By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Libya – On November 14, 2012, Libya swore in its new government. The new Prime Minister is Ali Zeidan, a former human rights activist. The new justice minister is Salah Marghani, a former human rights lawyer.

“I take full responsibility for the safety and security of all Libyans equally, including those who sided with the former regime,” said Zeidan. The new Prime Minster is committed to running a country where the rule of law and conceptions of justice are central to the government. With justice as an important tenet to the new regime, the government seeks to place special emphasis on human rights.

If the new government is going to make good on its claims, it is going to have to address the current detainee crisis which plagues Libya. Currently, there are eight thousand individuals who are held in illegal detention. Four thousand of these individuals are under government detainment. Many of those four thousand held by the government have yet to been charged with anything and are denied access to legal consultation and representation. The other four thousand detainees are being held by armed groups who have no legal right to hold anyone within their control.

Those currently in custody are mainly men and most have been detained for more than a year. Most of these men held various affiliations with the Gaddafi regime. Many others though are foreign nationals from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International believes that, “[i]t is shameful that Gaddafi-era abuses against foreigners, especially those from Sub-Saharan Africa, have not only continued but worsened. The Libyan authorities must acknowledge the extent of the abuse by militias and put in place measures to protect all foreign nationals from violence and abuse.”

Currently, the amount of armed forces groups in Libya, many of which hold detainees, far outnumbers the amount of actual official armed forces employed by the government. A law was passed four months ago during the transitional government that stated that “all supporters of the former reigme” detained by militia should be brought before judges and charged. It is roughly four months later, and practically no one has followed this transitional decree.

Libya’s Criminal Procedure Code clearly restricts non-governmental groups from holding the authority to arrest and detain others. Moreover, such detentions are also disallowed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights under international law. There is only an exception made for when there is a national emergency in which the country’s criminal codes are insufficient to deal with the matter. This is not the current case with Libya.

Those in detention are not subject to the greatest of treatment. Since May of last year there has been some reports of torture and at least three men have died while under militia custody.

If Libya’s new government is going to be as just as it purports to be, then these detainees are either going to have to be charged or released.

For further information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Libya: New Government Should end Illegal Detention – 16 November 2012

Magharebia – Libya Inaugurates new Government – 16 November 2012

Tripoli Post – Human Rights Watch Urges New Libyan Government to Free Illegal Detainees – 16 November 2012

Amnesty International – Libya: foreign Nationals Face Abuse and Exploitation – 13 November 2012

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Never before has an amendment restricted internet freedom in the United Arab Emirates like the most recent federal decree has. Not only does the law forbid copyright infringement, pornography, and gambling, but it also punishes those who criticize the nation’s rulers online.

Anyone who publishes news, photographs, information, or caricatures that “pose threats to the security of the state and to its highest interests or violate its public order” may face sanctions such as deportation or a multi-year jail sentence. Such interests of the state include defending the Constitution, laws, rulers, and religion of Islam from criticism. Additionally, one who attempts to organize an unauthrotized demonstration online can also face jail time or deportation.

The minimum jail sentence for a crime under this law will be a three-year term. The jail sentences will be enforced against citizens of the United Arab Emirates. Those who are foreign nationals and are convicted under this law will be deported.

Such policies are not rare in the Middle East. Similar policies restricting and punishing those who exercise their international right to freedom of expression, by criticizing the government, exist in countries like Iran, Qatar, Bahrain, Tunisia, and many others.

While the United Arab Emirates do not normally experience the regular uprisings and protests that some of its neighbors do, it has nonetheless detained sixty advocates since March. These individuals are believed to be connected to al-Islah, an advocacy group dedicated to Islamic tenets that is made up of students and human rights lawyers.

One prominent human rights activist who has been punished by the Emirati government for his outspoken blogging has been Ahmed Mansoor. Mansoor managed a website uaehewar.net that criticized government officials, and was a member of the Human Rights Watch Middle East and North Africa Advisory Committee.

Mansoor was sentenced to a three-year prison term but was pardoned after just seven months after engaging in a sixteen day hunger strike. Since being released, Mansoor claims he has been subject to physical attacks, defamation, death threats, and illegal government hacking of his computer and e-mail account. Mansoor’s passport was also confiscated so that he could not leave the country.

Middle East director at Human Rights Watch Sarah Leah Whitson finds it, “hard to dissociate the verbal and physical attacks against Mansoor from the government’s widespread campaign of intimidation, fear and arrests against all of the country’s reform activists.”

She added that, “[i]t’s becoming clear that anyone who exercises their right to free speech and criticizes the status quo faces an uncertain future in the UAE.”

Mansoor refuses to be affected by the new law. “The only limits that I put to myself are the ethical limits. . .I believe free speech is the prerequisite for any development to happen in any place and any country, and I’m driven totally by my passion and my love to this country,” said Mansoor.

