Botswana loses court bid to revoke gay rights

Yahoo – AFP, November 29, 2021 

Rainbow campaign: Activists gathered outside the Botswana High Court
on October 12 to press their case (AFP/Monirul Bhuiyan)

Botswana's government on Monday lost a legal attempt to overturn a landmark ruling that decriminalised homosexuality. 

The country's High Court in 2019 ruled in favour of campaigners seeking to strike down jail sentences for same-sex relationships, declaring the punishment to be unconstitutional. 

But the government sought to revoke the ruling, arguing that the courts had no jurisdiction in this matter. 

"Since the appellant's grounds of appeal have been unsuccessful... the appeal must fall," Botswana's Court of Appeal ruled on Monday. 

It had started hearing the case in October. 

Homosexuality had been banned since 1965 in conservative Botswana, where offenders could face up to seven years in prison. 

The 2019 judgement was hailed internationally as a major victory for gay rights. 

Judge Ian Kirby, who read out the ruling on Monday, said gay citizens had long lived in "constant fear of discovery or arrest" when expressing "love for their partners." 

"This sometimes led to depression, suicidal behaviour, alcoholism or substance abuse," he said. 

Botswana is one of only a handful of African countries to have decriminalised homosexuality. 

Others are Lesotho, Mozambique, Angola and the Seychelles. 

South Africa is the sole nation on the continent to allow same-sex marriage, which it legalised in 2006.

Germany shies away from comment on possible role in US drone war

Deutsche Welle, 1 June 2013

It looks like a computer game, but it's deadly serious news in Germany: US soldiers control drone attacks with a joystick. According to new media reports, military bases on German soil play a key role in the drone war.

The attacker has a decisive advantage: he can attack without being in personal danger. Everything is controlled remotely off-site and the opponent can be thousands of kilometers away. Drones have become an essential part in the US's post-September 11 war against terror in Afghanistan and other regions, but their use is ethically and legally controversial.

According to reports from German TV news show "Panorama" and the daily newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung," the US use their German military bases to conduct attacks and targeted killings. The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), based in Stuttgart since 2008, and the US Air Force base Ramstein in particular are said to play substantial roles in the drone war.

 Has AFRICOM controlled drone
attacks from Germany?

AFRICOM coordinates all US missions on the African continent from Germany. Within this context, the reports said, it's safe to assume that AFRICOM also coordinates the use of drones in Africa. Drones were used to kill suspected terrorist in Somalia, for example. Since 2007, up to 27 people, some of them civilians, have died there in attacks by the unmanned planes, according to the London-based "Bureau of Investigative Journalism."

Ramstein a key location?

The contact between the pilot in the US and the drone in Africa is supposedly relayed through a satellite facility in Ramstein, a military base in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The media outlets quoted a US Air Force paper saying that the attacks aren't possible without this relay station. Ramstein is also home to the central Air and Space Operations Center (AOC).

The drones themselves are not stationed in Germany. For missions in Africa, there are bases in Djibouti, Niger, Ethiopia and on the Seychelles. But personnel and the technology needed to control the drones is reportedly based in Germany.

Maj. Ryan Donald, spokesman for the United States European Command, replied to a DW inquiry saying that the AOC supervises flights, but does not directly operate airborne objects.

Violating international law

Most experts agreed that the use of drones outside of war zones, including Somalia, is not acceptable under international law.

"The targeted killing of persons through drones would be impermissible here," Andreas Zimmermann, professor of international law at the University of Potsdam, said on the German public radio station Deutschlandradio Kultur.

Thilo Marauhn, an international law activist, took the argument even further. "When the German government knows about the killing of a terror suspect by drone outside a war zone and doesn't protest against it, this could constitute a violation of international law," Marauhn said in the "Panorama" report.

Schäfer: government has to
investigate drones connection

The opposition demanded clarification from the government.

"The government has to get to the bottom of this," said Paul Schäfer, a member of the parliament's defense committee for the Left Party. "Otherwise, the suspicion that Germany is part of international law violations remains. That cannot be left out there."

Troop law counts

There seems to be not a lot the German government can do at the moment though, because of a statute that governs the presence of US troops in Germany.

"We'd have to start new negotiations about the troops statute," Schäfer told DW. "I'm afraid that currently, the German government's opportunities to intervene are limited. We lack the legal authority."

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in Berlin that there was an on-going dialog with US officials. "The result is that we don't have any evidence for behavior that violates international law," Seibert said. "Speaking for the German government, I cannot confirm the claims that were made in the media."

