Schlagwort: Amnesty International

Tunisian authorities must conduct prompt and thorough investigations into the circumstances of the abduction, enforced disappearance and forced return to Algeria of Slimane Bouhafs, an Algerian activist with refugee status from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Tunisia, said Amnesty International today. Under international human rights law, Tunisia must protect refugees and must not expel or return them to a country where they face persecution.

The organization is calling on the Algerian authorities to release him immediately and allow him to leave Algeria. He had previously been imprisoned in Algeria for exercising his legitimate right to freedom of expression in comments posted on Facebook deemed offensive to Islam. His family believes he is at grave risk of mistreatment in Algerian prisons where he had previously been subjected to ill-treatment.

“After facing two years of unjust imprisonment in Algeria, Slimane Bouhafs went to Tunisia seeking safety, but it seems he was not far enough out of the Algerian government’s reach,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The Tunisian government shares responsibility for his fate and should come clean about its role in his abduction and return. His deportation amounts to refoulement and is an extremely worrying precedent for Tunisia. Under international law no one should be returned to a country where they may be at serious risk of persecution or human rights violations. “

Slimane Bouhafs, a Christian convert, was sentenced on 6 September 2016 to three years in prison, for “offending the Prophet” and “denigrating the creed and precepts of Islam” under Article 144 bis 2 of Algeria’s Penal Code, in connection with posts on Facebook insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad. He was denied access to a lawyer throughout his initial trial and was only able to access legal counsel during his appeals trial. Slimane Bouhafs spent almost two years in prison and was released in 2018 after a presidential pardon. He went to Tunisia and was recognized as refugee by the UNHCR in 2020.

A member of his family, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, told Amnesty International that Slimane Bouhafs had been abducted in Hay Tahrir neighbourhood, where he lives, on 25 August at 1 pm and neighbours witnessed three men in plainclothes leave a black car parked in front of his house,

“The driver of the vehicle stayed inside while three others went to his apartment and forced him out. One of them was holding a suitcase which apparently contained his belongings, and then they left. The neighbours immediately went to the police and gave their testimonies,” he said.

For four days, the family did not know his whereabouts and feared that he had been forcibly disappeared by the Algerian or Tunisia authorities or non-state armed groups. On 29 August his family learnt through informal connections that he was in custody in a police station in Algiers. On 1 September, he appeared before the investigative judge of the Sidi M’hamed tribunal in Algiers, and was remanded in prison on six charges, which have not been disclosed.

Neither the Tunisian nor the Algerian authorities have made any statement about Slimane Bouhafs, nor have they clarified whether he was expelled or extradited to Algeria pursuant to a request from the Algerian government.

In an official response, UNHCR said it was “gravely concerned about reports of the forced removal to his country of origin of a refugee recognized by UNHCR in Tunisia” adding that the organization was following up on these reports and seeking a review of these allegations by the authorities.

Under international law no one should be returned to a country where they may be at serious risk of persecution or human rights violations.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa

Tunisia’s potential awareness of, cooperation in, or acquiescence to his forcible transfer there despite his refugee status would constitute a grave violation of the principle of non-refoulement and international refugee law. Slimane Bouhafs’s recognition as a refugee by UNHCR entails a finding that he has a well-founded fear of persecution on his return to Algeria.

In addition, the Convention Against Torture, to which Tunisia is party, explicitly prohibits the extradition of individuals to countries where there are substantial grounds that they would be in danger of facing torture.

Under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Tunisia is also obligated to protect the right to life of individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction, including by affording necessary protection to those particularly at risk, such as refugees, and by responding swiftly and effectively where individuals have come under specific threat, as well as to properly investigate threats to their life.

Although the charges against him remain unknown at present, Algerian media outlets have cited unnamed officials confirming that he is being investigated for his supposed membership in the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), which Algeria’s authorities have recently classified as terrorist group.

