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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 11:50 pm
Time: 11:50 pm
Results for false accusations
3 results foundAuthor: Hudson, Andrew Title: Baseless Prosecutions of Human Rights Defenders in Colombia: In the Dock and Under the Gun Summary: In a criminal justice system plagued by impunity, the tenacity with which Colombian prosecutors pursue human rights defenders for supposed crimes is striking. While corruption and arbitrary actions are a systemic problem throughout the judicial system, those who peacefully promote human rights are singled out for particular intimidation through baseless investigations and prosecutions. Unfounded charges are often widely publicized, undermining the credibility of defenders and marking them as targets for physical attack, often by paramilitary groups. While defenders are not alone in being subjected to false investigations, their persecution is distinctive due to the nature of the charges and the methods of collecting, and falsifying, evidence. They are usually accused of rebellion and membership in a guerrilla organization. By the time defenders are illegally detained, they have often been investigated in secret for many months or even years. Two of the hallmarks distinctive to defenders’ cases are the use of false testimony from ex-combatants and of inadmissible intelligence files. Charges are typically based on spurious allegations by ex-guerrillas whose testimony has been coerced or coached by regional prosecutors. Armed with such erroneous evidence, which is objectively inadequate to initiate an investigation, prosecutors and others publicly pre-judge the defendants, stigmatizing defenders as terrorists. Because defenders are singled out for this type of persecution, solutions that focus specifically on defenders are needed. The steadfast investigation of spurious criminal complaints against defenders stands in stark contrast to the failure to investigate attacks, threats, and other forms of intimidation perpetrated against them or against civilians more generally. The Colombian state also fails to prosecute or otherwise discipline judicial officials who instigate such specious prosecutions. Human rights defenders in Colombia play a legitimate and essential role in protecting basic rights and strengthening democratic institutions. Charges against them are often politically motivated and intended primarily to discredit and stigmatize them individually and as a class. Unfounded criminal charges are damaging in many ways: The stigmatization of defenders as terrorist sympathizers places them at considerable risk of reprisal and death threats by paramilitaries or others; The proceedings force defenders to expend time and resources defending themselves, diminishing their capacity to perform productive human rights work; The charges discredit defenders and tarnish their reputations as legitimate human rights activists; and The threat of political prosecution has a chilling effect, encouraging defenders to practice selfcensorship and limit their activities. In relation to Colombia, the U.N. Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders has stated that such “proceedings are part of a strategy to silence human rights defenders.”3 Despite increasing attention to the issue, in the absence of a detailed study, some Colombian officials refuse to acknowledge that there is a widespread problem. Human Rights First has spent more than a year researching and documenting 32 cases of unfounded prosecutions against defenders. Analysis of primary materials such as interviews with defenders, defense briefs, prosecutors’ resolutions, and judicial sentences reveal the spurious nature of these criminal investigations. For the first time, this report reveals a positive development: prosecutors and judges all over Colombia are recognizing the existence of malicious prosecutions against defenders. However, it is not enough to identify the problem or to mitigate its effects after damage has been done. There must be fundamental changes in the justice system. As a major supporter of judicial reform in Colombia, the United States can play a constructive role in combating malicious prosecutions of human rights defenders. It is clearly in the interests of the United States to have a vibrant civil society in Colombia, which can freely express ideas and strengthen respect for the rule of law. Based on an analysis of 32 cases and extensive interviews with government officials and human rights defenders, Human Rights First makes concluding recommendations. Details: New York: Human Rights First, 2009. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 1, 2012 at: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/090211-HRD-colombia-eng.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/090211-HRD-colombia-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 127048 Keywords: False AccusationsHuman Rights Defenders (Colombia)Judicial SystemPolitical CorruptionProsecution |
