The Wire

April 2007 Vol. 37. No. 03

AI Index: NWS 21/003/2007

UK still deports to states known to use torture

The UK deported two men in January to Algeria where they risk torture and other ill-treatment because of their purported involvement in terrorism. With no conclusive evidence against the men, the UK authorities nevertheless branded them as threats to "national security" and used this as grounds to expel them from the country.

The UK circumvented its obligations not to return people to states that practice torture by claiming to have obtained assurances from the Algerian authorities that the men would be treated humanely and would benefit from amnesty measures.

However, following their deportation to Algeria, Reda Dendani and another Algerian man, known for legal reasons only as "H", were held virtually incommunicado by an Algerian intelligence agency for approximately 12 days. They were then charged with "participation in a terrorist network operating abroad", and remanded in custody.

Another Algerian man, Mustapha Taleb (formerly known as "Y"), faces deportation back to Algeria despite having fled torture there and gaining refugee status in the UK. He was among a group of men charged, tried and eventually acquitted in 2005 of all charges in the UK in connection with an alleged conspiracy to produce poisons and explosives. After his acquittal, he was released from custody in April 2005, where he had been held for more than two years. He was later re-arrested and held pending deportation to Algeria on "national security grounds".

Mustapha Taleb appealed to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) – the controversial court presiding over such matters in the UK – against being labelled a "national security" risk in the UK and asserting that his return to Algeria would expose him to a real risk of torture.

AI monitored Mustapha Taleb’s SIAC hearings. It appeared that the UK authorities’ case against him amounted to the same charges brought against him in his earlier criminal trial – charges of which he had already been acquitted. Three jurors from Mustapha Taleb’s criminal hearing wrote to AI expressing their shock at this. "This is contrary to anything we thought could be possible in a democratic, free society. Since January 2003, "Y" [Mustapha Taleb] has been persecuted by our government beyond all realms of imagination."

In reaching its decision, SIAC also relied on secret intelligence provided by the UK authorities that was not disclosed to Mustapha Taleb, his lawyers of choice and the public.

The SIAC proceedings effectively denied Mustapha Taleb a fair hearing and made it impossible for him to refute the state’s assertion that he posed a risk to "national security". SIAC also ignored the near certainty that Mustapha Taleb could be tortured if returned to Algeria.

Despite this, the UK has reached agreements, or Memorandums of Understanding, with states that routinely practice torture, including Jordan, Lebanon and Libya. And it has stepped up its deportations of so-called "national security suspects" to these countries.

One such "suspect", known as Abu Qatada, lost his appeal against deportation on "national security" grounds in February. SIAC disregarded ample evidence that Abu Qatada faces a real risk of torture and other ill-treatment if returned to Jordan.

After levelling serious charges against men alleged to be "national security" risks, the UK authorities state that they do not have enough admissible evidence to bring criminal proceedings against them. Instead, they rely on deportation as a legitimate expedient. The UK claims that diplomatic assurances, including Memorandums of Understanding, are enough to protect deportees from human rights abuses, and fulfil its obligations under international law. The evidence, however, suggests otherwise.

[Picture caption: AIUK leads a demonstration in Downing Street, London, calling on the UK government to categorically condemn torture. © Harrison Mitchell]

Elections in Nigeria marred by violence

Widespread violence has left dozens dead in clashes between supporters of rival candidates, and seen several incumbents assassinated in the lead-up to Nigerian elections in April. Political parties and candidates reportedly have been involved in the brutality, arming supporters and inciting vicious conflicts with complete impunity. Violence has been used by most parties to retain or acquire political power or support, and the Nigerian government has done very little to prevent it.

Ayo Daramola, a candidate for governor in Ekiti State, was shot and stabbed by armed men who forced their way into his home in August 2006. Eight people, including a member of the Board of Trustees of the ruling People’s Democratic Party and the personal assistant to the then Ekiti State Governor, have since been arrested for the murder.One of the suspects arrested reportedly claimed that he was commissioned by an aide of the then State Governor.

In November 2006, several bomb attacks, allegedly politically motivated, were carried out in Bayelsa, Delta and Edo states, killing at least one person. An increasing flow of firearms into Nigeria and the creation of armed vigilante groups have enabled politicians to encourage political violence at local and state levels. Law enforcement authorities have failed to take adequate steps to protect human rights.

