrador and opposition parties presented to the tribunal evidence which, they claim, shows that the PRI purchased votes with money earned from drug trafficking activities.

The election tribunal has until September 6, when the final vote count must be certified and an official President-elect must be declared, to rule on the challenge. The President will then be sworn in on December 1.

For further information, please see:

Xinhua News – Thousands march in Mexico City to protest election results – 23 July 2012

Reuters UK – Thousands march in Mexico to protest Pena Nieto win – 23 July 2012

BBC News – Mexicans in new protest at Pena Nieto election victory – 22 July 2012

Fox News – Thousands turn out to march against election results in Mexico – 22 July 2012

 

Story of Anas At-Tarshah: Protester, Videographer, and Media Activist

Anas, born in 1993, was a first-year business administration student at Al-Qalamoun Univeristy.  He grew up in Homs and lived in the Al-Hamra neighborhood.

A picture of Anas At-Tarshah.

He was one of the most prominent film activists in the city of Homs; filming hours of footage and also making sure to take care of the live broadcasting device so that the independent footage could be released.

Anas was a participant and filmed the protests at Al-Qalamoun University which placed him on the wanted list of the Syrian regime.  He was arrested at his university dorm room by Air Force Intelligence in Damascus on 16 November 2012.  He was brutally beaten and tortured by them.  Upon his release, he became even more persistent and determined in his calls for freedom.

He loved videography and used it to document crimes perpetrated by the regime.  He took to filming protests in all the dangerous places.  In addition, he made sure to film many important crimes like mortar and artillery shellings that took place.  Anas also filmed special operations led by the Free Syrian Army who trusted Anas for his courage, patience and chivalry.

On 24 February 2012, Anas visited a friend with satellite internet in Juret Al-Shyah in Homs.  He went to upload on YouTube videos of a protest he filmed in Al-Mal’ab neighbourhood of Homs on the Friday before.  On his way home, he was hit by a mortar that ripped apart his body.  Anas lost his lower body parts due to this shell fired by the Syrian regime forces.

**WARNING: VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES**

The body of Anas after the attacks.

He was then transported to Al-Amal Hospital where there was hope that his life could be saved.  However, just as they had stopped the bleeding from his legs, Syrian regime forces raided the hospital and abducted many injured victims.  In the chaos, Anas’ comrades, members of the Free Syrian Army, were able to transport him to a make-shift hospital.  On their way to the make-shift hospital, regime snipers targeted them.  Anas died upon arrival at a make-shift hospital.

The public gathers in mass for the funeral procession of Anas.

 

All information and media contained in this report provided by:

Syrian Network for Human Rights

Damascus Center for Huma Right Studies in Syria

Syria Threatens Use of Chemical Weapons against Foreign Aggression

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East 

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian foreign ministry officials stressed on Monday that they will not use chemical weapons against its own people, emphasizing Damascus’s commitment to UN special envoy Kofi Annan.

Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Maqdissi stated on Monday that chemical weapons would only be used against foreign aggressors. (Photo Courtesy of Al-Manar)

In a statement read by spokesman Jihad Makdissi, the chaotic Middle Eastern country said that such weapons stocks are secured and directly monitored by the Syrian Armed Forces and would only be used in cases of external aggression on the country.  He added that “Syria will never use [chemical weapons] against Syrians no matter what.”

“Any chemical or biological weapons will never be used, I repeat, will never be used in the Syrian crisis, no matter what the internal developments in this crisis are,” Makdissi said at a news conference broadcast on Syrian state TV.

Syria has never confirmed its possession of chemical weapons. It is also not a signatory of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws their production.

Israel and the West are concerned that Syria might use its chemical weapons stock against neighboring Lebanon.  On July 16, the most senior Syrian politician to defect told the BBC that it would not hesitate to use chemical weapons if cornered.  Nawaf Al-Fares, Syria’s former ambassador to Iraq, said unconfirmed reports indicated that such weapons might have already been used.  Despite this claim, Syrian rebels have not reported any use of chemical weapons.

The Arab League has previously called on Syrian President Basher Al-Assad to step down, offering him a “safe exit” from the country.  Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby requested that Assad resign immediately, and offered his family safe passage out of Syria.  Elaraby did not give any further details on his proposal at an Arab League foreign ministers’ meeting in Doha, Qatar, on Monday morning. Syria rejected the offer

“[W]e are sorry that the Arab League has descended to this level concerning a member state of this institution,” said Makdissi.  “This decision only concerns the Syrian people, who are the sole masters of fate of their governments.”

In February, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki offered Assad asylum if it would end the conflict.  The Syrian leader has not shown any willingness to step down.  In his first public statement since a devastating rebel bombing wiped out his top security officers, Assad told his new army chief of staff last Sunday to “continue that armed forces’ pursuit of terrorists.”

Meanwhile, the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and his French counterpart called for a boost in European Union aid to tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.  “We have to step up humanitarian assistance for the people fleeing,” said the Foreign Secretary as French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius added: “We must help neighboring countries.”

