Mikhail Kryvau
Blog written for Amnesty International by Belarusian youth activist Mikhail Kryvau, who was sentenced to two years of ‘restricted freedom’ on 22 April 2008.
In October 2007, I got involved in a group of youth activists called the United Civil Party of Belarus (UCPB). We decided to start the Young Democrats – the UCPB youth wing – and activities involved organizing political discussions and student education seminars, as well as writing and distributing materials. One of our major activities became participation in protest actions held by the democratic opposition.
On the 10th of January 2008, I took part in a major action of protest. The participants of the demonstration – small entrepreneurs and opposition activists – were protesting against one of President Lukashenka’s rulings.
It grew into a mass demonstration and the protesters stopped the traffic in the city centre. However, it remained a peaceful and non-violent protest.
When it was almost over and I was going back home, I was brutally attacked by the officers from the special police force – the so-called "Police Squads of Special Function".
They hit me and bent my arms behind my back. Then the officers threw six or seven more people into the police van.
All of us were lying on the floor with our faces down. They were fiercely hitting us with their iron-covered boots and gloves. I noticed some blood on the girl’s coat next to me. We asked the officers to stop but they wouldn’t. It was a shattering experience. I felt like what was happening was unreal and I was just having a very bad dream.
When I was taken to the police department, I felt very bad. I asked for a doctor but the police ignored my requests. I spent the night in a prison cell.
The next morning we were taken to the Minsk Central District Court. In the evening, I was eventually brought before a judge. As a result of the 15-minute "trial", I was given 15 days of administrative detention.
Following that, on 4 March 2008, I was called to the police department again. This time, they handed me an Official Note declaring me accused of "organizing and active participating" in the January 10th demonstration.
On 16 April 2008, the trial proceedings began in Minsk. A number of opposition activists – 14 people in total – were accused of "organizing and active participating in an unauthorized action of protest".
On 22 April, the judge found us guilty. Most of us were sentenced to two years of restricted freedom, which is a form of home arrest.
Our lawyers had the verdicts appealed. However, the sentences were reaffirmed.
In July 2008, my sentence officially came into force. I would have to stay in the confines of my apartment at all times, except when I was at work (eight hours) and the time designated for my day-to-day activities, such as going to the grocery store, barber’s etc. (two hours).
If the police phoned me on my home landline and I was one minute late, I would get my first official warning. If I got three such warnings, my sentence would automatically change from restraint of liberty to deprivation of liberty – i.e. jail.
Every two weeks I would have to go and register at the police department. The police would have the right to enter my apartment at any time of day. I would not be permitted to leave Minsk. I would not be permitted to attend public events such as any kinds of demonstrations, conventions or picketing. I would not be permitted to visit other people’s apartments.
Because of the harsh restrictions imposed on my freedom and the threat of further confinement, I made a difficult decision to flee Belarus. I sought the status of a political refugee, which was granted to me by the Irish government in May 2009.
Since I left Belarus, the police have visited my apartment twice. Both times there was a group of 4-6 police officers. They searched my apartment and asked my relatives and neighbours where I was. When they showed up the second time, they searched my apartment again and told my parents that they had launched a criminal investigation with regard to my evasion from serving my sentence.
READ MORE
Belarus activists tell of life in exile (News, 27 November 2009)
Read Tatyana Tishkevich’s blog
Read Ales Charnyshou’s blog
Read Alyaksei Bondar’s blog
Call on Belarusian President to free youth activists
Tunisian journalist jailed after unfair trial
Amnesty International has condemned the conviction of a dissenting Tunisian journalist who has been jailed for six months on trumped up charges after an unfair trial.
Taoufik Ben Brik, a prominent government critic, was sentenced on Thursday on charges of committing violence, damaging property, harming public morality and defamation.
“This is a very disappointing outcome", said Malcolm Smart, Middle East and North Director at Amnesty International. "Taoufik Ben Brik should not have been prosecuted, let alone convicted and sentenced to a prison term.
