Tag Archives: violence

Government Accountability, International

Over 100 International Groups Call on US to Prosecute Torture

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Friday June 26th will mark International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. This day is an opportunity for the people of the world to “reaffirm the universal commitment to the total eradication of torture.”

In response to the holiday, over 100 civil and human rights organizations from around the world have sent a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council demanding an investigation into the United States for failing to hold officials accountable for allowing torture under the CIA’s controversial program. The letter also faults the U.S. for failing to provide justice to the victims of the torture program.

Since 1984, most of the world has signed the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In 1987 when President Ronald Reagan signed the treaty he said the following:

“The core provisions of the Convention establish a regime for international cooperation in the criminal prosecution of torturers relying on so-called “universal jurisdiction.” Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution.”

The United States officially ratified the treaty in 1994. The US government is also bound by federal laws against the use of torture. Despite this, the US has engaged in acts of torture including waterboarding, rectal feeding, sleep deprivation and more. Indeed, in December when the Senate released their report on the CIA’s enhanced interrogation it was revealed that the CIA continuously misled congressional and White House officials about the effectiveness and level of brutality of its methods.

On Wednesday, June 24, the secretary general of Amnesty International and the executive directors of the American Civil Liberties Union, and Human Rights Watch sent another letter and delivered petitions with 111,788 signatures of human rights supporters to the Department of Justice. The organizations are seeking to pressure the US government into holding officials accountable for the use of torture.

DOJ spokesman Marc Raimondi told The Miami Herald that the Attorney General already conducted a preliminary review and reviewed the Senate report on torture “and did not find any new information that they had not previously considered in reaching their determination. This inquiry was extraordinarily thorough and we stand by our previously announced decision not to initiate criminal charges.”

The new letter was submitted by the ACLU, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)
Conectas Direitos Humanos, and Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). Over 100 groups endorsed the call for accountability, including Center for Constitutional Rights, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, International Human Rights Clinic, Harvard Law School, National Lawyers Guild, Psychologists for Social Responsibility, and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.

The international groups are asking the US government to consider the consequences of not holding the U.S. government accountable.

“We know from the experiences of civil society groups and survivors of torture around the world that the struggle for accountability for human rights violations and the search for truth can be a long and difficult journey. Yet the United States has much to gain from rejecting impunity, returning to the rule of law, and providing adequate redress to the dozens and dozens of people it so brutally abused.”

Government Accountability, Police Accountability, Police State

DOJ Report: Philadelphia Police Shot 400 People in 7 Years

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On Monday a new report was released by the US Department of Justice which condemned the Philadelphia Police Department for “poor training”, and for the shooting of approximately 400 civilians over the last 7 years. The report came at the request of Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.

The Justice department found a lack of “guidelines, objectives, or lesson plans that detail PPD officer training on the department’s use of force policies.” The DOJ is calling on the PPD to create a specific unit that looks into every case where an officer uses deadly force. They also requested that an independent outside agency investigate shootings of unarmed individuals and hold a press conference within three days to reveal details.

The report found a lack of accountability when it comes to officer-involved shootings, or OIS.  “All PPD should be required to report any misconduct, including but not limited to excessive use of force.”  The report also concluded that “all across OIS  investigations, we found a general lack of consistency in quality.”

Philadelphia Mayor Nutter said the city must heed the warnings of the DOJ. “We will examine fully this report and work on a realistic approach for implementation of the recommendations as quickly as possible,” he stated.

Despite a lack of “official” statistics on the number of police officer shootings of civilians, independent estimates have found that over 1,000 individuals were killed by police in 2014.  The Washington Post drew the following comparison:

“In New York, for example, there were 30 police shootings in 2012 (16 of the people shot were killed, while the rest were injured) and 25 such shootings in 2013 (eight of those people were killed), according to the police. The Dallas Police Department, responsible for a city closer in size to Philadelphia, said it had 23 shootings in 2012 and 22 in 2013. Meanwhile, police in Philadelphia had 58 shootings in 2012 and 44 shootings in 2013.”

