Greece: Create Open Centers for Migrant Children
(Geneva) – An estimated 150 unaccompanied migrant children being held in a detention center on Lesvos Island were on a hunger strike for four days to protest their living conditions, Human Rights Watch said today. The protest, reported by local sources, follows recent police sweeps of migrant living quarters in Greek cities. The children ended their strike on Friday, August 21.
Iraq: Halt All Attacks on Civilians
All parties in Iraq and elsewhere in conflicts in the Middle East should put an end to attacks that target or indiscriminately harm civilians, Human Rights Watch and a dozen other groups that work in the Middle East said today in a statement.
Jordan: Prison Reform Promises Broken
(New York, August 22, 2009) – Jordan’s prison administration has broken promises to improve the treatment of prisoners, most recently in denying water to 10 Islamist prisoners in Juwaida prison who began a hunger strike on August 18, 2009, Human Rights Watch said today.
Arrest of 11-year-old girl latest human rights violation in Manipur
An 11-year-old girl is being treated for shock in the Indian state of Manipur after spending five days in police custody. Bidyarani Devi Salam was taken from her home by security forces on the morning of 14 August.
"Amnesty International calls for an immediate investigation and action against the policemen responsible for carrying out this shameful act," said Madhu Malhotra, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Amnesty Programme.
Local human rights organizations have alleged that the police abducted the minor girl to make her parents – who were wanted for helping local armed opposition groups – give themselves up.
"A minor girl being targeted by armed forces to justify their action against armed opposition groups is an unacceptable act and should not be tolerated under any circumstances," said Madhu Malhotra.
"It’s high time that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, which gives immunity to security and paramilitary forces in conflict with armed opposition groups, is repealed."
The police maintain that they had taken the girl for medical treatment after she fainted during their visit to her house to search for her parents. However, the police could not explain why she was not sent to a children’s home or to a hospital for treatment.
Bidyarani Devi Salam was released and handed over to relatives on Thursday, after police had arrested her parents for helping the Manipur People’s Liberation Army.
On Thursday evening she was being treated at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Manipur. Doctors said it was too early for a diagnosis and that she was under observation. Mala Lisam, the Manipur state coordinator of Childline, said child welfare organizations are now deciding how to help her.
This is the second time in a month that Manipur has come under sharp focus for gross violations of human rights. On 23 July, Manipur police and security forces shot dead a 27-year-old unarmed former militant, Chungkam Sanjit, and a pregnant woman bystander in the main market of Manipur.
Manipur chief minister, Ibobi Singh, has ordered a judicial inquiry into the 23 July killings and suspended six policemen. However, the policemen are yet to be formally charged with murder. A court has given the state government until 25 August to file formal charges.
On 4 and 5 August, police detained seven human rights activists including three women after they led peaceful protests to the state governor’s residence, seeking the dismissal of the policemen for the murders and the filing of formal charges against them.
"Instead of taking legal action against the security forces committing gross human rights violations the state has chosen to punish local activists for peacefully raising their voices to seek justice," said Madhu Malhotra.
Manipur has witnessed recurrent protests against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, which gives immunity to security and paramilitary forces in the conflict with armed militias.
Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have repeatedly demanded the repeal of this legislation which went against India’s international obligations to protect human rights.
Malaysian woman first to be caned under Shariah law
A Malaysian state court sentenced a Muslim woman to six strokes of the cane after she was caught drinking beer in a hotel in the Malaysian state of Pahang.
Amnesty International called on the Malaysian government to immediately stop the use of caning as a punishment. The organization also called for the government to repeal all laws providing for caning and all other forms of corporal punishment.
Kartika Sari Devvi Shukarno, 32, was also fined RM5,000 (approximately US$ 1,400) by a court administering Islamic Shariah law in the Malaysian state of Pahang after she pleaded guilty to the offence. The court has ordered that she be remanded at the Kajang women’s prison from Monday and caned within seven days of this date.
