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Tag: Amnesty International

  • About 18,000 have died in Syria jails – Amnesty

    Nearly 18,000 people have died in government prisons in Syria since the beginning of the uprising in 2011, according to Amnesty International.

    A new report by the charity, based on interviews with 65 “torture survivors”, details systematic use of rape and beatings by prison guards.

    Former detainees described so-called welcome parties – ritual beatings using metal bars and electric cables.

    The Syrian government has repeatedly denied such allegations, the BBC reports.

    The report estimates that 17,723 people died in custody across Syria between March 2011, when the uprising against President Bashar Assad began, and December 2015 – equivalent to about 10 people each day or more than 300 a month.

    According to the report, new detainees are subjected to “security checks” that often involve women being sexually assaulted by male guards.

    “They treated us like animals. They wanted people to be as inhuman as possible,” said Samer, a lawyer from Hama who was among those interviewed.

    “I saw the blood, it was like a river. I never imagined humanity would reach such a low level.”

    Another inmate, Ziad (not his real name), described how seven people died in one day after the ventilation stopped working at an intelligence agency detention centre.

    “They began to kick us to see who was alive and who wasn’t,” Ziad said.

  • Amnesty to probe rights abuse during Bayelsa election

    Amnesty to probe rights abuse during Bayelsa election

    Amnesty International, United Kingdom, on Wednesday said it will investigate cases of human rights violation during the December 2015 governorship election in Bayelsa.

    Barr. Ata Ikiddeh of the Amnesty Office in UK disclosed this at a public presentation of findings on unreported cases of human rights abuse during the poll.

    He stated at the event organized by a coalition of civil society, The Save Ijaw Nation Group that Nigeria remains the only natural abode of Nigerians, thus all efforts should be made to protect the rights of Nigerians.

    He described the report as the first Amnesty was receiving from the South-South on killings and violation of human rights.

    He expressed surprise at reports that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps were found in the Niger Delta.

    Ikiddeh: “It is unbelievable that there are IDP camps in southern Nigeria. All we used to hear is that there are IDPs in the north. Nigeria is all we have and we need to protect the rights of everyone in Nigeria. This is the first report we are receiving from the south-south Nigeria and we will take it up seriously.

    “We hope that the present government will take it up and we will do justice to that.”

     

  • Amnesty Int’l calls for speedy probe of ex-Burundi minister’s murder

    Global human rights body, Amnesty International, on Friday called for a thorough and speedy probe of killing of former Burundian Information Minister, Hafsa Mossi.

    Mossi was killed by unidentified gunmen in Bujumbura on Wednesday.

    “Hafsa Mossi’s death, the latest in a disturbing string of high-profile killings, is a great loss to the people of Burundi and the East African region,” Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa, Muthoni Wanyeki, said.

    Wanyeki said that the assassination of Mossi must be independently and impartially investigated, and that those reasonably suspected of responsibility should be held to account in a fair trial.

    Mossi was also a former journalist, who worked with the BBC Swahili Service and one of Burundi’s representatives in the East African Legislative Assembly since 2012.

  • Amnesty to FG: Probe killing of IPOB supporters

    Amnesty to FG: Probe killing of IPOB supporters

    Amnesty International (AI) on Friday asked the Federal government to probe the army for allegedly gunning down unarmed people ahead of last month’s planned pro-Biafran commemoration events in Onitsha, Anambra State.

    The rights group said in a report that evidence it gathered from eyewitnesses, morgues and hospitals confirmed that between 29-30 May, soldiers opened fire on members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), supporters and bystanders at three locations in the town.

    It said the exact number of deaths was unknown, partly due to the fact that the army took away corpses and the injured.

    The army, in a swift reaction, dismissed the allegation as nothing more than an unverified claim.

    The deputy director of Army Public Relations, Col. H.A.Gambo, said Amnesty was simply out to discredit the force.

    The rights watchdog, in its report, said: “Some of the dead and injured IPOB supporters seen by an Amnesty researcher were shot in the back, an indication that they were fleeing the scene when they were shot.”

