• You cannot stop me' says jailed Bahraini activist

    Aug 17

    Nabeel Rajab, an opposition activist and head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, has been sentenced for three years in prison for taking part in an illegal protest against the ruling family on Thursday.

    As the sentence was read out in court, Rajab was heard to shout, "three years or 30, you cannot stop me".

    He is also due to face charges of defamation for Twitter posts calling for the resignation of Bahrain's prime minister, Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa.

    The hearing has been condemned by Amnesty International who described it as "a dark day for justice in Bahrain".

    Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International, said,

    "Like many others in Bahrain, Nabeel Rajab is a prisoner of conscience, jailed solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and assembly. He should be released immediately and his convictions and sentences quashed. The authorities must also act to ensure that all human rights defenders are able to carry out their work without fear of reprisal."

    “If anything, this latest verdict marks the end of the facade of reform in Bahrain. The international community can no longer be under the illusion that Bahrain is on the path of reform when such blatant ruthless tactics are being used to suppress dissenting voices. Bahrain’s international partners need to make this loud and clear to the Bahraini authorities.”

  • Brahimi welcomed as new UN Syria envoy
    Former Algerian foreign minister Lakhdar Brahimi has been appointed the new UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, an appointment that has been hailed internationally.

    Brahimi, who is on the Advisory Council for the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice, succeeds Kofi Annan who resigned earlier this month from the role.

    The appointment of the 78-year-old Nobel Peace laureate was welcomed by the UK, US, Russia and China, who stated that they will,
    “support and cooperate positively with Mr Brahimi's efforts at political mediation,"

    Alistair Burt, a junior British foreign minister said Brahimi had the UK’s support, stating,
    "I hope the international community will join together in lending its full support to Mr Brahimi to work with all sides in the Syrian conflict to end the months of bloodshed."
    US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said,
    "My message to special envoy Brahimi is simple: The United States stands ready to support you and secure a lasting peace that upholds the legitimate aspirations for a representative government of the people of Syria".
    Russia also welcomed the Brahimi stepping up to the role, commenting that it was "ready for close interaction with the new special representative ... with the aim of overcoming the crisis in Syria".

    But Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also warned,
    "Political dialogue will not start, at least these efforts will not lead to a final result if violence does not cease. And that does not depend on Brahimi".
  • US pushes for human rights in North Korea

    US President, Barack Obama, has signed a new piece of legislation that intends to encourage the observation of human rights in North Korea.

    The law, that extends until 2017, is aimed at putting pressure on North Korea to respect the issues of human rights, democracy refugee protection and freedom of information. It provides legal ground for the US government to financially support radio stations broadcasting into North Korea and the appointment of a special envoy regarding the North’s human rights issues.

    The act also urges the US government to demand that China halts its forcible repatriation of North Koreans, who it describes as “genuine refugees” that “face severe punishments upon their forcible return”.

    Emphasising the urgency of addressing human rights abuses in North Korea, the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, said,

    “A regime that abuses its own people with impunity cannot be trusted to negotiate honestly with the outside world. Stifling basic freedoms with death camps and firing squads undermines the long term stability of North Korea.”

    This new legislation materialises shortly after the North Koreans told US experts that they were no longer interested in sticking to an agreement that involved reduction of the North Korean Nuclear program.

     

  • UN peace monitors quit Syria mission

    According to the UN peacekeeping chief, the Syrian government and rebels have “chosen the path of war”.

    The recent rise in all out conflict has left military observers on the ground with no peace to monitor on the ground. As a result of the transition of the situation into a full blown war, UN officials have stated that the last of the few dozen remaining team members would quit Damascus by 24th August.

    Explaining the UN official’s decision, deputy UN peacekeeping chief, Edmond Mulet, said,

    “It is clear that both sides have chosen the path of war, open conflict and the space for political dialogue and cessation of hostilities an mediation is very, very reduced to this point.”

    However, Mulet went on to note that “the fact that it’s difficult doesn’t mean that we should not face the challenge of trying to open those political spaces in the future.”

