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Burkina Faso: Video Shows Soldiers Disemboweling Body
(Nairobi) – Burkina Faso authorities should urgently and impartially investigate a video posted on social media showing Burkinabè army soldiers mutilating and disemboweling a dead body, Human Rights Watch said today. All those found responsible for wrongdoing should be appropriately prosecuted, regardless of their rank.
The video, which circulated on social media in late July 2024, shows at least 18 men, wearing identifiable army uniforms, standing by while 2 use knives to disembowel a decapitated and dismembered human body. In a July 24 statement, the Burkinabè army chief of staff, Maj. Col. Célestin Simporé, condemned “these macabre acts at the opposite ends of moral and military values.” He claimed that “steps have been taken” to find the location of the footage and those responsible but did not announce a criminal investigation.
“The gruesome video showing soldiers mutilating a body underscores the pervasive lack of accountability for atrocities that military units have committed in Burkina Faso in recent years,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Burkinabè authorities should immediately open a transparent and impartial investigation of this brutal incident and appropriately punish all those responsible.”
Human Rights Watch reviewed the 81-second video, interviewed 5 people with knowledge of the incident, and received expert assessment from a physician specializing in forensics. Technical experts in media forensics also analyzed the video file.
In the video, a man in an army uniform with a distinctive Burkina Faso flag on his left shoulder is seen leaning over the mutilated body on the ground. A head lies nearby, alongside the body of a second dead person. The uniformed man plunges a knife into a point just below the sternum and starts cutting. He then plunges his arm into the cavity and appears to be trying to remove body parts without success.
Another man in an army uniform, using what appears to be a small sword, makes cuts into the body, hacking at the sternum 24 times, opening the body’s chest. The first man then takes his knife and cuts what appears to be an organ out of the body. He stands holding the organ while others in army uniform crowd around him. Some exclaim in French, “La patrie ou la mort!” (For the homeland or death!): a common Burkinabè slogan linked to the late Burkinabè revolutionary leader, Thomas Sankara, in the 1980s and adopted by the current military junta.
Four of the men wear the colors of the Burkina Faso national flag on the left lapel of their military jackets or t-shirts, consistent with the Burkinabè military uniform. The men in uniform can be heard saying in French that they are members of the Rapid Intervention Battalion 15 (Bataillon d’Intervention Rapide, BIR-15), a special force involved in counterinsurgency operations against Islamist armed groups, and of the army unit “Cobra 2,” an elite force associated with Burkina Faso’s president, Ibrahim Traoré.
Many of the men shown in the video are carrying Kalashnikov-style assault rifles and are wearing protective tactical vests. Three are wearing military helmets. Their equipment is consistent with that seen in a video published on YouTube in December 2023 by Burkinabè state television to announce the creation of new Rapid Intervention Battalions. The man who appears to remove the organ is carrying a pistol.
In November 2022, President Traoré created six Rapid Intervention Battalions to support military operations against Islamist armed groups. The number of these special forces units has since quadrupled to at least 25. BIR-15 was created by presidential decree on October 25, 2023, and Traoré appointed Capt. Paul Belem as its commander two days later.
The Burkinabè media have reported that BIR-15 is stationed in Gaoua, South-West region, suggesting that the video might have been filmed there, or in surrounding regions, all of which have been affected by the conflict. Two sources, including one close to the army, told Human Rights Watch that the video was filmed between April and May near Nouna, in the Boucle du Mouhoun region.
Human Rights Watch was not independently able to identify where and when the video was filmed, but the languages heard in the video – French, Moore, and Bobo – and the military uniforms worn by the group involved suggest a Burkina Faso location. Human Rights Watch found no version of the video available online before July 23, 2024. Experts in media forensics and artificial intelligence generation and manipulation from the Deepfakes Rapid Response Force, an initiative of WITNESS, a nongovernmental organization, analyzed the video file and concluded that there was no significant evidence of AI manipulation.
The army chief said in his statement that the men in the video were “alleged members of the Burkinabè defense and security forces and of the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (Volontaires pour la défense de la patrie, VDPs).” These are local civilian auxiliaries, first used in 2020, who accompany soldiers during their operations. Since taking power in a September 2022 coup, President Traoré has increased the use of VDPs, and in October 2022, he began a campaign to recruit 50,000 more. The uniforms and the equipment of the men in the video appear to confirm the involvement of defense and security forces, Human Rights Watch said.
In Burkina Faso’s armed conflict, both government security forces and Islamist armed groups have committed numerous atrocities with impunity, fueling cycles of abuse and retaliation. Human Rights Watch has previously documented serious human rights abuses by Rapid Intervention Battalions and VDPs, including the massacre of at least 156 civilians, including 45 children, in the village of Karma, Yatenga province, in April 2023. BIR soldiers were also implicated in the summary executions of at least 223 civilians, including 56 children, in the villages of Soro and Nondin in February.
Burkina Faso government forces have been fighting the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen, JNIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) since the armed groups entered the country from neighboring Mali in 2016. The groups control large swathes of territory in the country, have attacked civilians as well as government security forces, and have also fought each other. The conflict has killed thousands of people since 2016 according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a disaggregated data collection, analysis, and crisis-mapping project, and forced over two million people from their homes.
Customary international humanitarian law applicable to the conflict in Burkina Faso prohibits the “mutilation of dead bodies.” Mutilating bodies in non-international armed conflicts is the war crime of “committing outrages upon personal dignity” under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to which Burkina Faso is a party. Under international human rights law, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has indicated that the disrespectful treatment of human remains may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of the family of the dead.
“The Burkinabè authorities should rein in abusive military units and civilian auxiliaries and fully investigate and prosecute those implicated in abuse,” Allegrozzi said. “Concerned governments need to press the military junta to put an end to the atrocities like those found in the video.”
Guinea: High Stakes Verdict in Stadium Massacre Trial Nears
(Brussels) – A domestic court in Guinea is scheduled to deliver a verdict, including on reparations claims, on July 31, 2024, in the landmark trial of 11 men accused of responsibility for the country’s horrific 2009 stadium massacre, Human Rights Watch said today. The organization has released an updated question-and-answer document about the proceedings.
On the morning of September 28, 2009, several hundred members of Guinea’s security forces burst into a stadium in the country’s capital, Conakry, and opened fire on tens of thousands of opposition supporters peacefully gathered there. By late afternoon, at least 150 Guineans lay dead or dying in and around the stadium complex, and dozens of women at the rally suffered brutal sexual violence at the hands of security forces. Following the violence, security forces organized a cover-up, burying bodies in mass graves.
“The anticipated judgement provides a long-awaited moment of truth for victims and their families who have repeatedly called for holding the people responsible for the 2009 stadium massacre to account,” said Tamara Aburamadan, international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch. “Fifteen years on, victims and survivors deserve justice.”
The question-and-answer document details the following:
Key background to the trial;11 defendants’ identities and their trial rights;Guinea’s current political context;Key challenges during the proceedings and open questions around delays, security, resources, and the prosecution’s request to reclassify the charges as crimes against humanity;The role of victims and survivors in the trial and the right of victims to reparations;Recommendations to Guinean authorities and international entities to continue to support justice efforts.An annex to the document provides a detailed summary recapping 18 months of trial proceedings, based on Human Rights Watch’s monitoring and media reports.
The trial is the first of its kind against high-level officials for committing human rights atrocities of this scale in the country. These landmark trial proceedings were followed and discussed nationwide across Guinea.
The verdict day is expected to attract attention, similar to the opening day of the trial on September 28, 2022. The courtroom was packed with victims and their family members and media, while the trial was broadcast live on Guinean television and on YouTube.
Guinean and international media as well as observers can follow the live broadcast of the verdict and can also seek accreditation to attend the hearing in Conakry.
The trial deserves international attention due to the gravity of the crimes and also because it shows that domestic courts are essential in combating impunity. Lessons from Guinea could have an important role to play in encouraging best practices in the country and globally, Human Rights Watch said.
Venezuela: Repression Mars Key Upcoming Election
(Bogota) - Governments in Latin America, the United States and Europe should spare no diplomatic efforts to protect the right to vote of Venezuelans ahead of the presidential election scheduled for July 28, 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. They should enhance their scrutiny of Venezuela before, during, and in the weeks following election day.
Arrests of opposition members, arbitrary disqualifications of opposition candidates, and efforts to further restrict civic space have severely marred the electoral process in Venezuela. The elections are taking place in a context ofyears of systematic human rights abuses by the government and a severe humanitarian crisis that has forced roughly eight million people to leave the country.
“While the election in Venezuela will hardly be free or fair, Venezuelans have their best chance in over a decade to elect their government, and the international community should have their back as they do,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “The United States, Brazil, Colombia and the European Union should use all the diplomatic tools at their disposal to protect Venezuelans’ right to vote.”
On October 17, 2023, the Venezuelan opposition and the government signed the Barbados Agreement, in which they agreed to honor political parties’ right to choose their presidential candidates and to hold the presidential election in the second half of 2024, among other electoral protections. The United States agreed to temporarily lift certain sanctions in exchange for a commitment to hold free and fair elections.
It also released Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman with close ties to the Nicolás Maduro’s government in Venezuela who had been indicted for money laundering. However, as the Maduro government did not fully satisfy its commitments under the agreement, in January and April 2024 the United States re-established some of those sanctions.
The electoral process has been marred by human rights violations and irregularities that have kept the playing field uneven. The Supreme Court has imposed leaders who support the government on opposition parties, undermining the parties’ autonomy. In late June 2023, the Comptroller General’s Office announced that María Corina Machado, the leader of the opposition, was barred from running. In October 2023, she won a primary election organized by the opposition, with more than 90 percent of the vote. However, in January 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the decision to bar her, as well as Henrique Capriles, another opposition leader.
Machado then proposed professor Corina Yoris to run in her place, but the electoral authority did not allow her to register her candidacy. In March 2024, the electoral authority allowed Edmundo González, a former diplomat, to register as the opposition Unitary Platform nominee for president.
The government has repeatedly committed systematic human rights violations against critics and opposition leaders, Human Rights Watch said.
The pro-bono legal group Foro Penal reported that 114 people have been arrested in politically motivated cases in 2024; 102 are linked to Machado and González, and 77 of these arrests occurred after the beginning of the political campaign on July 4. Those arrested include 27 people who worked or volunteered for Machado’s party, Vente Venezuela. Six other people have sought refuge in the Argentine embassy in Caracas, after authorities threatened to arrest them.
