BEIJING — Capping a week of dramatic diplomacy, U.S. officials embraced on Friday a statement from China that blind activist Chen Guangcheng could seek permission to study abroad, saying Chinese officials have promised to quickly process his paperwork so he can leave for the United States.
But the deal — struck less than 24 hours before Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was set to depart Beijing — left Chen and U.S. officials in the same position they have been stuck in for days: relying on the word of the Chinese government.
A previous deal reached with Chinese officials Wednesday fell apart within hours, after U.S. diplomats were barred from visiting Chen in Beijing’s Chaoyang hospital. He was taken there after leaving the protection of the U.S. Embassy compound. U.S. diplomats, as well as Chen, thought they had been promised regular and easy access to him.
As with that deal, the new agreement leaves significant obstacles and numerous questions unanswered. In the balance hangs the Obama administration’s record on human rights, which is under heavy criticism, as well as the health of relations between the world’s two leading powers. Most pressingly at stake is the safety of the 40-year-old Chen and his family.
There was evidence Friday to suggest that China may not uphold its end of the bargain, even though allowing Chen to study in the United States could permit Beijing a face-saving way out of the standoff.
Supporters trying to visit Chen at the hospital were roughly turned away, with some saying they were severely beaten by plainclothes police. China’s state-controlled newspapers also launched scathing attacks on Chen and U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke, who helped Chen enter the embassy April 26 after his dramatic escape from de facto house arrest in his village in Shandong province. In addition, some of Chen’s allies remain under house arrest.
Last Argentine dictator and army chief Reynaldo Bignone gestures at the courtroom before being sentenced during his trial, in Munro, Buenos Aires on April 20, 2010. (Photo: Getty)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina’s last dictator was convicted Thursday of more crimes against humanity, this time getting 15 years in prison for setting up a secret torture center inside a hospital during the 1976 military coup.
Reynaldo Bignone personally oversaw the takeover of the Posadas de Haedo hospital in Buenos Aires province 35 years ago, leading soldiers in tanks and helicopters in search of medical personnel who allegedly treated leftist guerrillas. The military dismissed all the doctors and nurses, but kept some for questioning, including the hospital’s medical director. Eleven hospital staffers disappeared.
Bignone’s trial involved 21 cases of kidnappings and tortures, including two victims who were killed and made to disappear by a civilian group of thugs who called themselves the “SWAT” team and answered to the air force. The SWAT team set up shop inside the medical director’s home, interrogating the staff.
Some of those crimes are part of a second, upcoming trial involving the same hospital.
Bignone was the military junta’s social welfare delegate at the time. He later served as the junta’s president in 1982 and 1983, ordering the destruction of vast stores of evidence documenting illegal detentions and disappearances, and dictating a military amnesty before democracy returned to Argentina.
Bignone, now 85, already faces life in prison for other kidnappings and tortures in provincial Buenos Aires, including those committed in another torture center inside the Campo de Mayo military base. He’s also being tried along with former dictator Jorge Videla on charges of overseeing a systematic plan to steal the babies of pregnant detainees.
In his defense, Bignone has said that his actions were justified because Argentina was at war against armed leftist subversives.
Also convicted Thursday were SWAT team leader Luis Muina, 57; and a former air force brigadier, Hipolito Rafael Mariani, 85.
Prosecutors asked for 25-year sentences for all three, but Bignone received 15 years, Muina 13 and Mariani eight.
An official count determined that the regime killed some 13,000 people, but human rights groups estimate about 30,000 fell victim. Since Argentina’s democracy was restored in 1983, 268 people have been convicted of crimes against humanity and more than 800 others are being prosecuted, the government said.
The Eritrean authorities must immediately and unconditionally release 11 prominent politicians, including three former cabinet ministers, who have been held incommunicado without charge for 10 years.
Among the 11 prisoners is Aster Fissehatsion, a veteran of the 30-year long war of independence with Ethiopia and a former prominent member of the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF). The group also includes her husband, former vice-president and foreign minister Mahmoud Ahmed Sheriffo, as well as Haile Woldetensae, and Petros Solomon, both of whom are also former foreign ministers.
Appeals from their families that the prisoners be formally charged and tried or else released, and criticizing their secret incommunicado detention, have been dismissed repeatedly by the Eritrean authorities. In the months following the arrest of G15 members, dozens of other journalists, government critics and supporters of the dissidents were also detained in a sweeping crackdown on freedom of expression.
Widespread human rights violations are routine in Eritrea. President Isaias Afewerki and the ruling PFDJ, the only permitted political party, exert complete control over the state without a hint of elections which have been indefinitely delayed. There is no independent judiciary.
The government severely restricts freedom of expression and freedom of religion. No opposition parties, independent journalism or civil society organizations, or unregistered faith groups are allowed. The authorities use arbitrary arrests, detentions and torture to stifle opposition, holding thousands of political prisoners in dire conditions, many in secret detention.