The DOJ report comes after another study done last month by the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the law firm of Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing & Feinberg, LLP. The two groups found that the PPD illegally stops and frisks tens of thousands of individuals.

US

For the first time in 20 years, gun rights are favored over gun control

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According to a recent Pew Research poll, Americans are now saying protecting the rights of citizen’s to own a firearm is more important than the need to control guns.

The research says about 52 percent of those polled are saying they favor protecting the right to own firearms, while 46 percent say they prefer gun control.  This is a substantial shift in public opinion from the early 90’s when the public was in favor of gun control, polling at 57 percent, while those who wanted to protect the right to own a firearm were polled at 34 percent.

While both sides of the political spectrum have been arguing over healthcare and immigration among other hot topics, this poll found support for gun rights has increased in both Republicans and Democrats by 6 points, while it also increased by 7 points among Independents.  According to RT, support for gun ownership was up in all demographics except for liberal Democrats and Hispanics, but support for gun rights went down only one or two points in these groups.

African-Americans were also found to be more likely to believe owning a firearm does more to protect a person rather than threaten another.  The support from African-Americans has almost doubled since early 2012 when 29 percent of those polled supported gun rights while the new poll found 54 percent of African-Americans back gun ownership.

An October Gallup poll found similar results, showing only 26 percent of people think handguns should be banned from being sold to the public while 73 percent of people think no such law should be considered.

Research also found homicides related to firearms has fallen from 1993 according to NPR.  At the time, seven homicides per 100,000 people were attributed to gun violence, while in recent years, 3.6 homicides have been attributed to firearms.

Politics, US

Eric Frein wanted a ‘revolution’ and was upset with the government

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A new document obtained by the court in the Eric Frein shooting case in Pennsylvania, shows Frein was distraught by the direction he thought the US was heading and wanted to “wake people up” by ambushing state troopers outside of their barracks.

“Our nation is far from what it was and what it should be,” Frein allegedly wrote in a letter addressed to his parents.  “There is so much wrong and on so many levels only passing through the crucible of another revolution can get us back the liberties we once had. I do not pretend to know what that revolution will look like or even if it would be successful.”

The night Frein was arrested, he waived his right to remain silent and told officers, according to the Talking Points Memo, he “wanted to make a change  (in government) and that voting was inefficient to do so, because there was no one worth voting for.”

Frein does not talk about what he planned on doing in the letter, but the letter indicates he believed he might die because, as the letter reads, he “knows the odds.”

The letter was found on a portable storage drive within the hangar Frein was using as a shelter while he was on the run.  The file was created last December meaning Frein was potentially planning the shooting for at least nine months.

Frein is already being charged with first-degree murder for the killing of Cpl. Bryon Dickson, but with this new document submitted as evidence, he is also being charged with two counts of terrorism, according to the LA Times.  The one count is for attempting to influence the policy of the government through intimidation and/or coercion, while the other is for trying to affect the conduct of the government.

The prosecution has already said they are seeking the death penalty for Frein.  He is currently held without bond, and Frein’s next court date is Dec. 9.

Police State, US

Death of a black teenager sparks riots in Missouri

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The shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by police over the weekend prompted riots in Ferguson, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis, on Sunday.

Brown was shot by police Saturday after what many sources are saying was a struggle between an unnamed officer and Brown.

St. Louis police chief, Jon Belmar, spoke at a news conference Sunday, saying Brown, another unnamed civilian, and the officer in question had met on the street outside of an apartment complex in Ferguson.  Brown then reportedly had pushed the officer back into his patrol car, according to a CBS News report from Sunday.

The officer and Brown fought inside the patrol car, and according to the New York Times, the office’s firearm came into play around this time as the two began to fight for possession of it.  Chief Belmar continued, saying at least one shot was fired inside the patrol car before the fight spilled into the street where more shots were fired, resulting in Brown’s death.