    Several nations are expected to send diplomats to meet at the United Nations on Friday to discuss the next plan of action.

  • 30 dead after police break up protest in S. Africa

    After 12 hours of silence, the police force minister Nathi Mthethwa confirmed that 30 miners had been killed after police tried to move 3000 striking drill operators, with the use of automatic weapons, reported Reuters.

    Speaking to Talk Radio 702, Mthethwa said, "A lot of people were injured and the number keeps on going up."

    The incident, which occurred 60 miles northwest of Johannesburg, has caused shock and outrage, with many likening it to the 1960 Sharpeville massacre.

    Today's editorial in the Sowetan (a newspaper named after the biggest black township), questioned whether anything had changed since 1994.

    It wrote - 'It has happened in this country before where the apartheid regime treated black people like objects," the paper, named after South Africa's biggest black township. It is continuing in a different guise now.'

    In a statement, President Jacob Zuma said he was "shocked and dismayed". He added, "we believe there is enough space in our democratic order for any dispute to be resolved through dialogue without any breaches of the law or violence."

  • Italian memorial to war criminal sparks controversy
    A dispute has erupted in Italy, after a memorial was built to honour the fascist military leader Field Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, a convicted war criminal.

    The €130,000 memorial, which includes a park and mausoleum, was built in the town of Affile, south of Rome, at the taxpayer’s expense, igniting outcry from opponents.

    Graziani was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment in 1948 after being convicted of crimes against humanity, following gas attacks on soldiers in Libya and Ethiopia.

    Esterino Montino, head of the Democratic Party in the Lazio region, questioned the decision, asking,
    "Is it possible to allow, accept or simply tolerate that, in 2012, we dedicate a park and a museum to the fascist general and minister Rodolfo Graziani?"
    Photos of the opening ceremony were posted on the town’s website, showing the mausoleum inscribed with the words "Fatherland" and "Honour". See here.
  • Burma resists investigations of Rohingya abuses
    Despite UN calls for an investigation, Burma’s human rights commission says that an investigation into communal violence between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya is not needed.

    The refusal comes after the United Special rapporteur to Burma requested for a
    comprehensive and transparent investigation following his visit to the Rakhine state.

    The chairman of the Burma Human rights commission went on to defend their refusal , claiming that “the observations of U.N Human Rights Special Envoy Toma Ojea Quintana were biased.”

    An analyst for the International Crisis Group, Jim-Della-Giacoma, noted that the main problem was the absence of recognition of the minority Rohingya citizens.

    He went on to outline the need to “Bring the Rohingya and all the minorities to a modern Myanmar, that recognizes, and that the rights of all these minorities need to be protected by the modern state and not discriminated against.

    The United Nations released a report last Thursday describing the continuing incidents of violence and rising number of displaced persons, which currently amounts to 68500.

  • Where there's a will...

    After weeks of the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange taking refuge on sovereign Ecuadorian soil at the embassy in London, the British government has announced that the embassy may not be so immune from the Metropolitian police after all.

    The Foreign Office spokesperson said on Wednesday:

    "Under British law we can give them a week's notice before entering the premises and the embassy will no longer have diplomatic protection."

    "But that decision has not yet been taken. We are not going to do this overnight. We want to stress that we want a diplomatically agreeable solution."

    "The UK has a legal obligation to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual offences and we remain determined to fulfill this obligation."

    Ecuador, which is due to make a decision on Assange's plea for asylum this afternoon, said any move would be "interpreted by Ecuador as an unfriendly, hostile and intolerable act, as well as an attack on our sovereignty".

    Video streaming by Ustream
    Live streaming by Assange supporters this morning showed Metropolitan police officers entering the embassy.
  • Assange granted political asylum in Ecuador

    Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been granted political asylum by the Ecuadorian government.

    Assange has been stuck in the embassy of Ecuador in London, since he took refuge there two months ago, to avoid being extradited to Sweden, where he faces trial for sexual assault.

