Impunity Watch: North America

BRIEF: California Passes Legislation in an Effort to Further Protect Human Trafficking Victims

By Andrew Benfield
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, North America

SACRAMENTO, United States – California’s legislators have passed two bills, AB 2810 and AB 499, in furtherance of its pledge to take action against human trafficking.  Governor Schwarzenegger said that AB 2810 and AB 499 expand “victim rights, provide further protections and develop training for law enforcement to better assist victims” of human trafficking crimes. 

AB 2810 ensures that a victim of human trafficking, upon request, will have his or her name removed from any public record regarding the trafficking.  In addition, AB 2810 requires law enforcement officials to use “due diligence in identifying human trafficking victims regardless of citizenship status.” 

AB 499 creates a “pilot project” in Alameda County to develop a “comprehensive model to address the needs and effective treatment of sexually exploited minors.”  A focal point of the project is to “divert minors accused of soliciting an act of prostitution into supervised counseling and treatment programs.” 

Gov. Schwarzenegger has requested greater cooperation between U.S.-Mexico Border States in order to stop human trafficking crimes. 

For more information, please see:

Imperial Valley News – California Legislation to Further Protect Victims of Human Trafficking – 27 September 2008

San Francisco Chronicle – Calif. laws take aim at reducing human trafficking – 27 September 2008

Israeli Human Rights Organization Opens in Washington

By Gabrielle Meury
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States - B’Tselem, Israel’s leading human rights organization, opened its Washington branch on September 24. The Organization’s goal is to spread information regarding Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians to the American Jewish Community, Middle East think tanks and policy makers. B’Tselem’s Executive Director, Jessica Montell, stated that the organization’s goal is “to ensure that our government honors human rights and operates in accordance with the highest moral values.”

Michell Plitnick, who heads the organization’s efforts in the United States, stated that “the debate amongst the American friends of Israel often focuses on the big picture of the diplomatic efforts and the humanitarian reality on the ground is lost.” B’Tselem is the only Israeli organization dealing with human rights to move overseas. Hadar Harris, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the American University in Washington stated, “There is a unique opportunity for education and outreach by maintaining a Washington presence that B’Tselem will try to take advantage of.” B’Tselem, founded in 1989, is the leading source of information on human rights issues in the Palestinian territories. It primarily documents abuse of Palestinians and publishes periodical reports.

The organization has two primary goals in establishing their Washington office. One goal is to “inject information” into policymakers who deal with issues relating to Israel. The other goal is to “open the dialogue” about Israeli human rights abuses. So far, the Organization’s move has been well received. Larry Garber, CEO of the philanthropic organization New Israel Fund, said the group is unique, since it is Israeli-based but well respected in the international community. “Support for Israel should be based on full understanding of what is going on.”

For more information, please see:

Jewish Daily Forward- Israeli rights watchdog sets up shop in Washington- 29 September 2008

Ynet News- B’Tselem opens Washington bureau-  25 September 2008

Jewish Telegraphic Agency- B’Tselem opens office in Washington- 25 September 2008

Charles Taylor's Son on Trial in US for Torture in Liberia

By Andrew Benfield
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, North America

MIAMI, United States – Former Liberian President Charles Taylor’s son, Charles “Chuckie” Taylor, Jr., is currently on trial for committing acts of torture in Liberia between 1999 and 2003. 

Chuckie Taylor was born in Massachusetts and is a United States citizen.

Taylor, Jr.’s trial began jury selection on September 25 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.  The indictment against Chuckie Taylor consists of “five counts of torture, one count of conspiracy to torture, one count of using a firearm during a violent crime, and one count of conspiracy to use a firearm during a violent crime.”   

Specifically, Chuckie Taylor is alleged to have either committed, or attempted or conspired to commit “executions; beatings; imprisoning a group of individuals in a hole in the ground; burning victims with cigarettes, molten plastic, wax, an iron, and scalding water; mutilating victims' genitals and other body parts; and shocking victims with an electrical device.” 

After Taylor, Jr. attempted to enter the United States in 2006, Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations pressured the United States government to investigate and indicted Chuckie Taylor for his role in the torture that took place in Liberia under President Charles Taylor.  Chuckie Taylor was the head of the Liberian Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) from 1997 through 2003.  The ATU was an elite, pro-government military unit. 

Chuckie Taylor’s indictment is based on the United States federal extraterritorial torture statute that makes it a crime for “US citizens to commit torture abroad, or to attempt or conspire to commit torture abroad.”  If convicted, Chuckie Taylor may face up to life imprisonment. 

Chuckie Taylor’s trail marks the first prosecution in the United States for torture abroad. 

