By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel — Several Israeli teenagers were arrested last Sunday on suspicion of assaulting a group of Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Zion Square last Thursday.  The attack left one 17-year-old, Jamal Julani, unconscious and hospitalized.  The police said that hundreds of bystanders had witnessed the beating, but no one intervened.

Several of the suspects, including a 13-year-old girl, appeared in court last Monday.  A 19-year-old who was arrested last Saturday for his involvement in the attack against four young Palestinians was brought in front of a judge in Jerusalem’s Magistrate Court, and was sentenced to spend three additional days in jail.  Their identities have not been disclosed.

“For my part, he can die,” one of the suspects, who admitted to having taken part in the assault, said to assembled media.  “He’s an Arab,” he added. “He cursed my mother.  If it were up to me, I would have murdered him.”

Authorities say that Julani remains in a serious condition.  The East Jerusalem resident was admitted to Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem, in critical condition, and is on a respirator.  His mother told Haaretz that he woke up from his coma, but that he had no recollection of the attack and was confused about being in a hospital.  The other three  victims, who were not seriously injured, are cousins of Julani.

“There were four of us,” Mohammed Mujahad, a cousin of Julani, said as he described the attack.  “We were walking and suddenly maybe 50 Jews came toward us shouting, ‘Arabs, Arabs.’  I don’t understand what they said.  They weren’t calling us.  They were generally just shouting.”

According to eyewitnesses, the mob of teenagers looked as if they were on a witch hunt for Arab victims, yelling “Death to Arabs,” and other anti-Arab slurs.  The Jerusalem Post reported that one bystander wrote on her Facebook page that “When one of the Arab teenagers fell to the floor, the teenagers continued to hit him in the head, he lost consciousness, his eyes rolled, his angled head twitched, and then those who were kicking him fled and the rest gathered in a circle around, with some still shouting with hate in their eyes.”

Israeli politicians immediately condemned the attacks.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu said that this was a “very serious incident.” Last Sunday, the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, Moshe Ya’Alon, described the assault as “a terrorist attack.”

“The hate crimes committed over the weekend against Arabs in Judea and Samaria [the biblical terms for the West Bank] and Jerusalem are intolerable, outrageous and must be firmly dealt with,” Ya’alon said. “These are terrorist attacks. They run contrary to Jewish morality and values, and constitute first and foremost an educational and moral failure.”

For further information, please see:

BBC News — Israeli Youths Arrested Over Assault on Palestinians — 20 August 2012

New York Times — Young Israelis Held in Attack on Arabs — 20 August 2012

The Guardian — Jewish Settler Attacks on Palestinians Listed as ‘Terrorist Incidents’ by US — 19 August 2012

Haaretz — Israel Police Arrests 3 More Suspects in Connection with Jerusalem ‘Lynch’ — 19 August 2012

Jewish Telegraphic Agency — Jewish Youth Accused of Attacking Arabs in Jerusalem — 17 August 2012

By Mark McMurray
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain —  On Thursday, a Bahraini opposition activist was given a three-year jail sentence for hs participation in anti-government protests.

Nabeel Rajab, founder and president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was found guilty of taking part in “illegal gatherings.”  The human rights activist has led a number of protests against the Al Khalifa family ruling the nation.  Rajab has been influential in organizing the protests occurring in the country which began last February.

This week, the judge ruled in three cases against Rajab.  The cases, all related to participating in protests, carried one-year sentences each.  Human rights campaigners have found the ruling very disturbing.  Activists have called Thursday’s verdict a “dark day for justice” in the country.  Citing the peaceful nature of the protests, Rajab’s lawyer, Mohammed al-Jishi, said the ruling was surprising.

Al-Jishi said in similar cases where others have been found guilty, they have been given six-month sentences and some were even freed on bail.  “It is a very stiff and unexpected ruling, I am surprised.  They are peaceful protests, not violent ones,” al-Jishi added.  He plans to appeal the ruling at a hearing to take place next week.

Following Thursday’s verdict, the U.S. government contacted Bahrain over the ruling.  State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called for the government to respect the fundamental rights of its citizens.

“We’ve long made clear that it’s critical for all governments, including Bahrain, to respect freedom of expression, freedom of assembly,” Nuland said.  “So we are deeply troubled by the sentencing today.”

At the time of the court’s ruling on the protest charges, Rajab was serving a three-month sentence for criticizing the prime minister online.  In July, prosecutors claim they received complaints from the residents of the town of Muharraq who said Rajab had  “libeled” them on Twitter.  He has more than 155,000 followers on Twitter.  In July, he tweeted that the Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa should not continue in his present position.  Citing the residents of Muharraq in his tweet, Rajab also wrote that they had only welcomed the prime minister to their town because he had offered them government subsidies.

The U.S. government has expressed concern over the treatment of Rajab and other opponents to Al Khalifa’s government.  Bahrain serves as the base of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, and recent turmoil in the country has placed the U.S. in an awkward position between its ally and pro-democracy protesters.  The U.S. has called on the Sunni government to speak with the Shiite-led opposition leading the protests in an attempt to bring peace to the country.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Bahraini Activist Jailed for Three Years – 16 August 2012

Bahrain News Agency – Nabeel Rajab Verdict Announced, Right to Appeal – 16 August 2012

BBC News – Bahrain Activist Nabeel Rajab Jailed for Three Years – 16 August 2012

Chicago Tribune – Bahrain Jails Activist for Three Years Over Protests – 16 August 2012

 

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt — In an unforeseen move last Sunday, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy discharged the country’s top military officials, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defence, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, and his Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Sami Anan.  Morsy said that his decision to relieve the two officials was “for the benefit of this nation.”

