Serena Shim’s death: why conclusions without evidence are stupid

Alex Thomson's View

Tuesday 04 Nov 2014

Turkey – quite rightly – has an abysmal international reputation for its treatment of journalists. Many years ago in eastern Turkey I was arrested more times than the number of days I was actually in that country attempting to do my job.  So I hold no brief to be forgiving about this country’s mistreatment of journalists, domestic or foreign.

(Picture: Serena Shim, Press TV, from Twitter)

Thus, the sudden, terrible death in an apparent road accident of the US journalist Serena Shim, in southern Turkey on 19 October, has been greeted by some as deeply suspicious.

She worked for the Iranian government-funded Press TV network on the Syrian-Turkish border and she had reported that she had been threatened by Turkish authorities, accused of being a spy, just before her death.

The issue, as she saw it, was that she had reported “evidence” of IS militants crossing that border using aid vehicles:

“I’m very surprised at this accusation – I even thought of approaching Turkish intelligence because I have nothing to hide… I am a bit worried, because… Turkey has been labelled by Reporters Without Borders as the largest prison for journalists…so I am frightened about what they might use against me… We were some of the first people on the ground – if not the first people - to get that story of… militants going in through the Turkish border… I’ve got images of them in World Food Organization (sic) trucks. It was very apparent that they were militants by their beards, by the clothes they wore, and they were going in there with NGO trucks.”

So – say some and among them Press TV – her death, caused by a truck colliding with her car, is suspicious. There are a number of problems with this. The first is that since Turkey is so good at arresting reporters why didn’t they just do that?

Second – if they wanted her dead, why attempt to rub somebody out in this bizarre method? Death by secret-police-organised-road-traffic-accident is far-fetched.

But the investigation does appear to have been superficial. And the curious silence from the US State Department was noted by Serena Shim’s mother on Twitter recently.

But if you were worried about being fingered by the cops in Turkey why would you broadcast statements about the place being a prison for journalists if you wanted the issue to subside?

And what evidence did she actually have for her story anyhow? By this statement it was simply that she saw some dodgy-looking blokes with beards in an aid truck, so they must be IS, mustn’t they? If she had any real proof then this was the chance to report it, but she did not do so.

Her employers – Press TV – say that the truck driver has disappeared and has not been identified. This is odd since his statements, that her car entered his lane oncoming, are widely reported and you will see them below.

The Serena Shim case has been widely taken up by various global axe-grinders. A blog on Global Research (one glance and you will get where they are coming from) actually states: “What is the difference between Serena Shim and James Foley that explains the striking disparity in the media coverage and public outcry?”

Well, one was beheaded in a violent jihadist propaganda video. The other died in a car crash. It is hard to know where to begin with this nonsense.

In a report on the Press TV website a London-based political analyst claimed that “our sister Serena” had been “assassinated by the government of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan”.

Again – not a shred of evidence that this is so, no matter how much Turkey may routinely harass journos.

The Turkish authorities, for their part, say she was killed in Suruc, when a truck collided with her car, which was also carrying her crew, Judy Irish.

Irish’s car was “traveling at a very high speed, went out of control, entered my lane and came under my truck,” according to the truck driver, reported in a leading Turkish paper.

The conspiracists will continue to fantasise about media double-standards. But they are unencumbered with the need for evidence, facts and proof.

The death of James Foley is one thing. The car crash which killed Serena Shim is very obviously very different and the two should not be joined in any way. It is obscene that some choose to do so for their own political ends.

The need for proper investigation of Serena’s death is obvious and pressing and should happen at once.

Conclusions without evidence are wrong, stupid and distasteful to her and all other journalists who risk their lives to do their jobs daily.

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Police chief stays silent on Jian Ghomeshi investigation

Chief Bill Blair won’t confirm how many alleged victims have come forward in the sexual assault case.

By: Diana Hall Staff Reporter, Published on Tue Nov 04 2014

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair is staying silent on the investigation into sexual assault allegations against former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi, but is continuing to assure victims of sexual assault they would be treated with respect if they decide to come forward.

