Protests in Bahrain Still Drawing Questions About Treatment of Detainees

Protests in Bahrain Still Drawing Questions About Treatment of Detainees

By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain–Bahraini detainees and activists who were convicted for taking part in anti-government protests last year began a hunger strike on Sunday January 29 2012. The strike was announced as the Gulf kingdom’s interior minister called for punishment against those “attacking policemen” to be raised to a 15-year prison term.

Young protesters carry independence flags in Bahrain. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Mohammed al-Maskati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), shared these words with the AFP concerning the hunger strike.

“This evening, they will have their last meal.”

BYSHR stated that 14 prevalent human rights activists and opposition leaders would begin a hunger strike “in solidarity with pro-democracy protests and in protest against the brutal crackdown.” Also, that detainees held in police stations and the Dry Docks detention center would also participate in the strike as well as BYSHR activists not presently behind bars.

The 14 leading individuals in jail include several opposition leaders who wee convicted last year of plotting to overthrow the regime of the Sunni Al-Khalifa after security forces ended a month-long protest movement demanding democratic changes. But the conflict between members of the Shiite majority and police have intensified recently as the first anniversary of protests that began on 14 February 2011 gets closer.

According to the BNA state agency, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashed bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa said on Sunday 29 January 2012 that the recent clashes have seen an “increase in violence and attacks on security personnel.” He also stated his intention to urge parliament to pass laws to punish “assailants and the instigators” of attacks that target security forces with jail sentences lasting up to 15 years.

“My responsibility is to call for the strengthening of law protecting police as there are no deterrent laws so far.”

The interior ministry has reported that some 41 officers were injured in orchestrated attacks on police on Tuesday 24 January 2012 with protesters in Shiite villages, while the opposition said one protester was killed and several others were injured.

In addition to dealing with alleged attacks on officers, the Bahraini government is also refuting opposition claims that security officers were responsible for the deaths of anti-government protesters, stating that they died of “natural causes.”

The death of teenager Mohammed Ibrahim Yacoub was one of four deaths reported by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. Also, the opposition group al Welfaq accused Bahraini authorities of running over Yacoub with a police car. According to the Bahrain News Agency, the Ministry of Health denied the allegation.

Luma Bashmi, a spokeswoman for the president’s office at the Information Affairs Authority, stated to CNN on Friday 27 January 2011, that the 17-year-old had “died from complications of Sickle Cell Anemia following his arrest on Wednesday 25 January for rioting in Sitra.”

Yacoub, whose age was previously reported as 19, reportedly told police about his medical condition when he began to feel ill during his interrogation. Then, police took him to a medical center but his condition continued to worsen. Intensive care doctors were not able to resuscitate him, due to internal bleeding and a fatal drop in blood pressure.

As part of the Health Ministry’s defense, it released a video purportedly taken at the time of the arrest that it allegedly shows Yacoub unharmed. It also released a medical report that indicated the boy’s cause of death was “sickle cell complications” and that his body had remained free of injuries.

According to a BNA report, Yacoub was arrested on Wednesday 25 January 2012 for participants in act of violence and vandalism.

Bashmi, of the Information Affairs Authority, also reported on the deaths of two more protesters. The first, Saeed Ali Al-Sikri, reportedly fell in the bathroom of his residence on Wednesday 25 January 2012 and later was pronounced dead in a hospital. The public prosecutor ordered forensic blood tests but no results have been released at this point. The second, Abbas Al-Shakikh, had been diagnosed with cancer last year. He was admitted to a hospital but his condition quickly deteriorated and he passed away on Wednesday January 25 2012.

The demonstrations and protests in Bahrain began on 14 February 2011, inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. But unlike other nations in the Arab Spring, the movement in Bahrain failed to gain any real traction and have been repeatedly quelled by crackdowns backed by troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In November 2011, Bahrain’s Independent Commission of Inquiry issued a report highly critical of the crackdown. Set up by the king, the commission concluded that police had indeed used excessive force and torture during last year’s crackdown on protests. Commission chairman Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni stated at the time that abuse of detainees included beatings with metal pipes and batons and threats of rape and electrocution. Additionally, the report stated that the mistreatment included physical and psychological torture, intended to extract information or to punish those held by security forces.

The report recommended reforms to the country’s laws and better training of its security forces. But the reports surrounding the death of protests such as Mohammed Ibrahim Yacoub make it clear that change has not happened at all and that civilians continue to suffer.