While González and Machado—who supports him—have for the most part been allowed to campaign, Venezuelan authorities have harassed people perceived as supporting them, including by reportedly closing or fining restaurants or hotels used by Machado and detaining people who provided logistical services such as sound equipment for her rallies.
On July 17, Maduro, who has been in power since 2013 and is running for re-election, said there would be a “bloodbath” in Venezuela if he lost.
Only a handful of international observers with limited capacity will be present during the elections. The Carter Center, one of them, said it “will not conduct a comprehensive assessment of the voting, counting, and tabulation processes.” The UN will send an Electoral Technical Team, which will not issue public statements, and will produce a confidential report.
In May, the National Electoral Council withdrew an invitation to the European Union to observe the elections, a move that contradicted the Barbados Agreement. On July 17, in response to an invitation from the opposition, a group of European Parliament members agreed to send an accompanying electoral delegation to be present during the election day.
Foreign governments should follow the election closely and publicly condemn any additional steps to undermine the right to vote, including further arbitrary arrests and disqualifications, improper changes to ballots, and arbitrary government intervention in the functioning of opposition political parties.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres should remain attentive to the electoral process in Venezuela and be prepared to take further action based on reports from the Electoral Technical Team.
On July 22, President Luíz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil urged Maduro to recognize the election results. “I am frightened by Maduro’s statement that if he loses the elections, there will be a bloodbath,” Lula said in a media interview. “Maduro needs to learn that when you win, you stay; and when you lose, you leave—and prepare for the next election.”
The governments of Presidents Gustavo Petro in Colombia and Lula in Brazil should use their access to the Venezuelan government to press for an end to the persecution of opposition leaders and supporters, to protect all voters’ ability to vote, and make sure all votes are properly counted, Human Rights Watch said. They should encourage Venezuela’s government to prevent violence and promote a fully rights-respecting electoral process.
The administration of US President Joe Biden should continue to use its leverage, including conditioned targeted sanctions, to promote respect for people’s vote on election day and during the following weeks.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, is conducting an investigation into crimes against humanity in Venezuela. The prosecutor should remind Venezuelan authorities that renewed repression that amounts to crimes within the court’s jurisdiction could be subject to his investigation. The ICC is a court of last resort, stepping in only when national authorities are genuinely unwilling or unable to do so.
“Venezuelans have a narrow, but real, opportunity to make their voices heard,” Goebertus said. “The international community has a key role to play in pressing for Venezuelan voters' rights to be protected, and their votes counted.”
Prominent Rights Lawyer Shot in West Papua, Indonesia
When the human rights lawyer Yan Christian Warinussy returned home from work on July 17, his 10-year-old son, Mario, begged for ice cream. Warinussy took off his tie, packed his three children and their cousin into the car, and they headed to downtown Manokwari in Indonesia’s West Papua province.
Click to expand Image Yan Christian Warinussy outside the Manokwari criminal investigation unit, West Papua, Indonesia. © PrivateWarinussy, 60, is the head of the Institute for Research, Assessment, and Development of Legal Aid in Manokwari, and has led many important human rights cases over the last two decades. His work over the years has earned him some enemies.
On the way downtown, Warinussy stopped to withdraw cash from a bank ATM. As he crossed the street back to his waiting vehicle, he stood at the meter-wide street separator for traffic to clear. Suddenly, he told Human Rights Watch, he heard a sound, like a thud. “There was pain in my chest,” Warinussy said. “I immediately thought it was a shooting.”
“My reaction was to look at the roofs of the banks and stores to spot a sniper, but I saw nothing suspicious.”
When he got into the car, his daughter Winny cried out, “Dad, your chest is bleeding.”
They drove to a nearby Manokwari police station. The police took him to the hospital, where staff found a black tin pellet that dropped to the floor while Warinussy was undressing for his medical examination. The attending doctor said Warinussy had been spared any serious injury, and determined that the pellet likely hit a rib without deeply penetrating his body.
The West Papua police chief, Inspector General Jhonny Edison Isir, visited Warinussy in the hospital, and promised a thorough investigation.
Thus far, the police have recovered CCTV footage of a dark green Toyota Raize minivan passing by, allegedly with the shooter aiming at Warinussy at close range.
Warinussy is recuperating now at home, but his family, friends, and clients worry about further – more serious – attacks. The authorities need to conduct an impartial investigation to identify and prosecute all those responsible. The government needs to ensure that human rights defenders are properly protected, including those they face in court.
Niger: Rights in Free Fall a Year After Coup
(Nairobi) – The military authorities in Niger have cracked down on the opposition, media, and peaceful dissent since taking power in a coup one year ago, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said today.
They have arbitrarily detained former President Mohamed Bazoum, and at least 30 officials from the ousted government and people close to the deposed president, as well as several journalists. They have rejected oversight of military spending, contrary to claims to combat corruption. The Nigerien authorities should immediately release all those held on politically motivated charges; guarantee respect for fundamental freedoms, particularly the rights to freedom of expression, opinion, and association; and publicly commit to transparency and accountability in military spending.
“One year since the military coup, instead of a path toward respecting human rights and the rule of law, the military authorities are tightening their grip on opposition, civil society, and independent media,” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s regional director for West and Central Africa. “Niger’s military authorities should release Bazoum as well as all those detained on politically motivated charges and ensure their due process rights.”
On July 26, 2023, Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani and other Nigerien army officers of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (Conseil national pour la sauvegarde de la patrie, CNSP) overthrew Mohamed Bazoum, elected as president in 2021, and arbitrarily detained him, his family, and several members of his cabinet. In response to the coup, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on July 30, 2023, imposed sanctions, including economic sanctions, travel bans, and asset freezes, on the coup leaders and on the country more generally. On August 22, 2023, the African Union suspended Niger from its organs, institutions, and actions. On January 28, 2024, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali announced they would leave ECOWAS, and on February 24, ECOWAS lifted the sanctions on Niger.
Since the coup, Bazoum and his wife have been detained at the presidential palace in Niamey, the capital. The three organizations have repeatedly expressed concern about their well-being. In August 2023, the authorities announced plans to prosecute Bazoum for “high treason” and undermining national security, but he has yet to be brought before a judge. In September 2023, Bazoum filed a lawsuit with the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, citing violations of human rights against him and his family during his detention. In December 2023, the ECOWAS Court ruled that Bazoum was arbitrarily detained and called for his release. In April, the authorities initiated legal proceedings against Bazoum to lift his presidential immunity so he could be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed after he was elected president in 2021. On June 14 2024, Niger’s state court lifted the immunity following a proceeding that failed to meet basic due process and international fair trial standards, including the right to a defense.
Military authorities have also arbitrarily arrested at least 30 officials from the ousted government, including former ministers, members of the presidential cabinet, and people close to the deposed president, failing to grant them due process and fair trial rights. Lawyers representing those arrested said that their clients were detained in secret by the intelligence services, before being transferred to high-security prisons on trumped-up charges. At least four of them were granted bail in April, while all others were charged with “threatening state security,” among other offenses, before a military court, despite being civilians.
Since the 2023 coup, media freedom has been severely restricted in the country. The authorities have threatened, harassed, and arbitrarily arrested journalists, many of whom say they are self-censoring amid fear of reprisals.
On September 30, men who identified themselves as security force members arrested Samira Sabou, a blogger and journalist, at her mother’s home in Niamey. Sabou’s whereabouts remained unknown for seven days. The Niamey judicial police initially denied arresting her, but on October 7 she was transferred to the criminal investigations unit of the Niamey police, where her lawyer and her husband visited her. On October 11, she was charged with “production and dissemination of data likely to disturb public order” and released pending trial. No date has been set for the trial.
On January 29, the interior minister issued a decree suspending the activities of Maison de la Presse, an independent media organization, and announcing the creation of a new management committee for the media organization headed by the Interior Ministry’s Secretary General.
On April 13, security forces arrested Ousmane Toudou, a journalist and former communications adviser to the ousted president. In the days following the July 2023 coup, Toudou denounced the military takeover through a widely shared social media post. In May 2024, he was charged with “plotting against state security” and sent to pretrial detention.
On April 24, security forces arrested Soumana Maiga, the editor of the L’Enquêteur, after the newspaper reported a story published by a French newspaper about the alleged installation of listening equipment by Russian agents on official state buildings. He was taken before a judge in May, detained on a charge of infringement of national defense, and released pending trial on July 9.
Tchima Illa Issoufou, the Hausa language BBC radio correspondent in Niger, said that she received threats from members of the security forces accusing her of attempting to “destabilize Niger” because of her reporting on the security situation in the Tillabéri region, western Niger, where armed Islamist groups carry out attacks against both civilians and security forces. “I was attacked by junta supporters on social media,” she told Amnesty International in May after she fled Niger for another country. “They accused me of working under foreign influence.” On April 26, security forces arrested Ali Tera, a civil society activist whom Issoufou had interviewed.
On May 29, the justice and human rights minister issued a circular suspending all visits by human rights organizations to Nigerien prisons “until further notice,” in violation of national and international human rights law, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Niger ratified in 1988.
On June 12, the justice and human rights minister issued a news release announcing that a 2019 law on cyber-crime had been amended. The law, which criminalized the “dissemination, production and making available to others of data that may disturb public order or threaten human dignity through an information system,” was the basis of a crackdown on human rights, including the right to freedom of expression online in 2020. In 2022, the Bazoum government, following a sustained civil society campaign, amended the law, replacing prison sentences with fines for defamation-related crimes. The June 12 amendments, however, reinstate prison sentences.
“The long list of attacks on journalists over the past year demonstrates the authorities’ determination to restrict press freedom and the right of access to information,” said Drissa Traoré, secretary general of the FIDH. “The amendment of the 2019 cyber-crime law is a dangerous step back that could be used to silence any voice deemed to be dissenting, and certainly to further target human rights defenders, activists and journalists. The Niger authorities must reverse this decision and guarantee freedom of expression.”
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which Niger ratified in 1986, guarantee the rights to freedom of opinion and expression.
