Osh probe finds 'serious' crimes

3 May 2011 Last updated at 12:22 GMT The ethnic fighting in southern Kyrgyzstan forced tens of thousands of people to flee An independent inquiry into ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan last year says it found serious violations of international law - some of which could amount to crimes against humanity.

The report highlighted weak government structures and the possible complicity of security personnel as factors.

The Kyrgyz government condemned the report's findings as "unacceptable".

The riots last June between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz left hundreds dead in the south of the country.

The violence, which was mainly centred in the cities of Osh and Jalalabad, followed weeks of turmoil after the ousting of then President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in a mass uprising in April 2010.

'Selectively targeted'

The report from the Kyrgyzstan Inquiry Commission (KIC) said the attacks resulted in "significant loss of life and injury on both sides of the ethnic conflict, with some 470 deaths, and thousands more injured".

The inquiry led by Kimmo Kiljunen, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's special representative for Central Asia, said "fragile state institutions and the weak rule of law" had fuelled the conflict.

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The failure of members of the security forces to protect their equipment raises questions of complicity in the events, either directly or indirectly”

End Quote KIC report It said the majority - 74% - of those killed were Uzbek and 25% were Kyrgyz.

"The basic responsibility of any government is to protect all its citizens, which obligation was not fulfilled in southern Kyrgyzstan last June," Mr Kiljunen said.

The report, based on 750 interviews with witnesses and analysis of factual evidence, said that historical tensions also played a role.

Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced in the violence, while there was also wide-scale damage to property, most of which was Uzbek-owned, the inquiry said.

The KIC also said that arrests and trials since the event had selectively targeted members of the ethnic Uzbek community.

Fifty-nine Uzbeks and seven Kyrgyz have so far been tried in connection to the violence, the report says.

The report found attackers "in many instances" had seized arms from the security forces with little resistance.

It asked the government to investigate the role of security forces during the period.

"The failure of members of the security forces to protect their equipment raises questions of complicity in the events, either directly or indirectly," the report stated.

'Result of former regimes'

The commission said that certain attacks in Uzbek neighbourhoods in Osh between 11 and 13 June could amount to crimes against humanity if proved in court.

"Furthermore, there were many other criminal acts and serious violations of international human rights law," it stated.

The Kyrgyz authorities, who took over after Kurmanbek Bakiyev was forced from power, had supported the creation of the KIC following the violence.

But the government dismissed the conclusions, saying "circumstances from which the conflict arose were not due to the provisional government and were not from the events of April-May 2010".

"They were as a result of protracted policies implemented by former regimes," a statement said.

It also disagreed that ethnic Uzbeks had suffered disproportionately.

"Kyrgyzstan considers it completely unacceptable that the documents clearly display an overwhelming tendency that only one ethnic group has committed crimes, ignoring the victims and deaths of this very group," the government said.

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Campus radicals 'serious problem'

28 April 2011 Last updated at 18:51 By Angela Harrison Education correspondent, BBC News University leaders say there is no evidence to back the claims Campus extremism is a "serious problem" that threatens UK security, a group of MPs and peers has said.

There are "grave concerns" students are being radicalised in British universities, according to a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Homeland Security.

The problem should be tackled "with utmost urgency", the group says.

Universities say there is no evidence to support the claims.

The report - the group's first - also says some academics are not co-operating with the security services because they "do not want to spy on their students".

It says: "The problem of universities as places of radicalisation requires urgent and sustained attention by the new government.

"It has been an obvious and neglected problem for too long and must be tackled as a matter of utmost urgency."

'Reluctance'

The report says some universities have struggled "to establish the correct balance between academic freedoms and university authorities' responsibilities as part of ensuring UK homeland security".

It adds: "It was also noted that there was a reluctance to co-operate with the police on the part of some universities that did not want to be seen to be 'spying' on their students."

Concerns about the possibility of young people being drawn in to extremist Islamic groups while at British universities have been heightened by some terrorists attacks.

Last year the Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain needed to do more to "de-radicalise" its universities.

Former London student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is accused of attempting to blow up a plane flying to the United States

Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, who blew himself up in Sweden last December, had been a student at university in Luton.

And Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab - the alleged "underwear bomber" - is accused of attempting to blow up a plane flying to the United States on Christmas Day in 2009.

