The Middle East

Nine Lawyers Accused of Terrorist Affiliations

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ANKARA, Turkey — Yesterday, a court in Istanbul ordered the pre-trial detention of nine human rights lawyers.  Turkish authorities had charged them under anti-terror laws, claiming that the lawyers were affiliated with the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party (RPLP), a banned terrorist organization.  The nine were among twelve lawyers arrested, eleven during early morning raids conducted on January 18, and one arrested on January 20.

Human Rights Lawyers who advocated those accused under anti-terror laws were charged and detained under such laws themselves. (Photo Courtesy of Hurriyet Daily News)

The RPLP, a pro-Marxist organization, is responsible for many assassinations and bombings since the 1970’s.  They have not been as active in recent years.  Nearly 70 people accused by the Turkish government for being affiliated with the RPLP were also detained for questioning.  Among those targeted in the crackdown, aside from activist lawyers, were journalists and musicians.

Opposition parties expressed their outrage to the arrests, including the Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD), in which all nine lawyers were members of.  “Police raids against lawyers at 4 a.m., their arrest and imprisonment are part of a wider clampdown on those who oppose the government,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, the senior Turkey researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Mahmut Tanal, the deputy to the main opposition party, Republican People’s Party (CHP), said that he believed the attorneys were detained because of the part they played in advocating for those accused in some of Turkey’s most controversial human rights abuse incidents.  “This is an attempt to put lawyers on trial for artificial links with terror organizations.  This is intimidation for all lawyers and citizens.  Accusations and questions addressed to the lawyers show that there’s no legal protection for citizens in Turkey,” said Tanal.

Hasip Kaplan, a lawmaker for the Peace and Democracy Party, said that charging human rights lawyers under anti-terror laws prevent them from diligently defending people accused under anti-terror laws, or speaking critically of the Turkish government.  “The first message given to lawyers is that lawyers defending the suspects of [alleged terrorist] organizations could be put on trial for links with the same organizations.  The second message is that their participation in public demonstrations could be considered evidence of being a member of an illegal organization…,” said Kaplan.  Kaplan said that the Turkish government’s incentive in charging people under anti-terror laws is to spread fear in society from participating in protests, and, for lawyers especially, to not defend anyone accused under such laws.  “Those lawyers were detained just because of their professional activities…,” said Kaplan.

Human Rights groups frequently criticize Turkey for charging activists and journalists under their broad anti-terrorism laws.  The charges are often accompanied by prolonged pretrial detention.

For further information, please see:

Committee to Protect Journalists — Several Journalists Jailed in new Turkish Crackdown — 22 January 2013

Human Rights Watch — Turkey: Nine Human Rights Lawyers Imprisoned — 22 January 2013

Turkish Weekly — More Lawyers Arrested in Crackdown on Leftists — 22 January 2013

Hurriyet Daily News — Nine Lawyers Arrested on Alleged Terrorism Links — 21 January 2013

Washington Post — Lawyers Arrested in Turkey for Alleged Links to Leftist Militants — 21 January 2013

 

Activist Al-Muhafda Released on Bail in Bahrain

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain – Sayed Yousif Al- Muhafda, who was being held in detention, has recently been released on bail. He has been arrested for allegedly spreading false news to harm security. Muhafda is a human rights activist who happens to be the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

Bahraini activist, Sayed Yousif Al-Muhafda was been released on bail and awaits trial on January 29th. (Photo Courtesy of Ahlul Bayt News Agency)

Muhafda was first arrested in November for partaking in an unauthorized protest. Shortly after he was arrested again in December during a protest in Manama where he took pictures of the clashes and posted them on Twitter. The public prosecution claimed that the photographs were old and not from the recent demonstration and stated that tweeting it caused “protests and acts of sabotage that disrupted security and order.”

Unauthorized demonstrations are prohibited in Bahrain. When a protest arises, often individuals are arrested for organizing or partaking in these demonstrations. Such actions are the authorities attempt to bring an end to the unrest. Amnesty International would just prefer that Bahrain met its obligations to promote human rights.

Amnesty International believes that Muhafda actually was arrested for his role as a defender of human rights. They view his detention as unjust and cite to international law, specifically the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders which grants individuals freedom of expression.

Instead of being put in prison, Muhafda was detained in a police station with migrant workers. This action was taken to further isolate Muhafda from other prisoners who may actually speak the same language as him.

Just a day after his release, Muhafda got right back to work, promoting human rights as an anti-government protest in Manama was suppressed by stun grenades, tear gas and pepper spray. Muhafda would not be deterred as he took to Twitter to tweet a picture of a young bleeding girl who was being arrested. This was the same type of action that got Muhafda arrested to begin with.