“Caning is a form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and is prohibited under international human rights law,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director. “The Malaysian government should do all it can to stop this inhumane punishment being used in any circumstance.”
Caning is currently used as a supplementary punishment for at least 40 crimes in Malaysia, but this is the first time it has been used against anyone found guilty of violating the country’s religious laws. The Shariah law applies only to Muslims, who make up 60 percent of the country’s 28 million population.
In June 2009, the Malaysian government announced that they had sentenced 47,914 migrants to be caned for immigration offences since amendments to its Immigration Act came into force in 2002. At least 34,923 migrants have so far been caned between 2002 and 2008, according to the country’s prison department records.
Russia: Investigate Dagestan Arson Attack
(Moscow) – The Russian government should immediately investigate the arson attack today on the office of a human rights group in Dagestan, a republic in Russia’s North Caucasus region, Human Rights Watch said.
Tunisia continues human rights abuses in the name of security
The Tunisian authorities continue to commit human rights violations in the name of security and counter-terrorism, yet other states continue to forcibly return Tunisian nationals at risk of torture and other abuses or to threaten such returns, Amnesty International said in a new report on Thursday.
“The government portrays Tunisia as a country where the rule of law prevails, but that is far from the reality,” said Malcolm Smart, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. “In practice, the Tunisian authorities continue to carry out arbitrary arrests and detentions, allow torture and use unfair trials, all in the name of the fight against terrorism. This is the harsh reality behind the official rhetoric.”
The new report, Tunisia, Continuing Abuses in the Name of Security is being issued more than a year after Amnesty International detailed serious human rights violations and called for urgent government action to stem abuses and uphold the rule of law. Little has since changed in Tunisia. Torture remains pervasive in detention centres, particularly those of the State Security Department, and statements allegedly obtained under torture continue to be accepted by courts as evidence to convict defendants without taking any, or adequate, steps to investigate.
“Despite the evidence of ongoing abuses, the Italian authorities have forcibly returned at least five Tunisians since June 2008, all of whom were arrested on arrival and detained incommunicado for periods up to 12 days,” said Malcolm Smart. “Meanwhile, at least 18 other Tunisians are believed to be at risk of forcible return from Italy and from other European states.”
One of the Tunisians forcibly returned from abroad, Sami Ben Khemais Essid, was sent back by the Italian authorities on 3 June 2008 despite a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that he should not be returned at least until the Court had had an opportunity to examine his case.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a military court in November 2008 and in January 2009 was removed from prison by State Security Department officials and taken to the premises of the Ministry of Interior, where he was kept for two days, interrogated about other suspects and tortured. Other Tunisians considered terrorism suspects are now at risk of forcible return from Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden and Switzerland.
Amnesty International has repeatedly called on European and other governments not to forcibly return to Tunisia individuals who would be at risk of torture or other serious human rights violations. These include the 10 Tunisians still held at the US detention centre at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, which President Obama has said he intends to close, and one Tunisian believed to be detained at Bagram in Afghanistan.
“In the past year, we have seen further cases in which suspects have been detained incommunicado beyond the period allowed by Tunisian law only to have their arrest dates falsified by security officials to cover this up,” said Malcolm Smart. “Such abuses are part of a longstanding pattern which we have repeatedly drawn to the government’s attention, but without effective response.”
Recent amendments to the much-criticized anti-terrorism law of 2003 reported in the Tunisian media softened some of its provisions but had only cosmetic effect.
“The Tunisian authorities must clean up the detention system, clamp down against torture and end the impunity accorded to the State Security Department and its officials,” said Malcolm Smart. “The government must take concrete steps to end abuses if its human rights rhetoric is to be matched by reality.”
In its report In the Name of Security: Routine Abuses in Tunisia published in June 2008, Amnesty International described a pattern of human rights violations including arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances; torture and other ill-treatment; unfair trials, including before military courts; and abuses in prisons as well as abuses against Tunisian nationals forcibly returned from abroad.
