By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran — In recent weeks, both the United States and Human Rights Watch have accused Iran of attempting to quash free expression ahead of the country’s March elections.  Since the beginning of 2012 at least ten reporters and bloggers have been arrested.

“This wave of arrests against journalists and bloggers is a brazen attempt by the authorities to exercise absolute control over information available to the citizens,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Officials should immediately release all journalists and bloggers currently languishing in Iran’s prisons without ever being publicly charged and presented with the evidence against them, or serving time for exercising their right to freedom of expression.”

Authorities have refused to publically announce many of the charges against the journalists and bloggers, however two of the bloggers have received death sentences for the charge of “spreading corruption.”

On January 24, BBC Persia reported that judicial authorities in Iran had acknowledged the existence of a “temporary detention” order for one of the journalists, but friends and family of the detained say that they have been denied access and have yet to be told the charges levied.

There are rumors of charging the journalists and bloggers with “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the regime,” however these have yet to be confirmed officially.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland noted U.S. concern over the treatment of the detained, and Iran’s apparent disregard for due process.

“We are deeply concerned by the alarming increase in the Iranian regime’s efforts to extinguish all forms of free expression and limit its citizens’ access to information in the lead-up to March parliamentary elections,” she said.

“Iranian courts confirmed death sentences for bloggers Saeed Malekpour and Vahid Asghari, both of whom were not accorded due process and now face imminent execution on charges of ‘spreading corruption.'”

The U.S. is urging Iran to respond to the international calls “to abide by its commitments to protect the rights of all citizens and uphold the rule of law.” They are also asking Iran officials to cooperate with the United Nations Special Rapporteur who began a special assignment investigating human rights in Iran late last year.

Iran has also recently increased its efforts to censor free expression the internet. On January 4, local newspapers printed new regulations from Iran’s cyber police unit that gave internet cafes 15 days to install security cameras and to begin collecting personal information from customers for tracking purposes.

Recent interruptions in internet connectivity and an increase of blocked websites have some thinking this is evidence that Iran is testing a national intranet.  In March 2011, Iranian authorities announced that they were funding a multi-million dollar project to build a special Iranian internet to protect the country from socially and moral corrupt content.

For more information, please see:

AFP — US says Iran seeking to snuff out free expression — 27 Jan. 2012

U.S. Department of State — Wave of Arrests, Harassment, and Death Sentences in Iran — 26 Jan. 2012

Washington Examiner — Iran arrests journalists, to execute bloggers — 26 Jan. 2012

Human Rights Watch — Iran: New Assault on Freedom of Information — 25 Jan. 2012

By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch, Middle East

A Jordanian activist has been found guilty of “harming the king’s dignity” for burning a street poster of Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

Odai Abu-Issa,  an 18 year old from Madaba, 40 kilometers south of Amman, and a member of the Youth Movement for Reform, torched the poster in front of government office in southwest Jordan two weeks ago.

The charge is included among several acts that prohibit insulting the king, for which article 195 of Jordan’s penal code imposes sentences of between one and three years.

Abu-Issa was also charged with setting property on fire, which is punishable with hard labor.

While no clear motive for Abu-Issa’s actions has been reported, he belongs to a small group of young Jordanians who have been demanding that the king’s absolute powers be curbed.

A military prosecutor said the verdict was issued Thursday by the military State Security Court.

Human Rights Watch had been calling on Jordan’s prosecutor to drop the charges since they were first issued.  Although criminal prosecutions for the destruction of other people’s property is permissible, criminalizing insults against a head of state is incompatible with international human rights standards protecting the right to freedom of expression, Human Right Watch said.

“Burning a royal’s image as a political statement should not be criminally prosecuted,” said Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. “To prosecute this act would send a chilling message that criticizing the king is off limits.”

Abu-Issa’s lawyer, Moussa Al-Abdallat, called the sentence “harsh” and said that he will appeal.

In December 2011, the State Security Court detained and charged Abu-Issa for slogans he shouted against the king during a protest in Madaba.  The trials for this charge are still currently in progress.

Human Rights Watch has documented numerous cases of Jordan charging individuals under the laws prohibiting insulting the king, including incidents at a barbershop, during parliamentary campaigning, and for poetry published on facebook.

In early August, the United Nations Human Rights Committee issued a new general comment on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 19.  “The mere fact that forms of expression are considered to be insulting to a public figure is not sufficient to justify the imposition of penalties…in any case, the application of the criminal law should only be countenanced in the most serious of cases [of dangerous speech] and imprisonment is never an appropriate penalty.”

King Abdullah signed a law in September that restricts the State Security Court’s jurisdiction over civilians to four types of offenses – high treason, espionage, terrorism, and drug trafficking – but these changes do not go into force for three years. The Jordanian Parliament voted down proposals to remove the court’s entire jurisdiction over civilians.

For more information, please see:

Ahram — Jordan activist jailed for burning king’s picture — 26 Jan. 2012

Boston Globe — Jordan youth critical of king gets jail time — 26 Jan. 2012

Press TV — Jordanian jailed for burning king image — 26 Jan. 2012

IEWY — Jordan: Drop Charges for ‘Undermining Royal Dignity” — 24 Jan. 2012

By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain – On Thursday, 26 January, Bahrain’s police reported 18-year-old Mohammed Yaaqub died from sickle cell disease, a chronic disease, while in custody.  Although the officers asserted he died of natural causes, Wefaq, the main Shi’ite Muslim opposition group, claimed the young man died from torture.