Since April 2021 the Algerian authorities have increasingly resorted to the use of overly broad charges of “terrorism” or “conspiracy against the state” to prosecute human rights defenders and Hirak activists. On 18 May, the High Council for National Security (HCNS), a consultative body in charge of advising the President of the Republic on security issues, announced that the political opposition organization Rachad and the group MAK, were labelled as “terrorist entities.” In June, the Penal Code was amended to expand the definition of terrorism to include “attempting to gain power or change the system of governance by unconstitutional means.” On 18 August, the HCNS, presided over by President Tebboune, decided to arrest all the members of the two movements, whom the authorities accuse of implication in the Kabylie fires which killed tens of people, until their “radical eradication.”

“Algerian authorities should release Slimane Bouhafs immediately and ensure he is not subjected to any ill-treatment in prison. Under no circumstances should a recognized refugee be returned to the place from which they have fled,” said Amna Guellali.

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Spokespeople available for interview 

The Polish government’s declaration of a “state of emergency” at the border with Belarus presents serious risks for asylum-seekers trying to reach Poland and threatens to exacerbate the already dire situation faced by 32 Afghans including four women, 27 men and a 15-year-old girl, who have been held there without adequate food and clean water for over three weeks, after being pushed back from Poland, Amnesty International said. 

The state of emergency will restrict the already limited access and work of journalists reporting on the issue as it bans the use of recording equipment in the area. It will also hinder the work of lawyers assisting the asylum-seekers, as well as NGOs and activists carrying out vital human rights monitoring.

“A state of emergency allows a state to restrict certain human rights in extreme circumstances where there is a “threat to the life of the nation”. No such threat exists in Poland where the authorities are attempting to cynically exploit this power to target asylum seekers and those who support them,” 

Nils Muižnieks Director for Europe at Amnesty International

Finally, on 1 September, the UNHCR and Belarusian Red Cross with the support of Polish Red Cross brought humanitarian help to the group of Afghan asylum-seekers held at the border.

“While UNHCR and Red Cross have provided basic support, we remind the Polish authorities to fully comply with last week’s European Court of Human Rights order to provide those stuck at the border with food, water, clothing, adequate medical care and shelter. It must also ensure individual assessment of all asylum claims, and enable organizations, lawyers and other institutions to gain unhindered access to the group,” Nils Muižnieks said.

There are reports that Belarusian border guards are helping people to cross over into Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. On 6 July, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka announced that he would not stop people crossing the border into those countries. However, this must not be used as an excuse for unlawful pushbacks of asylum-seekers and denial of access to the asylum procedure.

Under EU and international refugee law, Poland is obliged to ensure individual assessment of all asylum claims. Amnesty International calls on Poland’s government to end pushbacks, to ensure access to the territory for those seeking protection, and to immediately provide refugees held at the border with Belarus with essential humanitarian assistance.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:        

Alison Abrahams on alison.abrahams@amnesty.org +32 483 680 812  or press@amnesty.org +44 20 7413 5566    

Amnesty International Urgent Action on the situation at Usnarz Górny

On 24 August an Amnesty International delegation visited Usnarz Górny, where the group had been held for 15 days. Amnesty International also obtained reports about the use of force and threats of violence by Polish border guards when pushing the group back to Belarus.

Since the group arrived at the border the Polish government announced changes to two laws: one on foreigners, and another on granting protection to foreigners. These changes will make it impossible for people crossing the border irregularly to be able to claim asylum in Poland. On 20 August, Poland’s Ministry of Interior issued an order to close its borders to persons entering the country “irregularly” and obliging them to immediately leave the territory of Poland until further notice.

On 25 August, soldiers of Poland’s army started building a fence on the border with Belarus. On 31 August, the Polish government requested the President of Poland to declare a state of emergency for 30 days in the regions bordering Belarus, on the grounds of risks posed by the “3,000 attempted border crossings in August”. The declaration of the state of emergency would include a ban on assemblies, protests, mass events, and cultural events, among others.

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Responding to the decision by a French court to sentence a police officer who assaulted Tom Ciotkowski, a British volunteer who was supporting asylum seekers in Calais in 2018, and then made false statements against him, Katia Roux Amnesty International Advocacy France’s, said:

“This is an important decision in a case that has become emblematic of the attacks by police on asylum seekers and the human rights defenders who support them.

