November 2006
United States: HRW Report Spurs Iowa to Reform Use of Attack Dogs in Prisons
On October 12, two days after the publication of a Human Rights Watch report on the use of dogs to forcibly remove prisoners from their cells, Gary Maynard, Iowa Corrections Director and President of the American Correctional Association, announced that Iowa's state prisons would discontinue this practice. In addition to the immediate response in Iowa, conversations between Human Rights Watch and corrections departments in Arizona and Massachusetts prompted them also to amend their policies. Connecticut is now the only state that continues to engage in this cruel and wholly unnecessary practice. Having galvanized change in other states, Human Rights Watch will target the Connecticut prison system to press it to change its practices. Read More.
Saudi Arabia: King Issues Pardon Following HRW Letter
Saudi King Abdullah pardoned Hadi Al Mutif just weeks after receiving a letter from Human Rights Watch detailing the serious violations of fair trial standards to which Al Mutif had been subjected. In a phone call to Human Rights Watch from his prison cell, Al Mutif described to us how the judges in his case had disparaged him for belonging to the minority Isma'ili creed and failed to grant him a fair trial. At various points, the judges denied Al Mutif the right to legal representation, turned a blind eye to his torture by Saudi investigators, and closed the trial to the public without good cause. Describing these abuses and calling for Al Mutif's pardon, our letter drew international attention to the case, particularly by the U.S. State Department, and highlighted the issue of discrimination against Isma'ilis. Al Mutif spent fourteen years in prison and was sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad, but is now scheduled for release. Encouraged by this positive movement, Human Rights Watch will continue to call on the Saudi government to stop judicial discrimination against minorities in the kingdom.
Read More.
United States/Burma: Chin Refugees Allowed to Seek Asylum
Responding to pressure by Human Rights Watch and a broad coalition of other groups, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on October 19 exempted refugees from Burma's Chin state from a provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act that denies entry into the United States to anyone who associated with, or provided material support to a "terrorist organization." Admission of Chin refugees to the United States had ground to a halt last year because almost all had a connection to the Chin National Front, an ethnic resistance movement in Burma that falls within the overly broad definition of "terrorist organization." With this recent waiver of the material support bar, vulnerable Chin refugees—fleeing serious abuse and discrimination by Burma's authoritarian military government—will be allowed to seek haven within American borders. Human Rights Watch is now pressing Congress to amend the law so that other vulnerable refugee groups are not similarly barred admission.
Read More.
Netherlands/Iran: Persecuted Iranians Granted Asylum
Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk has granted special asylum rights to lesbian and gay Iranians. According to the ministry's October 18 statement, the decision was motivated by Human Rights Watch's forthcoming report on serious and systematic abuse of LGBT individuals in Iran. Minister Verdonk also decided to allow Iranian Christian asylum seekers to remain in the Netherlands until at least May 2007. We first reported on this issue in the May 2006 issue of Impact, at which time Human Rights Watch had successfully pressed for the temporary extension of the moratorium on expulsions of LGBT Iranian asylum seekers. Read More.
A New Era for Congo?
In the London Review of Books and Le Journal du Mardi, Africa Division Senior Researcher Anneke van Woudenberg offers a sweeping overview of the Democratic Republic of Congo's violent past, uncertain present, and prospects for peace in the future.
U.N. Must Act in Burma
Asia Director Brad Adams, writing in the Nation, urges the U.N. Security Council to take long-needed action against Burma's military dictatorship, which continues to rule the country with brutal repression and harsh restrictions of basic human rights.
Hezbollah Needs to AnswerPublished in
Le Temps and
Al-Sharq al-Awsat, Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of our Middle East and North Africa Division, calls for Hezbollah—not just Israel—to be held accountable for its crimes during the recent war.
E.U. Should Protect Asylum Seekers
Ian Gorvin, Human Rights Watch consultant and primary author of our recent briefing paper on E.U. migration policy, argues in the European Voice that the E.U. must better live up to its commitment to protect refugees and other migrants.
Article About HRW Now Required Air Force ReadingEsquire's August 2006 feature
article on Human Rights Watch Senior Military Analyst Marc Garlasco and his work on army abuse is now required reading for students in the Air Force Academy.
