Web pages about "Detention"

President-elect Obama recommits to closing Guantánamo and ending torture

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:36:27 +0000

US President-elect Obama said in an interview on Sunday that he will take “early action” on closing the detention centre at Guantánamo Bay and ensuring that the USA does not resort to torture. He told the CBS programme 60 Minutes on Sunday: "I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantánamo, and I will follow through on that.

"I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture. And I'm gonna make sure that we don't torture."

Amnesty International said on Monday that President-elect Obama's statement is an important a step in the right direction.

"Amnesty International urges him to seize the initiative after taking office in January and to prioritize ending all internationally unlawful detention and interrogation practices by the USA,” said Rob Freer, Amnesty International's researcher on the USA.

"We urge president-elect Obama to turn his words into action within the first 100 days of his presidency and demonstrate his commitment to meeting the USA's international obligations, including by signing an executive order prohibiting torture and other ill-treatment, as defined under international law.

“President George W. Bush also said that the USA would not torture, but the use of "waterboarding" and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" against detainees held in secret CIA custody and the torture or other ill-treatment of detainees in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo have told a different story.

"They reveal the sad and disturbing fact that the USA has authorized and justified the use of torture and other unlawful practices in the name of national security,” said Rob Freer.

Amnesty International is also calling on the President-elect to support an independent commission of inquiry into all aspects of the USA's detention and interrogation practices in the "war on terror", and to ensure full accountability for human rights violations committed in that context.

The organization has written to President-elect Obama to urge him to ensure that closing Guantánamo, ending torture and other ill-treatment, and supporting a commission of inquiry, are among his priorities for his first 100 days in office.

Refugees held by Thailand must be freed

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:44:26 +0000

Ninety-two children are among a group of 158 Lao Hmong refugees who have been held at a detention centre in Thailand for two years.

Living in harsh conditions, the refugees are constantly in fear of being forcibly returned to Laos, where they are at risk of serious human rights violations. For 21 hours a day, they are locked inside the building where they live in overcrowded, windowless cells. Some have gone on hunger strike or threatened to commit suicide in protest against their detention.

Many of the refugees are in poor health. The children, including 11 infants who were born into detention, are particularly badly affected by the difficult living conditions. Many of them are in bad health. Medical workers have only recently been allowed access to the detention centre.

The detainees had fled persecution in Laos. They were arrested in November 2006 in Bangkok and in Phetchabun, northern Thailand, despite having been recognized as refugees by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). They are being held at the Immigration Detention Center (IDC) in Nong Khai, northern Thailand.

The Thai authorities tried to forcibly return the refugees to Laos in January 2007. They forced women and children onto buses and drove them to the Lao border as the men barricaded themselves into their cells.

Plans to forcibly return the refugees were abandoned following an international outcry from other governments, UNHCR and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Amnesty International.

A high ranking representative of the Thai army visited the centre on 10 April 2008 and told the group that they would be sent to Laos. Threats such as this have added to the group's desperation and fear.

"The refugees told Amnesty International that officials have threatened to forcibly return of all of them to Laos --as collective punishment-- if anyone would try to escape from the detention centre or if any of the women would get pregnant. Such threats add to the fear in which the refugees live, said Brittis Edman, Southeast Asia researcher.

The governments of Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the USA have pledged to consider allowing the group to resettle in their countries.

UNHCR representatives were unable to gain access to the group since August 2007. However, once a month for the last few months, the UNHCR has been allowed to meet the group in a training room within the IDC. Here they talk about their resettlement and release although so far the Thai authorities have shown no sign of permitting the group to leave.

Fears that the refugees will never be allowed to leave have been fuelled by the construction of an extension to the back of the building where they are being held. The extension has no doors or windows and is only accessible through the existing building. The refugees fear that, once the extension is complete, they will not be allowed outside at all.

