International Community Calls for a Halt on the Violence in Iran

International Community Calls for a Halt on the Violence in Iran

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – The United Nations, several state leaders, and human rights organizations throughout the world put out calls for the violence in Iran to cease.  Following reports that Iran has been utilizing the Basij militia group, a grassroots military organization that has a reputation for brutality, demands that Iran take action to stop the violence continue to mount.

On June 22, Amnesty International (AI) released a press-release stating that it had received information that the Iranian government was allowing the Basij to take action against protesters, who continued to come together in the streets to object to election results.  AI described the group as “a volunteer paramilitary force of men and women under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).”  Many of its members are civilians, and they often wear no uniforms.  However, reports that members of the Basij fired into a crowd of protesters on June 15 has sparked international outcry.  The protest shootings killed at least eight people.

Videos of the demonstrations and the shootings have been appearing on news stations after someone anonymously posted a video to YouTube.com that showed a 26-year-old girl who was shot and died in the street.  The girl, who was later learned to be Neda Salehi Agha Soltan, a music student, has become a martyr in Iran.  The Iranian Government has banned memorial services and other gatherings in her honor.  Despite the ban, her last words “I am burning,” have become an iconic phrase to the protesters.

On June 22, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon made a statement about the violence.  In the statement, he expressed his growing concern about reports of the violence, stating that he has been “dismayed by the post-election violence, particularly the use of force against civilians.”   The Secretary-General urged Iran to put an immediate stop to the arrests, threats, and use of force, hoping that Iran would remember its dedication to fundamental civil and political rights.

Iran, however, has not taken kindly to the words of the UN Secretary General.  Soon after Ban Ki-Moon’s statement was released, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hassan Qashqavi held a press conference where he criticized the UN.  Calling the statement an example of “open interference” by the UN, Qashqavi went on to tell the press that “the United Nations Secretary General, under the influence of the negative atmosphere created by some powers… has ignored the realities of the recent presidential election in Iran.”  Qashqavi also stated that he believed that Ban Ki-Moon will lose international support because he made such a statement.

For more information, please see:

Times Online – Neda Salehi Agha Soltan’s Story Touches Everyone Except Iran’s Rulers – 24 June 2009

Tehran Times – Iran Says UN Chief’s Remarks Are Examples of ‘Open Interference’ – 24 June 2009

Amnesty International – Iran: Amnesty International Urges Iran to Stop Using Basij Militia to Police Demonstrators – 22 June 2009

Reuters – UN’s Ban Urges Halt To Use of Force in Iran – 22 June 2009

United Nations – Secretary-General Dismayed By Post-Election Violence in Iran – 22 June 2009

Cambodian Officials Stripped of Immunity

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Cambodia’s National Assembly has voted to remove parliamentary immunity for two opposition party officials, a move some are claiming is a sign that democracy in Cambodia is in jeopardy and going backwards.

This vote by Cambodia’s lower house would allow the court to prosecute Mu Sochua, former Minister of Women’s Affairs, and Ho Vann, Phnom Penh municipality representative, on defamation charges filed by the prime minister and other senior members of the ruling party.

Mu Sochua (Sourace: AFP)

Cambodian officialMu Sochua had initially filed a defamation suit against the prime minister for his remarks on a speech she made, but Phnom Penh Municipal Court dismissed the case earlier this month while continuing the countersuit filed by the prime minister.  Ho Vann was sued by a senior member of the ruling party after he made remarks on the validity of meaningless certificates given to Cambodian officials by Vietnamese schools.

The UN has criticized Cambodian government’s use of courts against its critics, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said, “The lawsuits undermine the constitutional freedom and expression.”

Cambodia’s ruling party is arguing that the suspensions of immunity were in accordance with internal parliamentary rules, the law and the Constitution of Cambodia.  However, since April, eight criminal defamation and disinformation complaints have been filed in the courts by Cambodia’s highest authorities against government critics.

Human Rights Watch said the prime minister has “a long history of trying to muzzle Cambodia’s political opposition and undermine the independence of the legal profession.”

With many local and international human rights group raising concerns over this violation of free speech, especially for lawmakers whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution, Mu Sochua said she is prepared to go to jail rather than pay a fine to the prime minister if found guilty.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Cambodia strips MPs of immunity – 22 June 2009

Breitbart.com – Cambodia suspends immunity of two opposition lawmakers – 22 June 2009

Radio Australia News – Cambodian opposition MPs stripped of parliamentary immunity – 22 June 2009

Taiwan News – Cambodia lawmakers, stripped of immunity, protest – 22 June 2009

Egypt Deports Son of Chechen Rebel in Spite of Concerns

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East       

CAIRO, Egypt – On June 19 Egypt deported the son of a Chechen rebel leader back to Moscow, in spite of concerns of mistreatment and torture in Russian custody. Maskhud Abdullaev, the 22 year-old son of Supyan Abdullaev, was flown to Moscow despite warnings that he may face mistreatment and torture if deported. Supyan Abdullaev, with Movladi Udugoy, founded the Islamic Resistance Party, which has fought against Russia in two disputes.

Maskhud Abdullaev was detained as a result of a bomb attack in February in a popular Cairo tourist area that killed a French teenager. Egypt blamed the attack on militants with links to the terrorist organization al Qaeda. An investigation led to security sweeps that resulted in the detention of dozens of foreign students in May. Abdullaev was detained along with five other students that were studying at Cairo’s Al-Azhar Islamic University. Abdullaev has been studying there since 2006.

