Sri Lankan army clashes with detainees
A detainee was seriously injured and had to be hospitalized as a clash broke out between the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) and detainees being held at a school in Vavuniya in north-eastern Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
The detainee, Sri Chandramorgan from Kanahapuram, Kilinochchi, was initially reported to have been killed by the army when he tried to escape from the Poonthotham Teachers Training College, which serves as an unofficial detention centre. The rumour sparked unrest in the camp and the road to the facility was closed by authorities.
“The danger of serious human rights violations, including torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings increases substantially when detainees are held in locations that are not officially acknowledged places of detention and lack proper legal procedures and safeguards”, said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia Director.
Detention centres such as the Poonthotham Teachers Training College are irregular places of detention. Since May 2009, an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 individuals suspected of ties to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE or Tamil Tigers) have been detained in irregular detention facilities operated by the Sri Lankan security forces and affiliated paramilitary groups.
Several such groups are active in Vavuniya and have been implicated in human rights violations, including People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) and both factions of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP).
On 25 May, just a week after the Sri Lankan government declared victory over the Tamil Tigers, Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka announced that 9,000 Tamil Tigers cadres had surrendered to the army.
Since then, there have been regular reports of arrests. Some have been officially acknowledged and reported in the Sri Lankan press and others reported by relatives of detainees in displacement camps.
Many of these detainees are being held incommunicado, meaning they have not had access to family members or legal counsel and have not appeared in court.
Amnesty International has confirmed the location of at least 10 such facilities in school buildings and hostels originally designated as displacement camps in the north. There have also been frequent reports of other unofficial places of detention elsewhere in the country.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has no access to these detainees and there is no transparency about their registration and treatment.
Incommunicado detention of suspects in irregular places of detention (i.e. places other than police stations, officially designated detention centres or prisons) has been a persistent practice in Sri Lanka associated with torture, killings and enforced disappearances.
Amnesty International has called on the Sri Lankan government to ensure that the screening process for suspected combatants is carried out in ways that guarantee the human rights and dignity of all those involved.
Arrangements should be made for independent monitoring of screening processes. Tamil Tigers suspects must be held only in recognised places of detention and be brought before a judicial authority without delay after being taken into custody.
Campaigner, rock musician and parliamentarian visit Troy Davis
An Amnesty International campaigner, a musician and a member of the UK parliament are visiting death row inmate Troy Davis in the US state of Georgia. The delegation is helping to highlight what is widely feared to be a miscarriage of justice.
Kim Manning Cooper, death penalty campaigner with Amnesty International’s UK Section, is joined by Richard Hughes, the drummer with rock band Keane, and Alistair Carmichael, chair of the UK parliamentary group for the abolition of the death penalty.
"Even those who don’t agree with Amnesty’s stance in opposing all executions ought to be shocked by this case," said Kim Manning Cooper. "But the tide may now be turning and it’s heartening to see support for Troy growing all the time.
"We want as many people as possible to sign our petition on behalf of Troy Davis. It’s vital that the Georgia authorities know how strongly people feel about Troy’s plight."
Richard Hughes said that Troy Davis’ case is "terrifying illustration" of why the death penalty is wrong.
"I am going to Georgia with Amnesty International to meet this remarkable man and his family; to show my support for him; and to try to shine a little light on his case and the terrible effects of continuing to execute people in the name of justice."
This will be Alistair Carmichael’s second visit to death row in the United States – the other being for the Scotsman Kenny Richey in 2004.
"He was later released from prison and I sincerely hope that soon I’ll be able to say the same about Troy Davis."
Troy Davis, 40, who has always protested his innocence, has been on death row since 1991. He has faced three execution dates in the past two years, but the US Supreme Court ruled in August 2009 that he should be allowed an evidentiary hearing into his claim of innocence.
Troy Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing a police officer, Mark Allen MacPhail, in Savannah, Georgia in 1989. However, since the trial most of the witnesses the state relied upon to convict him have recanted their testimony.
Georgia is one of 35 US states to retain the death penalty. Since the USA resumed judicial killing in 1977, more than 1,170 men and women have been put to death there. Georgia accounts for 45 of these executions.
Deporting HIV-Positive Migrants Threatens Lives, Global Goals
(London) – National governments, in cooperation with international agencies and donors, should reconsider deportation policies for people living with HIV/AIDS, four HIV/AIDS and human rights groups said in a report released today.
Honduras: OAS Should Press for End to Abuses
The Organization of American States should press the Honduran de facto government to halt the excessive use of force against protesters and to guarantee other fundamental rights, Human Rights Watch said today.
Saudi Arabia: New University a Chance to Expand Freedom
(New York) – The opening today of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thulwa, Saudi Arabia, will test whether the kingdom is prepared to expand academic freedoms and women’s rights, Human Rights Watch said today.
Thousands unite to end maternal mortality in Sierra Leone
Over 4,000 people gathered in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Tuesday to attend the launch of Amnesty International’s campaign to end maternal mortality in the country.
Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Irene Khan, told the assembled crow that having a baby should be a very happy occasion, “but, in so many houses it becomes a very sad occasion.
“Is this inevitable?” she asked the crowd. “No. It can be prevented. Women must not die giving birth,
“That’s why we’re here. That’s why you’re here. We want all women to have free healthcare.”
The director of Amnesty International section in Sierra Leone, Brima Sheriff, urged those present to sign a petition to the government demanding improved maternal healthcare. He explained that Amnesty International will campaign for the next six years to reduce maternal deaths in the country.
The crowd was entertained by some of Sierra Leone’s top artists, who performed a song lamenting the preventable deaths of women and girls during pregnancy and childbirth.
The artists were joined by Nollywood actress Omotola Jakande Ekeinde, a major movie star in West Africa, who has been helping Amnesty International raise awareness in the region on maternal mortality as a human rights issue.
A play by a talented local theatre group graphically portrayed the consequences of leaving medical assistance too late. In Sierra Leone, many women are unable to access lifesaving medical care because their healthcare needs are not prioritized and the family fears the cost of hospital treatment.
Amnesty International’s Campaign Caravan – an enormous yellow truck carrying a stage – will tour the country raising awareness of maternal deaths as a human rights issue within Sierra Leone and demanding improved healthcare services from the government.
After the launch in Freetown, the Caravan will continue to the towns of Kabala and Kambia and Bo and Kenema.
Sri Lanka: World Leaders Should Demand End to Detention Camps
(New York) – World leaders in New York for the United Nations General Assembly and the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh should call on the Sri Lankan government to immediately release more than 260,000 displaced persons illegally confined in detention camps, Human Rights Watch said today.
Honduras: New Reports of Abuses
Honduras’s de facto government should refrain from using excessive force against supporters of the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should also refrain from abusing emergency powers to undermine the basic rights of protesters, journalists, and others in Honduras.
VIDEO: Maternal mortality in Sierra Leone
A woman faces a higher risk of dying in child birth in Sierra Leone than almost anywhere in the world. This is not just a health emergency; it is a human rights scandal. According to Amnesty International these deaths, through complications in pregnancy and childbirth are not natural or inevitable, but preventable and unacceptable.
Malaysia: Don’t Censor or Harass Independent Website
(New York) – The Malaysian government should drop its order to a popular news website to remove videos of a recent protest and of a government minister’s reaction, Human Rights Watch said today.