By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Facebook activist Sattar Beheshti has been reported dead in Iran.

Beheshti was a thirty-five year old blogger who cared deeply for his fellow Iranians. Sattar once said “that he saw the faces of the people in his country, how difficult their lives were and how poor they were, and that he couldn’t be quiet as long as they suffered.”

Beheshti was arrested in his family home in the city of Robat Karim by Fata [cyber] police. He was detained for alleged opposition activism on Facebook. Beheshti is one of many Facebook activists to have recently been arrested in Iran. While Facebook is blocked in Iran, millions of Iranians still utilize the site through virtual private networks and proxy websites.

Just prior to his arrest, Beheshti wrote that, “[t]hey threatened me yesterday that my mother would wear black because I don’t shut my mouth.” It now appears that the Iranian authorities have made good on their threat. Many believe that the Fata were using Beheshti as an example to warn other Tweeters and Facebook posters about what would happen to them if they wrote negatively about the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Beheshti was initially brought to Evin prison to be interrogated. In places like the Evin prison and Kahrizak Dention Centre, the phrase interrogation is synonymous with torture. It was reported by prisoners of the Evin ward that Beheshti was badly beaten and that there was not a square inch of his body that was not left black and blue. While it has yet to be independently verified, its been said that Beheshti died “under torture” while being interrogated by security officials at Kahrizak.

Claims of Beheshti’s death have surfaced as a result of phone calls made from the authorities to Beheshti’s family. Beheshti’s sister said to Masih Alinejad, a U.K.-based Iranian journalist that, “[t]oday they called my husband and asked him to prepare me and my mother and buy a tomb for his dead body.” Another family member reported to Sahamnews that, “[t]hey called us today and asked us to collect his dead body tomorrow from Kahrizak.”

Alistair Burt, the U.K.’s minister for the Middle East and North Africa, is in disbelief of the tragedy that has occurred stating that all Beheshti did was advocate for human rights over the internet. He holds the Iranian regime fully responsible for the prisoner’s welfare in prison and urges the authorities to confirm what has happened.

Beheshti is allegedly not the first person to have died while being tortured at Kahrizak. Other prisoners have also claimed to have been raped. In 2010, a doctor came to the detention center to examine victims, and was shot dead, not long after.

Beheshti’s death, while meant to be a warning, may have served to further unite the opposition. Reza Mohajerinejad, one of the original student organizers of 18 Tir, is enraged and asks his fellow people, “How long will we watch this regime take the lives of our young people? How long will we wait?”

For further information, please see:

Iranian – The Killing of Sattar Beheshti – 7 November 2012

Baztab – درگذشت یک وبلاگنویس حین بازجویی، نگذارید به سرنوشت پرونده کهریزک تبدیل شود
– 7 November 2012

Guardian – Iranian Facebook Activist Sattar Beheshti Feared Dead in Custody – 7 November 2012

Sahamnews – Sattar Beheshti Tortured to Death – 7 November 2012

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East 

MANAMA, Bahrain — State news agencies reported last Wednesday that Bahraini authorities revoked the citizenships of 31 people, two of them being former members of parliament, for having “undermined state security.”

Among the names are London-based dissidents Saeed Al-Shehabi and Ali Mushaima, the son of the jailed opposition leader Hassan Mushaima. Mushaima is known for having scaled the roof of the Bahraini embassy in London to publicize opposition demands for democratic change.  Also among them are clerics, human rights lawyers, and activists.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) and Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) said that they had “grave concern over the systematic targeting of prominent political activists, former members of parliament, clerics and others.”  They say that the government failed to provide sufficient evidence for justifying the revocation of the individuals’ citizenships.  “The BYSHR and the BCHR express grave concern over the systematic targeting of prominent political activists, former members of parliament, clerics and others,” said in a joint statement by the two activist groups.  The decision, they said, “is intended to punish them for expressing peaceful dissent and thereby intimidate others from exercising their right to freedom of expression.”

The ministry’s report that was released with the names of the individuals whose citizenships were revoked  says that all those affected will have a right to challenge the decision in court.  The revocations were applied under Article 10 of the Nationality Law, granting the “withdrawal of nationality of any Bahraini citizen who causes damage to state security.”

The two MPs whose citizenships were revoked, brothers Jawad and Jalal Fairouz, are leading figures from the Shia majority Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.  A former MP who is also affiliated with Al-Wefaq, Matar Matar, informed AFP that some of those named on the list were acquitted by the military court while others were not actually charged with “undermining state security.”  “They want to replace us as a pro-democracy movement via nationalization of mercenaries and revoking our nationality,” said Matar.  Matar claims that Bahrain’s decision “is a reflection of a complex persecution policy against race, sect, and political orientation.  It is against Bahrain’s Persian minority, Shi’ites and the pro-democracy movement in general.”

Amnesty International believes that Bahrain made the decision to withdraw citizenships on the basis of their political views.  “Most worryingly, the authorities are making some in the group stateless.  This, as well ass any arbitrary deprivation of nationality is prohibited under international law,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Bahrain Revokes Citizenships of 31 People — 7 November 2012

Foreign Policy — Bahrain Revokes Citizenship of 31 Opposition Activists — 7 November 2012

Khaleej Times — Bahrain Revokes Citizenship of 31 Nationals — 8 November 2012

Reuters — Bahrain Revokes Nationality of 31 over National Security — 7 November 2012

By Emily Schneider
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

AMMAN, Jordan – Feelings of unrest and dissatisfaction are spreading among the 25,000 Syrian refugees in Zaatari refugee camp, a makeshift tent village near the border in Jordan.