Kerry doesn't see a violation

Drone attacks are a legal response
to the 9/11 attacks, Kerry said

US Secretary of State John Kerry did not want to comment on the media reports either when he met his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle in Washington. "I will not discuss details of the operation here," Kerry said. "Our actions are legal. We were attacked on September 11. As a final means, this is self-defense."

The German government seems to shy away from an open discussion on the actions of American troops in Germany. When the decision was made to base AFRICOM in Stuttgart, the German Foreign Ministry wrote to the US government asking, according to "Panorama," that Germany not be publicly mentioned as the new AFRICOM home as it would cause "unnecessary public debate."

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Saudi princes lose battle to keep court documents secret

Allegations against former defence minister and his son emerge in papers obtained by Guardian

The Guardian, Owen Bowcott and Ian Black, Thursday 16 May 2013

Appeal court judges agreed to the release of documents in the dispute between
 the Saudi princes and a Jordanian former business partner. Photograph: Graham
Turner for the Guardian

Two prominent Saudi princes are involved in a London-registered company that supposedly facilitated "money laundering" for Hezbollah in Lebanon and helped smuggle precious stones out of Congo, according to contested allegations in court documents obtained by the Guardian.

The claims emerge from court papers that lawyers for the Saudis have spent a year trying to suppress, including resorting to threats that relations with Britain would be damaged if they were revealed.

Lawyers for the two princes – Prince Mishal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, a former defence minister, brother of King Abdullah and chairman of the country's influential allegiance council, and his son Prince Abdulaziz bin Mishal bin Al Saud – dismiss the claims as fabrications, "extortion" and "blackmail".

They contend that their former partner, a Jordanian, Faisal Almhairat, "misappropriated" money from accounts, denied them access to company books, shut down the shared business and "interfered with the negotiations" on telecommunications deals. Almhairat, in turn, disputes their claims.

In the context of Middle East politics, the suggestion that two prominent Sunni Muslims from the Saudi royal family have been surreptitiously dealing for profit with Hezbollah, a Shia force supported by Iran, is extremely damaging. Hezbollah is designated by the United States as a terrorist organisation.

The Guardian and Financial Times originally requested to see the court documents – filed as part of a commercial dispute between Almhairat and the Saudis – in spring 2012. On Thursday, the court of appeal finally agreed to the immediate release of the statements of case.

Among other allegations is the claim that at the "instigation" of Prince Abdulaziz, Saudi police issued an arrest warrant for Almhairat and asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice sanctioning the extradition of the Saudis' former business partner to Saudi Arabia.

The case revolves around a catastrophic breakdown in relations between Almhairat and the Saudis. They were business partners in a London registered telecommunications company, FI Call Ltd, whose capital value was £300m.

Fi Call was developing a software application for smartphones that would allow users to make free phone calls. The Saudis' shares were mainly held through Global Torch Ltd, a British Virgin Islands company that the princes are said by Almhairat to control. Almhairat's shares are held by his Seychelles-based firm Apex Global Management.

The dispute, which erupted over allegedly misappropriated money and the sale of $6.7m (£4.3m) worth of shares, has "thrown up a nuclear mushroom cloud" of litigation, according to Mr Justice Morgan, who gave judgment at an early stage in the litigation.

The case raises questions about whether the transparency of British justice can be upheld at a time when the Ministry of Justice is eagerly inviting wealthy, international claimants to resolve their disputes in London's commercial courts.

The legal dispute was initiated by Global Torch but a counter-petition by Almhairat forced the two Saudi princes to become involved in the case. The princes then tried unsuccessfully to extract themselves from the proceedings by claiming "sovereign immunity". Prince Mishal is aged 86 and said to be in frail health.

A further, preliminary hearing is due to take place next week at the Rolls Building in central London where commercial disputes are tried. That argument will focus on an application by the princes that the UK courts do not have jurisdiction to involve them in the counter-claim launched by Apex and Almhairat.

The full trial, if it goes ahead, is due to be heard in January next year. On Thursday three judges in the court of appeal, Lord Justice Kay, Lord Justice Richards and Lord Justice Briggs, lifted a stay on reporting court submissions. They are due to give their reasoning at a later date.

None of the factual issues have yet been resolved by the court. The allegations are fiercely contested on both sides. At one point in a court document, lawyers for Almhairat remark: "Each side maintains that the other is lying about almost everything."

During the appeal court hearing, Guy Vassall-Adams, counsel for the Guardian and Financial Times, said: "Global Torch has chosen to bring proceedings in this jurisdiction. This is an open justice jurisdiction.