 

 

For more information, please see: 

ABNA – Iran Condemns Bahrain’s Cruelty Against Peaceful Demonstrators – 30 January 2012

Ahram – Bahrain Detainees To Begin Hunger Strike – 29 January 2012

Reuters – Bahrain Wants Stiffer Penalties For Security Staff Attackers – 29 January 2012

CNN – Bahrain Government Refutes Claims Over Protester Deaths – 28 January 2012

BBC – Bahrain Criticized Over ‘Inappropriate’ Use of Tear Gas – 27 January 2012

Al-Jazeera – Bahrain Confirms Teen Died In Police Custody – 26 January 2012

NYT – In Bahrain, Worries Grow of Violent Shiite-Sunni Confrontation – 25 January 2012

 

 

 

As Arab League Vacates Syria, Civilians Continue To Pay The Toll

By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria–The Arab League suspended its mission in Syria on Saturday 28 January 2011, opening the door for more unabated violence in the country. The Syrian military has launched an offensive to regain control of the suburbs east of Damascus. Soldiers stormed neighborhoods and clashed with groups of army deserters in fighting that has caused civilians to bear the burden.

A Syrian army defector holds his rifle and independence flag in the Damascus suburb of Saqba.(Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Activist groups say that at least three civilians were killed on Sunday 29 January 2012 in the eastern region of Damascus. Six soldiers were also killed when a roadside bomb detonated near a bus line they were traveling on in the south of the capital. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 66 people, including 26 civilians, were killed across the country. The London-based right group reported that 26 soldiers, five other members of the security forces, nine army deserters were also among those killed as regime soldiers cracked down on protesters.

Al-Jazeera correspondent Anita McNaught spoke with activists in Al-Ghouta, approximately 10 kilometers from the city center of Damascus, and shared these sentiments. Al-Ghouta is historically known for being a hub of dissent against al-Assad’s regime and the crackdown appeared to deter any sort of mass-movement resembling what has occurred in Egypt’s Tahrir Square.

“People we’ve spoke to are too frightened to leave their homes, they’re locked themselves in.”

Dozens of amateur videos have surfaced from Al-Ghouta and Zamalka depicted tanks rolling into both cities. In the southern province of Deraa, there were reports that security forces had killed two students when they broke into a school in the town of Jasim.

The international community has come out with a strong response against the Arab League’s decision to end its observer mission in Syria. Considering the escalating violence, the Arab League said that the situation demands additional deployment of monitors and not their suspension. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, offered strong words of criticism against the Arab League’s decision to end the mission.

“We would like to know why they are treating such a useful instruments in this way. I would support an increased number of observers. We are surprised that after a decision was taken on prolonging the observers’ mission for another month, some countries, particularly Persian Gulf countries, recalled their observers from the mission.”

Since the Arab League ended its observer mission on Saturday 28 January 2012, allowing a spike in bloodshed to occur in the crackdowns on anti-regime protests. In the past four days alone, several hundred individuals have lost their lives. Jim Muir, reporting for the BCC in Lebnanon, stated that both the upsurge and suspension mean that even more attention to be put on the UN Security Council’s attempts this coming next to get a tough resolution on Syria.

The Syrian government expressed its own concern with the surprise and disagreement over the Arab League’s decision to end its observer mission. The Syrian Television gave the following statement concerning the exodus of the observers.

“Syria regrets and is surprised at the Arab decision to stop the work of its monitoring mission after it asked for a one-month extension of its work. This will have a negative impact and put pressure on the Security Council’s deliberations with the aim of calling for foreign intervention and encouraging armed groups to increase violence.”

Nabil Elaraby, the Arab League chief, headed to New York City on Sunday 29 January 2012, hoping to win support from the United Nations Security Council for a plan to end violence in Syria by asking President Bashar al-Assad to step down. He shared the following words with reporters in Cairo concerning his visit to New York City.

“We will hold several meetings with representative from members of the Security Council to obtain the council’s support and agreement to the Arab initiative.”

As the international community continues to debate the future of Syria, its people continue to suffer and perish under the current conditions. One activist in the town of Saqba discussed the deplorable conditions.

“They cut off the electricity. Petrol stations are empty and the army is preventing people from leaving to get fuel for generators or heating.”

In December 2011, the UN reported that more than 5,000 people had been killed since the demonstrations and protests began against the government of President al-Assad first began in March. On Tuesday 24 January 2012, Arab nations voted to extend the mission for another month. In less than a week, the Arab League has gone back on its decision to extend the mission.

The ban on international journalists that has been imposed for the last 10 months is already expected to extend its “authority” again. Journalists had been allowed in on short visas in recent weeks per partial fulfillment of Assad’s deal with the Arab League. But since the observers are departing, the agreement protecting the journalists seems to already be fading.

A western diplomat shared the following words with The Guardian concerning the absence of observers and the media in Syria.