For more information, please see:

All Africa – Liberia: Charles “Chuckie” Taylor, Jr.’s Trial in the United States for Torture Committed in Liberia – 24 September 2008

BBC News – Liberian’s ex-leader’s son on trial – 24 September 2008

Ghana Broadcasting Corporation – Charles Taylor Jnr. on trial in US – 25 September 2008

Guantanamo Prosecutor Resigns, Testifies Against Tribunals

By Gabrielle Meury
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

GUANTANAMO, Cuba- On Friday, Army Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld testified that wrongful convictions could stem from breakdowns in the delivery evidence to Guantanamo detainees. The former prosecutor said that the government had not provided exculpatory evidence to lawyers for Mohammed Jawad, who is accused in a grenade attack that injured two American soldiers in Kabul in 2002. Among Vandeveld’s complaints was that the prosecutor’s office failed to turn over exculpatory materials to Jawad’s attorney.
Vandeveld also expressed concerns over Jawad's treatment. "As a juvenile at the time of his capture, Jawad should have been segregated from the adult detainees, and some serious attempt made to rehabilitate him."

Jawad’s attorney, Major David Frakt, said that another point of contention was that Vandeveld’s superiors had rejected his recommendation for a plea deal that would have set Jawad free in the near future.

Vandeveld is the second former prosecutor to testify on behalf of a detainee this year. He stated that the problem affects cases throughout the Pentagon’s system for prosecuting alleged terrorists at this U.S. Navy base. “This is a system that has existed for six years, and I think it is impossible for anyone in good conscience to stand up and say he or she is provided all the discovery in a case.”

Army Col. Lawrence Morris, the chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo tribunals, stated that there is no basis to Vandeveld’s ethical qualms. “All you have is somebody who is disappointed that his superiors did not agree with his recommendation in a case.” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman only said that Vandeveld “made some allegations that will certainly be adjudicated in the courtroom so I am not sure I specifically want to address an individual.”

Prosecutor Colonel Morris Davis resigned last year as the Pentagon’s chief prosecutor for terrorism cases, accusing his superiors of tolerating evidence obtained from waterboarding.

For more information, please see:
AP- Former Gitmo prosecutor blasts tribunals- 26 September 2008

AFP- Military prosecutor at Guantanamo quits: reports- 26 September 2008

BBC- Guantanamo prosecutor steps down- 25 September 2008

Potential Over Use of Taser Devices Prompts Police Inquiry

By Maria E. Molina
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

VANCOUVER, Canada - Vancouver police used a Taser stun gun on a teenage mom, stating officers took the action to save the life of an one-month-old baby, the mother had in her arms. The stun gun was applied directly to the mother's upper back and arm. Both mother and baby were later taken to the hospital. 

The incident happened on Monday, September 22, when officers and social workers went to the 18-year-old father's home searching for the 16-year-old mother and child.

Police have come under intense scrutiny for using the shock weapons after a would-be Polish immigrant, Robert Dziekanski, died at Vancouver International Airport last fall after being shocked by a Taser.

Dziekanski was hit twice by a RCMP Taser used by the officers to subdue an agitated Dziekanski who had been wandering around lost for hours after his flight arrived.

A report from a B.C. public inquiry prompted by his death is due later this year. A second phase of that inquiry, looking specifically into Dziekanski's death, is set to start in November.

In a similar incident earlier this week, Sean Reilly, 42, died less than 12 hours after being Tasered during a struggle in a cell at a Peel police station. 

To date, a Taser has been used in 23 Canadian police cases where the “subject subsequently died.”  Canada has launched a nationwide review of police use of Taser devices.

For more information, please see:

The Canadian Press - Vancouver police say they used Taser on teen mom to save baby’s life - 26 September 2008

CBC.ca - Mentally ill mom stunned with Taser to save child: Vancouver police - 26 September 2008

CTV.ca - Cause of death unknown after Ontario man Tasered - 22 September 2008

CTV.ca - B.C. inquiry into Taser-related death postponed - 19 September 2008

The Vancouver Sun - Autopsy on man hit with Taser shows no cause of death - 22 September 2008

Owen Sound Sun Times - Police chief leads Taser research group - 25 September 2008

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Issues Decision in Chopra v. Health Canada

By Maria E. Molina
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

OTTAWA, Canada - Dr. Shiv Chopra a microbiologist and human rights activist was a drug evaluator with the Health Protection Branch at Health Canada. Chopra initiated a human rights complaint where he alleged that Health Canada discriminated against him by treating him in an adverse differential manner in the course of his employment by denying him promotional opportunities based on his race, color and national or ethnic origin.  This is contrary to sections 7 and 10 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. The record shows that the Complainant later alleged that he had been harassed and retaliated against by Health Canada, allegations that bring into play sections 14 and 14.1 of the Act.