On February 23, Tiani, who vowed to fight corruption after taking power, signed an order repealing any control on military spending. The order states that “expenditure for the acquisition of equipment or materials or any other supplies, the performance of works or services for the defense and security forces […] shall be excluded from the scope of the legislation on public procurement and public accounting,” and shall also be exempt from taxation. Transparency in military budgeting and expenditure is crucial to addressing corruption and mismanagement and contributes to respect for human rights and the rule of law, adequate management of military expenditure, and government accountability, the organizations said.
“Public oversight of the military’s economic activities is not only critical for restoring civilian democratic rule and holding military officials accountable for abuses, but also for preventing the loss of public resources to corruption and mismanagement,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Niger authorities should commit to transparency and accountability by immediately disclosing verifiable financial information about military spending.”
No Justice for Rights Defender’s Death in Kyrgyzstan Prison
It has been four years since Azimjon Askarov, a human rights defender from southern Kyrgyzstan, died in custody. When he died on July 25, 2020, he had been in jail for ten years, subjected to torture and neglect. Towards the end, with his health deteriorating, he was denied release on humanitarian grounds.
An accomplished painter, journalist, and human rights defender, who worked on documenting prison conditions and police mistreatment of detainees, he would have turned 73 this year. He was widely respected internationally as a quietly determined political prisoner. His death shocked his many supporters.
Askarov, an ethnic Uzbek, had been serving a life sentence following an unfair trial related to the June 2010 interethnic conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan. He was found guilty on several trumped-up charges, including inciting ethnic hatred and complicity in the murder of a policeman by a group. In March 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Committee found that Askarov had been arbitrarily detained and called for his immediate release, to no avail.
Kyrgyzstan’s prison service said Askarov died of complications from Covid-19. An initial inquiry led by the same prison service was shut down in June 2021 due to what they claimed was a lack of evidence.
Following an international outcry, the investigation was reopened in September 2021 and assigned to the State Committee on National Security. However, despite repeated requests from Bir Duino, a human rights organization legally representing Askarov’s widow, Khadicha Askarova, this investigation has ignored requests for updates. That is despite a more recent court order requesting additional witness interviews.
In December 2023, Edil Baisalov, deputy chairman of the cabinet of ministers of the Kyrgyz government, said it an interview that he did not believe Askarov was guilty of the charges against him. “I have repeatedly expressed the sense that the plot of Askarov’s case does not correspond to the accusation that he in any way took part in any murders. It’s simply impossible to believe it, and there is not a single fact in his case that would indicate this.” Askarov was a “victim of these bloody events,” he said.
Askarov’s death is a shameful stain on Kyrgyzstan’s human rights record that can only be addressed by the Kyrgyz government respecting the UN Human Rights Committee’s decision, quashing Askarov’s conviction, completing an impartial investigation, and providing his family appropriate compensation and redress.
Anti-Corruption Protesters Arrested in Uganda
On July 23, police in Uganda’s capital Kampala detained at least 45 people protesting widespread corruption in the government.
The protest, partially inspired by recent youth-led protests in neighbouring Kenya, saw participation from young Ugandans who had mobilized online. The protesters’ demands include the resignation of Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, who had in February been named alongside other parliamentarians in a corruption exposé published on social media, and for the salaries of Ugandan parliamentarians, among the highest-paid in the world, to be reduced.
Police responded to the protest with force, arresting dozens of people and hurriedly charging them in court with the colonial-era “common nuisance” offense, which the government has long misused to suppress legitimate demonstrations.
The day before the protest, one of the participants, Praise Aloikin, told me: “We know we will be met with resistance from the government. But we hope this will normalize Ugandans to exercise their right to protest.” Aloikin was among those arrested on Tuesday and remanded to prison.
The police have continued to arrest young people connected to the protests, including three on Wednesday as they were attempting to hold a press conference.
The police said they had attempted to “dissuade the organizers” during a meeting on July 18. Aloikin, who attended that meeting, said the officials “just tried to create fear in us” and asked them: “Didn’t you see people die [in Kenya]?” Two days before the scheduled protests, Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni threatened protesters, saying they were “playing with fire.”
Ugandan authorities have regularly cracked down on activists, political opposition members, and human rights defenders daring to voice concerns about issues like oil sector development and police brutality.
This latest crackdown on protesters is a blatant violation of the rights to peaceful assembly and free speech, guaranteed in Uganda’s constitution and international law, and is indicative of the authorities’ intolerance toward dissent. The Ugandan authorities should drop the charges against these activists and instead listen to the concerns they are raising.
UAE: Unjust Convictions Follow Bangladesh Protests
(Beirut) – Emirati authorities arbitrarily detained, convicted, and sentenced to long prison terms 57 Bangladeshi protesters following a rapid trial based on their participation in peaceful demonstrations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Human Rights Watch said today. The sentences, ranging from 10 years to life in prison, followed abusively fast judicial proceedings that raise serious concerns about fairness and due process.
On July 19, groups of mostly Bangladeshi citizens who live in the UAE carried out peaceful solidarity protests in multiple locations across the country to stand with student protesters in Bangladesh. On July 20, the UAE’s attorney general announced an investigation into the protests and, just one day later, the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal announced the conviction and handed down sentences for all 57 defendants.
“There is no way defendants can receive a fair trial when the investigation was launched and completed, trial commenced, and verdict rendered in less than 48 hours,” said Joey Shea, United Arab Emirates researcher at Human Rights Watch. “These sentences make a mockery of justice and Emirati authorities should immediately release all those sentenced for peacefully protesting in solidarity.”
The UAE places severe restrictions on the rights to free expression, association, and assembly. Protests and demonstrations are fully prohibited under the country’s penal code, which violates both the UAE’s Constitution and international human rights standards, such as the Arab Charter on Human Rights to which the UAE is a party.
Human Rights Watch verified six videos of the protests posted to TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter) on July 19 or on the days following. The videos, filmed in the evening, show peaceful protesters chanting and marching down streets across the UAE, including Abu Dhabi, Ajman, and in two areas in Dubai: Al Satwa and Downtown Dubai. From these videos and others Human Rights Watch analyzed, none of the protesters were engaging in violent acts or using language to incite violence in their chants.
Violent clashes have broken out in Bangladesh after July 15, when government forces and supporters attacked students protesting 30 percent quotas in government jobs for families of war veterans who fought for the country’s independence in 1971. More than 150 people have been killed, thousands injured, and many arrested. Peaceful demonstrations of solidarity by Bangladeshi diaspora groups had been taking place in a number of other countries.
On July 21, the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal sentenced 53 Bangladeshi citizens to 10 years in prison, one to 11 years, and three to life, according to the Emirates News Agency (Wakalat Anba'a al Emarat, WAM), the UAE’s official state news agency. The court ordered the defendants to be deported upon completion of their terms and their electronic devices seized. The egregiously long sentences appear to have come after only one court session.
According to WAM, the sentences were based on charges related to “calling for demonstrations and inciting riots to pressure their home government.” The trial came after an investigation that apparently “confirmed [the defendants’] involvement in gathering in public, inciting unrest, disrupting public security, and promoting such gatherings and protests, including recording and disseminating audiovisual footage of these actions online.” The public prosecution sought the “maximum penalty” for the defendants. The statement referred to just one court appointed defense lawyer representing all the defendants.
On July 20, Hamad al Shamsi, the UAE’s attorney general, announced an investigation into the Bangladeshi citizens who “gathered and incited riots in several streets across the UAE.” On July 21, the Abu Dhabi court held the trial, announced the convictions, and handed down the sentences: all within 24 hours.
Protests and demonstrations are fully prohibited in the UAE. Article 212 of the 2021 penal code provides a life sentence for anyone who calls for, promotes, or leads a gathering in a public space “with the intent of committing riots, preventing or disrupting the implementation of laws and regulations, or disturbing public security, even if his call is not accepted.” Article 26 of the country’s 2021 cybercrimes law criminalizes the act of using the internet to “plan, organize, promote, or advocate demonstrations, marches, and the like without a permit from the competent authorities.”
The speed with which dozens of defendants were investigated, tried, and convicted raises serious concerns about the fairness of the judicial proceedings and amounts to an unfair trial, Human Rights Watch said.
One video posted on July 21 on TikTok recorded near the Dubai Mall in Downtown Dubai shows hundreds, possibly thousands, of protesters gathered on the road replicating slogans raised by the students in Bangladesh. In another video analyzed and verified by Human Rights Watch, protestors chant while marching through the streets of Al Satwa in Dubai and holding Bangladeshi flags and banners, one of which says “Bangladeshi Students.”
The videos were all filmed in the evening. In one video filmed in Ajman, a protester’s watch shows the time as 9:15 p.m.. In another video filmed in Al Satwa, Dubai, and posted on TikTok at 7:36 p.m. local time, the moon is low in the Dubai skyline, which matches the approximate time it was posted online. Three of the videos verified by Human Rights Watch have since been deleted or made private.
In a statement posted to the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on July 21, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed said that “more than 200 nationalities live side by side in the UAE, all contributing to the ongoing development of our nation. Security and safety are the bedrock of our society and we encourage everyone who calls the UAE home to uphold these principles of peaceful coexistence and understanding.”
In a statement to the government-backed news outlet Khaleej Times, the Bangladesh Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Bangladesh Consulate General in Dubai said “any kind of assembly, procession or shouting slogans, indulging in any activity that may create unrest, panic or confusion in the public mind, spreading rumor/propaganda, recording video of it or any such message/image/video on social media are strictly prohibited.” The statement continued: “[i]n case of engaging in such activities, the concerned person is likely to face more severe punishment including cancellation of visa, jail, fine, repatriation, and ban on entering this country in the future.”
Bangladeshi authorities, especially the UAE Embassy, should call on UAE authorities to release the detained 57 Bangladeshis, Human Rights Watch said.
The UAE relies heavily on over a million migrant workers from Bangladesh, the third highest share of the foreign population. Over 100,000 Bangladeshis traveled for employment to the UAE in 2022 alone, according to government statistics.
Migrant workers in the UAE experience serious labor abuses like wage theft, exorbitant recruitment fees, restrictions on job mobility, and passport confiscation. The UAE’s abusive kafala (visa sponsorship) system underpins these abuses as it ties migrant workers’ visas to their employers. Recruitment fees, while illegal, remain a ubiquitous aspect of UAE recruiting practices, and the country has failed to effectively limit such practices.