The Hmong are one of many ethnic groups in Laos. Although most Hmong are integrated into mainstream society, communities have lived in isolated pockets in the jungle since the Vietnam War ended in 1975. Faced with violent attacks by the Lao army, which still regards them as members of a decades-old armed resistance force, they have lived in hiding from the authorities. Most Hmong refugees and asylum-seekers in Thailand claim to have some connection to these isolated groups.

There are thousands of ethnic Hmong Lao people in Thailand. An estimated 6,500 people, including asylum-seekers, have been living in a camp in Phetchabun since 2004. In 2007, the Thai government agreed with the Lao authorities to send them back to Laos – including those whose asylum claims have not been assessed in fair and satisfactory procedures.

Over 1,500 people were "repatriated" to Laos between February and September 2008. Some were apparently forcibly returned, including a mother whose children were left behind at the camp. Since December 2005, over 2,000 Lao Hmong, including an unknown number of asylum-seekers, have been sent back to Laos where some were arbitrarily detained and tortured.

Amnesty International has voiced its concern that many of the Lao Hmong in Thailand are at risk of serious human rights violations if they are forcibly returned to Laos. Many of those already returned were sent to designated Hmong villages after "re-education".

The Lao authorities have arranged several visits to these reintegration villages for diplomats and journalists, but UN agencies and human rights NGOs have limited access to the sites and the whereabouts of most returnees are not known.

"Amnesty International calls on the Thai authorities to immediately release the 158 Lao Hmong refugees from this unlawful detention and allow preparations for resettlement in third countries to take place as a matter of urgency," said Donna Guest, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Deputy Director.

Amnesty International welcomes commitment to close Guantánamo

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:43:14 +0000

President-elect Obama’s statement in a CBS interview yesterday that he will follow through on his commitment to close the detention centre at Guantánamo Bay is an important step in the right direction, Amnesty International said today.

"Amnesty International welcomes the president-elect’s confirmation that he intends to close Guantánamo and ensure that the USA does not use torture. We urge him to seize the initiative after taking office in January and to prioritize ending all internationally unlawful detention and interrogation practices by the USA,” said Rob Freer, Amnesty International's researcher on the USA.

“We urge president-elect Obama to turn his words into action within the first 100 days of his presidency and demonstrate his commitment to meeting the USA's international obligations, including by signing an executive order prohibiting torture and other ill-treatment, as defined under international law.

“President George W. Bush also said that the USA would not torture, but the use of "waterboarding" and other "enhanced interrogation techiques" against detainees held in secret CIA custody and the torture or other ill-treatment of detainees in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo have told a different story. They reveal the sad and disturbing fact that the USA has authorized and justified the use of torture and other unlawful practices in the name of national security,” said Rob Freer.

Amnesty International is also calling on the President-elect to support an independent commission of inquiry into all aspects of the USA's detention and interrogation practices in the "war on terror", and to ensure full accountability for human rights violations committed in that context.

The organization has written to President-elect Obama to urge him to ensure that closing Guantánamo, ending torture and other ill-treatment, and supporting a commission of inquiry, are among his priorities for his first 100 days in office.

A copy of Amnesty International’s checklist for President-elect Obama is available at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/117/2008/en

Harsh sentences for Myanmar dissidents

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:27:23 +0000

Fourteen dissidents, who took part in the 2007 anti-government demonstrations in Myanmar, were sentenced to 65 years' imprisonment each on Tuesday 11 November. The sentences were handed down at a closed-door hearing in Yangon's Insein prison. On the same day the authorities sentenced another 27 people for their protest activities.

Three of those sentenced are Min Zeya, Kyaw Min Yu (also known as Ko Jimmy), and Ko Jimmy's wife, Nilar Thein. They are prominent 88 Generation Students group leaders - former student activists who spearheaded the pro-democracy uprising in Myanmar 20 years ago.