The comments in question occurred ten years ago on Feb. 9, 1998. Chopra was in the audience when his incoming boss, Andre Lachance, introduced himself to colleagues with the declaration that "he liked visible minorities."  Chopra declared this to be "a racist remark," and used it as Exhibit A in his ongoing human rights suits.

Pierre Deschamps, the tribunal adjudicator, found the remark to be "discriminatory against Mr. Chopra as well as individuals … who were non-white." The Tribunal noted that several of Chopra's other "[s]weeping assertions" of systemic racism lacked an evidentiary basis and ultimately undermined his credibility.

Deschamps still came down on Chopra's side -- awarding him $4,000 in damages, plus a few thousand extra in interest and extra wages.

For more information, please see:

National Post - A bold new way to slam Whitey – 23 September 2008

National Post - Jonathan Kay: ‘Do you like visible minorities? You do? Well, then: You’re racist’ – 22 September 2008

Canada Human Rights Commission - Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision in Chopra v. Health Canada – 22 September 2008

Ortega Supporters Clash With Protesters

By Karla E General
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

GRANADA, Nicaragua - Hundreds of masked supporters of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) effectively immobilized Nicaraguans attempting to protest the government of President Daniel Ortega on Saturday.  The pro-Ortega group, otherwise known as the "Orteguistas," prohibited members of the opposition party, the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS), from getting to the site of the announced march, the city of Leon.  The Orteguistas were armed with machetes, sticks and mortars, and threw metal jacks under the tires of stopped vehicles while they searched for anti-government protesters.  President Ortega has denounced protesters as "traitors" and "sellouts" for their criticism of his government.

An Ortega supporter shoots mortars

in the air to block the protest on Saturday.

Mario Lopez/EFE

Although the MRS had requested police protection in anticipation of the conflict at the protest, many of the police watched, even while the Orteguistas burned the vehicle of MRS president Enrique Saenz.  The anti-riot police used tear gas to disperse the pro-Ortega rioters.  Five people were injured in the conflict, but no one was killed.

Many groups and individuals have condemned the violence in Nicaragua as an extension of Ortega's authoritarian style of governance.  Doria Maria Tellez, a guerrilla icon, has expressed fear that the violence sets a dangerous precedent for more governmental control and power: "This was pure fascism because Ortega used everything he had.  This is his strategy to crush the opposition, civil society and the other political parties and to instill fear in the people - all so he can stay in power."  The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) and the Nicaraguan-American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) have also denounced the violence, stating that it is a violation of the constitutional rights of all citizens to "express themselves and protest publicly, peacefully, and civilly."

Others have hailed the Ortega supporter's actions as a victory for the city of Leon.  The television outlet Multinoticias commended the Orteguistas for "defending their city against the 'right-wing oligarchs' who were trying to 'provoke' and 'confuse' the people of Leon."

Ortega has yet to comment on the violence.

For more information, please see:

The Tico Times - AMCHAM Blames Ortega Government for Violence, Unrest in Nicaragua - 23 September 2008

Miami Herald - Sandinista Militants Turn Violent in Nicaragua - 22 September 2008

The Tico Times - Sandinista Persecution of Civil Society Turns Violent in Nicaragua - 22 September 2008

U.S. Releases Annual Report on International Religious Freedoms

By Gabrielle Meury
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States- The State Department’s annual Report on Religious Freedoms around the world for the period between July 2007 and July 2008 “blacklisted” China, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Algeria and North Korea. Jordan and Algeria are new additions to the list, as they are traditionally more respectful of minority faiths, according to John Hanford III, the ambassador at large for religious freedom.

The Report stated that in Jordan, “The government’s de factor and de jure policies have precipitated a decline in the status of religious freedom during this reporting period.” In February, the government began enforcing an ordinance which “makes proselytizing a criminal offense.” It said that the ordinance mandates “that anyone who makes, stores or distributes printed documents, or audiovisual materials with the intent of ‘shaking the faith’ of a Muslim may also face a maximum of five year's imprisonment” and a fine equivalent to $7,100.  The Report cited a specific instance where a Sharia Court found a convert from Islam to Christianity guilty of apostasy, annulled his marriage, and declared him to be without any religious identity. The Jordanian government also harassed individuals and organizations based on religious affiliation.

The Report stated that in China, “the government’s repression of religious freedom intensified in some areas, including in Tibetan areas in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.” The Uighurs form an ethnic Muslim majority in Western China. During the Olympics, Xinjiang suffered a series of violent attacks, including the most deadly which killed 16 police officers in Kashgar on August 4. In March, violent riots erupted in Tibet which left 203 dead.

