Schlagwort: human rights

Any moves by Russian-backed armed groups to try Ukrainian prisoners of war in a so-called ‘international tribunal’ in Mariupol are illegal and abusive, and a further act of cruelty against a city that has already suffered extensively under Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Amnesty International said today.

In recent days, concerns have mounted after several reports and pictures shared on social media appear to show cages being built inside the Mariupol Philharmonic Hall to allegedly restrain prisoners who will be put on trial. Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab confirmed that pictures posted on Facebook by Mariupol City Council were consistent with the interior of the Mariupol Philharmonic Hall.

International law prohibits a detaining power from prosecuting prisoners of war for having participated in hostilities, or for lawful acts of war committed in the course of armed conflict. Under the Third Geneva Convention, prisoners of war charged with crimes are entitled to due process and a fair trial, which can only take place in a regularly constituted court.

By staging such sham ‘trials’, Russia – as the occupying power – is making a mockery of justice

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

“Any attempts by Russian authorities to try Ukrainian prisoners of war in so-called ‘international tribunals’ set up by armed groups under Russia’s effective control in Mariupol are illegal and unacceptable,” said Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

“International humanitarian law prohibits courts being set up solely to try prisoners of war. Wilfully stripping fair trial rights from prisoners of war, which is precisely what Russia’s action will do, amounts to a war crime. The Geneva Conventions also state clearly that prisoners of war are protected from prosecution for taking part in hostilities.

“By staging such sham ‘trials’, Russia – as the occupying power – is making a mockery of justice and a public theatre of courts, transforming them into vehicles for propaganda.

“To choose Mariupol as host of these ‘tribunals’ is particularly cruel and shocking, given Russia’s recent relentless attacks and siege which turned the city into a wasteland before its capture in May. Amnesty International investigated a Russian air strike on the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre in Mariupol and concluded that Russian forces had deliberately targeted civilians, an attack amounting to a clear war crime.”

Rights of Ukrainian POWs

Russian forces and Russian-backed armed groups must give independent monitors full access to Ukrainian prisoners of war. Amnesty International shares concerns raised by the UN’s human rights agency (OHCHR) that Ukrainian prisoners of war have been held without access to independent monitors, “exposing them to the risk of being tortured to extract a confession”.

Amnesty International also shares OHCHR’s concern that public statements by Russian officials deeming Ukrainian prisoners of war to be ‘war criminals’ directly undermines the presumption of innocence, a fundamental fair trial guarantee.

In recent years, Amnesty International has consistently documented the violation of the right to a fair trial in Russia, including endemic use of torture, fabrication of evidence, and politically-motivated prosecutions. These concerns are substantially increased when it comes to ‘trials’ by armed groups in Russian-occupied territories.

Amnesty International has also previously documented numerous human rights abuses by such groups since they took control over parts of eastern Ukraine under Russian patronage, including abductions, killings, unlawful deprivation of liberty, torture and other ill-treatment, and suppression of dissent.

Amnesty International is also calling for an immediate international investigation into other alleged war crimes, including the 29 July explosion in Olenivka village that killed more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war held by forces of the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ in eastern Ukraine. It is imperative that Russian authorities allow international investigators to visit the site to launch a comprehensive probe.

Third Geneva Convention

Protections for prisoners of war facing criminal proceedings are contained in Articles 82 to 108 of the Third Geneva Convention (GCIII). As Article 84 provides, they may only be tried by courts that offer “the essential guarantees of independence and impartiality as generally recognized”.

In addition, Article 13 of GCIII states: “Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention. Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.” 

Accountability for war crimes

Since the beginning of the conflict, Amnesty International has been documenting Russian war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law committed during Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. All of Amnesty International’s outputs published to date – including news updates, reports, briefings and investigations – can be found here. 

Amnesty International has called repeatedly for Russian forces responsible for violations to be held to account and has welcomed the ongoing International Criminal Court investigation in Ukraine. Comprehensive accountability in Ukraine will require the concerted efforts of the UN and its organs, as well as initiatives at the national level pursuant to the principle of universal jurisdiction.

The post Ukraine: Russian sham trials of prisoners of war in Mariupol ‘illegal and unacceptable’ appeared first on Amnesty International.

The Iranian authorities’ persecution of the Baha’i religious minority has increased in intensity with a recent flurry of raids, arbitrary arrests, home demolitions and land grabs, Amnesty International said today.