They were sentenced for their involvement in the 2007 demonstrations, popularly known as the "Saffron Revolution". These protests began on 19 August 2007 as small-scale marches against sudden state-imposed fuel price rises, but quickly grew in size and significance. Later tens of thousands of protesters added calls for the release of all political prisoners and demanded an end to the long-standing political impasse through a process of national reconciliation. The authorities brought the protests to an end with a violent crackdown in late September 2007.

"In the midst of its so-called 'Roadmap to Democracy', the government of Myanmar reveals its true intentions by sentencing these dissidents for nothing more than peacefully expressing their views during last year's demonstrations," said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher.

The sentences are a clear example that Myanmar's military government is ignoring calls by the international community to clean up its human rights record. They also belie the government’s claims that its new constitution and plans for elections in 2010 are genuine efforts toward increasing political participation.

The other dissidents sentenced for their involvement in the "Saffron Revolution" are Mie Mie, Zaw Zaw Min, Than Tin (also known as Kyi Than), Zayya (also known as Kalama), Ant Bwe Kyaw, Kyaw Kyaw Htwe (also known as Marky), Pannate Tun, Thet Zaw, Mar Mar Oo, Sandar Min (also known as Shwe), and Thet Thet Aung.

Also sentenced on 11 November was labour activist Su Su Nway, who was sentenced to 12 years and six months’ imprisonment for her role in last year’s demonstrations. The day before, blogger Nay Phone Latt, received a jail term of 20 years and six months for, among other offences, showing disrespect for Senior General Than Shwe in his blog.

More than 2,100 political prisoners are currently behind bars in Myanmar. At least another 23 members of the 88 Generation Students group are on trial in Myanmar, including prominent dissidents Min Ko Naing, Htay Kywe, and Ko Ko Gyi. They are expected to be sentenced soon.

"These sentences and the ongoing trials should disabuse anyone of the notion that the Myanmar government has any intention of honouring its assurances to the United Nations that it would improve its human rights record and increase political participation. It knows only repression," said Benjamin Zawacki.

Min Zeya
A leading activist in the 88 Generation Students group, 40-year-old Min Zeya was arrested along with 12 other activists on 21 August 2007 after organising the first protests against the fuel price increases. Min Zeya was chairperson of the All Burma Students' Union Reconstruction Committee which was founded after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. He was arrested in August 1989 and later sentenced to eight years' imprisonment after being accused of leading an underground network. After his release in October 1995, he was detained on three other occasions before he was again re-arrested in August 2007.

Kyaw Min Yu
Also known as Ko Jimmy, Kyaw Min Yu was arrested together with Min Zeya on 21 August for his role in the fuel price protests. He had been previously imprisoned between early 1990 and July 2005 for his pro-democracy activities. The 39-year-old served two separate sentences during this time; he was given a second sentence after he was accused of involvement in plans to distribute news from overseas broadcasts within Insein Prison, and to contact the United Nations Human Rights Commission about conditions in the prison. He was tortured during his imprisonment.

Nilar Thein
Along with her husband Kyaw Min Yu, 36-year-old Nilar Thein is a leading activist in the 88 Generation Students group. Nilar Thein had been previously detained for two months in 1991. In December 1996 she was again arrested for participating in student demonstrations in Yangon. She was later sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment.

Mie Mie
A high school student when she took part in the 1988 uprising, 38-year-old Mie Mie was arrested on 13 October 2007 as the authorities searched for the organisers of the major anti-government protests. She was forced into hiding after leading a women's movement march together with Nilar Thein on 22 August 2007, one day after 13 leaders of the 88 Generation Students group were arrested for their role in the protests. Whilst in hiding, she continued to support the protesters through solidarity appeals and interviews with international media.

Mie Mie was detained for four months in 1989 because of her political activities. During the student demonstrations in 1996, she was arrested and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. She has not received adequate treatment for her health problems in detention.

