By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

GAZA STRIP — “Abusive System: Criminal Justice in Gaza,” A Human Rights Watch (HRW) Report released on Wednesday, said that Hamas has routinely subjected Palestinian detainees to torture and abuse.  The report says that since 2007, Hamas has executed at least three men over “confessions” obtained through torture.  HRW now calls for an immediate moratorium on capital punishment in the Gaza Strip, and also for Hamas to cease the prosecution of civilians in military courts.

 

HRW’s report describes extensive violations by Hamas security services, including warrantless arrests, failure to promptly provide families of detainees information of their whereabouts, and also accounts of torture. HRW also reported about human rights violations within Hamas’ court system, such as the denying detainees access to a lawyer.  HRW also discovered instances of detainees being deprived of their due process through warrantless arrests and abusive interrogations.

The Independent Commission for Human Rights, a non partisan Palestinian rights group, says it received 147 complaints of torture by the Internal Security Agency, the drugs unit of the civil police force in Gaza, and also by police detectives.

In a statement accompanying the report, Joe Stork, the deputy Middle East director of HRW, said that Gaza’s “ [c]riminal justice system reeks of injustice, routinely violates detainee’s rights, and grants impunity to abusive security services.”

The report charges Hamas for failing to prosecute any abusive security officials, and have essentially granted Internal Security service officials impunity from prosecution in particular.

Journalists also criticized Hamas for its reporting restrictions.  A Palestinian press freedom group recanted a scene that occurred last Sunday, where they were warned of restrictions and threatened journalists with abuse for attempting to cover a rare demonstration, which criticized Hamas officials for their failure to put out a fire that killed a three year old boy.  “We often receive threats when we cover events.  I’m calling on Palestinian authorities to provide a safe working environment for journalists,” journalist Husein Jamal said.

In a response to a claim made by HRW regarding their lack of access to detention centers, the Ministry of Interior in Gaza said in a statement, “[w]e assure you that our detention centers are open for human rights centers.”  The Ministry of Interior also accused HRW of being politically biased, and also for failing to address human rights violations in the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Hamas officials claim to have disciplined hundreds of security service members for abuses since 2007, yet it has yet to publish the details about those who have been punished.

For further information, please see:

Bikya Masr — Gaza Sees Continued Arbitrary Arrests, Torture, Unfair Trials — 3 October 2012

The Guardian — Hamas Accused of Routine Torture of Detainees in Gaza Strip — 3 October 2012

Human Rights Watch — Gaza: Arbitrary Arrests, Torture, Unfair Trials — 3 October 2012

Ma’an News Agency — Hamas Ministry Rejects Torture Allegations — 3 October 2012

Ma’an News Agency — HRW: Hamas Should Urgently Reform Justice System — 3 October 2012

New York Times — Human Rights Watch Report Critical of Hamas Justice System in Gaza — 3 October 2012

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East Desk

MANAMA, Bahrain — Nine medics who were arrested for their role in the pro democracy uprising that took place last year had their jail terms upheld by the Court of Cassation, Bahrain’s highest court, on Monday.  They were convicted on charges of weapons possession, incitement, and for taking part in the demonstrations.  Nine other medics had their sentences overturned in June and two are currently in hiding.

Dr. Ali Al-Ekri, a former senior surgeon at the Salmaniya Hospital in Manama, the largest hospital in Bahrain, was sentenced to five years in prison, while one of his colleagues received a sentence of three years.  The other medics received sentences ranging between a month and a year.

“We did not get a fair trial…  We think we are a card being used by the regime to negotiate with the opposition,” Al-Ekri said in a telephone interview with Reuters.  This was the final appeal that could be heard, leaving the medics without any other chances to have their case heard.  Mohammed Al-Maskati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, says that while there are no other opportunities for an appeal left, there still might be a chance for a pardon by the king.

The arrests and convictions of the medics have attained global criticism.  Amnesty International claims that the medics were arrested for publicly denouncing the use of excessive force used by the government during the protests in interviews conducted by international news media.  Washington has also criticized the court’s ruling.

Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Ann Harrison said during a statement, “[w]ith today’s verdict, the Bahraini government has shown once more it is not serious about human rights and accountability for past violations.”  Harrison believes that Monday’s affirmation of the convictions goes against the promises Bahrain made before the Human Rights Council in Geneva on September 19.  The promises included measures aimed at releasing prisoners of conscience, bolstering fair trial guarantees, and investigating human rights violations committed during and after last year’s reforms.

