By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia — Chokri Belaid, a leading Tunisian opposition figure, and also, one of the leaders of the Popular Front coalition, was shot dead today as he was leaving his home in Tunis on Wednesday. A bullet had struck his neck and another hit his head.

His brother confirmed that he was pronounced dead at a Tunis hospital. “My brother was assassinated. I am desperate and depressed,” said Abdelmajid Belaid.

In a statement made after Belaid’s murder, the Unified Democratic Nationalist party confirmed that “Chokri Belaid was targeted as he left his house in the capital.” It is unclear what the motive for Belaid’s assassination was.

Belaid, the leader of the left-leaning opposition Democratic Patriots party, was a vocal critic of the moderate Islamist party Ennahda, who currently controls much of the Tunisian government.
Belaid, a lawyer and human rights activist, was a constant critic of the government, calling it a puppet to the small yet wealthy Gulf state of Qatar. Ennahda denied any involvement in the assassination.

Government spokesman Samir Dilou commented on Belaid’s assassination, calling it an “odious crime.” Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, who mentioned that the identity of the attacker is unknown, condemned the assassination, and called it “a strike against the Arab Spring Revolution.” Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said he would “fight those who opposed the political transition in his country.”

After Belaid’s assassination, 8,000 protesters amassed outside the Interior Ministry in Tunis, calling for the fall of the government. Thousands more held demonstrations throughout the cities of Tunisia, including Mahdia, Sousse, Monastir, and Sidi Bouzid, where Arab Spring demonstrators had originally gathered two years ago to call for the overthrow of the long-time dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

“This is a black day in the history of modern Tunisia… Today we say to the Islamists, ‘get out’… enough is enough,” said Souad, a teacher who took part in the demonstrations outside of the Interior Ministry. “Tunisia will sink in the blood if you stay in power.”

Omar bin Ali, a member of the Tunisian Trade Unions, believes that Islamists were responsible for Belaid’s murder. “This is what they have been calling for in mosques,” said bin Ali, who took part in the demonstrations in front of the Interior Ministry. Bin Ali does not believe that the orders for Belaid’s assassination came from another country. “Tunisia is a friend of all nations. It is hard to think of anyone from abroad to do this to us.”

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Leading Tunisian Opposition Politician Killed — 6 February 2013

The Independent — Tunisian Politician Chokri Belaid Shot Dead — 6 February 2013

Reuters — Tunisia Protests After Government Critic Shot Dead — 6 February 2013

Tunisia Live — Leftist Politician Chokri Belaid Assassinated — 6 February 2013

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel — Last Monday, Israel arrested 23 Hamas members in the West Bank. Three of them were lawmakers.

The three lawmakers, Ahmed Attoun, Hatem Qafisha, and Mohammed Al-Talhad were arrested during the early hours of Monday morning. The three men are part of the Change and Reform Bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council, a Hamas backed organization. At around 5 A.M., during morning prayers, Israeli forces in military Jeeps raided several cities throughout the West Bank and arrested the political leaders.

“It is a criminal act that will not succeed in stopping their struggle,” Hamas said in a statement made shortly after the three men were arrested. “We in the Hamas movement strongly condemn the campaign of arbitrary arrests that took in dozens of Hamas leaders.”

An Israeli military spokeswoman neither confirmed nor denied that any lawmakers were arrested. “25 Palestinians were arrested, 23 of them belonged to Hamas,” she said. In confirming that arrests were made last Monday, she did not disclose the names of those arrested nor gave any reason as to why they were arrested.

Senior Palestinian Official Hanan Ashrawi denounced the arrests, describing them as “deliberate Israeli plans to destabilize the internal situation, interfere in Palestinian institutions… and deal a blow to national reconciliation” between Fatah and Hamas, who govern the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, respectively.

Hamas also reports that 21 well known activists were additionally among the arrests made in the West Bank.

A Hamas affiliated website stated that detainees’ family members recounted that “soldiers broke into their homes with dogs, arrested activists and took them to Israeli security facilities.”

Palestinian sources also reported that Israeli soldiers broke into the headquarters of Tul Karm, a charitable organization, and confiscated papers and equipment, including computers.

Like Ashrawi, Hamas and the Ramallah-based Ahrar Center for Human Rights believe that the arrests are intended to “undermine Palestinian reconciliation efforts between the radical Islamist movement ruling Gaza and its main rival, President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party.

Hamas, a vocal critic of the security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and Israel, condemned the arrests but refrained from making any criticisms about the Palestinian Authority at the moment.

The recent arrest raises the number of lawmakers held in Israeli jails to sixteen. of those imprisoned, thirteen members represent the Change and Reform Bloc, and out of the remaining three, two are from the ruling Fatah party. Ahmad Saadat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, is also in an Israeli prison, serving several life terms.

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya — Israel Arrests Hamas Lawmakers in West Bank — 4 February 2013

Gulf News — Israel Arrests 25 Hamas Members in West Bank — 4 February 2013

Haaretz — Israel Arrests Dozens of Hamas Activists, Lawmakers in West Bank — 4 February 2013

JTA — Israeli Security Forces Arrest Hamas Lawmakers — 4 February 2013

Palestine News Network — Sixteen Lawmakers Held in Israeli Jails, Says Group — 4 February 2013

Reuters — Israel Arrests 23 Hamas men Including Three Lawmakers in West Bank — 4 February 2013

 

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel — A three-member panel comprised of U.N. Human Rights Council members urged private companies involved with constructing settlements in the West Bank to cease activities. The panel said that the practices are subject to prosecution as possible war crimes.

