El experto Jason Poblete dijo que Estados Unidos está reevaluando su política hacia América Latina y que en el 2018 se verá un poco más definidaEl exasesor del Congreso de Estados Unidos, Jason Poblete, dijo este miércoles que la posición de la administración del presidente Donald Trump, en relación con las elecciones municipales en Nicaragua, fue clara y contundente al intervenir durante la presentación del informe final de la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA) en el Consejo Permanente. Estados Unidos condenó la violencia postelectoral, instó a investigar a los responsables de la violencia y las muertes, y señaló que los arrestos del Gobierno solo se han centrado exclusivamente en los seguidores de los partidos de oposición y que “algunos siguen aún detenidos”. Poblete es experto en Derecho Internacional, es exasesor del Congreso de Estados Unidos y actualmente trabaja en el bufete jurídico Poblete Tamargo. La OEA participó como acompañante en las votaciones municipales de Nicaragua, el pasado 5 de noviembre. “Es un cambio de mensaje, consistente con lo que ha dicho la administración Trump, que Estados Unidos no va a intervenir en la política de otros países, pero sí se requiere respeto a los derechos fundamentales (democracia y respeto a los derechos humanos) donde hay intereses de Estados Unidos (principal socio comercial de Nicaragua). Preocupan estas cosas porque la inestabilidad democrática en Nicaragua no ayuda a nadie en el hemisferio”, apuntó Poblete. Poblete dijo que tiene que haber cambios en el Consejo Supremo Electoral, el voto en el exterior, y la suscripción popular como parte de esos cambios. La situación en Nicaragua es trágica, dijo Poblete. DisyuntivaEl experto Jason Poblete dijo que Estados Unidos está reevaluando su política hacia América Latina y que en el 2018 se verá un poco más definida. “Nicaragua tiene que escoger si va a trabajar con Estados Unidos o lo va a hacer con los rusos, Cuba, Venezuela e Irán. Si va a continuar por esos senderos, equivocados en mi opinión, las Leyes como la Nica Act, la Magnitsky Act, van a continuar avanzando y ejerciendo presión”, afirmó el experto. Poblete dijo que la Nica Act seguirá su curso si no avanza en los próximos días, antes del receso legislativo.
The following editorial was published in The Daily Star on December 13, 2017. Written by the son of U.S. legal permanent resident and internet freedom advocate Nizar Zakka, it appeals to Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil for failing to act.
The Daily Star (Lebanon) – 13 Dec 2017 – NADIM ZAKKA Nadim Zakka is the son of Lebanese citizen and permanent U.S. resident Nizar Zakka, who has been held in Iran since traveling to a state-sponsored conference in Tehran in 2015. Today my family and I feel betrayed, and my father feels left behind. For two years we have been begging the Lebanese government and its ministries to act appropriately to Nizar Zaakar’s situation, though all we saw from our Foreign Ministry is unprecedented unprofessionalism. Optimistic yet naively I believed in the Lebanese establishment to only realize that our foreign minister has the time to travel the world to gather votes, but could not take the initiative to even secure the well-being of my father. There was a time I felt pride being Lebanese, though as I experienced first hand the neglect and incompetence of our officials I felt nothing but shame in my identity. Gebran Bassil, minister of foreign relations, you knew my father yet you do not speak. You were friends with Nizar yet you did not move. When you were minister of communication, IJMA3, the NGO that my father ran, hired and paid for all your advisers based on your request, yet you are silent. In fact, two months before his kidnapping, IJMA3 donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in provisions, to your NGO “Batrouniyat,” yet your ministry has no shame in avoiding Nizar’s friends and family. Those are just a few of countless ways he has attempted to help the people of Lebanon through IJMA3 and development work. Though when it comes to favors, Gebran, you have no shame in asking my dad for countless courtesies. And in return, he has never asked for anything from you. Gebran, until this day I am not asking you to do me a favor, a courtesy or even an act of kindness, I am telling you that it is about time for you to do your job. You have failed to provide a Lebanese citizen with the basic human rights described in the Vienna Convention and also in the Geneva Convention. You have failed to take the proper measures, to ensure my father’s safety and well-being, just as well you have ignored international protocol. For the most part I am astonished how a so-called Lebanese security agency cannot lift a finger to get a Lebanese hostage home, while on the other hand jumping through hoops trying to secure the release of an Iranian mercenary’s body, who undoubtedly came illegally, without any sort of invitation, and bearing arms. We have reached a point where we do not understand who represents the interests of the Lebanese people. When you are employed by the Lebanese government, when you are getting paid by the Lebanese people, you owe it to the Lebanese people to do your job. Finally, I clarify that I have not shared with you all the suffering that our Foreign Ministry has made us go through, and I will hold my tongue a little longer with the knowledge that it’s time for our ministry and our minister to act. Nadim Zakka is the son of Lebanese citizen and permanent U.S. resident Nizar Zaakar, who has been held in Iran since traveling to a state-sponsored conference in Tehran in 2015. The original article can be found here.
