Group 48 Newsletter - February 2013

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Amnesty International USA Group 48

Newsletter 2.13

1 Good News rom the

Republic o Congo:

Individuals Held Since

2004 Released!

2 SOMALIA: Urgent Action -

Unjust Imprisonment,

Legal Concern

4 INDONESIA: Action

Update - Religious reedom

under attack as Shi’a

villagers ace eviction

5 CHAD: End Human Rights

Violations in Prisons

7 CHINA: Urgent Action -

Chinese Woman Faces

Imminent Execution,Death Penalty, Imminent

Execution, Unair Trial

9 MALI: Civilians At Risk

From All Sides O Te

Confict

Good News from the Republic of Congo: Individuals

Held Since 2004 Released!By Terrie Rodello, AIUSA Republic of Congo Country Specialist

and AIUSA Central Africa RAN Coordinator

Good News! Te three individuals

held in the Republic o Congo held

since 2004, Medard Manwaka Egbonde,

Bosch Ndala Umba, and Germain Nda-

bamenya Etikilome have been released.

Amnesty International thanks everyone

for all the action taken or these

individuals over the years.

Medard Manwaka Egbonde was granted

reugee status while in detention and

according to Germain Ndabamenya

Etikolome, the UNHCR has already

relocated him to a third country.

Mr. Bosch Ndala Umba was released in

November. Te International Secretariat

(IS) said it is trying to get more ino

about his status and will let us know

more as soon as possible.

Germain Ndabamenya Etikolome is

considered a ree man. However, his

legal status in Congo is still unclear as

his application or asylum was rejected

while in detention and he believes thathis lie is still at risk in Congo. Te IS

is awaiting advice rom the Reugee

team on what steps to take to assist

him in nding a solution to his case.

Te UNHCR oce in Brazzaville did

not provide any assistance to him and

his amily. He was completely destitute.

Fortunately, the IS was able to provide

Germain Ndabamenya with a relie

H er m anBr i nk m an S t o c k .X c h n g

NewsLetter Designed

By Michelle Whitlock

MichelleWhitlock.com

AIUSA-Group 48

http://aipdx.org

503-227-1878

Next Meeting:

Friday February 8th

First Unitarian Church

1011 SW 12th Ave

7:00pm inormal gathering

7:30pm meeting starts

»



AIUSA group 48 Newsletter February 2013 Pg 2

und to assist him with his social reintegration. He has sent

the ollowing thank you note to Amnesty International.

Here is the English translation o his message

"o Amnesty International,

I would like to take this opportunity to send you my sincere

thanks or the unreserved eorts and all the pressure exerted

by you to get me released rom a long prison sentence which

lasted almost 9 years in the repressive Direction Centrale

des Renseignements Militaires (DCRM) and the Direction

Générale de la Surveillance du erritoire (DGS) rom 29th

March 2004 to 3rd September 2012 in Brazzaville, Republic o

Congo. My wie alone could not have achieved such a positive

result. Furthermore, you have helped my amily nancially,allowing them to cope with numerous requirements.

I owe you all my gratitude and may God bless our organiza-

tion, Amnesty International, giving it a long lie through its

activities. Te same thanks go straight to all Amnesty Inter-

national members who supported me with their letters and let

me know that the world had not orgotten me. Tey showed

great courage and hope in ghting or justice and my release.

May they nd here the expression o my proound gratitude.

Finally, may Jesus Christ bless you.

Yours sincerely, Mr NDABAMENYA Germain"

Please share this inormation with your groups and all who

took action or these individuals. I am awaiting inormation

rom the International Secretariat about possible ollow-up

actions, such as writing letters o support or raising unds on

their behal.

Tis small thank-you note is another reminder that our work

or even one individual rom a small country like the Re-

public o Congo is very important to that individual and his/

her amily, I I ever doubt the importance o our work or

individuals, I will reread this thank-you note, a note similar

to the note I received in the 1990s rom a released prisoner

o conscience rom Morocco in which he expressed thanksto Amnesty International members or not orgetting him.

