Dec 15, 2020 | News
On 15 December 2020, the eighth anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, the ICJ joined 53 organizations and 19 individuals in reiterating its calls on the Government to reveal his fate and whereabouts and to investigate his and all other cases of alleged enforced disappearance in the country.
The statement condemned the Government’s ongoing failure to adequately investigate all allegations of enforced disappearance in Laos, which has been compounded by years of near complete lack of commitment to address this serious crime or provide an effective remedy or reparation to its victims and their families.
In June 2020, during the third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Laos, the Government refused to accept all five recommendations that called for an adequate investigation into Sombath’s enforced disappearance. The Government failed to support another eight recommendations that called for investigations into all cases of alleged enforced disappearances in Laos. Despite the government accepting that “the search for missing Lao citizens, including Sombath Somphone, is the duty of the Lao government”, it has failed to evidence any political will to effectively execute or fulfill this duty.
Sombath Somphone was last seen at a police checkpoint on a busy street in Vientiane on the evening of 15 December 2012. Footage from a CCTV camera showed that Sombath’s vehicle was stopped at the police checkpoint and that, within minutes, unknown individuals forced him into another vehicle and drove him away in the presence of police officers. CCTV footage also showed an unknown individual driving Sombath’s vehicle away from the city center. The presence of police officers at Sombath’s abduction and their failure to intervene strongly indicates State agents’ participation in Sombath’s enforced disappearance.
Lao authorities have repeatedly claimed they have been investigating Sombath’s enforced disappearance, but have failed to disclose any new findings to the public since 8 June 2013. They have not met with Sombath’s wife, Shui Meng Ng, since December 2017. No substantive information about the investigation has been shared by the authorities with Ng or Sombath’s family, indicating that, for all intents and purposes, the police investigation has been de facto suspended.
The statement reiterated a call for the establishment of a new independent and impartial investigative body tasked with determining Sombath’s fate and whereabouts, with the authority to seek and receive international technical assistance to conduct a professional and effective investigation in accordance with international standards. This is a call which multiple signatory organizations have been making since his enforced disappearance in 2012.
The statement further urged the Lao government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED), which Laos signed in September 2008; incorporate its provisions into the country’s legal framework, implement it in practice, and recognize the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of the victims.
The full statement is available here.
Contact
Kingsley Abbott, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser, e: kingsley.abbott(a)icj.org
Dec 2, 2020 | News
The ICJ today called upon the Sri Lankan authorities to conduct a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the events involving the use of lethal force by prison guards at Mahara prison on 29 and 30 November, which left at least nine inmates killed and over hundred others injured.
The action by the guards was taken in response to unrest resulting from protests by inmates over unsafe and overcrowded conditions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ICJ also called for urgent measure to address the unsafe conditions in Sri Lankan prisons to protect the right to health and life, including where necessary by releasing detainees.
“The tragic events of Mahara prison are a consequence of the failure of the Sri Lankan authorities to effectively address the situation of prison conditions, which has turned into a full blown human rights and public health crisis in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic”, said Ian Seiderman, ICJ Legal and Policy Director
The unrest was the culmination of a series of protests staged by the prisoners demanding an increase in coronavirus testing and new isolation facilities for infected prisoners. According to Senaka Perera, President of the Committee for Protecting the Rights of the Prisoners, around 200 inmates of the Mahara prison have been infected with COVID-19.
While the Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms and the Inspector General of Police have instructed the Criminal Investigation Department to probe the unrest caused at the Mahara Prison, the Minister of Justice has formed a separate five-member committee, chaired by former High Court Judge Kusala Saorini Weerawardena, to conduct its own investigation.
The ICJ recalls that under international law, the use of lethal force by State authorities is only permissible where strictly necessary to protect life. This standard should govern any investigation, and those responsible for unlawful conduct resulting in death or injuries to prisoners must be held to account.
“In addition to ensuring accountability and redress for any violations at the Mahara Prison, the authorities must act swiftly to meet the legitimate grievances of detainees throughout the country”, added Ian Seiderman.
“An effective response is not optional, but is necessary to fulfill the State’s legal obligation to provide for equal access to healthcare and health services to prisoners, who are among the most vulnerable to the ravages of COVID-19 in highly unsafe, enclosed and overcrowded environments.” Seiderman added.
The incident follows a wave of similar protests in several other prisons in the country. On 18 November, five inmates who were under quarantine at the Old Bogambara Prison attempted to break out and an inmate was shot dead when the prisoner officers opened fire at the fleeing inmates.
The ICJ called for the release of detainees who are particularly at risk of losing their life or suffering severe health effects from COVID-19. This would also apply to other convicts who could be released without compromising public safety, such as those sentenced for minor, non-violent offences.
Background
Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Dr. Sudharshini Fernandopulle stated that the Government has taken steps to reduce overcrowding by directing COVID-19 positive prisoners out of the prisons to the Welikanda Hospital and moving all women inmates to the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre. She also stated that a mechanism has been put in place to obtain bail for those arrested for minor drug offences. Moreover, a presidential pardon has been granted to over 600 convicts of minor offences who were in remand due to their inability to pay the required fine.
Several UN bodies, including the WHO and OHCHR, came together in recommending that States consider limiting the deprivation of liberty including pretrial detention, to a measure of last resort and enhance efforts to resort to non-custodial measures.
