by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria — On Tuesday, April 4^th, a suspected chemical attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun in the province of Idlib killed and injured hundreds of civilians, including several children.

A photographer for a Media Center in Idlib, Mr. Hussein Kayal, stated that he was woken up by the sound of a bomb blast at approximately 6:30 a.m. Upon rushing to the attack site, he noted that there had been no smell. He indicated that he walked around the town and saw “entire families inside their homes, lying on the floor, eyes wide open and unable to move.” He further added that “[t]heir pupils were constricted.” A Syrian man reported that residents were still in their beds at the time the warplanes struck as it was still early in the morning. He stated that he lost his niece, his niece’s husband and their one-year old daughter in the attack.

The head of a Syrian ambulance service, Mr. Mohammed Rasoul, stated that emergency responders found “people choking in the streets.” He noted that the situation is “very bad” and that most of the civilians suffering as a result of the attack were children. Footage released from the site showed EMTs attempting to intubate an unconscious male “stripped down to his underwear[,]” as well as a young girl “foaming at the mouth[.]”

A local media activist, Mr. Mohammed Hassoun, stated that there were eighteen critical cases. He added that the injured civilians arrived unconscious, “had seizures,” and “bled from the nose and mouth” after receiving oxygen treatment. Mr. Hassoun noted that the doctors suspect the chemical agent was made up of more than one gas as chlorine is not known to cause convulsions of the type suffered by those injured in the attack.

International news sources reported that a hospital in the immediate vicinity of the affected area was struck with missiles soon after the suspected chemical attack. A local doctor who received three victims stated that they all had “narrow, pinpoint pupils that did not respond to light.” Breathing difficulties, pinpoint pupils and foaming at the mouth are all symptoms typically associated with exposure to toxic gas. A media activist for the Aleppo Media Center, Mr. Mohammed Alshagel, reported that the hospital had been filled with injured men, women and children, along with a strong smell of chlorine. He stated that the injured individuals had “heavy choking symptoms” and that some had died minutes after arriving at the hospital. Mr. Alshagel added that the hospital had been attacked shortly after he left.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that fifty-eight civilians, including eleven children, had been killed in the suspected chemical attack. The rights group later stated that the death toll was expected to rise, whereas the Syrian medical relief group, UOSSM, stated that over 100 civilians had lost their lives, and at least 500 more had been injured.

The attack immediately sparked international outrage. The United States released a statement denouncing the attack as “reprehensible.” France called upon the United Nations Security Council to convene a special meeting. The Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom, Mr. Boris Johnson, stated he was “horrified” by the attack and added that it carried all of the “hallmarks” of chemical weapons previously used by the Syrian regime. The Prime Minister of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, indicated that the attack was “inhuman [and] unacceptable[.]” Amnesty International called upon authorities to “urgently investigate[]” the “alarming” attack.

For more information, please see:

Fox News—At least 100 dead in suspected chemical attack in Syria, hospital reportedly hit—4 April 2017

ABC News—White House blames Obama admin for suspected Syria chemical attack—4 April 2017

USA Today—’Reprehensible’: Kids among victims of suspected chemical attack in Syria—4 April 2017

BBC News—Syria conflict: ‘Chemical attack’ in Idlib kills 58—4 April 2017

NBC News—Syria Gas Attack Reportedly Kills Dozens in Idlib Province—4 April 2017

CNN—Syria gas attack reportedly kills dozens, including children—4 April 2017

by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — Law enforcement officials in Kuwait are investigating a video in which a woman films her Ethiopian maid falling from a window without making any attempt to help her.

It is believed that the maid was attempting to commit suicide at the time she climbed out the window. The twelve-second video, which surfaced online, showed the Ethiopian maid hanging from the window of a seven-story building in the Sabah al-Salem district of Kuwait City. The recording depicts the maid gripping the window with only one hand. The employer simply states “Oh crazy, come back” and subsequently moves away from the window. In response, the maid repeatedly screams “hold me, hold me[!]” Despite the maid’s pleadings for help, the employer continues filming while the maid’s hand slips and she falls onto a metal roof on an adjacent one-story building. The maid, who survived the fall, was rescued by paramedics and transported to a hospital for a broken arm and other injuries such as bleeding from her nose and ears.

A news crew at the site of the incident interviewed the employer, who reportedly stated that she filmed the fall to prevent being accused of her maid’s murder if she had died. Although the reasons for the maid’s apparent suicide attempt were not revealed, media outlets alleged that she had recently resigned, and as a result, had been tortured, locked in a room and deprived of food for two days before her attempted suicide. The employer was subsequently arrested by Kuwaiti police for filming the apparent suicide instead of trying to rescue her employee.

The Kuwait Society for Human Rights issued a statement that publicly decried the employer. The statement declared that the employer acted with “no care for [the maid’s] life,” and called for an official investigation. The rights organization indicated that the employer had a duty to rescue her maid, and noted that the country’s penal code dictates a sentence of up to three months’ imprisonment for “anyone who deliberately refrain[s] from coming to the aid of a person in peril[.]”

A Kuwaiti attorney, Ms. Fawzia al-Sabah, declared that she will be filing a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office against the employer. Viewers of the video expressed outrage on social media, using the hashtag “the fall of the Ethiopian[,]” and condemning the “inhumanity” of the employer.