"They [the Saudis] have to accept that these damaging allegations will be heard in open court in the usual way. The protection they are entitled to is a judgment delivered in public which will refute unfounded allegations. That's how a legal system works in a democracy under the rule of law."

The case continues.

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L'Oreal heiress Bettencourt sells Seychelles island

BBC News, 1 August 2012

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Mrs Bettencourt's financial affairs
 have rarely been out of the media
glare in recent years

L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt has sold a Seychelles island at the centre of a tax evasion case, says the government of the island chain.

Mrs Bettencourt sold D'Arros island for $60m (£39m), having bought it in 1998 for $18m, said Seychelles Habitat Minister Christian Lionnet.

He said she had also agreed to settle $8m in unpaid taxes from its purchase.

The island purchase came to light in 2010 when Mrs Bettencourt was being investigated by French tax authorities.

The 89-year-old heiress is now back in the spotlight amid allegations that she made illicit donations to the election campaign of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Mr Sarkozy's house was raided a month ago as part of the police investigation.

'Tax haven'

Mr Lionnet said Mrs Bettencourt had now sold D'Arros and surrounding islands to a firm affiliated to the Swiss-based Save Our Seas Foundation - a marine conservation group.

In a statement on its website, Save Our Seas said it had agreed to manage the islands, which are turtle breeding grounds, on behalf of the Seychelles government.

It said it would "undertake all what is necessary to protect this unique piece of land in the world and to preserve the environmental legacy of this exceptional group of islands in the Seychelles".

Mrs Bettencourt's ownership of D'Arros was revealed in 2010, when media reports claimed she had not declared the purchase to French authorities and was using the island as a tax haven.

She has since admitted evading tax on money held in foreign bank accounts.

With the sale of the islands, Mrs Bettencourt has agreed to pay the Seychelles government $8m in taxes outstanding from her purchase of the island, Mr Linnet said.

He said she would pay a further $10.5m in stamp duty and other taxes on the current sale.

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Madgascan coup leader meets president he sent into exile

Deutsche Welle, 25 July 2012

Madagascan leader Andry Rajoelina and the man he toppled three years ago, Mark Ravalomanana have met face-to-face in the Seychelles for the first time. Ravalomanana has tried twice to return from exile, in vain.

A Seychelles government official confirmed that Andry Rajoelina, the Madagascan transitional president and his predecessor Marc Ravalomanana had met alongside South African president Jacob Zuma. The South African president is a key mediator in the talks on the remote beach island of Desroches

The 15 national Southern African Development Community (SADC), has given the two rivals a July 31 deadline to settle their differences.

Both South Africa and the Seychelles are members of SADC. Madagascar's membership has been suspended.

The Seychelles meeting revolves around a crisis that has engulfed Africa's largest island since Rajoelina ejected Ravalomanana in March 2009.

Omer Beriziky, prime minister of Madgascar's transitional government told DW the meeting of the two protaganists in the crisis was a "good thing." All Madagascans, he added "were expecting a solution to the current crisis."

September roadmap for Ravalomanana's return

Rajoelina, a former disc jockey, led demonstrations against Ravalomanana following the closure of his Viva TV station three years ago. The protests gained momentum when he gained the backing of the army. As a leader, he has failed to acquire broad international backing.

Marc Ravalomanana has tried
twice to return home.

The two men have already held talks among the country's main political groups since the ouster. Their subordinates have inked in several pacts.

A road map signed in September provides for Ravalomanana's return home with no conditions.

But parliament has passed a law barring people with criminal records from running for office. It demands that any presidential aspirants must have paid their taxes in full, effectively excluding Ravalomanana from any presidential race.

Andry Rajoelina came to power
with the backing of the army

In 2010, Ravalomanana was sentenced in absentia to life in prison and hard labor for the murders of around 30 demonstrators. They had been killed by his presidential guards in the protests in 2009 which led to his overthrow.

So Ravalomanana's return from exile in South Africa remains a highly complex issue.

Seychelles claim return to stability in Madagascar crucial

The talks in the Seychelles come three days after the army put down a mutiny at a military base near Madagascar's main airport, leaving three people dead. It was not immediately clear whether the mutiny was linked to the broader political turmoil.

Seychelles President James Michel said a return to stability was crucial for all countries in southern and eastern African as well as in the Indian Ocean region. "Millions of people in Madagascar are sinking into extreme poverty. We have to act quickly before the political crisis becomes as social catastrophe," he said.

