Corrections

Human Rights Watch’s March 1, 2012 news release on the harassment of critics incorrectly stated that the head of the FSB for Komi Republic, Alexander Kalashnikov, issued a report in February 2012 in which he called the Komi regional branch of Memorial and the Komi branch of Golos “extremist” organizations. Mr. Kalashnikov made this statement during public remarks in January 2012. This error has been corrected. (March 1, 2012)

The February 14, 2012, statement regarding the case of Mr. Abuzaid Dorda contained an error. During the interview, Mr. Dorda told researchers he was not arrested in his home but in another home. We do not have information about the owner or location of the other home.

The January 2012 report, "Old Behind Bars: The Aging Prison Population in the United States" incorrectly stated a statistic regarding the percentage of violent offenders who recidivate for violent crimes in New York after the age of 65. In fact, between 1995 and 2008, while there were 469 prisoners in New York who had been convicted of violent offenses and who were released from prison at 65 or older, only one of them was ever returned to prison because of another violent offense; seven returned because of non-violent offenses.

We have inserted a short note in the methodology chapter of our report Old Behind Bars, clarifying that because of variations in data reported to the National Corrections Reporting Program each year, comparisons of prisoner age data from one year to the next should be interpreted with caution. Multi-year trends are far more reliable.

A December 21, 2011 news release on Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s access to a lawyer incorrectly stated that article 94 of the Rome Statute provides for postponing the execution of an ICC request for surrender. An authoritative commentary on the court’s statute makes clear that article 94 relates to requests for cooperation other than surrender, while article 89(4) pertains to requests for surrender. (March 12, 2012)

The November 2011 report, “We Live as in War: Crackdown on Protestors in the Governorate of Homs,” incorrectly stated that Syria could refer the situation in the country to the International Criminal Court. In fact, Syria must first ratify the Rome Statute which created the court as a prerequisite to self-referral. In the absence of ratification, Syria could accept the ICC’s jurisdiction through a declaration under article 12.3 of the court’s treaty, allowing the ICC prosecutor to act on his own initiative and request the opening of an investigation

The October 2011 report, "Hold Your Heart" incorrectly stated that "the International Criminal Court excluded Mt. Elgon from its remit because the issue was deemed to be too complex." In fact, the ICC prosecutor has not given a public reason for not including the crimes committed in Mt. Elgon in its Kenyan investigations to date.

In the English and French versions of the October 2011 report “They Killed Them Like It Was Nothing,” the title of the second chapter incorrectly stated the year as 2010. The correct year is 2011.

The September 2011 report, "Just Don’t Call it a Militia," acknowledged the assistance of the Afghan Analysts Network. The correct name of the group is the Afghanistan Analysts Network. The error was similarly corrected in footnotes 7, 85, and 390. The report cited the work of the author Antonio Guistozzi. His name was changed correctly in footnotes 8 and 11 to Antonio Giustozzi. Finally, the name of the German newspaper was corrected in footnote 90, 93, 386, and 390 to Der Spiegel.

The September 2011 report, "The Rehab Archipelago" stated incorrectly that the US Tariff Act of 1930 had been amended in 2006. In fact the proposed amendment was referred to a Congressional committee and never became law. The statement that the US Tariff Act of 1930 specifically prohibits the import of goods and merchandise "produced or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor and/or forced labor and/or indentured labor" remains accurate.

The July 2011 report, “Getting Away with Torture: The Bush Administration and Mistreatment of Detainees,” incorrectly stated that US officials apparently leaked a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross describing the treatment of “high value” detainees in CIA custody. In fact, the source of the leak is unknown.