    It quoted its Nigeria’s Country Director, M. K. Ibrahim as saying: “Opening fire on peaceful IPOB supporters and bystanders who clearly posed no threat to anyone is an outrageous use of unnecessary and excessive force and resulted in multiple deaths and injuries. In one incident one person was shot dead after the authorities burst in on them while they slept.

    “These shootings, some of which may amount to extra judicial executions, must be urgently and independently investigated and anyone suspected of criminal responsibility must be brought to justice.”

    The leadership of IPOB claimed more than 50 of their members were killed.

    The army had said in a statement that they acted in self-defence and that five IPOB members were killed.

     

  • Alleged travel ban: Fayose petitions NHRC, UN, others

    Alleged travel ban: Fayose petitions NHRC, UN, others

    Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose has petitioned the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over claim that the Federal Government has placed travel ban on him.

    The petition filed on his behalf by the state’s House of Assembly also complained about the alleged refusal of an agent of the Fed Govt, the Department of State Services (DSS) to obey a Federal High Court judgment, ordering it to pay N5 million damages on the illegal arrest and detention for 18 days of a member of the House, Afolabi Akanni.

    The National Assembly, Amnesty International, Embassies of the United States and the United Kingdom were also copied with the petition.

    Fayose had recently written to Chinese government, urging it to refuse financial aid to the Nigerian government.

    The petition signed by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Kolawole Oluwawole, was submitted Tuesday in Abuja, to NHRC’s Executive Secretary, Professor Bem Angwe, who assured that his commission will investigate the petition.

    The Deputy Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Segun Adewumi who submitted the petition, was accompanied by the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Gboyega Aribisogan and Chairman House Committee on Health, Dr Samuel Omotoso.

    The petition reads; “We write to bring to your attention another impending infringement on the rights of the Governor of our State, Mr Ayodele Fayose and by extension the entire Ekiti by the Federal Government.

    “A few weeks ago, our governor was reliably informed that President Mohammadu Buhari had directed that he should be banned from traveling outside Nigeria. This reliable information was to be confirmed through reports in two major national dailies on Sunday, May 29, 2016 titled; ‘2 govs under watch, face travel

    “From our findings, one of the governors being referred to is our own governor, Peter Ayodele Fayose and we wish to state like we have always done that we, the members of Ekiti State House of Assembly are with the governor on everything that he does.

    “Even ordinary Nigerians do not require clearance from the Department of State Services (DSS) or any security agency to travel outside Nigeria unless in compliance with court order, and as at today, there is no court order placing travel restriction on our governor, Ayodele Fayose. Issues concerning Governor Fayose cannot even be entertained in any court by virtue of the immunity he enjoys as provided in Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    “We however know as always that this latest plot is as a result of our governor’s critical stance on President Mohammadu Buhari’s government and its anti-people’s policies, and we make bold to say that no amount of intimidation, harassment and oppression will cowed the governor from exercising his fundamental rights to freedom of expression and to hold opinions as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended).

    “We are aware that this is coming as a result of the failure of the President Buhari led APC government’s plot to use the DSS to coerce the House of Assembly members into the plot of removing the governor.

    “We are also aware that plot to out-rightly take the governor ‘out of circulation’ cannot be ruled out as those advising President Buhari are said to be of the opinion that our governor has become a threat to his (Buhari) re-election bid and that everything must be done to ‘whip the governor to line’ before 2018.

    “Going by the antecedents of the President Buhari-led Federal Government of Nigeria and the DSS under the President’s kinsman, Alhaji Lawal Daura, it is certain that there is nothing that cannot be attempted, no matter how unlawful.

    “It should be recalled that this same DSS invaded the hallowed Chamber of the House of Assembly in our State, abducted our member, Hon Afolabi Akanni and kept him in detention for 18 days without access to anyone. Even when the court ordered that he should be released, the order was ignore. Up till today, no explanation was given for this arrest and detention.