“I can tell you that a number of people have come forward, but all updates that will subsequently come with respect to that investigation will come from our sex crimes unit,” he told reporters at police headquarters Tuesday morning.

Related videos

Blair wouldn’t confirm how many victims have come forward in the Ghomeshi case so far. The Star reported three people had brought allegations against Ghomeshi to policeas of Saturday.

Blair referred not only to alleged victims associated with the Ghomeshi investigation, but also to any victim of sexual assault when he said the police force respects the decision to remain silent or to come forward.

“If they come forward to the police, they will be treated with respect, they will be treated professionally and they will be treated with care,” Blair said.

CHRIS YOUNG / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Three people have brought allegations against former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi to police, the Star has reported.

The poetry and brief life of a Foxconn worker: Xu Lizhi (1990-2014)

libcom.org-Posted By-Nao-Oct 29 2014 07:56

Translations of poems by Xu Lizhi (许立志), the Foxconn worker who committed suicide on 30 September 2014, at the age of 24, in Shenzhen, China. Also includes an obituary with some explanatory notes.

Note: Below are translations by friends of the Nao project, starting with Xu's departing poem and an obituary, followed by other poems from 2011 to 2014. By translating these poems, we aim to memorialize Xu, share some of his excellent literary work, and spread awareness that the harsh conditions, struggles and aspirations of Chinese migrant workers (including but not limited to Foxconn) have not diminished since the more widely-publicized spate of 18 attempted Foxconn suicides in 2010, resulting in 14 deaths. Insiders report that thereafter, although the frequency of suicides decreased (mainly due to Foxconn's installation of nets making it more difficult for workers to jump from their dormitories, along with the development of workers' collective resistance), such suicides have continued to the present. Including Xu Lizhi, at least 8 cases have been reported in the media since 2010, but insiders say that many other cases go unreported. We hope that in the future, workers in Foxconn and elsewhere manage to find ways around such companies' military-style discipline and surveillance, come together, and forge collective paths out of this capitalist world of death, into a world worth living in. Don't give up!

Feel free to repost these translations anywhere.

The Poetry and Brief Life of a Foxconn Worker Xu Lizhi (1990-2014) by Thavam

Beijing attempts to cut air 

pollution for Apec summit

Beijing's roads were much quieter on Monday. Cars are allowed out on alternate days depending on whether their plate is odd or even-numbered during the Apec meeting. Photograph: Chinafotopress/Getty Images

Jonathan Kaiman in Beijing-Tuesday 4 November 2014 

To Beijing’s 21 million residents, the city’s air pollution is a health hazard. To the city’s leaders, it’s an embarrassment. So as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit (Apec) begins this week in the city, authorities have been scrambling to keep the air clean, temporarily restricting the operation of cars, factories, construction sites — and even crematoriums.

More than 20 world leaders, including Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin and Shinzo Abe of Japan, will attend the major international meeting to discuss regional trade and investment deals. Beijing officials will not stand to see them photographed in masks.

According to state media, authorities have shut factories within 125 miles (200km) of the city centre, and ordered all construction work to stop during the summit. Cars with even and odd numbered licence plates will be allowed on the road only on alternate days. Schools and government offices have been granted a six-day holiday during the event, but will have to make up the time on weekends. Residents will be granted free admission to tourist attractions in neighbouring Hebei province, a clear attempt to lure them out of town.

According to the Beijing News, the well-known Babaoshan crematorium will ban mourners from incinerating funeral clothes – a common sacrificial offering meant to keep the dead clothed in the afterlife – during the first two weeks of November. “Please forgive any inconvenience,” the crematorium’s management wrote on a large blue and white sign.

The summit will be held in a series of newly constructed hotels and convention centres on the shore of Yanqi lake in Huairou district, a 965 sq mile swath of farming villages and low-lying mountains about a two-hour drive from the city centre.

A hotel employee in Huairou said that for the last two weeks authorities have been announcing new restrictions via speakers placed in the district’s villages, urging residents to refrain from making open-air fires and to clean up their rubbish. “They’re doing so much construction in [Yanqing],” said the hotel worker, who only gave her surname as He. “Across the street [from the main gate] they’re restoring buildings, they’re even restoring a section of the Great Wall [of China]. The streets are really empty. There are security guards at every single gate.”

