Impunity Watch: Europe

Study Finds Discrimination against Muslims Pervasive in the EU

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MADRID, Spain - According to a report by the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), approximately one in three Muslims in the European Union believe that they were discriminated against in 2008, and nearly eleven percent reported that they had been victims of a racially motivated crime in the past year.

Over half of those who experienced prejudice attributed it to their ethnic origin. The report found that wearing traditional clothing does not increase discrimination, and the majority of those Muslims surveyed did not consider their religious beliefs to be the basis of the discrimination they experienced.

 
Traditionally dressed Turkish women in Berlin's Kreuzberg district.

The FRA report's conclusions are based on the European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS) conducted between April 28 and November 5, 2008. The survey is one of the first ever EU-wide surveys designed to gauge the experiences of immigrants and ethnic minorities. The survey polled 23,500 people from selected immigrant and ethnic minority groups in all 27 EU member states, and the report is a compilation of the findings pertaining to Muslims living in 14 European countries.

The report found that over 80% of those Muslims who encountered discrimination did not report those acts to the police. A fifth of those who did not report expressed concern over the possible negative ramifications of reporting, and others expressed distrust of the police. Overwhelmingly, those who did not report said that reporting discriminatory acts would not change anything, and said that such acts were commonplace.

Muslim immigrants living in Malta and Italy reported that they were subject to particularly harsh discrimination, with over 71% of Muslim immigrants in Malta encountering discrimination.  African Muslims in general, however, were found to experience the worst prejudice overall in the EU. 

Additionally, the report found that ethnic profiling is on the rise in the EU, and two-fifths of those Muslims who reported experiencing discrimination said that they had been stopped by police because of their ethnic origin. 

The survey found that discriminatory acts occurred most frequently in the workplace. Morten Kjaerum, director of the FRA, said:  "Employment is a key part of the integration process. It is central to the contributions that migrants make to society, and to making such contributions visible. Discrimination may hamper the integration process."

Pictured: Marten Kjaerum, director FRA. (Source: Danish Institute for Human Rights)

The report states that those vulnerable to discrimination are not informed of their rights, with 41% of Muslims surveyed unaware that laws existed forbidding discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, and 80% unaware of any organization which could provide support and advice to those experiencing discrimination.

For more information, please see:

Malta Independent - EU Survey: 71% of Muslims in Malta Feel Prejudiced - 29 May, 2009

Aljazeera.net - EU: Muslims suffer discrimination - 28 May, 2009

Deutsche Welle - Survey says 31 percent of Muslims in Europe suffer discrimination - 28 May, 2009

FRA [EU Agency for Fundamental Rights] - Data in Focus Report 2: Muslims

Reuters India - 1-in-3 Muslims in Europe feel discrimination - EU - 28 May, 2009

 

 

 

Amnesty International Finds Human Rights Worsening in Russia During Economic Crisis

By Ese Omofoma
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia - Amnesty International has found that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has failed to deliver on promises to improve human rights, and that some violations have worsened since he took office last year. Medvedev, a former lawyer, has scolded officials for breaching human rights, vowed to battle corruption and end what he terms legal nihilism in the court system.

However, Amnesty International says concrete actions are needed to prove Medvedev is doing more than paying lip service to reforms. The human rights group says human rights are being relegated around the world to a back seat in the name of recovery from the current global economic crisis. "The current global economic crisis could aggravate the human rights crisis. It's like a ticking time bomb," said Sergei Nikitin, director of Amnesty International in Russia.

The report says former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was denied parole last year, is an example of Russia's lack of respect for the rule of law in the judicial system. It says prisoners, migrants and human rights activists are among those who have suffered violence and other abuses, and it criticizes police for violently breaking up unsanctioned rallies.

Amnesty's director for Europe and Central Asia, Nicola Duckworth, told reporters that open markets have not led to open societies, particularly in Russia and China. "You cannot separate human rights out from the other sorts of problems that exist, because human rights - the observance of human rights - rests at the base of the solution for problems, whether it is political, or whether it is economic," she said.