Seychelles invites China to set up anti-piracy base

Antara News, Sat, December 3 2011

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Victoria (ANTARA News/AFP) - The Seychelles on Friday invited Beijing to set up a military base on the archipelago to beef up the fight against piracy there, Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Paul Adam said.

The declaration came as Liang Guanglie is making the first-ever visit by a Chinese defence minister to the Indian Ocean island state.

"We have invited the Chinese government to set up a military presence on Mahe to fight the pirate attacks that the Seychelles face on a regular basis," Adam said.

"For the time being China is studying this possibility because she has economic interests in the region and Beijing is also involved in the fight against piracy," he explained.

General Liang, who arrived in Victoria on Thursday with a 40-strong delegation, had been invited in October by Seychelles President James Michel, when he was on a visit to China.

The two countries signed a military cooperation agreement in 2004 that has enabled some 50 Seychelles soldiers to be trained in China. They renewed their agreement Friday but without making public the new details.

If the Chinese military base goes ahead, "it won`t be the first foreign military presence here because the Americans already have a small drone base here that they use in the fight against piracy," Adam said.

After warships deployed starting 2008 in the Gulf of Aden to thwart attacks on vessels, Somali pirates enlarged their field of operations into the Indian Ocean, including towards the Seychelles.

With 115 islands scattered over an area of 1.4 million square kilometres (540,000 square miles), a population of 85,000 and an army of just 500, the archipelago has been asking for foreign assistance.

Liang flew in from the Ugandan capital Kampala, where, according to Ugandan government sources, he promised $2.3 million in military aid, including support to troops in the African Union force in Somalia.

Piracy has flourished off war-torn Somalia, outwitting international efforts -- including constant patrols by warships and tough sentencing of the pirates they capture.

Editor: B Kunto Wibisono

Kenyan Mau Mau uprising documents released

BBC News, 6 April 2011

Thousands of files from former UK administrations are to be released by the government, including documents about the Kenyan Mau Mau uprising.

The British rounded up thousands of Kenyans
during the uprising

The publication coincides with a High Court compensation case brought by four Kenyans over alleged human rights abuses in the 1950s and 1960s.

Thousands were put in camps by the British during the uprising, and many were tortured or killed, say activists.

The government says too much time has elapsed since the alleged abuses.

Thirty boxes

London law firm Leigh Day & Co lodged a claim in mid-2009 on behalf of five elderly Kenyans.

It will be heard on Thursday when four will be present in court. One Kenyan has died since the case was lodged.

Lawyer Dan Leader said about 300 of the 2,000 boxes related to Kenya, and about 30 of those were relevant to the Mau Mau case.

They had been examining them, with historians, since the Foreign Office provided them about a month ago, he said.

Foreign Office minister Lord Howell told the House of Lords: "As a result of searches in connection with a legal case brought by Kenyan Mau Mau veterans against the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the FCO has decided to regularise the position of the 2,000 boxes of files it currently holds.

"The intention is to make as much of this material as possible available to the wider public."

Lengthy process

He said the process of transferring the documents to the National Archives "may take some years to complete".

The four Kenyans - three men and one woman aged in their 70s and 80s - are the lead claimants in the reparations case.

They want the UK government to acknowledge responsibility for atrocities committed by local guards in camps administered by the British in the pre-independence era.

The UK says the claim is not valid because of the amount of time since the abuses were alleged to have happened, and that any liability rested with the Kenyan authorities after independence in 1963.

The armed movement began in central Kenya during the 1950s with the aim of getting back land seized by British colonial authorities.

Historians say the Mau Mau movement helped Kenya achieve independence. But their actions have also been blamed for crimes against white farmers and bloody clashes with British forces throughout the 1950s.

Veterans say they suffered barbaric treatment, including torture, as the British suppressed the rebellion.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission has said 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdown, and 160,000 were detained in appalling conditions.

'Selected documents'

Lord Howell said that "domestic records of colonial administrations" did not form part of British official records and they were kept by the individual states created at independence.

"It was however the general practice for the colonial administration to transfer to the United Kingdom, in accordance with Colonial Office instructions, shortly before independence, selected documents held by the governor which were not appropriate to hand on to the successor government."

The Foreign Office holds about 8,800 files from 37 former British Administrations, including Aden, Brunei, Cyprus, Fiji, Gambia, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaya, Malta, Mauritius, Nigeria, Northern Rhodesia, Palestine, Sarawak, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, and Uganda.

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