Thet Thet Aung
A member of the 88 Generation Students group, 31-year-old Thet Thet Aung was arrested on 19 October 2007. Her mother and mother-in-law were arbitrarily detained by the authorities, seemingly to intimidate and pressure Thet Thet Aung to turn herself in.

Nay Phone Latt
The owner of two internet cafés in Yangon, Nay Phone Latt was arrested in Yangon on 29 January 2008 in possession of a video that was banned by the military government. The 28-year-old also kept a blog (http://www.nayphonelatt.net/) in which he wrote about the difficulties that young Burmese people faced in the aftermath of the September 2007 protests.

Su Su Nway
A member of the youth wing of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), Su Su Nway was arrested on 13 November 2007, during a UN visit to Myanmar to investigate the September 2007 crackdown. The 36-year-old was arrested after attempting to put up leaflets near the hotel where a UN investigator was staying.

Su Su Nway had previously been imprisoned after successfully taking legal action against village authorities over their use of forced labour. The officials concerned received prison terms, following which Su Su Nway was charged with criminal intimidation and sentenced to 18 months in jail in October 2005. She was later released in June 2006. She suffers from a long-term heart condition and has not received adequate treatment for her health problems while in detention.

Europe urged to protect Guantanamo detainees who cannot be returned home

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:00:10 +0000

Five human rights groups have called on European governments to provide humanitarian protection to Guantánamo detainees who will not be charged with any crime but who cannot be returned to their country of origin for fear of torture or other human rights violations.

Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, Reprieve and the International Federation for Human Rights urged governments to accept Guantanamo detainees into their countries and ensure they are provided with adequate support.

The call to work with the new US administration on this important step towards the closure of the detention facility at the US Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was made after a two-day closed strategic workshop in Berlin. The workshop was convened by the NGOs with other international actors active on the issue of humanitarian protection.

Around 50 of the detainees currently held in Guantánamo, who the US government has said it does not intend to charge, cannot lawfully be sent back to their countries of origin because they could face torture and other ill-treatment. They come from countries including China, Libya, Russia, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan.

A joint statement by the human right groups highlighted the "primary and ongoing legal responsibility held by the USA to find solutions for these individuals after years of unlawful detention, including providing them with a safe place to live and receive rehabilitation,"

"Everyone appears to rightly agree that Guantánamo must be closed, and President-elect Obama has said that he will close it," said Daniel Gorevan, Counter Terror with Justice Campaign Manager at Amnesty International. "Clearly, other governments can help make this happen by offering protection to individuals who cannot be released to their own countries. This would have a double effect: helping to end the ordeal of an individual unlawfully held in violation of his human rights, and helping end the international human rights scandal that is Guantánamo."

"This is a key opportunity for both sides of the Atlantic to move beyond the misguided acts of the 'war on terror': rendition, secret detention, and torture," said Cori Crider, Staff Attorney at Reprieve. "President-elect Obama says he will close Guantánamo -- the question is when and how. One of Reprieve's clients was sent back to Tunisia, drugged, hit, and threatened with the rape of his wife and daughter.

"Another is fighting, even now, to stay in Guantánamo because Tunisia threatened him with 'water torture in the barrel.' The US still asserts total authority to send him back. Europe can send a powerful message by reaching out to Obama and providing a safe alternative for these few people.”

"President-elect Obama has committed to closing Guantánamo, but he is going to need Europe's help," said Joanne Mariner, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Director at Human Rights Watch. "European governments could provide much-needed assistance by agreeing to take in some of the detainees who cannot be sent back home."

Malaysian court frees blogger

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:45:35 +0000

A Malaysian high court has ordered the release of blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, on the grounds that his arrest, under the Internal Security Act (ISA), was unconstitutional.

An online social commentator and the editor of news blog Malaysia Today, Raja Petra was arrested on 12 September for threatening national security and potentially "causing tension among the country's multi-racial and multi-religious society".

