Dear members and friends,
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this update. There have been considerable developments in our projects recently.
1° Saved from the death penalty following an accusation of blasphemy
Last March, the case of Karim (not his real name, from a country in Asia that we can’t name for reasons of security)- was brought to our attention. Karim is transgender and was arrested for burning a page of the Koran. This is punishable by the death penalty in that country. It is, however, to be noted that the charge of disrespecting the Koran is often used as a pretext by those wanting to seriously harm another person. Karim had not disrespected the Koran at all, and also didn’t want to be forced out of his room by his landlord who had falsely accused him so that a member of his own family could move in. Transgender people are systematically discriminated against in that country, attacked, and deprived of their basic human rights.
As soon as Vivere heard of the case, we appointed our lawyer to represent Karim in court.
After three months of intense legal proceedings, Karim was acquitted, and is now free. We are extremely proud to be able to share this news with you!
However, although Karim is free, he is still receiving death threats from extremists who followed the case and are ready to carry out the sentence illegally. He has been forced to leave the region and settle far away
2° Ukraine : assistamce for victims of war crimes and the flight for justice
Vivere has, since January 2023, been involved in investigating and documenting war crimes committed in the east of Ukraine and in and around the Kharkiv oblast, notably in Izyum. Led by our lawyer and friend, Mr Gennady Loenidovich Gerasimenko, this entails engaging with survivors and working closely with special prosecutors as well as delegates from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The aim is to arrest and incriminate those responsible for war crimes and bring them to justice. In addition to this, we try to obtain substantial compensation for the survivors.
Vivere has so far taken on 15 war crime cases. At the beginning of this week we learnt that our initial 5 cases have been validated by the ICC and have been sent to the court in The Hague. This is a huge achievement for such a small organisation as ours!
These 5 cases have identified 2 Russian soldiers, General Shoigu and General Gerasimov resulting in a warrant for their arrest, as confirmed in this announcement from the UN.
“War in Ukraine: ICC arrest warrants against the head of the Russian armed forces and the former Minister of Defense
Subject: Daily Bulletin
Date: Wed, June 26, 2024, 00:04:04
From : ONU Info <unnews@un.org>
EXTRACTS
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on Monday against the former Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, and the Chief of General Staff of the Russian armed forces, Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov, for alleged international crimes committed between at least October 10, 2022, and at least March 9, 2023, in the context of the situation in Ukraine.
According to Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC, they are each presumed responsible…”
**Page 2:**
“… responsible for the war crime of directing attacks against civilian objects and causing excessive accidental damage to civilians or civilian property, as well as for having committed the aforementioned acts jointly and/or through another person by ordering the commission of the crimes, and/or for their failure to exercise proper control over the forces under their command. The two arrest warrants, issued on June 24, were delivered by the judges of Pre-Trial Chamber II, Rosario Salvatore Aitala, presiding judge, Judge Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godínez, and Judge Haykel Ben Mahfoudh. The Chamber found that the request submitted by the Prosecution was ‘duly supported by the evidence and other relevant materials presented at this stage of the proceedings’ and that the statutory conditions were met to issue the requested arrest warrants.
The content of the arrest warrants is classified as ‘secret’ to protect witnesses and secure the investigations.
3° Ukraine : assistance to displaced people forced to flee their villages because of attacks from the Russian army
Despite the meagre funds that Vivere has at its disposal, Gennady was able to ensure that between January and March, 28 people in Kharkiv and the surrounding area received food and basic medicine. The average cost for these 3 months was 37 420 hryvnia, or CHF 30.78 , (€ 38.82). Our funds for this are nearly depleted, so please do donate if you are able.
5° Syria
As explained in last April’s update,we have had to adapt our program in Syria for newborns due to run-away inflation and our budget limitations. Our locally based team has, however, been able to help 30 babies in April and 35 in May. 16 of these are new cases. Fathmeh is one of them :
The dire financial situation, coupled with increasing levels of violence due to the general insecurity show no signs of abating. This is illustrated in the extract below from a UN bulletin dated 26 June 24.
Syria continues to go through a ‘serious crisis’ and the suffering of civilians is worsening, explained a senior UN official to members of the Security Council on Tuesday.
Najat Rochdi, Deputy Special Envoy of the UN for Syria, told Council members that Syria’s disastrous situation requires political solutions to ensure that these problems are resolved in a lasting manner.
« Climate of fear »
The Special Envoy emphasized that the security situation remains violent and tense, leaving many civilians in a ‘climate of fear.’
She highlighted several incidents that occurred in recent months, including Israeli airstrikes that reportedly killed two soldiers and four other people, a resurgence of ISIS attacks in central and northern Syria, and other ongoing conflicts.
Additionally, Mrs. Rochdi noted that women militants have increasingly reported threats to their personal security. Levels of violence against women and girls, including early and forced marriages, have risen.
She declared that none of these challenges could be ‘sustainably resolved’ without a significant political process facilitated by the UN to implement Resolution 2254, which fulfills the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and restores stability, unity, independence, and territorial integrity in Syria.
A growing humanitirian crisis
The official added that Syrians need unhindered humanitarian access in all its forms, including across borders and frontlines.
The Special Envoy also noted that 174,000 Syrians were displaced last year, according to reports from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). These reports further mention that 7.2 million civilians in Syria are internally displaced alongside 6.4 million refugees.
Civilians suffer
The Director of Coordination from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Ramesh Rajasingham, noted that more than half of the Syrian population – approximately 13 million people – is facing high levels of acute food insecurity, with more than 650,000 children under five experiencing stunted growth due to severe malnutrition, and one-third of the country’s children suffering from food insecurity.”
A representative from Vivere will be going to Syria in the middle of July.
5° Democratic Republic of Congo
Our 39th Mobile Military Court took place from 22-25 January 2024 in Kavimvira Commune in the town of Uvira. There were 1 783 members of the public present, which represents the largest amount of people ever to attend. Three counts of murder involving illegal imprisonment and possession of weapons were heard, which resulted in eight people being convicted. The main accused received life imprisonment, and their accomplices were sentenced to five years.
Having been involved in East Congo for 24 years, and as a member of the World Coalition against the Death Penalty, Vivere would like to invite you to sign the petition below, which is still of particular significance.
Thank you very much in advance for your attention. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions at all.
We hope that you have a wonderful and fulfilling summer.
Vivere Committee