    “It should also be recalled that on April 20th, 2016, the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti, in Suit No. FHC/AD/CS/7/2016 ordered the DSS to pay a sum of N5 million to Hon Afolabi Akanni as damages for what the court termed unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional infringement of his fundamental rights. Up till today, that judgment has not been obeyed by the DSS.

    “It is therefore on the premise of display of arrogance and contempt for the laws of the country by the DSS under President Buhari that we elected to bring this latest plot to place Governor Ayodele Fayose on travel ban to your attention.

    “It is worrisome that the federal government will consider the idea of compelling a sitting governor in Nigeria that enjoys Constitutional Immunity like the President to obtain clearance from the Director General DSS, who is an appointee of the President before travelling out of Nigeria.

    “This to us is an affront on the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) more so that States, as federating units in Nigeria are not under the Federal Government, which itself is also a State and not superior to other federating units.

    “Section 35 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides that; ‘Every person shall be entitled to his personal liberty and no person shall be deprived of such liberty,’ Section 39 (1) provides that; ‘Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impact ideas and information without interference,’ while Section 41 (1) provides that ‘Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereto or exit therefrom.’

    “Article 13 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which Nigeria is a signatory provides that “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the border of each State while Article 13 (2) provides that ‘Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and return to his country,’ ditto Article 12 (2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

    “By provisions of the Constitution of Nigeria, ordinary Nigerians do not require clearance from the DSS or any security agency to travel outside Nigeria unless travel restriction is placed by an order of the court, not to talk of State Governors that enjoy immunity just like the President and are not under the control of the President.

    “Our question is; if Governor Fayose has become a threat to the security of Nigeria just because he criticises President Buhari and says the truth about his mis-governance of the country, what happens to Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), which provided for freedom of expression and freedom to hold opinions?

    “Most importantly, under a federal system of government, the states and national government both enjoy some autonomy, with sovereign power formally divided between the national government and the States such that each State retains some degree of control over its internal affairs.

    “However, it appears that the laws of Nigeria are not important to the President Mohammadu Buhari led government and it has become once again necessary that webring your attention to yet, another plot to subvert our rights as a State.

    “We wish to recall that in 1984 when President Buhari was a military Head of State, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo was prevented from travelling outside Nigeria for medical treatment, thereby leading to his (Awolowo) untimely death in 1987.

    “The international passports of late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade; late Emir of Kano Alhaji Ado Bayero and late Obi of Onitsha, Ofala Akulalia Alphonsus Ogugua were also seized and they were restricted to their palaces just because they travelled to Israel for business.

    “We therefore wish to state on behalf of Governor Ayodele Fayose that as an opposition figure, he cannot be cowed by this pettiness from the presidency.”

    Angwe commended members of the House of Assembly for their commitment to the sustenance of rule of law in the country and cooperation with the executive arm of government in Ekiti State.

  • Nigeria’s Giwa barracks ‘a place of death’ – Amnesty

    Nigeria’s Giwa barracks ‘a place of death’ – Amnesty

    Amnesty International on Wednesday said at least 149 detainees have died “in horrendous conditions” at a military detention centre in Maiduguri, Borno State, this year.

    In a report, Amnesty said 11 of those who died at the Giwa barracks were young children, including four babies.

    It called the centre “a place of death” and should be closed.

    The BBC reports that it is the latest in a series of damning reports on the Nigerian military’s treatment of suspects.

    The army has not commented on the latest report but has previously said it has set up a human rights department to check claims of abuse.

    In its report, Amnesty said evidence gathered through interviews with former detainees and eyewitnesses, and supported by video and photographs, shows that many detainees may have died from disease, hunger, dehydration, and gunshot wounds.

    “The discovery that babies and young children have died in appalling conditions in military detention is both harrowing and horrifying,” said Netsanet Belay, Amnesty’s research and advocacy director for Africa.

    “We have repeatedly sounded the alarm over the high death rate of detainees in Giwa barracks but these findings show that, for both adults and children, it remains a place of death.”