The Tunisian government rejected Amnesty International’s report, and denied that allegations of torture are not investigated and that security officials are allowed to abuse the law with impunity.
Electoral Media Restrictions Undermine Democratic Process in Afghanistan
On the eve of the presidential elections in Afghanistan, Amnesty International has called on the Afghan government to reverse its ban on national and international media from reporting on cases of violence and insecurity occurring during Thursday’s election.
The decision was made following a National Security Council meeting on Tuesday and was announced by the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry said that journalists must avoid reporting on any election-related violence or security incidents that may occur during polling.
“The Afghan government should immediately dissolve the restrictions on media reporting and allow the national and international media to practice freedom of expression and the right of the people to access information,” Said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Program Director.
In the run up to the election, Amnesty International has documented intimidation of critical Afghan journalists by both the Afghan government and Taleban insurgents.
Amnesty International believes that restricting media reporting on election day will undermine the efforts of the international community and the achievements of the Afghan government for maintaining freedom of expression and access to information in Afghanistan.
“Freedom of expression lies at the heart of the democratic process. The Afghan government is contradicting this very principle in trying to restrict reporting by journalists at a time when the Afghan people need more information, not less,” said Sam Zarifi.
Kim Dae-jung, human rights champion and former South Korean president, dies
Former South Korea President Kim Dae-jung died on Tuesday, aged 85. A winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts at reconciliation with North Korea, he leaves a legacy of commitment to human rights and democracy.
A former prisoner of conscience, Kim Dae-jung was a lifelong activist who sought to raise the profile of human rights both in South Korea and around the world. Once a death row inmate, he was a tireless campaigner against the death penalty.
"Kim Dae-jung was a hero and inspiration to Amnesty International and many people around the world for his uncompromising stance and struggle for democracy in South Korea during the seventies and eighties," said Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Irene Khan.
"Amnesty International is privileged to have campaigned on his behalf, as prisoner of conscience, during his years of imprisonment and when he was given the death sentence."
Kim Dae-jung was considered a dangerous radical in the 1970s and 1980s, during South Korea’s decades of military dictatorship. He survived assassination and abduction attempts, walked free from a death sentence and was exiled twice.
Over several video interviews with Amnesty International in April, Kim Dae-jung discussed his childhood (he was the son of a middle-class farmer), his experiences as a prisoner of conscience, the attempt on his life in Tokyo in 1973 and his time as president. One of the main topics of conversation though, was the death penalty. He said:
"A human should not kill a human. We need to abolish the death penalty in Asia…If the death penalty were abolished, it would change the atmosphere in Asia and also have a positive knock-on effect in Central & South America and Africa and the rest of the world…the issue of death penalty is one of the most serious issues confronting human beings, and I hope that, if possible, the Asian countries will set an example in sorting out this problem."
As a human rights activist, Kim Dae-jung was subjected to human rights violations for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.
He was kidnapped in Tokyo’s Grand Palace hotel in 1973 by South Korean agents. He was dragged to a ship where he said they planned to dump him at sea. The US government intervened to save him and the agents then abandoned their plan. The assassination attempt was in apparent response to his public opposition to the rewriting of the Constitution, which gave more power to General Park Chung-hee, the country’s military ruler.
Kim Dae-jung spent much of the 1970s under house arrest or in prison. It was during this period that he was first adopted as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
He was arrested in March 1976, as a prominent signatory of a "Declaration for National Democratic Salvation". He was arrested again in May 1980, just before the Kwangju Massacre, which resulted in the deaths of civilians who had risen up against the military dictatorship. He was accused of having "instigated" agitation. He was sentenced to death in September 1980.
Amnesty International, and many other human rights and pressure groups, campaigned vigorously on Kim Dae-jung’s behalf throughout that period.
In 1981, following widespread international protests and campaigning by international organizations, his death sentence was commuted; in 1982 he was released on a "suspended" sentence. He then went to live in Boston where he taught at Harvard University.
