Pakistan’s Human Shield: Civilians

Pakistan’s Human Shield: Civilians

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PESHAWAR, Pakistan– The fierce battle against the Taliban in Pakistan has taken to the streets. As the Pakistani military advances towards Mingora; the stronghold of the Taliban in Swat, the number of civilian casualties has exponentially increased. Civilians on ground and international agencies blame the Taliban and the army equally.

In response to the Pakistani military’s advancement, the Taliban have heavily mined Mingora and prevented many civilians from fleeing. The UN based Human Rights Watch said that the Taliban were using innocent civilians as “human shields” to deter attack. Human Rights Watch further reported that the Pakistani army itself was not taking precautionary measures when conducting aerial and artillery attacks which has resulted in even more civilian casualties.

Defense and political analyst, Talat Masood, reported that the Pakistani army was engaged in a frontal combat; something even the US troops did not engage in extensively in Afghanistan. As a result of this fight, the enemy is vulnerable and in close firing range from the army.

The civilians are just as close.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Pakistani Troops Fight the Taliban on the Streets – 18 May 2009
Daily KOS –A FailSafe Plan to Reduce Civillian Casualties – 21 May 2009
South Asia News – Pakistanis Angered over Civillian Deaths – 19 May 2009

Malaysia Deports Five Filipino Terror Suspects

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MANILA, Philippines– Five members of Abu Sayyaf who have been sought after for alleged high-profile kidnappings and bomb attacks are currently under the custody of Philippine National Police.  The five men were deported from Malaysia where they have been jailed in the recent years for violating Malaysian immigration law.

Abu Sayyaf is an al-Qaida-linked militant group known for beheadings and bomb attacks.  It is the smallest but the most violent Muslim militant group in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf is said to have received funds from al-Qaida and is on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations.  U.S.-backed Filipino troops have been trying to wipe out this militant group comprised of about 400 fighters.

In 2009, Abu Sayyaf began a kidnapping spree in efforts to raise money for activities.  On Monday, Philippine police recovered the severed head of Abu Sayyaf’s latest victim, a Filipino farmer who was kidnapped and then beheaded when his family failed to pay the requested ransom of 25 million pesos ($535,000).

An advocacy group, International Christian Concern’s Regional Manager for East Asia, Natalia Rain said, “Imagine living in a state where you know you may be seized from your home at any moment and have your fate thrust into the hands of radical terrorists.”  Rain added, “The brazenness of men who would behead an elderly man for his impoverished family’s failure to pay an outrageous ransom should wake us up to the horrifying reality of this thirty-year conflict.”

The arrested suspects are alleged to have been involved with kidnappings of 10 European tourist and 11 Asian workers from a resort in Malaysia, and are linked to a 2002 bomb attack in a department store in southern Philippines. One of the suspects is also believed to have been involved in an unspecified past terrorist attack that targeted American tourists in the Philippines.

Currently, Abu Sayyaf  is holding captive an Italian Red Cross worker, Sri Lankan peace advocate, and school teachers.

For more information, please see:

BosNewsLife – Al-Qaeda-linked Group Beheads Kidnapped Christian Farmer – 19 May 2009

Global Nation – 5 Abu Sayyaf suspects deported from Malaysia – 20 May 2009

GMANews.TV – 4 Sayyaf members nabbed in Malaysia now under PNP custody – 20 May 2009

Monsters and Critic – Five suspected Philippine militants deported from Malaysia – 20 May 2009

MSNBC – Filipino militants behead kidnapped farmer: police – 18 May 2009

Taiwan News – Malaysia turns over 5 Filipino terror suspects – 20 May 2009

Baha’i Leaders Mark One-Year Anniversary in Prison

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – May 14 marked the one-year anniversary of the arrest of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran.  Human Rights Watch called for the release of seven leaders of the Baha’i community in Iran who, in February, were charged with spying for Israel, “insulting religious sanctities,” and spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic.  The leaders could face the death penalty if convicted. 

The arrests are the latest in a series of hundreds of arrests that have taken place in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom estimates at least thirty Baha’is are currently imprisoned in Iran.   There is also evidence that since 1979, hundreds of Baha’is in Iran have been killed.  Iran’s constitution recognizes only Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians as legitimate religious minorities in the Islamic Republic, though these groups have also been subject to persecution.