“We are living in a prison,” Saeed Howshan, a Syrian who fled his hometown for the safety of Zaatari, told BBC reporter. “It is like we are prisoners of the Jordanians, it is as if they are working with the Syrian regime.”

The refugee camp is designed to hold people who have crossed the border illegally to avoid the bloodshed in Syria. Syrians can normally enter Jordan without a visa, so when the conflict began, some Syrians migrated to Jordan’s cities. There, they were housed and cared for by the Jordanian government. But as more and more people attempted to escape the conflict the cities are too full to handle the surge of people. Now, refugees are directed into the Zaatari tent city, which was opened in July.

The Jordanian government estimates the country is now home to 200,000 refugees, 15% of them here in the camp.

The Jordanian government insists the refugees’ basic needs are met. But The Jordanian Society for Human Rights (JSHR) published a report in which it pointed out numerous problems in Zaartari. The report underlined that the site of the camp is “unhealthy” as it is located in a dusty area, and noted that most refugees are living in plastic tents, inside which the heat is “unbearable.” They also stated that the camp lacks adequate water to support its population.

Two meals are distributed daily to the refugees, breakfast and lunch, according to the report. However, there is no variety in the diet and many of the meals arrive spoiled because they are prepared outside of the camp before being transported across the hot sands

In addition, the society said the camp’s toilets are “in bad shape and public for both men and women”, adding that Zaatari also lacks entertainment or leisure facilities.

Last week, a crowd gathered in the camp to demonstrate after what they believed were two days worth of inedible meals.  Demonstrators turned violent and someone set a portacabin ablaze. The protest was quickly quashed by authorities, who came in and used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

An official at the camp told a reporterthat supporters of the Syrian regime have infiltrated the camp to cause trouble.  One high-placed official claimed that pro-regime shabiha, Syrian paramilitary thugs, militiamen have been planted among the refugees to feed information back to the regime in Damascus as well.

Refugees disagree with this assessment and say the recent violent protests have been instigated only by their own disasifaction.  Ali, a refugee, says “If we found one,” referring to Syrian agents, “we would kick them out” and adamantly denies that the violence was a set up. “We have just had enough,” he said.

Now, many refugees are choosing to make the journey back to their war-torn homes rather than wait out the conflict in Zaatari.

“We face a slow death here, or a fast death over there,” says Hussain Ayish, pointing towards the border.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Syrians Choose War over Jordan Zaatari Refugee Camp – 1 Nov. 2012

NY Times – Market Rises, Perfume and All, as Refugees Face a Long Syria War – 31 Oct. 2012

Jordan  Times – Rights Group Urges Relocation of Zaatari Refugee Camp – 30 Sept. 2012

Gulf News – Inside the Zaatari Refugee Camp – 12 Sept. 2012

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia – This past Tuesday, the District Court in Menzel Temime found two journalists, Sofiane Chourabi and Mehdi Jlassi, guilty of “drunkenness and public indecency.” Each were ordered to pay a 104 dinar ($67) which consisted of an 100 dinar fine for indecency and a four dinar fine for drinking alcohol in public during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The two were arrested on August 5^th for drinking alcohol on a Kelibian beach where they were camping. The trial was the result of a case brought by a man claiming that he was a victim of the “moral offense.” Chourabi and Jlassi could have faced six-months in prison.

“I will appeal the court’s decision because it confirms accusations which I totally reject and deny,” said Chourabi. “It is an unfair trial, completely made up and baseless. It is about intimidating the opponents of Ennahda’s policies.”

Chourabi insists that he and Jlassi did not disturb anyone. He claims that at the time of the arrest the two were asleep in their tents in an isolated place. He also alleges that the confession he made back in August was phony and forced “under police pressure.”

Chourabi first gained notoriety for his criticisms of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali policies. Since Ben Ali had been removed, Chourabi has been critical of the current ruling Islamist party Ennahda. A day before his arrest, he had called for a demonstration before the Interior Ministry to protest moves by the religiously conservative Ennahda party that would serve to stifle public freedom.

Fines for drunkenness and indecency are necessary to maintain public order, however, they should not be used harass and unfairly bully the ruling party’s opposition.

“Restrictions of individual freedoms in the name of public order must be necessary and proportionate, and must never be used as an excuse for prosecuting government critics and other political activists,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa program.

She went on to say that “[t]hese convictions must be quashed, and the Tunisian authorities must refrain from prosecuting individuals who freely exercise their fundamental rights, including their right to freedom of expression.”

“It is disappointing to see that at a moment when Tunisia should be proving its commitment to human rights, these convictions send out quite the opposite message and are reminiscent of practices under Ben Ali.”

For further information, please see:

Amnesty International – Tunisia Must Overturn Journalists’ Convictions – 30 October 2012

Daily Star Lebanon – Tunisian Anti-Islamist Blogger Fined for ‘Indecency’ – 30 October 2012

Middle East Online – Tunisian Anti-Islamist Blogger Fined for ‘Indecency’ – 30 October 2012

Tunisia Times – Tunisie: Sofiane Chourabi et Mehdi Jelassi Condamnés à 104 Dinars D’Amende – 30 October 2012