The human rights group said it would ask U.S. President Barack Obama to bring up Russia's human rights record when he visits Moscow in July. Amnesty said it would like to ask President Dmitry Medvedev to press Obama on U.S. abuses as well but can't because of Russian bureaucracy. "We'd like to do the same thing for President Medvedev and send him a list of human rights problems in the U.S., like capital punishment, but we don't see an opportunity to do that," said Nikitin.

He said Amnesty has tried to send written appeals to the Kremlin in the past, but none of them have reached the president.

For more information, please see:

Moscow Times - Amnesty Raps Rights Record - 28 May 2009

VOA News - Amnesty International Scores Russian Human Rights Record - 28 May 2009

Washington Post - Amnesty raps Medvedev on Russia rights violations - 28 May 2009

Evidence Emerges Showing Impunity Deliberately Given to Dutch Perpetrators of 1947 Indonesian Massacre

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - On Monday, Dutch current affairs program Netwerk hosted Jeffrey Pondaag of the Committee for Dutch Honours of Debt who revealed information showing that the decision not to prosecute those responsible for the 1947 Dutch massacre in Indonesia was made shortly after the atrocity occurred.  Pondaag said an exchange of letters revealed that the decision not to prosecute Major Alphons Wijnen was made despite the recommendation by Chief of Staff General Simon Spoor that Wijnen be prosecuted. Wijnen was the officer in command of the Dutch unit that committed the massacre.

On December 9, 1947 Dutch troops attacked an Indonesian village called Rawagede (now called Balongsari), approximately 40 kilometers east of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. According to villagers, Dutch soldiers shot all of the men and boys in the village, resulting in 431 deaths. A 1969 investigation by the Dutch government found that 150 had been killed. The attack occurred during the five year long armed struggle between the Netherlands and Indonesia, which ended in 1949 with Indonesian independence.

 
Wax statues in Balongsari portraying the massacre of December 9,1947. (Source: Ahmad 'deNy' Salman)

The Hague has refused to pay damages to the the ten family members of massacre victims who filed a lawsuit against the Netherlands. The civil claim filed last September was rejected by the Dutch attorney general on grounds that the statute of limitations had expired. The attorney general told survivors that the state "very much" regretted the executions.

Those involved in the suit include nine widows and a man who was able to escape the slaughter as a boy. They sought not only compensation, but a formal apology for the killings and recognition of their suffering by the Dutch government. 

After after an official apology was issued by the Dutch government in 2005, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aad Meijer said that "a line was drawn by both countries under this painful part of their shared history."

For more information, please see:

Expatica NL - Impunity for 1947 Dutch Massacre was Deliberate - 26 May 2009

NRC Handelsblad - Impunity for Dutch massacre in Indonesia was given 60 years ago - 26 May 2009

Radio Netherlands Worldwide - Impunity for Dutch massacre of 1947 was planned - 26 May 2009

The Jakarta Post - Dutch govt lawyer says no massacre compensation - 25 November 2008

NRC Handelsblad - Dutch refuse compensation for massacre - 25 November 2008

Russia Makes Room for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games

By Nima Nayebi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Rendering of the Sochi 2014 Olympics site. Photo: Skyscrapercity.com

SOCHI, Russian Federation - Members of the International Olympic Committee recently visited Sochi, a Black Sea resort town and site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The Committee gave high praise to Russian officials for being “open and constructive,” but Sochi residents have complained to Human Rights Watch (HRW) of restrictions placed on their speech and the taking of their land without compensation.

Sochi residents also expressed their frustration at the lack of transparency surrounding planned construction for the upcoming games, as well as their desire to air their views to Olympic Committee officials. Residents gathered to peacefully protest outside the Committee’s press conference site during its May visit, but were rapidly dispersed by police. Seven were arrested for illegal protesting as part of the government’s effort to keep the residents’ concerns hidden from the view.

On 23 February, HRW proposed the establishment of an International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Human Rights. “Such a reform is essential in the wake of human rights abuses in China linked to the 2008 Beijing Games, and ahead of the 2014 Sochi Games in Russia,” said HRW officials. This proposal, which will be presented at the 2009 Olympic Congress in October seeks to encourage adhere to the Olympic principle of the “preservation of human dignity.” HRW cited to the censorship of the media, forced evictions, abuse of migrant construction workers, and severe limitations on speech leading to the 2008 Beijing games.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, the president of the Sochi 2014 organizing committee promised that, “At the moment, Sochi is a huge construction site. Russia is committed to these Games. We consider Sochi to be a catalyst for positive change.” Chernyshenko has listed environmental concerns as a priority: “We have moved several events to less environmentally sensitive areas,we are committed to protecting the environment.”