Communal violence in Nigeria is often politically motivated, particularly when tribal backgrounds or other factors are exploited by candidates during electoral campaigns. Armed gangs in the oil producing Niger Delta are reported to be forging links with politicians ahead of the 2007 elections, fuelling fears of increased carnage in a region already affected by pervasive violence and human rights abuses.

Despite recent statements by some security officials and other authorities that violence will not be tolerated, and occasional arrests, most election-related disturbances are not investigated and go unpunished.

The Campaign for Violence Free Elections – a coalition of 27 Nigerian civil society and international organizations including AI – was launched in Lagos on 22 January. The coalition calls on all stakeholders, including the President, the state and federal governments, political parties and candidates, to publicly declare that they will not tolerate violence and human rights abuses before and after the elections. To date four opposition parties have pledged their support.

ACT NOW! Write to President Olesegun Obasanjo, calling on him to ensure that he leaves a legacy of peaceful elections by taking clear and unambiguous steps to stop politically motivated violence. Call on him to initiate independent, transparent and effective investigations into cases of political violence and human rights abuses in the context of the elections, and to ensure that suspected perpetrators are brought to justice without further delay.

To sign the petition to support violence-free elections in Nigeria go to: www.amnesty.org/actnow

[Picture caption: Poster for 2007 Nigerian elections which have already been tainted by violence. © AI

Human rights persistently defiled in ‘war on terror’

Europe slammed for ‘renditions’ collusion

The European Parliament has condemned several European states for colluding with the USA in the practice of "rendition" – the illegal and often secret transfer of people to countries where they may be tortured or otherwise ill-treated.

In a report issued in February, it also accused European governments of "turning a blind eye" to flights operated by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It alleged that the CIA flew under civil aviation rules intended for private planes, rather than state flights, which allowed them to fly without declaring their purpose or mission. The report specifically identified flights landing or originating in Europe that carried rendition victims, and many others that used European airspace or airports on their way to carrying out "rendition circuits" in the Middle East and South Asia.

Poland and the UK, in particular, were criticized for their unwillingness to co-operate with the Parliament’s investigations.

Italy was censured for the "active role" played by some of its military security service (SISMI) officials in the 2003 kidnapping of cleric Abu Omar in Milan, Italy. Abu Omar was detained for almost four years in Egypt where he alleges he was tortured, including being hung upside down and having electric shocks applied to his genitals. He was released in February 2007.

Within days of the Parliament’s report, Italian prosecutors indicted 26 US citizens, 25 of whom are suspected CIA operatives, for their involvement in Abu Omar’s abduction and rendition. Prosecutors have also indicted nine Italian citizens, primarily SISMI officials. A trial date has been set for June, but the CIA agents indicted will almost certainly be tried in absentia.

The report also noted that the German government may have failed to accept a US offer, made in 2002, to release Guantánamo inmate, Murat Kurnaz (see next article).

However, German prosecutors have taken action in the case of Khaled el-Masri, a German citizen, kidnapped in Macedonia in December 2003. In January 2007, they issued 13 arrest warrants for suspected CIA operatives reportedly involved in the abduction and transfer of Khaled el-Masri to Afghanistan, where he was held incommunicado in solitary confinement for four months, and was allegedly ill-treated during interrogation.

While these moves are welcome, European governments must ensure that they co-operate fully with the continuing investigations. At the same time, European governments must make clear that the practice of rendition will not be tolerated anywhere or in any form. Europe can no longer plead ignorance or remain passive; both equal complicity.

For more information, see Renditions in the EU: Fact – not fiction(EUR 01/002/2007) and the European Parliament’s Report on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners at www.europarl.europa.eu

ACT NOW!Torture and other ill-treatment, abduction, secret detention, detention without charge or trial – all these methods have been routinely deployed in the "war on terror". Governments have justified their use in the name of "national security". Such blatant contempt for human rights cannot continue. Find out what you can do to help bring an end to the abuse at www.amnesty.org/stoptorture

‘and then they bound my whole head and face with wide adhesive tape… and they left an opening for my nose and one for my mouth and they tied my feet and hands from behind with plastic binds and then they lifted me into an airplane.’ Abu Omar, kidnapped from Italy by US and Italian agents in 2003]

[Picture captions: For more on renditions, see Partners in crime: Europe’s role in US renditions(EUR 01/008/2006), available at www.amnesty.org/library]

A perversion of justice

Before Baher Azmy, a lawyer, met Murat Kurnaz for the first time, Guantánamo officials had a warning for him: "‘These are the worst hardened killers. They could snap your neck in a second.’" This combined with some grainy footage of a bearded Murat Kurnaz in his cell, left the lawyer feeling somewhat "anxious".

