By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAKU, Azerbaijan – On Thursday, 22 March, international rights advocates condemned Azerbaijani authorities for detaining two rock musicians for criticizing President Ilham Aliyev and his deceased mother on Saturday, 17 March, during a concert at an opposition rally in Baku, the country’s capital.  This police action raises doubts about Azerbaijan’s suitability to host the Eurovision Song Contest this May.

When an unidentified man attacked the band Bulistan after singer Jamal Ali used harsh language, the police arrested 24-year old Ali, bass player Natig Kamilov, and protest planner Etibar Salmanli.   The police detained and supposedly tortured the musicians and Mr. Salmanli, who tried to separate the fighters.

The men were charged with “petty hooliganism.”  A court sentenced Mr. Ali to 10 days of administrative detention, Mr. Kamilov to 6 days, and Mr. Salmanli to 5 days.  The men remained detained in a district police station where the alleged beating occurred rather than a special detention facility.

At their closed hearing, the musicians asserted the police denied them contact with their lawyers and families while in detention.  Yesterday, the appellate court upheld the men’s sentences.

Anar Gasimli, the musician’s attorney, reported that the police beat his clients upon arrest and at the police station.  The authorities also prevented Mr. Gasimli from private and timely consultation with his clients before the hearing.

The judge requested the district prosecutor investigate the torture claims after seeing Mr. Ali’s facial bruises, large bump on his nose, and several scratches on his forehead.  Although Mr. Kamilov stated the police beat him until he became unconscious and witnesses told HRW the police dragged him by his hair, the court denied his request for an investigation.

Mr. Gasimli stated that due to public holidays in Azerbaijan this week, “the prosecutors are not conducting an investigation” of the beatings.

Azerbaijan received the privilege of hosting Eurovision after its singers Ell and Nikki won last year’s contest.  Local campaigners hope the media addresses claims that the oil-rich country violates freedom of speech and civil rights while broadcasting the competition.  The government plans to have the contest highlights its economic growth.  The nation has spent millions of dollars as an investment that the event runs smoothly.

Yesterday, Human Rights Watch (“HRW”) and Amnesty International requested the government investigate the brutality allegations.   John Dalhuisenm, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe and Central Asia, said, “It’s deeply ironic that only two month before Baku takes the world stage for the Eurovision, Azerbaijani authorities are using force to break up and silence musicians performing at a peaceful protest.”

For further information, please see:

AFP – Rights Groups Slam Azerbaijan Rock Band Arrests – 22 Mar 2012

Belfast Telegraph – Azerbaijan Warms Up For Eurovision By Torturing Musicians – 22 Mar 2012

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – Azerbaijani Court Upholds Jail Sentence For Rock Star – 22 Mar 2012

Alert Net – Azerbaijan: Investigate Alleged Ill-Treatment By Police – 21 Mar 2012

By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A recent string of violent attacks in Iraq have targeted so-called unconventional youths who call themselves “emos.”  Members of the subculture have reportedly been threatened or killed throughout the country, where some see their long hair and alternative style as gay.

While “emo” is a specific subculture in Western culture, it serves as a catchall phrase for nonconformists in Iraq. Gay and effeminate men have been grouped into the category.

The Iraqi government has dismissed the problem, characterizing emos as “Satanists,” and calling the reports of violence fabricated.  In the same report, the Iraqi government gave police “official approval to eliminate [the emo threat] as soon as possible, because the effects of it on society …[are] now threatening a danger.”

Most, if not all, of the attacks have gone unsolved, and no widespread inquiry has been made by the Iraqi police into the targeted killings.

“Our youth are feeling really horrible,” Shi’ite lawmaker Safia al-Souhail said on Friday. “The security forces need to acknowledge this is happening to be able to carry out an investigation.”

Al-Souhail believes that individuals within the Iraqi security forces, who want to stop the spread of democracy and turn the country into an Islamic state, are aiding the campaign against the emos. However, she does not believe that the campaign is supported by the overall government.

It is unclear how many such attacks have taken place, but at least 58 emos – identified by their Western clothing and hairstyles – have been killed in the last two months, according to local officials and security forces in Baghdad.  Iraq is currently engulfed in violence to the point where it has become difficult to determine why many killings have taken place. Fear also prevents people from reporting the slayings to authorities.

A sign in Baghdad’s Sadr City, decorated with two handguns, became a source of controversy recently by threatening 33 accused emos by name, warning them to stop their “dirty deeds” or face the “wrath of God.” The sign warned: “If you do not stop this dirty act within four days, then the punishment of God will fall on you at the hands of Mujahideen.”

Several clerics, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s most revered Shi’ite, have denounced the killing of emos. However, they have been careful not to endorse the lifestyle, warning of the dangers of imitating Western culture.

Youth across Iraq have rushed to cut their hair and shed their Westernesque clothing.  Anyone who wears something unusual is being labeled an emo, and risks violence.

A coalition of international organizations is pushing for Iraq to address the problem, and launch an investigation to bring the killers to justice.