For further information, please see:

International Business Times – United Arab Emirates Clamps Down on the Internet Freedom. . .Before it’s a Problem – 14 November 2012

BBC – UAE Places Restrictions on Online Dissent – 13 November 2012

Free Speech Debate – Ahmed Mansoor on Blogging his way into a UAE Prison – 18 October 2012

Human Rights Watch – UAE: Investigate Attacks on Rights Defender – 3 October 2012

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

AMMAN, Jordan — Protests in Jordan became more violent on Wednesday as they entered their second day.  In response to rising household gas and petrol prices, which increased by 53 percent and 12 percent respectively, protesters gathered last Tuesday night to denounce the monarchy.  The Jordanian government also announced sudden 11 percent increase in public transportation fares.  About several thousand Jordanians poured onto the streets after learning of the increases by state television.

In the city of Karak, witnesses and police said that about 2,000 protesters had marched through the streets, smashing shop windows and chanting “Down, down with you Abdullah,” and “Get out and leave us alone.”

Protesters blame the increase on King Abdullah II, who has the final say in all civic matters.  Protesters also demanded the resignation of the prime minister, a top aide of the king, and also chanted against Jordan’s intelligence forces in slogans that personally attacked the royal family and were never heard of prior to the Arab Spring.

Islamists see the protests as an opportunity to start a revolution.  They had planned to demonstrate near the Interior Ministry, where 24 people were arrested last Tuesday among more than 2,000 protesters.  “The street is seething with anger and an explosion is coming,” Zaki Bani Irsheid, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Jordan’s most powerful opposition group, said.  “We want to create a Jordanian Spring with a local flavor – meaning reforms in the system while keeping our protests peaceful.”

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour warned the Muslim Brotherhood against exploiting the price increases for political gain, also saying that the increases were unavoidable.  “If the move was delayed we would have faced a catastrophe and insolvency,” he said during an interview.  Ensour said that the budget deficit could rise to $3.5 billion this year, but he did not say how much would be saved if Jordan cuts subsidies, which it currently spends $2.3 billion, almost a quarter of its budget, on annually.

Ensour also said that the Arab Spring is partially to blame for the rising prices.  Specifically, he referred to the bombing of a pipeline that provided gas from Egypt, and how it forced Jordan to switch to costlier fuels so that its people would continue to receive power.  Also, Saudi Arabia declined to send Jordan $1.4 billion to assist its economy, which has been on the brink of collapse.

At least two Jordanian police men were seriously injured during the protests after being shot by demonstrators in the city of Irbid. In the city of Madaba, rioters fired live rounds at police squadrons, and in Theeban, protestors stormed a police station.

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya — Strikes, Protests as Anger Over Jordan Fuel Hike Spreads — 14 November 2012

Al Jazeera — Violent Protests Continue in Jordan — 14 November 2012

Gulf News — Protests Erupt in Jordan After Fuel Prices Rise — 14 November 2012

Jordan Times — Vandalism, Arrests as Fuel Riots Continue — 14 November 2012

By Emily Schneider
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

JERUSALEM, Israel – Border clashes in Gaza are ongoing this week and Israel’s Prime Minister warned that Israel was “prepared to escalate” its response.

Six Palestinians have been killed and over twenty injured in the recent clashes between Israel and the Gaza strip. Four Israeli soldiers on an army patrol were also wounded. Tuesday, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy was killed in a clash between Palestinian and Israeli forces.

According to Israeli sources, over fifty rockets were fired from Gaza into or towards Israeli cities since last Saturday. Israeli schools near the border have been closed and people are being told to stay inside and be at the ready to proceed to bomb shelters if need be.

Hamas officials claim that Israel had fired at a funeral in Shijaia, near Gaza city, and five funeral attendees had died as a result. A suspected Islamic Jihadist was killed in a separate Israeli strike.

A statement by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) said, “The Hamas terror organization is solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip.

“The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli civilians, and will operate against anyone who uses terror against the state of Israel,” it added.

Hamas militants are just as perturbed about the recent attacks on citizens. They issued their own statement via a text message to the AFP, saying, “Targeting civilians is a dangerous escalation that cannot be tolerated. The resistance has the full right to respond to the Israeli crimes.”

Interior Minister Eli Yishai on Tuesday called on the UN and the international community to take immediate action to stop rocket fire from Gaza, before Israel was forced to respond to the attacks to protect its citizens.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Yishai said, “before Israel determines the timing and strength of its response, I request your immediate intervention to deter and stop the terrorist activity of the decision-makers in Gaza.

Israel’s Prime Minister is also trying to end the violence before it gets any worse. Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The world must realize that Israel won’t sit by idly in the face of attempts to attack us. We are prepared to escalate our actions.”

Netanyahu met with his security cabinet Tuesday to discuss options, after the Israeli Air Force hit three targets overnight. Targeted killings of Hamas commanders in Gaza is one of the options being considered.

The last large-scale operation by Israel in the Gaza strip was in the winter of 2008-2009. It is unclear whether a similar operation is being considered now, but if it is, it could strain already tense relations with neighboring Egypt.

 

For further information, please see:

Israel National News – Youth Take to Streets, ‘Don’t be Scared, Hit Gaza Terrorists’ – 13 Nov. 2012

JPost – Peres: Gaza Will Only Achieve Normalcy if Rockets Stop – 13 Nov. 2012

BBC – Gaza: Palestinians Killed and Israeli Soldiers Injured – 11 Nov. 2012

Rueters – Israel Says May Escalate as Hamas Joins Gaza Clashes – 11 Nov. 2012