Baher Azmy, a professor at Seton Hall University School of Law in New Jersey, USA, admits he knew little about his prospective client when he was called in to represent him. Murat Kurnaz was just one among a lengthy backlog of detainees in need of a lawyer, following the 2004 US Supreme Court ruling that the US courts could consider challenges to the legality of the detention of foreign nationals held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Contrary to the official warnings, however,when Baher Azmy finally met Murat Kurnaz face to face, he found a polite man with a good sense of humour. "I found him to be an incredibly compelling human being," he says.

He also found that Murat Kurnaz had no idea of the world’s response to his detention and the detentions of others at Guantánamo. "I… told him that his mother had been fighting for him for years," explains Baher Azmy, "that he had a lawyer in Germany, that the world was outraged about Guantánamo… And he simply had no idea. He had no idea that anyone knew of his existence or Guantánamo’s existence. He thought that he was on the other side of the moon."

Murat Kurnaz was arrested by Pakistani authorities in November 2001 and transferred to US custody in Afghanistan. He had left his home in Germany shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks, telling his family that he was going to Pakistan to study the Qur’an. His family learned that he was held in Guantánamo in January 2002. Two years later, he was confirmed as an "enemy combatant" by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal on the basis of "classified evidence".

The tribunals are the US administration’s response to the 2004 Supreme Court decision, but they have proved grossly inadequate. In January 2005, a federal judge condemned them, citing the case of Murat Kurnaz to illustrate the "fundamental unfairness of the [tribunals’] reliance on classified information not disclosed to the detainees" in reaching decisions on a detainee’s "enemy combatant" status.

Baher Azmy adds: "The judge ruled that the evidence they had against him was so attenuated, so thin, that it could never be a basis to detain someone."

De-classified information from Murat Kurnaz’ file suggests that the US authorities themselves did not believe there was a case against him. According to one statement: "CITF [Command Information Task Force] has no definite link/evidence of detainee having an association with al-Qaida or making any specific threat toward the US."

Despite this, Murat Kurnaz remained at Guantánamo. Meanwhile, the German authorities appear to have failed to intervene in his case for years. Although born and brought up in Germany, Murat Kurnaz is not considered a German citizen, being the son of Turkish migrant workers. It was only after intense lobbying by his family, lawyers and AI members around the world that the German authorities changed tack.

Speculating on his client’s prolonged detention despite the lack of evidence against him, Baher Azmy suggests: "In his Combatant Status Review Tribunal they first had to say he was an enemy combatant. They did that with everyone. They wouldn’t keep someone for three years and say they are not. I also think they couldn’t say: the reason we are detaining him is that the Germans won’t take him, even though he hasn’t really done anything."

After spending four years and eight months in detention, Murat Kurnaz was finally released in August 2006. His case should not be seen as unique – many others have been and continue to be arbitrarily and unlawfully detained.

Since Murat Kurnaz was released, the situation for foreign nationals held in US custody as "enemy combatants" – whether in Guantánamo, Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, or elsewhere – has worsened. The Military Commissions Act, signed into law by President George Bush in October 2006, strips the US courts of the jurisdiction to consider habeas corpus petitions from such detainees. AI will continue to work for restoration of this basic safeguard against arbitrary detention.

[Picture caption: Inset: Murat Kurnaz (0 Worldwide AppealOctober 2006) was detained for four years at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on the basis of secret ‘evidence’. © Private Main image: AI Denmark stage a protest calling for the closure of Guantánamo on the fifth anniversary of the first transfers of prisoners to the facility, 11 January 2007. © AI]

Updates

Albania

Following appeals by his family and AI, the investigation into the enforced disappearance of Remzi Hoxha, re-opened in October 2006, but it reportedly risks being suspended again, apparently for lack of new evidence. Remzi Hoxha was seized from his workplace in the capital,Tirana, on 21 October 1995 by men in civilian clothes driving a car reportedly belonging to the National Information Service (ShIK), the secret police. Eleven years later, his family still does not know what happened to him.

Two ShIK officers were detained in 2003 and charged with his alleged torture but were released a year later on the basis of an amnesty law of 1997.

