Charles Taylor, Former Liberian President now War Criminal

By Vicki Turakhia
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — After a five-year and  50 million dollar trial, Charles Ghankay Taylor, the 64-year old once president of Liberia, has been tried and found guilty of war crimes in Sierra Leone.

Then Liberian President Charles Taylor during the civil war. (Photo Courtesy of All Africa)

Taylor’s conduct in Sierra Leone has been cited as pivotal towards the harm caused to the citizens of Sierra Leone. His crimes included involvement in the murder, rape, sexual slavery, and recruitment of child soldiers. Charles Taylor was a rebel leader turned president of Liberia until his ultimate exile to Nigeria. During Charles Taylor’s time as president, he received blood diamonds for his participation in the killing of tens of thousands of people which he used to furnish weapons to the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

Prosecutor Brenda Hollis, found the actions of Charles Taylor to be “purposely cruel.” Hollis has stated that Taylor was involved in the facilitation of public rapes of women and people being burned alive in their homes. Taylor’s involvement also extends to the amputation and execution of the citizens of Sierra Leone, using decapitated heads at checkpoints.

However, the defense calls Charles Taylor a scapegoat for Sierra Leone’s self-inflicted harm. Charles Taylor provided his own argument for his actions by stating that he was bringing peace to Sierra Leone and he did so with honor, he further claimed that his trial had been unjust because his witnesses had been paid to change or recant their testimony.

Taylor declared that his actions were comparable to President George W. Bush, stating that it is unfair that the United States did not prosecute President Bush for his conduct. Courtenay Griffiths, Charles Taylor’s defense barrister, argued that the International Criminal Court (ICC), is being manipulated behind the scenes, strung along by politics instead of the steadfast law. Mr. Griffiths insists that the trial, while necessary, was handled incorrectly.

Despite, the defenses’ arguments Charles Taylor was found guilty on 11 counts of aiding and abetting rebel forces. The judges of the ICC were unanimous in their decision.

The prosecution has recommended an 80-year sentence, while the defense asks for anything that would be less than a life sentence. The prosecution has found the 80-year prison sentence is justified based on the Charles Taylor’s conduct and involvement in the Sierra Leone Civil War. Taylor is to be sentenced on May 30th with a right to appeal the decision. The loss of the appeal may result in Taylor serving a sentence in a British prison as the Netherlands has only agreed to house the trial and not the prison sentence.

For more information, please see:

All Africa – Liberia:Charles Taylor Gets Sentence Tomorrow  – 29 May 2012

All Africa –  Liberia: Taylor Begs for Merciful Jail Sentence – 17 May 2012

CNN – In His Last Stand, Charles Taylor Defends Himself as a Peacemaker – 16 May 2012

BBC – Sierra Leone Trial: 80 Years Urged for Charles Taylor – 3 May 2012

BBC – Charles Taylor Guilty of Aiding Sierra Leone War Crimes – 26 April 2012

Western Nations Expel Syrian Diplomats Following Houla Massacre

By Mark McMurray
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria — Several Western nations expelled Syrian diplomats in a coordinated response to last Friday’s violence in Houla.  Following the release of a United Nations report on Tuesday describing how many of the victims were shot dead at close range, the United States, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Australia, Canada, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands participated in the global diplomatic action.

Kofi Annan, the United Nations and Arab League’s Joint Special Envoy for Syria, meets with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

The report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) described how most of the 108 victims were shot at close range with fewer than twenty killed by artillery.  Rupert Colville, an OHCHR spokesman, explained: “this was an absolutely abominable event that took place in Houla, and at least a substantial part of it was summary executions of civilians, women and children [where] entire families were shot in their houses.”

Pro-government paramilitary thugs known as shabiha were blamed for the house-to-house killings.  “Unfortunately, these allegations are consistent with other incidents documented by my office, the international Commission of Inquiry on Syria and other human rights organizations,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay said on Tuesday.  Syria has denied responsibility, calling the Houla massacre a “terrorist massacre” perpetrated by “armed terrorists” who attacked the military in the area, killing civilians.

UN and Arab League representative Kofi Annan met with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday in Damascus.  Annan appealed “for bold steps now – not tomorrow, now – to create momentum for the implementation of the plan.  This means that the Government, and all Government-backed militias, could stop all military operations and show maximum restraint.”  The six-point peace plan offered by Annan to end the bloodshed back in March has not been implemented.  The Houla massacre is only the latest in a long string of atrocities that have taken place over the past fourteen months.