The following press release was issued by Florida Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) on December 1, regarding The Global Magnitsky Law.
Cosigners include: Senators Marco Rubio, Robert Menendez, Ted Cruz, Bill Nelson, and Reps. Ed Royce, Eliot Engel, Paul Cook, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Albio Sires (D-NJ) were joined by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Reps. Ed Royce (R-CA), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Paul Cook (R-CA), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), in sending a bipartisan and bicameral letter to the President urging the administration to use the authority provided by the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to hold individuals in Nicaragua accountable for deep rooted corruption and human rights violations. The letter expresses concern regarding the actions of Nicaragua’s Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) and the Venezuelan PDVSA subsidiary in Nicaragua, ALBANISA, and calls for the Department of State and Department of Treasury to take immediate action to determine whether Roberto Rivas, CSE’s President, and Francisco Lopez, Vice-President of ALBANISA, meet the law’s criteria to be sanctioned. To read a copy of the letter, please click here.
Joint Statement By Ros-Lehtinen and Sires: “Global Magnistky determinations may have already been decided by the Administration, nevertheless, given the number of well-documented reports that implicate Rivas and Lopez in a wide array of human rights violations and corrupt activities, we urge State and Treasury to take immediate action to determine if these two individuals meet the criteria to be sanctioned under the Global Magnistky Act. “Rivas has overseen several elections marred by irregularities, depriving the Nicaraguan people of democratic elections in what represent gross violations of internationally recognized human rights. Lopez is likely directly responsible for, or complicit in, ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, acts of significant corruption through ALBANISA – a subsidiary of Venezuela’s PDVSA. This bicameral and bipartisan letter demonstrates Congress’ willingness to work with the Administration in order to prioritize and further promote the cause of human rights and democracy in Nicaragua.” 12.01.17 Congressional Glob... by pobletetamargo on Scribd The family of U.S. Legal Permanent Resident and Internet Freedom Advocate Nizar Zakka, who is currently imprisoned in Tehran, have taken Mr. Zakka’s case to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. The Daily Star, a publication which reports on Lebanese and regional news, published the following article on November 29, discussing these developments. Zakka Takes Case to UN Human Rights CommissionThe Daily Star
November 29, 2017 BEIRUT: Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese national imprisoned in Tehran, has taken his case to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. According to a statement released by Zakka’s family Wednesday, they filed an objection regarding Iran’s human rights violations to the UNHCHR, which works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law. Zakka was arrested after traveling to Iran to attend a state-sponsored conference in Tehran in 2015. At the time of his arrest, he was the secretary-general of IJMA3, the Arab Information and Communications Technology Organization. “It baffles us how something like this is permitted to happen, when a country can pick and choose its hostages from anywhere in the world without any consequences,” the family wrote. The family also blasted the Lebanese government in the statement for “completely ignoring” Zakka’s case “for two years now.” Despite repeated calls by the United States and Zakka’s family members for Zakka’s release, the Lebanese government has yet to issue an official statement on the matter. In remarks by Zakka – a permanent resident of the United States – conveyed in the statement, the detainee “asked if the Lebanese state was not ashamed after the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate moved in favor of his case while his own country is still refusing to do anything to free him.” Read More Congress Introduces Resolution Urging Unconditional Release of Nizar Zakka and all U.S. Persons Held Unlawfully in Iran
On May 4, several members of Congress, including the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), introduced H. Res. 317, a resolution calling for the unconditional release of United States citizens and legal permanent residents being held for political purposes by the Iranian regime.
