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: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Kenya rights activists fleeing country after UN report release: AP

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

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[JURIST] Rights activists in Kenya have faced threats since the release in February of a UN report accusing the government of widespread extrajudicial executions, prompting some to leave the country or go into hiding, according to AP Saturday. Western Kenya activists have reportedly been followed by intelligence agents and have received harassing phone calls. Job Bwonya of Western Kenya Human Rights Watch decided to flee to Uganda after government officials demanded that he give them a list of witnesses he arranged to be interviewed for the report. By AP's count, four activists have left the country, and 10 have gone underground. In his report on on extra-judicial killings in Kenya, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Philip Alston said killings by the police were "systematic, widespread and carefully planned" and that they were committed with "utter impunity." Earlier this month, Alston called for an independent investigation into the killings of Kenyan rights activists Oscar Kamau Kingara and John Paul Oulu. Last week, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga announced that FBI agents from the US Embassy in Nairobi would assist in investigating the killing of the two men.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 15, 2009 (boomark / email).