    The report called for the barracks to be closed immediately and all detainees released or transferred to civilian authorities.

     

  • Amnesty accuses army of deliberate killing during clash with Shiites

    Amnesty accuses army of deliberate killing during clash with Shiites

    Amnesty International on Friday accused the Nigerian Army of deliberately shooting dead more than 350 Shiite Muslims, burying them in mass graves and destroying evidence of the crime.

    The rights group also dismissed as baseless army claims the protesters from the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) group wanted to kill the Chef of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, before the clashes last December.

    Army spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, dismissed the Amnesty report as hasty, partial and lacking in credibility and objectivity.

    “The NGO should understand that Nigeria is a sovereign nation and it should be respected,” he said.

    Amnesty claimed   that satellite footage and witness accounts offer damning new evidence that soldiers killed hundreds of the Shiites in the clash.

    The report entitled: “Unearthing the truth: unlawful killings and mass cover-up in Zaria” comes in the wake of conflicting claims about the violence in Zaria.

    Two days of violence began on December 12 when IMN supporters of the pro-Iranian cleric, Ibrahim Zakzaky, attending a religious ceremony refused to allow the chief of army staff’s convoy to pass.

    Amnesty said its investigations indicated the military acted “unlawfully” by shooting “indiscriminately” at unarmed protestors.

    “It is not clear why the army launched such a ‘military operation’ in response to a law and order situation,” the report said.

    “The Nigerian army has provided no evidence to substantiate its claim that IMN protesters attempted to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff.”

    It added: “The Nigerian military burnt people alive, razed buildings and dumped victims’ bodies in mass graves.”

    Most of the evidence was “meticulously destroyed”, Amnesty said, accusing soldiers of trying to cover up the carnage by limiting access to conflict sites.

    “Bodies were taken away, sites were razed to the ground, the rubble removed, bloodstains washed off, and bullets and spent cartridges removed from the streets.”

    Soldiers sealed the areas around Zakzaky’s compound, which was destroyed, and the site of the street protests for several days.

  • Amnesty Intl accuses FG of ‘continuous’ rights abuse

    Amnesty Intl accuses FG of ‘continuous’ rights abuse

    Amnesty International on Wednesday accused the Federal Government of continuous human rights abuse against Nigerians.

    The rights watchdog in its 2015 annual report accused the security agents of war crimes, extrajudicial killings, torture, ill-treatment, custodian deaths, flawed criminal justice system and excessive use of force against the Shia movement in Zaria and protesters in Anambra State.

    Amnesty also accused the Lagos and Kaduna State governments of rendering thousands of people homeless and vulnerable to other human rights violations when they conducted mass forced evictions without consultation, compensation and provision of alternative accommodation.

    The Country Director of Amnesty in Nigeria, Mohammed Ibrahim, while speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, added that Boka Haram insurgents have equally continued to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity in the northeast by killing thousands of civilians.

    Ibrahim said the purpose of the report is not to create enmity with the government or security agents but to let the government be aware of its responsibility of promoting and protecting the rights of Nigerians.

    He said “The conflict between the military and the armed group Boko Haram continued, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians and over two million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the end of the year. Torture and other ill-treatment by the police and security forces were widespread. Demolition of informal settlements let to the forced eviction of thousands of people, death sentence continued to be imposed, although no executions were reported.

    “The military committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity in its response to Boko Haram between 2011 and 2015, with extrajudicial executions by the military, arrest of people during screening operations, where suspects detained by the military had no access to their families or lawyers and were not brought before the court.

    “Boko Haram continued to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity in northeast Nigeria, killing thousands of civilians especially the attack on Baga, satellite images revealed that more than 3,700 buildings had been damaged or destroyed in the attack.

    “In July, the police announced they were reviewing the Forces Orders, including Force Order 237, which allows police officers to shoot suspects and detainees who attempt to avoid arrest or escape. Many police divisions, including the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and the Forced Criminal Investigation Division, kept rooms where suspects were tortured while being interrogated.”