In December 2005 Bashkim Gazidede, the ShIK director at the time of Remzi Hoxha’s enforced disappearance, returned to Albania after an eight-year absence abroad. When questioned by prosecutors in November 2006, he denied the ShIK’s involvement in Remzi Hoxha’s enforced disappearance. However, his successor as ShIK director reportedly told prosecutors that Remzi Hoxha had died in October 1995 from torture by ShIK employees. He said that he had not been able to discover where Remzi Hoxha’s body had been buried or who was directly responsible for his death.

On 6 February 2007, Albania was among 57 countries which signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 December 2006. See Worldwide AppealNovember 2004.

Please continue to write, calling for clarification of the fate of Remzi Hoxha and for those responsible for his enforced disappearance to be brought to justice.

Send appeals to: Alfred Moisiu, President of the Republic of Albania, Tirana, Albania.

Email: http://president.al/english/pub/kontakt.aspSalutation: Dear President

Send copies to the Albanian ambassador in your country and to Mr Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Enlargement, European Commission, Rue de la Loi 170, 1040 Brussels, Belgium. Email: Olli.Rehn@ec.europa.eu

[Picture caption: Remzi Hoxha with his wife. © Private]

Turkmenistan

‘He knows that AI is working on his case and it gives him strength that your members have not forgotten him.’ Mukhametkuli Aymuradov’s wife, Alina

Sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment in 1995 after a reportedly unfair trial, Mukhametkuli Aymuradov is still held in the maximum security prison in Turkmenbashi, where conditions are extremely harsh. Following an alleged escape attempt, he received an additional term of 18 years’ imprisonment in December 1998.

Khoshali Garayev, who was imprisoned with him, died in jail in 1999. Both men were charged with anti-state crimes and convicted in an unfair trial. There were allegations that they were punished solely for their association with exiled opponents of the government.

Mukhametkuli Aymuradov’s wife, Alina, told AI that he has not been receiving appropriate medical treatment for his serious health problems and that his eyesight is deteriorating. See Worldwide AppealsJanuary 2002.

Please continue to send appeals calling for the immediate release of Mukhametkuli Aymuradov, and for him to receive appropriate medical treatment.

Send appeals to: Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, President of Turkmenistan, 744000 g. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Fax: +993 12 35 51 12.

Peru

Pamela Huaringa Felix is reported to be receiving protection from the authorities now and is no longer thought to be in immediate danger. However, AI will continue to monitor her situation and to call on the authorities to investigate the threats made against her and to bring to justice those responsible. AI also calls for those responsible for killing her brother, Ricardo Huaringa Felix, to be brought to justice.

See Worldwide AppealNovember 2006.

[Picture caption: Pamela Huaringa Felix © Private]

Bosnia and Herzegovina

AI welcomes the news that the commission tasked with investigating the enforced disappearance of former Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina Colonel Avdo Palicin July 1995 has been reactivated. AI urges the authorities to ensure that the commission results in a full investigation into the circumstances of this crime and in locating his body.

See Worldwide AppealAugust 2005.

[Picture caption:Avdo Palic © Private]

Worldwide Appeals

Azerbaijan

Journalist’s unfair trial

Well-known opposition journalist Sakit Zahidov was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment after an unfair trial, charged with possessing illegal drugs. Fellow journalists believe that Sakit Zahidov was convicted on account of the satirical column he wrote which regularly criticized the Azerbaijani government.

Sakit Zahidov is a journalist for the opposition newspaper Azadliq(Freedom). He was arrested on 23 June 2006 and charged with "possession of illegal narcotics with intent to distribute", by Interior Ministry personnel belonging to its anti-narcotics department. Other prominent opposition journalists and human rights activists believe that his arrest was politically motivated. They support Sakit Zahidov’s claim that drugs were planted on his person when he was forced into a van by unknown men and then arrested.

At Sakit Zahidov’s trial in August 2006, many people interested in the case were unable to gain access to the preliminary hearing which reportedly took place in a small room with capacity for only 25 people. No recording of the hearing was permitted, apparently contradictory medical evidence was presented and there were a number of procedural irregularities.

Some important witnesses were not called and it is alleged that Sakit Zahidov’s own testimony was partially omitted from the final record of the trial. His lawyers have reportedly still not had access to this document.

