South Korean activist charged over Kim Jong-il tweet
01 February 2012
The South Korean authorities should immediately release a social media activist accused of helping “the enemy” for re-tweeting messages from North Korea’s official government Twitter account, Amnesty International said today.
Park Jeonggeun, a 24-year-old Socialist Party activist, was yesterday charged by South Korean law enforcement authorities with violating the country’s national security law for re-tweeting the message “long live Kim Jong-il” from North Korea’s official Twitter account.
Park, who says his re-tweets were meant to ridicule North Korea’s leaders rather than support them, has been held at Seoul Detention Centre since 11 January and could face up to seven years in jail.
“This is not a national security case, it’s a sad case of the South Korean authorities’ complete failure to understand sarcasm,“ said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director.
“Imprisoning anyone for peaceful expression of their opinions violates international law but in this case, the charges against Park Jeonggeun are simply ludicrous and should be dropped immediately,” he said.
The South Korean Socialist Party, of which Park Jeonggeun is a member, has frequently criticized North Korea for exploiting its labour force, outlawing trade unions and forcing people to work under appalling conditions.
“Park is a member of a party which openly criticizes North Korea but the absurd case against him is not an isolated one. For too long South Korean authorities have been using the National Security Law (NSL) to restrict basic freedoms and gag civil society in the name of national security,” he added.
Police have accused Park Jeonggeun of spreading North Korean propaganda.
“My intention was to lampoon North Korea’s leaders for a joke; I did it for fun,” Park Jeonggeun told Amnesty International.
“I also uploaded and changed North Korean propaganda posters on Twitter – I replaced a smiling North Korean soldier’s face with a downcast version of my own face and the soldier’s weapon with a bottle of whisky.”
“Even though I disagree with North Korean communism, I’m interested in North Korean culture and have a right to know about it,” he added.
“The NSL has a chilling effect on freedom of expression in South Korea. It is used not to address threats to national security, but instead to intimidate people and limit their rights to free speech. It should be reformed in line with human rights law, and if the government cannot do this, it must be abolished,” said Sam Zarifi.
During South Korea’s military rule in the 1970s and 80s, people were regularly imprisoned under the NSL. Torture, forced confessions and unfair trials were commonplace within the criminal justice system.
Despite the end of military rule in South Korea, authorities have increasingly used the NSL to harass critics of the government’s North Korea policies since 2008.
South Korean authorities – especially the police, the prosecution and the National Intelligence Service – continue to use the NSL as a tool to suppress dissent, in particular critics of the government’s policy towards North Korea.
Numerous arrests have been made under the NSL for “propagating or instigating a rebellion against the state”, under which an individual found guilty of praising, inciting or propagating the activities of an “anti-government organisation” could face up to seven years in prison.
The criteria that would define “praise”, “incite” or “propagate” are open to interpretation.
There are currently a number of investigations under way against those who have posted materials related to North Korea, where authorities have deemed the materials to be “enemy benefiting”.
A South Korean activist faces up to seven years in prison after re-tweeting messages from North Korea’s official Twitter account.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III should order the armed forces to cooperate with civilian authorities in arresting retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan and others charged with the enforced disappearance of two activists in 2006.
(New York) – Philippine President Benigno Aquino III should order the armed forces to cooperate with civilian authorities in arresting retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan and others charged with the enforced disappearance of two activists in 2006, Human Rights Watch said today.
USA must clarify basis for Pakistan drone killings
31 January 2012
The USA must disclose details of the legal and factual basis for the lethal use of drones in Pakistan, Amnesty International said today, after US President Barack Obama confirmed that the unmanned aircraft are used to target suspected militants in the country’s tribal areas.
President Obama made the rare public acknowledgment on Monday during an hour-long online video chat with users of the social network Google+.
Amnesty International also called for the USA to monitor civilian casualties inflicted by drone attacks in Pakistan.
“The US authorities must give a detailed explanation of how these strikes are lawful and what is being done to monitor civilian casualties and ensure proper accountability, said Sam Zarifi Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director.
“What are the rules of engagement? What proper legal justification exists for these attacks? While the President’s confirmation of the use of drones in Pakistan is a welcome first step towards transparency, these and other questions need to be answered.”
President Obama said that the drone strikes, which are carried out by the CIA rather than the military, were a “targeted focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists”.
He asserted that the strikes targeted “al-Qaeda suspects who are up in very tough terrain along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan,”
US drone attacks have doubled overall in Pakistan during the Obama administration. Thousands of people have been killed by the strikes – civilians as well as militants.