He was a former student of University College London (UCL) and closely involved with its Islamic Society.

However, an inquiry by UCL found no evidence that the Nigerian had been radicalised while at university.

Universities UK, which represents university leaders, says they take their responsibilities regarding public safety "very seriously".

Chief executive, Nicola Dandridge, said: "There is no evidence to suggest that universities are 'hotbeds of Islamic extremism'.

"The experts, including police and counter-terrorism experts, state quite firmly that there is not a major problem with radicalisation or extremism in higher education at present.

"The issue is that the people most likely to be vulnerable to radicalisation or extremism are young people, many of whom will either be students or former students. Over 40% of young people in the UK will enter higher education."

Earlier this year, Universities UK released a report saying there was good liaison with the police and security services and two thirds of universities had engaged with a government programme aimed at stopping students supporting terrorism.

The report said universities needed to "remain vigilant" to campus extremism while protecting freedom of speech and included updated guidance for universities.

The Federation of Student Islamic Societies accused sections of the media of "maligning" Muslim students.

Spokesman for the group, Qasim Rafiq, said: "Time and again Muslim students are subjected to intense scrutiny and public backlash on the back of sensationalist articles and reports, serving only to damage campus cohesion and whip up anti-Muslim sentiment.

"There is no conclusive evidence of radicalisation on campus."

He added that allegations of extremism should be "investigated maturely, responsibly and with an evidence based approach".

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'Serious' cases hit by rights ruling

9 February 2011 Last updated at 17:52 GMT Scottish police can no longer question suspects without allowing them access to a lawyer Five rape allegations are among cases abandoned by prosecutors in the light the Cadder ruling.

In October, judges upheld an appeal by teenager Peter Cadder, whose assault conviction was based on evidence gained before he spoke to his lawyer.

In light of that ruling, 867 cases were abandoned, including 60 serious cases, nine of which were High Court cases.

Scottish Labour has called on Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to make an emergency statement.

Last year's ruling - that the Peter Cadder case breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) - meant Scottish police could no longer question suspects without allowing them access to a lawyer.

Until then suspects could be questioned for six hours without a lawyer present.

Following the decision, the Scottish government introduced emergency legislation to bring the country's rules into line with European human rights laws.

'Reduced impact'

At the time, the Crown Office said a total of 120 solemn cases would be affected by the judgement - double the actual number.

It had also estimated the number of possible appeals at close to 3,500. The actual number of 867 was said to be the equivalent to 0.3% of all criminal cases reported to the COPFS in a year.

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These cases are not closed and will be kept under review, so proceedings may be raised should additional evidence come to light in the future”

End Quote Scott Pattison Crown Office The Crown Office claimed that precautionary measures it had taken had "significantly reduced" the impact of the judgment on prosecution.

Scott Pattison, director of operations at the Crown Office, said there had been "extensive liaison" between procurators fiscal and the police to minimise the number of cases affected by the ruling.

"Each case was then carefully considered by Crown Counsel before any conclusion was reached that no further evidence was available, and the case required to be discontinued as a result of Cadder," he said.

"In some solemn cases, we have decided to discontinue proceedings meantime - these cases are not closed and will be kept under review, so proceedings may be raised should additional evidence come to light in the future."

Labour's justice spokesman Richard Baker said the public had the right to know the full extent of "this disaster", and called on the justice secretary to brief MSPs.

He said the SNP government had acted too late by failing to act on "the much earlier Salduz case".

"Almost 900 accused persons will no longer face justice," he said.

"Some of those include High Court trials where Scotland's most serious crime is prosecuted including murder and rape."

'Devastating effect'

John Lamont, the Scottish Conservatives justice spokesman said: "We are now seeing the devastating effect this ruling is having on the Scottish justice system.

"Our conviction rate is suffering as self-confessed criminals are being allowed to walk free, and it will continue get worse as closed cases are referred back to the High Court for reconsideration."

Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Robert Brown said: "The loss of the ability to prosecute in 60 serious cases is extremely worrying but it demonstrates how out of line Scots law had become with the standards of justice demanded in the rest of the UK and across Europe.

"Crown Office must be particularly vigilant in reinvestigating these serious cases and continuing with every possible prosecution whenever this can properly be done."

Of the nine abandoned High Court cases, five include rape allegations and one involved a firearms offence.

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