The number of shots fired has not yet been released by the police, but this same report says all shots were fired from the officer’s gun and “it was more than just a couple” shots, according to Chief Belmar.

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Brown was unnarmed throughout the entire confrontation.

The second civilian who accompanied Brown has not been charged or arrested as of right now.

After the shooting Saturday, people from the surrounding area confronted police who had arrived on the scene, shouting “kill the police,” according to the AP.

On Sunday, mourners came to the site where Brown was killed and held vigils for the slain and protested what they viewed as an unjust use of force.  As the protests went on, officers showed up in riot gear in anticipation of potential violence, and people became angered at this and began to riot.

Thirty-two people were arrested over night, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, all charged with either assault, theft, burglary, or a combination of the three.

Cleanup of the incident has started this morning, but some don’t believe the rioting is over just yet.

According to the BBC, Deandre Smith, 30, of Ferguson, has said, “I don’t think it’s over honestly… I just think they got a taste of what fighting back means.”

The St. Louis Police have given all investigative information of the shooting over to the FBI, who are now in charge of determining what happened Saturday night.

The officer involved is now on paid administrative leave.

International, Politics

ISIS continues spreading violence as ‘children are being beheaded’

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In a video interview with CNN’s Jonathan Mann, Chaldean-American leader Mark Arabo has described the current situation for none Muslim civilians in the Islamic State as a “Christian genocide.”

During the video, Arabo described how thousands of Christians in Iraq are fleeing to neighboring countries as violence is continued to be spread by ISIS.  Specifically, Arabo told Mann, “children are being beheaded, mothers are being raped and killed, and fathers are being hung.”

“There’s actually a park in Mosul where they actually beheaded children and put their heads on a stick,” Arabo said.  “They are doing the most horrendous, the most heart-breaking crimes that you can think of.”

Graphic images of the violence can be found here at Catholic Online.

Opposing Views is also reporting a surge of systemic violence towards non-Sunni Muslims in the Islamic State saying Christians, Kurds, and other Muslim denominations are facing similar levels of violence.  This violence has killed at least 5,500 civilians, wounded close to 12,000, and driven some 1.2 million from their homes since January according to a July report from the Guardian.

ISIS has also been behind numerous bombings of religious sites throughout the Islamic State, such as Christian churches and Shiite mosques.

Currently, France is leading the effort to grant asylum to those trying to escape the violence of ISIS, reports the Gospel Herald.

“This is genocide in every sense,” said Arabo.  “The world hasn’t seen an evil like this for generations.”

Featured, International, Politics

UN school in Gaza caught in the cross hairs, leaving 15 dead

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As violence continues to escalate between Israeli forces and those of Hamas in Gaza, a UN backed school has reportedly been shelled by Israeli tanks, leaving 15 dead and about 200 wounded.

The school was in a coastal area of Gaza known as Beit Hanoun, which has been known to be a dangerous region since the fighting began.  Civilians had fled the region so they could find shelter and escape the fighting between the IDF and Hamas.  Of those killed and injured, all are believed to be civilians.

Valerie Amos, the UN Under-Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs, said, according to the Independent, “People are sheltering in UN schools which as a result cannot be used for education. They are running out of food, and water is also a serious concern.”

This strike comes amongst a day of heavy fighting throughout Gaza.  The fighting was sparked by a demand by Hamas for Israel and Egypt to lift the blockade around Gaza, according to the Guardian.

Spokesman for the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), Chris Gunness made a tweet, according to the Ma’an News Agency, saying, “Precise co-ordinates of the UNRWA shelter in Beit Hanoun had been formally given to the Israeli army.”

A contact in the Israeli military told Al-Jazeera the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were not necessarily responsible, but the IDF had detected rocket fire from Hamas in the area.  This same contact said those detected rockets could have fallen short and hit the school.

This is the fourth UN facility to be hit in the fighting since the Israeli operation began on July 8.

Director of UNRWA, Robert Turner, said, in relation to all of the facilities caught in the line of fire, “We always call on all parties to ensure that civilians are not harmed.”