Schlagwort: Amnesty International

Algerian authorities must immediately release human rights lawyer Abderraouf Arslane and drop bogus “false news” and terrorism-related charges against him which stem from his defense of Hirak activists and the expression of his opinions online, said Amnesty International today ahead of the start of his trial on 30 November.

Abderraouf Arslane was detained on 26 May 2021 in the Court of Tebessa, where he was defending three activists – Aziz Bekakria, Redouane Hamidi and Azeddine Mansouri – who had been arrested earlier that day. After the hearing, the prosecutor ordered the detention of Arslane pending investigation on vague accusations of alleged ties with members of Rachad, an unregistered political movement, and his participation in public debates on the 2019-2021 Algerian protests, also known as the Hirak movement, neither of which are recognizable crimes under international law. 

“It is terrible that the Algerian authorities are incarcerating a lawyer simply for doing his job and peacefully exercising his right to free speech. Abderraouf Arslane’s imprisonment and prosecution send a chilling message to lawyers across the country who dare to defend activists or speak up about human rights, especially in the context of the ongoing crackdown on dissent in Algeria,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The Algerian authorities must immediately release Abderraouf Arslane from arbitrary pre-trial detention, drop all unfounded charges against him, and cease the judicial harassment and intimidation aimed at unlawfully repressing his legal activities.”

According to the minutes of the prosecutor’s interrogation session, which Amnesty International reviewed, a prosecutor interrogated Arslane in relation to online videos in which he spoke about the Hirak movement and criticised the ongoing repression of activists by the authorities. He was also questioned about his relationship with his client, Aziz Bekakria, who the authorities have detained merely for his membership in the Rachad movement. In May 2021, the Algerian authorities arbitrarily designated Rachad and the Movement for the Self-determination of Kabylie (MAK) as “terrorist organizations,” in response to the organizations’ active role in the Hirak.  Arslane denies being a member of Rachad. 

Prosecutors charged Arslane with “participating in a terrorist group” under Article 87 of the Penal Code, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and for “spreading false news” under Article 196, which brings an additional three-year sentence and a fine. 

During his interrogation, Arslane told the prosecutor that he had been representing Aziz Bekakria in the cases brought against him for participating in the Hirak movement. 

The prosecution of Abderraouf Arslane deals a hammer blow to the rule of law and access to justice in Algeria. The authorities must ensure that all lawyers are able to carry out their crucial legal work without fear of reprisals or arbitrary restrictions.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

Background 

Since April 2021, the Algerian authorities have increasingly resorted to using vaguely worded, terrorism-related charges to prosecute journalists, human rights defenders and political activists. Dozens of individuals have been arrested and prosecuted under terrorism charges for their alleged ties to Rachad and MAK. Those prosecuted include human rights defenders and journalists Kaddour Chouicha, Said Boudour and Djamila Loukil, along with 12 other activists.

In 2014, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, warned about “cases in which lawyers have been sanctioned because of political activities, advocacy work, confusion between the lawyer’s cause and his/her client’s cause, and involvement in the legal representation of clients in sensitive cases.” She called on governments “to refrain from criminally convicting or disbarring lawyers for the purposes of silencing them, preventing them from criticizing public policies or obstructing them in their legal representation of specific clients.” 

According to the United Nation’s Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, governments should ensure lawyers “are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference” and they should also “not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions”. Legal representation is fundamental to the right to a fair trial, which is enshrined in numerous treaties binding on Algeria, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on human and peoples’ rights. 

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Ahead of the set appeal hearing before the planned execution of Malaysian national Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, Amnesty International’s Singapore Researcher Rachel Chhoa-Howard said:

“Singapore authorities must listen to the global outcry against executing Nagaenthran, whose case has shocked people around the world. This appeal hearing provides an opportunity to call off this horrific punishment against a man who may not fully understand what is happening to him.”

“Nagaenthran’s case has been marred by multiple human rights violations including deep concerns about Nagaenthran’s intellectual disability, which UN experts have stressed would render his execution unlawful. Recent testimony from his family and lawyer about his current mental health condition reinforces these concerns.”

“Singapore must act now to avoid a stain on its international reputation by commuting Nagaenthran’s sentence, and avoiding another case like this by urgently reforming its use of the death penalty, and introducing a moratorium on executions as first steps towards full abolition of this cruel punishment.”

Background

Lawyers for Nagaenthran made an application to Singapore’s High Court seeking a stay on the ground that executing him would be unconstitutional in light of his intellectual disability. This application was dismissed, but his lawyers were able to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal.

The hearing was postponed after Nagaenthran tested positive for COVID-19 on 9 November, but has now been rescheduled for 30 November. If appeals are unsuccessful, a stay will be lifted and the execution will proceed, possibly in a matter of days.