Morsy also appointed his Vice President, Judge Makhoud Mekki, the former Deputy Chairman of the Cassation Court.  He is the second vice president to be named in Egypt in 30 years.

In a statement read by official presidential spokesperson Yasser Aly on state television Sunday, Morsy also announced the cancellation of the supplementary constitutional powers declaration which gave the military legislative powers and budgetary control as well as the right to oversee the drafting of a new permanent constitution.  He also announced the removal of several other high ranking military officials and named their replacements.  According to Aly, the president will issue a new constitutional decree that “allows him to exercise full presidential powers.”

The army has not challenged Morsy’s decision to replace Tantawi.  State media quoted a military source saying there was no “negative reaction” from within armed forces.  In Cairo, thousands gathered overnight in Tahrir Square to express their support for Morsy’s move.  “The people support the president’s decision,” said the crowd.  Others mocked Tantawi’s departure, which was officially presented as a retirement.  “Field Marshal tell the truth, did Morsy fire you?” they said.

Morsy defended his decisions late Sunday night, denying that his motivation was to marginalize individuals or institutions by  abolishing provisions granting broad powers to the army and retiring Tantawi. He said all these decisions were for the interests of Egypt.

“The decisions I made today were not aimed at certain people and had not intended to marginalize institutions, and it was not my purpose to restrict freedoms,” said Morsy.  “I did not want to send negative messages about anyone, but my goal was to serve this nation and its people,” he said while hailing the work of the armed forces. “I want them to concentrate on their mission, protecting the nation,” he said.  Morsy stated that he acted “to ensure that we move towards a better future with a new generation and a long-awaited new blood.”

For further information, please see:

Al Bawaba — Morsi: Changes in Army Leadership Serve Egypt Interest — 13 August 2012

BBC News — Egypt President Mursi Explains Army Chief Replacement — 13 August 2012

Al Jazeera — Egypt’s Morsi ‘Empowered’ by Army Shake-up — 12 August 2012

Daily News Egypt — Morsy Assumes Power: Sacks Tantawi and Anan, Reverse Constitutional Decree and Reshuffles SCAF — 12 August 2012

9 August 2012
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center

The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran routinely violates domestic and international law in the course of arresting, interrogating, and prosecuting Kurdish civil and political activists.

Although armed opposition groups do exist in Iran’s Kurdish region, many of the targets of government repression are peaceful activists operating within the framework of the law who are indiscriminately subjected to intimidation, torture and the deprivation of their rights to due process.

As part of its on-going effort to document human rights violations perpetrated against Iran’s Kurdish minority, the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) has compiled a package of witness statements that evidences the abuses against Kurdish activists in the prisons, detention centers, and judicial apparatus of the Islamic Republic.

The fifteen witnesses in this package were interviewed in the course of investigations for IHRDC’s recently released report, “On the Margins: Arrest, Imprisonment, and Execution of Kurdish Activists in Iran Today” and include former Kurdish Iranian political prisoners and the relatives of current and former death row inmates. All the witnesses included in this release have intimate experience with government violations of the basic rights of prisoners.

For further information, please contact:
Gissou Nia
Executive Director
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
Email: GNia@iranhrdc.org
Phone: (203) 654-9342

By Mark McMurray
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Libya — On Wednesday, Libya’s interim National Transitional Council (NTC) handed over power to the new national assembly elected in July.  The transfer of power comes almost a year after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.

At the late-night ceremony in Tripoli, NTC head Mustafa Abdul Jalil symbolically passed the reins to Mohammed Ali Salim, the oldest member of the 200-seat legislature.  Jalil, speaking at the event, acknowledged the failure of the NTC to restore security in the country.  He added that the NTC governed in “exceptional times” and “mistakes” had been made.

“The National Transitional Council hands over the constitutional duties for leading the state to the general national congress, which from now on is the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people,” Jalil said.

The NTC served as the political arm of the opposition forces that toppled Gaddafi.  Formed in the midst of the revolution last year, the NTC was dissolved on Wednesday.

After the ceremony, the assembly held its first meeting, but did not appoint a leader at that time.  On Monday, assembly members informally agreed to choose a new prime minister and two deputy chiefs within a week.  The new prime minister will select his government, enact laws, and direct the country until full parliamentary elections occur subsequent to the drafting of a new constitution next year.

Elected on July 7 in Libya’s first free and fair polls in years, the assembly is made up of a mixture of political parties and independent candidates.  Of the its 200 seats, 80 belong to political parties, while the remaining 120 are held by independents of varying allegiances.  Mahmoud Jibril, who previously served as the country’s interim prime minister, heads a mostly secular liberal coalition known as the National Forces Alliance (NFA).  Holding 39 of the 80 party slots, the NFA has more seats than any other group.  The NFA’s Islamist rivals, the Justice and Construction Party (JCP)–which acts as the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing–holds 17 seats.

The NFA and the JCP are in a struggle to have influence over the assembly.  With important decisions requiring a two-thirds majority of the assembly, the two major parties are both maneuvering to form coalitions with independents and smaller parties.  Some independents have expressed interest in forming their own coalitions, as they distrust both the NFA and JCP.

The peaceful transfer of authority was the first in Libya’s modern history.  Wednesday’s date, corresponding to 20 Ramadan in the Islamic calendar, served a symbolic purpose.  20 Ramadan last year was August 20, the date when rebels forced Gaddafi to flee Tripoli.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Libya’s NTC Hands Power to Newly Elected Assembly – 9 August 2012

Christian Science Monitor – Libya Celebrates First Peaceful Transition of Power – 9 August 2012

Libya Herald – NTC Reign Ends as Race for Power in National Congress Begins – 9 August 2012

Tripoli Post – Libya NTC Hands Power to National Congress, Chairman to be Elected Soon – 9 August 2012