Amnesty International members did not orget him. He was

eventually reed. From 2004 to 2012, Amnesty International

members did not orget these men and their amilies. Tese

men are now ree and with their amilies. Our work or indi-

viduals is important. Nothing else needs to be said.

I will report any news about other actions as soon as I hear

back rom the International Secretariat.

Tank you very much or your work.

SOMALIA: Urgent Action - Unjust Imprisonment, Legal Concern Abdiaziz Abdnur Ibrahim (m)

orces. Te inormation Abdiaziz Abdnur Ibrahim gained

rom his interview with the alleged rape victim has not been

published.

Te alleged victim o rape has also been charged with insult to

a national institution, and or alsiying an accusation against

the Somali government.

Tree other individuals have also been charged in connection

with the case: the husband o the alleged victim, a woman

believed to be a contact o the alleged victim, and a man be-

lieved to have been a contact o the journalist. Tey have

been charged with assisting a suspected person and or as-

sisting in obtaining a bribe. Te hearing will take place on

February 2nd.

On January 26th, Abdiaziz Abdnur Ibrahim and others

detained in relation to this case were moved to the central

prison, where conditions are severe. Since their initial deten-

tion, they have had only intermittent access to lawyers.

Freelance journalist Abdiaziz Abdnur Ibrahim has been

charged with insulting a national institution, ollowing his investigation into an alleged rape involving government orces.

Te woman who reported the rape has also been charged with

alsiying an accusation.

On January 29th, Abdiaziz Abdnur Ibrahim was charged

under Article 269 o the Somali penal code with insult to a

national institution, publishing a media report and paying a

bribe to create a alse story. He has been arbitrarily detained

since January 10th ollowing his investigation into the alleged

rape o an internally displaced woman by Somali security

Nick Cowie Stock.Xchng

»




It is understood that part o the evidence to support the

charges is the medical records o the alleged victim o rape. It

is unclear whether any steps have been taken to respect the

privacy o the alleged victim and protect her identity.

Additional Information

On January 18th, the government issued a public statement

in which it claimed that the allegation o rape made by the

woman Abdiaziz Abdnur Ibrahim interviewed was alse,

and accused him o abricating the story. By declaring the

detainees guilty in the press, even beore a trial, the authori-

ties disregarded their presumption o innocence, which is a

undamental component o the right to a air trial.

At least two other journalists were questioned by CID in con-

nection to the Al Jazeera report, including one radio jour-

nalist who was detained overnight at the National Security

Agency acilities.

In November 2012, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud stated

that security personnel who commit rape should be held ac-

countable, and proposed the death penalty. While those who

commit rape and other orms o sexual violence must be held

accountable, Amnesty International opposes the use o the

death penalty in all circumstances.

Tere are regular reports o rape and other orms o sexual vi-

olence against women and girls living in internally displaced

people’s settlements in Mogadishu, sometimes alleged to have

been carried out by men wearing government uniorms.

Te police have a responsibility to take positive measures to

prevent sexual and gender based violence as well as to act

with due diligence to investigate all allegations o rape and

other orms o sexual violence, and where sucient admis-

sible evidence exists, prosecutions should take place in air

trials without resort to the death penalty. In addition, thereshould be no targeting o journalists who investigate such

allegations.

Action

Please write immediately in English, Somali or your own

language:

◌ Calling on the Somali authorities to drop all charges against

Abdiaziz Abdnur Ibrahim and others detained in connection

with the case, and or their immediate and unconditional

release;

◌ Calling upon them, until their release, to allow Abdiaziz

Abdnur Ibrahim and others detained in connection with the

case ull access to lawyers, doctors and amily members.

Appeals to

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE MARCH 13th, 2013 O:

Minister o Interior and National Security

H.E. Abdikaram Hussein Guled,

Ministry o Interior

Mogadishu,

SOMALIA

Email: [email protected]

Salutation: Dear Minister

Minister o Justice

H.E. Abdullahi Abyan Nur

Ministry o Justice

Mogadishu,

SOMALIA



State Minister o the Presidential Palace

H.E Farah Sheikh Abdulkader

Oce o the President

Mogadishu,

SOMALIA



Within the United States

$0.31 - Postcards

$0.45 - Letters and Cards up to 1 oz.