The police detained him on Wednesday for “acts of violence and sabotage.”  Police officers also clashed with and wounded several protesters in four Shi’ite villages in the country on Wednesday.

Wefaq stated the victim sustained injuries after he was squeezed him between two police cars while they followed him.  Yaaqub attempted to flee a Shi’ite led protest when clashes erupted between the protesters and the security forces.  The police then detained him and tortured him rather than treating his injuries.

Leading opposition figure and former Minister of Parliament Matar Matar commented, “Instead of receiving the necessary medical treatment, the police took him to the yard opposite Sitra police station where he was tortured.”

With the announcement of Yaaqub’s death, the government issued a statement that did not identify the victim.  The police hospitalized the victim and charged him with vandalism that occurred during the demonstration.  The Interior Minister stated public prosecutors would investigate the victim’s death.

Throughout the past year, Bahrain’s police quashed pro-democracy protests led by the Shi’ite Muslim majority.  The protests called to limit the Sunni ruling family’s authority, to cease sectarian discrimination, to ensure the Shi’ite majority secured a stronger voice in government and security affairs.

The government detained over 1,000 people during the year’s protests.  Thirty-five people died since March 2011 in nonstop unrest, including five security personnel and five people in custody, who were tortured to death.  Bahrain’s inquiry of the protest and crackdown disclosed officials abused and tortured detainees.

As the one-year anniversary of the protests approaches, violence has increased in the country.  The Interior Minister reported 41 riot police officers sustained injuries when protesters threw rocks, bottles, metal rods, and petrol bombs at the officers last week.  The government considers protests by Shi’ite youths, which may include these violent acts, as vandalism.

A Bahraini rights group reported that thirteen people died from indiscriminate use of tear gas since February 2011.  On Thursday, Amnesty International called for Bahrain to investigate the issue.  Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, an Amnesty International regional deputy director, said, “The rise in fatalities and eyewitness accounts suggest that tear gas is being used inappropriately by Bahraini security forces, including in people’s homes and other confined spaces.”

For further information, please see:

Ahram Online – Detained Bahraini Protester Dies: Ministry – 26 Jan 2012

Al Jazeera – Bahrain Confirms Teen Died in Police Custody – 26 Jan 2012

Boston Globe – Protester In Bahrain Dies After Arrest – 26 Jan 2012

Reuters UK – Bahrain Detainee Dies In Custody, Opposition Sees Torture – 26 Jan 2012

By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia – On Monday, 23 January, a Tunisian court delayed the case against Nessma TV for airing the award-winning French-Iranian film “Persepolis” for insulting Islam until 19 April.  The judges will now consider the new press code adopted after the overthrow of former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Over 140 lawyers filed suit against Nessma TV’s station director Nabil Karoui and several of the station’s workers.  The court charged them with “attacks against sacred values and morals and disturbing the public order.”  Karoui could serve three years in jail if he receives a conviction.  His lawyers already stated they would appeal that verdict.

When Karoui arrived at the courthouse, he said it was a political trial, a “trial of 10 million Tunisians who dreamed of having a democratic country.”

The film depicts Tunisia’s challenges of implementing Islamic values into society after years of government-enforced secularism.  After the Tunisian television station showed the film on 7 October, ultraconservative Muslims, called Salafis, engaged in angry demonstrations and firebombed the station owner’s home.

Recipient of the jury prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, “Persepolis” adapted Iranian director Marjane Satarpi’s graphic novels portraying a girl’s childhood during Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.  The animated film, dubbed in a Tunisian dialect, contains a scene where a character represents God.  Islam deems depictions of God blasphemous.

The trial began on 17 November, but the judge adjourned the matter until January once lawyers began arguing inside the courtroom.  On Monday, large crowds demonstrated outside the courtroom in support of Nessma TV and the Salafis.

The Salafis chanted, “Secularists, you have no place in Tunisia”.  Demonstrator Mohammed Chammam added, “If the people of Nessma do not return to the right path, their activities will be halted by any means necessary, including violence.”

However, several major Tunisian figures visited the courthouse to support the television station, including lawyers, human rights activists, non-governmental organizations, and ex-political leaders.  Amnesty International and Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights also called upon the Tunisian government to end the trial.

Ben Ali enforced secularism and persecuted Islamists until the people overthrew him in January 2011.  Throughout the past year, a small group of Salafists began promoting Islam’s ultraconservative form.  Two weeks after the film aired, Ennahda, a moderate Islamist party that does not hold the Salafists’ extreme ideology, dominated Tunisia’s elections.

Mohamed Bennour, the Ettakatol Party’s spokesperson, said, “The Tunisian people revolted to eradicate all types of censorship.  This trial is an influential battle that will decide the future of freedom of expression and personal freedoms in Tunisia.”

For further information, please see:

The National – Trial Of Tunisian TV Station Owner Accused Of Offending Islam Postponed – 24 Jan 2012

Al Arabiya News – ‘Persepolis’ Trial Resumes In Tunisia In Tense Climate – 23 Jan 2012

Boston Globe – Tense Tunisia ‘Persepolis’ Trial Delayed To April – 23 Jan 2012

Tunisia Live – Trial Postponed for Tunisia TV Station Owner Responsible for ‘Persepolis’ Airing – 23 Jan 2012