Muhafda is not the only individual to be punished by Bahraini authorities for promoting human rights. Just a week ago, Bahrain’s highest appellate court upheld the convictions of thirteen pro-democracy protestors who were convicted for “plotting to overthrow the monarchy.” A few weeks before that in December, two protesters were sentenced to death when they could have been sentenced to life imprisonment. Similar sanctions have been upheld against teachers and medics who organized a teacher strike and treated injured protestors, respectively.

Muhafda will be back in court on January 29th, when witnesses will begin to testify. Muhafda said that he could bring the injured man from his initial tweeted photograph into court, however, he believes that “our responsibility as human rights activists is to protect the victims.”

For further information, please see:

Gulf in the Media – Bahraini Court Releases Muhafda on Bail, Sets new Hearing – 19 January 2013

Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Bahraini Activist Released on Bail – 18 January 2013

Al Akhbar – Police Attack Bahrain Protest, Leading Activist Released – 18 January 2013

Jurist – Bahrain Court Releases Human Rights Activist on Bail Pending Trial – 18 January 2013

Nasrin Sotoudeh Temporarily Released from Prison

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Recent Sakharov Prize winner and Iranian human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh has been released from Evin prison. Her release is only a temporary furlough that is set to last just three days. Sotoudeh has spent roughly more than two years in jail thus far.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, now weighing 95 lbs. after her hunger strikes, has been given a three day furlough from Evin prison, after two-years of incarceration. (Photo Courtesy of the Guardian)

Currently, Sotoudeh is serving a six-year prison sentence and a ten-year ban on practicing law for “acting against national security and propaganda against the regime.” She was arrested for providing legal services in human rights cases for activists who were viewed unfavorably by the Iranian authorities. Many believe it was her specific representation of Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel peace prize laureate who is living in exile, that upset the Iranian authorities.

Throughout the course of her detainment, Sotoudeh was often held in solitary confinement. Additionally, her family was harassed with international travel bans, and Sotoudeh was frequently denied access to family visitation and telephone communication. She was also denied the right to attend her father’s funeral who died while she was in jail; although, she was allowed to attend her mother’s who also died around the same time. In an effort to protest such harassment, Sotoudeh began to partake in a hunger strike.

She wrote to her children, “I know that you require water, food, housing, a family, parents, love, and visits with your mother. . . However, just as much, you need freedom, social security, the rule of law, and justice.”

After a forty-nine day hunger strike, Sotoudeh finally began eating again once her daughter’s travel ban was lifted in early December.

Since the start of her temporary release, it has been reported that Sotoudeh weighs just ninety-five pounds. Drewery Dyke of Amnesty International stated that, “We urge the Iranian authorities to confirm an extension to this period of leave, to allow Nasrin to get any medical checks which she may not have received in Evin prison.”

Besides for an extension of her furlough for health reasons, Amnesty International further urges the Iranian government to release Sotoudeh indefinitely. Dyke added, “In order to abide by human rights commitments, though, her conviction should be overturned and she should be released unconditionally.”

Amnesty International was thrilled to hear of Sotoudeh’s three-day release, however, Dyke believes, “Nasrin shouldn’t have been imprisoned in the first place.”

For further information, please see:

Eurasia Review – Iran: Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Given First Furlough – 18 January 2013

Women News Network – Imprisoned Iran Rights Attorney Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh Gets 3 Day Release – 18 January 2013

Guardian – Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Temporarily Freed – 17 January 2013

Amnesty International – Iran: Further Information: Lawyer Ends Hunger Strike but Still Detained: Nasrin Sotoudeh – 7 December 2012

Deadly Wave of Attacks Strike Iraq

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq was struck with a wave of attacks last Wednesday, killing 29 people and injuring 235 people.  The attacks occurred within Baghdad and in northern Iraq.  The attacks are considered, so far, to be the deadliest of the year.

Kirkuk was the site of Wednesday’s deadliest attacks. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Wednesday’s attacks were aimed at Kurdish targets within the north.  In Kirkuk, two suicide bombers targeted an office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.  Another blast appeared to target a compound housing local offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzani, the Kurdish Regional President. Sadiq Omar Rasul, Provincial Health Chief of the region, said that  a car bomb killed at least 26 people and wounded 190 others.

In the town of Tuz Khurmatu, located north of Baghdad, a suicide bomber killed five people and wounded 40 others.  The attack happened near the offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan of Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi President.

In Baghdad, officials said that five attacks killed six people, while bombings in the towns of Baiji, Hawija, and Tikrit, all north of Baghdad, killed three people and wounded seven others.