To Canada$0.80 - Postcards

$0.80 - Airmail Letters and Cards up to 1 oz.

To Mexico

$0.84 - Postcards


To all other destination countries

$1.05 - Postcards


Postage Rates

»




Copies to

Ambassador Elmi Ahmed Duale

Embassy o Somalia,

2600 Virginia Avenue Northwest,

Washington, DC 20037-1905

Phone: 1 202 338 8693

INDONESIA: Action Update - Religious freedom under attack as Shi’avillagers face evictionJanuary 15, 2013

according to their wishes, and help them to rebuild the home

that were damaged or destroyed,” said Isabelle Arradon o

Amnesty International’s Asia Pacic Programme.

“Tey must also end discrimination against religious minori-

ties in the country and investigate reports that the local and

provincial authorities are coercing Shi’a ollowers to renounce

their aith beore they are allowed to return to their homes.”

“Tose involved in the attack on the Shi’a community in

August must also be brought to justice in proceedings which

meet international standards o airness, without the imposi-

tion o the death penalty.”

Conditions in the displaced Shi’a community’s temporary

shelter have continued to deteriorate.

Since January Ist, the East Java provincial police have with-drawn the ocers who had been protecting the community.

In late December, the local authorities halted ood supplies

and medical services. Tey had previously cut o ood sup-

plies on November 22nd which had resumed on December

4th. Some o the children in the shelter have allen sick over

the last ew weeks.

“Te Indonesian authorities must ensure that the community

is granted immediate access to essential services such as ood

and health services. In particular, more needs to be done to

ensure that children who are currently unwell get access to

adequate medical care,” said Isabelle Arradon.

Te community, rom Karang Gayam village in the Sampang

district, were displaced in August 2012 when an anti-Shi’a

mob o around 500 people attacked the community with

sharp weapons and stones.

One person was killed and dozens were injured. Te mob also

set re to 35 houses belonging to the Shi’a community. Five

people have so ar been charged with the attack.

At the December Writeathon and potluck, many of you signed

a petition regarding this case. Te problems these displaced

persons are facing continue, and Amnesty continues to moni-

tor their situation. Below is a recent press release. If you wish to

write or fax on their behalf, please email me and I will re-send

you the Urgent Action. Tanks, -Max

Max WhiteCountry Specialist, Indonesia and imor-Lesté

Amnesty International USA

503-292-8168

[email protected]

he threatened orced relocation o a Shi’a community living

in temporary shelter in East Java is yet more evidence o the

continuing discrimination against religious minorities in

Indonesia, said Amnesty International.

An estimated 165 Shi’as, including 48 children, have been liv-

ing in inadequate conditions at a sports complex in Sampang

district on Madura Island since August 2012 when they were

displaced aer their village was attacked by a mob.

Credible local sources told Amnesty International that the

authorities have given the villagers until March to convert

to Indonesia’s majority religion Sunni Islam i they wish to

return to their homes.

“Te Indonesian authorities must guarantee the sae, voluntary

and dignied return o the Shi’a community to their homes,

Ri c ar d o C h ah a d S

t o c k .X c h n g

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In May 2012, during its Universal Periodic Review at the Hu-

man Rights Council, the Indonesian government rearmed

its commitment to ensuring the protection o reedom o

religion and to address cases o religious intolerance.

However religious minority groups in Indonesia, including

Shi’a, Ahmadiyya and Christian communities, still ace ha-

rassment, intimidation and attacks. Tose who commit acts o

violence against religious minorities are rarely punished and

communities have been displaced by attacks.

In a similar case, in Lombok, East Nusa enggara province,

an Ahmadiyya community have been living or six years in

inadequate housing aer their homes were attacked and burnby a mob in February 2006. Te authorities have ailed to

resolve their situation or bring those responsible to justice.