The U.S. and its allies are considering seeking further sanctions by the UN Security Council against Syria according to US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.  However, Russia has blocked two measures in the past and has threatened to veto future attempts.

French President Francois Hollande went so far as to mention the possible use of military force.  Speaking to France 2 television, he said, “military intervention is not excluded provided it is carried out under the auspices of international law, namely via a Security Council resolution.”  Hollande went on to say, “it is down to myself and others to convince Russia and China, and also to find a solution which is not necessarily a military one.”  On Friday, he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Paris.

For more information, please see:

Al-Ahram – Syria Opposition Seeks Resolution Authorising Use of Force – 29 May 2012

Al Jazeera – Syria Diplomats Face Expulsions over Massacre – 29 May 2012

Bloomberg – U.S., Allies Expel Syrian Diplomats after Houla Massacre – 29 May 2012

The New York Times – Western Nations, Protesting Killings, Expel Syrian Envoys – 29 May 2012

United Nations News Centre – Joint UN-Arab League Envoy Urges Syrian President to Take “Bold Steps” to End Violence – 29 May 2012

Syrian Revolution Digest – Tuesday 29 May 2012

THE COMMENTARY IN THIS PIECE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF IMPUNITY WATCH.  

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

Requiem for the Living!

 

If world leaders believe that they have the luxury to turn their collective back on Syria and wring their collective hands, it will not be the first time people failed to see how their own houses were vulnerable to the fire they were doing nothing to combat. Humanity has made a habit of dancing in her own funeral. What we need today, more than ever, is a requiem for the living for the dead are already at peace.

Tuesday May 29, 2012

 

Death toll: 61, mostly in Homs, Aleppo and Deir Ezzor provinces.

 

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Op-Eds & Special Reports

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of the attention being devoted to such dead-end diplomatic initiatives is simply indicative of the fundamental lack of seriousness in Washington regarding events in Syria. President Obama may have created an Atrocities Prevention Board, but he is doing nothing serious to prevent the ongoing atrocities in Syria.

 

Video Highlights

 

In the village of Sijer in Deir Ezzor Province in the northeast, locals find dozens of unidentified bodies with their hands tied behind their backs left by pro-Assad militias, the victims of summary executions: http://youtu.be/DxTvF7g6dFU

 

In Homs City, the pounding of old neighborhoods continues: Bab Sibaa http://youtu.be/MCwjNVtmdXo , http://youtu.be/2cW6ncspAqs Hamidiyeh: human remains scattered all over the streets http://youtu.be/6cBGQDOhrsA

 

The nearby town of Qusayr along the Lebanese borders continues to be heavily bombarded as well http://youtu.be/HlZsd8NsY1Y , http://youtu.be/UB9zX4__qUQ ,http://youtu.be/cr7oXDLqseE Treating the injured http://youtu.be/ymvoDziNsQ8 ,http://youtu.be/LStUj9mZros Martyrs http://youtu.be/WKECEkDAGx4 ,http://youtu.be/2VD63bHzm1M

 

In the town of Rastan, Homs Province, and after weeks of pounding, many neighborhoods lie in ruins http://youtu.be/rwL8n1g0-7E

 

In Aleppo Province, the battle for the town of Al-Atareb continues, but for now the local resistance retains control http://youtu.be/In_FZ5-4Nyk Scenes from the battle: local resistance laying siege to an official building where loyalist forces took refugehttp://youtu.be/Q40u6RodIo8 , http://youtu.be/ZZzYa0miY_4 ,http://youtu.be/1q1pSImGdYQ The wounded http://youtu.be/JIpWMxlAY9M Martyrshttp://youtu.be/KNgVAdYSq_c

 

In Damascus, the town of Douma comes under fire at night http://youtu.be/t94bUwJgKpMand has come under fire earlier in the day as well http://youtu.be/ALsbNkqPT0w

 

Leaked videos shows loyalist troops firing at civilian neighborhoods in the town of Da’el in Daraa Province http://youtu.be/TbHscxDBwD8

 

Syrian Human Rights Violations Special Report: Hospitals in Hama

During the past few months, private hospitals in Hama witnessed an organized campaign by the Syrian regime forces which went on killing and torturing civilians and even pursuing them to the places where they receive treatment and withholding treatment from them. Hospitals receiving the wounded in Hama were attacked many times as shown by the following examples obtained by activists from the Syrian Network for Human Rights.