According to an AFP tally, Wednesday’s overall death toll was the highest since December 17.

The attacks occurred a day after the killing of Eifan Saadoun Al-Issawi, a Sunni member of Parliament.  He was killed by a suicide bomber who pretended to meet him and then blew himself up.  The assassination occurred in the Anbar Province west of Baghdad, an area of Iraq which has seen heavy protests by the Sunni minority against the Shi’ite-led government.  “The moment he stepped out of the car to check out this road between Fallujah and Amiriya, at this moment there was a man,” said Sohaib Haqi, an aide to Al-Issawi.  “He came to him, hugged him, said ‘Allahu Akbar’ (‘God is great’), and blew himself up.”  The attack also killed two bodyguards, while several other people within the vicinity of the blast were injured.

On Wednesday, hundreds of mourners attended Al-Issawi’s funeral outside of the predominately Sunni town of Fallujah.  A spokesman for the Anbar Provincial Council said that officials declared a three day mourning period in Al-Issawi’s honor.

The violence follows a political crisis which has pitted Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki against several of his ministers in provincial elections, which measures support given to the ministers respectively in the run up to the general election which occurs next year.  Anti-government demonstrations have also swept the Sunni-majority areas of the nation.  Demonstrators believe that Sunnis have been targeted and arrested by the Shi’ite led government under anti-terror law.

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya — Wave of Iraq Attacks Kill 29 — 16 January 2013

Al Jazeera — Deadly Suicide Blasts Strike Iraq’s North — 16 January 2013

Al Bawaba — Iraq’s Protest Region Faces Suicide Bomb Attack — 15 January 2013

BBC News — Iraq Sunni MP Killed by Suicide Bomber — 15 January 2013

Iraqi Government Frees 335 Prisoners Held Under Anti-Terrorism Law

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq released 335 prisoners held under anti-terrorism laws as a goodwill gesture to Sunni Muslim demonstrators who have been protesting against Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki for the last three weeks.

In an effort to appease Sunni protesters, the government released 335 Iraqi prisoners who were not formally charged but were held under anti-terrorism law. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Shahristani announced their release during a ceremony that was held at a Baghdad prison last Monday.  The ceremony itself was attended by dozens of freed prisoners, both male and female, who then shook hands with Shahristani after his speech.  It was at the ceremony where Shahristani apologized “on behalf of the Iraqi state” to those prisoners who suffered a prolonged detention.  “I, and the committee, will follow up all the cases to accelerate the release of the prisoners who are freed or completed the sentence,” said Shahristani, who heads the committee formed to look into the Sunni protesters’ demands.

Officials declined to provide statistics over how many prisoners had finished their jail terms and how many had been detained without being formally charged.  An AFP journalist who was present for the mass release said that a number of old men and women were among the prisoners freed.  “This is a good step,” said Mehdi Saleh, a prisoner who was held without charges since 2009.  “We were really desperate to be released,” he said.

For three weeks, Sunni demonstrators had assembled in Iraq’s Anbar province and other predominately Sunni regions to protest alleged discrimination.  Sunni leaders claim that the anti-terrorsim law was used to unfairly target and arrest Sunnis.  Aside from the demand to release prisoners held under the anti-terrorism law, protesters had made other demands, some of which are considered extreme.  They range from calls for Maliki to resign, to ending the campaign to track down former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party.

Thousands of protesters are still in Anbar, and do not feel that their demands were adequately met.  “This is not enough.  We didn’t ask for a gesture or a gift for the people.  We want to give people their rights,” said Jaber Al-Jaberi, a lawmaker who represents the Sunni-backed Iraqiya block.  The protests began on December 23, when officials arrested 9 members of  Sunni Finance Minister Rafa Al-Essawi’s security team on terrorism charges.  Tensions have been high for both the demonstrators and government officials since the start of the protests, and Maliki has even threatened to direct security forces to forcibly intervene.

Since Hussein’s fall in 2003, many Iraqi Sunnis felt that they have been discriminated since the Shi’ite majority took power.  Since then, Iraq’s government, comprised of Shi’ite, Sunni, and ethnic Kurds, have struggled to cooperate together in rebuilding Iraq.

For further information please see:

Al Arabiya — Iraq Frees Hundreds of Detainees to Appease Protesters — 14 January 2013

Al Jazeera — Iraq Releases Hundreds of Prisoners — 14 January 2013

BBC News — Hundreds of Prisoners Released  in Iraq — 14 January 2013

Kurdish Globe — Iraq Says it Freed Hundreds of Inmates — 14 January 2013

Reuters — Iraq Frees Prisoners in Gesture to Ease Sunni Protests — 14 January 2013