Te right to reedom o religion or belie is guaranteed in Ar-

ticle 18(1) o the International Covenant on Civil and Politi-

cal Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a state party. For

more inormation visit, http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/

indonesia-religious-reedom-under-attack-shia-villagers-ace

eviction-2013-01-15

CHAD: End Human Rights Violations in PrisonsPrisoners have very limited access to medical and health care;

they lack ood, drinkable water, adequate sanitary acilities,

and other basic necessities such as bedding and clothes. Tere

are no specic acilities or children, who are detained in the

same cells as adults. In some prisons there was no separation

between women and men’s courtyards putting them at signi-

cant risk o gender-based and sexual violence. Even in prisons

where women had separate accommodation it was easy or

male prisoners and guards to move to and rom the women’s

courtyard and cells. Chad’s prisons sometimes operate at130% above their intended capacity.

Action

Please write letters and axes to the ollowing the Chadian

authorities and ask them to insure that living conditions in

prisons are compatible with human dignity and respect hu-

man rights. Te Chadian authorities should provide a clean

and hygienic environment or all those held in its prisons

including:

◌ Providing clean water and adequate sanitation acilities,

◌ Insuring that prisoners rom the overcrowded Amsinene

prison in N’Djamena are transerred to other adequate acili-

ties in N’Djamena taking into consideration the individual

needs o the prisoners,

◌ Insuring that each prison is provided with a clinic with

available basic medicines and equipped with basic medical

emergency acilities such as gloves, laboratory kits, etc.,

◌ Making at least one qualied medical doctor available to

conduct regular clinic work at each prison,

In the October 2012, an action targeting prison conditions in

Chad was published in the newsletter aer publication o the

Amnesty International report “Chad: “We are all dying here”

Human Rights violations in prisons (AFR 20/007/2012).” Te

report highlighted that prison conditions in Chad are harsh,

and ar below international standards. Most prisons are very

old, dilapidated and overcrowded. Prisoner’s basic human

rights, including the right to security o persons and reedomrom cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment

are oen violated. Unortunately, more action is needed to

address these inhumane conditions.

Background

Amnesty International visited six prisons in 2011 and 2012.

All were severely overcrowded. Some prisoners are victims o

acts amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or

punishment by prison sta or other inmates, including mem-

bers o prison gangs who enjoy almost total impunity.

Br en d anB on s a ck S t o c k .X c h n g

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◌ putting in place eective legislation or the implementation

o the October 4, 2011 Ordinances On Prisons and making

sure that all prison sta are inormed about Harmonizing the

working relations between the National and Nomadic Guard

o Chad (Garde Nationale et Nomade du chador GNN)

and the gendarmerie in charge o the prisons by issuing clear

orders to all prison directors and the GNN that clariy how

they are to work together to improve prison management.

Postcards, axes, and regular mail are preerable. Emails to

Chad are not ideal since Chadian websites are not reliable or

delivering “Contact us” emails and personal emails or o-

cials are oen blocked when criticism comes en masse.

Te ollowing sample letter can be reproduced or signatures,

but activists are urged to ormat and write their own i they

can. Letters can be written in English, but i members can

write in French that is excellent too.

PLEASE send any replies you get back to errie Rodello at

[email protected] so that we can share them with the Interna-

tional Secretariat.

Sample Letter

Your Excellency,I am writing to you about Amnesty International’s recent

research report concerning prison conditions in Chad. I was

alarmed to hear that prison conditions in Chad are harsh, di-

lapidated and severely overcrowded, and that the basic human

rights o prisoners are not protected. Tis is in direct violation

o your country’s international human rights treaty and legal

obligations.

Amnesty International visited six prisons in 2011 and 2012

and observed that prisoners are victims o acts amounting

to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by

prison sta or other inmates, including members o prison

gangs who enjoy almost total impunity. Prisoners have very

limited access to medical and health care; they lack ood,

drinkable water, adequate sanitary acilities, and other basic

necessities such as bedding and clothes. Tere are no specic

acilities or children detained in the same cells as adults. In

some prisons there is no separation between women and

men, putting prisoners at risk o gender-based sexual vio-

lence.