"He has been convicted on politically-motivated charges for exercising his right to freedom of expression. He is a prisoner of conscience and must be released immediately and unconditionally.”
Taoufik Ben Brik’s lawyers have been prevented from visiting him since his hearing on 19 November at the Tunis Court of First Instance.
His family were refused permission to visit him on Wednesday – the allotted visitation day – without explanation.
On Thursday, the court delivered its verdict in writing. Taoufik Ben Brik was not brought to the courthouse. He has 10 days to appeal his conviction.
Taoufik Ben Brik denies all the charges against him. He says they have been manufactured by the Tunisian authorities because of his criticism of the government.
During his trial, the court failed to allow his defence lawyers an opportunity to fully present their case or cross-examine prosecution witnesses.
The court also appeared to accept as evidence a statement the authorities allege was freely given by Taoufik Ben Brik in pre-trial detention – but which he says is false and bears a forgery of his signature.
Taoufik Ben Brik appears to have been convicted on account of his criticism of the government and opposition to the recent re-election of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
The court hearing took place amid oppressive security conditions. Journalists were barred and only three members of Taoufik Ben Brik’s family were permitted to attend.
Taoufik Ben Brik, who suffers from diabetes and a rare hormonal disorder called Cushing’s Syndrome, for which he needs regular medication, appeared physically weak and was unable to stand throughout the proceedings.
Amnesty International has called on the Tunisian authorities to ensure that Taoufik Ben Brik has full access to his lawyers and family, and has reiterated its call for his release.
"Today’s verdict raises serious questions about the independence and integrity of the judicial process in Tunisia," said Malcolm Smart. "The President now needs to step in and order Taoufik Ben Brik’s immediate and unconditional release. He has the power. He should use it."
Syrian activist held incommunicado at risk of torture
Amnesty International has expressed its concern for a Syrian political activist, held incommunicado since 15 November and believed to be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.
Yousef Dheeb al-Hmoud was arrested at his home in the city of Deir az-Zawr, eastern Syria. His family were unable to identify the security force that the arresting officers belonged to.
The authorities have not revealed where Yousef Dheeb al-Hmoud is being held, why he was arrested or whether he will be charged. He had previously been summoned for questioning by Syrian security forces on several occasions, most recently by Political Security earlier this month.
Yousef Dheeb al-Hmoud is a member of the Islamic Democratic Current, an Islamist political group which demands democratic reform in Syria and is opposed to the use of violence. It is part of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change (DDDNC), an unauthorized umbrella body comprising opposition groups in Syria.
There are widespread reports of torture and other ill-treatment in Syria’s detention and interrogation centres. People suspected of affiliation to unauthorized Islamist groups are at particular risk of arbitrary detention, torture or other ill-treatment. Syrian security forces personnel generally benefit from impunity for such violations.
Scores of people were arrested in August 2008, mostly in Deir az-Zawr, but also in the cities of Aleppo and Hama. One of those arrested, Mohammed Amin al-Shawa, died in custody in January 2009; according to Syrian human rights organizations, he died as a result of being tortured.
At least nine others are still detained incommunicado at an unknown location. According to Syrian human rights organizations, many appear to have been arrested because the authorities interpreted their appearance and lifestyle as indications of their affiliation to unauthorized Islamist groups.
Freedom of expression and association is strictly controlled in Syria, aided by “state of emergency” laws which have been in force since 1964. Only the Ba’ath Party and some parties linked to it are officially recognized as political parties in Syria and human rights organizations are not authorized to operate.
Peaceful critics of the Syrian authorities, members of human rights organizations and others suspected of being political opponents risk arrest, harassment and persecution.
Twelve individuals are serving two-and-a-half-year prison sentences for their involvement in the DDDNC. The 12 were convicted by the Damascus Criminal Court on 29 October 2008 of “weakening national sentiment” and “broadcasting false or exaggerated news which could affect the morale of the country”. They were all arrested between 9 December 2007 and 5 February 2008 and initially held incommunicado at the State Security Branch in Damascus, where at least eight of them were beaten.