IRAN
Amnesty International’s Drewery Dyke talks to Fakhteh Zamani, Association for Defense of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran.
The Azerbaijani minority in Iran, have been prevented from exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly by participating in largely peaceful demonstrations over the environmental situation of Lake Oroumieh. Up to scores of others may have been arbitrarily arrested, and we have received unconfirmed reports that at least two demonstrators may have been killed.
Amnesty International calls on the Iranian authorities to ensure that all those who have been arrested are granted immediate access to their families and lawyers of their choice, that they are given an opportunity to challenge their detention, and that any held solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, association or assembly are released. We also urge the authorities to establish an independent review of the policing and overall administration of justice regarding the rallies relating to Lake Oroumieh and for law enforcement officials to be held accountable for any violations, including any unlawful killings for which state officials may have been responsible.
SYRIA
At least 88 people are believed to have died in detention in Syria during five months of bloody repression of pro-reform protests, a new Amnesty International report reveals.
Deadly detention: Deaths in custody amid popular protest in Syria documents reported deaths in custody between April and mid-August in the wake of sweeping arrests.
The 88 deaths represented a significant escalation in the number of deaths following arrest in Syria. In recent years Amnesty International has typically recorded around five deaths in custody per year in Syria.
More than 12 million people live in Egypt’s sprawling informal settlements (slums). Over the years, the authorities have treated these people with contempt, subjected them to unlawful forced evictions and threatened them with arbitrary arrest under repressive emergency legislation if they dared to protest.
The dramatic political changes that have happened since 25 January 2011 offer the new Egyptian authorities an historic opportunity to genuinely consult slum-dwellers about their housing, and to work with them to create a brighter and safer future.
SOUTH AFRICA
The fruits and wine that come from the Western Cape of South Africa are enjoyed by consumers around the world and generate billions of rand for South Africa’s economy, yet the farm workers who help produce these goods are denied basic human rights. The government of South Africa should take immediate steps to improve the working and housing conditions of the farmers who help produce its renowned wines and fruit.
NEPAL
Nepal’s ten year internal conflict resulted in over 1,300 unresolved cases of disappearances by state forces and the Maoists. To date not one person has been prosecuted for these grave human rights abuses.
This short film uses the story of five young men from Janakpur, Nepal, taken by members of the army and police in October 2003 to illustrate the political opposition to holding individuals responsible for such crimes to account from both sides of the conflict, through interviews with the brother of one of the disappeared, the lawyer working on the case, and the Maoist Home Minister.
A Saudi judge has asked several hospitals whether they would punitively damage a man’s spinal cord after he was convicted of attacking another man with a cleaver and paralyzing him, local newspapers reported today.
Saudi Arabia enforces strict sharia law and occasionally metes out punishments based on the ancient code of an eye for an eye.
Abdul-Aziz al-Mutairi, 22, was left paralyzed after a fight more than two years ago, and asked a judge to impose an equivalent punishment on his attacker under sharia law, reports said. The newspaper Okaz said the judge in northwestern Tabuk province, identified as Saoud bin Suleiman al-Youssef, asked at least two hospitals for a medical opinion on whether surgeons could render the attacker’s spinal cord nonfunctional.
The attacker, who was not identified, has spent seven months in jail. The reports cited the letter of response from one of the hospitals and the victim.
Two of the hospitals involved and the court were closed for the Saudi weekend beginning today and could not be reached for comment.
Okaz reported that a leading hospital in Riyadh – King Faisal specialist hospital – said that it would not do the operation. The article quoted a letter from the hospital saying “inflicting such harm is not possible”, apparently refusing on ethical grounds.