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Syria Hints at use of Chemical Weapons — 23 July 2012

Al Manar — Syria Chemical Weapons Would be Used Only in Case of Foreign Attack — 23 July 2012

BBC — Syria ‘will not use’ Chemical Weapons on its own People — 23 July 2o12

SANA — Foreign Ministry: Chemical and Biological Weapons are Secured and Would Only be Used in the Case of External Aggression

The Telegraph — William Hague: Syrian Chemical Weapons Threat ‘Unacceptable’ — 23 July 2012

Russia’s New Law Labels NGOs as “Foreign Agents”

By Connie Hong
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia– Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill that labels all non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that engage in political activity as “foreign agents.” Opposition groups believe that the new law is yet another method for Putin to silence political dissent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photo Courtesy of Ria Novosti)
Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photo Courtesy of Ria Novosti)

The bill was quickly pushed through the lower and upper houses of parliament before their summer breaks; the State Duma lower house approved the bill on July 13, and the upper house Federation Council approved of it on July 18. Putin signed the bill into law just four days later on July 21.

This new law requires NGOs that receive funding from abroad to register with the authorities as foreign agents. They are further required to publish a biannual report on their activities and carry out an annual financial audit in order to regularly inform the public on their sources of income and their management. They are also required to comply with official checks of their income, accounting, and management structures. Failure to abide by the new legislation could result in four-year jail sentences and/or fines of up to 300,000 rubles ($9,200).

The new law applies broadly to NGOs engaging in political activity, but exempts religious groups and organizations associated with the state or state companies.

Activists are concerned that the law will be used to stigmatize critical NGOs, specifically the ones that report on human rights abuses committed under Putin’s rule. The new law has also been criticized as another attempt to curb free speech and limit information available to the public.

The legislation has gained international attention as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay recently expressed concern about “a worrying shift in the legislative environment governing the enjoyment of the freedoms of assembly, association, speech, and information.” U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has also expressed mirroring concerns regarding how the law will impact free speech.

Moscow has responded by rebuking the U.S. State Department for its “gross interference.”

While the label of “foreign agent” under the new law does not directly charge the NGO with espionage, it does carry with it negative implications of unpatriotic behavior. Such implications has led the leader of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alexeyeva, to turn down foreign grants in order to avoid having to register the group as a “foreign agent.” The Moscow Helsinki Group is one of Russia’s oldest human rights organizations.

Alexeyeva, who turned 85 pm Friday, asked supporters not to give her any gifts but to offer financial assistance to her organization to make up for the funding cut.

 

For further information, please see:

Chicago Tribune — Russia’s Putin signs NGO “foreign agents” law — 22 July 2012

The News — Putin signs law branding NGOs ‘foreign agents’ — 22 July 2012

France 24 — Putin signs law branding NGOs ‘foreign agents’ — 21 July 2012

Jurist — Putin signs law labeling NGOs as ‘foreign agents’ — 21 July 2012

Ria Novosti — Putin Signs Foreign Agent NGO Law — 21 July 2012

 

Argentine Police Officers Arrested and Accused of Torture

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—A video was released last week revealing six police officers torturing two young men in the northern city of Salta. The video, which was posted on YouTube, shows two men, wearing only their underwear, as water is poured over them. The men were surrounded by several others wearing civilian clothing and who were—apparently—the officers implicated in this case. One of the young men had a bag placed over his head until he began suffocating.

The Video, Posted Last Week, Showed Two Young Men Being Tortured During an Interrogation by Salta Police. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

The victims were being held on a patio where a high concrete wall is seen in the background. At one point during the video, an interrogator asked one of the suspects a question. The victim answered fearfully, “I swear to you that I don’t know anything about it.” He repeated this several times. The interrogator then covered the young man’s head with a plastic bag and tied it around his neck. The suspect began violently shaking and yelling until he fell to the floor. The interrogator then took the bag off of his head and the victim continued laying on the floor gasping for air.

The video outraged many people in this South American country. Activists noted that the real tragedy here is that Argentina’s police routinely use torture against crime suspects. Maria del Carmen Verdu, director of CORREPI, a watchdog organization against institutional and police repression said, “This is news because someone put the video on the Internet. If these images didn’t exist, these two kids would be part of the army of police station torture victims that nobody worries about and has no social impact.”

Authorities responded to the video’s release on Thursday by detaining five of the officers seen in the video. The sixth officer was arrested a day later. The latest officer who was arrested is suspected of having taped the video on his cellular phone. However, it is not clear whether he was also the one to upload the video on the Internet.

In the 1970s and 1980s stories of police torture and abuse were resonant in Argentina when security forces used torture under the country’s military rule. Daniel Segura, the head of the police station where the tortures allegedly occurred stated that it will be “lamentable that we’ll be known for this.” He said also, that simply wearing a police uniform does not mean that a person has a true calling for the profession.

 

For further information, please see:

CNN – Argentine Police Officers Accused of Torture That Appears on Video – 21 July 2012

Ventura County Star – Argentines Outraged Over Police Interrogation – 21 July 2012

BBC – Argentine Police Arrested Over Salta ‘Torture Video’ – 20 July 2012

United Press International – Torture Video Posted, 6 Police Arrested – 20 July 2012