UAE-based migrant workers from climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh are exposed to escalating climate risks, especially when working in UAE’s extreme heat without adequate protection.
Workers, who unable to protest these horrific labor conditions due to the abusive kafala system, the ban on trade unions, and restricted freedom of speech and assembly, are being convicted unfairly for peacefully protesting for a cause unrelated to the UAE, Human Rights Watch said.
The Emirati government’s sustained assault on rights and freedom over the last decade has led to the complete closure of civic space, severe restrictions of freedom of expression and assembly, both online and offline, and the criminalization of peaceful dissent.
“The UAE claims to uphold principles of tolerance, peaceful coexistence and understanding, but arbitrarily detaining and sentencing peacefully protesting residents to life imprisonment indicates the appalling violation of these principles,” Shea said.
Ecuador: Slow Progress to End Sexual Violence in Schools
(New York) – The Ecuadorian government’s measures to respond to sexual violence in schools have not progressed at the scale and pace needed to ensure that all children are safe, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Despite commitments and measures by government institutions, sexual violence remains endemic in Ecuador’s schools and finding justice is often elusive for survivors.
July 24, 2024 “Like Patchwork”The 60-page report, “‘Like Patchwork’: Ecuador’s Slow Progress Tackling and Preventing School-Related Sexual Violence,” documents significant gaps in the government’s response to prevent and tackle abuses in Ecuador’s education system. Many schools still fail to report abuses or fully implement required protocols. Judicial institutions do not adequately investigate or prosecute sexual offenses against children, affecting survivors’ ability to find justice.
“Against a backdrop of insecurity, hundreds of children experience school-related sexual violence in Ecuador’s schools,” said Katherine La Puente, children’s rights coordinator at Human Rights Watch. “Ecuador’s response and prevention measures are not commensurate with the scale and urgent need to carry out its zero-tolerance commitment against school-related sexual violence.”
Human Rights Watch conducted 68 interviews with representatives of civil society organizations, lawyers, activists, experts, children’s rights defenders, and government officials in Ecuador. Human Rights Watch also reviewed and analyzed data on reported cases, investigations, and prosecutions of sexual violence provided by the Ministry of Education, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Judiciary Council.
Sexual and gender-based violence is a longstanding, pervasive problem in Ecuador’s schools. Over the last decade, 6,438 cases of sexual violence by teachers, school authorities, other school staff, janitors, and other students have been reported, affecting 7,303 children. In the last four years alone, between January 2020 and June 2024, Education Ministry data shows 2,827 cases. From January 2014 to June 2024, supplemental data provided by the Ministry shows bus drivers were reported abusers in 78 cases, raising the total number to 6,516. Barriers to reporting and a focus on protecting schools’ reputations over a child’s best interests lead to significant underreporting.
Increased levels of insecurity and violence in recent years, along with remote learning in response to pandemic or emergency-related school closures, have hampered government institutions’ ability to detect and respond to cases of sexual violence. Ecuadorian children’s rights groups and UN experts have sounded the alarm on the impact that the recent levels of violence have on children and their rights.
In June 2020, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled against Ecuador in Paola Guzmán Albarracín v. Ecuador, the court’s first case on school-related sexual violence. The Court ordered the government to take specific steps to prevent, address, and eradicate sexual violence in schools. These measures include improving detection and reporting of cases; training education staff regarding treatment and prevention; information, assistance and attention to victims and their families; and regularly updated statistical information.
Since 2020, Ecuador has taken significant steps to tackle sexual violence in schools and to expedite justice for survivors. The Public Policy to Eradicate Sexual Violence in Schools, which includes anticipated actions through 2030, coordinates the government’s approach for prevention, response, generation of information, and survivors’ access to justice and reparations.
In October 2023, the Education Ministry issued a National Strategy on Comprehensive Sexuality Education, also through 2030, requiring its application in all schools across the country. The government has also engaged in other inter-ministerial efforts to eradicate sexual violence in schools. Even with these important steps, there remain significant gaps in the government’s response and its compliance with the Inter-American Court’s orders, Human Rights Watch said.
Despite protocols requiring school staff to report cases of sexual violence, many cases go unreported. Human Rights Watch found that staff do not always know about or follow through with the Education Ministry’s binding protocols; that they may prioritize school prestige and reputation over the need to protect students, reduce abuse, and hold abusers accountable; and that there is a significant shortage of student welfare teams, including school psychologists and counselors. Budget cuts to initiatives for responding to school-based sexual violence have likely hampered their impact.
While the Ecuadorian government has made important advances in the roll-out of its strategy and curriculum, education authorities have often faced pushback and resistance on methodologies and tools developed to teach CSE. Some teachers and parents have objected to learning the material and teaching subjects, such as adolescent pregnancy prevention. Teachers and schools sometimes neglect topics such as gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity in school discussions, even though these are key concepts to understand sexual and reproductive health and to prevent sexual violence.
Human Rights Watch also found serious concerns about Ecuador’s judicial system, including limited expertise in dealing with cases of sexual and gender-based violence against adolescents and other children, a shortage of prosecutors countrywide, and limited availability of experts, such as psychologists, doctors, and sign language interpreters. Significant delays in judicial proceedings often mean that survivors wait years for cases to be concluded.
These concerns are compounded by the effects of a 2021 Constitutional Court ruling that found a teacher’s dismissal for sexual harassment of a student was disproportionate to his offense. Following the ruling, courts have reinstated at least 23 teachers whom the Education Ministry had found responsible for sexual violence.
The Ecuadorian government should adequately fund its prevention efforts and ensure that institutions are able to hire and fill in gaps in essential educational and prosecutorial staff, Human Rights Watch said. The government should ensure that judicial institutions effectively investigate and prosecute all cases of school-related sexual violence.
“The Ecuadorian government should reaffirm its commitment to decisively address sexual violence in schools,” La Puente said. “To effectively eradicate sexual violence in schools, Ecuador needs to end impunity and complicit behaviors that subject thousands of children to abuses and undermine children’s right to be safe in school.”
UN Body Calls for Release of Qatar Whistleblower
(Geneva) – Qatari authorities should immediately free a Jordanian former media manager for the 2022 men’s World Cup, Abdullah Ibhais, after a United Nations committee determined that he has been arbitrarily detained for nearly three years, FairSquare, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch said today.
Ibhais, a former media manager for the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Qatar’s World Cup organizing committee, was arrested in 2019, months after voicing concerns over the treatment of migrant workers on World Cup construction projects. FIFA, the international football governing body, refused to publicly support calls for Ibhais to receive a fair trial after he said that he had been the subject of a malicious prosecution. He was arrested again in November 2021 and is serving a three-year sentence for bribery.
“FIFA washed its hands of Abdullah Ibhais a month before the Qatar World Cup despite clear evidence of a grossly unfair trial in a prosecution instigated by their Qatari partners,” said Nick McGeehan, co-director of FairSquare, which has followed the case from the beginning. “This highly authoritative decision should compel them to act and publicly call for him to be freed and allowed to return to his young family.”
In August 2019, after a large group of migrant workers residing in the al-Shahaniya labor camp went on strike to protest unpaid wages, Ibhais provided evidence to his colleagues in the Supreme Committee that some of the workers were involved in stadium construction for the 2022 World Cup. He advised the committee to publicly acknowledge the involvement of their workers and focus on remedying the situation.
“Lying is not Qatar’s way, and should not be,” he told a senior colleague in one message. It was just weeks later, in November 2019, that Qatar’s World Cup organizers submitted a report to the police alleging that Ibhais had been engaged in bribery with the intent to harm state security.
Ibhais sought support from FIFA via its online whistleblowing platform in September 2021. In November 2021, FIFA stated that “any person deserves a trial that is fair” and said it would “continue to follow this matter closely,” but made no commitment to supporting Ibhais beyond this.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention took up the case after Ibhais’ family submitted a request in December 2022 contending that he had been imprisoned arbitrarily, on the basis of a demonstrably unfair trial.
In an official decision made public earlier in July 2024, the Working Group published a 13-page opinion on the case. It concluded that there was no legal basis for his detention, that his deprivation of liberty resulted from his exercise of his rights, and that there were multiple violations of his right to a fair trial, which included refusing to investigate his allegations of a coerced confession, denying him legal assistance, and denying him the right to access evidence.
The Qatari government was given two months to reply to the Working Group and to contest its serious allegations but did not reply. The Working Group called on the Qatari government to “release Mr. Ibhais and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.”
The UN determination aligns with reporting by FairSquare, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International that the case raised grave concerns.
Ibhais, a father of two boys, is due for release in October 2024, but because the court also imposed a fine alongside his custodial sentence, this could be extended to April 2025 if he cannot pay the fine.
Human Rights Watch has stated that the prosecution presented no credible supporting evidence that he committed any crime. The court of appeal confirmed that the only evidence they relied on was his confession, which he retracted in court, saying it was obtained by threats and coercion.
Amnesty International has called the trial unfair and stated that allegations that Ibhais was threatened and coerced into making incriminating confessions should be independently and effectively investigated.
“The UN Working Group has emphatically confirmed what many of us have been saying for years: that it is long past time for Qatari authorities to release Abdullah Ibhais, quash his conviction and ensure his right to an effective remedy, including adequate compensation,” said Aya Majzoub, deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International. “Everything about his ordeal, from the lack of due process and denial of family visits to the use of a forced confession, represents a travesty of justice that must immediately be brought to an end.”
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has the mandate to investigate cases of deprivation of liberty imposed arbitrarily or inconsistently with the international standards set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or the international legal instruments accepted by the states concerned. The Working Group consists of five independent experts of balanced geographical representation who investigate individual cases and produce reports and opinions to fulfil the mandate.
“Qatari authorities’ lack of response to the Working Group’s determination about the violations of fair trial rights in Abdullah Ibhais’ trial speaks volumes,” said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch. “Ibhais faced retaliation for simply raising concerns on widespread and well-documented migrant worker abuses like wage delays. Qatari authorities should immediately release him and compensate him for the unjust persecution he faced.”
South Korea’s Supreme Court Affirms Rights of Same-Sex Partners
On July 18, South Korea’s Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling affirming that the country’s National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) must extend dependent benefits to same-sex partners.