    A foreign office spokesperson warned on Wednesday that they may be forced to lift diplomatic immunity on the premises and enter the embassy to arrest Assange.

    The foreign minister Ricardo Patiño announced the decision to applause at a press conference in Quito.

    “We believe that his fears are legitimate and there are the threats that he could face political persecution.

    “We trust that that the UK will offer as soon as possible the guarantee for the safe passage of asylum for Mr Assange and they will respect those international agreements they have signed in the past.”

    Assange has thanked staff at the embassy and hailed the decision.

    "It is a significant victory for myself, and my people. Things will probably get more stressful now," he said.

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office expressed disappointment at the decision and said they are obliged to arrest and extradite Julian Assange.

    “We are disappointed by the statement from Ecuador’s Foreign Minister that Ecuador has offered political asylum to Julian Assange," it said in a statement.

    "Under our law, with Mr Assange having exhausted all options of appeal, the British authorities are under a binding obligation to extradite him to Sweden. We shall carry out that obligation.

    "The Ecuadorian Government's decision this afternoon does not change that. We remain committed to a negotiated solution that allows us to carry out our obligations under the Extradition Act.”

  • Bahraini activist sentenced to 3 years imprisonment
    A prominent Bahraini human rights activist has been sentenced to three years in prison for attending “illegal demonstrations”, sparking outcry across the world.

    Nabeel Rajab, an activist who heads the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was already serving a prison sentence for posting anti-government comments on Twitter (see his account here).

    Rajab’s sentencing comes as US Congress members wrote to Bahrain’s King Hamad al-Khalifa, requesting that he
    “unconditionally and immediately release all Bahrainis being held for crimes related to freedom of expression.”
    See the full letter here.

    Maryam Khawaja, acting president of the BCHR, said,
    “The Bahraini judicial system has been used as a tool to harass democracy activists”.

    “The Bahraini government has been talking about how they are committed to reforms . . . They are very good at promises but not at implementing their promises.”
    She also criticised the US government’s alleged silence over the anti-government protests and subsequent crackdown, commenting,
    “The US silence against the government abuses emboldened the government.”

    “They would not dare sentence such prominent rights activist that harshly before, but now they know they can get away with it because the US is silent.”
    Brian Dooley of US-based Human Rights First also commented,
    "This is a shocking verdict, even by Bahrain's own abysmal standards on human rights. The regime can't be seen serious about human rights reform when it jails one of the world's most prominent activists to prison for three years."
    The Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights President Souhayr Belhassen also called for Rajab to be released, stating,
    "We hope that the international community will firmly condemn this decision and will call for Nabeel's release," 

    “Arbitrarily imprisoning human rights defenders will not stop the people from aspiring to freedom and democratic change.”


  • 90-year-old Nazi suspect escapes extradition from Australia

    A 90-year-old man accused of war crimes has won a legal battle against attempts to extradite him to Hungary, to face charges of war crimes.

    Charles Zentai, who has lived in Australia for almost 60 years, won the battle after the High Court up held a decision stating he could not be extradited because the offence of “war crimes” did not exist in Hungarian law at the time of the alleged offence.

    The US based Simon Wiesenthal Center lists Zentai amongst the top 10 most wanted for having "participated in manhunts, persecution, and murder of Jews in Budapest in 1944."



    Dr. Efraim Zuroff, chief Nazi-hunter from the Center was outraged at the decision stating,

    “I’m fuming, I’m fuming. It’s simply awful, a total failure on Australia’s part. They live on a different planet. The decision not to extradite him is simply a scandal,”
    “Australia totally failed in terms of extraditing Nazi criminals – as opposed to other English-speaking countries, like Canada and the U.S.”

    “There are a ton of legal precedents in which people were tried for crimes that weren’t in the law books when they were committed. The Nuremberg Trials were based on that.”

