By Brittani Howell

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

 CAIRO, Egypt – On Friday, thousands of doctors protested the assault of two doctors by policemen that occurred a month ago. This was the largest demonstration in Egypt since the unauthorized protests had been banned over two years ago.

A doctor working at a hospital in Matariya last month, told a police officer that his cut didn’t require stitches. The police officer’s response was to beat up the doctor and a colleague and take the two into custody. Mamoun Hassan el-Deeb, the deputy head of the hospital, told the Associated Press that the doctors, Ahmed Abdullah and Moamen Abdel-Azzem, had been attacked by two police officers.

According to a nurse who had witnessed the incident, seven additional police officers rushed to the scene to arrest the doctors. She also reported that when one of the doctors tried to resist, he fell and the policeman stomped on his head with his boots.

According to Abdel-Azzem’s Facebook page, he initially filed an official complaint but later withdrew the complaint. Abdel-Azzem feared detention in prison once he found out that officers filed a counter-complaint accusing Abdel-Azzem of assault.

The Egyptian Medical Syndicate called for the prosecution of the police officers that were involved in the alleged assault and stated that they would protest until the officers were brought to trial. Dr. Rashwan Shaaban, the assistant secretary-general of the syndicate told Reuters, “The general assembly of the syndicate decided to escalate the situation and is organizing a protest across all hospitals on February 20.”

According to human rights groups, there is a culture of impunity across Egypt as police brutality is widespread. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights stated, “The authorities (must) end the overall impunity enjoyed by police today to prevent the constant recurrence of such incidents.”

The protests came just days after the body of Italian student, Giulio Regeni, was found at the outskirts of Cairo. According to eyewitnesses, surveillance camera footage would have revealed that two Egyptian security agents, in plain clothes, took Mr. Regeni into custody when he was last seen.

Egyptian authorities have not yet requested the footage, according to shop keepers. Human rights groups indicated that this is typical police behavior in Egypt.

According to Egyptian security officials who were interviewed, Mr Regeni was “very rude and acted like a tough guy,” and was then taken into custody. Authorities also allege that Mr. Regeni was also suspect because certain contacts on his phone were associated with the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and the April 6 Youth Movement. One official stated, “They figured he was a spy,” continuing, “After all, who comes to Egypt to study trade unions.”

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Italy Mourns, Premier Demands Truth from Egypt Slaying – 12 February 2016

BBC News – Giulio Regeni: Funeral Held for Italian Student Killed in Cairo – 12 February 2016

Reuters – Thousands of Egyptian Doctors Protest Over Alleged Police Brutality – 12 February 2016

The New York Times – Egyptian Doctors Revolt Against Escalating Police Abuses – 12 February 2016

The New York Times – Italian Student’s Death Highlights Perils for Egyptians, Too – 12 February 2016

By Brittani Howell

Impunity Watch Reporter

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – Last Thursday, two unnamed Israeli minors were given lengthy prison sentences for the murder of Palestinian teenager, Muhammed Abu Khdeir. The older of the two minors, who was seventeen years old at the time of the murder, was sentenced to 28 years (the 25-year maximum life sentence plus an additional three years). The younger one, he was 16 at the time, was sentenced to 21 years, because the court found that he was not actually involved in the murder.

The main defendant, 31-year-old Yosef Haim Ben-David, has yet to be sentenced as he plead insanity at the last minute. Last November, all three were found guilty of kidnapping and murder. Mohammed Abu Khdeir was kidnapped the morning of the 2^nd of July 2014 and his body was later found in the forest.

A few days before the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir three Israeli teenagers were found dead in a field in West Bank, presumably kidnapped and killed by Palestinian Hamas militants. After being arrested, the defendants confessed the murder of Abu Khdeir was an act of revenge for the killing of the three Israeli’s.

Regarding the shorter sentence for the younger teen, the court ruled “He is the youngest of the bunch with potential for rehabilitation.” The court continued, “His actions are also vicious, he captured the deceased, prevented him from resisting, assisted in strangling him. But nevertheless, he did not take part physically in the last stage that led to his beating and the pouring of the fuel or oil on his body.”

Mohammed Abu Khdeir’s mother, Suha, told reporters, “what kind of justice is this? I’m a mother who lost her son forever, while I’m sure they will be released in 10 years or less. Why? This isn’t justice. This is unfair. I won’t accept such a ruling.” The father stated the family will be sending an appeal, arguing both of the minors should have received life sentences.

Mohammed Abu Khdeir’s father stated, “My wife and I are having nightmares in the middle of the night when we think about what has happened to our son.” He continued, “We are not stable and very emotional about the entire thing.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Mohammad Abu Khdair Murder: Two Israelis Jailed – 4 February 2016

CNN – Israeli Teens Sentenced for Palestinian Boy’s Burning Death – 4 February 2016

The Guardian – Israeli Teenagers Jailed for Murder of Palestinian Boy – 4 February 2016

The New York Times – 2 Israelis Sentenced in 2014 Murder of Palestinian Teenager – 4 February 2016

By Brittani Howell

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

 CAIRO, Egypt – The body of an Italian student was found on Thursday in a ditch on the outskirts of Cairo. The student, 28-year-old Giulio Regeni, was last seen at 7pm on January 25, 2016, the fifth anniversary of the uprising, as he was headed to a friend’s birthday party.