They were punched in the face, kicked and slapped and forced to sign false “confessions”. Amnesty International said it considers them to be prisoners of conscience and has called for their immediate and unconditional release. Two of the 12, Dr Yasser al-‘Eiti and Ahmad To’meh, belong to the Islamic Democratic Current.
Amnesty International has called on the Syrian authorities to ensure that Yousef Dheeb al-Hmoud will not be tortured or otherwise ill-treated.
The organization has urged the authorities to immediately allow him visits from his family, a lawyer of his choosing, and any appropriate medical treatment he may require.
It has also called on the Syrian authorities to release Yousef Dheeb al-Hmoud unless he is to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence and tried promptly in proceedings which meet fair trial standards.
Lebanon must investigate all civil war mass grave sites
The Lebanese authorities must step up their efforts to reveal the fate of thousands of people abducted between 1975 and 1990, during the country’s civil war, Amnesty International said.
The organization’s call followed the confirmation by DNA test results on Monday that remains recovered last week are those of British journalist Alec Collett, who was 64 when he was seized from a car in Beirut in 1985.
The remains were exhumed by a team of British experts working in co-operation with the Lebanese authorities in the Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon. A second body of a younger person was found at the site but not identified.
"The UK government respects its citizens, which is why they sent experts all the way to Lebanon to look for this man," Sawsan Hirbawi, sister of Ahmed Hirbawi who was kidnapped in 1976, told Amnesty International.
"We have been calling on the Lebanese state for so many years to dig up mass graves and reveal the fate of my brother and many others, but our state has done absolutely nothing."
The discovery of Alec Collett’s remains shows the inadequacy of steps taken by the Lebanese authorities to reveal the fate and whereabouts of Lebanese, Palestinian and other nationals, abducted by armed militias or subjected to enforced disappearance by Lebanese, Syrian and Israeli forces.
The apparent inability of the Lebanese authorities to identify the second body highlights their failure to establish a database of DNA samples from family members of those who went missing. Associations of families of civil war victims have been campaigning for such a database for more than a decade.
"Europeans are lucky to have governments who care about them and send people to look for them wherever they are," said Samira Zakharia, whose 29-year-old son, Iskandar Zakharia, was kidnapped the same year as Alec Collett.
"But our government does not care. I take 11 pills every day just to keep going in the hope that one day I will know what happened to my son."
Almost 20 years after the end of the civil war, the Lebanese state has generally failed to conduct exhumations at mass graves from the period, even where their presence has been officially acknowledged.
Three of the mass graves are in Beirut and mentioned in a three-page summary of the findings of the Official Commission of Investigation into the Fate of the Abducted and Disappeared Persons in 2000: the St Demetrious Cemetery in Achrafieh, the Martyrs’ Cemetery in Horsh Beirut and the English Cemetery in Tahwita.
A preliminary ruling by Lebanese judicial authorities last month, said that the government should provide the full findings of the 2000 investigations. This could lead to exhumations at these sites in the future. The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by two Lebanese non-governmental organizations.
As far as Amnesty International is aware, the only mass grave where the Lebanese authorities have completed exhumations and DNA tests was next to the Ministry of Defence in al-Yarze. The remains of 24 military personnel were discovered in November 2005, seven months after the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon. President Michel Suleiman, then the army commander, formed a committee to conduct the DNA tests.
The body of Johnny Nassif, a Lebanese soldier who went missing on 13 October 1990, was the latest to be identified by these tests on 11 November. He was among 10 soldiers said to have been killed during or after clashes with Syrian forces. The remaining 14 bodies belonged to Lebanese soldiers killed in the early to mid 1980s.
The whereabouts of another 20 soldiers and two priests, Albert Sherfan and Suleiman Abu Khalil, who went missing on the same day as Johnny Nassif, remain unknown; their families believe they are being held in Syria.