A report issued by the U.N. Human Rights Council last Thursday said that the expansion of settlements into Palestinian territory violates the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids the transfer of civilian populations into occupied territory. Violators are subject to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“Israel must cease settlement activities and provide adequate, prompt and effective remedy to the victims of violations of human rights,” said Christine Chanet, a French judge who headed the U.N. inquiry. “To transfer its own population into an occupied territory is prohibited because it is an obstacle to the exercise of the right to self-determination.” Chanet said that because Israel is a U.N. member state, it must comply with international law over the settlements.

U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-Moon reiterated the report’s findings, saying that “all settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law.”

Last December, Palestinians wrote a letter to the U.N. after Palestine was granted de facto U.N. recognition of statehood. In the letter, Palestinians accused Israel of planning to commit further war crimes by expanding settlements, and said that Israel had to be held accountable. With its statehood recognized, Palestine has threatened to take Israel to the ICC.

The U.N. Human Rights Council’s started its investigation of the settlement expansion last March. Independent U.N. investigators interviewed around 50 Palestinians in Jordan, which found that the settlements prevented Palestinians from reaching farming and water resources. The report states that the settlements are comprised of an estimated 520,000 settlers now living throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israel did not cooperate with the council, and barred investigators from entering the West Bank, claiming that the council was biased. It defended its settlement policy by citing historic and biblical links to the West Bank.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the Human Rights Council’s recent report “counterproductive and unfortunate.” “The Human Rights Council has sadly distinguished itself by its systematical, one-sided and biased approach towards Israel. This latest report is yet another unfortunate reminder of such approach,” the ministry said. “The only way to resolve all pending issues between Israel and the Palestinians, including the settlement issues, is through direct negotiations…” Israel’s Yigal Palmor said.

Palestinians welcomed the report, saying that it “vindicated their struggle against Israel.” “This is incredible. We are extremely heartened by this principled and candid assessment of Israeli violations,” said Hanan Ashrawi, a senior official for the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

For further information, please see:

Jewish Press — Head of UN Rights Panel: Report is ‘Weapon’ Against Israel” — 3 February 2013

JTA — U.N.: Israel Must Withdraw From Settlements Immediately — 31 January 2013

Reuters — U.N. Rights Inquiry Says Israel Must Remove Settlers — 31 January 2013

The Telegraph — UN Report Says Israel Could be Prosecuted for War Crimes Over Settlements — 31 January 2013

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

A couple of days ago, Human Rights Watch issued its twenty-third annual world report for 2013. A large portion of the six-hundred and sixty-five page report centered around the Arab Spring and its effects on the Middle East.

When the Arab Spring started, the initial hope was that the uprisings would lead to the beginning of legitimate democracies. Presently, in many states there is a fear that the ousting of the old authoritarian regimes will only lead to authoritarian regimes of different forms.

It is far too early to judge exactly what the spring has given birth to yet. The world must wait to see how these new governments will respect their citizens human rights. Appropriate efforts would include the installation of a professional police force, creation of independent courts, and the prudence of the majority not to abuse the rights of minority factions.

The report highlights the difficulty for these new governments to develop the necessary institutions for a successful democracy. The executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, stated that, “[t]he path ahead may be treacherous, but the alternative is to consign entire countries to a grim future of oppression.”

The report specifically looks at several countries in its exposé on human rights. A few of such countries include Egypt, Syria, and Libya.

Human Rights Watch analyzed the effect that Egypt’s new constitution has on the countries future. It praised its efforts to clearly terminate the practices of arbitrary detention and torture, but feared that far too many of its provisions pertaining to family, religion, and speech were vague. Such undisciplined drafting may allow for abuses against women and minority religious groups who should be protected under international law.

Over the past year, Syria has provided the perfect example for what may happen when sectarian factions cannot co-exist. Syria has been a hot bed for war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, and summary executions. The United Nations Security Council has referred the situation to the International Criminal Court but Russia and China have vetoed the referral.

Libya is a prime example of a government unprepared to govern itself after its abusive regime was ousted. Gaddafi intentionally insured that government institutions were weak so that no one could challenge his law. As a result, much of the country is ruled by militias and government who has no problem to detain dissidents and without any likelihood of a future trial.

A further common theme exists amongst most of these Middle Eastern countries. The overwhelming majority of these countries are ruled by Islamic powers. In such situations, it is not uncommon under conservative rule for women to be viewed as second class citizens. Many of these ruling powers consider expanding the rights of women as a western imposition opposed to a natural right codified through international law. Additionally, in these religious states, it is not uncommon for those who offend the religion to be treated improperly. Such countries claim to allow free speech, but do not practice what they preach. Countries that the report criticize for acting in the aforementioned ways include Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Arab Spring uprisings took place because citizens were fed up with their governments’ treatment of its people. As Kenneth Roth declared, “[i]t turns out, in fact, the toppling of a dictator may have been the easy part. The difficult part is replacing that repressive regime with a rights-respecting democracy.” Hopefully a year from now the 24th annual Human Rights Watch World Report will show a stable Middle East that is routed in democracy and a concern for human rights.

For further information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – World Report 2013: Challenges for Rights After Arab Spring – 1 February 2013

Radio France International – Human Rights Watch Focuses on Arab Spring Fallout – 1 February 2013

Daily Star Lebanon – Arab Spring States Must Respect Rights: Human Rights Watch – 31 January 2013

United Press International – Human Rights Watch Issues Annual Report – 31 January 2013