“This prosecution which was only successful due to video evidence and determination of a small group of campaigners, will hopefully send a clear signal that the impunity for police violence will no longer be tolerated.

Tom Ciotkowski said:

“It has been a long and stressful three years, but I am pleased to see the police being held to account for their actions. If police abuses are left unchecked and unpunished the whole system rots from within. It is vital that such instances are able to be recorded and brought to light.”

“I dread to think what might have happened if myself and others were not able to film the incident. I could very well be the one being convicted today. I hope this decision contributes to a rethink of the hostile environment policy towards asylum seekers in Calais and elsewhere and that a new, compassionate approach is taken to the people struggling there and those trying to help them.”

For more information or to arrange an interview contact: 01 53 38 65 41 I 06 76 94 37 05 vtardivel@amnesty.fr or stefan.simanowitz@amnesty.org

BACKGROUND

Volunteer Tom Ciotkowski was pushed violently by police in 2018, charged with contempt and assault after he recorded a French police officer pushing another volunteer in Calais in 2018. Instead of being treated as a victim of police violence, he was dragged through the courts on trumped up charges until he was finally acquitted in June 2019.

His original prosecution reflected a wider European trend of criminalizing acts of solidarity, as a way of discouraging people from standing up in defense of the rights of migrants and refugees.

For more information see Amnesty’s the criminalization of solidarity report here https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur01/1828/2020/en/0

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The Lebanese authorities must not deport six Syrian refugees who were arrested last week after collecting their passports from the Syrian embassy, Amnesty International said today, urging them to release the refugees or charge them with a recognizable offense.

A Lebanese army statement on 28 August confirmed that its intelligence directorate had over the past four days arrested the six men outside the embassy for entering the country irregularly, and that they had been handed over to the General Security directorate. The family do not know their whereabouts. Amnesty International believes they are now at imminent risk of deportation to Syria. 

“Lebanon’s General Security directorate must ensure that these men are not forcibly returned to Syria. Doing so could endanger their lives. Arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and torture remain rife in Syria, and armed hostilities in some parts of the country have intensified significantly in recent months. No part of Syria is safe for returns, and these men must be protected,” said Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“Under international law, the prohibition of refoulement means that no one should be returned to a country where they are at real risk of serious human rights violations. Deporting these men would be a serious violation of Lebanon’s international obligations, including under the UN Torture Convention. Instead, Lebanese officials should release them or charge them with a recognizable offense.”

Lebanon began deporting Syrian refugees following a decision by the Higher Defence Council on 13 May 2019. 

Amnesty International spoke to the brother of one of the men. He said his brother had received a call from the embassy on 26 August, telling him to come and collect the passport he had applied for on 19 August. 

The man believes his brother was arrested after collecting the passport at the embassy, because he sent him a message saying he had the passport. He had entered Lebanon on 18 August with three other Syrians.

“My brother sent me a text message when he arrived to the Syrian embassy and sent another when he got his passport. After that, I didn’t hear back from him. My messages are not reaching him. I have no idea where he is. But I am assuming that he was in the embassy when he contacted me saying he picked up the passport,” he said. 

Under international law, the prohibition of refoulement means that no one should be returned to a country where they are at real risk of serious human rights violations.

Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International

Five of the six men are believed to be from Daraa governorate in southern Syria, where violent clashes between Syrian government forces and armed groups have intensified in recent months. Hundreds have been killed or injured and tens of thousands of civilians have fled the area. Government forces have also placed a deadly siege on Daraa al-Balad.

Given the recent intensification of hostilities in Daraa al-Balad, Amnesty International is calling on the Lebanese and Jordanian authorities to allow people fleeing conflict in Syria legal entry and safe refuge. 

“The plight of these men should serve as a reminder of the growing risks faced by Syrian refugees in neighbouring host countries as well as the woefully insufficient numbers of international resettlement places available for refugees who have fled conflict and crisis in their home countries. We urge states worldwide, including EU member states, to do their fair share to protect refugees by boosting the number of resettlement places on offer,” said Lynn Maalouf.

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