In October 2006 Sakit Zahidov was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on a reduced charge of "possession of drugs for the purpose of personal consumption". He is currently held in a maximum security penal colony in Qobustan region, where Azerbaijani human rights activists have previously documented human rights abuses.AI believes that he may have been imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.

Please write, calling on the Azerbaijani authorities to ensure an immediate retrial of Sakit Zahidov in compliance with international fair trial standards.

Send appeals to: President Ilham Aliyev, Office of the President of the Azerbaijan Republic, 19 Istiqlaliyyat Street, Baku AZ1066, Azerbaijan. Fax: +994 12 492 0625. Salutation: Dear President

[Picture caption: Sakit Zahidov © Private]

Saudi Arabia

Woman forced to divorce husband

Fatima A, a 34-year-old mother of two children, has been forced to divorce her husband following a court decision obtained by her half-brother using his powers as her male guardian. If sent back to her brother’s home, Fatima may become a victim of domestic violence.

In August 2005 a court in northern Saudi Arabia ordered Fatima’s divorce from her husband, Mansur, on the grounds that he was from a tribe of lower status than her tribe and that he failed to disclose this when he married her. The court’s decision is based on a customary rule known as Takafu’or Kufu’. The couple, who are happily married and have two children, do not wish to divorce.

Since the court ruling Fatima has remained in al-Dammam Prison with her one-year-old son for fear of being forcibly returned to her brother’s home. As a divorcee, contacting her husband would amount to adultery, a criminal offence punishable by at least flogging, and would put her at serious risk of domestic violence.

In al-Dammam Prison, Fatima has received short visits from her husband and her daughter who lives with him. The divorce ruling was upheld in January 2007 by an appeal court. Following the appeal court ruling, police were reported to have tried to take Fatima to her brother’s home. She refused to go with them, preferring the security of the prison. Prison staff have allowed her to stay there, but she remains at risk of being handed over to her brother.

Although women in Saudi Arabia are increasingly speaking up for their rights, they continue to be subjected to severe forms of discrimination, which facilitate and perpetuate domestic violence.

Please write, calling on the Saudi Arabian authorities not to enforce the flawed divorce judgement against Fatima A, and not to return her to her brother’s home against her wish.

Send appeals to: His Royal Highness Prince Naif bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud, Minister of the Interior, Ministry of the Interior, PO Box 2933, Airport Road, Riyadh 11134, Saudi Arabia. Fax: +966 1 403 1185. Salutation: Your Royal Highness

USA

Flawed justice

Gary Tyler, a 48 year-old African-American man, has been in prison in Louisiana since the age of 17 after an unfair trial marred by racial prejudice. In 1975 he was sentenced to death for the murder of Timothy Weber, a white 13-year-old schoolboy, who was shot outside his school during racial disturbances.

Gary Tyler was among several black students on a bus which was being attacked by white people throwing stones and bottles, and from which the shot had allegedly come. One girl said she had been sitting next to Gary Tyler on the bus and had seen him fire a gun into the crowd. Following this testimony, police then "found" a gun stuffed through a long visible tear in a seat. That seat and the rest of the bus had previously been thoroughly searched with nothing found.

At the time of the incident, racial tension was high as white communities attempted to resist racial integration. There is strong evidence that Gary Tyler was savagely beaten during questioning at the police station. He was tried by an all white jury from which members of the black community had been deliberately excluded. He received seriously deficient legal representation from a white lawyer. Since his trial, evidence has come to light indicating that Gary Tyler did not shoot the victim, and some witnesses who previously testified against him – including the girl who was sitting next to him – have said that they were coerced by the police to make statements.

His original death sentence was over-turned in 1977, when the US Supreme Court declared the state’s death penalty unconstitutional, and was commuted to life imprisonment. Otherwise it is very likely that Gary Tyler would have been executed by now.

Please write, calling on Governor Kathleen Blanco to rectify this miscarriage of justice by granting a pardon to Gary Tyler with immediate effect and by ordering a full, independent investigation into his case so that anyone found to have been involved in any cover-up or abuse is brought to justice.

Send appeals to: Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, Office of the Governor, PO Box 94004, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004, USA. Fax: +1 225 342 7099. Email: www.gov.state.la.us Salutation: Dear Governor

[Picture caption: Gary Tyler © Maia Weerbermeester]

Nepal

Students’ fate unknown

Sanjiv Kumar Karna, a 24-year-old student, was picnicking with a group of friends on

8 October 2003 when he and 10 others were arrested by a group of 25-30 joint security force personnel in Janakpur, Nepal. While being transported to police detention, Sanjiv Kumar Karna and his friends were brutally beaten before being interrogated. Six were subsequently released, but Sanjiv Kumar Karna and four friends – Durgesh Kumar Labh, Pramod Narayan Mandal, Shailendra Yadav and Jitendra Jha – have not been heard from since.

