Malaysian War Tribunal Finds Bush and Former Associates ‘Guilty’ of Torture, War Crimes
By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON, United States – A Malaysian tribunal found former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and other former members of Bush’s administration guilty of torture and war crimes. The “Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal” reached the decision after hearing evidence from former inmates who told their stories of detention, torture, and mistreatment.
One former inmate, Abbas Abid testified that US troops subjected him to electric shocks, beatings, and sexual abuse at his time in Al-Jadiria prison in Iraq, according to PressTV News. He was a former chief engineer at the Science and Technology Ministry in Baghdad at the time US troops brought him in for questioning, reports The Malaysia Insider. He described the sexual abuse he sustained in the prison; he also claimed that he wanted to “[have] 15 children” and now that is not possible due to his ordeal in prison.
A second witness, former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg was captured in Afghanistan, moved to Pakistan, and was eventually brought to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. According to The Malaysia Insider, he does not know what his crime was to this day. He also testified that his 20 months at Gitmo in solitary confinement led to serious mental deterioration.
This Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War (“KLFCW”) is comprised of five members, which heard three witnesses speak in total, according to The Jurist. These trials are headed by former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad who has stood in starch opposition to the Iraq conflict since its beginning.
These trials have no enforcement power under international or domestic rules of law but the KLFCW expressed hope that “the witnesses will . . . find a state or an international judicial entity able and willing to exercise jurisdiction and to enforce the verdict of the [KLFCW] against the 8 convicted persons and their government,” reported The Jurist.
Even former UN officials criticize the way things have been carried out. Denis Halliday, former UN Assistant Secretary General told PressTV News “The UN is a weak body … and it is corrupted by member states, who use the Security Council for their own interests.” He went on to say that the members do not respect international law or the Geneva Conventions.
Other human rights groups have filed charges against US and UK officials alleging war crimes committed in Afghanistan and Iraq including the Canadian Centre for International Justice, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the European Center for Human Rights, as reported by The Jurist. Although many are calling for reprimand, the ideas are consistently rejected by US officials.
Halliday told PressTV News, “as long as they continue to use the UN it’s going to be somehow redundant and possibly a dangerous and certainly corrupted organization.”
For more information, please visit:
PressTV — Malaysian Tribunal Finds Bush Guilty of War Crimes — 12 May 2012
KLFCW Press Release — Bush and Associates Found Guilty of Torture — 11 May 2012
The Jurist — Malaysia Rights Group Finds Bush and Associates Guilty of War Crimes in Symbolic Trial — 11 May 2012
The Malaysia Insider — NGO “Tries” Bush, Former US Officials for “War Crimes” — 7 May 2012
OTP Weekly Briefing: Renewed Violence in Congo and NGO’s Call for Arrest of Ntaganda
Syria Human Rights Violations Report: 10 May 2012
Dar’aa | An-Na’ema
Shelters are filled with women and children suffering from shelling attacks at the hands of regime forces.
Dar’aa | Al-Mahata
The regime’s security forces break the locks on residents’ shops to punish them for striking.
Dar’aa | Bosra Ash-Shaam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz6vWH5WVM8&feature=youtu.be
These former detainees bear the marks of torture on their bodies after being held in the regime’s prisons.
Homs | Al-Khalidiye
This is the only way residents are able to remove the wounded and dead from the streets – this man is injured but had to be dragged in because snipers and gunfire fill the skies. It is painful to watch.
Casualty Report
37 confirmed casualties killed by the regime in Syria on Monday, 7 May 2012.
*Including three children, two women, five defected soldiers and two victims tortured to death.*
Dar’aa: 1
Deir Azzour: 7
Hama: 8
Homs: 13
Damascus & Damscus Suburbs: 4
Al-Hasaka: 2
Idleb: 2
24 confirmed casualties killed by the regime in Syria on Wednesday, 9 May 2012.
Latakia: 2
Homs: 12
Damascus & Damscus Suburbs: 3
Aleppo: 1
Idleb: 3
Hama: 2
Lebanon borders: 1
Videos and Statistics Courtesy of :
Syrian Network of Human Rights – Casualty Report – 9 May 2012
Syrian Network of Human Rights – Violations Report – 8 May 2012
Syrian Network of Human Rights – Casualty Report – 7 May 2012
Syrian Network of Human Rights – Violations Report – 5 May 2012
Colombian Government Refuses FARC’s Condition For Langlois’ Release
By Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
BOGOTA, Colombia – The Colombian government rejected on Tuesday the FARCs request for a debate on freedom of information in exchange for the release of French journalist Romeo Langlois. Langlois was taken hostage on April 28 while documenting counter-narcotics operations in Colombia for the news network France 24. He was kidnapped when the plantoon he was with came under fire.
The FARC, unsatisfied with the way they have been portrayed by the media, demanded on Monday that the Colombian government hold a debate on the role of the press in covering the armed conflict in the Andean nation. They posted their demand on the Sweden-based Anncol news agency where they frequently post as a way to communicate with the government. The FARC has accused the Colombian government of manipulating the way journalists have bent public opinion against them.
Amnesty International and Inter American Press Association responded to the FARC’s by demanding that they release Langlois without any conditions. “Langlois must be released immediately without any conditions and measures should be taken to ensure that all journalists in Colombia can carry out their work freely,” they said in a statement on Tuesday.
Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon told reporters on Tuesday that the Colombian government will not negotiate with criminal groups such as the FARC which has carried out countless criminal acts through out the years. “No way will we engage in any kind of debate. … They must free him as soon as possible,” he said.
The FARC has called Langlois a “prisoner of war” on their YouTube channel. Pinzon says that they cannot call him a prisoner of war because he was just doing his job as a journalist.
According to Pinzon, the Colombian government has been in contact with the diplomats from the French Embassy to discuss plans for Langlois’ immediate release since the kidnapping. He says, however, that no rescue operations have been launched yet.
Despite some setbacks in the recent years, the FARC remains the number one threat to the Colombia government, with roughly 8,000 rebels still fighting. They are widely known for drug trafficking and deadly kidnappings. In February, the FARC announced that they would stop taking hostages for ransom, however, they claim that they never agreed to stop kidnapping for political means to pressure the Colombian government.
For further information, please see:
Colombia Reports – Colombia Won’t Swap Alleged FARC Member for French Journalist – 09 May 2012
Chicago Tribune – Colombia Won’t Negotiate With Rebels Over Kidnapped Frenchman – 08 May 2012
Fox News – Colombia Demands Rebs Free French Journalist Without Conditions – 08 May 2012
CNN – Colombian President Calls For French Journalist’s Release – 07 May 2012