By Melike Ince
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANAA, Yemen – Ten police cadets in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa were killed in a suicide bombing allegedly carried out by a member of al-Qaeda.

On Wednesday, reports came in that the cadets were leaving their academy after class for a weekend with their families when the bomber threw himself into the crowd and detonated the explosives attached to his body.  At least fifteen people were wounded in the attack.  Authorities stated that the bomber died from severe injuries shortly afterwards.  Those who witnessed the aftermath detailed the deadly scene that ambulances rushed to.

“We ran to the place and found dozens of cadets covered in blood. Blood was everywhere. The scene was horrific,” said police official Fadel Ali.

According to security officials, twelve suspects were originally arrested in connection tothe attack.  The government released the attacker’s name as Mohamed Nasher al-Uthy, but later retracted that statement and announced that the body had not yet been officially identified.  The family of the man accused stated that al-Uthy was a driver who routinely drove cadets home and had no affiliation with al-Qaeda.  Opposition parties claim that this “mistake” was done to undermine the new regime by those in the government who maintain loyalty to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.  President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who took office after the uprisings that ended Saleh’s three decade rule, has launched an investigation into the attack.

Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the bombing.  The organization, which is particularly prevalent in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has been known to target security forces in the past and has been labeled the global terror movement’s most dangerous group.  In May, another al-Qaeda suicide bomber killed more than ninety people in a military establishment during a rehearsal for a parade.

The weakening of the government’s rule during the Arab Spring uprising allowed the terrorist organization to take certain territories that would later be turned over following US-backed attacks.  The militants have vowed to attack areas all across Yemen in retaliation for the continuing offensive on their strongholds.

For further information, please see:

Yemen Online – Yemen President Launches Investigation into Cadet Attack – 14 July 2012

BBC News – Yemen Attack Deadly Bombing at Sanaa Police Academy – 11 July 2012

Al Jazeera – Deadly Bombing at Yemen Police Academy – 11 July 2012

The Washington Post – Suicide Attack on Yemeni Police Cadets Kills at Least 10; Government Blames Al-Qaeda – 11 July 2012

By Mark McMurray
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

KABUL, Afghanistan— On Wednesday, over one hundred people took to the streets of Kabul to protest the execution of a 22-year-old-woman.

Najiba, the woman executed last month, was accused of adultery in a village in Parwan province, sixty miles north of Kabul.  Caught on tape, the execution has been broadcast by news outlets across the world.  The horrific video shows a woman being shot multiple times while men who gathered to watch the murder cheer.  Protestors and the international community, reacting to the footage, have called for the government of Afghanistan to do more to protect the rights of women.  In response to mounting pressure regarding the incident, government officials blamed the killing on the Taliban.  The group has denied the killing, saying it would have conducted the execution according to proper sharia (Islamic) law.

Wednesday’s march saw protestors make their way from the ministry responsible for women’s affairs to the UN headquarters in Kabul while chanting “We want justice!”  The group, which consisted mainly of women, included mothers with babies and children in school uniforms further demanding “Death to the men who killed our sister!”

Sinkai Karokhail, a member of parliament who marched with the protestors, told AFP, “The execution of the woman by the Taliban was a crime … the government must do everything to bring the culprits to justice.”

With a recent pledge of $16 billion for development from Tokyo donors due to be paid out over the next four years, the news of the execution raises questions about the proper role of aid within Afghanistan.  Wazhma Frogh, a leading women’s rights activist in Afghanistan, said at the protest, “We are grateful for the aid money, but we want it to be used to bring women justice and peace, the Afghan government needs to be held accountable.”

Afghan women are starting to feel more left out of society, as years of war and cautious donors threaten to roll back the gains women have made in the country following the downfall of the Taliban.  Additionally, with foreign troops set to leave by the end of 2014, there is a real concern about the advancement of women’s rights in the country currently ranked as the world’s worst place to be a woman, according to a major global poll last year.

For further information, please see:

Afghanistan Times – Afghans Protest Recent Public Killing of Woman – 11 July 2012

Reuters – Afghan Women Protest for Rights After Public Execution – 11 July 2012

Telegraph – Afghan Women Protest Over Woman’s Public Execution – 11 July 2012

VOA – Afghan Activists Protest Woman’s Public Execution – 11 July 2012

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Two Shiite protesters, Akbar Al-Shakuri and Mohammed Al-Filfil, were shot and killed by police in the Saudi Arabian town of Qatif.  The police were sent to disperse those who gathered to protest the arrest of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqer Al-Nimr.

A statement from an Interior Ministry spokesman, Major General Mansour Turki, said the deaths followed a protest in the village of Awamiya after the arrest of Nimr, but said that no clash occurred between protesters and police.

“Security authorities had been notified by a nearby medical center on the arrival of four individuals brought in by their relatives,” Turki told Reuters.  “Two of them were dead, the other two were slightly injured.  Competent authorities initiated investigations over the incident.”