“With no Arab observers and not much media presence left things could now get a lot worse. Any constraining hand has gone. It makes it all the more urgent to achieve something at the UN this week and that can’t be taken for granted.”

 

For more information, please see: 

Ahram – Syrian Forces Kill 33 In Attack On Rebel-Town Residents – 29 January 2012

Al-Jazeera – Syrian Army In Offensive Near Damascus – 29 January 2012

BBC – Syrian Army Moves To Wrest Damascus Suburbs From Rebels – 29 January 2012

CNN – Arab League Suspends Syria Mission Amid Violence – 29 January 2012

The Guardian – Syria Hurtling Towards A Bloodier Crisis – 29 January 2012

NYT – Sharp Rise In Violence Halts Monitoring By League In Syria – 28 January 2012


Iran Extinguishing Expression Prior to March Elections

By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran — In recent weeks, both the United States and Human Rights Watch have accused Iran of attempting to quash free expression ahead of the country’s March elections.  Since the beginning of 2012 at least ten reporters and bloggers have been arrested.

There is an outcry to allow freedom of expression in Iran (Photo courtesy of Veezzle).

“This wave of arrests against journalists and bloggers is a brazen attempt by the authorities to exercise absolute control over information available to the citizens,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Officials should immediately release all journalists and bloggers currently languishing in Iran’s prisons without ever being publicly charged and presented with the evidence against them, or serving time for exercising their right to freedom of expression.”

Authorities have refused to publically announce many of the charges against the journalists and bloggers, however two of the bloggers have received death sentences for the charge of “spreading corruption.”

On January 24, BBC Persia reported that judicial authorities in Iran had acknowledged the existence of a “temporary detention” order for one of the journalists, but friends and family of the detained say that they have been denied access and have yet to be told the charges levied.

There are rumors of charging the journalists and bloggers with “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the regime,” however these have yet to be confirmed officially.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland noted U.S. concern over the treatment of the detained, and Iran’s apparent disregard for due process.

“We are deeply concerned by the alarming increase in the Iranian regime’s efforts to extinguish all forms of free expression and limit its citizens’ access to information in the lead-up to March parliamentary elections,” she said.

“Iranian courts confirmed death sentences for bloggers Saeed Malekpour and Vahid Asghari, both of whom were not accorded due process and now face imminent execution on charges of ‘spreading corruption.'”

The U.S. is urging Iran to respond to the international calls “to abide by its commitments to protect the rights of all citizens and uphold the rule of law.” They are also asking Iran officials to cooperate with the United Nations Special Rapporteur who began a special assignment investigating human rights in Iran late last year.

Iran has also recently increased its efforts to censor free expression the internet. On January 4, local newspapers printed new regulations from Iran’s cyber police unit that gave internet cafes 15 days to install security cameras and to begin collecting personal information from customers for tracking purposes.

Recent interruptions in internet connectivity and an increase of blocked websites have some thinking this is evidence that Iran is testing a national intranet.  In March 2011, Iranian authorities announced that they were funding a multi-million dollar project to build a special Iranian internet to protect the country from socially and moral corrupt content.

For more information, please see:

AFP — US says Iran seeking to snuff out free expression — 27 Jan. 2012

U.S. Department of State — Wave of Arrests, Harassment, and Death Sentences in Iran — 26 Jan. 2012

Washington Examiner — Iran arrests journalists, to execute bloggers — 26 Jan. 2012

Human Rights Watch — Iran: New Assault on Freedom of Information — 25 Jan. 2012

Petitioners Thrown Into ‘Black Jails’

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Chinese petitioners describe being beaten and detained by Chinese authorities for unfurling a banner in Tiananmen Square on behalf of jailed fellow activists.

Chinese petitioners have been detained in unofficial facilities known as black jails (Photo Courtesy of Human Rights Watch).

Following the unfurling of the banner, which read: “the victims locked up in the Qiutaoshanzhuang black jail in Shaanxi wish the central government leaders a happy new year,” the Beijing police detained more than twenty people who were protesting the illegal detentions of in an unofficial detention center, known as a “black jail.”

Chinese petitioners claim that they are sent to black jails, where they are beaten and harassed, when they try to complain about the local government to the higher government.

Many of those put into black jails have spent decades trying to win redress for forced evictions, beatings while in custody and corruption regarding lucrative land sales.

Petitioner Zhang Wuxue described, “we were locked in the basement and got nothing to eat or drink, and we couldn’t get out, and the security guards swore at us and beat us.”

A recently freed detainee of a black jail stated that, “when we were detained, we were starved and humiliated. We were sick but couldn’t get any medical help. One of the elder petitioners was sick for four or five days and couldn’t get any medicine, even though he was going to pay for it himself.”