Pictured above: IOC meeting in Sochi - Photo: IOC

Public domain map: Wiki Commons

For more information, please see:

Wall Street Journal - Don't Trample the Olympic Ideals in Russia - 25 May 2009

Reuters - Security not a problem for Sochi, says Games chief - 6 May 2009

HRW - Human Rights Watch Submission to the 2009 Olympic Congress - 23 April 2009 

ESPN - Sochi Games will help develop all of southern Russia - 5 July 2007

Karadzic Files Motion Claiming "Immunity Deal" Was Made

By Ese Omofoma
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has filed a 140-page motion arguing the war crimes charges against him should be dropped because he was promised immunity by a top U.S. official in 1996. Karadzic's lawyers say U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke promised him immunity from prosecution on a condition he gave up politics, a claim Holbrooke strongly denies. 

Karadzic argues Holbrooke, now U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, made the undertaking with the authority of the UN Security Council. The security council is the parent body of the tribunal that will try Karadzic on 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.

"If the Trial Chamber finds that the Holbrooke agreement is binding on the Tribunal, it should order that the indictment be dismissed," Karadzic and his lawyer said in the motion filed on Monday. The tribunal has said that any immunity deal would not be binding. They say even if a deal had been agreed, the trial would proceed anyway.

Peter Robinson, Karadzic's legal adviser, said documents included in the motion, such as statements, articles and a U.S. government cable, should be enough for the tribunal to hold a hearing on the immunity claims. "Our hope is that they will at least have an evidentiary hearing," Robinson said. "It's convincing enough for an evidentiary hearing for sure."

Karadzic would face life in prison if convicted of the 11 charges against him.

For more information, please see:

ABC News - Karadzic renews Holbrooke immunity claim - 25 May 2009

BBC - Immunity deal 'protects Karadzic' - 25 May 2009

Reuters - Karadzic files motion detailing "immunity deal" - 25 May 2009

 

Italian 'Push-Back' Policy Denies Asylum and Threatens Migrant Safety

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ROME, Italy - Roberto Maroni, Italian Interior Minister, reported that Italy's new policy of returning migrants rescued in international waters back to Libya has proven to be effective in stopping the departure of migrant boats from North African countries.  He said that the joint effort between Italy and Libya was a "turning point" and that Libya was doing "a major job in preventing human trafficking in its own territories."

Libya has traditionally been a popular point of departure for illegal immigrants from all over Africa.  The 'push-back' policy seeks to prevent migrants from reaching Italian soil, where they would then be able to claim asylum.  It is part of the Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation Treaty between Rome and Tripoli signed in August 2008, and involves joint Italian and Libyan sea patrol and the return of illegal immigrants to Libya.  Italy has supplied Libya with three patrol boats so far, and intends to supply three more in coming weeks.

Despite criticism from the UN and the Catholic Church, Italy has returned more than 500 migrants to Libya. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, expressed "grave concern" over the policy; a sentiment backed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  Human Rights Watch has reported evidence that some migrants have been mistreated.

Opponents have warned that the measure will not stop the tide of immigration, but will only served to undermine legitimate access to asylum in the European Union, violate international refugee law, and put migrant lives at risk. It is likely that human traffickers will now seek to avoid patrols by setting out in smaller vessels, or resort to other more dangerous means of trafficking. So far, four Tunisian dinghies have been intercepted off the coast of Sicily.

UNHCR spokeswoman in Italy, Laura Boldrini, said that because Libya does not officially recognize the UNHCR, the UNHCR's representatives have not been able to inspect all the detention centers. She added, "Moreover, Libya doesn't have a law on asylum, it hasn't signed the (1951 Geneva Refugee) Convention and it doesn't have a system to deal with refugees." 