Amnesty International said that the Lebanese authorities must proceed without delay to investigate all mass grave sites in the country, so that the ordeal of all families waiting for news about relatives missing since the civil war can finally learn the truth about their fate.
Before his death, Alec Collett had been commissioned by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to write about Palestinian refugee camps.
His remains are reported to have been found in the town of Aita al-Foukhar at a site formerly used as a base by Fatah – the Revolutionary Council, a Palestinian militia commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization. They had claimed responsibility for his kidnapping in 1985 and killing in 1986.
The discovery of the two bodies at the base also raises the possibility that other missing persons could be buried there.
Amnesty International called on the Lebanese authorities to immediately protect the site and take action to check for other human remains.
The organization said that if further bodies are found, the authorities should take steps to identify them and hand them over to their families.
Yemeni women face violence and discrimination
Women in Yemen face systemic discrimination and endemic violence with devastating consequences for their lives, Amnesty International said in a campaign report on Wednesday.
Their rights are routinely violated because Yemeni laws as well as tribal and customary practices treat them as second class citizens.
Women are not free to marry who they want and some are forced to marry when they are children, sometimes as young as eight.
The practice was highlighted last Friday, 20 November, by the UN Committee against Torture, which expressed its concern at the “legality” of early marriages of girls, calling it “inhuman and degrading treatment”.
Once married, a woman must obey her husband and obtain his permission just to leave the house.
Women are valued as half the worth of men when they testify in court or when their families are compensated if they are murdered.
They are also denied equal treatment when it comes to inheritance and are often denied it completely.
Women are dealt with more harshly than men when accused of “immoral” acts, and men are treated leniently when they murder female relatives in “honour killings”.
Such discriminatory laws and practices encourage and facilitate violence against women, which is rife in the home and in society at large.
Despite this, recent years have seen some positive developments for women’s rights, such as the creation of the quasigovernmental National Women’s Committee (NWC) in 1996 and the appointment in 2001 of a minister of state for human rights, which was upgraded to ministerial level in 2003.
The government has also engaged with intergovernmental bodies and reported to the UN committee overseeing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which Yemen is a party.
Most significantly, women themselves have helped to create a vibrant civil society, and women’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have achieved some success in some campaigns for reforms. In 2009, for example, the government repealed Article 3(1) of the 1990 Nationality Law to allow children born to a Yemeni mother and a non-Yemeni father to qualify for Yemeni nationality.
However, other reforms are urgently needed. Amnesty International is calling for an end to discriminatory laws and violence against women, adding its voice to the demand of women in Yemen for full and equal access to their human rights.
Women, violence and poverty – breaking out of the gender trap
Why is it that more than two thirds of the world’s poor are women, although women are only half of the world’s population?
Discrimination is a key driver of poverty and women often face discrimination on multiple grounds – they may be denied their rights because they are women and because they belong to a marginalized group.
Women living in poverty also face discrimination simply because they are poor. This discrimination can mean that women are excluded from access to justice, protection or services.
In some countries discrimination is built into the laws, while in many other countries it persists despite equality laws.
Women are often responsible for providing for their families, though are often paid less than men for the same work, do work in the informal sector with no job security and have less access to resources such as land, credit and inheritance rights.
Many women living in poverty don’t have access to healthcare because they can’t afford to pay for it or reach health services. Women in South Africa, particularly black women, are disproportionately affected by poverty and the HIV pandemic.
Transport costs are high in relation to people’s income and women living in poor rural communities often find it difficult to reach hospitals and maintain their treatment. Many women don’t have adequate food, which is essential for coping with the side effectives of anti-retroviral medication.
Women’s low social status compounds the problem as when there’s not enough food to go around, they are likely to be the last to eat.
The discrimination women face is linked to violence against women. It shapes the forms of violence that a woman experiences. It also makes some women more likely to be targeted for certain forms of violence because they have less social status than other women and because perpetrators know such women are less likely to report abuse or seek assistance.