Sanjiv Kumar Karna’s arrest is believed to be linked to his interest in student politics and his former membership in the All Nepal National Independent Student Union (Revolutionary) (ANNISU-R), which is aligned with the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (Maoist). However, he resigned from the ANNISU-R in 1998 and his family say that he had no involvement with the CPN (Maoist).

After registering complaints with relevant authorities, Sanjiv Kumar Karna’s relatives have repeatedly been assured that investigations are underway and that they will be informed when they are completed. However, according to investigations by the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal, the police and the Home Ministry deny any police involvement in the arrest of Sanjiv Kumar Karna and his friends, while the Nepal Army have said that all five young people were killed in a "police action" on the day that they were arrested.

There has so far been no confirmation of any of these claims. The Nepal Army told AI recently that their investigation into the enforced disappearances is complete and that the Nepal Army was not involved. However, AI is seeking clarification about reports in 2003 that Sanjiv Kumar Karna was seen in army custody.

Despite Sanjiv Kumar Karna’s father and one of the other families filing a First Information Report with the Nepal police in July 2006, which legally requires the police to investigate what has happened, no progress has yet been made.

Please write, calling on the authorities to establish the whereabouts of Sanjiv Kumar Karna and his four friends and to make their findings public. If they are found to be alive, they should be released immediately. If they have been killed, the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

Send appeals to: Om Bikram Rana, Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters, GPO Box 407, Naxal, Kathmandu, Nepal. Fax: +977 14 415 593 or 594. Salutation: Dear Inspector General

First step to justice for the people of Darfur

On 27 February the International Criminal Court (ICC) presented evidence against two Sudanese men suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. This latest development comes a year and a half after the investigation into such crimes in Darfur was opened.

Current State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmad Harun, and renowned Janjawid leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abdelrahman (also known as Ali Kushayb), face 51 counts of alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, the destruction of property, pillaging, rape, torture, outrages upon personal dignity and other inhumane acts. The presentation of evidence against Ahmad Harun is particularly significant as it marks the first time the ICC is seeking to prosecute a current government official.

However, on hearing of the ICC summonses, Sudan’s Minister of Justice, Mohamed Ali al-Mardi, reportedly declared: "[T]he ICC has no jurisdiction to try any Sudanese." He added: "[T]he Sudanese government will not allow any Sudanese to be tried and punished outside the national justice framework."

On 6 March, Sudan announced that it would start trial proceedings in a special criminal court in Geneina, West Darfur, against three people, including Ali Kushayb, on charges relating to attacks in the region. The ICC can only prosecute individuals if a state refuses or is unable to do so itself. Sudan’s moves to try Ali Kushayb suggest an attempt at undermining the ICC’s jurisdiction in this case.

The ICC has no police force with which to execute warrants if suspects do not comply with summonses. It relies on the willingness of states or peacekeeping operations, such as the African Mission in Sudan of the African Union (AU), to arrest suspects and surrender them to the ICC. However, the AU has refused, for more than a year, to sign an agreement to do so.

With Sudan refusing to co-operate; the onus now lies with the international community, including the AU, to ensure that if the suspects are indicted, they comply with the warrants. If there is no follow-up action to the warrants, victims and their families will continue to be denied justice and reparations.

Over two million people have been displaced in the Darfur conflict. Some 85,000 people have been killed and thousands of women have been raped since the conflict began.

[Picture captions:

Sudanese refugees from Darfur return to Gaga refugee camp, Chad, after collecting firewood. © AI

AIUK demonstrate against the violence in Darfur on two days of global action in September 2006. © AI

AI Norway demonstrate against the violence in Darfur on two days of global action in December 2006. © Sveinung Uddu Ystad]

Rio de Janeiro’s Governor must respect election promises in Brazil

‘Instead of putting the caveirão in the favela, let’s solve the root causes of the problem.’