For more information, please see:

ANSA.it - Migrant Boats Not Setting Off - 19 May 2009

BBC - Libya Given Migrant Patrol Boats - 15 May 2009

The Economist - Immigration in Italy:  A Mess in the Mediterranean - 14 May 2009

Reuters - UN Body Raps Deportation of Migrants by Italy - 12 May 2009

Spanish Legislature Seeks to Limit Spanish Judges' Jurisdiction Over Human Rights Violations

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MADRID, Spain - Under pressure from foreign governments, Spain's Congress approved a non-binding resolution on Tuesday to rein in the jurisdiction of Spanish judges, restricting them to cases with a clear connection to Spain.  The major parties in Spain have agreed to back the legislation.

Under the resolution, the Judges would be restricted to cases involving Spanish citizens, or cases where the accused individual is actually on Spanish soil. Spain's National Court is currently investigating 13 cases, all involving events which occurred outside of Spain, and the majority having no direct connection to Spain.

High-profile Spanish magistrate, Baltasar Garzón, recently opened an investigation on allegations of U.S. torture at Guantanamo involving four former detainees. Gonzalo Boyé, representative for the four detainees, said that the law would not likely affect this case since one detainee is a Spanish citizen. 

 
Gorka Lejarcegi/EL PAIS

Photo:  Spanish judges from left to right: Fernando Andreu,
Baltasar Garzón, and Santiago Pedraz

The Judges are also investigating alleged war crimes in the 2002 Israeli assassination of a Hamas leader in Gaza, which involved the death of 14 others, including 9 children. Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu has said the case "makes a mockery out of international law."

China has warned Spain that the investigation regarding the crackdown on Tibetan protesters last March could seriously damage bilateral relations.  

All three investigations have drawn negative responses from the countries being investigated, and from the Spanish government.  Although the U.S. government has responded less harshly than Israel and China, the Spanish government is worried that the Guantanamo investigation will put a chill on its relations with the Obama administration.

France, the U.K., Germany, Israel and the U.S. have all adopted the principle of universal jurisdiction to a certain extent. The Spanish courts have construed the principal more broadly than other countries, and in recent years Spain has become a prominent venue for filing human rights complaints. Although the Spanish courts have only secured one actual conviction, supporters assert that the investigations have encouraged countries to try criminals themselves. 

Before the vote on Tuesday, Hugo Relva, legal adviser for Amnesty International, cautioned that if the Spanish Judges are restrained, "There will be more impunity."

For more information, please see:

Jerusalem Post - 'Spain to limit judges to local cases' - 20 May 2009

JTA - Spain's Congress Limits Judge's Jurisdiction in War Crimes - 20 May 2009

NY Times - Push in Spain to Limit Reach of the Courts - 20 May 2009

WSJ - Spain is Moving to Rein In Its Crusading Judges - 19 May 2009

UK Court Extends Human Rights Laws to Troops Serving Abroad

 By Nima Nayebi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, United Kingdom - Deploying British troops with inadequate or defective equipment could be a breach of their human rights, according to the Court of Appeal in London. The case of Private Jason Smith, 32, who died of heatstroke in Iraq in 2003, originally prompted the lawsuit.

The government urged the Court of Appeal to overturn a High Court finding “that sending soldiers out on patrol or into battle with defective equipment could amount to a breach of their human rights.” The Court dismissed the government’s arguments, however, holding that sending troops into battle with faulty equipment could constitute a violation of the right to life as preserved in article 2 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The ruling opens the doors to potentially large compensation lawsuits by families of deceased troops.

Sir Anthony Clarke, heading a three-judge panel, said the government admitted that soldiers who died on UK military bases were covered by human right laws: “It seems to us to make no sense to hold that there is a distinction between a person inside and outside of premises controlled by the UK.... If in a British base, why not in a British army vehicle? If in a vehicle, why not when a soldier gets out of the vehicle?” The British Ministry of Defense countered that while the UK has a general obligation to ensure the well-being of its troops, finding a breach of human rights in such cases would be “wholly unreasonable.”

Smith’s mother stated she was “overwhelmed” with the ruling today, although the Court gave the government leave to appeal to the House of Lords provided that, win or lose, it pays the costs related to the case.

