FARC releases Colombian soldier
The guerrilla group has been urged to put an immediate and unconditional end to kidnapping and hostage-taking.
Amnesty International on Monday welcomed the release of a member of the Colombian security forces held captive for almost a year by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The organization also urged the guerrilla group to put an immediate and unconditional end to kidnapping and hostage-taking.
The FARC on Sunday released army soldier Josué Daniel Calvo, held since 2009, and is soon expected to release army sergeant Pablo Emilio Moncayo, held captive by the group since 1997, and to return the remains of police officer Julián Ernesto Guevara, who died in captivity in 2006.
“The joy of the families reunited with their loved ones should not obscure the suffering of those who remain in captivity and their families, as well as of those who have had no news about the fate of family members who are missing or disappeared,” said Marcelo Pollack, Amnesty International’s Colombia Researcher.
Although the number of kidnappings has fallen sharply over recent years, guerrilla groups, as well as paramilitary groups and criminal gangs, continue to hold hundreds of people.
Libya: Reveal Fate of “Disappeared”
(New York) – The Libyan government should take the opportunity of the Arab League meeting this weekend to reveal the fate of high-profile people who disappeared in Libya years ago and have not been heard from since, Human Rights Watch said today. The Arab league will meet in Sirte, Libya, on March 27, 2010.
Burma: Indonesian Foreign Minister’s Trip Should Promote Rights
(New York) – Indonesia’s foreign minister should stress to Burma’s military government that drastic reforms are needed if the elections this year are to be credible, Human Rights Watch said in a letter today to Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who is visiting Burma on March 30.
Boy killed and dozens of injured detained after Kurds clash with security forces in Syria
Police opened fire with live ammunition in the city of Ar Raqqah, as an estimated 5,000 people gathered to celebrate the Kurdish New Year.
Amnesty International has urged the Syrian authorities to investigate the killing of a 14-year-old boy and the wounding of dozens of other people, after security officials opened fire on a Kurdish New Year celebration on 21 March.
The organization has received reports that many of those injured in clashes with law enforcement officials, are being held under tight security in hospital and are being denied access to their relatives.
The incident happened in the north-eastern city of Ar Raqqah on Sunday, as an estimated 5,000 Syrian Kurds gathered to celebrate Nawrouz, the Kurdish New Year.
The gathering was organized by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Kurdish minority political party unrecognized by the Syrian authorities.
Violence broke out when law enforcement officials objected to people holding up PYD flags and pictures of ‘Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Turkey (PKK), who is imprisoned in Turkey.
Police used tear gas and pumped water at the crowds then opened fire with live ammunition when some of the demonstrators threw stones at them.
Fourteen-year-old Mohammed Haider Iben ‘Omar, was killed. Syrian-Kurdish human rights organizations claim that he may have died due to excessive use of force.
On Tuesday, Political Security officers delivered his body to his family and supervised the burial. It is reported that the family was not permitted to hold a funeral.
Many of those injured during the clashes were taken to Ar Raqqah National Hospital, which has since been surrounded and placed under guard by the security forces.
To date, only two of the injured have been permitted to receive visits from their families, prompting concern that the rest may be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.
The Syrian authorities have not commented on the events in Ar Raqqah and no investigation is known to have been opened into allegations that law enforcement officials used excessive force.
Amnesty International urged the Syrian authorities to conduct an immediate independent investigation into the use of lethal force by law enforcement officials and whether this constituted excessive use of force in breach of recognized international standards.
The organization said that any officials responsible for using excessive force should be held to account.
It also urged the authorities to allow all those injured or detained in connection with the 21 March events to have immediate access to their families, to legal counsel of their choice and to any medical care that they require.
The Kurds comprise up to 10 per cent of the population of Syria and live mostly around the city of Aleppo in the north of the country and the al-Jazeera region in the north-east.
These predominantly Kurdish areas lag behind the rest of the country in terms of social and economic development. Syrian Kurds are subject to identity-based discrimination, including restrictions on the use of their language in schools and the expression of their culture, such as bans on producing and circulating Kurdish music.
Nawrouz is one of the main events celebrated by members of the Kurdish minority in Syria, and Kurdish political parties usually hold public gatherings to deliver speeches and sing songs in the Kurdish language.
DR Congo: Lord’s Resistance Army Rampage Kills 321
(Kampala) – The rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) killed at least 321 civilians and abducted 250 others, including at least 80 children, during a previously unreported four-day rampage in the Makombo area of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo in December 2009, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
Israel and Hamas urged to co-operate with UN committee on Gaza conflict
Independent experts will monitor domestic investigations into war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
Amnesty International on Friday called on the Israeli government and Hamas to co-operate fully with the committee of independent experts which the UN Human Rights Council voted to establish on 25 March.
