By Emily Schneider
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

AMMAN, Jordan – Feelings of unrest and dissatisfaction are spreading among the 25,000 Syrian refugees in Zaatari refugee camp, a makeshift tent village near the border in Jordan.

“We are living in a prison,” Saeed Howshan, a Syrian who fled his hometown for the safety of Zaatari, told BBC reporter. “It is like we are prisoners of the Jordanians, it is as if they are working with the Syrian regime.”

The refugee camp is designed to hold people who have crossed the border illegally to avoid the bloodshed in Syria. Syrians can normally enter Jordan without a visa, so when the conflict began, some Syrians migrated to Jordan’s cities. There, they were housed and cared for by the Jordanian government. But as more and more people attempted to escape the conflict the cities are too full to handle the surge of people. Now, refugees are directed into the Zaatari tent city, which was opened in July.

The Jordanian government estimates the country is now home to 200,000 refugees, 15% of them here in the camp.

The Jordanian government insists the refugees’ basic needs are met. But The Jordanian Society for Human Rights (JSHR) published a report in which it pointed out numerous problems in Zaartari. The report underlined that the site of the camp is “unhealthy” as it is located in a dusty area, and noted that most refugees are living in plastic tents, inside which the heat is “unbearable.” They also stated that the camp lacks adequate water to support its population.

Two meals are distributed daily to the refugees, breakfast and lunch, according to the report. However, there is no variety in the diet and many of the meals arrive spoiled because they are prepared outside of the camp before being transported across the hot sands

In addition, the society said the camp’s toilets are “in bad shape and public for both men and women”, adding that Zaatari also lacks entertainment or leisure facilities.

Last week, a crowd gathered in the camp to demonstrate after what they believed were two days worth of inedible meals.  Demonstrators turned violent and someone set a portacabin ablaze. The protest was quickly quashed by authorities, who came in and used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

An official at the camp told a reporterthat supporters of the Syrian regime have infiltrated the camp to cause trouble.  One high-placed official claimed that pro-regime shabiha, Syrian paramilitary thugs, militiamen have been planted among the refugees to feed information back to the regime in Damascus as well.

Refugees disagree with this assessment and say the recent violent protests have been instigated only by their own disasifaction.  Ali, a refugee, says “If we found one,” referring to Syrian agents, “we would kick them out” and adamantly denies that the violence was a set up. “We have just had enough,” he said.

Now, many refugees are choosing to make the journey back to their war-torn homes rather than wait out the conflict in Zaatari.

“We face a slow death here, or a fast death over there,” says Hussain Ayish, pointing towards the border.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Syrians Choose War over Jordan Zaatari Refugee Camp – 1 Nov. 2012

NY Times – Market Rises, Perfume and All, as Refugees Face a Long Syria War – 31 Oct. 2012

Jordan  Times – Rights Group Urges Relocation of Zaatari Refugee Camp – 30 Sept. 2012

Gulf News – Inside the Zaatari Refugee Camp – 12 Sept. 2012

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia – This past Tuesday, the District Court in Menzel Temime found two journalists, Sofiane Chourabi and Mehdi Jlassi, guilty of “drunkenness and public indecency.” Each were ordered to pay a 104 dinar ($67) which consisted of an 100 dinar fine for indecency and a four dinar fine for drinking alcohol in public during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The two were arrested on August 5^th for drinking alcohol on a Kelibian beach where they were camping. The trial was the result of a case brought by a man claiming that he was a victim of the “moral offense.” Chourabi and Jlassi could have faced six-months in prison.

“I will appeal the court’s decision because it confirms accusations which I totally reject and deny,” said Chourabi. “It is an unfair trial, completely made up and baseless. It is about intimidating the opponents of Ennahda’s policies.”

Chourabi insists that he and Jlassi did not disturb anyone. He claims that at the time of the arrest the two were asleep in their tents in an isolated place. He also alleges that the confession he made back in August was phony and forced “under police pressure.”

Chourabi first gained notoriety for his criticisms of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali policies. Since Ben Ali had been removed, Chourabi has been critical of the current ruling Islamist party Ennahda. A day before his arrest, he had called for a demonstration before the Interior Ministry to protest moves by the religiously conservative Ennahda party that would serve to stifle public freedom.

Fines for drunkenness and indecency are necessary to maintain public order, however, they should not be used harass and unfairly bully the ruling party’s opposition.

“Restrictions of individual freedoms in the name of public order must be necessary and proportionate, and must never be used as an excuse for prosecuting government critics and other political activists,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa program.

She went on to say that “[t]hese convictions must be quashed, and the Tunisian authorities must refrain from prosecuting individuals who freely exercise their fundamental rights, including their right to freedom of expression.”

“It is disappointing to see that at a moment when Tunisia should be proving its commitment to human rights, these convictions send out quite the opposite message and are reminiscent of practices under Ben Ali.”