Sérgio Cabral, in an election statement, O Povo newspaper, 31 October 2006

In February, Rio de Janeiro state police forces and members of the elite National Public Security Force invaded the favelas of Complexo do Alemão, Rio de Janeiro. At least six people, including bystanders, were killed during the operation which included the use of an armoured car known as the caveirão. After a three-day gun battle police withdrew, claiming to have seized one rifle and one grenade.

During the 2006 elections the current Governor of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral Filho, criticized the use of caveirões, seen as symbols of a violent and discriminatory public security policy which criminalizes poverty.

It is essential that changes in public security policy based on human rights, police intelligence, thorough investigations and social policies are implemented in Rio de Janeiro.

ACT NOW!

Send a postcard to Governor Sérgio Cabral, calling on him to stand by his election promise and end the use of armoured vehicles in policing operations in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro now.

Postcards are available from pesquisa@amnesty.org or write to: Exmo Sr Governador Sérgio Cabral Filho, Palácio Guanabara, Rua Pinheiro Machado, s/no, Laranjeiras, 22238-900 Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brazil.

[Picture caption: A military policeman stands guard next to an armoured vehicle popularly known as the caveirão, in the Morro da Fé favela, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. © Tom Phillips]

News in brief

Women’s rights demonstration quashed in Iran

Over 30 women activists were arrested on 4 March while staging a peaceful demonstration outside Tehran’s Revolutionary Court in the capital. At the time of writing, all the women have been released except Shadi Sadr and Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, both active in a campaign to stop executions by stoning in Iran. AI considers both women to be prisoners of conscience.

The activists were protesting at the trial of five women charged in connection with a peaceful demonstration calling for equal rights for women under Iranian law, held last June. That demonstration was violently dispersed by security forces, who arrested at least 70 people. Those detained on 4 March included four of the five on trial who were arrested as they left the court.

Many of those arrested were active in the Campaign for Equality, launched in August 2006 by Iranian women’s rights activists, which aims to collect a million signatures from Iranians in support of changes to the law to end legalized discrimination against women. Their website has frequently been filtered by the Iranian authorities, making it difficult for people in Iran to access it. The women were planning to campaign for their internationally recognized right to equality on 8 March, International Women’s Day. The arrests may have been an attempt to prevent planned events from taking place.

See the WireMarch 2007 and International Women’s Day: Irene Khan and Shirin Ebadi call for end to discrimination against women in Iran(MDE 13/023/2007).

Iran executions

Eight Iranian Arab men were executed in Iran in January and February. They had been convicted after unfair trials of being involved in bomb attacks in October 2005.

AI fears for the lives of other prisoners who are reported to have been sentenced to death following unfair trials.

See Iran: Death sentences –appeal case: 11 Iranian Arab men facing death sentences(MDE 13/051/2006).

Libya

Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were condemned to death for a second time in December 2006. After a second grossly unfair trial, they were convicted of knowingly infecting hundreds of children with HIV in a hospital in the city of Benghazi. The six claim that confessions used in evidence against them were extracted under torture. Evidence produced by Libyan medical experts was questioned by international medical experts, who were not allowed to testify.

AI urges the authorities to rescind the death sentences. Only a fair trial will uncover the truth about this tragedy, bringing justice to the children who were infected and the families of the more than 50 who have since died.

See the WireMay 2006.

[Picture caption: Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were condemned to death for a second time in December 2006. © AI]

People’s consultation

The Control Arms Campaign, run jointly by AI, IANSA and Oxfam, is holding a People’s Consultation to encourage as many governments as possible to submit positive and strong recommendations to the UN in support of an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

The UN passed the resolution to adopt an ATT in December 2006, with 153 governments voting in favour.

Governments are now being asked to submit their views to the UN on the "feasibility, scope and parameters for a comprehensive, legally binding instrument, establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms."

AI is calling on states to include in their submission the golden rule: "Arms transfers should not be authorized where they will be used or are likely to be used for gross violations of international human rights law." This will give the Group of Governmental Experts a broad mandate when it begins its work in 2008 to discuss how to proceed on establishing an ATT.

To find out how you can support the People’s Consultation and take action, go to: www.controlarms.org

Recent Publications

Youth – Activism – Engagement – Participation

(ACT 76/003/2006)

Liberia: A brief guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

(AFR 34/007/2006)

USA: Below the radar – Secret flights to torture and "disappearance" (AMR 51/051/2006)

Compilation of Global Principles for Arms Transfers, second edition (POL 34/004/2006), published by the Arms Trade Treaty Steering Committee 2006 .

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