The human rights organization Amnesty International reports that Abdullaev was initially held incommunicado at Egypt’s Tora prison. Amnesty also reported that Abdullaev and the other students from Al-Azhar University claimed to have refugee status in Azerbaijan. However, Egyptian authorities insisted upon the students’ return to Moscow, in spite of risks of torture and mistreatment if they are sent to Russia.

Abdullaev and Ahmed Azimov, another Chechen student from Al-Azhar, arrived in Moscow on Friday via Egypt air. These two were supposed to be deported along with four other students on Thursday, but a traffic jam separated them from the group.

Satsita, Maskhud’s mother, waited in the Moscow airport to catch a glimpse of her son when he returned. She did not see him, and could not get any further information from the customs officers or other officers. When Azimov, Abdullaev’s travel mate, came out, he said that he and Abdullaev had been separated and questioned. That was the last that Azimov had seen of Abdullaev.  

Amnesty International warned against the deportation, because it put all six students at risk of torture and mistreatment. Amnesty criticized Egypt for deporting these students. Egypt is a state party to the United Nations Convention on Torture, which expressly prohibits the return of anyone to a place which they would likely be tortured. All five students would be at risk of mistreatment, but Abdullaev would especially be at risk because of his father.

For more information, please see:

Al Arabiya-  Fate of Deported Chechen Warlord’s Son Unknown– 21 June 2009

AFP- Egypt Deports Chechen Warlord’s Son– 19 June 2009

Reuters- Egypt Deports Son of Chechen Rebel Leader to Moscow – 19 June 2009

AFP-Egypt Deports Chechen Students– 18 June 2009

Amnesty International- Egypt: Forcible Return/ Fear of Torture or Other Ill-Treatment– 17 June 2009

UN’s Nepal Mission Extended

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations Security Council voted to extend its mission in Nepal for another six months.  Although the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is being extended, the Security Council is urging the government to resume its peace talks so that the UN’s 250-person mission can leave in January 2010.

UNMIN UN workers in Nepal (Source: UN)

UNMIN was established to support the peace process and to monitor weapons storage sites at camps for former Maoist fighters.  However, the peace process has been stalled since May when the Maoists walked out of the government when their attempts to fire the country’s army chief failed.  This has caused a hold up in the integration and rehabilitation of Maoist army personnel and the drafting of a new constitution.

The Security Council had hoped to complete the mission in Nepal this month, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said last week that Nepal’s political crisis has prevented UNMIN from completing their work.

Nepal has been fighting anarchy, insecurity and impunity since the end of the country’s civil war when the Maoists overthrew Nepal’s monarchy, killing and displacing thousands of Nepalese. 

A peace deal was crafted in 2006, but the process has been slow.  Furthermore, the UN had recently expressed concerns regarding a rise in kidnappings for ransoms, which in turn encourages culture of impunity because there currently is no security enforcement in Nepal.

Karin Landgren, UN’s Nepal envoy, said, “It is our hope….that…the government and parties will take peace process forward, creating the conditions for the mission to complete its mandated tasks.” 

UN’s report on Nepal also warned that law and order continues to remain a “serious concern” because many armed groups are operating with impunity, especially in southern Nepal.

For more information, please see:

AFP – UN chief recommends extension of mission in Nepal – 18 July 2009

China View – UN extends mission in Nepal – 24 July 2009

Reuters – U.N council extends its Nepal mission but wants out – 24 July 2009

Tibetan Monks Finally Escape China

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DHARAMSALA, India – Lobsang, and his fellow Tibetan monks courageously broke their silence in front of a group of 20 foreign and Chinese journalists over a year ago. After a long year of hardship, three out of 15 protesting monks have finally managed to find refuge in India, and tell their story.

Lobsang and others bravely unfurled hidden banners reading messages like “We have no human rights” a year ago when journalists arrived at their monastery, despite the obvious dangers that awaited them.

The journalists had been invited by Chinese officials to show that Tibetans were content under Chinese rule; however, the 15 monks outside the monastery seized the opportunity to express their true feelings. “If we monks hadn’t seized the opportunity to express our feelings, which are feelings in all Tibetan monks, then we would have missed a chance to tell the world,” said Lobsang.

Several Chinese officials insisted that the protests were planned by the Dalai Lama, and the Tibetan monks themselves were not unhappy under Chinese rule. The monks from Labrang said harsh Chinese policies sparked the protest. “I and my friends decided on our own to protest. The protests were caused by human rights violations and Chinese policies toward Tibet. We couldn’t tolerate it anymore.”

Alongside Lobsang, a half-dozen other monks scrawled slogans such as “We have no freedom of speech” on Tibetan flags with their wills written on the back, convinced of their death.

Now that Lobsang and two other monks from the protest, Gyatso, and Jamyang have found refuge in India after a year of hiding from Chinese authorities, they speak more freely about the situation in Tibet. Over the years the Chinese government has been limiting the number of monks allowed to live in monasteries and have been cracking down on festivities honoring the Dalai Lama. The protests that began over a year ago have resulted in the detention of numerous monks and have led to the emptying out of monasteries. Chinese authorities have further clamped down on Tibet, making it more difficult for monks to the leave the country.

The tightly controlled conditions have also led to an increase in the number of suicides amongst Tibetan monks.

For more information, please see:

New York Times – Monks Tell Tale of Escape – June 21, 2009

Tibet Custom – Monk Suicide on the Rise in Tibet – June 22, 2009

AFP – Dalai Lama Urges Pressure over Tibet Oppression – June 5, 2009