Caught in cycles of poverty and violence
Violence, for women, is both a cause and a consequence of poverty – violence keeps women poor, and poor women are most exposed to violence. Women who suffer from violence lose income and their capacity to earn a wage is impaired.
Being poor may make women make difficult choices which puts them or keeps them at risk from violence. A woman who is economically dependent on her abusive partner may see no way to support herself and her children if she leaves.
A girl who becomes pregnant as a result of a rape may find herself excluded from school, with fewer prospects of finding safe work and an independent future.
Poverty is widespread in Haiti and many parents in rural areas make the choice to send their children to cities in the hope that their life chances will be improved. More than 100,000 girls between 6 and 17 in Haiti are in domestic service.
Children in domestic service work long hours doing domestic chores, looking after other children in the family and selling goods in markets and are provided lodging. Far from their relatives and friends, and trapped in a situation of total dependence on their employers, many girls are exposed to physical abuse and sexual violence. With virtually no one concerned for their welfare and few prospects of finding safer work, these girls live a lonely, isolated and vulnerable existence.
Women’s lives, men’s decisions
Poverty can restrict women’s opportunities to make choices about their own lives. This can be exacerbated by custom, culture and religion which often combine to deny women access to decision-making processes and even crucial choices over their lives and bodies, such as whether to become mothers. In the Philippines, government policies limit women’s control over whether and when to become pregnant as policies prioritise ‘natural’ family planning methods such as periodic abstinence or withdrawal.
Lack of access to free contraception hits poor women hard as they struggle to find the money to buy the contraception they need, especially at a time of economic crisis when the costs of goods and commodities are rising. Up to three quarters of sexually active adolescents do not use any contraception.
Childbirth is a high risk activity in the Philippines, where ten women die every day from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. High rates of maternal death are compounded by a total ban on abortion meaning that if women do find that they have a mistimed or unwanted pregnancy, they are left with few safe options. At least 400,000 Filipino women resort to clandestine abortions every year and estimate suggest that around 800 women die each year from complications from unsafe abortions.
Girls miss out on education
Violence and poverty often combine to trap women in difficult situations though education can provide an escape route. Getting an education can open up the possibility of economic independence, increasing women’s choices of how to live their lives. Education is a human right, yet more than 55 millions girls worldwide do not attend school as violence and discrimination impede girls’ access to education.
In Tajikistan, many families cannot afford the basic essentials needed for their children’s schooling – text books, clothes and transport. So rather than sending girls to school, they prioritize the education of boys, who are likely to earn more in later life. Many girls do not complete their education but instead care for family members, work in the fields or at the market, or get married at an early age. A lack of education not only reduces women’s chances of economic independence, but also the possibility of them learning about their rights.
Women speak out
When women know they have rights, they will claim them despite all the obstacles they face. There are inspiring examples to be found throughout the world. Whether acting as human rights defenders or simply as members of their families and communities, women drive social progress and human rights advancement for all. In some countries, women are active participants in the political process and have made significant strides towards political and economic equality.
Progress on paper
Sustained progress by women’s rights activists over the past decade has brought significant advances in the international community’s commitment to the advancement of women’s rights. At the international level there are legally binding agreements to protect and promote women’s rights while equality between men and women is a key principle reflected in all human rights standards. At national level there are laws in many countries to protect women’s rights, though these laws do little to improve the lives of women if they are not enforced.
There are no legitimate excuses to explain why governments have failed to fully implement and make effective the national and international laws passed over the last few decades to end violence against women and end discrimination and despite the leaps forward, many women’s lives have hardly improved. Women continue to be the most affected by poverty, violence, environmental degradation and disease. One thing is certain: equality and rights can only be achieved when women actively participate in political processes and when their voices are heard.
The way forward
States and international institutions must work harder to protect women’s rights, but everyone one of us has a role in creating the political will for change. We can challenge our governments to improve women’s rights at home, and all around the world, though international cooperation.