For further information, please see:

Amnesty International – Tunisia Must Overturn Journalists’ Convictions – 30 October 2012

Daily Star Lebanon – Tunisian Anti-Islamist Blogger Fined for ‘Indecency’ – 30 October 2012

Middle East Online – Tunisian Anti-Islamist Blogger Fined for ‘Indecency’ – 30 October 2012

Tunisia Times – Tunisie: Sofiane Chourabi et Mehdi Jelassi Condamnés à 104 Dinars D’Amende – 30 October 2012

By Emily Schneider
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – The Local Coordination Committees accused the Syrian government of using “vacuum bombs” while repeating the claim that the government was still employing “cluster bombs.”

Vacuum bombs are thermobaric explosives that more effectively destroy targets in urban areas. The blast wave released by the bombs is longer, which increases the rate of casualties.

A Human Rights Watch Report cites a U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency Report that stated, “the [blast] kill mechanism against living targets is unique–and unpleasant…. What kills is the pressure wave, and more importantly, the subsequent rarefaction [vacuum], which ruptures the lungs…. If the fuel deflagrates but does not detonate, victims will be severely burned and will probably also inhale the burning fuel. Since the most common FAE fuels, ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, are highly toxic, undetonated FAE should prove as lethal to personnel caught within the cloud as most chemical agents.”

A separate U.S. Central Intelligence Agency report stated, “the effect of an FAE explosion within confined spaces is immense. Those near the ignition point are obliterated. Those at the fringe are likely to suffer many internal, and thus invisible injuries, including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and possibly blindness.”

The Defense Intelligence Agency document,  “Future Threat to the Soldier System, Volume I; Dismounted Soldier–Middle East Threat,” September 1993, p. 73 was obtained by Human Rights Watch under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. That document speculates that because the “shock and pressure waves cause minimal damage to brain tissue…it is possible that victims of FAEs are not rendered unconscious by the blast, but instead suffer for several seconds or minutes while they suffocate.”

Damascus has not commented on the accusations and independent news agencies have not been able verify the accusations.

This past week has been particularly bloody in Syria. At least 37 people died Thursday, according to the LCC, 18 of them in Hama. The early reports follow a week of grim tolls, including 121 reported dead Wednesday and 163 on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s concern that there is no central leadership to negotioate with in Syria’s opposition forces.

“There is no person who could speak on behalf of the Syrian opposition, and there will be no progress without negotiation,” Lavrov told the state-run Itar-Tass news agency.

For further information, please see:

CNN – Opposition Group Accuses Syrian Government of Using ‘Vacuum Bombs‘ – 1 Nov. 2012

Local Coordination Committee – Syria Today 1-11-2012 – 1 Nov. 2012

Local Coordination Committee – Syria Today 24-10-2012 – 24 Oct. 2012

Human Rights Watch – Backgrounder on Russian Fuel Air Explosives (Vacuum Bombs) – 1 Feb. 2000

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DOHA, Qatar – Compared to its neighbors in the Middle East, Qatar considers itself to be “a center for media freedom.” Nevertheless, the last draft of Qatar’s media law, which was approved by the Shura Council in June 2012, does not meet international standards for freedom of expression, as it does not permit the right to criticize rulers or government policies. In response to this law, Human Rights Watch has censured Qatar.

 

The new draft would signify the first change to Qatar’s media laws since ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, created the Doha Center for Media Freedom. The Doha Center has been promoting press freedom and quality journalism in the country since its inception in 2008. This desire to protect the press is clear, as the new law abolishes criminal penalties for media law violations. The same act, however, in article 53 also prohibits the transmission of any information that would “abuse the regime or offend the ruling family or cause serious harm to the national or higher interests of the state” or “throw relations between the state and the Arab and friendly states into confusion.”

If a person were to be sanctioned under the article 53 provision, one could face some pretty harsh penalties. A violation of the act faces a fine of up to 1 million Qatari Riyals ($275,000). Additionally, the media act serves as a cognate to article 134 of Qatar’s penal code, which makes criticism of the emir illegal. That code carries with it a five-year prison sentence.

Qatar’s constitution guarantees the freedom of expression and opinion. The country is also bound by article 32 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which grants the right to free expression. Despite these pledges, Qatar has refused to ratify the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which under article 19 stipulates that the criticism of a public figure does not warrant penalties. Allowing criticism of public officials is crucial to permitting debate about governance which is essential to true freedom of expression.

“’Qatar’s commitment to freedom of expression is only as good as its laws, which in this case do not meet the international standards it professes to support,’ said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. ‘Instead of supporting press freedom, this draft media law is a commitment to censorship.’”

While the Shura Council, Qatar’s legislative body, has already approved the law, it must still be ratified by Sheikh Hamad before it becomes official.

For further information, please see:

Alunaniya – Qatar: new Draft on Media law Restricts Exercise of Free Speech – 31 October 2012

Hamsayeh – Human Rights Watch Slams Hamad, Raps Qatar’s Media law – 31 October 2012

Guardian – Qatari Sheikh Must not Approve Media law, Says Human Rights Group – 30 October 2012

Human Rights Watch – Qatar: Revise Draft Media Law to Allow Criticism of Rulers – 30 October 2012