May, 31 2010, 01:37pm EDT
Israel: Full, Impartial Investigation of Flotilla Killings Essential
Israel should promptly conduct a credible and impartial
investigation into the deaths of at least 10 activists after Israeli
security forces boarded ships that were part of an "aid flotilla" to
Gaza, Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch said that the incident, in which dozens of
activists and several Israeli commandos were also reportedly wounded,
raises grave concerns about possible unlawful and excessive use of
lethal force.
NEW YORK
Israel should promptly conduct a credible and impartial
investigation into the deaths of at least 10 activists after Israeli
security forces boarded ships that were part of an "aid flotilla" to
Gaza, Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch said that the incident, in which dozens of
activists and several Israeli commandos were also reportedly wounded,
raises grave concerns about possible unlawful and excessive use of
lethal force.
"A prompt, credible, and impartial investigation is absolutely
essential to determine whether the lethal force used by Israeli
commandos was necessary to protect lives and whether it could have been
avoided," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights
Watch. "Given Israel's poor track record of investigating unlawful
killings by its armed forces, the international community should
closely monitor any inquiry to ensure it meets basic international
standards and that any wrongdoers are brought to justice."
According to reports, at 4 a.m. on May 31, Israeli commandos boarded
ships of the aid flotilla. Approximately 700 activists were taking part
in the 6-ship flotilla. The flotilla's organizers said it was carrying
humanitarian aid intended for Gaza, including cement, wheelchairs, and
parts to repair water infrastructure. The activists said the ships were
70 nautical miles offshore when Israeli forces boarded the ships.
The Israeli government stated that activists on the ships violently
resisted Israeli boarding forces, seriously wounding two soldiers.
Activists aboard the ships stated that Israeli forces killed unarmed
members of the humanitarian aid flotilla. Human Rights Watch has not
yet been able to conduct its own investigation to determine which
account is accurate. The government had warned the flotilla not to
attempt to breach Israel's blockade of Gaza.
"The Israeli government's opposition to the flotilla initiative was
well advertised, but does not address the main issues - did Israeli
forces use unlawful lethal force aboard the ships, and could
alternative steps have been taken that would have avoided the
violence," Whitson said.
Human Rights Watch called on Israel to grant all detained and
injured flotilla members immediate access to counsel and their
families, and to disclose the identities of all those injured and
killed. According to the flotilla's organizers, Israeli authorities
have denied those detained in Ashdod port access to their lawyers, and
have yet to disclose where the injured have been hospitalized. All
communications from the flotilla and flotilla members have apparently
been blocked, and the names of those killed have not been released.
Israel has blockaded Gaza's land and sea borders since Hamas seized
control of the territory in June 2007. Egypt has been an essential
partner in the blockade along Gaza's southern border. The blockade,
which amounts to the unlawful collective punishment of Gaza's civilian
population, has severely damaged the economy, leaving 70 to 80 percent
of Gazans in poverty and dependent on humanitarian aid.
The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms
by Law Enforcement Officials provide that authorities shall, as far as
possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force
and firearms. The Principles provide that if the lawful use of force
and firearms is unavoidable, then the authorities must use restraint
and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense. Lethal force
may be used only when strictly unavoidable to protect life. The Basic
Principles also call for an effective reporting and review process,
especially in cases of death and serious injury.
Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.
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Mar 08, 2025
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Women's March executive director Rachel O'Leary Carmona asserted that "the broligarchy that owns Trump is working to 'flood the zone' with hateful executive actions and rhetoric, trying to overwhelm us into submission."
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At least hundreds turned out near Pack Square Park for the rally:
Today at the Women's March in Asheville, NC pic.twitter.com/BPAIZORSUd
— Senior Fellow Antifa 101st Chairborne Division (@jrh0) March 9, 2025
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All the union leaders who supported Trump (like Sean O'Brien) should have to answer some painful questions about Trump rescinding collective bargaining rights for TSA agents.
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— Mike Nellis (@mikenellis.bsky.social) March 7, 2025 at 10:03 AM
As Huffpost labor reporter Dave Jamieson explained:
Workers at TSA, which Congress created in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, do not enjoy the same union rights as employees at most other federal agencies. Bargaining rights can essentially be extended or rescinded at the will of the administrator.
Those rights were introduced at TSA by former President Barack Obama and strengthened under former President Joe Biden. But now they are being tossed aside by Trump.
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Gerald "Bo" King, an attorney representing Sigmon, read his client's final statement shortly before his execution.
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"He chose the firing squad knowing that three bullets would shatter his bones and destroy his heart."
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King said state officials failed to provide information about lethal injection drugs.
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Rev. Hillary Taylor, executive director of the advocacy group South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (SCADP), said in a
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"The last time I checked, no person on this Earth fits that description, not even Gov. Henry McMaster, whose hardened heart remains the reason why executions continue in the first place," she added.
South Carolina has been executing condemned inmates at a rate described by ACLU of South Carolina communications director Paul Bowers as an "assembly line." The state has put four people to death since last September: Freddie Eugene Owens, killed by lethal injection last September 20; Richard Bernard Moore, killed by lethal injection (after changing his choice from firing squad) last November 1; Marion Bowman Jr., killed by lethal injection on January 31; and Sigmon.
State records show 28 inmates on South Carolina's death row.
Across the United States, there are five more executions scheduled this month, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
This is the first of six executions scheduled in six states this month. From the Death Penalty Information Center, one is scheduled for next week and then a horrifying four the week after that. This appears, however, to be more confluence than some big change. deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/u...
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— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner.bsky.social) March 7, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Addressing the issue of capital punishment in South Carolina, SCADP's Taylor said Friday that "despite national and international media news coverage, most South Carolinians will go to bed tonight unaware that we have executed another person—let alone with a firing squad."
"That's how little this issue impacts our citizens," she continued. "South Carolina should be known by other states and countries for its radical care of its citizens. Instead, we are known for our state-sponsored violence."
"If executions made us safer, we would be the 9th-safest state in the country," Taylor argued. "But they don't, and we aren't. It is not the state leaders who will reap the consequences of the death penalty: it is the everyday South Carolina citizens themselves. As long as we have the death penalty, we will fail to address the true causes of violence, including poverty, abuse, and neglect."
South Carolina carries out execution by firing squad, first in USA since 2010. A reminder that these 6 MAGA men also intro'd a bill to codify abortion as murder—enabling the horrific scenario that a woman who gets an abortion could be executed by firing squad. www.qasimrashid.com/p/s-carolina...
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— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@qasimrashid.com) March 8, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Yet instead of curtailing executions, many South Carolina Republicans want to expand the category of crimes that qualify for capital punishment. In 2023, more than 20 Republican state lawmakers backed a bill to make people who obtain abortion care eligible for execution.
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