Iranian Reformist MP Investigated for Treason

Iranian Reformist MP Investigated for Treason

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

ISLAMSHAHR, Iran – On March 12, Iran’s Intelligence Minister, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie, accused a leading reformist MP, Noureddine Pir Mouazen, of treason.  Ejeie denounced Mouazen for giving an unauthorized interview with Voice of America, where Mouazen criticized the government of Iranian President Ahmadinejad.

Ejeie told the Iranian Republic News Agency that “this has definitely been treason and an appalling act.”  He stated that the law “bans people in such positions from interviews with foreign radios and television. The Intelligence Ministry will certainly probe this and will not ignore it.”

Ejeie explained that “contacting foreigners has certain codes and not everyone can talk over any issues to foreigners.”  He stated that such communication needed to be coordinated with the Foreign Ministry and that “it will harm the country and will be regarded as betrayal if issues against the system and domestic policies are discussed in these meetings which could be exploited by the enemies.”

In the March 9 interview Mouazen criticized the government’s decision to disqualify 1,700 reformist candidates, including himself, from standing in the parliamentary elections on March 14.  Before Mouazen’s interview, the Guardians Council, an unelected body of jurists and clerics, disqualified many reformist candidates on vague for obscure reasons related to a lack of loyalty to Islam or the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The reformist coalition is led by former president, Mohammad Khatami and cleric Hojatoleslam Mehdi Karroubi.  Before the Guardians Council disqualified the 1,700 reformist candidates, the coalition had a good chance of winning a majority of the seats in parliament.  However, after the disqualification, the coalition is able to compete for less than half of the 290 seats.

There is growing discontent within Iran against the current regime, lead by President Ahmadinejad.  However, the cause of criticism is varied.  Some reformist leaders, like Mouazen, criticize Ahmadinejad’s foreign policy, believing that Iran is now isolated within the international community.  Many reformist supporters criticize Ahmadinejad’s economic policy, which has led to double-digit inflation.

For more information, please see:
AFP – Khatami Urges Iran Reformists to Vote En Masse – 12 March 2008

BBC – Iran Accuses MP over TV Interview – 12 March 2008

Middle East Online – On Campaign Trail with Iran’s Khatami – 12 March 2008

Press TV – VOA Interview Will be Prosecuted – 12 March 2008

The Times (London) – Iran Starts ‘Treason’ Inquiry Ahead of Poll – 12 March 2008

Voice of America – Iran to Probe Iranian Lawmaker’s VOA Interview – 12 March 2008

Nigerian Police Take Heat for Cycle of Violence

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter,  Africa

JOS, Nigeria – Over two hundred young men have been placed under arrest for the killings that took place in the villages of Dogo Nahawa, Zot and Ratsat.

The young men are being kept in dark cells ripe with sweat and urine.  Senior officers believe there will be more arrests made and that the cycle of killing and revenge is not over.

The surviving villagers remain huddled in fear.   An elderly man spoke out that they are undefended because those who raided the village can come back at any time.  While driving into the village reporters passed only three police men and there were no military checkpoints.

Nigeria’s military has recently come under fire because of their roll in the violence.   Many accuse the local military of failing to act on early warnings of violence.  The commander of the task force fights the accusations insisting that they were not told of the killings until after they occurred.

“This community would never like to see a military man again.  The youths are angry, because they did not take action in good time,” said Chief Gabriel Chyang, the community leader of Dogo Nahawa as he gestures to fresh mounds of dirt over the grave sites.

After a visit to the village, police chief Ogbonna Onovo vowed to hold divisional police officers (DPO) responsible for future incidents.

“We will provide more logistics and incentives to the police in Plateau State for the effective maintenance of law and order in the state,” he said.

Additionally, Onovo stated that more police stations will be opened in the region.

United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton called on the Nigerian government to ensure that the perpetrators of the violence are brought to justice under the rule of law and that “human rights are respected . . . .

According to  the State Department’s annual rights report, Nigerian national police forces have committed extrajudicial killings and “used lethal and excessive force to apprehend criminals and suspects.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Police Chief Visits Violence-Hit Nigeria State – 12 March 2010

AFP – US embassy Slams “Horrific” Nigerian Massacre – 12 March 2010

BBC – No End to Nigeria Cycle of Violence – 12 March 2010

The Punch – Jos: FG Investigates Allegation Against Army – 12 March 2010

Iran Puts Policemen on Trial Over Prison Deaths

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On March 9, Iran put twelve policemen on trial in an army court. The men are being charged in deaths of three anti-government protesters at the Iran’ Kahrizak prison. The deaths of the three protesters caused embarrassment for the Iranian government who finally acknowledged after months of denial that the deaths took place at the notorious prison. The detention center was ultimately closed in July by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported that the first “court session was held with the victims’ families, other plaintiffs and their lawyers and the defendants.” Additionally, IRNA reported that, “the indictment against the twelve defendants was read out.”

The judge trying the case, Mohammad Mosaddegh, spoke of the sensitive nature of trial. He said, “trying some officials should not be interpreted as questioning and ignoring the hard work of police. There might be offending people anywhere.” Mossadegh also warned the press that the details of the court session not be revealed to the public. The judge expressed concern that “the publication of some information in the case harms order in society.”

The three protesters who died were arrested during widespread unrest after Iran’s disputed June 2009 presidential election. The election gave the incumbent, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a second term in office among charges of voter fraud. The three were among the over one hundred forty five detainees that were kept for several days in the Kahrizak detention center in rooms that were seventy square meters.