The plaintiff in the case, So Sung-uk, had registered his partner, Kim Young-min, as a dependent to obtain employer health insurance benefits. The NHIS initially accepted Kim as a dependent, but later revoked that status when its decision to recognize a same-sex couple was made public.
The Seoul High Court ruled in the couple’s favor in 2023, but the NHIS appealed that decision to the Supreme Court.
Human Rights Watch submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in advance of their decision, arguing that the exclusion of same-sex couples was discriminatory and violated international human rights law. The brief detailed international and regional precedents highlighting a state’s responsibility to recognize and protect same-sex relationships, the lack of such protections in South Korea, and the growing recognition of same-sex relationships in Asia and the Pacific Islands.
In its decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the High Court’s ruling and said that excluding same-sex couples from dependent benefits violated their right to equality as well as their privacy, dignity, and right to pursue happiness.
While the case specifically involved health insurance benefits, the decision provides significant support for same-sex couples seeking access to other state benefits that are currently extended to heterosexual couples who are married or recognized as de facto married, but continue to be withheld from same-sex couples.
South Korea’s lawmakers now have an opportunity to embrace the logic and values of the decision by acting to address the discriminatory treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the country. By enacting comprehensive antidiscrimination legislation and creating a framework to recognize and protect same-sex partnerships, lawmakers would be making significant strides in ensuring that LGBT people can more fully participate in social and economic life without discrimination.
Olympics: Abuse in Indian Wrestling Exposes Need for Global Hotline
(Nyon) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has failed to investigate or provide access to remedy for Indian wrestlers protesting sexual harassment and violence for more than a year, the Sport & Rights Alliance said in a report released today.
The report, ‘“We Were Only Demanding Justice”: Sexual Abuse in Indian Wrestling Federation’, details the pattern of sexual harassment and violence suffered by athletes during the 12-year tenure of then-President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Singh, who was also a Parliament member with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the time.
Guided by athletes with lived experience of abuse in sports, in the Athletes Network for Safer Sports, the Sport & Rights Alliance’s new report details the pattern of harassment and violence including unwanted touching, soliciting sexual acts from and committing sexual assault against women and girl athletes at national and international junior and women’s competitions, and other abuses.
In an interview with the Sport & Rights Alliance, two-time Olympian and Paris 2024 contender Vinesh Phogat said, “Who will listen? If such great athletes did not get justice or if they struggled so much to be heard, imagine: How can a normal person feel safe?”
In interviews for the report, athletes who experienced abuse under Singh told the Sport & Rights Alliance they had no safe way to report the abuse or seek help at the time. When the abusers are powerful sports officials who are well-connected with national governments, an athlete’s decision to speak up may lead to retaliation, or even the end of their career. The IOC does have a hotline for reporting athlete abuse and other issues, established in 2015, but it is not widely publicized, neglects trauma-informed best practices, and is only available in English, among other problems.
“For athletes facing abuse, a hotline is a lifeline,” said Joanna Maranhão, network coordinator at the Sport & Rights Alliance. “However, the current IOC hotline is not fit for purpose. It lacks the most important element of a trauma-informed approach: someone who actively listens. Making the choice to seek help is already a struggle. It is essential that the paths to justice and healing are clear and efficient.”
In January 2023, Phogat and fellow Olympians Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia began public protests against Singh’s abuses and the federation’s inaction. Over 30 Indian wrestlers, both men and women, and hundreds of supporters joined the protests, including at a sit-in near the parliament building in India’s capital, New Delhi.
“I was probably 17-18 years old at that time,” said Malik, India’s first medalist in Olympic women’s wrestling. “I was very young and did not have the courage to raise my voice at that time. If I raised my voice in the junior and cadet championships, it would have ended it ... So that's why we sat silently.”
The IOC should overhaul the existing abuse hotline for Olympic athletes, to establish an effective resource for abuse survivors to safely report physical, sexual, or emotional abuse; when national bodies are unwilling or unable to effectively respond, and especially when there is a conflict of interest, the Sport & Rights Alliance said. The hotline needs to be legitimate, rights-compatible, trauma-informed, and aligned with best reporting practices.
“Athletes deserve a hotline that prioritizes their wellbeing,” said Dr. Payoshni Mitra, executive director at Humans of Sport and main researcher for the report. “The current IOC reporting channel fails to accommodate best practices for grievance mechanisms – and even sometimes refers the athlete back to their national association, which can contribute to further abuse and retaliation.”
In April 2024, Singh was ordered to face a criminal trial; yet even if he is convicted, India’s top wrestlers will still be far from justice, safe working conditions, and reparations, the Sport & Rights Alliance said. During their months-long protests demanding protection and Singh’s accountability, the wrestlers were subjected to harassment, threats, arrest, and detention in retaliation for their demands.
“India’s incredible wrestlers have put their careers on the line to end the pattern of impunity and abuse in their sport,” said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch. “If India wants to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Indian authorities should take these reports seriously and implement urgent safeguarding reforms.”
An investigation into Singh’s alleged abuses, ordered in January 2023 by India’s Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, has still not been made public or available to the wrestlers. After months of protests by the athletes demanding that Singh step down, WFI called for presidential elections. On December 21, 2023, Brij Bhushan Singh’s loyalist and aide Sanjay Singh was elected as new WFI chief. Sanjay Singh actually celebrated his election at Brij Bhushan Singh’s house with posters that read “We dominate, our domination will continue.” The IOC, WFI, and United World Wrestling were contacted by the Sport & Rights Alliance on July 16, but they have not responded to requests for comment. Brij Bhushan Singh did not immediately respond to a July 22 request for comment.
“The succession of someone so closely connected to the alleged abuser is a clear sign that systemic reform has not taken place,” said Andrea Florence, director of the Sport & Rights Alliance. “There must be an extensive, transparent investigation into the full scope of Singh’s abuse and the culture, systems, and processes that enabled it for over 10 years.”
In addition to replacing its hotline, the IOC should ensure a comprehensive, independent, and trauma-informed investigation into the reports of harassment, abuse, threats and retaliation by those linked to the WFI. In collaboration with United World Wrestling, the IOC should also fully investigate the Wrestling Federation of India regarding their adherence to safeguarding and good governance standards, and make their findings public. A full list of recommendations to the IOC, Indian government, and other sports bodies is included in the report.
Please see below for quotes from some of the wrestlers’ testimonies in the report.
Quotes from the Report
“Indian society normalizes abuse and harassment. They will only take it seriously when the assault is gruesome. But it is like how we fight a wrestling bout. Whether we lose by one point or by ten, we lose. Whether the assault is big or small, it is an assault. An act against our will.”
- Vinesh Phogat, two-time Olympian and Paris 2024 contender
“I had told one of my seniors and also my parents when I was harassed by him early in my career. My parents felt speaking up will end my career and advised me against complaining. I wish I knew about any independent body where one could complain at the time when this happened. It is so important to make sure that athletes feel safe to report harassment.”
- Sakshi Malik, Bronze medalist at 2016 Rio Olympics
“I thought he wanted to congratulate me … Due to the continuous inappropriate acts by [Singh], I was so traumatized and mentally upset that it was difficult for me to focus and deliver to the best of my ability at various competitions.”
- 20-year-old victim
“His only intention was to touch me inappropriately … “While we were sitting he [Singh] was touching his leg against mine and continued talking and even touched my knees … he [groped me] on the pretext of checking my breathing … He told me I would be allowed to continue my career in sports only if I came and met the accused [Singh] in person.”
- 21-year-old victim
“We never left our rooms alone … “I refused [to see him separately] since the accused [Singh] was touching other girls also inappropriately.” When Singh approached the 19-year-old again, “he pulled up my t-shirt and slid his hand down my stomach and put his hand on my navel with the pretext of checking my breath … “I was called into the office of the federation … where I met [Singh] who told me that the federation is willing to bear the expenses for my treatment provided if I give in to his sexual advances.”
- 19-year-old victim
“My body froze out of shock … [Singh] came near me and suddenly, to my shock and surprise, leaned in on me and … pulled up my t-shirt and [groped me] on the pretext of … checking my breathing.”
- 20-year-old victim
***
The Sport & Rights Alliance’s mission is to promote the rights and well-being of those most affected by human rights risks associated with the delivery of sport. Its partners include Amnesty International, The Army of Survivors, Committee to Protect Journalists, Football Supporters Europe, Human Rights Watch, ILGA World (The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association), the International Trade Union Confederation, Transparency International Germany, and World Players Association, UNI Global Union. As a global coalition of leading nongovernmental organizations and trade unions, the Sport & Rights Alliance works together to ensure sports bodies, governments, and other relevant stakeholders give rise to a world of sport that protects, respects, and fulfills international standards for human rights, labor rights, child wellbeing and safeguarding, and anti-corruption.
A program of the Sport & Rights Alliance, the Athletes Network for Safer Sports brings together athletes, allies, survivors, victims, and whistleblowers with a mission to create and strengthen safe spaces for people affected by abuse in sport – promoting healing, amplifying each other’s voices, and advocating for systemic change. The Network is guided by an Advisory Council composed of athletes and allies impacted by abuse in sport, who are responsible for providing the Network with overall programmatic guidance and strategic support.
Azerbaijan: Free Academic Facing Bogus Charges
(Berlin, July 23, 2024) – Azerbaijan should free Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu, an academic arrested a year ago who is facing up to 17 years in prison on trumped-up charges, and end its crackdown on activists and journalists who criticize the government, a group of nongovernmental organizations including Human Rights Watch said in a statement released today.
The following is their statement:
July 23 – We, the undersigned organizations, strongly condemn the ongoing crackdown against civil society in Azerbaijan that has targeted a broad range of individuals, including human rights activists, journalists, political opposition members, and leaders of nongovernmental organizations. In particular, we call for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu, who was violently and wrongfully arrested a year ago today.
Dr. Ibadoghlu is a well-known academic and anti-corruption expert who has taught and conducted research on public finance management and good governance, most recently at the London School of Economics. He also has served as chairman of the Azerbaijan Democracy and Prosperity Movement, an organization he has unsuccessfully tried to register as a political party since 2021. Previously, Dr. Ibadoghlu had led the Economic Research Center, an Azerbaijani nongovernmental organization working on anti-corruption and budget transparency issues until the government effectively closed it in 2014. Shortly afterward, Dr. Ibadoghlu began living in exile. He had returned to Azerbaijan in July 2023 to visit his family.
