China must reveal fate of Uighur asylum-seekers
Amnesty International has called on the Chinese authorities to reveal the whereabouts of 20 ethnic Uighur asylum-seekers who were forcibly deported from Cambodia to China on 19 December
The group, which includes two very young children, may be at risk of torture or even execution since their forcible deportation at the request of the Chinese government.
Since 2001, Amnesty International has documented cases in which Uighur asylum seekers or refugees who were forcibly returned to China were detained, reportedly tortured and in some cases sentenced to death and executed.
"The 20 should either be charged with recognizably criminal offences or released," said Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director Sam Zarifi in a letter to the Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi Buzhang.
"Their trials should meet international fair trial standards, and under no circumstances should the death penalty be imposed.
"Our concerns are heightened by the fact that the Chinese authorities have already executed nine people and sentenced eight others to death in relation to the July 2009 unrest in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region," said Sam Zarifi.
Amnesty International has also urged the Chinese government to provide the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) with immediate access to the 20 individuals to monitor their well-being.
UIGHUR ASYLUM-SEEKERS FORCIBLY DEPORTED TO CHINA FROM CAMBODIA ON 19 DECEMBER 2009
1. Abdugheni Abdulkadir and family
2. Abulkadir Shahida
3. Abulkadir Bilal
4. Abulkadir Maymuna
5. Abdugheni Halil
6. Abdullah Kasim
7. Ali Ahmat
8. Ali Nur
9. Amat Eli
10. Ebrayim Mamut
11. Hazirtieli Umar
12. Islam Urayim
13. Kuban Kanwul
14. Mahmut Bilal
15. Mamat Ali
16. Mohammed Musa
17. Mutallip Mamut
18. Omar Mohammed
19. Tuniyazi Aikaebaier Jiang
20. Turik Muhamed
Colombia: Caquetá Governor Abducted and Killed
(Washington, DC) – The killing of a state governor points up the cruel tactics of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, who target and often kill civilians in Colombia’s internal armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said today.
Governor killed in Colombia
Amnesty International has condemned the kidnapping and killing of Luis Francisco Cuéllar Carvajal, Governor of the Colombian department of Caquetá in the south of the country.
Luis Francisco Cuéllar’s body was found yesterday in rural Caquetá, a day after he was kidnapped. Colombian authorities have blamed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for the kidnapping and killing but the group has not claimed responsibility.
“The Colombian authorities must ensure that those responsible for the kidnapping and killing of Governor Cuéllar are brought to justice,” said Marcelo Pollack, Colombia researcher at Amnesty International.
Hundreds of civilians remain kidnapped across Colombia by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN).
“Civilians in Colombia should not be forced to be part of this conflict,” said Marcelo Pollack. “We strongly urge all guerrilla groups to release those kidnapped and for the government to investigate all human rights abuses being committed in the country.”
Lithuania admits existence of secret prison
For the first time a European government has admitted that a secret “black site” existed on its territory, after a Lithuanian parliamentary committee concluded that a CIA secret prison operated in Lithuania during the US-led “war on terror”.
“Confirmation of the existence of a secret prison in Lithuania marks a modern low point for human rights protection in Europe,” said Julia Hall, Amnesty International’s expert on counter-terrorism in Europe.
“But the Lithuanian inquiry signals a turning point in the quest for the truth about what role European states played in helping the USA in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks. Other European governments should take note and commit to full investigations of similar serious allegations.”
The Lithuanian parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence issued a report stating that officials from the Lithuanian State Security Department assisted in constructing a secret prison for terrorist suspects on the country’s territory.
Many detainees held at such secret sites were victims of enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment by US agents, often with the cooperation and assistance of foreign governments.
The committee concluded that CIA airplanes had landed in Lithuania without border checks and claimed that Lithuanian State Security Department officials had failed to notify the president or the prime minister in violation of Lithuanian law.
“The Lithuanian government should have known what its own agencies were doing and is ultimately responsible for the secret prison and any human rights violations that may have taken place there," said Julia Hall.
“The inquiry’s findings are only a first step toward accountability. The investigation in Lithuania should continue and those persons responsible for any involvement in the secret site must be identified and prosecuted.”
Poland and Romania have also been named by the European Parliament and the Council of Europe as allegedly having hosted secret detention facilities for the CIA.
“It is high time that European governments review and tighten civilian control over intelligence and security agencies. It is not enough for governments to claim that they did not know what their security apparatus was up to,” said Julia Hall.
Lebanon: Government Misses UN Deadline on Torture Prevention
(Beirut) – Lebanon has missed a December 22, 2009, deadline for setting up a national institution to prevent torture, a group of Lebanese and international human rights organizations said today. The government should move quickly to consider a proposal commissioned by the Justice Ministry that would address the issue, the groups said.
Trial of Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo begins this week
The Chinese authorities must release a human rights activist who finally goes on trial in Beijing on Wednesday after a year in detention for peacefully exercising his freedom of expression, said Amnesty International.
Liu Xiaobo, charged with "inciting subversion of state power", could face a prison sentence of five years or more if he is found guilty.
The activist and scholar is one of hundreds of signatories of Charter 08, a proposal for reform in China that aims to achieve a political system that respects human rights.