Articles published online by Raja Petra were deemed insulting to Muslims and to the Prophet Muhammad and were thought defamatory of Malaysia's leaders. The articles in question were 'Malays, the Enemy of Islam', 'Let's send the Altantuya murderers to hell', 'I promise to be a good, non-hypocritical Muslim' and 'Not all Arabs are descendents of the Prophet'.

Speaking to reporters about his release, Raja Petra said, "I'm really glad it's over. I'm really tired. The judge's decision proves there is no justification for my detention. We have to fight all-out and get the ISA abolished."

Judge Syed Ahmad Helmy, of the high court in the state of Selangor, ruled that the Malaysian Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar had acted beyond his powers in having Raja Petra arrested.

The Malaysian government continues to use or threatens to use the ISA against people whom they accuse of being threats to national security, including government critics and those allegedly involved in "terrorist-linked" activities.

The ISA allows the police to arrest individuals they believe have acted, or are "about to" or "likely to" act in a way that would threaten Malaysian security, "essential services" or "economic life" (Article 73 (1)b).

After an initial 60-day detention for "investigation", the ISA allows for detention without trial for up to two years renewable indefinitely, without the detainee being charged with a crime or tried in a court of law. More than 60 other people are still detained under the ISA without charge or trial.

"Amnesty International welcomes Raja Petra's release ", said Donna Guest, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Deputy Director. "We call on the government to stop using this law to control dissent."

Poverty and the death penalty in Nigeria

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:35:24 +0000

Hundreds of people on death row in Nigeria did not have a fair trial and may therefore be innocent, according to a new Amnesty International report.

Nigeria: Waiting for the Hangman, says that those sentenced to death are poor and that more than half of the convictions are based on a confession – in many cases, extracted under torture.

Written in conjunction with Nigerian legal organization, the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP), the report also says that Nigeria's criminal justice system is "riddled with corruption, negligence and a nearly criminal lack of resources".

As of February 2008, 725 men and 11 women were on death row in Nigeria. At least 40 of them were under 18. About 53 percent were convicted of murder. Most of the rest were convicted of armed robbery and robbery.

Forty seven percent of death row inmates are waiting for their appeal to be concluded. A quarter of prisoners' appeals have lasted 5 years. Six percent of prisoners with appeals outstanding have waited more than 20 years. One prisoner has spent 24 years on death row.

"It is truly horrifying to think of how many innocent people may have been executed and may still be executed," said Aster van Kregten, Amnesty International's Nigeria researcher, speaking from Abuja. "The judicial system is riddled with flaws that can have devastating consequences. For those accused of capital crimes, the effects are obviously deadly and irreversible."

Life on death row is extremely harsh. Prisoners whose appeals are over are held in cells where they can see executions. After a prisoner has been hanged, other death row prisoners are forced to clean the gallows.

Almost 80 percent of inmates in Nigerian prisons say they have been beaten, threatened with weapons or tortured in police cells. Confessions are often extracted under torture.

"The police are over-stretched and under-resourced," said Aster van Kregten. "Because of this, they rely heavily on confessions to 'solve' crimes – rather than on expensive investigations. Convictions based on such confessions are obviously very unsafe."

"Under Nigerian law, if a suspect confesses under pressure, threat or torture, it cannot be used as evidence in court," said Chino Obiagwu, LEDAP's National Coordinator. "Judges know that there is widespread torture by the police – and yet they continue to sentence suspects to death based on these confessions, leading to many possibly innocent people being sentenced to death."

The poor are at the greatest risk in Nigeria's criminal justice system. Chino Obiagwu says that questions of guilt and innocence are almost irrelevant. "It is all about if you can afford to pay to keep yourself out of the system – whether that means paying the police to adequately investigate your case, paying for a lawyer to defend you or paying to have your name put on a list of those eligible for pardon."

Many prisoners awaiting trial and on death row told Amnesty International and LEDAP that the police picked them up and asked for money to release them. Those who couldn't pay were treated as suspected armed robbers.