    Zentai was accused by Hungarian Authorities of beating to death Jewish teenager Peter Balazs for not wearing a yellow Star of David, in Budapest in 1944. Zentai then allegedly dumped the body in the Danube, with the help of two other soldiers.

    Zentai told Australian television in 2008,

    "As a soldier I just had to carry out orders ... but none of those orders I was given had anything to do with rounding up Jews or torturing them or anything like that".
  • Aleppo hospital attack is 'no accident' - HRW

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirmed that the Syrian government's fighter planes had fired rockets on the main emergency hospital in Aleppo on Tuesday. The hospital had also been attacked two days prior by government aircraft, as well as a nearby school. Four civilians were killed and three wounded.

    HRW visited the hospital after the attack, where hospital staff told them that no opposition fighters were at the hospital, only armed guards providing security.

    See here for full account by HRW.

    HRW's Emergencies Researcher, Ole Solvang, said,

    “Fighter jet attacks on a hospital twice in three days indicate that this was no accident. By firing rockets at a clearly marked hospital, the government shows blatant disregard for civilian lives.”

    “Hospitals, doctors, and ambulances should never be attacked. In Aleppo, the Syrian government has flouted this principle of international law.”

  • Iran performs U-turn accepts offers of aid

    The Iranian government has said it will accept foreign aid from certain countries after an earthquake devastated cities and killed over 300 in the north-west of the country on Saturday.

    For two days Iran insisted it was not in need of foreign assistance.

    However, after scathing criticism at home over the slow response, the Iranian government has now said it will accept offers of aid.

    "Now and under the current circumstances, we are ready to receive help from various countries," vice-president Mohammad Reza Rahimi was quoted as saying by state Irna.

    Iran rejected offers of aid from the US, saying the offer was not made in ‘good faith’.

    The US issued a statement, sending their condolences to ‘the Iranian people’ and saying ‘we stand ready to offer assistance in this difficult time’.

    But the head of the Iranian interior ministry's crisis management organisation, Hassan Ghadami, said on Wednesday the country had declined the offer.

    "Iran did not accept the US offer for sending humanitarian aid for quake survivors," he said.

    "We do not believe the US put forward the offer in good faith. We are currently having a medicine supply crisis because of sanctions.

    "Do us a favour and lift the sanctions."

  • UN report on Syria: war crimes on both sides

    A UN report on the Syrian conflict published on Wednesday, concluded that President Assad’s forces and pro-government Shabiha fighters are were responsible for perpetrating most of the war crimes and crimes against humanity on Syrian civilians.

    The report held the government and its allied militia were responsible for the killing of more than a 100 civilians in May and indicated that murders, unlawful killings, torture, sexual violence and indiscriminate attacks indicated “the involvement at the highest levels of the armed security forces and the government."

    The panel also acknowledged that anti-government armed groups had committed war crimes including murder, extrajudicial killings and torture, but noted that these crimes were of a lesser frequency and scale.

    The reported included findings from 1062 interviews, but the panel stressed their lack of ability to access Syria hindered the investigation. The report was released on Wednesday just hours after a bomb exploded outside the hotel where the UN observers were staying.

    The findings in this report are far more conclusive than previous interim findings, therefore allowing world powers to justify any resulting action taken against Syria, and authenticate calls for an international investigation leading to the prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    The conflict in Syria has slowly transformed into a full blown civil war ,that involves “more brutal tactics and new military capabilities on both sides.” Activists say that more than 20,000 people have lost their lives since the start of the Syrian revolt.

  • Assad aide visits China

    A senior aide to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has flown to China to discuss the crisis.

    Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said that Bouthaina Shaaban would meet foreign minister Yang Jiechi later today.

    In a statement he said that China had always "actively balanced its work between the Syrian government and the opposition".

    He repeated China's call for the "practical implementation" of former UN envoy Kofi Annan's defunct peace plan and for "an immediate ceasefire".

    "Receiving Shaaban in China is part of the above-mentioned work by the Chinese side,

    "China is also considering inviting Syrian opposition groups in the near term to China."

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