Since 31 July 2022, Ministry of Intelligence agents have raided and confiscated dozens of Baha’i properties and arrested at least 30 members of the Baha’i community on account of their faith in various cities throughout Iran. The authorities have subjected many more to interrogations and/or forced them to wear electronic ankle bracelets. The Ministry of Intelligence announced on 1 August that those arrested were “core members of Baha’i espionage party” who “propagated Baha’i teachings” and “sought to infiltrate various levels of the educational sector across the country, especially kindergartens”.

“The despicable onslaught against the Baha’i religious minority is yet another manifestation of the Iranian authorities’ decades long persecution of this peaceful community. Baha’is in Iran cannot feel safe in their homes or while exercising their faith because they are at risk of persecution,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all the Baha’i individuals who were recently detained as well as anyone in prison from before solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of religion. All convictions and sentences imposed on this basis must be immediately quashed.”

An additional 26 men and women in Shiraz, Fars province, are at imminent risk of arbitrary detention after a Revolutionary court convicted them of spurious national security charges stemming from their identity as Baha’i adherents in a grossly unfair mass trial and sentenced them in June 2022 to prison terms of between two and five years.

According to the Baha’i International Community (BIC), the recent arrests bring the total number of those currently imprisoned in Iran on account of their Baha’i faith to at least 68, including those who have been in prison since as early as 2013. According to the United Nations, over 1000 Baha’i individuals are currently at risk of imprisonment.   

Intensified persecution

On 2 August 2022, authorities bulldozed six Baha’i houses and confiscated more than 20 hectares of land in the village of Roshankouh in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. According to state media reports, the demolitions were carried out in the presence of several senior judicial and executive officials.

The Iranian authorities have brazenly imposed a system of discrimination and oppression against the Bahai’s.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty International

Three victims told Amnesty International that more than 200 agents from various security forces, including plainclothes intelligence agents and riot police, sealed off the village and its access road from 6am to 4pm, confiscating the mobile phones of villagers to prevent filming, beating and/or pepper spraying individuals, including several elderly men, who had peacefully gathered to protest the bulldozing, and firing into the air to disperse crowds. Two men were detained for several hours after sustaining severe beatings.

Since 2016, authorities have been attempting to appropriate Baha’i properties in Roshankouh under the false pretext that they have encroached on protected landscapes. As a result of the recent confiscations, at least 18 Baha’i farmers have been denied their source of livelihood. In 2021, the authorities also demolished two Baha’i houses that were under construction and confiscated about one hectare of land, which was the source of livelihood for two farming Baha’i families.

In a separate case, an appeal court upheld a verdict on 25 June 2022, which authorized the confiscation of 18 Baha’i properties in Semnan Province on the grounds that the owners are leading figures of the “perverse Baha’i sect”, which “engages in illegal activities and espionage to the advantage of foreigners”.

Over the past decade, authorities in Semnan forcibly closed at least 20 Baha’i stores, confiscated the equipment of two Baha’i manufacturing units, and confiscated or blocked access to the lands of two Baha’i businesses involved in agriculture and animal farming.

“The Iranian authorities have brazenly imposed a system of discrimination and oppression against the Bahai’s. Iranian authorities must immediately abolish all discriminatory laws, policies, and institutional practices which have been adopted to expel and dispossess Baha’is of their land and property, and deprive them of their human rights, and ensure that Baha’i people can exist and practise their faith freely and openly,” said Heba Morayef. 

Amnesty International issued a call for Urgent Action on 23 August, urging people around the globe to write letters and speak out against the Iranian authorities’ intensified assault on the Baha’i minority.

Background

Baha’is are Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority. They suffer widespread and systematic violations, including arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, forcible closure of businesses, confiscation of property, house demolitions, destruction of cemeteries, and hate speech by officials and state media, and are banned from higher education.

In 1991, an official policy was adopted by the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council and approved by Iran’s Supreme Leader, which clearly states that “the state’s dealings with the Baha’is must be in such a way that their progress and development are blocked”. The policy adds that “they must be expelled from universities” and that “they shall be denied employment if they identify as Baha’is” and “any position of influence, such as in the educational sector”.

Iranian authorities have used the fact that the Baha’i religion’s headquarters is in the city of Haifa in Israel to denounce the faith and falsely accuse its community of espionage.

The post Iran: Stop ruthless attacks on persecuted Baha’i religious minority appeared first on Amnesty International.

Ahead of an appeal hearing on Thursday for Pham Doan Trang, an independent journalist and human rights defender who was sentenced on propaganda charges to nine years imprisonment in December 2021, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research Emerlynne Gil said: 

“There is no doubt that Pham Doan Trang should never have been sentenced to nine years in prison in the first place. She is a courageous journalist and human rights defender who stood up for detained activists and criticized man-made environmental disasters and land grabs.  