Other death row prisoners told Amnesty International that they were arrested when they went to a police station to report a crime they had witnessed. Police demanded money for their release. Sometime police asked for money for fuel, without which they could not visit witnesses or check alibis.

Amnesty International and LEDAP are calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to abolish the death penalty. The organizations say that pending abolition the government should declare an immediate moratorium on all executions as provided by UN General Assembly resolution 62/149 and commute without delay all death sentences to terms of imprisonment.

Turkish government in landmark apology over death after custody

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:55:15 +0000

In the first public statement of its kind, the Turkish Minister of Justice has accepted the responsibility of the state in the case of Engin Çeber who died after being held at the Metris Prison in Istanbul. In the statement, Mehmet Ali Şahin apologized to the man's relatives.

The statement came last Tuesday after an initial investigation at the prison was concluded. Nineteen officials were removed from duty pending the conclusion of an investigation into allegations of torture.

Twenty-nine-year-old Engin Çeber was arrested along with others on 28 September. They were protesting against the continued impunity of Turkish authorities in the case of the shooting a year earlier of Ferhat Gerçek.

Engin Çeber was alleged to have been stripped naked, kicked and beaten repeatedly with wooden truncheons during the course of his detention in police detention and prison custody. His lawyer said that he was transferred to hospital on 7 October due to the injuries he had sustained. He died from his injuries in the afternoon of 10 October.

Amnesty International, welcoming the statement made by the Justice Minister, has called for a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances of the death of Engin Çeber.

Zimbabwe activists beaten, arrested and detained

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:06:12 +0000

The leaders of one of Zimbabwe's main activist movements have been remanded in custody by the courts in Bulawayo since Friday. Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, leaders of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), were arrested on Thursday in Bulawayo after leading a peaceful protest of about 200 activists demanding immediate access to food aid in Zimbabwe.

Police used excessive force to break up the protest. Magodonga Mahlangu was beaten by police during her arrest and is reported to be in pain.

Nine activists were initially arrested, including Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu; seven activists were released on the same day.

Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu were held at Bulawayo Central police station over night and taken to court on Friday morning. They were denied bail. They will be held in remand prison until Tuesday, when they are set to come to court again.

They have been charged under Section 37 1(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for "disturbing the peace, security or order of the public".

Amnesty International has urged the Zimbabwean authorities to release Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, immediately and unconditionally, as they have been detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of association and assembly. The organisation also expressed fears about the women’s safety while in remand prison, considering the long history of ill-treatment of human rights defenders while in custody in Zimbabwe.

"Amnesty International considers Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu to be prisoners of conscience," said Erwin van der Borght, Director of the Africa Programme. "Their arrest is part of the government of Zimbabwe’s clampdown on human rights defenders who are campaigning to highlight the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe."

Jenni Williams and Magadonga Mahlangu were last arrested in May 2008, and spent 37 days in remand prison.

Prominent Egyptian editor pardoned

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:05:44 +0000

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has pardoned newspaper editor, Ibrahim Eissa, who was charged with publishing information considered by the authorities to be "damaging to the public interest and Egypt's national stability."

Ibrahim Eissa's initial six-month prison sentence was reduced to two months by an appeal court on 28 September 2008. He remained at liberty, on bail pending the outcome of the Court of Cassation. His pardon was issued on 6 October to mark Armed Forces Day in Egypt.

As Editor-in-chief of the daily Al-Dustour, Ibrahim Eissa published articles suggesting that President Mubarak's health had deteriorated. The authorities claimed that the articles were untrue and led foreign investors to withdraw investments worth some 350 million US dollars, damaging the country's economy.

Amnesty International welcomes the decision to pardon Ibrahim Eissa and reiterates its call on the Egyptian authorities to amend the controversial press law and all other provisions in the Penal Code that criminalize legitimate reporting and to cease using criminal defamation charges to harass journalists and prevent their reporting on matters of legitimate public interest.