By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – On June 12, 30 Arab human rights groups issued a joint statement to the Saudi government to release Dr Matruk al-Faleh. Faleh is a prominent reformist who was arrested on May 19.
In the joint statement, the groups expressed concern over Faleh health. According to Faleh’s wife, he has been on a hunger strike since his arrest in mid-May. In addition, Faleh suffers from diabetes and hypertension.
The human rights groups called upon the Saudi government to “end to their arbitrary practices targeting Saudi activists who aspire to effect democratic reform in the kingdom.”
The reason for Faleh’s arrest is unclear, although the human rights groups believe that it is linked to Faleh’s representation of reformist Abdullah al-Hamed and a statement Faleh wrote after visiting him, which was critical of conditions in the jail.
In August 2005, King Abdullah pardoned and released Faleh after he spent 17 months in prison for advocating a constitutional monarchy.
For more information, please see:
Middle East Times – Arab Rights Groups Urge Saudi to Free Jailed Reformist – 12 June 2008
AFP – Saudi Activists Appeal to King Over Jailed Reformist – 5 June 2008
Washington Post – Saudi Critic Jailed After Decrying Justice System – 21 May 2008
——
SANANDAJ PRISON, Iran – On June 10, Iran ignored international pleas and executed a juvenile offender, Mohammad Hassanzadeh, aged 17. Hassanzadeh was convicted for a murder he committed when he was 15 years old and is the second juvenile offender that Iran has executed this year.
Amnesty International criticized Iran: “This latest execution of a juvenile offender is yet another blatant violation by the Iranian authorities of their international obligations under the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child not to sentence to death those under the age of 18 at the time of the offence.”
Also on June 10, Ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi, head of Iran’s Judiciary, granted a one month reprieve to two other juvenile offenders; Behnoud Shojaee, and Mohammad Feda’i. Shojaee and Feda’i were convicted of separate incidences of premeditated murder. According to letter written by Feda’i, he was beaten by prison authorities until he agreed to sign a confession without knowledge of its content.
According to Amnesty International, there are 85 juvenile offenders sentenced to death in Iran. In 2007, Iran executed at least 335 individuals, seven of which were juvenile offenders.
For more information, please see:
BBC – Iran Executes Juvenile Offender – 12 June 2008
Jerusalem Post – 2 Iranian Kids Reprieved from Execution – 12 June 2008
Amnesty International – Kurdish Boy Executed in Iran – 11 June 2008
——
HEBRON, West Bank – On June 9, Thamam al Nawaja (58 years old), her husband (70), and their nephew, were assaulted by four masked men. Nawaja had been herding her goats near the Jewish settlement of Susia, near Hebron.
“The settlers gave us a 10-minute warning to clear off from the land,” said Nawaja. “They don’t want us to stay on our land. But we won’t leave. We’ll die here. It’s ours.” When her family refused to leave, the men began attacking Nawaja and her family. Nawaja was badly injured and transported to an Israeli hospital, where she stayed for three days. Her husband and nephew were transported to a hospital in Hebron.
The incident was filmed on a camera distributed by B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, as part of their “Shooting Back” project. The objective of the project is to provide video evidence, instead of an oral statement, of an assault to the Israeli police.
Oren Yakobovich, who leads the “Shooting Back” project, states “When they have the camera, they have proof that something happened. They now have something they can work with, to use as a weapon.”
The Yesh Din human rights organization commented that Palestinians have filed six complaints about assault in the last three months. Two have been closed on grounds that the perpetrator was unknown.
For more information, please see:
BBC – ´Jewish Settler Attack´ on Film – 12 June 2008
Ha’aretz – Three Palestinian Sheperds Tell Police: We were attacked by masked settlers in Hebron Hills – 10 June 2008