According to rights lawyer Liu Anjun authorities are cracking down in dissent in the capital in comparison with past years.

Chinese citizens have experience an increase in government crackdown on dissidents following the uprisings in the Middle East almost a year ago. Many speculate that the government is in fear of losing the control it has over it’s citizens to rebellions inspired by the Middle East protestors.

 

For more information, please see:

Radio Free Asia – Petitioners Thrown in ‘Black Jails’ – 26 January 2012

NTD – Petitioners Rescued From Beijing Black Jail – 18 January 2012

Human Rights Watch Brings Focus to the Problem of Elderly Prisoners

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States – According to figures from 2010, eight percent of the prison population (or 124,400 inmates) is 55 years old or older.  This number is up from three percent in 1995.  A report released by Human Rights Watch acknowledged this change and demonstrated why this is such a problem.

The growing elderly prison population causes problems for states, facilities, officers, and the prisoners themselves. (Image courtesy of CNN)

Human Rights Watch issued a 106-page report titled “Old Behind Bars: The Aging Prison Population in the United States.”  Not only does the report outline the problems, but also calls for changes on harsh sentencing rules, mandatory minimum sentences, reduced opportunities for parole, and additional changes in prison facilities.

Not only does the aging prison population cause problems for the prisons themselves, but also for taxpayers and policymakers.  According to CNN, older prisoners incur medical costs that are three to nine times higher than younger prisoners.

Jamie Fellner, a Human Rights Watch special adviser who wrote the report, sees extreme comparisons between prisons and geriatric facilities.  “U.S. corrections officials now operate old age homes behind bars,” Fellner said, as reported by TIME.

Elderly prisoners face many issues within the prisons themselves.  The facilities are not equipped for wheelchairs; the elderly cannot easily climb into top bunks or up sets of stairs.  Some facilities struggle with whether they need grab bars and handicap toilets for elderly inmates.

A.T. Wall is the director of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections and president of the Association of State Correctional Administrators.  According to TIME, Wall said “Dementia can set in, and an inmate who was formerly easy to manage becomes very difficult to manage.”  He continued on to explain, “There are no easy solutions.”

While the report wants changes in many areas of sentencing, Human Rights Watch is not advocating for complete release.  According to The New York Times, Fellner said, “Age should be a get-out-of-jail-free card, but when prisoners are so old and infirm that they are not a threat to public safety, they should be released under supervision.”  Fellner goes on to argue that if changes are not made soon, “legislatures are going to have to pony up a lot more money to pay for proper care for them behind bars.”

Besides lengthy sentences and more life sentences, the other factor that contributes to the elderly inmate population is that the number of old people entering for the first time, according to The New York Times.

Although the lacking budget in most states hinders significant change, some states are really making an effort.  For example: The Louisiana State Penitentiary has a hospice program where fellow prisoners provide care for their fellow dying inmates.  They provide everything from changing diapers to saying prayers, according to TIME.

Other states like Washington and Montana are looking into opening assisted living facilities for elderly inmates.  Each facility is small – capacities of 74 and 120 beds respectively – but will provide specialized treatment for the elderly inmates.

The biggest dilemma is that some of the inmates are still dangerous and some are not, so it is difficult to create a bright line rule for release.

In a nation where sentences seem to get longer and longer, the problem is only going to get worse.  The report points out that almost 10% of state prisoners are serving a life sentence, according to CNN.  Furthermore, another 11.2% have sentences longer than 20 years.

While facility changes are beginning, the report points out the fact that guards and other correctional officers are not trained properly to deal with the elderly.  Linda Redford, director of the geriatric education center at the University of Kansas Medical Center has helped train prison staff and inmates to better deal with geriatric prisoners.  Even the medical staff is not prepared to deal with it: “They’re used to having to deal with issues of younger prisoners, such as HIV and substance abuse,” Redford said, according to TIME.

States and prisons will continue to try to deal with caring for elderly patients.  Often times they are disregarded due to their inmate status.  The Human Rights Watch report will hopefully point out some of the common problems across the nation.

According to the Lawrence Journal World, Feller begs us to ask the question, “How are justice and public safety served by the continued incarceration of men and women whose bodies and minds have been whittled away by age?”

For more information, please visit:

CNN — Human Rights Watch Expresses Concern for Aging Prisoners — 27 Jan. 2012

Lawrence World Journal — As Inmates Age, Medical Costs Soar — 27 Jan. 2012

TIME/AP — Number of Elderly Inmates Surges — 27 Jan. 2012

The New York Times — Older Prisoners Mean Rising Health Costs, Study Finds — 26 Jan. 2012