“The trial on Trang’s appeal occurs amid an ongoing crackdown on free speech and civil society in Viet Nam. Her human rights insights and activism have been sorely missed. Instead of welcoming her views on the human rights situation in the country, Viet Nam’s authorities have left her languishing behind bars, with multiple concerning reports about the frailty of her health. 

“Amnesty International calls for the immediate release of Pham Doan Trang and all arbitrarily detained human rights defenders in Viet Nam, including activist Nguyen Thuy Hanh, journalist Le Van Dung, and land rights defenders Can Thi Theu, Trinh Ba Tu, Trinh Ba Phuong and Nguyen Thi Tam.” 

Background: 

The People’s Court of Hanoi will hold an appeals trial for Pham Doan Trang on 25 August. On 14 December 2021, Trang was sentenced to nine years by the court for “making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.”   

On 26 October 2021, 28 human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, called for Pham Doan Trang’s immediate and unconditional release.  

She is the author of multiple books that address everything from LGBTI issues and women’s rights to activism, environmental concerns and land rights. In 2019, Reporters Without Borders awarded her a Press Freedom Prize in recognition of her impact. Her work on the Liberal Publishing House helped it receive the prestigious Prix Voltaire award in 2020 for its continued coverage in spite of risks and dangers of reprisals.  

This year, Trang was awarded the 2022 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders and the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. 

The post Viet Nam: Immediately release journalist and human rights defender Pham Doan Trang  appeared first on Amnesty International.

The upcoming five-year anniversary of the Rohingya crisis must mark a turning point in the urgent quest to deliver justice to the victims and hold those responsible to account, Amnesty International said today. 

On 25 August 2017 Myanmar’s military began carrying out violent operations against the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State, which resulted in grave crimes under international law, whole villages torched, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee into Bangladesh.

“This solemn anniversary is a haunting reminder that not a single high-ranking Myanmar military official has been prosecuted for the egregious campaign of violence against the Rohingya,” said Amnesty International’s Ming Yu Hah, Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns.

“Amnesty International stands in solidarity with the Rohingya people who are in Rakhine State and the estimated one million refugees living across the border in Bangladesh. Real justice is essential to ending the spiraling cycle of impunity engulfing Myanmar for many years.”

This solemn anniversary is a haunting reminder that not a single high-ranking Myanmar military official has been prosecuted for the egregious campaign of violence against the Rohingya.

Amnesty International's Ming Yu Ha, Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns

Five years later, Rohingya in Rakhine State still lack freedom of movement and other basic rights such as access to adequate food, healthcare and education, problems compounded by the rising insecurity brought on by the 2021 military coup in Myanmar. Across the border in Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees are living in limbo with neither the opportunity to safely return to their homes in Myanmar nor a way to live peacefully in Bangladesh, where violence has been on the rise in refugee camps.

“We face enormous hardship in the refugee camps,” San thai Shin, a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar camp, told Amnesty International in June. “We do not know how we can ever return to our homes. We are neither safe in the refugee camps nor in Arakan [Rakhine State in Myanmar].” 

“Our people are losing their lives to gang violence in the refugee camps, in environmental calamity, or by taking dangerous attempts to migrate to other countries through the deadly seas and other means.” 

Importantly, some international justice efforts are moving forward. In July 2022, the International Court of Justice dismissed Myanmar’s objections and decided that it has jurisdiction to continue proceedings instituted by the government of The Gambia against the government of Myanmar in 2019 on the basis of the Genocide Convention.

“The International Court of Justice’s decision is a vital step in ongoing efforts to hold Myanmar’s government to account,” Amnesty’s Ming Yu Hah said. 

The International Criminal Court is also investigating crimes committed in 2016 and 2017 against the Rohingya population. Although Myanmar has not ratified the ICC’s Statute, the Court is examining alleged crimes committed partly in the territory of Bangladesh or other states. Amnesty International has called for the United Nations Security Council to refer the full situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor, so that an investigation of all crimes committed in Myanmar can be conducted.

An investigation into other crimes in Myanmar is also being conducted in Argentina under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which permits national authorities to investigate crimes under international law committed anywhere in the world on behalf of the international community. The case, which was filed by the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), hopes to hold senior military leaders to account for alleged responsibility in crimes against the Rohingya people. 

These efforts should be supported and other states should also take measures to investigate and prosecute the crimes before their national courts.  