Jackie and Mike Bezos have donated a personal gift of $25,000 to "The RaiseForWomen challenge," a fundraising initiative supporting nonprofits doing work to empower women and girls around the world. The donation, combined with $75,000 from The Skoll Foundation, brings to $100,000 the total in prizes going to the causes that raise the most funds. Ja […]
We are thrilled to announce a very successful first week in the RaiseforWomen Challenge, with over $126,000 raised! We would like to thank everyone who has participated in the challenge so far. We have under five weeks left –– until June 6 –– to raise as much as possible! Half the Sky Movement will be giving out weekly prizes to individuals participating in […]
I remember reading Betty Harragan’s Games Mother Never Taught You when it first came out over thirty years ago. As a woman entrepreneur, that book had a huge impact on me — both in how to navigate at work, a new universe that felt like I had been dropped onto Mars, and how I saw myself as an agent of change. This was long before cell phones, the Internet, an […]
This week in Nebraska, a handful of senators – four in particular – used filibusters and frivolous amendments to stall a full debate on whether Nebraska is done with capital punishment. Why are these foes of justice running scared? Why were they afraid of having a real vote on the death penalty? You. That's why. Popular support for the death penalty has […]
Another day, another amendment to the Senate immigration reform legislation from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that would harm immigrants' civil liberties. Amendment 17, which will be up for consideration this week in the Senate Judiciary Committee's markup of the immigration reform bill, would unwisely (and unconstitutionally) restrict the ability […]
After two more long days last week of largely unsuccessful attempts to scuttle the immigration reform bill, the Senate Judiciary Committee now is looking at the gargantuan task of wrapping up consideration – somehow, some way – before the end of this week. On Tuesday, the Committee completed work on the border security section of the bill and then began cons […]
Headline Title: Historic Pride march in Moldova should be 'first of many' 20 May 2013 The Moldovan authorities must ensure that yesterday's historic Pride march in the capital Chisinau is the "first of many" and is followed up by other steps to combat homophobic discrimination, Amnesty International said today.Around 100 people part […]
Headline Title: Historic Pride march in Moldova should be 'first of many' 20 May 2013 The Moldovan authorities must ensure that yesterday's historic Pride march in the capital Chisinau is the "first of many" and is followed up by other steps to combat homophobic discrimination, Amnesty International said today.Around 100 people part […]
Headline Title: Jamaica: Three years on, state of emergency still an open wound 17 May 2013 The Jamaican authorities must swiftly appoint a commission of inquiry with an adequate mandate, resources and powers to carry out a thorough investigation into the security forces’ conduct during the 2010 state of emergency, Amnesty International said today during a […]
Tweet Widget Facebook Like Email The Ugandan government should immediately end politically motivated police intimidation of newspapers and radio stations and ensure that the media can operate freely. (Nairobi) – The Ugandan government should immediately end politically motivated police intimidation of newspapers and radio stations and ensure that the media c […]
Tweet Widget Facebook Like Email Seven days after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, President George W. Bush signed the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), a joint resolution passed by Congress that empowered the president to use force against those responsible for the attacks. More than 11 years later that law is still in effe […]
Tweet Widget Facebook Like Email Respect for basic rights and liberties has declined in Sri Lanka in the four years since the government defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). (Colombo) – Respect for basic rights and liberties has declined in Sri Lanka in the four years since the government defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). […]
Today HRC president Chad Griffin released the following statement regarding a string of hate crimes in New York City, including the hate-motivated shooting death of Mark Carson this weekend.
Environmental factors are responsible for 23 percent of the overall global disease burden, according to World Health Organization research. Addressing such pollution could save the lives of 6 million women a year.
Much has changed in the world of comedy thanks to strong female voices since "They Used to Call Me Snow White . . . But I Drifted" was first released in 1991, says Gina Barreca in this updated version of the book.
Obama says that the U.S. military's sexual assaults are "dangerous to our national security." A mayor says the Japanese military's "comfort women" were necessary.
The United Nations human rights chief today welcomed the decision of dozens of international companies to sign on to an fire-and-safety agreement in the aftermath of the deadly factory collapse in Bangladesh, while calling for additional actions to overhaul the entire garment sector.
Members of Boko Haram and other extremist groups in Nigeria could face war crimes charges for deliberate acts leading to ethnic and religious cleansing, the top United Nations human rights official said today.
Marking the International Day Against Homophobia, United Nations officials today issued a call on Governments worldwide to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, and strike laws that discriminate against them.
UNEP has been working with government of China in establishing a low-carbon, resource efficient Green Economy that will support sustainable development. […]
President Barack Obama delivers remarks during the commencement ceremony at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., May 19, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) Today, President Obama delivered the commencement address to the 2013 graduates of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. “It is one of the great honors of my life to be able to address this gather […]
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during the Bowie State University commencement at the Comcast Center in College Park, Md., May 17, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson) On Friday, First Lady Michelle Obama delivered the commencement address to the Bowie State University Class of 2013. Bowie State, which opened just two years after […]
President Obama talks about his belief that a rising, thriving middle class is the true engine of economic growth, and that to reignite that engine and continue to build on the progress we’ve made over the last four years, we need to invest in three areas: jobs, skills and opportunity. Transcript | Download mp4 | Download mp3
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to talk to people living with HIV (PLWH) and HIV/AIDS advocates. On June 14, under its Patient-Focused Drug Development initiative, FDA will ask PLWH to join an open public discussion about: the impact of HIV on your daily life, experience with currently available therapies to treat HIV, your...
The implementation of scientifically proven HIV prevention strategies is helping to reduce the number of new infections — the annual HIV infection rate globally fell by 22 percent from 2001 to 2011 — but a great deal more must be done. Significant scale-up of proven HIV prevention strategies coupled with the discovery of new HIV...
As we celebrate Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Heritage Month and the many accomplishments of AAPIs, we also want to recognize that these communities still face many barriers to health and health care, including HIV/AIDS. To recognize these challenges, May 19th has been designated as the National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness […]