On 23 July, about 20 Azerbaijani police in civilian clothes violently arrested Dr. Ibadoghlu and his wife, Irada Bayramova, after cars without official markings rammed their vehicle, manufacturing a traffic accident. Police assaulted the couple during the arrest. Bayramova was released after several hours, but the authorities brought charges against Dr. Ibadoghlu based on blatantly fabricated offences related to counterfeit currency and to extremist religious materials.
Despite numerous appeals, he spent nine months in a pretrial detention facility before being transferred to house arrest, where he remains. During his detention, Dr. Ibadoghlu’s chronic health conditions deteriorated sharply as a result of the authorities’ refusal to provide him with adequate medical treatment. If convicted, Dr. Ibadoghlu could face up to 17 years in prison.
Azerbaijani human rights groups estimate that hundreds of people are behind bars in Azerbaijan on politically motivated charges, at least several of whom are known to be in poor health. Azerbaijan has refused to heed numerous calls by human rights organizations and its bilateral and multilateral partners to release everyone who is unjustly imprisoned and to end the crackdown against government critics.
In an April 2024 urgent resolution, the European Parliament called on Azerbaijan to release all political prisoners and noted a number of measures that European authorities could consider if Azerbaijan failed to do so, including suspending the European Commission’s strategic energy partnership with Azerbaijan and imposing targeted sanctions on Azerbaijani officials.
The European Union’s other institutions and its member states, other key international actors and organizations, such as the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as companies with business interests in Azerbaijan, should support and join in making these calls, to help ensure that the Azerbaijani authorities follow through on them as a matter of priority.
Azerbaijan is under a global spotlight this year, as host to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), to be held in Baku in November. In the lead up to COP29, United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) member states should press Azerbaijan’s government, publicly and privately, to respect its human rights obligations, including by immediately and unconditionally releasing arbitrarily detained activists and human rights defenders. These countries should recommend concrete structural reforms to ensure that positive changes endure beyond COP29.
Given the dire human rights situation in Azerbaijan, the UNFCCC Secretariat should work with the government of Azerbaijan to provide space for diverse civil society participation in the climate conference, including by individuals and groups critical of the government. Robust and rights-respecting climate action requires the full and meaningful participation of civil society in climate negotiations, including the outcome of COP29. We urge the government of Azerbaijan to uphold the commitments it has as a member of numerous multilateral organizations and initiatives that have human rights elements, and the obligations it has as a party to key international human rights treaties, by taking the following steps:
Drop all charges against Dr. Ibadoghlu and against other human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society activists which have no credible foundation and were brought as retaliation for their legitimate work, protected by international human rights norms;Release all individuals wrongfully held on spurious grounds, immediately and unconditionally;Allow Dr. Ibadoghlu to travel abroad, unhindered and to the country of his choice, to reunite with his family, and to receive the medical care he urgently needs.Cease the use of criminal prosecution as a tool to suppress government critics and members of civil society;Lift restrictions on civil society by amending laws related to registration of nongovernmental groups and media in accordance with international standards.Signatories (The statement remains open to additional signatories)
Amnesty InternationalCrude AccountabilityFreedom NowHuman Rights House FoundationHuman Rights WatchInternational Partnership for Human RightsNatural Resource Governance InstitutePublish What You PayDecree in Cameroon Unjustifiably Censors Free Speech
It is becoming increasingly difficult to speak freely in Cameroon.
In a decree issued on July 16, Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent, the head of the Mfoundi division, where the capital Yaoundé is situated, stated that “anyone who dangerously insults the [state] institutions or the person who embodies them,” could be banned from staying in the division. Djikdent issued this decree to “preserve public order.”
Two days later, René Emmanuel Sadi, the communication minister, issued a press release stating that “it is unacceptable for compatriots […] to use irreverent language” about the president Paul Biya “who was freely and overwhelmingly elected by his fellow citizens.”
The decree has rightly worried media professionals and opposition party leaders who have criticized it as a backwards step for the right to freedom of expression. These announcements are the latest in a series of troubling government decisions that appear to be aimed at stifling opposition and dissent ahead of the presidential elections in 2025.
In March, the territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, banned two opposition coalitions describing them as “clandestine movements.” In June, gendarmes in N’Gaoundéré, Adamawa region, arbitrarily rearrested Aboubacar Siddiki, known as Babadjo, a prominent artist and member of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (Union nationale pour la démocratie et le progrès), moments after he was released from prison following a three-month sentence for insulting a governor. In July, Cameroon’s national assembly passed a law extending its members’ term in office until March 2026, and postponing parliamentary elections scheduled for February 2025; a move opposition parties argue will make it harder for them to succeed in the presidential elections, which are still scheduled to take place in 2025. The incumbent president, Paul Biya, 91, is serving his seventh term, having come to power in 1982. He was last reelected in 2018 after a contested vote that sparked a wave of political repression.
Under international human rights law, the right to free speech may be restricted only on limited grounds, such as national security or to protect the rights of others, and even then, restrictions must be necessary, proportionate, and not discriminate. The divisional decree includes provisions that don’t meet this threshold and could be used to target critics discriminately and violate rights. As elections approach, authorities should fully respect the freedom of expression of all Cameroonians and revoke this decree.
Netanyahu Visit Highlights US Officials’ Liability Risk
(Washington, DC) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance before a joint session of Congress on July 24, 2024, highlights the continued and significant US supply of weapons to Israel’s military despite credible allegations of ongoing war crimes by Israeli forces in Gaza, Human Rights Watch said today.
“US officials are well aware of the mounting evidence that Israeli forces have committed war crimes in Gaza, including most likely with US weapons,” said Tirana Hassan, executive director at Human Rights Watch. “US lawmakers should be seriously concerned about the liability risks of continuing to provide arms and intelligence based on Israel’s flimsy assurances that it’s abiding by the laws of war.”
In 2023, the Biden administration introduced a revised conventional arms export policy that adjusted its approach, reducing “the level of certainty required to deny an arms transfer” from “actual knowledge to a more likely than not determination that the arms will be used to commit, facilitate the commission of, or aggravate the risk of international law violations.” Domestic laws also require a risk assessment before providing security assistance and establish red lines for when assistance is not allowed.
Yet the Biden administration reported to Congress in May that Israeli forces were complying with US domestic policies and laws on arms transfers. In March, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam warned that the Israeli government’s assurances to the Biden administration that it is meeting US legal requirements were not credible. The two organizations jointly submitted a dossier to the State Department showing Israeli forces’ violations of international humanitarian law, including blocking humanitarian assistance and carrying out unlawful strikes that killed civilians.
Israeli forces have unlawfully attacked residential buildings, medical facilities, and aid workers, restricted medical evacuations, and used starvation as a weapon of war in the Gaza Strip, where nearly 500,000 people are experiencing a “catastrophic” lack of food in famine-like conditions. A staggering more than 38,600 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Israeli authorities have detained and mistreated thousands of Palestinians, with persistent reports of torture. In the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have killed over 500 Palestinians since October 7, settlers and soldiers have displaced entire Palestinian communities, destroying every home, with the apparent backing of higher Israeli authorities and effectively confiscating Palestinians’ lands.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and dozens of media reports, including by CNN, NPR, the New York Times, and AFP, have identified US weapons being used in unlawful Israeli attacks that killed scores of civilians and aid workers.
In May, President Biden announced that the US would pause at least one shipment of weapons containing 2,000-pound bombs, 500-pound bombs, and artillery projectiles to Israel. In July, the administration clarified that it was only holding back the 2,000-pound bombs and that it would be releasing the 500-pound bombs to Israel. It said that its “concern” was about “the end-use of the 2,000-lb bombs, particularly for Israel’s Rafah campaign, which they have announced they are concluding.”
In recent years, legal scholars and US lawmakers warned that US support – including through weapons sales – to Saudi Arabia’s military campaign in Yemen could expose US officials to legal liability for war crimes.
In 2016, according to media reports, State Department officials reviewing weapons sales to Saudi Arabia expressed concerns that jurisprudence from international tribunals could offer precedent for their own liability. In an unsent draft letter to the secretary of state, a State Department lawyer concluded that US officials could potentially be charged with war crimes for the Saudi-led coalition’s conduct in Yemen.
In 2020, when discussing the risk presented by continued arms sales to Saudi Arabia, Oona Hathaway, a Yale Law School professor and a Defense Department lawyer in the Obama administration, told the New York Times, “If I were in the State Department, I would be freaking out about my potential for liability. I think anyone who’s involved in this program should get themselves a lawyer. It’s very dangerous territory the US is in, continuing to provide support given the number of civilians who have been killed.”
In 2022, US Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Mike Lee sent letters to the Defense and State Departments, calling for “thorough investigations into possible US complicity to civilian harm in Yemen.”
A state assisting another state or a nonstate armed group may be complicit in war crimes and other wrongdoing if their assistance knowingly and significantly contributes to the wrongful act. Individuals can be found complicit for “aiding and abetting” in war crimes under international law.
The United States and other weapons suppliers should suspend military assistance and arms sales to Israel, Human Rights Watch said. The Biden administration should use its leverage with Israel to save lives, including by military aid and the imposition of targeted sanctions, to press Israeli authorities to enable the provision of humanitarian aid and basic services, and cease committing grave abuses in Gaza.
Israel: Detainees Face Inhumane Treatment
(Jerusalem) – Israeli forces have been publishing degrading photographs and videos of detained Palestinians, including children, a form of inhumane treatment and an outrage on their personal dignity that amount to war crimes, Human Rights Watch said today.
In many cases, detainees were stripped of their clothing, sometimes fully, then photographed or filmed, with the images published by Israeli soldiers, media outlets, or activists. Forced nudity followed by capturing and sharing sexualized images on social media is a form of sexual violence and also a war crime.
“Israeli authorities have for months turned a blind eye as members of their military published dehumanizing fully or seminude images and videos of Palestinians in their custody,” said Balkees Jarrah, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Senior officials and military commanders can be held criminally responsible for ordering these crimes, or for failing to prevent or punish them, including at the International Criminal Court.”