Nagaenthran was convicted and sentenced to the mandatory death penalty in November 2010 for importing 42.72 grams of diamorphine (heroin) into the island state in April 2009. His conviction and death sentence have so far been upheld on appeal.

Medical experts who have assessed Nagaenthran found that his cognitive deficits may have contributed towards his diminished responsibility when carrying out his offence. In recent weeks, Nagaenthran’s youngest brother has expressed deep concerns about his brother’s mental state and incomplete understanding of his imminent execution when he was able to visit him in prison.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception. As of today, 108 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and more than two-thirds are abolitionist in law or practice.

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Violence and repression by the Colombian security forces, especially the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD), have resulted in hundreds of victims sustaining eye trauma, said Amnesty International, Temblores and the Programa de Acción por la Igualdad y la Inclusión Social (PAIIS) of the Universidad de los Andes in a new report published today.

Colombia: Shoot on Sight: Eye Trauma in the Context of the National Strike documents 12 cases of police violence that resulted in irreversible eye trauma. Four of the cases occurred in previous years and eight in the context of the 2021 National Strike, in the cities of Bogotá, Popayán, Florencia, Medellín and Manizales. Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps analysed more than 300 pieces of audiovisual material on the disproportionate and repressive actions of ESMAD between 28 April and 20 October, concluding that officials carried out widespread human rights violations against protesters by inflicting eye injuries through the disproportionate use of less lethal weapons.

“It is chilling to see how members of the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad deliberately fired at the eyes of so many people, just for daring to exercise their legitimate right to peaceful protest. The Colombian authorities must guarantee justice, comprehensive care and reparation to the victims and take the necessary measures to avoid a repetition of these serious human rights violations,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

The report highlights the stories of victims of eye trauma and describes the multiple barriers they have faced in ensuring they received specialized health and psycho-social care. Several victims have faced increased obstacles in accessing decent work or continuing their education under conditions of equality.

Their accounts describe in detail how their injuries were not accidental, but were targeted attacks intended to punish them for legitimately exercising their right to social protest. They reveal once again patterns in the conduct of ESMAD officials which corroborate repeated complaints about the systematic nature of their practices of excessive and disproportionate use of force.

The Colombian authorities must guarantee justice, comprehensive care and reparation to the victims and take the necessary measures to avoid a repetition of these serious human rights violations

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

“Police violence cannot continue to be part of our daily lives. We cannot get used to the state indiscriminately violating citizens’ rights, much less harming those who exercise their right to protest. The cases of police violence and specifically eye injuries committed during the 2021 strike that we registered in our platform demonstrate that the actions of the police do not comply with international human rights standards and that police reform is necessary to guarantee the safety and lives of the people,” said Alejandro Rodríguez, coordinator of Grita, Temblores’ police violence observatory.

One of the most emblematic cases in the report is that of Leidy Cadena, a political science student who was demonstrating peacefully with her boyfriend and some friends in central Bogotá on 28 April when ESMAD officials approached them in an aggressive manner. “I just shouted ‘let’s go’ and immediately afterwards my face felt very hot. I couldn’t see through either of my eyes, I was in a great deal of distress,” said Leidy.

Amnesty International verified a video taken following the incident in which five ESMAD members are seen with shields and two of them are carrying riot gear in their hands, including mechanical kinetic weapons. Leidy is covering her bleeding eye, clearly in pain and her companions ask for help, but the ESMAD officials do not help her.

Leidy lost an eye in the attack. She believes that it was an act of gender-based violence because her companions were unharmed and from the start of the demonstrations she had noticed several attacks against women. After she reported the incident to the Attorney General’s Office, Leidy confirmed that she was interviewed about what happened at least 10 times and that this revictimized her. She also received threats on social media and on 16 October she was the victim of an attack when gunpowder was pushed under her door. Leidy, her mother and her partner have been forced to leave Colombia because of the threats.

Police violence cannot continue to be part of our daily lives. We cannot get used to the state indiscriminately violating citizens’ rights, much less harming those who exercise their right to protest

Alejandro Rodríguez, coordinator of the Temblores observatory on police violence

Based on the evidence and statements presented in the report, Amnesty International, Temblores and PAIIS urge the Colombian authorities to comply without delay with the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights following its working visit in June 2021 – in particular ensuring that the use of non-lethal means of controlling public order is subject to strict, publicly available protocols. To prevent the excessive use of force during protests, the Colombian authorities must undertake a structural reform of the National Police, in particular ESMAD, which ensures a civilian approach in their actions, as well as independent and effective monitoring systems and investigation protocols to investigate police abuses. Likewise, they must create pathways for supporting victims of eye injuries and gender-based violence that include prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and psycho-social care.

