Mar 27, 2014 | Events, News, Publications, Reports, Seminar and conference reports
The ICJ hosted over 40 human rights defenders (HRDs) from Southern, Eastern and Western Africa to deliberate on strategies for enhancing the protection of human rights and human rights defenders.
The event took place on 27-28 March 2014 in Tswane, Pretoria.
Several African dignitaries attended the strategy session, including various independent experts from the African Union and United Nations focusing on protection and promotion of the work of human rights defenders.
This reflection session came in the wake of the increased sophistication of acts that undermine the independent, safe and secure operation of human rights defenders in Africa.
These acts include restrictive and punitive legislative enactments, in countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya, and extra judicial killings and enforced disappearances in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and South Sudan.
Other acts undermining the work and security of human rights defenders include the prohibition of access to funding; defamatory labeling of HRDs as “spies”, “unpatriotic”, “traitors”, and “foreign agents”; and the passing of laws criminalizing homosexuality.
The Universally acclaimed Declaration on Human Rights Defenders has recorded a greater number of breaches in recent times than before.
There is an increasing need for defenders to identify and reflect on opportunities to strengthen their collective responses and to provide rapid in-country and regional support and solidarity that nurtures a spirit of resilience, collectiveness and camaraderie within universally accepted norms of the defence of human rights.
Contact
Arnold Tsunga, Director, ICJ Africa Regional Programme, Arnold.tsunga(a)icj.org, +27731318411, or
Martin Okumu-Masiga, Deputy Director, ICJ Afria Regional Programme, Martin.okumu-masiga(a)icj.org, +27110248268 (full text in PDF)
Southern Africa-Strategic Session rapide response-Publications-Workshop report-2015-ENG (full text in PDF)
Mar 25, 2014 | News
The ICJ today strongly condemned the decision of the Criminal Court of Minya to convict 529 individuals and to sentence them to death.
The individuals were sentenced for “participating in an attack on a police station in Minya,” “murder of a police officer,” “attempted murder of two other officers,” “seizing weapons” and “damaging public property”.
The verdict comes against a backdrop of a continuing crackdown on individuals suspected of supporting the ousted President, Mohamed Morsi, or being members of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization officially designated by the military and other transitional authorities as a terrorist organization.
The verdict followed a two-day trial that disregarded fundamental fair trial standards.
The first hearing lasted 30 minutes, while the second lasted one hour.
International law is clear: the imposition of the death penalty following an unfair trial violates the right to life.
The ICJ calls on the Egyptian authorities to extinguish the convictions resulting from this trial and ensure that those arrested, prosecuted and convicted for the legitimate exercise of their rights to freedom of association and assembly are immediately released.
“The Minya trial made an absolute mockery of justice, violating basic human rights, including the rights to life, to liberty, to be presumed innocent and to defence,” stated Said Benarbia, Director of the ICJ Middle East & North Africa Program. “Even with Egypt’s long history of unfair trials and systematic politicization of the judiciary, the Minya trial sets a new low, and could be dangerous precedent for mass convictions following mass trials against government critics.”
The ICJ is deeply concerned that this trial is a part of a deliberate policy by the Egyptian authorities to use the courts and the Office of the Public Prosecutor to arrest, prosecute, convict, and imprison opponents of the current authorities.
The ICJ is also concerned that this policy effectively shields from accountability police, security, and military officers responsible for human rights violations committed in the context of the crackdown that followed the ouster of President Morsi, including the killings of more than 1200 people, in particular during the dispersal of the Rabaa Al-Adawyia and Annahda pro-Morsi sit-ins on 14 August.
No effective investigation has yet been conducted into these killings, and the perpetrators remain unpunished.
“In times of crisis, judges and prosecutors must safeguard and uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms, not act as tools of repression by prosecuting and convicting individuals for the legitimate exercise of their rights” said Benarbia.
“The Egyptian authorities must respect the independence of judges and prosecutors and refrain from any undue, inappropriate or unwarranted interference in judicial matters,” Benarbia concluded.
Contact:
Said Benarbia, ICJ Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme, tel: 41 22 979 38 17, e-mail: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Mar 20, 2014 | News
Thailand’s caretaker government must remove emergency measures throughout the country following the lifting of the Emergency Decree in the capital Bangkok and its surrounding provinces this week, the ICJ said today.
On 18 March, the caretaker government voted to lift the Emergency Decree (effective 19 March) that had been in place in Bangkok and surrounding provinces since 21 January 2014 in response to protests led by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC).
At least 20 people have died in protest-related violence and hundreds have been injured.