Rights groups expressed concern during the protests over the government’s treatment of medics.  An independent commission criticized Bahrain for its excessive use of force and torture.  The government has implemented some reforms after last year, but the opposition says that they are “superficial and have not curtailed routine abuses.”  The Shi’ite opposition wants a constitutional monarchy and a more equitable political system that would grant them greater representation, ending decades-old discrimination against them in their search for jobs, also within the army and security forces.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Bahrain Court Upholds Verdict in Medics Trial — 1 October 2012

Amnesty International UK — Bahrain Should Quash Medics’ Convictions — 1 October 2012

Bahrain Freedom Movement — Bahrain Upholds Jail Terms for Medics — 1 October 2012

BBC News — Bahrain Court Rejects Medics’ Appeal — 1 October 2012

Reuters — Bahrain Court Upholds Jail Terms on Protesting Medics — 1 October 2012

By Emily Schneider
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Sunday marked the deadliest day in Iraq in nearly a month with a number of bombings that killed at least thirty-two people and wounded approximately one hundred.  The insurgents seem to be targeting Iraq’s Shiite Muslim community.

Baghdad’s Shiite-majority government blames the recent attacks on Sunni insurgents with ties to al Qaeda.  A local news source noted that insurgents are have recently been regarded as weaker than before by the public but are still able to carry out mass-casualty attacks.  Twenty people were killed in the seven explosions in and around Baghdad, while at least thirty-seven others were wounded in explosions in al-Mashada and al-Amel, neighborhoods closer to the city center.

“I was in my shop and I heard the sound of a very powerful explosion,” said Abu Ihab, a shop owner in central Baghdad’s Karada district. “Dust was everywhere.”

“We were sitting in the shop while police were collecting flesh,” he said. “Human flesh was on the sidewalk, being collected and put in plastic bags.”

“When the explosion happens…I sit in my shop and I am afraid for my life,” Ihab told reporters.

Abu Ihab had good reason to be afraid, as the blast was followed by another car bomb that hit the same area.

Later in the day, a Shiite shrine in al-Madaan, about 20 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, was the target of a car bomb. Four people were killed by the blast, and nineteen others were wounded. Four of the wounded were Iranians who had traveled to the shrine on a religious pilgrimage from Iran.

In Kut, a predominately Shiite city about 110 kilometers south of Baghdad, a car exploded at a police checkpoint, killing six people. Three of those killed were members of the Iraqi police.

These explosions demonstrate a marked increase in violence after a relatively calm period. The last outburst of violence occurred on September 9, when 63 people were killed and around 200 wounded. Most of those victims were Iraqi security forces and took place in Shiite areas.

Infighting among Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds has been common in Iraq, and was particularly terrible in 2006. Although the level of violence has generally been on the wane since the war in 2005 and 2006, recent months show that the violence is escalating again. This past July, the death toll reached a two-year high of 325 reported casualties.

The recent events have raised concerns that the political conflict will continue to escalate and return to the high level of violence that plagued the country a half-dozen years ago.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Many Killed in String of Iraq Attacks – 30 September 2012

CNN – Iraq Suffers Deadliest Day in Nearly a Month – 30 September 2012

Khaleej Times – Wave of Iraq Attacks Kills At Least 32 – 30 September 2012

Rueters – String of Iraq Blasts Kills at Least 32 – 30 September 2012

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Wednesday, the Nigerian government reported that approximately 200 of its women were deported from Saudi Arabia.  Another 900 had been detained in Mecca, and three planes were turned around from Medina.  The women had attempted to enter the country to take part in a hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, that is mandated by their religion. They were turned away for not having a male guardian with them.

In the the eyes of Saudi law, women are no different from children.  As legal minors, they cannot work, leave the country, and often, receive medical treatment, without the consent of a male relative. These women flew into Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah airport, expecting to take part in a holy pilgrimage. Abubakar Shehu Bunu, Nigeria’s Saudi ambassador, claimed it had been agreed that the Nigerians could partake in their hajj as long as they were chaperoned by local authorities.  But instead, the Saudi ministry would not permit any woman under the age of forty-five to enter the country without a male guardian.