Please use your infuence to insure that living conditions

in prisons are compatible with human dignity and respect

human rights. Tere should be a clean and hygienic environ-ment or all, including clean water and adequate sanitation

acilities. Prisoners rom the overcrowded Amsinene prison in

N’Djamena should be transerred to other adequate acilities

in N’Djamena taking into consideration the individual needs

o the prisoners. Each prison should be provided with a clinic

with basic medicines and medical emergency equipment such

as gloves and laboratory kits, and at least one qualied medi-

cal doctor available to conduct regular clinic work. You need

to put in place eective legislation or the implementation o

the October 4, 2011 Ordinances on Prisons and make sure

that all prison sta is inormed about the ordinances.

Finally, you need to harmonize the working relations between

the Garde Nationale et Nomade du chad and the gendar-

merie in charge o the prisons by issuing clear orders to all

prison directors and the GNN that clariy how they are to

work together to improve prison management.

Tank you or your attention to my sincere concerns in this

matter,

Amnesty Member

Appeals toIdriss Deby Itno, President o Chad

His Excellency Idriss Déby Itno

President o Chad

Présidence de la République

BP 74

N’Djamena

République du chad

REPUBLIC OF CHAD

Fax: 011 00235 251 45 01

Salutation: Your Excellency,

Copies toPlease also ax, email or mail a copy o your letter to Chad’s

Ambassador to the United States at:

His Excellency Maïtine Djoumbe

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary o the Repub-

lic o Chad

Embassy o the Republic o Chad

2401 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

http://embassyochad.ino/index.php/en/

FAX: (202) 758-0431




CHINA: Urgent Action - Chinese Woman Faces Imminent Execution, Deathpenalty, Imminent execution, Unfair trialLi Yan (f)

ered and evidence provided by witnesses, the court upheld

the death sentence. Her last appeal to the Supreme People’s

Court in Beijing was dismissed.

Additional Information

Violence against women, including domestic violence, is a

violation o human rights and is a orm o discrimination

under the UN Convention on the Elimination o all Forms o

Discrimination Against Women, to which China is a party.

Under the Convention, China is obliged to exercise due

diligence to prevent violence against women and to eectivelyinvestigate all allegations o such violence and prosecute the

suspects in air trials, whether they are state actors or private

actors like Li Yan’s husband. China is also required to ensure

reparations, including compensation to victims o violence

like Li Yan (Committee on the Elimination o all Forms o

Discrimination Against Women, General Recommendation

19, A/47/38 (1992)).

In January 2007, the practice o having the Supreme People’s

Court (SPC) review all death sentences was restored. It had

been suspended in 1982. All death sentences must now bereviewed by the SPC, which has the power to approve death

sentences or remand cases or retrial.

Amnesty International has serious concerns about the air-

ness o trials in death penalty cases. Tere are also signicant

gaps between the law, practice and international commit-

ments made by China to uphold international air trial

standards. Tere is also limited access to legal counsel and

the police oen extract conessions through torture or other

ill-treatment.

Te SPC’s review process is not transparent and there are noclemency procedures or condemned prisoners aer they

have exhausted their appeals through the courts. Article 6(4)

o the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

which China has signed but not ratied, grants the right to

anyone sentenced to death to seek pardon or commutation o

the sentence.

Te death penalty is applicable to at least 55 oenses in

China. Although the government eliminated 13 crimes

punishable by death in 2011, it retains the death penalty or

A Chinese woman who killed her husband aer suering

months o domestic violence is at imminent risk o execution,

aer exhausting all her appeals.