Contact
Osama Motiwala, Communications Officer – osama.motiwala(a)icj.org
Nov 23, 2020 | Incidencia, Publicaciones
El documento informativo contiene un resumen de los aspectos claves del marco jurídico internacional en materia de desaparición forzada y ejecución extrajudicial.
Para ello, en primer lugar, el documento contiene una conceptualización (definición y elementos constitutivos) de estos crímenes, según el derecho internacional.
Adicionalmente, el documento presenta las instancias internacionales que monitorean específicamente el cumplimiento de las obligaciones de los Estados en materia de desaparición forzada y ejecuciones extrajudiciales.
Por último, el documento cierra con un recuento de los principales estándares internacionales relacionados con los derechos de las víctimas y el deber de los Estados de investigar, enjuiciar y sanciona a los responsables de estos crímenes.
El documento informativo fue elaborado como parte del proyecto “Promoviendo justicia para ejecuciones extrajudiciales y desapariciones forzadas en Colombia, Guatemala y Perú”, que se implementa con el apoyo de la Unión Europea. El proyecto hace parte la Iniciativa Global de Justicia y Rendición de Cuentas de la CIJ.
Contactos:
Kingsley Abbott, Director de la Iniciativa Global de Justicia y Rendición de Cuentas de la CIJ, correo electrónico: kingsley.abbott@icj.org
Rocío Quintero M, Asesora Legal, América Latina, correo electrónico: rocio.quintero@icj.org
Carolina Villadiego Burbano, Asesora Legal, América Latina, correo electrónico:
carolina.villadieg@icj.org
Colombia-Marco juridico-Advocacy-Analysis brief-2020-SPA (documento en español, PDF)
Nov 23, 2020
The ICJ has published a legal briefing paper setting out the international legal framework concerning enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings.
The paper analyses the elements and characteristics of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings; describes the international institutions in charge of monitoring relevant States’ obligations; and summarizes key international standards on victims’ rights and on the duty to investigate, prosecute and sanction.
The briefing paper is published as part of ICJ’s project “Promoting justice for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in Colombia, Guatemala and Peru,” supported by the European Union and is implemented under the ICJ’s Global Accountability Initiative.
The briefing paper is available in Spanish.
Contacts:
Kingsley Abbott, Director of Global Accountability and International Justice, email: kingsley.abbott(a)icj.org
Rocío Quintero M, Legal Adviser, Latin America, email: rocio.quintero(a)icj.org
Carolina Villadiego Burbano, Legal and Policy Adviser, Latin America, email: carolina.villadiego(a)icj.org
Colombia-Marco juridico-Advocacy-Analysis brief-2020-SPA (full report in Spanish, PDF)
Nov 20, 2020 | News
The ICJ today called on the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release human rights defenders Gasser Abdel-Razek, Mohamed Bashseer and Karim Ennarah.
The detainees, senior staffers of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), a leading human rights organization, were targeted in connection with their human rights work.
The arrests are part of a broader, relentless campaign by the military and government to intimidate and silence civil society organizations, including through such means as trumped-up “terrorism” charges and sham judicial proceedings.
“By arresting Mohamed Bashseer, Karim Ennarah and Gasser Abdel-Razek, and charging them with terrorism-related offences, the Egyptian government led by President Al-Sisi are writing a new, terrifying chapter in their repression playbook,” said Said Benarbia, Director of ICJ’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
“Their crackdown on independent civil society must end.”
On 19 November 2020, Gasser Abdel-Razek, EIPR’s Executive Director, was arrested by security forces from his home in Maadi, Cairo. He appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) and charged in case No. 855/2020 with, among other charges, “joining a terrorist group” and “spreading false news.”
On 15 November 2020, EIPR’s Administrative Manager Mohamed Bashseer, was arrested at his house in Cairo. On 17 November 2020, Karim Ennarah, EIPR’s director of the criminal justice programme, was also arrested.
They both face similar charges in the same case No. 855/2020, together with other numerous lawyers and human rights defenders, including Mohamed El-Baqer and Mahienour al-Massry.
Over the past seven years, EIPR has been subjected to a pattern of harassment and persecution by the military and government.
In 2016, the assets of EIPR’s founder and former executive director, Hossam Bahgat, were frozen and he was subjected to a travel ban since then.
On February 2020, Patrick George Zaki, an EIPR researcher, was arrested at Cairo Airport by National Security Agency officers who reportedly subjected him to torture, including with electric shocks. He was charged by a public prosecutor with, among other charges, “spreading false news” and “inciting protest without authorization”. He remains in custody
The recent arrests of the three senior EIPR officials follow a visit by a number of European ambassadors and other diplomats to the EIPR Cairo offices on 3 November 2020, during which the human rights situation in Egypt was discussed.
“The international community and in particular States engaging in political and security cooperation with Al-Sisi’s regime must not overlook the serious violations against human rights defenders taking place in the country,” added Benarbia.
“They should demand an end to these violations and ensure that individuals and independent human rights groups are able to do their legitimate and critical human rights work freely and without intimidation.”
Contact
Said Benarbia, Director, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +41-22-979-3817; e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Download the Arabic version
Egypt-EIPR crackdown-News-2020-ARA