IRNA’s report on the trial did not the suspects charged with the deaths. Iran’s judiciary originally charged three Karhrizak officials with the murder of the three pro-reform protesters in December.

Iran’s parliament released a report in January saying that Tehran’s prosecutor at the time, Saeed Mortazavi ordered that detainees be transferred to Kahrizak despite a lack of space, proper ventilation and sanitary conditions. The report also reject claims from the three originally charged officials that the deaths were caused by meningitis. The report said that the deaths came from a number of issues including physical attacks.

For more information, please see:

Reuters India – Iran Holds Trial of Suspects in Post-Vote Detainee’s Death – 10 March 2010

AFP – Iran Puts 12 Policemen on Trial Over Kahrizak Prison Deaths – 9 March 2010

Associated Press – Iran Tries Suspects in Protester Prison Deaths – 9 March 2010

Suicide Bombers Kill Dozens

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan- A third explosion has struck the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, just hours after suicide bombers killed at least 45 people and injured 100.

Two suicide bomb attacks executed 15 seconds apart tore through the city on Friday, killing at least 39 people and sparking fears of a new wave of militant violence in major cities following a period of relative calm.  The targets of the dual attack were Pakistani military vehicles as they passed through a crowded market known as the RA bazaar.  Lahore police official Chaundhry Shafiq said the bombers detonated explosive filled vests after walking up to the vehicles.

Mohammed Nadeem, an eyewitness to the attack, said he was praying in a mosque when he heard the fire blast and rushed out only to hear a second. Mr. Nadeem, in blood stained clothes said “The second blast took place very near a military vehicle…I sensed real danger and started running.  There were scenes of destruction in nearby restaurants and shops.”  Afzal Awan, another eyewitness, said he had seen wounded people with limbs missing lying in pools of blood.  He told reporters “I saw smoke rising everywhere… a lot of people were crying.”

In total more than 95 people were injured in the explosions, and at least nine soldiers were killed.  No immediate reports were given on the third explosion, but a report has suggested that it occurred near a police station.  No group has claimed responsibility for that attack.

These attacks come four days after a suicide car bomb attack at a building that houses terrorism investigations in Lahore killed at least 13 people and wounded 80 others.

Lahore is Pakistan’s second largest city and its cultural captial.  Lahore has been the scene for some of the deadliest bomb attacks in the country last year, including blasts in December which occurred in a crowded bazaar which killed 48 people, and a raid on the provincial headquarters of Pakistan’s spy agency in May that killed at least 27.

These attacks are carried out by Islamic extremists in retaliation against military offensives that routed Taliban militants from the volatile Swat Valley region and section of the tribal areas along the Afghan border.  The violence has killed more than 600 people.  Although the success of the offensives had recently given Pakistanis confidence that they were gaining the upper hand against the extremists, but a new wave of suicide bombings in Pakistan’s major cities could undermine that momentum.

“The nation and its security forces need to keep morale high,” said Rana Sanaullah, law minister for Punjab province, where Lahore is located.  “We can only win this fight with unity.”

For more information, please see:

LA Times- Suicide Bombers Kill 39 in Pakistan– 12 March 2010
Aljazeera.net- Pakistan Suicide Blasts Kill Dozens– 12 March 2010

Sri Lankan General Stages Hunger Strike

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – General Sarath Fonseka, a former commander of Sri Lanka’s armof Sri Lanka’s arm and a significant player in Sri Lanka’s war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, has recently undertaken a hunger strike.  The General’s hunger strike signifies his protest against unfair detention by the Sri Lankan government.  The strike also follows the deprivation of the General’s phone rights to communicate with his wife.  General Fonseka had already invoked numerous concerns regarding his health because he refused to eat anything other than the food his wife delivered to him during allowed visits.

The denial of the General’s telephone rights coincides with what could have been a significant step towards exposing humanitarian violations in Sri Lanka.  The General’s continued denial of rights comes after Sri Lankan government’s vehement rejection of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s idea to establish an expert panel to review alleged human rights violations perpetrated during the quarter-century long war against the Tamil Tigers.  The UN and various human rights groups have consistently accused Sri Lanka of denying the Tamil ethnic minorities, who are regarded internally displaced persons subsequent to  the end of Sri Lanka’s bloody conflict, essential necessities while housing them in derisory, unsanitary refugee camps.  The government was more recently accused of extra-judicial killing of suspected Tamil Tigers, but claimed that the video evidence depicting these illegal executions had been doctored to create false allegations.

General Fonseka’s arrest was suspiciously predicated upon human rights violations during the struggle against the Tamil Tigers.  However, it has become clear that the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, ordered the arrest because General Fonseka opposed him in Sri Lanka’s post-war elections.  Both men were considered heroes by Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese ethnic majority following the end of the war.  However, General Fonseka’s resignation from Sri Lanka’s army in November 2009 and his subsequent participation in the elections to run against Rajapaksa caused a fall-out between two men.

Initially, General Fonseka had access to his wife, lawyer, and doctor.  However, the Sri Lankan government appears to have become concerned that the General may divulge to the UN information regarding human rights violations and the deaths of over 20,000 civilians.  The government’s actions, however, only raise further suspicions and represents a continuation of Sri Lanka’s history of human rights violations.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Fonseka begins hunger strike – 07 March 2010

Sify News – General Fonseka starts hunger strike – 07 March 2010

Times Online – General Sarath Fonseka on a hunger strike… – 07 March 2010