Routine Arraignment Turns Into 13-hour Spectacle at Gitmo; Detainees Refuse to Cooperate

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

GUANTANAMO BAY, U.S. Naval Base – On May 5, a routine arraignment turned into a daylong spectacle.  Five men, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed refused to cooperate at the arraignment by refusing to answer even fundamental questions.  The protest is a sign of things to come for future hearings.

Five men face charges for the September 11 attacks on the United States. (Image Courtesy of The LA Times)

The arraignment was supposed to be a simple reading of charges, appointment of counsel and entry of pleas.  According to The Wall Street Journal, it turned into a 13-hour “spectacle of disruptions.”  The defendants’ attorneys argued that the military commission trial was unconstitutional.  Some believe that this rocky start will further divide opposing sides on whether a tribunal on a faraway Caribbean island is the appropriate place for justice, reported The LA Times.

The five men, now known as the “Gitmo 5” shifted from disgust to boredom throughout the proceedings, according to The LA Times.  The day started with defendant Walid bin Attash being carried into the room with restraints because he refused to come on his own.  He was eventually freed from the restraints after promising to behave.

One of the men pretended he was reading an English law book; some of the men knelt and bowed in quiet prayer.  All five men refused to wear the headphones that translated the judge’s questions from English to Arabic, according to The National Post.  Eventually, a translator came in and translated the questions for the whole room to hear.

Finally, three hours into the hearing, detainee Ramzi Binalshibh waved his finger at the judge and protested: “It’s about the treatment we have received at the camps.  You want to kill us,” reports The LA Times.

The judge overseeing the hearing, Army Colonel James Pohl, refused to stop the arraignment and insisted the proceedings continue.  He later said that even if Mohammed had a perfect reason to refuse cooperation and everyone agreed it was reasonable, he would move forward with the trial anyway.

Mohammed’s civilian attorney, David Nevin told The LA Times, “I can’t force Mr. Mohammed to cooperate or not.”  He said that Mohammed would not cooperate because of past torture (water boarding) at a CIA “black” site.  Walid bin Attash’s civilian attorney, Cheryl Borman insisted that the treatment of her client at Guantanamo Bay had interfered with his ability to participate in the proceedings.

The men could all face the death penalty, according to The National Post, for their involvement in the September 11 attacks that killed 2,976 people in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania.

This was the men’s first appearance since Jan. 21, 2009 a day after President Obama’s inauguration, according to The Star Telegram.  Four years ago, Mohammed tried to plead guilty, saying, “This is what I wish – to be martyred.”  The trial is set to start a year from now, moving it into President Obama’s last term, or onto Republican hopeful Mitt Romney’s lap, reported The Wall Street Journal.  The next hearing is scheduled for June 12.

For more information, please visit:

The Star-Telegram — 5 Terror Suspects Refuse to Cooperate During Arraignment — 6 May 2012

The Wall Street Journal — Chaos at Sept. 11 Hearing Suggests Long Road for Case — 6 May 2012

National Post — Accused 9/11 Plotters Refuse to  Cooperate at Arraignment, Citing ‘Torture’ Complaints — 5 May 2012

The LA Times — 9/11 Trial Begins at Guantanamo — 5 May 2012

Syria Human Rights Violations Report: 7 May 2012

Aleppo | Aleppo University

At least 7 students were killed and dozens arrested after the regime’s forces viciously invaded the university and dormitories to punish students for mobilizing in a peaceful demonstration. In this footage, the regime’s forces started a dormitory on fire and a student is trying to put it out with buckets of water.

 

Homs | Ar-Rastan

This girl was shot by a sniper and the bullet remains lodged in her body.

 

Dar’aa | Da’el

UN monitors address regime forces at a military checkpoint in Da’el while residents demonstrate peacefully.

 

Casualty Report

33 confirmed casualties killed by the regime in Syria on Thursday, 3 May 2012.

Hama: 5
Dar’aa: 4
Homs: 9
Damascus & Damscus Suburbs: 4
Aleppo: 1
Idleb: 7
Arraqqah: 1

16 confirmed casualties killed by the regime in Syria on Sunday, 6 May 2012.

Dar’aa: 1
Homs: 4
Damascus & Damscus Suburbs: 2
Aleppo: 1
Idleb: 8
Arraqqah: 1

 

Videos and Statistics Courtesy of:

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Casualty Report – 6 May 2012

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Violations Report – 6 May 2012

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Casualty Report – 3 May 2012

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Violations Report – 3 May 2012

 

Russian Activist Convicted Under Anti-Gay Propaganda Law

By Brianne Yantz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – On Friday, a court in St. Petersburg fined prominent gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev for promoting homosexuality under a new municipal law that outlaws the distribution of “gay propaganda.”