The legislation includes Mr. Nizar Zakka, a United States legal permanent resident and Lebanese national, whose health is in a dire state, was unlawfully detained on September 18, 2015, in Iran after attending a women’s Arab Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) conference, at the invitation of Iranian government officials, and was later falsly charged of being a spy sentenced to 10 years at Evin prison. Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen released the following statement regarding the resolution: “The obvious result of paying a rogue regime a ransom for the return of hostages was that it would incentivize the taking of even more hostages. And that is precisely what happened when Iran was paid a $1.7 billion ransom for American hostages. Since then, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has taken hostage Siamak and Baquer Namazi, Karan Vafadari and at least one other American citizen, as well as permanent legal residents Nizar Zakka and Afarin Niasari, sentencing them on trumped up charges. What’s worse is that Iran is now using this hostage taking tactic with dual-nationals of other western nations, like the UK, France, Germany and Canada, in order to exact political and financial concessions.
Mr. Zakka’s attorney, Mr. Jason Poblete, released the following press release after the introduction of the resolution to the Congress;
UPDATE 8- Statement on the ... by pobletetamargo on Scribd
Prior Statements and Releases
GLOBAL LIBERTY ALLIANCE APPLAUDS INTRODUCTION OF NICARAGUA ANTI-CORRUPTION BILL IN THE U.S. SENATE4/28/2017
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex) yesterday re-introduced the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act of 2017 (NICA Act), a companion to the bipartisan measure spearheaded by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ) in the House. “Corrupt government officials in Nicaragua, as should all political leaders in Latin America, must understand that access to the U.S. market — whether to our financial system or obtaining a visa — is a privilege, not right. This bill goes a long way to helping set the right tone for the rule of law in Nicaragua and helps victims of Nicaraguan political oppression,” Liberty Fund Attorney Jason Poblete said. The Nica Act would make it harder for corrupt Nicaragua officials to do business in the United States. If it becomes law, it would require United States officials at international financial institutions such as the World Bank or the Inter-American Development Bank to oppose loans for the Government of Nicaragua until President Ortega’s regime is held accountable for oppressive policies and anti-democratic actions. Loan opposition would end when the U.S. Secretary of State certifies to the U.S. Congress that Nicaragua has taken effective steps respect the rule of law, to hold free and fair elections and combat corruption. “By calling attention to the abuses of fundamental liberties in Nicaragua, including against American citizens and American interests, Liberty Fund clients such as Mr. Roberto Bendaña-McEwan have a fighting chance to secure justice in their cases,” Poblete added. Mr. Roberto Bendaña McEwan was falsely accused by Nicaragua’s Sandinista government of various crimes because he dared to call for free and transparent elections in Nicaragua including a clean up of the voter rolls in that country.
Warned of the impending politically motivated show trial against him, Mr. Bendaña with the help of friends, and what is left of the free press, as well as honest members of the police who sympathized with his situation, fled Nicaragua and arrived in the United States in December 2013. On or about January 2, 2014, Nicaragua abused the INTERPOL processes by requesting a Red Notice based on false charges. An INTERPOL Red Notice is a device that alerts law enforcement agencies around the world of an outstanding arrest warrant. His legal team has submitted a great deal of information to clear his name and requested that they permanently remove him from the INTERPOL systems. To this day the government of Nicaragua continues to violate INTERPOL’s Constitution and Regulations by using the INTERPOL lists and systems for political purposes rather than for legitimate law enforcement matters. Learn more about Roberto’s case here. |
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