In September 2009, all government agreed to the creation of a strong new United Nations agency for women. This agency will have greater capacity to help the UN and governments to ensure women and girls around the world enjoy their rights in practice. This new agency urgently needs sustained political commitment and funding to succeed.
Take action to support the creation of a strong new women’s agency at the UN and to stop violence against women in South Africa and Haiti
‘Room for improvement’ on South Korea human rights
South Korea has made progress on human rights over the decades but “room for improvement" remains, said Amnesty International’s Secretary General Irene Khan.
Speaking at a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday to mark the completion of her visit to South Korea, Irene Khan said that the time had come for the government to "move forward confidently and strengthen democracy through better respect of human rights for all persons in South Korea".
Five key areas of human rights in the country required urgent attention, Irene Khan said.
Amnesty International’s Secretary General called on the government to put into place mechanisms to improve and monitor policing, particularly of public protests, and to better protect the rights of migrant workers.
She also said the government should support the work of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), provide space for freedom of expression and retain its position on not using the death penalty.
Miss Khan said now that South Korea had a strong economy and is a stable democracy; the expectations are raised in terms of better respect for human rights.
Irene Khan visited South Korea between 21 and 24 November 2009. While there she launched the Korean edition of her book, The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights, which addresses the issues of poverty and human rights.
Syria: End Persecution of Kurds
(New York) – Syrian authorities should end their unlawful and unjustified practices of attacking peaceful Kurdish gatherings and detaining Kurdish political and cultural activists, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
Nigeria: Prosecute Killings by Security Forces
Detainees in Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories must be treated humanely
Amnesty International has made a renewed call for the humane treatment of all detainees in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, following reports that captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit may be released in a prisoner exchange.
Several armed groups were involved in Shalit’s capture although it is thought that Hamas is now exclusively holding him. In exchange for his release, Hamas is reported to be demanding the release of a number of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Amnesty International has called on Hamas to abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law. The organization said that Gilad Shalit must be treated humanely, granted access to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and allowed to communicate regularly with his family.
Corporal Gilad Shalit was 19 when he was captured on 25 June 2006 by Palestinian armed groups during an attack on an army base in southern Israel in which two other soldiers were killed and a third was injured.
Since then his exact location has not been revealed and the ICRC has been denied access to him.
With the permission of Gilad Shalit’s family, Israeli television broadcast a Hamas video in October that showed Shalit reading a statement and holding a copy of a newspaper dated 14 September 2009. Negotiations are ongoing.
Amnesty International has campaigned on behalf of Gilad Shalit since 2006. Its members have written letters to Hamas officials calling for his humane treatment and sent letters of solidarity to the Shalit family.
Gilad Shalit’s parents Noam and Aviva Shalit have been extremely active in campaigning for his release.
Amnesty International has also raised the issue of the conditions of Gilad Shalit’s detention and demanded that he be given access to the ICRC in meetings with the Hamas de facto authority in Gaza.
In the weeks following the attack in which Gilad Shalit was taken prisoner, the Israeli authorities launched a prolonged military offensive against the Gaza Strip, in which over 100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, including dozens of children and many other unarmed civilians.
During the military operation, which involved air bombardment and artillery shelling, Israeli forces also attacked and destroyed or damaged civilian infrastructure including bridges, roads, and the electricity network.
The Israeli army arrested scores of Palestinian officials, among them government ministers and other members of the Palestinian parliament. Some of these detainees have subsequently been released. Amnesty International has urged both Israeli and Palestinian parties not to use detention as a political tactic and detainees as bargaining tools.
The organization has also criticized the Israeli authorities’ use of administrative detention whereby Palestinians are held, sometimes for years, without charge or trial. As of September 2009, some 335 Palestinians were being held in administrative detention in Israeli jails.
Amnesty International members have campaigned on behalf of such Palestinian administrative detainees, including 17-year-old student Hamdi al-Ta’mari and university lecturer Dr Ghassan Khaled.