Because of the security situation and difficulty in accessing the terrain it has been impossible for organizations like Amnesty International to verify the number of civilian casualties caused by drones.
Available evidence shows that the number of strikes decreased during 2011.
In its June 2010 report As if Hell Fell on Me: The Human Rights Crisis in Northwest Pakistan, Amnesty International said the use of drones to target insurgents in northwest Pakistan had generated considerable resentment inside the country.
US Attorney General Eric Holder will reportedly reference US legal arguments in support of such killings by drone attacks in a speech on national security in the coming weeks.
Past justifications offered by US officials have invoked legal theories based on a “global war” between the USA and al-Qa’ida, a concept not recognized by international humanitarian or human rights law.
“The US administration must use the occasion of Attorney General Holder’s speech to disclose the relevant legal and factual documentation necessary for a meaningful assessment of the lawfulness of the deliberate killings it is carrying out – simply trying to find another way to say ‘trust us, it’s legal’ will not be good enough,” said Sam Zarifi.
Authorities urged to disclose details after US President Barack Obama confirms that the unmanned aircraft are used to target suspected militants.
The Pakistani government should redouble efforts to find the killers of the journalist Saleem Shahzad, following the failure of the judicial inquiry commission to identify those responsible.
(New York) – The Pakistani government should redouble efforts to find the killers of the journalist Saleem Shahzad, following the failure of the judicial inquiry commission to identify those responsible, Human Rights Watch said today.
(Washington, DC) – The US House Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade is holding a hearing on February 2, 2012, on proposed rules to prevent child farmworkers from taking on the most dangerous tasks. The new rules are intended to make paid farm work safer for the hundreds of thousands of children in the United States who labor in agriculture.
Bahrain must free activist convicted of listening to music
30 January 2012
The Bahraini authorities must release the first woman activist to be convicted over her involvement in last year’s pro-reform demonstrations, Amnesty International said today after a court rejected her appeal and upheld her prison sentence.
Fadhila Mubarak’s 18-month prison sentence for protesting and listening to “revolutionary” music was today upheld by the Court of Cassation in the capital, Manama.
“Fadhila Mubarak is a prisoner of conscience who was reportedly beaten and tortured in detention and then sentenced in an unfair trial before a military court on spurious charges for standing up for her rights,” said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Progamme.
“The Bahraini authorities must release her immediately and unconditionally. Fadhila Mubarak’s sentence only serves to demonstrate the intolerance of the authorities and the failures of the justice system. They must also launch an independent investigation into allegations of torture against her and bring those responsible to justice.”
Fadhila Mubarak was arrested on 20 March 2011 when her car, which was also carrying her eight-year-old son and two other children, was stopped at a checkpoint close to Rifaa, south-west of Manama.
She was told she had been stopped for playing music calling for the overthrow of the regime, and was asked to turn the sound down.
She refused and asked the police officer for identification, before being forced out of the car, beaten on the head and arrested.
Fadhila Mubarak was taken to Rifaa police station. During interrogation she is said to have been repeatedly beaten all over her body by female policewomen. She was then taken to ‘Issa Town police station and beaten again.
The National Safety Court of First Instance, a military court, found Fadhila Mubarak guilty of several charges on 17 May 2011 and she was sentenced to four years in jail.
She faced spurious charges of taking part in an illegal gathering of more than five people; taking part in illegal protests at the GCC (Pearl) Roundabout in central Manama; possessing CDs and leaflets inciting hatred towards the regime and assaulting a policeman by pulling his shirt.
Fadhila Mubarak was denied access to a lawyer before, during her trial and after her initial sentence.
Some witnesses have told Amnesty International that Fadhila Mubarak was still being beaten on the bus while on her way to court.
Her lawyer saw her for the first time in court on the first day of her first appeal on 25 May 2011.
During this hearing, her lawyer requested a forensic examination and also called on the policeman who beat her at the checkpoint to testify. These requests were denied.
On 8 June 2011 after four appeal hearings, the military court of appeal reduced her sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Amnesty International only became aware of Fadhila Mubarak’s full story after other women inmates who were released on bail talked about her case.
Thousands of Bahrainis demonstrated against the government and called for more political reforms, freedom, democracy and social justice in February and March 2011. Their protests were brutally crushed in mid-March.
Dozens of peaceful protesters were killed as a result of excessive use of force by Bahrain security and military forces. Hundreds of people were arrested and many were tortured or otherwise ill-treated. Scores received lengthy prison terms after unfair trials before military courts.