The Emergency Decree was replaced by the Internal Security Act (ISA), which also does not fully comply with international standards, but provides better remedies for victims of human rights violations than the Decree.
“The imposition of the Emergency Decree creates an environment conducive to abuse of power and human rights violations such as arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and enforced disappearance,” said Sam Zarifi, ICJ’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “Lifting the Emergency Decree in Bangkok is a positive step, but it is crucial that the authorities remove the Emergency Decree and other measures of emergency rule, including martial law, that are in force in all or parts of at least 30 of Thailand’s 77 provinces.”
These measures should be replaced by law and action that are consistent with international human rights standards, Zarifi said, adding that martial law should not be used as a political tool.
The caretaker government must respond to demonstrations, unrest and emergencies in a manner which complies with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and other international standards, including the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979, and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, adopted by the UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders in 1990.
These standards set out the circumstances in which resort to necessary and proportional force may be lawfully exercised. Article 8 of the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms states that “exceptional circumstances such as internal political instability or any other public emergency may not be invoked to justify any departure from these basic principles.”
In order to safeguard the rule of law and enhance the protection of human rights in Thailand, the ICJ calls on the caretaker government to repeal the Emergency Decree and other emergency measures including martial law, and to ensure accountability for violent acts through the thorough and effective investigation of criminal acts and prosecution of those reasonably suspected of committing them, in the course of fair, human rights-compliant criminal proceedings.
CONTACT: Sam Zarifi, ICJ Asia-Pacific Regional Director, (Bangkok), t:+66 807819002, e-mail: sam.zarifi(a)icj.org
Craig Knowles, ICJ Media & Communications, (Bangkok), t:+66 819077653, e-mail: craig.knowles(a)icj.org
For further reading on ICJ’s work on emergency laws in Thailand see: Thailand’s Internal Security Act, Risking the Rule of Law? (2010) https://www.icj.org/thailands-internal-security-act-risking-the-rule-of-law/ Implementation of Thailand’s Emergency Decree (2007) https://www.icj.org/thailand-implementation-of-thailand%C2%B4s-emergency-decree/ More Power, Less Accountability: Thailand’s New Emergency Decree (2005) https://www.icj.org/more-power-less-accountability/
Mar 18, 2014 | News
The arbitrary arrest and detention of prominent human rights defenders is an attempt to silence criticism and divert the spotlight from ongoing abuses, leading global and Asian human rights monitors said today in a joint statement.
The statement was issued by Amnesty International, Forum Asia, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group, and the International Commission of Jurists.
Ruki Fernando of the Colombo-based INFORM and Father Praveen Mahesan, a Catholic priest, were arrested in Kilinochchi on March 16, and are believed to be detained without formal charges under Sri Lanka’s notoriously draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
“The Sri Lankan authorities need to release Fernando and Father Praveen, and end the ongoing state harassment of human rights defenders,” said David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Asia Pacific. “How can the international community take Sri Lanka’s claims to respect rights seriously when rights defenders continue to face intimidation and criminal charges for demanding accountability and human rights protection?”
The police Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) detained and questioned Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen after they sought to ensure the welfare of 13-year-old Balendran Vithushaini, who had been ordered into probationary care following the arrest of her mother, Balendran Jeyakumari, on March 13. Both mother and daughter are active opponents of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka and have been prominently featured in international media coverage of demonstrations by families of the disappeared, most recently in Jaffna in November 2013 during a visit by British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Fernando and Father Praveen were questioned separately in two different buildings for more than three hours by several TID officers. Lawyers acting on their behalf were given contradictory information about the arrests and the reasons for their detention. The most recent information is that Fernando and Father Praveen have been taken to police Terrorism Investigation Division headquarters in Colombo, and their lawyers are still seeking access to them.
Fernando and Father Praveen have not been charged to date, but according to Sri Lankan Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Ajith Rohana, they will be charged with “attempting to create instability among communities” and “allegedly promoting separatism” under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The PTA has been widely criticized by Sri Lankan civil society, international monitoring organizations, and United Nations bodies. In its report, Authority without Accountability: The Crisis of Impunity in Sri Lanka, the International Commission of Jurists documents how provisions of the PTA have resulted in arbitrary detention, contravened suspects’ right to a fair trial and due process, and facilitated torture and other ill-treatment and enforced disappearances
The human rights groups said that the arrests are particularly disturbing since a resolution on Sri Lanka’s failure to address accountability is under discussion and will be voted on soon at the ongoing Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva. The international community has long called for Sri Lanka to take meaningful steps to end its culture of impunity.