“We had the privilege of supporting several victims of eye injuries who gave testimonies about their cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and we continue to provide legal assistance to some of them. We understand their struggle and frustration and we support their demands for justice. We are convinced of the need to continue to draw attention to the ways in which the security forces not only do not guarantee the rights of citizens, but deliberately violate them. Eye injuries appear to be a punishment for victims for exercising their legitimate right to protest, which is stamped on their faces and their lives,” said Juliana Bustamante, Director of PAIIS.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Duncan Tucker: duncan.tucker@amnesty.org

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Following today’s decision by a court in Turkey not to release prominent human rights defender, Osman Kavala, Amnesty International have called on heads of state of the Council of Europe countries to launch infringement proceedings against Turkey when they meet in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

In an open letter published this afternoon, the organization called on the heads of state to use this rarely used procedure following Turkey’s refusal to comply with a key binding judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in 2019.

“Turkey’s justifications for refusing to free Osman Kavala from prison have run out of steam,” said Nils Muižnieks, Amnesty International’s Europe Director.

“Turkey’s refusal to implement the binding judgment of the European Court is an unconscionable violation of Osman Kavala’s right to liberty and represents a serious threat to the integrity of the European human rights system.

Osman Kavala has been arbitrarily detained in Istanbul’s high security Silivri prison as a consequence of barely disguised political persecution, for more than four years.

Today’s hearing was part of the new Kafkaesque trial in which Osman Kavala’s case has been joined to the cases of 51 others, including football supporters, who face serious criminal charges of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order”, “attempting to overthrow the government” and “military and political espionage”.

“This trial is yet another brazen episode in the relentless political persecution for which the European Court has condemned Turkey. When a state shows such disregard for it’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers must take action and initiate infringement proceedings,” said Nils Muižnieks.

“The Council of Europe and its member states must do their utmost to ensure that Osman Kavala is released.”

OPEN LETTER

Dear Heads of State of Council of Europe member states,

Next week, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers will meet to discuss the launch of infringement proceedings, a rarely used procedure available under the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention), in the case of Osman Kavala. As heads of state of Council of Europe member states, you have a crucial role to play. At stake is the freedom of Osman Kavala, a human rights defender who is arbitrarily detained in Europe’s largest maximum security Silivri prison in Istanbul, as a consequence of barely disguised political persecution for over four years, confronted daily with the crushing reality of a judicial system unwilling and unable to serve him justice.

Today, once again a Turkish court has ruled that Osman Kavala is to remain behind bars. This, despite a binding judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) in December 2019 finding that Osman Kavala’s detention for allegedly directing and financing the Gezi Park protests of 2013 and for alleged involvement in the failed coup of July 2016 was in pursuance of an ‘ulterior motive’, that of silencing him as a human rights defender. The Court found violations of the right to liberty (Article 5.1) and the right to a speedy judicial review of detention (Article 5.4) under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and that his detention involved a restriction of his rights for an improper purpose (Article 18). The Court held that ‘the government must take every measure to put an end to the applicant’s detention and to secure his immediate release’.

The latest hearing is part of the new, expanded trial in which Osman Kavala and 51 others, including football supporters, are facing serious criminal charges. This new prosecution is another piece of evidence that the relentless misuse of the criminal justice system serves no other purpose but to silence him and crush civil society in Turkey.

Instead of releasing Osman Kavala, Turkey has used all sorts of dilatory measures, unacceptable for a state that claims to abide by human rights. It has repeatedly and falsely claimed the Court’s binding ruling had already been implemented; that Osman Kavala’s detention is under a different article of the penal code, Article 328 (‘espionage’) and not the ones that the Strasbourg Court had considered – charges under Articles 309 of the penal code that concern ‘attempting to overthrow the constitutional order’ and 312 for ‘attempting to overthrow the government.’ This justification has been repeatedly provided to the Committee of Ministers, while Osman Kavala has been kept behind bars.

In response, the Committee of Ministers has repeatedly reminded Turkey of its obligation to implement the Court’s judgment and release Osman Kavala from pretrial detention.

Turkey’s persistent refusal to implement the judgment of the Court further exacerbates the impunity for the gross violation of Osman Kavala’s right to freedom found by the Court. The Council of Europe and its member states must do their utmost to ensure that Osman Kavala is released and that the Convention system can function effectively with respect for the binding judgments of the Court.

As parties to the Convention, it is your collective responsibility to protect and uphold the Convention system and its values. We therefore count on your vote in favour of the initiation of infringement proceedings at the Committee of Ministers meeting next week. As you know, every vote counts and an absence or an abstention will de facto count as a vote against opening this crucial procedure. Justice must be done for Osman Kavala, victim of the abject arbitrariness that the Council of Europe is meant to eradicate.

Nils Muižnieks
Amnesty International
Europe Director

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: Stefan Simanowitz, press@amnesty.org   

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