According to sources within China, Li Yan is currently held at

Anyue County Detention center in Sichuan province, south-

west China. Li Yan could be executed any day between now

and Chinese New Year in early February. Li Yan’s ex-husband,

an Yong, abused her emotionally and physically rom their

marriage in early 2009. He requently beat her, stubbed ciga-

rettes out on her ace and during the reezing Sichuan winters

locked her outside on the balcony o their apartment or

several hours with little clothing. On one occasion, he cut o

one o her ngers.

Li Yan required hospital treatment or her injuries aer one

attack, and contacted the authorities several times including

the police. However, they did not ollow-up her complaints,initiate investigations or oer her any protection.

In late 2010, Li Yan beat her husband to death with a gun.

Li Yan was sentenced to death on August 24th, 2011 by the

Ziyang City Intermediate People’s Court or intentional ho-

micide under article 232 o the Chinese Criminal Code. She

appealed against the death sentence but the Sichuan Provin-

cial Higher People’s Court upheld the verdict on August 20th,

2012. Despite Li Yan’s testimonies about the abuse she su-

Wi mz z S t o c k .X c h n g

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many non-violent crimes, including corruption and drugs

related oenses. Te Chinese authorities have reported a drop

in executions since the SPC resumed this review but have de-

clined to release relevant statistics which remain classied as a

state secret. Legal academics and court ocials in China have

occasionally been quoted estimating the decrease at between

10–15 per cent each year since 2007. As inormation on the

application o the death penalty remains shrouded in secrecy

in China, it is impossible to make a ull and inormed analysis

o death penalty developments, or to veriy i there has been

such a reduction in its use. Amnesty International estimates

that China executes thousands o people every year and cer-

tainly more than the rest o the world combined.

Action

Please write immediately in Chinese or your own language:

◌ Urging the Chinese authorities not to implement Li Yan’s

death sentence;

◌ Calling on them to ensure that Li Yan has access to her

amily;

◌ Urging the National People’s Congress to introduce a legal

procedure or requesting clemency in line with China’s obliga-

tions under international human rights law;

◌ Urging the Chinese authorities to take all allegations o

domestic violence seriously, conduct eective investigations

and, where there is sucient admissible evidence, prosecute

suspects in air trials.

Appeals to

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE MARCH 7th, 2013 O:

Supreme People’s Court President

WANG Shengjun Yuanzhang

Zuigao Renmin Fayuan

27 Dongjiaomin Xiang

Beijingshi 100745

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Fax: 011 86 10 65292345

Salutation: Dear President

National People’s Congress Standing Committee Chairman

WU Bangguo Weiyuanzhang

Quanguo Renda Changwu Weiyuanhui Bangongting

23 Xijiaominxiang, Xichengqu

Beijingshi 100805


Email: [email protected] (please send attachment only)Salutation: Dear Chairman

Copies to

HU Jintao Guojia Zhuxi

Te State Council General Oce

2 Fuyoujie, Xichengqu

Beijingshi 100017


Fax: 011 86 10 63070900

Salutation: Dear President

Ambassador

Zhang Yesui

Embassy o the People’s Republic o China

3505 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

el: 202 495-2266

Fax: 1 202 495-2138


Please check with your section oce i sending appeals aer

the above date.

Group Coordinator

Joanne Lau

[email protected]

Treasurer

Tena Hoke

[email protected]

Newsletter Editor

Dan Webb

[email protected]

Concert Tabling

Will Ware

[email protected]

Legislative Coordinator

Dan Johnson

[email protected]

Central Africa / OR State

Death Penalty Abolition

Terrie Rodello

[email protected]

Indonesia

Max White

[email protected]

Central America

Marylou Noble

marylou_noble@

yahoo.com

Darfur (Sudan)

Marty [email protected]

North Korea

Erica Swiberg

[email protected]

Prisoners’ Cases

Jane Kristof

[email protected]

Cornelia Cerf

Ron Noble

[email protected]

AIUSA Group 48 Contact Inormation




MALI: Civilians At Risk From All Sides Of The Conict

January 31, 2013Malian army arrested and extrajudicially executed more thantwo dozen civilians, mainly in the northern city o Sévaré.