A state of emergency was declared in mid-March, a day after Saudi troops were sent to Bahrain to help quell the protests. More than 4,000 people were dismissed from their jobs and more than 30 Shi’a prayer centres were demolished.
Fadhila Mubarak’s 18-month sentence for taking part in 2011’s pro-reform demonstrations and listening to ‘revolutionary’ music has been upheld.
Iranian authorities should immediately release dozens of labor and independent trade union activists imprisoned for speaking out peacefully in defense of workers. Convictions solely for the peaceful exercise of freedom of association and assembly should be quashed, and charges should be dropped against others facing prosecution for these reasons.
(New York) – Iranian authorities should immediately release dozens of labor and independent trade union activists imprisoned for speaking out peacefully in defense of workers, Human Rights Watch said today.
The Ukrainian authorities should immediately stop police harassment and threats against Somali asylum seekers held at the Zhuravychi Migrant Accommodation Centre.
(Moscow, February 1, 2012) – The Ukrainian authorities should immediately stop police harassment and threats against Somali asylum seekers held at the Zhuravychi Migrant Accommodation Centre, Human Rights Watch said today.
Senegal’s security forces must stop their violent clampdown on dissent, Amnesty International said today after two people were killed during protests in the city of Podor.
One young male protester and an elderly female bystander were shot dead by the gendarmerie, who opened fire on a crowd demonstrating against the Constitutional Council decision to uphold President Abdoulaye Wade’s right to stand for a third term in next month’s election.
“Today’s bloodshed marks a dramatic escalation in the violence that has plagued Senegal in the run up to its elections,” said Salvatore Saguès, Amnesty International’s West Africa researcher.
“As further protests are planned for tomorrow, we call on the authorities to refrain from using live bullets against peaceful protesters”.
Mamadou Sy, aged around 20, and Bana Ndiaye, aged around 60, were shot during protests in Podor, some 500 km north of Senegal’s capital Dakar.
An eyewitness told Amnesty International: “We were walking peacefully when suddenly security forces dressed in blue and belonging to the gendarmerie fired at the marchers with live bullets. People fell in front of me.”
Protests have rocked Senegal since its Constitutional Council ruled on Friday that current President Wade would be allowed to stand for a third term. Today the Council rejected an appeal by the opposition to overturn the decision.
Friday’s protests led to clashes between demonstrators and security forces in which one policeman was killed.
During the unrest, three journalists were beaten by the police. One was a correspondent for the French news agency Agence France Presse and the others were female journalists working for the Senegalese daily le Populaire.
One of the le Populaire journalists, Aminatou Ahane, told Amnesty International: “A policeman got out of his car and ran towards us. We shouted to him that we were journalists and we showed our press cards. He grabbed my colleague’s hair and slapped her in the face, then threw her to the ground. He also kicked me and threw me to the ground whilst insulting me. A policeman then came to rescue us.”
Amnesty International is also concerned by the detention of Alioune Tine, President of the African Rally for the Defence of Human Rights (Raddho) and national coordinator of the Movement June 23 (M23) that campaigns against President Wade’s third term.
“Alioune Tine has been in custody since Saturday 28 January and no one has seen him. He needs regular medical treatment and we fear that his detention conditions may endanger his health,” said Salvatore Saguès.
Another activist, singer Daddy Bibson, was abducted by unknown, plainclothed people early Saturday morning, a few hours after the first demonstrations. He was beaten and threatened.
Bibson says the men told him that rap singers could not decide the future of the country, before he was released about 10 hours later.
Bibson is one of the leaders of the M23 and recently published a compilation of songs against President Wade’s candidacy.
“Freedom of expression is under attack in Senegal at precisely the time when open dialogue is critical,” said Salvatore Saguès.
“All of these incidences must be properly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice.”
“The Senegalese authorities and security forces must avoid using excessive use of force when dealing with protests,” said Salvatore Saguès.
“Such incidents may act as a deterrent and intimidate anyone else who may wish to voice legitimate criticism of the authorities in the run up to elections.”
One young male protester and an elderly female bystander were shot dead when the gendarmerie opened fire on a crowd.
French police are using overly broad powers to conduct unwarranted and abusive identity checks on black and Arab young men and boys.
(Paris) – French police are using overly broad powers to conduct unwarranted and abusive identity checks on black and Arab young men and boys, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The Indian government should prosecute members of the security forces for recent high-profile cases of torture, to send a message that such practices will no longer be tolerated.
(New York) – The Indian government should prosecute members of the security forces for recent high-profile cases of torture, to send a message that such practices will no longer be tolerated, Human Rights Watch said today.