The committee’s task will involve monitoring domestic investigations into war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law alleged to have occurred during the 22-day conflict in Gaza and southern Israel between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009.
“The committee’s assessment of the Israeli and Palestinian investigations should be made available to the UN Human Rights Council, General Assembly and Security Council in the coming months,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“A comprehensive assessment of the domestic investigations could provide a solid basis for decisions on further action necessary to secure accountability for both sides, including an eventual referral of the situation in Gaza by the Security Council to the International Criminal Court.”
A report on the Occupied Palestinian Territories by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released on 17 March concluded that impunity for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law remains widespread.
The report found that investigations launched by the Israeli government into alleged violations related to its military operations in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009 remain “inadequate” while there is “no indication of credible investigations having taken place with regard to allegations of violations by Palestinian armed groups”.
The Human Rights Council also asked the High Commissioner on Thursday to look into establishing a fund to provide reparations to Palestinians who suffered loss and damage due to violations attributable to Israel during the conflict.
“The Israeli government has an obligation to ensure Palestinian victims have immediate access to an effective remedy for violations by Israeli forces, including full and effective reparations,” said Philip Luther. “Hamas must likewise provide reparations to victims of violations committed by their forces or other Palestinian armed groups during the conflict.”
Syria: Investigate Security Force Shooting of Kurds
(New York) – Syrian authorities should conduct an independent investigation into the shootings by security forces on March 21, 2010, that left at least one person dead and others wounded at a Kurdish New Year celebration in Northern Syria, Human Rights Watch said today.
Tajikistan: Don’t Return Asylum Seeker to Kyrgyzstan
(New York) – Tajik authorities should not forcibly return a Kyrgyz human rights defender who is also a registered asylum seeker to Kyrgyzstan, Human Rights Watch said today. They should immediately grant the man, who is in custody, access to a lawyer and investigate allegations that his detention in Tajikistan was arbitrary and that he has been tortured.
Bahrain medics detained for aiding man after anti-government protest
The men were arrested after they helped Hussain ‘Ali Hassan al-Sahlawi, who had been shot and left unconscious by a security official in Karzakan.
Amnesty International has called on the Bahraini authorities to account for the arrest and brief detention of two medical workers, apparently for helping a man who had been wounded during an anti-government protest this month.
Ibrahim al-Demistani, who works at al-Salmaniya hospital in Manama and ‘Abdel-’Aziz Shabeeb, a nurse in a private comapny, were arrested after they helped Hussain ‘Ali Hassan al-Sahlawi, who had been shot and left unconscious by a Bahraini security official in Karzakan on the evening of 14 March.
Both men were detained at a police station in Hamad until Sunday, when they were released on bail on charges of “cover up” and “abusing their medical profession”.
Hussain ‘Ali Hassan al-Sahlawi is reported to still be receiving treatment for his injuries. Under constant police guard, he is said to have been charged with participating in an illegal protest. He has been allowed access to his family and a lawyer.
According to media reports, the Health Ministry evicted members of the Bahrain Nursing Society (BNS) from their premises on Monday, to stop them from holding a party to celebrate the release of Ibrahim al-Demistani, who is also the BNS board secretary.
In a letter to Bahrain’s Minister of Interior on Tuesday, Amnesty International requested clarification regarding any steps taken by the authorities to investigate the circumstances in which Hussain ‘Ali Hassan al-Sahlawi was shot in the view of reports that he was unarmed and posing no threat to the security official who fired a shotgun at him.
The organization also request clarification regarding the current legal status of Ibrahim al-Demistani and ‘Abdel-’Aziz Shabeeb and the grounds on which they are facing prosecution for providing medical treatment to an injured man.
The shooting of Hussain ‘Ali Hassan al-Sahlawi happened only minutes after scores of demonstrators in Karzakan had been burning tyres in protest against the government. The protests were timed to take advantage of the international spotlight on Bahrain while it was hosting the Formula One Grand Prix motor race of 2010.
These and other protests which have taken place recently in predominantly-Shi’a villages are part of an on-going movement led by radical Shi’a groups against what they believe is government discrimination against the Shi’a majority population.
Bahraini security forces are said to have been deployed in response to the protest and to have begun a search for demonstrators after they ran away and sought refuge in local houses.
According to reports received by Amnesty International, Hussain ‘Ali Hassan al-Sahlawi had not taken part in the protest and was shot as he was getting into his car outside his grandfather’s house.
Cambodia: New Regulations Fail Refugees
(New York) – New Cambodian asylum regulations do not meet Cambodia’s obligations under the United Nations Refugee Convention, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen today.