Author: Garcia-Leys, Sean Title: Mislabeled: Allegations of Gang Membership and Their Immigration Consequences Summary: Gang allegations made by law enforcement agents frequently prevent undocumented immigrants from gaining legal status for which they would be otherwise eligible. These allegations, made without any of the hallmarks of due process, also increase the likelihood an undocumented immigrant will be prioritized for deportation or held in immigration detention. Policy makers, elected officials, and even the law enforcement agents who make these gang allegations are often unaware of the immigration effects of these allegations. This report documents the findings of the UC Irvine School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic (IRC) based on the IRC's legal representation of affected immigrants, collaboration with community organizations and other legal service providers, interviews with law enforcement agents, and review of scholarly literature. First, the IRC found that gang allegations have a high risk of error as they are primarily made based on the subjective beliefs of law enforcement agents in the field and are usually made without any connection to a specific crime. This high risk of error is corroborated by the fact that these allegations are overwhelmingly made against African-Americans and Latinos. Second, the IRC learned that these allegations are stored in computer databases that are networked to other agencies, including Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Third, the IRC learned that these allegations negatively affect the eligibility of undocumented immigrants for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and other forms of immigration relief. Fourth, the IRC learned that gang allegations also affect the treatment of immigrants held in immigration detention. Considering these findings, the IRC recommends that law enforcement agencies be required to: (1) provide notice to every person who law enforcement agents document as a gang member, (2) improve existing notice practices, and (3) offer neutral review hearings where people erroneously documented as gang members may contest that documentation. By providing these basic hallmarks of due process to those law enforcement agents suspect of gang membership, the risk of unintended immigration harms to people erroneously documented as gang members can be greatly reduced Details: Irvine, CA: University of California Irvine, School of Law, Immigrant Rights Clinic, 2016. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 22, 2016 at: http://www.law.uci.edu/academics/real-life-learning/clinics/ucilaw-irc-MislabeledReport.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.law.uci.edu/academics/real-life-learning/clinics/ucilaw-irc-MislabeledReport.pdf Shelf Number: 140417 Keywords: False AccusationsGang MembershipUndocumented Immigrants |
Author: Hoyle, Carolyn Title: The Impact of Being Wrongly Accused of Abuse in Occupations of Trust: Victims' Voices Summary: Recent decades have seen an emerging body of research focused on crime victims and their perspectives. In particular, there has been concern that allegations of sexual abuse, particularly non-recent abuse, have not received an appropriate response. Among politicians, criminal justice agencies and charities in the UK, there is a collective sense of remorse that reports of abuse were often not properly investigated and that those who reported it were often not believed. From this has emerged a new determination to correct past and prevent further injustices of this kind. Not surprisingly, there has been a cultural shift towards believing allegations of abuse, and the presumption now is in favour of trusting those who present as victims. It is important that all agencies, particularly the police, are alert to the needs of those who claim to be victims of abuse, but not to the extent of overlooking those who are victims of wrongful allegations. In a society which has made so much progress in addressing the needs of victims and in taking account of their perspective, those who have been smeared by false allegations of grievous crimes sometimes see themselves as the forgotten victims (of official errors if not of their accusers). They feel disregarded, and that they and their partners and children are left to suffer the ignominy alone. This qualitative study of people's experiences of being falsely accused of child/adult abuse in occupational contexts gives a voice to these other victims, by way of a content analysis of first person accounts. Set against the background of a broad social discourse focused on prosecuting child abusers and sex offenders, one which recognises that victims of abuse need great courage to report crimes against them, it may seem perverse to shine a spotlight on the wrongly accused. Some may worry that dwelling on them will drive victims back into the shadows for fear they will not be believed. However, hearing about the experiences of those who are falsely accused does not diminish lessons that can be learnt from victims of abuse. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has invited victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to share their experience with the Inquiry team, and advises that the information provided will feed into the 'Truth Project'. However, the IICSA also intends to hear testimony from those who have been falsely accused to ensure a balance between encouraging the reporting of child sexual abuse and protecting the rights of the accused. We believe the IICSA is likely to hear evidence similar to the data presented below. Details: Oxford, UK: University of Oxford Centre for Criminology, 2017. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 27, 2017 at: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/the_impact_of_being_wrongly_accused_of_abuse_hoyle_speechley_burnett_final_26_may.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/the_impact_of_being_wrongly_accused_of_abuse_hoyle_speechley_burnett_final_26_may.pdf Shelf Number: 146524 Keywords: Child Sexual AbuseFalse AccusationsPolice InvestigationsWrongly Accused |