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Political Prisoners

Is Guantanamo A Show Of US Power Or A Human Rights Violation?

After the 9/11 attacks, the US experienced a dive into a security crisis and went extremely serious about taking actions against terrorism. They set an incarceration camp in Guantanamo Bay in 2002. The media have revealed many practices that are against the law of human rights that are carried out here and enclosed from the rest of the globe. Many NGO’s who are purely devoted to the human rights of the society have opposed this act of US power and abandon this method of treating humans that are found guilty or suspected to be guilty in combatting against the US. The US designates this action as a war against terrorism, they have designated their enemies as terrorism, and this is indeed a show-off of the power of the US.

Violence? Control It With Entertainment!

Keeping society happy is not an easy task but it surely is easy to reduce the global violence. People are always curious about taboo things and you governments should kill these thoughts quickly. How so? It’s pretty simple – with proper entertainment – Pure Taboo should be taken as prime example of it. Delivering the graphic interpretation of the most taboo’ish subjects in sexual area of society. Controversial situations but always with a proper storyline and superb quality.

PureTaboo.org - Site Logo
Pure Taboo – making taboos mainstream. A way of keeping violence down.

After the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration declared that the attack was none of the concern of any other countries of the world and decided to play on its own against this attack. They mentioned that the US is unique and did not let the UN interfere in the matter. This act of the US was definitely an act to create a fearful environment in the world. On the other hand, the US responded very violently to the 9/11 attacks by invading Iraq and Afghanistan.

A Cunning Breach Of The US Constitution By The US

Whether it be a crisis or any other situation, fundamental rights are always authorized, and the required restrictions to the administration guarantee must be determined stringently along with its justification. However, some fundamental rights cannot be restricted at all which includes inhuman tortures or a treatment that may be referred to as human degrading treatments. And all of these breaches are carried out in the Guantanamo against the humans that fail to cooperate with interrogation. And when there is a question of constitution, the Guantanamo is not stationed in the US soils, and hence it can go against the US constitution not forgetting the fact that it is operated by the US administration. When the US is commented by the NGOs like Amnesty International and the Center of Constitutional Rights, the US administration has an answer stating that the US does not have sufficient supremacy since the Guantanamo is not on the US soils.

The Illegal Treatment

The amplifying evidence by some secret services has reported the nature of inhumanity suffered by the detainees in Guantanamo. The detainees are forced to sit on their own shit, enforcing painful positions, use of military dogs for torturing the detainees until death, long exposures extreme of heat, cold or noise and enforcing the detainees to strip completely. These kinds of tortures are executed upon failing to comply with the interrogation or breaching the prison rule. Is that humanity?

The New Problem

The Guantanamo was an action against terrorism after 9/11 attacks by the US. It was to solve terrorism and not raise any other crisis. But now it has turned out to be a result of another severe problem of legitimacy. This is purely due to the violations of the fundamental right that should not be restricted in any circumstances. There are many ways to lift-up the Guantanamo issue, but this is possible only if the US is willing to strengthen its relationship with human rights and have some sympathy. It is affirmative to treat the terrorists through these violations but announcing enemies as a terrorist and then violating their human rights is something that is not expected from the super-power like the US. Therefore, the US must revise its policies and take a step forward to make sure that the normal innocent human being is not a victim of such tortures and inhumanity.

Posted on 2019-08-02 | Filed Under: Human Rights, Political Prisoners, Zine Library

Savchenko Exchange Deal Sees Russians Jailed In Ukraine Return Home

Nadiya Savchenko
Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko

Russia and Ukraine engaged in a prisoner swap agreement in what was seen as a huge step towards negotiating a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the region. The high profile prisoners involved were Nadiya Savchenko, a Ukrainian military pilot and two Russian military personnel.

Even though this deal was seen as a humanitarian act from both sides, Russia still maintained that it was not involved in the war. Furthermore, the speaker of the upper house chambers of Russia maintained that this was not a prisoner exchange but rather an international obligation that required prisoners abroad to serve time in their home countries.

Nadiya Savchenko’s Reception

Savchenko returned home to a hero’s reception. She was allowed to return to Kiev aboard the Ukraine president’s jet. However, this was not the first time that she was popular among Ukrainians. Savchenko is the first woman military pilot in Ukraine and even before she went to serve in the war, she was already a local celebrity. However, her actions while in Russian custody cemented her popularity in Ukraine.

During her trial, she disrupted the sessions at one point to sing the Ukrainian national anthem. She was also steadfast on the war and was vocal enough to renounce the charges that were brought against her. At one point, she even went on a hunger strike to denounce the sentence that had been handed to her.

She was accused of having been involved in the killing of two Russian journalists who were covering the war. Though the evidence was not satisfactory enough, she was found guilty and sentenced to 22 years in prison for murder. (See how dissidents are imprisoned in Iran)

As a show of honour and popularity, Savchenko was elected as a Member of Parliament back home even while still in incarceration.

Russian Military Personnel

On the other side, Ukrainians accused two Russians captured in eastern Ukraine of waging a terrorist war and were each handed a sentence of 14 years in prison. The two had revealed to a Reuter’s reporter that they were indeed military personnel from Russia but that they were not on active duty. In a dramatic twist of events, they also accused the Russian government of neglecting their pleas to intervene.

While Savchenko was received as a hero, only a small media reception and their wives were available to receive the two Russians. This was a strategic move to boost her chances of being released from Russian custody.

Show Of Humanitarianism Or Simply A War Strategy?

The prison exchange is seen as a huge win towards fast resolution of the conflict in the region. However, some experts warn that Russia may have used the opportunity for its own gain. One of the reasons of their “humanitarian act” was the impending European Union meeting that was to deliberate on whether they would continue imposing sanctions on the country because of supporting the rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Given that Savchenko had also fought alongside American forces in the war in Iraq, Russia was also keen to have a deal with the Americans. They were reported as to have wanted to exchange her for a Russian arm’s smuggler who was being held in the United States. The United States bluntly rejected the deal.

Posted on 2017-09-28 | Filed Under: Human Rights, Political Prisoners, Politics, Russia, Zine Library Tagged With: Nadiya Savchenko, Prisoner, Release, Russia, Ukraine

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