Those who were detained reported horrendous treatment by the Saudis. The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria remarked that the women had been kept “in very poor living conditions” where some needed “urgent medical attention.”  Nigeria is home to approximately eighty million Muslims, the largest Muslim population in sub-Saharan Africa.  One of the five pillars of Islam mandates that all Muslims who are able to must make at least one pilgrimage in their lifetime.

Halima Muhammad was one of the women who had been detained. She claimed that, “[f]rom the airport we were all rounded up and taken to a facility that is not fit for humans. No one offered us anything, we had only water and slept on bare floors.”

“Some of us were kept in two halls for five days in humiliating conditions with little food, water and other basic needs and inadequate toilet facilities,” reported Zainb Mohammed, another detainee. “Many of us have cold and fever. We did not have blankets and it was cold, especially at night.”

Saudi Arabia’s actions have greatly disturbed relations between itself and Nigeria. Namadi Sambo, Nigeria’s Vice President, said that if Saudi Arabia was not going to permit its pilgrims to perform hajj that it should have let them know that in advance. Bunu has filed a formal complaint with the Saudi authorities.  In response to the deportations and detentions, former governor and Nigerian Muslim leader Lawan Kaita called the incident “a slap in the face for Nigeria and all Muslims. Saudi Arabia has the privilege of being hosts, but it shouldn’t stop others from coming to do the hajj.”

These women came to Saudi Arabia from Nigeria believing that they were fellow Muslims, but ultimately ended up feeling as if they were infidels.

“We were held like criminals in debasing conditions,” stated Maryam Abdulah, another one of the many who were denied access.  “We deserve human treatment and as women and mothers, we deserve to be treated with honour but the Saudis have shown that they have no heart.”

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Nigeria Stops Hajj Flights Over Deportations – 28 September 2012

The National – Detention of Almost 1,000 Femal Haj Pilgrims Causes Diplomatic Rift – 28 September 2012

Arabian Business – Nigeria Says Saudi Deported 150 Female Pilgrims – 27 September 2012

Guardian (UK) – Nigeria Protests After Saudis Deport Female Hajj Pilgrims – 27 September 2012

Radio Netherlands Worldwide Africa – Saudi Denies Entry to Some 1,000 Nigerian Women for Hajj – 26 September 2012

By Emily Schneider
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – As the civil war rages on, the Syrian government has taken action to safeguard its chemical weapons. US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Friday that there had been “limited movement” to secure the chemical weapons.

Syria has admitted to having a large stockpile of chemical weapons but has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention or ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.  According to CIA intelligence, Syria has had a chemical weapon program for years and has developed mustard gas and Sarin, a highly toxic nerve agent. The C.I.A. also believes that the country has attempted to develop more toxic nerve agents, such as VX gas. A report citing Turkish, Arab, and Western intelligence agencies put its stockpile at around 1,000 tons of chemical weapons stored across 50 towns and cities.

Mr. Panetta told a news conference at the Pentagon on Friday: “We continue to have a concern about the security of the CBW [chemical and biological weapons] sites.”Although he added that the major sites “still remain secured by the Syrian military” there has been intelligence that there has been “some movement in order for the Syrians to better secure… the chemicals.”

“There has been intelligence that there have been some moves that have taken place. Where exactly that’s taken place, we don’t know,” Panetta told reporters. “I don’t have any specific information about the opposition and whether or not they’ve obtained some of this or how much they’ve obtained and just exactly what’s taken place.”

These chemical weapons can be deployed using aircraft, ballistic missile, and artillery rockets.  There is no evidence that Syria has used them in the 18-month conflict with the rebel forces, but has threatened to use them if the country came under attack.

President Barack Obama has declared that the threat of chemical or biological warfare in Syria is a “red line” for the U.S. meaning the U.S. will not tolerate it if the weapons fall into the wrong hands.

If the weapons do fall into the hands of militant groups, President Obama has said that at that point, it’s “an issue that doesn’t just concern Syria. It concerns our close allies in the region, including Israel. It concerns us.” With the recent, more intensified fighting throughout the country, the possibility of militant groups obtaining the chemical weapons is becoming real.

“We cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people,” said President Obama.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Syria ‘Moving Chemical Weapons to Safety’ – Panetta – 28 September 2012

Huffington Post – Syria Chemical Weapons Moved, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Says – 28 September 2012

Washington Post – Panetta: Intelligence Suggests Syria Moving Some Chemical Weapons – 28 September 2012

CBS News – Obama: Chemical Weapons in Syria are a ‘Red Line’ – 20 August 2012