 

This video shows the effects of shelling on the façade of Al Bader hospital (which is a private hospital in the northern part of Hama in Aleppo Road neighborhood).

 

Premature babies are dying in the incubators of Al Assad medical compound due to power cuts and the inability to use generators after fuel supplies to the hospital were cut.  Al Assad medical compound is a public hospital in the north eastern part of Hama in Al Hader neighborhood; it specialized in treating babies and pregnant women.  The Syrian regime forces have occupied the rooftop of this hospital and used it as a vantage point to kill and terrorize civilians.  The hospital is one of the most important centers for the regime forces in this area.

 

A video showing snipers monitoring from their strategic vantage point on the occupied Al-Assad hospital rooftop.

 

Field hospitals set up by residents, and with the help of doctors, to treat the injured away from regime forces are witnessing massive shortages in materials, sterilization and medical practice.  Doctors and nurses working in such hospitals are subject to arrest and torture.  The most critical shortages in such hospitals are blood transfusion sacks which are imported and sold in Syria exclusively by the Ministry of Defence through state-run blood bank branches which are formally affiliated with the Ministry of Defence, in addition to the platelet separator only available at such blood bank branches. Many cases of deaths result from injury and the inability to provide the patient with the needed blood. Activists in the Syrian revolution are currently working to get such sacks into the country through illegal ways to meet the needs of field hospitals.

 

Videos Courtesy of:

Syrian Network for Human Rights – Special Report Hospitals in Hama – 29 May 2012

Syrian Revolution Digest – May 28, 2012

THE COMMENTARY IN THIS PIECE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF IMPUNITY WATCH.  

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

 

Enter the Merchants!

With the Damascene Merchant Elite throwing its support behind the revolution, the Massacre of Houla has become a watershed moment in the history of the Syrian Revolution, even as its impact on global consciousness remains uncertain.

The Russia Guilt

In response to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s assertion that rebels share the blame for the Houla Massacre, it’s worth reminding that Russia shares even more of the blame in this regard. After all, they have been arming Assad and shielding him politically since the beginning of the revolution. The blood that was shed in Houla and is still being shed all across the country is on their hand. The assertions made by Russian officials to the effect that the arms they are sending to Syria are not the kind that can be used in the crackdown are worthless in the absence of any verification. In reality, with their every act and breath so far, Russian officials, to their eternal shame, insist on being part of the problem in Syria, rather than the solution.

Video Highlights

Damascus goes on strike http://youtu.be/D_57ksWjG3M , http://youtu.be/CR3qPio1QcA, http://youtu.be/wiBjY547uyE , http://youtu.be/aQWk8CDHfmM The strike was observed in main commercial districts of Hamidiyeh, Hariqah, Bahsah and Halbouni as well as protest hubs of Kafar Sousseh, Qaboun, Barzeh, Assaly, Midan and elsewhere.

Damascus offers another child martyr (Tadamon Suburb) http://youtu.be/nooC0b3la2MHama City as well http://youtu.be/21ncUZ95fXk

The pounding of old neighborhoods in Homs City resumes: Khaldiyehhttp://youtu.be/TE_Om_J_XE0 , http://youtu.be/wFwVbhwpQOc ,http://youtu.be/lwO_q-PuKTI , http://youtu.be/4Fqfnd8vEPY with deadly consequenceshttp://youtu.be/hXIBBn1KDnM , http://youtu.be/RWakKur0954 ,http://youtu.be/fIaurFd71Qw Hamidiyeh http://youtu.be/-hEu0QtWVeg Bassel Shihadeh, an activist from Damascus, Christian, dies in Homs City as he was taking part in documenting the atrocities of pro-Assad militias http://youtu.be/5VMOypEjkC4

The pounding of the town of Al-Atareb in Aleppo Province, leaves scores woundedhttp://youtu.be/DRPkd_FB224 , http://youtu.be/-2QCtazzOSU ,http://youtu.be/5HtBdJnV7EE

Protesters in New York rally in front of the house of Assad’s UN envoy and force him to call the police http://youtu.be/gvz-vGEjws0