Myanmar, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Uzbekistan and China are still on the State Department’s “Countries of Particular Concern” list. These counties incur sanctions, and the “blacklist’ is renewed every year on the basis of the yearly report.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice articulated that the basis of the blacklist stems from concerns by efforts to promote a so-called defamation of religious concept.  “Instead of protecting religion practice and promoting tolerance, this concept seeks to limit freedom of speech, and that could undermine the standards of international religious freedom.”

For more information, please see:
US Department of State-Remarks on release of 2008 International Religious Freedom Report - 19 September 2008

US Department of State- 2008 Report on International Religious Freedom- 19 September 2008

AFP- Religious freedom worsens in Jordan, Algeria: US- 19 September 2008

CNN- U.S.: Chinese  targeted religious groups before Olympics- 19 September 2008

International Herald Tribune- US criticizes Asian governments’ religion record- 20 September 2008

Activists in Cuba and Guatemala Honored with NYAS Human Rights Award

By Karla E General
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

NEW YORK, United States - The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) Heinz R. Pagels Human Rights of Scientists Award was recently presented to two committed human rights activists at the NYAS Human Rights Committee's Annual Meeting.  The pair was recognized by NYAS for their heroism and "to raise the noise level in their support."

Cuban physician and political prisoner, Oscar Elias Biscet, MD, was recognized for his human rights work advocating for a free Cuba.  Biscet is the founder of the Lawton Foundation, a human rights organization that works to "peacefully promote the rights of Cubans through nonviolent civil disobedience."  In 1999, he was fired, along with his wife, from the Havana Municipal Hospital after openly criticizing the Cuban government, and was sentenced to three years in prison.  After being released in 2002, Biscet was arrested just thirty-six days later and accused of being a "mercenary at the service of a foreign state," after holding a seminar on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Click here.  Biscet is currently serving his twenty-five-year sentence, which began in 2002, at the Combinado del Este prison.  In 2003 and 2005, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention denounced Biscet's imprisonment and, along with other human rights advocates such as Amnesty International, has called for his immediate release.

Guatemalan forensic scientist, Freddy Peccerelli, was also recognized at the NYAS Awards for his work in exhuming unmarked mass graves, which contain the remains of those murdered during Guatemala's thirty-six-year armed conflict.  A founding member of the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG), Peccerelli's work has provided the essential forensic evidence that has led to the convictions of perpetrators of human rights crimes in Guatemala.  Peccerelli has also led forensic archaeological investigations of war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, he is at the forefront of forming the Latin American Forensic Anthropology Association (ALAF), and he has lent support to colleagues in Peru and Colombia who, like himself, are personally under threat for their work in the field.  He was awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Human Rights Program Award for "scientists who, through action and example, have promoted human rights, usually at great personal cost," in 2004.

For more information, please see:

Medical News Today - Imprisoned Cuban Physician, Guatemalan Forensic Scientist Wins NYAS Human Rights Award - 19 September 2008

The New York Academy of Sciences - 2008 Heinz R. Pagels Human Rights of Scientists Award - 18 September 2008

WALK4JUSTICE 2008 March for Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women

By Maria E. Molina
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

OTTAWA, Canada - Canadian law enforcement officials have become notorious for their indifference to the deaths and violence inflicted upon aboriginal women. There is a gross disproportion in the murder and disappearance rate of aboriginal women in Canada. In response, WALK4JUSTICE 2008 was organized to bring attention to the plight of murdered and missing aboriginal women across Canada.

The WALK4JUSTICE 2008 march for the missing or murdered women of Canada began June 21st and ended on Monday, September 15.  On Monday, walkers from Vancouver, B.C., community activists, and family members marched on Parliament Hill to challenge the Canadian Government to take action.  Amnesty International, Canadian Union for Public Employees, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, other labor groups, Aboriginal Friendship Centers and organizations provided financial and in-kind donations to support the Walk4Justice initiative. Hundreds of citizens took part in presentations made to communities as Walkers traveled; many making financial contributions to ensure success of the Walk4Justice's goal of representing the lives and voices of women who have consistently ignored by police initiatives.

Walkers presented detailed information of the unsolved cases of over 3,000 missing murdered women from several aboriginal communities. There was also a petition with over 2,900 signatures. Armed with the names of these 3,000-plus women, including case information, along with resolutions passed by aboriginal Chiefs from British Columbia to the Atlantic Provinces, organizers called for a full public inquiry into the disappearances and deaths of women from all walks of aboriginal life. The names had been compiled over ten years and have not yet been released.  As new cases occurred names were added to an already disturbing tally that continues to increase.

For more information, please see:

Nation Talk - Walk4Justice Agenda for September 15 - 15 September 2008

Turtle Island - WALK4JUSTICE 2008 - 15 September 2008

Amnesty International - Walk4 Justice Arrives in Ottawa! - 12 September 2008