Israeli military officials have publicly denounced some of their members for publishing images of the detainees, but as far as Human Rights Watch has been able to determine, the government has not publicly condemned the underlying treatment of Palestinian detainees depicted in the images. Judicial authorities have not announced any prosecutions for these crimes. On July 15, Human Rights Watch wrote to the Public Diplomacy Office of the Israeli military but has not received a response.
Since October, Israeli forces have reportedly detained thousands of Palestinians from Gaza at Sde Teiman, an army base in southern Israel, where they have been reportedly ill-treated and tortured, and where at least 36 died in custody, according to media reports. As of July, 124 Palestinians remained at Sde Teiman, according to the Times of Israel, despite the Israeli attorney general calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to transfer detainees out of the facility due to the reports of abuse and deaths in custody.
Human Rights Watch analyzed 37 of the posts depicting captured Palestinians, predominantly men and boys in Gaza and the West Bank, often stripped to their underwear and in some cases completely naked, handcuffed, blindfolded, and injured. Some posts included demeaning and humiliating captions by Israeli soldiers or journalists. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube have removed some of these posts.
Between October 25 and December 28, one Israeli soldier, who according to his social media holds United States citizenship, published at least seven photos and videos of Palestinian men detained by his unit in the West Bank. In the images, the clothed detainees are handcuffed, many of them are blindfolded, and some have Israeli flags placed on them.
In two videos, published on October 28 and 29, the soldier places US dollar bills on the knees of two handcuffed, blindfolded, and squatting men, as a “blessing” while he mocks them and asks them to repeat phrases in Hebrew. The soldier also posted degrading captions, such as “trolling Hamas,” to accompany some of the published images.
In another case, an Israeli soldier in Gaza published a photo on Facebook on December 8, showing at least 22 detained males in a single file, all stripped to their underwear, some of them blindfolded. At least two detainees appear to be children. The caption says: “As part of our mission we kept Hamas terrorists under arrest. We'll settle for this picture, there are pictures not for publication …”
Another image posted on Instagram, by an Israeli soldier, who according to media reports holds US citizenship, shows what appears to be a photograph of himself standing in front of at least six men with their backs to the camera, stripped to their underwear and kneeling on the ground while handcuffed and blindfolded, with their arms above their head. The caption of the now deleted photo says: “Mom I think I freed palestine” [sic].
Two separate investigations by the BBC on the conduct of Israeli soldiers, in February in Gaza, and in May in the West Bank, found that Israeli soldiers uploaded to social media platforms dozens of images and videos intended to humiliate Palestinians, including images of detainees who had been stripped to their underwear and others who had been draped in Israeli flags.
The Israeli military told the BBC that it had terminated the service of one reservist and that this conduct did not represent its values. In a response to another BBC investigation, the Israeli military said it had instructed soldiers “to avoid uploading footage of operational activities to social media networks,” and while it did not condemn any specific acts, it said that soldiers were “disciplined and even suspended from reserve duty” in the event of “unacceptable behavior.” The military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, and national security advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, separately commented in December that people who surrendered or were arrested needed to be stripped to be searched, as they could be carrying explosives or weapons, but that clothes should be returned to them and any photos taken should not be distributed. Hagari said the photos were “unusual” and that disciplinary measures will be taken in any event that is inconsistent with the Israeli military’s values. Hangebi said the photos “served no purpose.” The Israeli military gave no further details on holding those responsible accountable.
In its May 2024 report, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel concluded that the forced public stripping, nudity, and related “specific persecutory acts” against Palestinian men and boys in Israeli custody were either ordered or condoned by Israeli authorities, given the frequency of these abuses, the way these acts were filmed and photographed, and that they occurred in several locations.
Sexual violence and committing “outrages upon personal dignity” on detainees are serious violations of international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, applicable to all parties to the hostilities in Israel and Palestine.
On October 7, Hamas-led Palestinian armed groups, in what amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, attacked southern Israel, killing 815 civilians, according to Agence France-Presse, and taking 251 people hostage. Since then, Israeli forces have unlawfully attacked residential buildings, medical facilities, and aid workers, largely destroying Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, including its water and electricity plants. Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza, where about 90 percent of the population have been displaced, many of them repeatedly.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported over 38,000 deaths and 88,000 injuries. These abuses occur amid the ongoing Israeli crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians.
Common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions requires that everyone in the custody of a warring party “shall in all circumstances be treated humanely.” Prohibited acts include “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment.” Violations of article 3 are war crimes.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), in its Elements of Crimes explanation of the Rome Statute crimes, defines “outrages upon personal dignity” as acts in which “[t]he perpetrator humiliated, degraded or otherwise violated the dignity of one or more persons [and] the severity of the humiliation, degradation or other violation was of such degree as to be generally recognized as an outrage upon personal dignity.”
On May 20, the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced that he was seeking arrest warrants against two senior Israeli officials and three Hamas leaders. Khan confirmed that his office has been conducting an investigation since March 2021 into atrocity crimes committed in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and that since 2014, his office has jurisdiction over crimes in the current hostilities between Israel and Palestinian armed groups that covers unlawful conduct by all parties.
“International law recognizes the inherent dignity of human beings caught in a conflict, no matter what side they are on,” Jarrah said. “Victims have a right to justice and accountability, and any evidence of sexual violence should be investigated urgently in a way that is thorough, credible, and prioritizes the needs, well-being, and wishes of the survivors.”
Bangladesh: Security Forces Target Unarmed Students
(New York) – The Bangladeshi government has deployed the army against student protesters, imposed shoot-on-sight curfew orders, and shut down mobile data and internet services, Human Rights Watch said today. These actions followed violent protests against excesses by security forces to quell a peaceful student protest campaign.
With more than 160 people killed, foreign governments should immediately call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her administration to end the use of excessive force against protesters and hold troops to account for human rights abuses.
“Bangladesh has been troubled for a long time due to unfettered security force abuses against anyone who opposes the Sheikh Hasina government, and we are witnessing that same playbook again, this time to attack unarmed student protesters,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Now is the time for influential governments to press Sheikh Hasina to stop her forces from brutalizing students and other protesters.”
In early July 2024, tens of thousands of university students began peacefully protesting after a High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh ruling restoring quotas in government jobs for various categories of people, particularly the 30 percent for descendants of those who had joined the war for independence of Bangladesh in 1971. Students contended that the quota for war veterans would unfairly benefit government supporters. On July 15, members of the Chhatra League (BCL), the student group affiliated with Prime Minister Hasina’s Awami League Party, backed by police, attacked the protesters, killing six people.
Protests spread to several cities and universities across the country following the July 15 attack, leading to deadly clashes between protesters and the pro-government supporters and security forces, with hundreds killed or wounded. Security forces have used live ammunition, tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets, and shotgun pellets to disperse protesters. With the internet shut down, reliable information is difficult to get; Agence France-Presse said that police and hospitals had reported 163 deaths, but activists fear the number is much higher. “I have never seen such cruelty,” a Dhaka resident who recently left the country told Human Rights Watch. “The security forces just kept on shooting. They were shooting at such young people. They even shot at bystanders if they tried to help protect the students.”
Several journalists were injured when assaulted by security forces and Chhatra League supporters. The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Türk, called for restraint and said the “attacks on student protesters are particularly shocking and unacceptable.”
Prime Minister Hasina, who won a fourth consecutive term after January elections that were not free or fair, had previously imposed and then withdrawn the quota. She has called for dialogue and promised an inquiry into the July 15 deaths. Educational institutions have been closed indefinitely. On July 21, the Supreme Court, hearing an appeal from the government, ruled to reduce the quota in government jobs, allocating 5 percent for descendants of independence war veterans and 2 percent for other categories.
However, students said that Sheikh Hasina has lost their trust following a statement that denounced the protesters as political traitors. The students responded by calling her an “autocrat.”
On June 18, the Bangladeshi authorities imposed a nationwide internet shutdown, critically limiting communications, access to information, and ability to share reports of human rights abuses.
The junior telecommunications minister, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, confirmed the shutdown, citing concerns over the spread of “fake news.” Bangladeshi media sites were unable to upload credible information, fueling dangerous rumours. “Bangladesh is in information darkness,” one activist told Human Rights Watch.
The UN Human Rights Council had said in a 2016 consensus resolution that shutting the internet to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online violates international human rights law, and that all countries should refrain from and cease such measures.
Protests continued on July 19 and 20, with several people killed by security forces. After protesters stormed a jail in Narsingdi district and set fire to the state broadcaster’s offices, the government issued curfew orders and deployed the military.
On July 22, a student leader declared a 48-hour halt to the protests, calling on the government to end the curfew, restore access to the internet, and stop targeting the student protesters.
The authorities have arrested hundreds of protest participants and organizers, and there are allegations of enforced disappearances and torture in custody. Reports trickling out of Bangladesh say that there is ongoing violence in several places where protesters, now joined by members of the political opposition, are clashing with members of the Chhatra League and security forces. Police have backed the Chhatra League attacks instead of arresting those who engaged in violence.
In a television interview, the information minister, Mohammad A. Arafat, reportedly said that the civil unrest could be quelled quickly, but the government was exercising restraint. “The government hasn’t even used five percent of its total capability in this,” he said. “If it does, it won’t take half an hour. But the government is showing patience to avoid casualties.”
The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms prohibit the use of firearms except in cases of imminent threat of death or serious injury. The UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has stated that “firearms are not an appropriate tool for the policing of assemblies, and must never be used simply to disperse an assembly.… [A]ny use of firearms by law enforcement officials in the context of assemblies must be limited to targeted individuals in circumstances in which it is strictly necessary to confront an imminent threat of death or serious injury.”
The 2020 UN guidance on “less-lethal weapons” in law enforcement says: “Multiple projectiles fired at the same time are inaccurate and, in general, their use cannot comply with the principles of necessity and proportionality. Metal pellets, such as those fired from shotguns, should never be used.”
The authorities repeatedly deny that Bangladeshi security forces have committed serious human rights violations including extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances, leading to a climate of impunity, Human Rights Watch said. Other governments, including the United Kingdom and the European Union, should place Bangladeshi security forces under increased scrutiny following the designation of human rights sanctions by the US government.
“Bangladeshi authorities have flouted international standards in the past and continue to do so during the ongoing protests,” Ganguly said. “The Sheikh Hasina government should take immediate steps to end the crisis, rein in and punish security forces and her party supporters who have committed serious crimes, and protect the rights of protesting students.”