Beijing has also boosted security, with countless inspections, checkpoints and patrols. In July, Beijing’s public security chief, Fu Zhenghua. told state media that security preparations for Apec would be “on a par with the 2008 Olympics”.

Authorities have installed hundreds of security cameras in Huairou, as well as “22 checkpoints, 38 temporary roadblocks and 140 rural roadblocks” throughout the city, according to the official newswire Xinhua. Police were given “bulletproof helmets, knife-proof uniforms and explosion-proof blankets” in advance of the meeting, it reported.

Air pollution levels in the capital reached “hazardous” levels throughout much of October, normally a relatively unpolluted time because of high winds and low temperatures. Smog engulfed the city during a marathonon 19 October, leading many of its 30,000 participants to run the course in masks.

Despite the disruptions to daily life, local authorities are encouraging Beijing residents to get excited about the event. “Welcome Apec, marvellous Beijingers,” say massive banners hung at intersections and subway stations. Buses are issuing Apec commemorative tickets displaying the city skyline to passengers. Landscapers will replace 450,000 flower pots along Chang’an Avenue, the city’s central thoroughfare, according to state media.

Yet on Tuesday, the air was a gauzy white, registering as “very unhealthy” on the US embassy’s air quality scale – a harsh reminder of the city’s pollution, despite the government’s best efforts to hide it.

7 Reasons To Use Aloe Vera For Treating Diabetes

Sep 30, 2014

Aloe vera has long been used as an herbal medicine. It is known for its amazing soothing as well as invigorating effects, which make it a good choice when it comes to skin care. But, recent studies have found that this ornamental plant is quite effective in treating diabetes too. As per research, if used in a proper manner, aloe can lower the blood glucose level in our body considerably. This article will shed some light on why and how aloe vera should be used for treating and preventing diabetes.

How Is Aloe Vera Linked To Diabetes?

These days, diabetes is considered to be one of the most common (and fatal) auto-immune diseases. The number of people diagnosed with diabetes or hyperglycemia each year around the world is escalating at an alarming rate. However, it is already known that regular workout, a well-balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle can help us immensely in preventing the diseases or at least managing it efficiently. Though lifestyle choices and regular exercising are dependent upon your work schedule and physical endurance, eating healthy is completely up to you and here comes the importance of aloe vera.

Here are some important facts that have been discovered from several researches:

Aloe vera is one of the most effective foods that can help us regulate our blood sugar levels in a natural way.

Regular consumption of fresh aloe vera juice is extremely beneficial for stabilizing the amount of glucose in our bloodstream.

The hypoglycemic ability of aloe vera can turn out to be equally advantageous for patients of both IDDM (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) and NIDDM (non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus).

If you take two doses of aloe vera juice (anywhere between 5 ml and 15 ml) every day, the blood sugar level will go down significantly.

Why To Rely On Aloe Vera For Diabetes?

Now, let us take a look at the reasons why aloe vera is considered as a natural treatment for diabetes and why we should rely on it.

Aloe vera gel is rich in glucomannan. It is a dietary fiber (polysachharide), which gets dissolved in the water easily, thereby reducing the amounts of glucose in our body. In short, this hemicelluloses component can work as a hypoglycemic substance and lower our blood sugar level effectively.

It contains certain compounds like anthraquinones (organic phenols with specific aroma) and lectins (proteins that bind carbohydrates together), which help in reducing the presence of glucose in our blood as well as maintaining it properly afterwards.

It can lower blood sugar level as much as 50% in just a couple of months.

It detoxifies the body, which helps in eliminating the excess glucose from the bloodstream.
It has incredible antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties, which keep us protected from various other issues, such as ulcers, wounds, infections, etc. related to diabetes.
It can boost the secretion of insulin in your body, thereby making the alleviation of diabetes easy.

Being a natural ingredient, it causes no adverse side effect while treating diabetes.

How To Include Aloe In Your Diabetic Diet?