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch: Iraq: Investigate ‘Emo’ Attacks — 16 Mar. 2012

Los Angeles Time — Iraq killings target ’emos’ for nonconformist style — 16 Mar. 2012

Seattle PI — Advocates demand protection for Iraqi Emos — 16 Mar. 2012

San Francisco Chronicle — Iraqi ’emo’ subculture target of antigay attacks — 12 Mar. 2012

By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On Wednesday, 7 March, Ayatollah Ali Kahamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, created the Supreme Council of Virtual Space to oversee the domestic and international internet usage.  Iran’s state television reported Ayatollah Khamenei declared he was “establishing a center of national virtual space to define policy and co-ordinate and make decisions regarding virtual space.”

Reporters Without Borders, a free-speech lobby group, noted that Iran has blocked websites and filtered keywords to censor the internet.  However, the formation of this council is Iran’s strongest initiative to regulate the internet.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will head the council composed the president of the parliament, the head of Iran’s judiciary, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, the director of Iran’s broadcasting organization, the minister of information, and the commander of the Revolutionary Guard.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s degree stated the council will protect the country from “harm” resulting from “the increasing spread of information and communication technologies, particularly that of the global internet network and its important role in personal and social life.”  The council is also “responsible for safeguarding national and cultural values,” ensuring “safety of the internet,” and taking “measures to deal with challenges facing the national security and cultural values.”

Iran has previously tackled two particular cyber threats: computer viruses and “cultural invasion”.

Ayatollah Khamenei stated Iran will develop internet tools like Google to protect national security interests and so Iranians would not need to visit websites managed outside Iran.  In January, Esmail Ahmadi Moghadam, Iran’s police chief, described Google as an “instrument of espionage.”  In June, Iran plans to release its own search engine called “Yahaq” (meaning “Oh Lord”).

In 2010, the Revolutionary Guards created a “cyber army” to fight “destructive” networks.  The “cyber army” arrested hundreds of internet users.  The courts sentenced some of these users to death.  Iran also relies on special teams to execute “soft-war” counter-measures against the West.

Iranian authorities have blocked telephone lines and inducted internet slowdowns or disconnections during their recent increase of their surveillance and restrictions on the internet.  The authorities intensify their internet control specifically during times of political unrest.

Now, people must give their full names and show their identification to use an internet café monitored by the Iranian authorities.

This week, 30 million Iranians could not log into their Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail accounts.  An Iranian news agency credited Iran’s actions to prevent opposition against the upcoming celebration of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

For further information, please see:

Sydney Morning Herald – Iran’s Leader Sets Up Internet Control Group – 8 Mar 2012

BBC – Iran’s Supreme Leader Sets Up Body To Oversee Internet – 7 Mar 2012

Haartetz – Ahmadinejad Heads New Council To ‘ Safeguard’ Iranian Internet Values – 7 Mar 2012

Iran Focus – Iran Considers Cyberspace Council – 7 Mar 2012

By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BENGHAZI, Libya – On Monday, 5 March, thousands of Libyans gathered in the former rebel capital of Benghazi to bury the bodies of 157 civilians and rebel fighters government officials discovered in a mass grave on Friday.  The officials unearthed the largest grave yet in the desert town of Bin Jawwad, a major battleground for the country’s 2011 civil war.

Omar al-Obeidi, head of the new government-run missing person’s office, reported that officials began excavating bodies on Friday and completed the excavation on Sunday.  So far, officials have identified 80 bodies.  He added that all the bodies are from eastern Libya, and the youngest victim was a 17-year-old boy.

Most of the victims died between February and March 2011 from gunshot wounds and rocket strikes.  Some people died via execution, and rocket attacks severely disfigured others.

Al-Obeidi noted that before his office opened the graves to identify the bodies, it obtained a fatwa from the Mufti, Sheikh al-Sadiq al-Gharyani, and permission from Attorney General Abdelaziz al-Hassadi.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Martyrs, Wounded and Missing Persons Osama Swail stated the government would return the identified bodies to their families for proper funerals.  Mr. Swali commented that two of his brothers were identified in the mass grave.

Presently, a forensic team is collecting DNA samples and photographs from the unidentified bodies in an attempt to match this information with DNA samples the ministry holds for missing persons throughout the country.

Libyans mourned for the deceased by holding a “Martyrs’ Parade” on Monday.  The procession began in Bin Jawwad, passed through the city of Ajdabiya, and ended in Benghazi.  Government officials escorted a caravan of 23 trucks carrying wooden coffins, each draped in a tri-colored Libyan flag, through the country’s eastern cities.  Libyans held a traditional Islamic prayer service in honor of their fallen “martyrs” in Benghazi’s Tahrir Square after the delivery of coffins ended.

Mohammed al-Darnaway came to Tahrir Square to bury his two brothers.  He asserted, “The revolutionaries of Zintan must hand over Seif al-Islam [Gaddafi’s son] immediately for trial.”  Al-Islam remains in custody of a militia composed of former rebel fighters.

Benghazi resident Mahar al-Maghrabi also expressed anger at his new government for taking almost three months to recover the bodies, including the body of his brother, a 23-year-old rebel fighter.  He said, “They knew about this grave, and they should have worked quicker to excavate the bodies…This is unacceptable.”

For further information, please see:

IOL News – Libyans Mourn Dozens Found In Mass Grave – 6 Mar 2012

Newsday – World Briefs – 6 Mar 2012

The Miami Herald – Libya Buries 170 Bodies Found In Mass Grave – 5 Mar 2012

Boston Globe – Mass Grave of 157 Bodies Unearthed in Libyan Town – 4 Mar 2012