Russian gay activist Nikolai Alexeyev. (Photo Courtesy of AP)
Russian gay activist Nikolai Alexeyev. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

After his conviction, Alexeyev announced the decision by taking to the social media site Twitter and asking his followers, “who can pay my fine for gay propaganda in St. Petersburg?”

Alexeyev was arrested in April for picketing St. Petersburg city hall with a poster that said: “Homosexuality is not a perversion. Perversion is hockey on the grass and ballet on ice.”  He was fined 5,000 rubles ($170 USD).  He said he plans to appeal against the decision if it is upheld later this week and will bring the issue before the European Court of Human Rights, if necessary.

The legislation, which was enacted in March of this year by local lawmakers, has drawn international criticism with human rights activists and organizations denouncing the law as homophobic and unjust. As John Dalhuisen, the Europe and Central Asia director at Amnesty International, explained, “such laws threaten freedom of expression and fuel discrimination against the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community.”

Under the new law, public LGBTI events and demonstrations are effectively banned because of the pretext that the law is protecting minors. Furthermore, informational leaflets on rights or assistance or available advice are also severely restricted.

This suppression of LGBTI awareness from the public eye has driven concerns that the new legislation violates the rights of freedom of expression and assembly, as well as the right to non-discrimination and equality before the law. Such rights have been guaranteed by various international human rights treaties to which Russia is a party.

According to Amnesty International, the anti-gay propaganda legislation in St. Petersburg was influenced by similar actions in other regions of the nation such as Arkhangelsk and Riazan. Additionally, laws that seek to ban “propaganda of homosexuality” are currently underway in regions such as Samara and Novosibirsk.

Despite the backlash, Moscow’s Mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, has defended the anti-gay legislation in Russia, arguing that gay gatherings are offensive to the religious beliefs of many Russians.

 

For more information, please see: 

NY Times – Russia: Gay Rights Activist Fined – 5 May 2012

Boston Herald – Gay Leader in Russia Convicted, Fined  – 5 May 2012

Amnesty International – Amnesty International Urges Russia To Reconsider Anti-Gay Laws, Condemns the Fining of Prominent Activist – 4 May 2012

BBC News – Gay Rights Campaigner Fined in Russia for ‘Propaganda’ – 4 May 2012

Prosecutor Recommends 80-Year Sentence for Taylor

By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – A prosecutor’s brief submitted Thursday recommends that former Liberia President Charles Taylor, who was convicted of war crimes before the Special Court for Sierra Leone on April 26, serve 80 years for his transgressions.  A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 16.  His ultimate fate will be announced on May 30.

On April 26, Taylor was found guilty on eleven charges—including acts of terrorism, rape, pillage, and sexual slavery—pertaining to his involvement in Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war.  He provided support to the Revolutionary United Front in the form of arms and finances in exchange for “blood diamonds.”  According to the brief, his participation was “willing and enthusiastic,” and continued even as he publicly took part in peace negotiations.  The brief called him a “two-faced Janus.”  Taylor is the first former head of state to be convicted by an international tribunal since the Nuremberg Trials that took place after World War II.

In describing the former Liberian leader, the Prosecutor’s brief described him as more than “a simple weapons procurer or financier who sat on the sidelines of a civil war raging in a neighbouring country …”  Instead, he helped plan the three bloodiest incursions of the conflict, including the invasion of Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital.  Thousands of people died, with thousands more raped, enslaved, or crippled by limb amputation.  Taylor’s involvement proved so direct that the prosecutor concluded that “but for [his] criminal conduct, thousands of people would not have had limbs amputated, would not have been raped, would not have been killed.”

Each party will have one hour for closing arguments at the May 16 hearing.  Taylor will also have permission to speak for 30 minutes.  If convicted, he will serve his sentence in a British prison.

For more information, please see:

Liberian Observer — Prosecutor Seeks 80 Years for Taylor — 05 May 2012

Guardian (UK) — Charles Taylor Should Face 80 Years in Jail, UN Prosecution Urges — 04 May 2012

BBC — Sierra Leone Trial: 80 Years Urged for Charles Taylor — 03 May 2012

Special Court for Sierra Leone — Prosecution Sentencing Brief — 03 May 2012

Liberian Journal — Charles Taylor’s War Crimes Sentence Hearing Set for May 16 — 26 April 2012