     

  • We don’t torture corruption suspects – EFCC

    We don’t torture corruption suspects – EFCC

    The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, on Monday said the agency does not obtain statement from suspects under duress.

    He said the state- of-the- art recording facilities in the EFCC interrogation rooms would not allow any investigator to humiliate a suspect.

    He, however, pleaded with Western nations to reject and return stolen funds.

    Lamorde, who made the clarifications during a visit by two officials of Amnesty International, (AI), said corruption is the worst form of human rights abuse.

    He said: ‘‘The EFCC follows the rule of law. Our statements are recorded and are not taken under duress. Our rooms have cameras in them, so it is not possible to humiliate anyone.

    He urged Western countries to continue to reject and return stolen funds.

    He added: ‘‘Western countries must end the impoverization of developing countries. They must reject and return stolen funds, so that respective governments of the affected developing countries could use the money to better the lives of the poor in their countries.

    “It is the common wealth of the people that has been diverted for private use. So, it is the worst form of human rights abuse. When corruption and impunity become the order of the day, human rights abuses flourish.

    ‘‘When you consider the cause of water-borne diseases suffered by people in rural areas, it is because someone has diverted the funds meant for pipe borne water in those areas. Also, when you consider the fact that our hospitals lack the basic amenities, it is because some people have kept the funds allocated to the hospitals to themselves. I, therefore, urge you to consider partnering with the EFCC.”

    On his part, the Senior Director, Office of the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Mr. Colm O Cuanachain, said nations that take anti-corruption war seriously would experience ‘‘phenomenal growth.”

    Cuanachain, who further expressed the readiness of Amnesty International to partner EFCC, also talked about the activities of the AI in the Northeast part of Nigeria, the Niger Delta and Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he said corruption had contributed to human rights violation.

    He, however, decried death penalty as punishment for looters of the treasury.

    “It is not the best option in the fight against corruption,” he said.

    The Executive Director, Amnesty International Nigeria, M.K. Ibrahim, emphasized the need for the masses to be educated on the effects of corruption and human rights violations.

  • Amnesty urges Cameroon to investigate abuses in Boko Haram fight

    Amnesty International urged Cameroon on Wednesday to investigate the death of 25 prisoners and disappearance of 130 people after raids by security forces, raising concern about possible abuses arising from a crackdown on Boko Haram militants.

    Amnesty said the Nigerian insurgent group had committed war crimes in neighbouring northern Cameroon by killing at least 380 civilians since the start of last year.

    In one attack in October, Boko Haram shot or slit the throats of at least 30 people in the border town of Ambchide, Amnesty said.

    While providing protection to civilians in northern Cameroon, security forces had committed serious human rights violations, Amnesty said.

    More than 1,000 suspects had been detained in raids by authorities on villages, in which homes were destroyed and civilians killed, it said.

    Amnesty highlighted a raid by security forces in December on the villages of Magdeme and Double, in which 70 buildings were burnt down and at least eight people killed, including a seven-year-old child, according to residents.

    At least 200 men and boys were detained in the raid. The government has said that 25 died in their first night of detention from asphyxiation, but Amnesty said that another 130 remain missing.

    Steve Cockburn, Amnesty’s deputy regional director, appealed for Cameroonian authorities to launch an independent, impartial and rigorous investigation into the killings, disappearances and detentions.

    “We can’t have a situation where the population is scared of the people who are protecting them,” he told Reuters. “What that means concretely is a change of tactics to avoid the type of operation that leads to the mass arrests we have seen.”

    Amnesty found that overcrowding, lack of sanitation and inadequate health care in a prison in northern Cameroon’s main town of Maroua led to the death of at least 40 prisoners between March and May. The rights group called for a rapid improvement in conditions of detention.

    Cockburn voiced concern that an offensive against Boko Haram due to be launched this year by an 8,700-strong regional force – composed of troops from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin — could lead to more abuses.

    “That brings with it the risk of future human rights violations unless there are further measures taken to prevent the sort of mass arrests and other violations that we have seen over the last months,” he said.