Mr. Regeni’s body was found half-naked with “evident signs of torture,” namely cigarette burns and head wounds. The Egyptian prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Ahmed Nagy, stated that “there were bruises all over the body, swelling in the hands, and wounds on the face and head.” This form of torture is a signature of a form of abuse associated with the Egyptian security forces. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was from internal bleeding due to a beating to the head.

All of the findings so far have been preliminary. Forensic authorities have yet to release a final report on the incident. Prior to the autopsy, the deputy heard of criminal investigations in Cairo, Alaa Azmi told the Associate Press that, “What we know is that this is an accident.” However, Nagy told CNN that the, “Initial inspection of the body indicates that (this) was no accident.”

Paolo Gentiloni, the Italian foreign affairs minister, stated, “We want the truth to come out, every last bit of it.” He continued, “We owe that much to a family that has been stricken in an irreparable way and, at the very least, has the right to know the truth.

Mr. Regeni was a doctoral candidate at Cambridge University. He had arrived in Cairo to research informal labor organization and to improve his Arabic. He was aware of the politically sensitive nature of his research and according to his supervisor at the American University in Cairo, “He steered clear of anything politicized” and was cautious in his work.

It has not been ruled out that Mr. Regeni’s death was the result of a random criminal act, either a failed kidnapping or a militant act.

Gentoli stated, “Obviously, we are very upset for what happened, and we asked the Egyptian government to cooperate and to allow the Italian authorities to be involved in the inquiry to understand what happened there.” Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ensured that Egyptian authorities will pay, “the utmost attention to investigating the incident.”

Egyptian novelist, Ahdaf Soueif, stated on her Facebook page that there was, “something so extra sad about a person who comes to Egypt in good faith to live and study and gets caught in a nightmare, this obtuse and brutal thuggery that’s the undertone of our lives here today.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – Italian Student Who Went Missing in Cairo Found Battered and Dead – 4 February 2016

Reuters – Body of Italian Student Shows Signs of Torture: Egyptian Officials – 4 February 2016

The New York Times – An Italian’s Brutal Death in Egypt Chills Relations – 4 February 2016

The Washington Post – Italian Student’s Battered Remains Reveal Torture and ‘Slow Death,’ Egyptian Prosecutor Says

– 4 February 2016

By Brittani Howell

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – On Friday, the opposition group, High Negotiations Committee, agreed to attend the United Nations peace talks in Geneva, at the last minute. However, the HNC still refused to participate in peace talks until there is a reprieve in the bombings of civilians. The HNC went to Geneva to press their case to the United Nations as well as the public.

The opposition is only interested in discussing stopping bombings, releasing political prisoners, and lifting the government siege of towns. Civilian society activists supported the oppositions ban of peace talks and stood outside the United Nations holding flags and banners, one of which stated ” UN stop talking and start acting.” 

Salma Kahale, a Syrian activist who works for Planet Syria, stated, “It’s not that we don’t want negotiations, but we want them to succeed.” The civil society groups urge that steps to relieve the suffering of civilians are taken before political negotiations.

One group of activists served “siege soup”, a wan recipe made of salted water, herbs, and bits of grass, which is eaten by Syrians in besieged towns to attempt to ward off starvation. They also dressed up as the world leaders they fault for the misery that Syrians suffer. The masks of the presidents of Russia and the United States; the foreign minister of Russia, Sergey V. Lavrov; United Nations Secretary General, Ben Kimoon; and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, donned beaming smiles.

Wael Mashati, a refugee dressed as Mr. Lavrov, stated that the masks represent the “laughing at the suffering of the Syrian people.”

The Syrian government delegations arrived for the third round of negotiations with the United Nations mediator on Friday. After two hours after talks with the United Nations special envoy, Steffen de Mistura, the delegation left the meeting room.

While the Syria government was meeting with the U.N. mediator, Syrian and Russian forces continued their siege on as many as 15 rebel held towns, furthering the starvation of civilians. Since the last peace talks in January 2014, the Syrian government has conducted chemical attacks, dropped barrel bombs – unguided, makeshift cylinders of explosives – on rebel towns and systematically starved civilians. In the same time frame, rebel groups have besieged government held towns and launched rockets into civilian neighborhoods.

Since the beginning of the conflict more than 250,000 have been killed, hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to Europe and civilians have been displaced. Mohannad, a doctor in the besieged town of Moadhamiyeh, told the New York Times, that nine civilians in Moadhamiyeh have died as a result of malnutrition. In addition, he also stated that ” people are dying from barrels and from the cold. People in the street don’t know where to go some fled to another part of Moadhamiyeh and others are sleeping in the streets.”

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – UN Hosted Syria Peace Talks Begin in Geneva – 29 January 2016

Reuters – U.N. Launches Syria Peace Talks as Opposition Ends Boycott – 29 January 2016

The New York Times – Syria Peace Talks Begin, With Only One Side at the Table – 29 January 2016

The Washington Post – Syria Peace Talks Open in Disarray with Opposing Groups Staying Away – 29 January 2016