Numerous signatories of the charter have been questioned and harassed by the Chinese authorities since its launch on 9 December 2008.
"Liu Xiaobo’s detention and trial show that the Chinese government will not tolerate Chinese citizens participating in discussions about their own form of government. After Liu Xiaobo, more than 300 Chinese scholars, lawyers and officials who proposed a blueprint for improving their political system may be at risk, as well as nearly 10,000 signatories," said Sam Zarifi, Director of Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Programme.
Liu Xiaobo’s Lawyer Shang Baojun said he was informed of the trial date on Sunday.
Liu Xiaobo’s wife Liu Xia said the court has refused her request to attend the hearing.
Shang Baojun said Liu Xiaobo has said he is innocent, because article 35 of China’s constitutional law states clearly that a citizen has the right to freedom of expression.
Liu Xiaobo was seized from his home in Beijing by police on 8 December, two days before the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The police placed him under "residential surveillance", a form of house arrest with a maximum six-month limit, without charge, access to a lawyer or any due process for more than six months.
Liu Xiaobo was re-arrested on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power" on 23 June, following a series of crackdowns on activists around the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen anniversary.
"China should take this chance to release Liu Xiaobo unconditionally and uphold freedom of expression and the rule of law. Failure to release him and dozens of others detained for standing up for human rights would show that China is not serious about improving its human rights record," said Sam Zarifi.
"The Chinese authorities must also stop the ongoing harassment, detention, prosecution and imprisonment of Chinese human rights defenders and activists who are peacefully exercising their constitutional rights to freedom of expression and association".
Colombia: Protect Witnesses in Paramilitary Cases
(Washington, DC) – The Colombian government should act swiftly to protect witnesses in criminal cases against members of groups that are successors to demobilized paramilitaries in the city of Medellín, Human Rights Watch said today.
‘Stop Zim’s abusive diamond trade’
You would think that, with its vibrant diamond trade, South Africa would be first in line to prevent the smuggling of diamonds from Zimbabwe. Instead, South Africa has played a more equivocal role with its neighbour. The result is that South Africa is at risk of endangering its own diamond industry.
Sahrawi human rights activist returns home after hunger strike
Amnesty International has welcomed the news that Aminatou Haidar, a Sahrawi human rights activist who has spent the past month on hunger strike in Lanzarote airport, has returned home and been reunited with her children.
Aminatou Haidar said that she was allowed to fly back to Western Sahara on a private plane after being informed by a Spanish official that an agreement was reached between the Moroccan and Spanish authorities. Her passport was returned to her on arrival by the Moroccan authorities.
She told Amnesty International on Friday that her return was “a victory for human rights and justice”.
Aminatou Haidar has been on hunger strike since 15 November after she was expelled from Western Sahara by the Moroccan authorities. She was admitted to hospital on Thursday morning as her health deteriorated.
“We are delighted that Aminatou Haidar has finally been allowed home and obtained back her passport,” said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
“There must, however, be no conditions imposed on her as a result. She, and other Sahrawi human rights defenders, should be able to enjoy their right to freedom of expression without fear of retribution.”
A plane carrying Aminatou Haidar, her sister and her doctor landed in Laayoune at about midnight on Thursday. There was reportedly a heavy security presence in the city, particularly around Aminatou Haidar’s family home.
According to Morocco’s official news agency, the activist was allowed to return following requests by “friend” countries to find a humanitarian solution. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed Morocco’s decision to allow Aminatou Haidar to return “on humanitarian grounds”. Amnesty International has called for her unconditional return since she was stranded in Lanzarote airport.
Aminatou Haidar was detained at Laayoune airport in Western Sahara on 13 November when she returned from a month-long visit to other countries, including the USA, where she received the 2009 Civil Courage Prize, awarded annually “for steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk.”
She was questioned about why she had given her home as Western Sahara rather than “Moroccan Sahara” on her landing card; she was also asked about her travel, as well as her political opinions and affiliations.
Her Moroccan passport was then confiscated and she was detained in the airport overnight.
She says that on 14 November Moroccan officials offered to release her if she would publicly acknowledge Morocco’s “sovereignty” over Western Sahara. She refused to do so, and a few hours later she was put on a flight to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.
Amnesty International wrote to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 11 December, urging him to continue his efforts to obtain Aminatou Haidar’s return to Western Sahara, unconditionally and without delay, and to ensure that her documents were returned to her.
Amnesty International also reiterated its call for the inclusion of a human rights monitoring component in the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, in place since 1991 to monitor a ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front, and to organize and conduct a referendum on the status of the territory.
The incorporation of a human rights component in the UN Mission’s mandate, up for renewal in April 2010, would be an important step forward towards addressing human rights violations in Western Sahara.
Western Sahara is the subject of a territorial dispute between Morocco, which claims sovereignty, and the Polisario Front, which calls for an independent state in the territory and has set up a self-proclaimed government-in-exile in refugee camps in south-western Algeria.
UN: Ensure Peacekeepers in Congo Focus on Protecting Civilians
(New York) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should ensure that the UN peacekeeping force in Congo focuses on protecting civilians and avoids supporting Congolese army operations that implicate peacekeepers in violations of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today. The UN Security Council is expected to adopt a new resolution on the peacekeeping mission’s mandate on December 23, 2009.