In February 1985, he was placed under house arrest again on the day he returned from two years’ exile in the USA. House arrest and harassment continued until February 1986.
During a visit to London in 1993, Kim Dae-jung presented Amnesty International with calligraphy he had written, of four Chinese characters meaning “All Nations are One Family”.
He was elected President of South Korea in December 1997. It was the first time in the country’s history that the power of government had been passed from the ruling party president to an opposition leader.
During his presidency Kim-Dae-jung became the first and so far only Korean to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000. This was for his instigation of the so-called "Sunshine Policy", promoting closer ties with communist North Korea.
Kim-Dae-jung’s term as President of South Korea ended in 2003.
"As fellow Nobel Laureates, we were honoured to share President Kim’s ardent opposition to the death penalty, and we were moved by his dedication to campaigning for human rights," said Irene Khan.
Honduras photos and protestor testimonies show extent of police violence
Amnesty International published a series of exclusive photos and testimonies on Wednesday revealing serious ill-treatment by police and military of peaceful protesters in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa. The organization warned that beatings and mass arrests are being used as a way of punishing people for voicing their opposition to the military-backed coup d’etat in June.
As human rights violations increase, the need for the international community to seek a solution to the political crisis becomes ever more urgent.
The photos and testimonies were gathered by an Amnesty International delegation who interviewed many of the 75 people who were detained at the Jefatura Metropolitana Nº3 police station in Tegucigalpa after the police, supported by the military, broke up a peaceful demonstration on 30 July.
Most detainees had injuries as a consequence of police beatings with batons and having stones and other objects thrown at them. When they were arrested, no one was told where they were being taken, the reasons for their detention or the charges against them. All detainees were released a few hours later.
“Mass arbitrary arrests and ill treatment of protesters are a serious and growing concern in Honduras today,” said Esther Major, Central America researcher at Amnesty International.
“Detention and ill treatment of protestors are being employed as forms of punishment for those openly opposing the de facto government, and also as a deterrent for those contemplating taking to the streets to peacefully show their discontent with the political turmoil the country is experiencing,” said Esther Major.
Amongst those held in detention on 30 July were 10 students. They had all been beaten with batons on the back, arms and backs of the legs by police. One of them said: “The police were throwing stones; they cornered us, threw us on the floor, on our stomachs and beat us. They took our cameras from us, beat us if we lifted our heads and even when we were getting into the police wagons.”
Several of those interviewed told Amnesty International that during the demonstration, police officers wore no visible identification. They said some police officers had told them, “do not look at us, sons of bitches,” and that others wore bandanas to hide their faces.
F.M., a 52-year-old teacher also detained on 30 July, told Amnesty International: “We were demonstrating peacefully. Suddenly, the police came towards us, and I started running. They grabbed me and shouted ‘why do you (all) support Zelaya’s government?’. They beat me. I have not been informed as to why I am detained.”
“Using excessive force and mass arbitrary detentions as a policy to repress dissent only serves to inflame tensions further and leads to serious human rights violations,” said Esther Major. “Force must only be employed in the most extreme of circumstances, and certainly not as a method to prevent people’s legitimate right to peacefully demonstrate.”
Amnesty International is also concerned by harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders; limits imposed on freedom of expression and the number of attacks against journalists – including the closure of media outlets, the confiscation of equipment and physical abuse of journalists and camerapersons covering events.
The human rights situation outside of Tegucigalpa is believed to be equally or even more serious. The checkpoints along the primary roads in Honduras are currently manned by military and police who often delay or refuse entry to human rights organizations to areas where human rights violations are reportedly occurring.
Concerns about human rights in Honduras have intensified since the democratically elected President José Manuel Zelaya Rosales was forced from power on 28 June and expelled from the country by a military-backed group of politicians led by Roberto Micheletti, former leader of the National Congress. There has been widespread unrest in the country since the coup d’etat with frequent clashes between the police, military and civilian protestors. At least two people have died after being shot during protests.