The Awamiya protests followed earlier demonstrations held in Qatif, where at least six protestors were shot and killed after the city held the largest protest it has seen since November and December.

“In the aftermath of the arrest … a limited number of people have assembled in the town of Awamiya,” Turki said. “Gun shots have been overheard in random areas of the town. However, there was no security confrontation whatsoever.”

Hussain Al-Alk, a resident of Qatif and a staffer at the Adala Center for Human Rights, states that hundreds of protesters gathered in Qatif hours after Nimr was shot and arrested last Sunday.  Alk believed that Nimr was arrested because the government adhered to the demands of influential Sunnis to escalate its pressure on Shiite opposition.

“It seems that in the last month the government became too worried. The Sunnis have started saying, ‘Why when the Sunnis are talking against the government you are arresting him immediately, while Shias, you are not doing anything to him,'” said Alk.

Saudi officials stated that Nimr hurt his leg when authorities were chasing him.  Seen as a radical cleric by the government, Nimr was arrested because the Interior Ministry considered him an “instigator of sedition.”  The Ministry also said that he would be interrogated after he receivedtreatment for his injury.  The official Saudi press agency reported that Nimr was arrested after he and his followers exchanged fire with security forces and crashed into a police vehicle.

Nimr’s brother, Mohammed, stated that the cleric was arrested while driving from a farm to his house in Qatif.

“He had been wanted by the interior ministry for a couple of months because of his political views,” Mohammed said.  “In the past couple of months he has adopted a lot of Shiite issues and expressed his views on them, demanding their rights.”

Mohammed also said that the cleric was previously detained for several days in 2004 and 2006.

In a sermon delivered ten days ago, Nimr confidently stated that he would be arrested or killed, saying that he had only “heightened” the claims of his supporters.  Shiites in the Sunni-ruled kingdom say they struggle to get government jobs or university places, that their neighborhoods suffer from under-investment, and that their places of worship are often closed down.  The government denies charges of discrimination.

For further information, please see: 

Al Bawaba — Saudi Arabia: Two Shiites Killed During Clashes with Police — 9 July 2012

Al Jazeera — Saudi Protest Crackdown Leaves Two Dead — 9 July 2012

BBC News — Two Die During Saudi Arabia Protest at Shia Cleric Arrest — 9 July 2012

Rasid — Saudi Security Forces Kill Two Protesters in Qatif — 9 July 2012

Reuters — Saudi Arabia Says Two Killed after Cleric’s Arrest — 9 July 2012

By Mark McMurray
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Libya – On Saturday, Libyans will vote in their first free national election since a multi-party election in 1952 under King Idris.

The election, the first to follow Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year reign, which ended last year, has 3,700 candidates.  From the candidates, Libya’s 2.7 million registered voters will select the two-hundred members of the new General National Assembly.  Seats in the assembly will be divided according to a mixed system.  Candidates on party lists will be elected by proportional representation, while independent candidates will be chosen by a simple majority vote.

After the election, the assembly will choose a cabinet to replace the National Transitional Council (NTC), the current interim government comprised of former rebels.  The assembly will also pick a new prime minister and help draft a constitution.  A referendum will be held after the new constitution has been drafted.   If a parliamentary system of government is chosen, a full legislative election will take place six months later.

Political analysts have found it difficult to predict the party make-up of the assembly ahead of the vote.  While a number of candidates are women as result of parity rules, their campaign posters have been destroyed in the capital, highlighting the uphill battle women face in Libyan politics.  The dominant theme amongst parties and candidates has been an expression of Islamic values, with few promoting a strictly secular campaign.

The vote, an effort to create a more credible government with a mandate to rule, could be undermined if voter turnout is low due to fear of violence.  Further, the potential for violence resulting from post-election disputes between rival forces has caused further apprehension among Libyan voters.  These fears have arisen as a result of the present environment in post-Gaddafi Libya, where militias with regional loyalties have been operating within the country amid the chaos of the revolution.  Clashes between these tribal forces have prevented election observers from visiting some isolated areas within the country, raising questions about how successful the vote will be in those districts.

Almost a year after the revolution, Libyans are enjoying rights they were previously denied under Gaddafi.  The ongoing violence within the country lies in stark contrast to this newfound freedom.  While there are days without violence, battles often erupt between rival militias over land rights.  The hope is that the election will provide for a path towards a unified Libya.

U.N. envoy Ian Martin has a more positive outlook.  “The basic elements of life are continuing in Libya,” he told Reuters in June.  “When you put it in the context of Libya and in the context of other post-conflict countries, the glass is half full rather than half empty.”

For further information, please see:

Euronews – Security Fears Around Libyan Election – 5 July 2012

Reuters – Nervous Libyans Ready for First Taste of Democracy – 5 July 2012

Tripoli Post – Suspected Arson in Ajdabiyah Poll Office Fire – 5 July 2012

Washington Post- As Libya Holds Post-Gaddafi Election, Islamists’ Strength to be Tested – 3 July 2012