“This ongoing campaign of reprisals against those speaking out against human rights violations shows the extent of the government’s impunity,” said Sam Zarifi, Asia director at the International Commission of Jurists. “The international community, through its voting at the Human Rights Council, must judge Sri Lanka not by its promises, but by its actions.”
In spite of two prior resolutions by the UNHRC in 2012 and 2013, Sri Lanka has taken no measurable steps towards ensuring justice for the victims of its civil war, and has instead launched an aggressive campaign against those who advocate for accountability. Human rights defenders, activists, journalists, and civil society members who are critical of the government have regularly been threatened and harassed. Those who have an international profile, such as Fernando, face particular government hostility.
“Sri Lankan authorities systematically clamp down on those who seek to reach out to the international community, especially around significant events such as the Human Rights Council sessions or the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting,” said Evelyn Balais-Serrano, the executive director of Forum-Asia. “Instead of protecting human rights defenders, the latest arrests show the Sri Lankan government is stepping up its aggressive stance towards those seeking justice and answers.”
The arrests also call into question the Sri Lankan government’s stated commitment to improving respect for human rights since the end of the armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009, the groups said.
“Arresting peaceful activists known for their work with victims of rights violations from all ethnic communities is not a way to build trust and restore relationships damaged by the war,” said Jonathan Prentice, the International Crisis Group’s chief policy officer. “If sustainable peace is to be more than an illusion, the rights of Sri Lanka’s victims and human rights defenders to speak freely and safely must be protected.”
The organizations stressed that Fernando and Father Praveen should be given full rights while they remain in detention. Under international law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a state party, people deprived of their liberty must be promptly informed of the reasons for their detention, be given prompt and regular access to lawyers, and be promptly brought before a judge or judicial officer.
“Human Rights Council members should demand the immediate release of Fernando and Father Praveen and be clear that this will not deter them from adopting a necessary resolution on Sri Lanka,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The arrest of these human rights defenders shows just how important it is for the international community to stand up for human rights in Sri Lanka.”
Signed by:
- Amnesty International
- FORUM-ASIA
- International Commission of Jurists
- International Crisis Group
- Human Rights Watch
For more information, please contact:
In London, for Amnesty International
In Bangkok, for International Commission of Jurists, Sam Zarifi: +66-857-200-723; orsam.zarifi@icj.org
In Bangkok, for International Commission of Jurists, Sheila Varadan: +66-857-200-723; or sheila.varadan@icj.org
Mar 7, 2014 | News
The ICJ expressed concern at today’s arrest of Fakhriddin Zokirov, a prominent defence lawyer who had represented the former Minister of Industry, Zaid Sayidov.
The former Minister was recently convicted for a number of crimes including polygamy, receiving a bribe, rape, fraud, illegal confinement and sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment.
The ICJ is concerned at reports that the arrest of the lawyer may be related to his active and robust defence of the former Minister in court.
Lawyer Zokirov was arrested by the State Finance Control and Anti-Corruption Agency on charges of fraud in banking transactions, which allegedly took place several years ago.
Two other lawyers who defended the former Minister, Shukhrat Kudratov and Iskhok Tabarov, announced at a press conference that they had recently faced various threats and intimidation in connection with the case.
The lawyers reported that the pressure on them had significantly increased in relation to a lawsuit which they brought against the head of the State Finance Control and Anti-Corruption Agency, Fattokh Sayidov.
They alleged that the head of the Agency threatened that if they did not drop the case, they would “share the dock” with their client, the former Minister.
“Abusive prosecutions of lawyers and threats against them in connection with their work are contrary to international standards on the independence of lawyers and undermine the integrity of the justice system”, Róisín Pillay, Director of the Europe Programme, said today. “In the exercise of their profession, lawyers must remain free from intimidation, harassment, fear and arbitrary prosecution and arrest. The ICJ calls on the authorities of Tajikistan to ensure that lawyers’ integrity is protected, and that the criminal justice system is not misused to intimidate them.”
Under the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, lawyers must not be identified with their clients’ causes, and must be protected against attacks and intimidation, including prosecutions or administrative or other sanctions for action taken in accordance with their recognized professional duties.
Contacts:
Róisin Pillay, Director, Europe Programme, t + 32 273 48 46, roisin.pillay(a)icj.org
Temur Shakirov, Legal Adviser, Europe Programme, t + 41 22 979 38 32, temur.shakirov(a)icj.org
Tajikistan-arrest of lawyer-news-web story-2014-rus (full text in pdf)