Indonesia: Investigate Killing of Journalist and His Family
(Jakarta) – The Indonesian police and military should investigate the deadly arson attack against a journalist and three members of his family in Kabanjahe, a small town in North Sumatra, Human Rights Watch said today. While three men have been arrested, the authorities should also question other possible conspirators.
Rico Sempurna Pasaribu, 47, of the Medan-based Tribata TV, and his family were found dead inside their small wooden house in Kabanjahe on June 27, 2024. The dead included his wife, Elparida Ginting, 48, his daughter, Sudi Investi Pasaribu, 12, and a 3-year-old grandson Louin Arlando Situngkir, for whom the Pasaribus were babysitting that night. The eldest daughter, Eva Meliani Pasaribu, 22, whose young son died in the fire, is now campaigning for justice.
“Indonesian police should conduct a credible and timebound inquiry to identify everyone involved in the attack, including any military personnel,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The military should cooperate with the police to ensure that any army officer involved in gambling and arson is properly prosecuted.”
On June 22, Tribata TV published on its website Pasaribu’s story, “Gambling Location on Captain Bom Ginting Street Turns Out to Belong to an Army Officer with the Rank of Corporal, Member of the 125th Battalion.” The report included a picture of a house, allegedly the office of the illegal online gambling business, citing its proximity to the barracks of the Army 125th battalion in Kabanjahe.
While the story did not have a byline, Pasaribu posted a link on his Facebook page, stating that the gambling was controlled by an army officer he named.
After the report was published, the soldier allegedly threatened Pasaribu, according to the Medan-based Journalist Safety Committee, which published the first report on the arson attack. The soldier also asked Tribata TV’s chief editor Edrin Adriansyah to take down the report, according to Adriansyah and the committee. Both declined to take down the report.
The Journalist Safety Committee is a coalition of organizations, including the Alliance of Independent Journalists and the Medan Legal Aid Institute. Medan is the capital of North Sumatra province. Pasaribu had reported that the soldier had threatened him, according to some of his journalist colleagues, and, the committee said, had decided to stay away from his house for a few days fearing an attack.
Bayu Wardhana, secretary-general of the Alliance of Independent Journalists, said they feared a cover-up. “The case requires special attention due to suspicions of military involvement,” he said. “Rico had reported on online gambling activities allegedly backed by military members shortly before his death.”
An army spokesperson said that the authorities had questioned the soldier named in the report but found that he was not involved in gambling. The Indonesian military has a long history of protecting its soldiers from prosecution for human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said.
Gambling is a rampant social problem in Kabanjahe, the capital of the Karo regency. On June 26, several religious organizations staged a protest outside the 125th battalion headquarters, demanding that they stop the gambling business.
Pasaribu came out of hiding to cover the protest, publishing the story on Tribata TV’s website. He also posted some photos on his Facebook page. He then returned to his house.
The attack occurred at 3:40 a.m. on June 27, based on CCTV footage. The North Sumatra police have arrested three suspects: Yunus Saputra Tarigan, also known as Selewang, Rudi Apri Sembiring, and Bebas Ginting. The wooden house was part of a shop where Pasaribu’s wife sold snacks, cigarettes, and kerosene, and it burned rapidly, the police and the committee stated.
The police said that they had questioned 28 witnesses. Ginting, 62, one of those arrested, is the former head of the Angkatan Muda Pembaharuan Indonesia (AMPI), a youth organization linked to the Golkar Party, one of the largest political parties in Indonesia, which had official ties to the Indonesian military during President Soeharto’s three decades in power.
Indonesian authorities have failed to arrest suspects in killings of journalists over the last three decades, including the 1996 murder of Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, who had published several news reports on corruption in the Bantul regency in the months before his death.
In 1999, Sander Thoenes, a Dutch journalist who worked for the Financial Times, was killed in Becora, outside Dili, East Timor, by Indonesian soldiers of the Army’s Battalion 745. The case was eventually dropped after Major Jacob Djoko Sarosa, the battalion commander, who was indicted by an Indonesian human rights committee over the killing, never responded to a summons.
“The grotesque killing of Sempurna Pasaribu and his family should serve as warning to Indonesian authorities that political protection emboldens criminals, including to punish journalists and whistleblowers,” Ganguly said. “Soldiers who engage in corruption, extortion, threats, or killings should know that they have no place in the army, and instead belong in jail.”
World Court Finds Israel Responsible for Apartheid
(New York) – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion on July 19, 2024, with significant consequences for human rights protections in Palestine under Israel’s 57-year occupation. The opinion stems from a December 2022 request by the United Nations General Assembly to the court to consider the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The following quote can be attributed to Tirana Hassan, Human Rights Watch Executive Director:
In a historic ruling the International Court of Justice has found multiple and serious international law violations by Israel towards Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including, for the first time, finding Israel responsible for apartheid. The court has placed responsibility with all states and the United Nations to end these violations of international law. The ruling should be yet another wake up call for the United States to end its egregious policy of defending Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and prompt a thorough reassessment in other countries as well.
World Court Reviews 57-Year Israeli Occupation
(The Hague) – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to issue an advisory opinion on July 19, 2024, with significant consequences for human rights protections in Palestine under Israel’s 57-year occupation, Human Rights Watch said today. The expected advisory opinion stems from a December 2022 request by the United Nations General Assembly to the court to consider the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The ICJ held hearings on Israel’s occupation over six days in February. Fifty countries and three international organizations participated in the oral proceedings, more than in any other case since the world’s highest court began functioning in 1946, based on Human Rights Watch analysis.
“The World Court’s opinion will be its first comprehensive assessment of the human rights consequences for Palestinians of Israel’s occupation policies and practices,” said Clive Baldwin, senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch. “The court’s recommendations could shed light on the root causes underlying the current devastating atrocities and open the door to redress the flagrant harms committed by Israeli authorities with impunity over the past six decades.”
The court has a broad remit in what it can cover in its advisory opinion based on the request from the UN General Assembly. It may address a range of issues from Israel’s practices and policies violating international legal prohibitions against racial discrimination, including the crime against humanity of apartheid, to the continued application of international humanitarian law and human rights law under occupation.
The court may also assess the legal responsibilities of other countries and the UN to address violations of international law arising from Israel’s occupation. States should adopt the ICJ’s recommendations to guide their efforts to end violations of international humanitarian and human rights law against the Palestinians, Human Rights Watch said.
Israel, which rejects the applicability of the law of occupation to Palestine, unlawfully purported to annex occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, and in 2023 transferred key elements of its control over the West Bank from military to civilian authorities. It also refuses to acknowledge its responsibilities toward Palestinian civilians as the occupying power in the Gaza Strip. However, it remains, legally, the occupying power in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with legal duties toward the civilian population in all the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The ICJ’s consideration of the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation policies and practices began in December 2022 and so predates the October 2023 escalation of hostilities between Israel and Palestinian armed groups. On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led Palestinian armed groups carried out an assault on southern Israel and took 251 people hostage, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity and have continued to launch indiscriminate rockets at population centers. Israeli forces have unlawfully attacked residential buildings, medical facilities, and aid workers, restricted medical evacuations, blocked humanitarian aid, and used starvation as a weapon of war in the Gaza Strip, which has suffered a staggering toll of over 38,600 people killed according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israeli authorities have detained incommunicado and mistreated thousands of Palestinians, with persistent reports of torture.
In the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have killed over 530 Palestinians since October 7, settlers and soldiers have displaced entire Palestinian communities, destroying every home, with the apparent backing of higher Israeli authorities and effectively confiscating their lands.
The World Court’s advisory opinion is expected to focus on the legal consequences of the occupation, rather than specifically assessing the conduct of Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups during the recent hostilities. However, abuses and violations by all parties since October have taken place in the context of the occupation and the acceleration by Israeli authorities of illegal settlement expansion, as well as the ongoing commission of the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians. In submissions to the court, 25 countries cited the commission of the crimes against humanity of apartheid or persecution by Israel against Palestinians as one key consequence of the occupation.
The ICJ adjudicates disputes between states and issues advisory opinions on international law. It lacks jurisdiction over the conduct of non-state armed groups like Hamas. Although ICJ advisory opinions are nonbinding, they can carry great moral and legal authority and can ultimately become part of customary international law, which is legally binding on states. The last advisory opinion by the ICJ, in 2019, addressed the deportation of the inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago by the United Kingdom and the decolonization of Mauritius.
The United Nations General Assembly could convene a discussion on the opinion. By an overwhelming majority, it voted in 2004 to require Israel to abide by a July 2004 ICJ advisory opinion finding that the route of Israel’s separation barrier violated international law and that it should be dismantled.
The proceeding is separate from the case brought at the court by South Africa, alleging that Israel is violating the Genocide Convention. While a ruling on the merits of that claim will most likely take years, the ICJ has threetimesordered Israel to take certain measures, including enabling the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Human Rights Watch research demonstrates that Israel is continuing to flout the court’s orders, with devastating consequences for Palestinians in Gaza.
This ICJ proceeding is also distinct from proceedings before the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has a mandate to assess the criminal responsibility of individuals. On May 20, the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced that he was seeking arrest warrants against two senior Israeli officials and three Hamas leaders. Khan confirmed that his office is conducting an investigation since March 2021 into atrocity crimes committed in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 2014, and that his office has jurisdiction over crimes in the current hostilities between Israel and Palestinian armed groups that covers unlawful conduct by all parties.
Given that the responsibilities of an occupying power toward the rights of the occupied population increase over time, Human Rights Watch has also called for Israel to provide Palestinians in the occupied territory with rights at least equal to those it grants its own citizens, in addition to the protections of international humanitarian law.
The ICJ is composed of 15 judges elected by the UN General Assembly and Security Council for nine-year terms. Fifty-seven states and international organizations had filed a written statement in the proceedings in July 2023. Fifteen states and international organizations filed additional written comments in October and November 2023. Israel submitted a written statement and chose not to participate in the oral hearings.
“The participation of so many states in the hearings leading up to the ruling demonstrates the importance of the issues before the World Court,” Baldwin said. “The opinion could provide a useful roadmap for states seeking to protect human rights and end years of impunity for human rights abuses in Israel and Palestine.”