For more information, please see:

Daily Telegraph - Government loses soldiers' human rights appeal - 18 May 2009

Guardian UK - Appeal court backs soldiers’ battlefield human rights - 18 May 2009

London Evening Standard - Landmark human rights ruling protects all soldiers serving abroad - 18 May 2009

Royal Courts of Justice - Case No. C1/2008/1049 (Full Text PDF) - 18 May 2009

Moscow Police Forcibly Suppress Gay Rights Rally

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia -  Police officers in Moscow quickly suppressed a gay rights rally on Saturday. They arrested between 30 and 40 demonstrators, including several international gay rights activists. The demonstration was scheduled to precede the Eurovision song contest final hosted in Moscow, and was intended to showcase discrimination in Russia. Eurovision is Europe's most prestigious pop song competition and has drawn up to 100 million television viewers. 

Prominent British activist, Peter Tatchell told The Associated Press that the arrests were made in a very violent and aggressive manner. He said, "Today's arrests go against the principals of Eurovision, which are about peace, harmony, cooperation and unity between all the peoples of Europe."

One female protester reportedly had her clothing torn off by the police and was then shoved into a police bus. Others were arrested for speaking to reporters at the rally. Protest organizer, Nikolai Alexeyev, was held separately from the other protesters and interrogated for six hours.

Nationalist and Christian Orthodox groups also gathered during the rally to denounce homosexuality. A half-dozen anti-gay demonstrators were also arrested, including one man arrested for alleging that Kremlin officials were gay.

Despite the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1993, homophobia remains rampant in Russia and has found fresh support from the increasingly influential Orthodox Church. 

City Hall spokesman Sergei Tsoi was quoted as saying "(Gay pride events) not only destroy moral foundations of our society, but also purposefully provoke disturbances that will threaten the lives and safety of Moscow residents and guests." The Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, has called homosexuality "satanic," and has sought to justify official discrimination by claiming that gay people in Russia helped spread the AIDS virus.  

Luzhkov has turned down every application for a gay rights parade since 2006, despite constitutional guarantees protecting assembly.

American activist Andy Thayer of Chicago, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Network, told reporters at the rally, "lf...the right to assemble is taken away from lesbian and gay people here in Russia, then other Russians have to fear their own freedom." Thayer was apprehended as he spoke to the media and detained by the police for 24 hours. 

For more information, please see:

The Moscow Times - Police Forcefully Break Up Gay Rights Protest - 18 May 2009

NY Times - Moscow Police Crush Gay Rights Rally - 17 May 2009

AP - Moscow Police Detain Scores at Gay Pride Rally - 16 May 2009

BBC - Violence Feared Over Moscow Gay March - 14 May 2009

U.S. Deports Nazi War Crimes Suspect Back to Germany

by Ese Omofoma
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Nazi war crimes suspect John Demjanjuk was deported to Germany on Monday evening after he was removed from his home by ambulance and driven to a U.S. immigration office.  The frail 89-year-old is due to face charges in Germany of being an accessory to the deaths of 29,000 Jews during World War II. Demjanjuk denies accusations that he worked as a guard in the Sobibor Nazi death camp.  He says he was captured by the Germans in his native Ukraine during the war and kept as a prisoner of war.

Demjanjuk's deportation closed a chapter in one of the longest-running pursuits of an alleged Holocaust perpetrator in history. It also sets the stage for what likely will be an extraordinary German war crimes trial.

The Supreme Court last Thursday denied a stay of deportation for Demjanjuk. Justice John Paul Stevens without comment refused to intervene in the planned transfer from the United States. Demjanjuk's lawyers had asked the high court to consider their claims that he is too ill and frail to be sent overseas. They also raised human rights and other legal issues in their last-minute appeal.

Once in Germany, Demjanjuk will be brought before a judge and formally charged. He will also be given the opportunity to make a statement to the court, in keeping with normal justice procedure. Demjanjuk is expected to be held in the medical unit of a Munich prison. The government has said preparations have been made at the facility to ensure he will receive appropriate care.

For more information, please see:

BBC - 'Nazi guard' Demjanjuk deported - 11 May 2009

CNN - Demjanjuk deported to Germany - 11 May 2009

IHT - Ambulance Takes Suspected Nazi - 11 May 2009