By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East
 
WEST JERUSALEM, Israel – On September 29, Yedioth Aharonoth, Israel’s largest newspaper, published a farewell interview with the now interim Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.  In the interview, Olmert stated that “We have to reach an agreement with the Palestinians, the meaning of which is that in practice we will withdraw from almost all the territories, if not all the territories.”  In addition, in order to reach a peace agreement with Syria, Israel will have to withdraw from the Golan Heights.  Read more...

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – On September 28, Ibrahim Issa, editor of Al Dustour, an independent newspaper published in Egypt, was sentenced to two months in prison for publishing rumors that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was near death.  The verdict followed a lower court ruling in March that had sentenced Issa to six months in prison.

In August 2007, Issa published a series of articles in Al Dustour alleging that Mubarak’s health was rapidly deteriorating, and claimed that the President had lapsed into a coma.  Issa was arrested and charged with “publishing false information and rumors … and damaging public interest and national stability.”  According to prosecutors, as a result of Issa’s allegations, foreign investors withdrew more than $350 million dollars from the Egyptian stock exchange.  Read more...

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – According to the U.S. based rights group China Aid Association, house church leader Zhang Mingxuan’s two sons were brutally beaten by up to 15 officers of China’s Public Security Bureau.  Zhang’s oldest son, Zhang Jian, was “severely beaten” unconscious when police raided the family’s home in Beijing.  The injuries were serious, and he may lose sight in his right eye.  A younger son was also beaten, China Aid Association added.  The family was evicted from their apartment, and Pastor Zhang was detained in Kunming city, southwest China.  Read more...

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar’s military junta claims its recent release of several political detainees and about 9,000 other prisoners marks the dawn of a new political era and another milestone in its roadmap to “disciplined democracy”. At least four other prominent former members of the NLD were also released. The mass release of prisoners has come as a surprise to diplomats and residents in Yangon.  Read more...

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Lebanon – On September 29, a bomb exploded in Tripoli, killing several Lebanese soldiers and civilians.  Explosives, mixed with nuts and bolts, detonated as a bus carrying Lebanese Army soldiers passed, killing five and wounded at least 17 others.  The dead included four soldiers. 

Officials state that the bomb was stored in a stationary car and that it was detonated as the bus passed.  The detonation occurred at 8:00am, local time.  The bus was carrying soldiers, as well as civilians, to work.  The police immediately cordoned off the area and forensic experts began collecting evidence.  Read more...

By Yasmine S. Hakimian
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – On September 27, a car bomb explosion killed at least 17 people and wounded 14 others. The victims included women and children. The attack is one of the deadliest in Syria in more than a decade.

The intersection where the explosion occurred leads to an important Shiite shrine in the Syrian capital. The al-Sayyida Zeinab shrine is one of Syria’s holiest sites. The shrine is a popular pilgrimage location and attracts tens of thousands of Shiites from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon each year.  Read more...

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pervez Musharraf resigned the Pakistani presidency on August 18, 2008 under the pressure of impeachment from the coalition government and is now in the midst of facing charges, including treason and various human rights violations.  In May 2008, Human Rights Watch reported that human rights concerns in Pakistan included “arbitrary detention (including of lawyers and human rights defenders); lack of fair trials; mistreatment, torture and enforced disappearances of terrorism suspects and political opponents; harassment, intimidation and censorship of the media; violence against women; and discrimination against religious minorities. Since November 2007, the Government has severely interfered with democratic institutions and dissolved the independent judiciary.”  Read more...