Eye witnesses in Sévaré described how they saw soldiers

dump the bodies o several people into a well in the Waïludé

neighbourhood.

“Once the bodies had been thrown and were in the well, [the

soldiers] red two or three bursts o machine gun re into the

well,” one witness said.

People spoke o how the Malian security orces apparently

targeted people they suspected o ties to Islamist armed

groups – oen on very tenuous grounds, such as the clothes

they were wearing or their ethnic origin.

"Many people are genuinely araid o being arrested, or worse,

by the military. Te security orces must ensure that people

are protected rom any reprisals based on ethnicity or per-

ceived political sympathy," said Mootoo.

“Te authorities should also immediately launch an indepen-

dent and impartial investigation into any reports o extrajudi-

cial executions by the armed orces, and suspend any securitypersonnel suspected o involvement in human rights viola-

tions.”

Te Malian army has additionally carried out arbitrary arrests

o people suspected o ties to the militants. Amnesty Interna-

tional spoke to several detainees who reported being beaten

or otherwise ill-treated while in detention.

Amnesty International documented reports o Islamist armed

groups carrying out extrajudicial executions.

Eye witnesses described how militants summarily killed veinjured Malian soldiers as well as one civilian in the town o

Diabaly on January 14th and 15th, ollowing its capture by

militant groups.

Additionally, there is mounting evidence that Islamist mili-

tants have been orcibly recruiting and using child soldiers in

their ranks.

In Diabaly, several people described how they had seen

children, some as young as ten years old, armed with rifes

together with Islamist ghters.

he Malian army has committed serious human rights

breaches plus violations o international humanitarian law

(IHL) during the ongoing confict against armed groups in

the country, including extrajudicial executions o civilians,

according to evidence gathered by Amnesty International

during a 10-day mission to the West Arican state.

A new brieng based on the mission also outlines concerns

that Islamist armed groups have committed o serious human

rights abuses and violations o IHL, including unlawul kill-ings and the recruitment o child soldiers.

Additionally, there is evidence that at least ve civilians,

including three children, were killed in an airstrike carried

out as part o a joint operation by the French and the Malian

armies in order to stop the oensive o the Islamist armed

groups.

“As ghting is continuing in Mali, all parties to the confict

must ensure that they respect international humanitarian law

– and in particular to ensure the humane treatment o captiveswhile taking all necessary precautions to minimise harm to

civilians,” said Gaëtan Mootoo, Amnesty International’s Mali

Researcher.

During its visit, the Amnesty International delegation con-

ducted research in the towns o Ségou, Sévaré, Niono, Konna

and Diabaly.

Amnesty International collected witness testimonies that on

10 January 2013, on the eve o the French intervention, the

P a t r yk B u ch ci k S t o c k .X c h n g

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Postage


AIUSA group 48 Newsletter February 2013

In Ségou, Amnesty International was able to interview two

captured child soldiers – one o whom showed signs o men-

tal illness.

“Te boy was silent and downcast, and wasn't able to talk to us

– it was like his mind wasn’t ully there,” said Mootoo.

“Te recruitment o child soldiers has to stop immediately,

and any still in the ranks o the Islamist armed groups should

be released.”

Tere is also disturbing evidence to indicate that ve civilians

– including a mother and her three young children – were

killed in an air strike launched in the context o a counter o-ensive carried out by the French and Malian armies.

Te strike occurred on the morning o January 11th, 2013, the

rst day o the French intervention, in the town o Konna.

French ocials have told Amnesty International that they did

not carry out any attacks at that time in Konna, while a senior

member o the Malian government and a Malian high rank-

ing military ocial conrmed to the organization that a joint

operation had begun targeting the town in the morning o

January 11th with the participation o the French military.

“It is absolutely imperative that France and Mali launch inves-

tigations into who carried out this attack. Any ndings have

to be ully disclosed so it can be determined i there has been

any breach o international law,” said Mootoo.

Group 48 Newsletter - February 2013

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Transcript of Group 48 Newsletter - February 2013