As said earlier, aloe vera can work wonder for diabetics in conjunction with a healthy and well-balanced diet. It is crucial that you go for fresh organic aloe gel or juice only instead of the processed ones. It will help you enjoy the maximum benefits. Initially, you may take only 1 teaspoon of aloe a day. But increase the amount up to 3 teaspoons daily as you become familiar with it. However, if the bitter taste of the food doesn’t suit your taste buds, simply add a dollop of honey or any other natural sweetener to it before consumption.

Are you suffering from diabetes? Want to combat the condition in a natural way? Start consuming aloe vera juice today! And don’t forget to share this good news to your friends and family!

Hope the article is helpful for you. Don’t forget to share your feedback with us in the comments section below.

Minimizing collateral damage due to human rights problems requires new approach 

By Jehan Perera-November 3, 2014, 6:32 pm

The Sri Lankan Airlines flight was full of tourists. But when the flight landed in Colombo nearly all of these passengers set off for the transit lounge. Their destination was not Colombo, which was only a stopover on the way to Maldives. That night Colombo airport was quite empty. The airport’s duty free shops were quite empty too. The staff at these shops stood outside their shops competing with each other to bring in the few passengers who had disembarked and come in through immigration. The contrast was so stark with other airports where the sales staff does not need to engage in high pressure salesmanship. The much advertised success of the tourist industry was not much in evidence at the airport.

Minimizing Collateral Damage Due to Human Rights Problems Requires New Approach by Thavam

Mayuri Inoka, Wife Campaigning For Disappeared Husband, Abducted

November 3, 2014 

Mayuri Inoka, the wife of a disappeared husband, Madushka Haris De Silva, was herself abducted on 1 November 2014. According to Mayuri, her abductors threatened her not to engage in any activities calling for the recovery of her husband. Mayuri’s husband disappeared in September 2013, and remains missing.

Mayuri Inoka

Issuing a statement the Asian Human Rights Commission says; On 27 October 2014, Mayuri spoke at a public gathering in front of the “Monument for the Disappeared” at Raddoluwa, Seeduwa, during the annual commemoration ceremony for disappeared persons.

The persons who abducted Mayuri identified themselves by stating, “we are from the police” They followed her and boarded the three-wheeler in which she traveled to the city centre in Anuradhapura, where she wanted to purchase milk powder for her 11-month-old twin babies.

According to Mayuri’s statement, broadcast in BBC’s Sinhala Service, a well-built man, pointing a gun at her face boarded her three-wheeler, tied her hands behind her back, blindfolded her, and took her in a three-wheeler. Later, she was shoved into a van. She was driven around for about an hour and half in this van, a period when she was continually abused and threatened by her abductors, who asked her “not to engage in the campaign and protests to find her husband”.

She has recalled that, several times, one of the abductors aimed a pistol at her neck and threatened to shoot her. Mayuri says she was terrified and feared for her life. She was repeatedly told that “she will also be taken to where her husband is”, if she continued to search for him, which, in fact, is nothing other than an assassination threat. Mayuri was finally thrown out of the van, onto the roadside near Nochchiyagama.

Talking to BBC Sinhala Service following her ordeal, Mayuri says that when she was thrown out by the side of the road, with her hands still tied behind her back, and yelling for help, no person came to her assistance. Later, after sometime, several police officers in civilian clothes arrived and abused her in foul language, threatened her, and treated her as if she were a prostitute.

Every month Mayuri holds a fast (hunger strike), in front of the Anuradhapura Police Station, demanding information about the whereabouts of her husband. The case regarding the disappearance of her husband is fixed for tomorrow, 4 November 2014, at the Anuradhapura Magistrate’s Court.

She has named Senior Police Superintendent Mahesh Senarathna and a group of other police officers as those who are involved in the abduction of her husband. She has complained to the police and to the courts about this disappearance and about whom she thinks is responsible for the disappearance.

On a previous occasion, two persons have visited her house and threatened her to keep silent or face the consequences, and threatened her with her own death and that of her children.

It is obvious that a group of police officers, afraid of being discovered for involvement and links to the disappearance of Madushka Haris De Silva, are pursuing her in order to intimidate her and to silence her.

Given previous experiences in similar incidents, it will not be a surprise if Mayuri will be assassinated.