Baha’is constitute the largest religious minority in Iran, with 300,000 members inside the Islamic Republic and approximately five million worldwide.  Baha’i was founded in the mid-nineteenth century in Persia, present-day Iran, and believers hold that humanity is one race derived from a single God.  Officials in Iran have deemed Baha’i a heretical offshoot of Islam.  The center of the Baha’i faith is the city of Haifa, in present-day Israel, heightening tensions between members of the faith and the Islamic Republic, which refuses to recognize Israel as a state.

The Baha’i leaders’ lawyer, Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, has experienced intense pressure from the Iranian government while preparing for the case.  Ebadi reported that in December 2008, police closed her human rights center and her private office was raided, and client files seized.  In addition, Ebadi has been denied access to the Baha’i leaders and no trial date has been set.

For more information, please see:

Iran Press Watch – Imprisoned In Iran For Religious Belief – 20 May 2009

Human Rights Watch – Iran:  Free Baha’i Leaders – 14 May 2009

New York Times – Seven Iranians Charged With Spying for Israel – 23 February 2009

BBC News – Iran arrests Bahai ‘leadership’ – 19 May 2008

Pakistan’s Refugee Crisis

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SWAT VALLEY, Pakistan – Almost 1.5 million people have registered for international assistance, fighting began in the Swat Valley region in Pakistan about three weeks ago. The total number of displaced people stands at about 2 million with the numbers steadily rising. The UNHCR spokesperson said that “it’s been a long time since there has been a displacement this big.”

The Swat Valley in Pakistan used to be a popular tourist attraction, but recently came under the strong control of the Taliban who imposed Sharia law in the region, and began advancing towards the capital. In response the Pakistani army launched an aerial attack, and have since then moved forward with a ground offensive, targeted at driving the militants out of the region.

The fighting has caused a mass refugee exodus, and has resulted in heavy civilian casualties.

Currently 1.30 million people are living in camps, while almost 1.04 million people are still without any shelter. Although the government of Pakistan in conjunction with the UNHCR is working hard to provide relief to the displaced citizens, the numbers are constantly rising and the situation is becoming dire as observed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres. “It’s like trying to catch something that’s moving ahead of us because the number of people on the move every day is so big and the response is never enough.”

Emergency aid and relief is being sent over to Pakistan, but more will be needed in order to sustain the fight against the Taliban. The growing needs of the displaced people are steadily increasing in a crisis many compare to the Rwandan genocide.

For more information, please see:

Guardian – Swat Valley Refugee Crisis – 19 May 2009

CBS News – Pakistan Refugee Influx – 18 May 2009

DAWN News – UNHCR Warns of Humanitarian Crisis – 16 May 2009

Nine Sentenced to Death in Absentia

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMANHUR, Egypt – On May 18th an Egyptian court in Damanhur sentenced twenty-four people to death. All twenty-four cases have been sent to the mufti to sign execution orders, in accordance with sharia law. Nine of those sentenced were not present for their trials and conviction, as they remain on the run. 

Each of twenty-four was sentenced on murder charges for their participation in a violent land dispute in March of 2008 in the northern province of Beheira. Two rival associations both claimed title to a 500 acre agricultural plot in the Nile delta. Both parties had hired security guards to protect their land, and the dispute arose when one group of guards tried to claim the plot by force from the other group of guards. Authorities believe that this was purely a financial conflict and had no sectarian aspects.

Eleven people were killed, and as many as twenty-seven were injured in the conflict. Land suitable for farming is scarce in the Nile delta and this shortage often leads to disputes. While land disputes are not uncommon in Egypt, the number of casualties in this instance is unusual. Many landlords in Egypt hire private armed security guards to protect their land interests, but the guards typically only keep out squatters, and do not incur casualties.

Both the Daily News Egypt and E- Taiwan News article attributed to the Associated Press allege that the “gun battle” was over 1,500 acres, not 500 acres. Both sources also maintain that no dates for execution have been set, and all of the sentences have been appealed.

The nine people convicted in absentia remain on the run. The due process rights of these individuals under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights may come into question if they are found. This covenant, signed by the United Nations, supports the right for all people to be present at their own trial and conviction.

For more information, please see:

APA – Egyptian Court Sentences 24 to Death – 19 May 2009

Daily News Egypt – 24 Sentenced to Death Over Deadly Land Dispute – 19 May 2009

E-Taiwan News – Egypt: 24 Get Death Sentence on Murder Charges – 19 May 2009

News 24 – 24 Sentenced to Death in Egypt – 18 May 2009

New York Times – Egypt: Death Sentences Over a Gunfight – 18 May 2009

Reuters – Egypt Court Sentences 24 to Die Over Land Clash – 18 May 2009