“The Association of Southeast Asian Nations must also play a more forceful, decisive and leadership role in standing up for the Rohingya people and pushing for accountability in Myanmar,” Amnesty’s Ming Yu Hah said. 

“We reiterate our call on authorities to respect and ensure the participation of Rohingyas in the decisions that affect them in order to protect their human rights.” 

Background:

More than 740,000 Rohingya women, men and children fled northern Rakhine State to neighboring Bangladesh, when in August 2017 Myanmar security forces launched a widespread and systematic assault on Rohingya villages, including extrajudicial killings, destruction of properties and sexual assault. The onslaught came in the wake of a series of what the military claims were insurgent attacks on police posts.

Taking into account previous decades of violence against the Rohingya, an estimated one million Rohingya refugees now live in Bangladesh, while many of their homes in Rakhine State have been destroyed without a trace.

The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar previously called for Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and other top military officials to be investigated and prosecuted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Min Aung Hlaing assumed the role of Chairman of the State Administration Council following the February 2021 coup.

In a report published earlier this month, since the coup Amnesty International documented the crackdown and arbitrary detention of those who exercise their right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly as well as enforced disappearances, torture and other inhuman treatment in detention. 

More than 2,000 people have reportedly been killed since the coup, and Myanmar arbitrarily executed four people after grossly unfair trials, the first use of capital punishment in the country in decades. 

A report by Amnesty International published in July showed that the Myanmar military is committing war crimes by laying banned landmines and around villages in Kayah (Karenni) State, while a report in May showed how the military uses air strikes and shelling as a form of collective punishment against civilians.

The post Myanmar: Five-year anniversary of Rohingya crisis must mark ‘turning point’ in quest for justice appeared first on Amnesty International.

The first conscientious objector to refuse South Korea’s alternative to military service must not face further punishment for taking a stand against the country’s punitive new system, Amnesty International said ahead of his criminal trial on Tuesday.

Hye-min Kim, whose religious beliefs preclude him from doing military service, is the first person known to have refused “alternative service” since it was introduced in 2020. The new system involves working in a jail or other correctional facilities for three years – twice as long as the typical 18-month military service.

“Instead of being presented with a genuine alternative to fulfil their service requirements, conscientious objectors are effectively given an alternative punishment because of their religious and other personal objections to joining the military,” said Jihyun Yoon, Director of Amnesty International Korea. “Under international law, countries with compulsory military service are obliged to provide a truly civilian alternative of comparable length.”

Kim is charged under Article 88 of the Military Service Act, which imprisons those who fail to enlist without justifiable grounds. He believes his objection is based on “justifiable grounds” under the Act, and that the current alternative service includes excessively punitive aspects that do not measure up to international standards.

Under the new law, those refusing military service on religious or other grounds are required to work in a jail or other correctional facility for 36 months – making it one of the longest alternative services in the world. Previously, they would have been jailed for 18 months.

“Hye-min Kim should not be prosecuted for claiming his human rights and refusing to take part in this unfair system. All charges against him must be dropped immediately.”

“Instead of putting conscientious objectors on trial, the South Korean government should focus its efforts on amending the alternative service so that it does not continue to punish and stigmatize those undertaking it.”

Background 

Over the past 60 years, hundreds of young South Korean men have been convicted and imprisoned each year for objecting to military service due to their beliefs, even if they are willing to serve the community. Typically, they received 18-month jail terms and were saddled with criminal records and faced economic and social disadvantages that lasted far longer.

Landmark rulings by the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court in 2018 in effect recognized the right to conscientious objection in the country. The Constitutional Court issued a ruling requiring the government to introduce an alternative service of a civilian nature by the end of 2019.

On 27 December 2019, the legislature enacted amendments to the Military Service Act. However, the legislation still violates the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief because it imposes unreasonable and excessive burdens on conscientious objectors.

It stipulates a disproportionate length of the alternative service and that it is administered by military authorities.

Since 30 June 2020, people objecting to compulsory military service have been able to apply for alternative service. In October 2020, the first batch of alternative service personnel started their 36-month duty, which was limited to working in prisons or other correctional facilities.

Under international human rights law and standards, states with compulsory military service are obliged to provide genuinely civilian alternatives. These should be of a comparable length to military service, with any additional length based on reasonable and objective criteria. The process for evaluating claims to be recognized as conscientious objectors and any subsequent work service must also be under civilian authority.

The post South Korea: Drop charges against first conscientious objector to refuse alternative service appeared first on Amnesty International.