The Asian Human Rights Commission calls on the Inspector General of Police and all government authorities to immediately inquire into Mayuri Inoka’s abduction and the constant threats that have been levelled at her and her children by persons identifying themselves as “police officers”.

Meanwhile the AHRC also calls upon the Inspector General of Police to provide special protection to Mayuri Inoka and her children.

The AHRC particularly calls upon the women’s movements in Sri Lanka to come to Mayuri Inoka’s assistance and to prevent her possible assassination. The AHRC also calls upon all human rights organizations to do everything they can, to provide for her protection.

The AHRC will also take steps to bring this matter to the attention of the United Nations Human Rights agencies and the diplomatic community in Sri Lanka.

'பொது வேட்பாளரிடம் 4 கோரிக்கைகளை முன்வைக்கவுள்ளோம்' மனோ கணேசன்

2014-11-03 15:04:45 | Leftinraj

ந லெப்டின் ராஜ்
ஜனாதிபதித் தேர்தலில் எதிர்க்கட்சிகளின் சார்பில் பொது வேட்பாளர் ஒருவரை களமிறக்கும் வகையில் நடைபெற்றுவரும் பேச்சுக்களில் நீங்கள் முக்கிய பங்காற்றிவருகின்றீர்கள். பொது வேட்பாளரைக் களமிறக்குவதன் மூலம் ஜனாதிபதி மகிந்த ராஜபக்‌ஷவைத் தோற்கடிக்க முடியும் என நம்புகின்றீர்களா?

'பொது வேட்பாளரிடம் 4 கோரிக்கைகளை முன்வைக்கவுள்ளோம்' மனோ கணேசன் by Thavam

TNA Slams Collecting Blank-Signed Forms Allegation

November 3, 2014 

The Tamil National Alliance has today refused the allegation that TNA officials are involving in a scheme to provide fabricated evidence to the OHCHR investigation on Sri Lanka through the distribution and collection of forms.

Rajavayothi Sampanthan – The Leader TNA

Issuing a statement TNA said; “Whether or not the allegations of blank signed forms being found on the recently arrested Mr. Krishnarasa are true, the TNA does not support the collection of evidence for the OHCHR investigation through the distribution and collection of specimen forms, not least because the evidential value of information collected in this manner is very low.”

We publish below the statement in full;

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) wishes to refute several false claims made in a news item titled “Police hunt for TNA Vavuniya organiser, Governor takes up Ananthi’s conduct with NPC: Signatures on blank UN war crimes complaint forms” by Shamindra Ferdinando which appeared in the Island newspaper, on 31 October 2014.

The contents of the article contain a number of erroneous and misleading assertions. The article falsely suggest that the TNA, through a senior TNA official named Alva Pulle Vijendrakumar alias Sun Master, is involved in a scheme to provide fabricated evidence to the OHCHR investigation on Sri Lanka through the distribution and collection of forms. These assertions are untrue. Mr Vijendrakumar is not a TNA official, nor is he a member of the TNA, and his alleged activities with regard to the distribution and collection of forms have not been endorsed by the TNA. Further, whether or not the allegations of blank signed forms being found on the recently arrested Mr. Krishnarasa are true, the TNA does not support the collection of evidence for the OHCHR investigation through the distribution and collection of specimen forms, not least because the evidential value of information collected in this manner is very low. The suggestion that the TNA is involved in collecting fabricated evidence is thus spurious and manifestly untrue.

The TNA unequivocally asserts the right of all victims and witnesses of crimes to present information known by them to the OHCHR investigation, and condemns threats made by government functionaries against victims and witnesses who cooperate with UN mechanisms. The TNA has encouraged all victims of international crimes committed in Sri Lanka to make submissions to the OHCHR investigation through proper and appropriate channels.

Modi May Not Swing In Favour Of 

Tamil Minorities

| by Pearl Thevanayagam

(November 03, 2014, Bradford UK, Sri Lanka Guardian) As both our President and newly elected TNA look longingly at India to come to their rescue, it is time to ponder on what it has to offer by way of a political settlement to the ethnic issue post-war.

India is a paradox. It is like the manor-born dowager with silver and a coat-of-arms but who has no meat to place on her mahogany table for dinner guests. Modi honeymoon is over and he has to deliver to the 1.2 billion Indians whose majority still live in abject poverty despite its space programs and nuclear technology.

It faces the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, inadequate public healthcare, and terrorism. It also is a nuclear weapons state and a regional power and it has the third-largest standing army in the world and ranks ninth in military expenditure among nations. India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 29 states and 7 union territories. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and a multi-ethnic society. It is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.

Narendra Modi’s ascendency to premiership is fraught with his history of anti-Muslim sentiments as was seen in on 27 February 2002 when a train with several hundred passengers including large numbers of Hindu pilgrims was burned near Godhra, killing around 60 people allowing rumours that the fire was carried out by Muslim arsonists, anti-Muslim violence spread throughout Gujarat. Estimates of the death toll ranged from 900 to over 2,000, while several thousand more people were injured.

Modi’s involvement in the events of 2002 has continued to be debated. Several scholars have described the events of 2002 as a pogrom, while others have called it an instance of state terrorism. Summarizing academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum stated that “There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law.”

In 2012, Maya Kodnani, a former minister in Modi’s Government from 2007–09, was convicted of having participated in the Naroda Patiya massacre during the 2002 riots. She was both the first female and the first MLA to be convicted in a post-Godhra riots case. While initially announcing that it would seek the death penalty for Kodnani, Modi’s government eventually pardoned her in 2013 and settled for a prison sentence.

Mahinda Rajapaksa draws parallel to Modi in his handling of ethnic minorities. Both are nationalists to the core; Modi with his Jai Hindu adherence and Rajapaksa with his trump card of Sinhala Buddhist hegemony are both perceived as religious zealots while on the surface appearing to accommodate minorities. The latter’s insouciance to the mayhem caused in Aluthgama and elsewhere against Muslims and even welcoming the Buddhist monks who orchestrated the violence resulting in their properties and businesses looted and burnt stands testimony to the government’s stance vis-à-vis minorities.

TNA (Tamil National Alliance) is seeking India’s support which prevaricated at the UN when it half-heartedly agreed war crimes were committed and need to be probed and at the same time asking Tamil politicians to back the President and negotiate with the government since the ethnic war was an internal problem.

The misery of the three and a half decade old ethnic war was brought to an end by fair means or foul. Thousands perished and many thousands left without lands and means of sustenance following the horrible saga in Mullivaikkal in May 2009 which was supposedly a war without witnesses.

But survivors of the war are scattered across the four corners of the world and it is to mete out justice to victims they need witness protection as they provide UNHRC the necessary information to ascertain the full scale of genocide amounting to eugenics as practised by Hitler and subsequently by the West in their many wars across the globe against those they perceived to be a threat to their existence and national interests.

Finally we have an erudite politician in Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister and former Supreme Court Judge C.V. Wigneswaran who is coming under scathing attack from Tamil media and politicians for his forward and far reaching thinking and not giving in to knee-jerk reaction. Given his maturity and scholarship with experience as a judge he should not be vilified however stubborn he appears to be; since Tamils need his statesman-like leadership which they did not have for decades. He is not for a Band-Aid solution to the ethnic problem but a permanent one and with Sumanthiran, Sampanthan, Mavai Senadhirajah et al by his side and he can achieve this only if the warring Tamil politicians shed their differences and co-operate with the CM.

Tamils have had cowboy politicians for decades who could not see beyond their own narrow goals and material gains which are not exactly in the interest of their future well-being and aspirations. Once ensconced as the leader of Tamils following the July pogrom of 1983, Velupillai Pirabhakaran lost the plot and set about annihilating dissenting Tamil rebel groups which led to his final demise and the misery of thousands of Tamils in Mullivaikkal.

How CVW will checkmate Mahinda Rajapaksa regime remains to be seen. Both are banking on India to bring a negotiated settlement while looking over their shoulders since India has not taken a firm stand on the ethnic issue so far. PM Narenra Modi’s honeymoon period is over and now he has to deliver and Sri Lanka is further on his agenda to say the least.

(The writer has been a journalist for 25 years and worked in national newspapers as sub-editor, news reporter and news editor. She was Colombo Correspondent for Times of India and has contributed to Wall Street Journal where she was on work experience from The Graduate School of Journalism, UC Berkeley, California. Currently residing in UK she is also co-founder of EJN (Exiled Journalists Network) UK in 2005 the membership of which is 200 from 40 countries. She can be reached at pearltheva@hotmail.com)

INDIA/SRI LANKA: Criminal justice systems arraigned

November 3, 2014

On 30^th October 2014, the High Court of Colombo imposed the Death Sentence on eight persons found guilty of charges of drug trafficking. The allegations against them were that at the time of arrest by the Sri Lanka Navy in November 2011, they had heroin in their possession. Five of the convicted accused fishermen from India and the other three Sri Lankan fishermen.

Following the public announcement of the Court’s verdict, the Indian government publicly protested the Court’s decision in a statement issued by Ministry of External Affairs Spokesman Syed Akbaruddin. The statement claimed that the accused are innocent and that the Indian government will file an Appeal within 14 days implying that that the Indian government believed the charges were fabricated.

This is the first time that the Indian government has intervened in a case decided by a Court in in Sri Lanka and therefore it should be assumed that unless the Indian Government had credible and strong reasons to believe the innocence of the accused, it would not have intervened in this case. The spokesperson for the Sri Lankan government, and Minister of Mass Media and Information Dr. Keheliya Rambukwella attempted to dismiss Indian concerns stating that “India is clearly aware of another country's legal systems, treaties, convicts exchange agreements,…". He also added that Sri Lanka did not need to make any interpretation of such Indian concerns. However, this approach is not worthy of a comment from a spokesman on the part of the Sri Lankan Government as due regard could have been shown to the intervention of a neighbor country, which in the past, has never intervened in matters of this nature.

Nevertheless, allegations of the fabrication of charges particularly on drug offences are not rare in Sri Lanka. In fact, a constant allegation against the Sri Lankan investigating authorities is that, quite often, they fabricate charges for various reasons among which, figured high on the list are figures relating to extortion.

In the light of the concerns expressed by the Indian Government, Sri Lankan authorities should look into the matter objectively and scrutinize the grounds for such allegation levelled by their Indian counterpart.

However, the solution to the problem lies in hearing the Appeal as early as possible. In such a circumstance, the Indian Government through lawyers representing them will be able to present the grounds on which they challenged the verdict of the Colombo High Court. As is the nature, there are considerable delays in hearing of such Appeals in Sri Lanka. We hope that given the concerns shown by Indian Government the Sri Lankan Courts will facilitate a speedy hearing of the Appeal.

In any case, pronouncement of the Death Sentence is against the accepted norms regarding punishments in modern day and times. This is notwithstanding the fact that for a long period of time, Sri Lanka has not executed the Death penalty.

In addition, the concluding observations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee issued on 31^st October 2014 regarding the independence of Sri Lankan courts may also be relevant in discussions on this issue. The UN Human Rights Committee, raising serious concerns over the lack of independence of judiciary in Sri Lanka had the following observations which are reproduced below;

“…The Committee is concerned by the 18^th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution which, inter alia, discontinues the Constitutional Council and empowers the President to dismiss or Independence of the Judiciary, and the Paris Principles (General Assembly resolution 48/134, Annex).appoint members of the judiciary and other independent bodies.  Furthermore, it is concerned at the impeachment of the former Chief Justice in January 2013 under circumstances that raised serious doubts about its consistency with basic principles of due process and judicial independence. (arts. 2 and 14)

The State party should:

(a) Repeal the 18^th Amendment to the Constitution;

(b) Take legislative and other measures to ensure transparent and impartial processes for appointments to the judiciary and other independent bodies; and,

(c) Take concrete measures to ensure the protection of members of its judiciary from improper influences, inducements, pressures, threats or interferences, including those of the executive and/or legislature of the State party.

In taking the above measures, the State party should take into full account the Committee’s general comment No. 32 on Right to Equality before Courts and Tribunals and to Fair Trial (2007), the UN Basic Principles on the …”

Full report can be found here.