Human rights organizations have long been advocating for better employment conditions for domestic helpers in countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, citing abuses, exploitations and slave-like circumstances. In a 2014 report issued by Amnesty International, migrant domestic workers were said to be “victims of a discriminatory system that denies them basic protections and leaves them open to exploitation and abuse, including forced labor and human trafficking[.]” Despite a 2015 Kuwaiti law providing domestic helpers with more rights, such as paid annual leave, a weekly day off and a twelve-hour per day work limit, protections are still weaker than those given to other professions. Employers of maids and other domestic staff are not subject to inspections of working conditions or other enforcement mechanisms. A report released by Migrant Rights indicates that 90% of the households in the country employ foreign domestic workers. The Gulf state, which has over 600,000 domestic helpers, has been plagued with complaints of abuse, mistreatment and non-payment of wages for several years.

For more information, please see:

BBC News—Kuwaiti woman ‘investigated over Ethiopian maid’s window fall’—31 March 2017

Middle East Eye—Kuwaiti woman arrested for filming Ethiopian employee hanging out of window—31 March 2017

Middle East Monitor—Kuwaiti woman arrested for failing to help suicidal maid—31 March 2017

International Business Times—Kuwait employer filmed Ethiopian maid falling from 7th-floor window instead of helping—31 March 2017

RT—Kuwaiti woman filmed Ethiopian maid’s suicide attempt, refusing to help—31 March 2017

 

by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen — Human Rights Watch released a statement on Sunday, March 26^th, in which it indicated that an attack on a boat carrying Somali civilians allegedly carried out by the Saudi-led coalition amounts to a war crime.

Witnesses reported that on March 16^th, an Apache helicopter, and potentially a military naval vessel, opened fire on the boat at approximately 9 p.m. A female Somali refugee who was wounded in the incident reported seeing a helicopter above the boat, followed by an attack that happened “abruptly”. She stated that the helicopter “kept firing at [them]” and anyone on the boat who spoke Arabic started screaming “we are Somalis!” The head of the fishing port at which the boat docked after the attack stated that they had to put the bodies in the area reserved for “stor[ing] the fish” because they could not “find a place to put the bodies[.]” Photographs of the attack showed “damage consistent with gunfire from an aerial attack” and depicted “a boat strewn with bodies[.]”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (“UNHCR”) stated that the attack killed a minimum of forty-two individuals, including women and children, at least thirty-two of which were Somali refugees. Eighty individuals who survived the attack were subsequently rescued and transported to a hospital for treatment. The International Organization for Migration indicated that the victims had been carrying UNHCR identification documents, however it was not clear where in Somalia they had originated from and where the boat was traveling to and from. UNHCR officials reported that the boat could have been traveling towards Sudan or other northern countries.

International organizations responded with outrage to the attack on the refugee boat. The Foreign Ministry of Somalia stated that “target[ing] a boat carrying Somali migrants” was “very sad[.]” The UNHCR indicated that it was “appalled by the deaths of refugees[,]” and further added that “Yemenis, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants continue to suffer and disproportionately bear the brunt of the conflict in Yemen[.]” Human Rights Watch (“HRW”) called for an urgent “need for accountability” on the Yemen war’s second anniversary.

Based on the laws of war, deliberate or reckless attacks on civilians are war crimes. HRW stated that although all parties to the conflict refused to claim responsibility for the attack, the only party that has military aircraft is the Saudi-led coalition. Ms. Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East Director for HRW cited the Saudi-led coalition’s “reckless disregard” for civilian life when characterizing the attack on the refugee boat as a war crime.

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch—Yemen: Attack on Refugee Boat Likely War Crime—26 March 2017

RT—Likely war crime: Alleged Saudi coalition strike on refugee boat condemned by HRW—26 March 2017

CNN—In Yemen, urgent support for survivors of deadly boat attack—18 March 2017

Time—31 Killed When Airstrike Hits Refugee Boat Near Yemen’s Coast–17 March 2017

BBC News—Yemen migrant boat attack kills at least 42—17 March 2017

by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq — After a one-day break, Iraqi forces resumed their operations against the Islamic State (“ISIS”) on Sunday, March 26^th. The Iraqi army’s efforts were briefly put on hold following suspicions of a U.S.-led coalition airstrike killing dozens of civilians in Mosul on March 17^th.

Local residents and witnesses stated that the bodies of over 200 civilians had been recovered from the rubble of a collapsed building in the area hit by the airstrike. Photographers at the attack site reported seeing twelve bodies, including those of women and children, being placed in blue plastic body bags. Hundreds more civilians are still believed to be trapped. An AlJazeera reporter, Ms. Hoda Abdel-Hamid, stated that she interviewed a man who had been trapped under rubble for several days before being rescued, and had lost twenty-two relatives in an airstrike.

According to Ms. Abdel-Hamid, local residents indicate that the “main problem” is the agility with which ISIS fighters move around. She stated that the fighters “go[] in and out of houses, on top of rooftops . . . and then disappear.” By the time an airstrike is called in, “the ISI[S] fighters have disappeared.”

U.S. defense officials confirmed that a coalition airstrike struck a target in Mosul on March 17^th. U.S. Central Command (“CENTCOM”) officials indicated that the aircraft had acted at the request of Iraq. This is a stark contrast to the statement issued by Iraqi Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi, who characterized the conditions as a “humanitarian catastrophe” by blaming U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and “excessive force” used by federal police forces. Mr. al-Nujaifi subsequently called for an emergency parliament session to initiate an investigation into the attack. The spokesman for the Joint Operations Command further indicated that the Iraqi Defense Ministry opened an investigation into the attack.

While CENTCOM officials stated that coalition airstrikes are carried out in compliance with the Laws of Armed Conflict, March could produce the highest number of civilian deaths attributed to U.S. airstrikes since the beginning of the war. Estimates for the amount of civilians killed by the end of the month is currently set at 1,000. The U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq indicated that the organization is “stunned by this terrible loss of life[.]”

A senior public information officer in Iraq with the U.N.’s refugee agency, Ms. Caroline Gluck, indicated that country conditions are “deteriorating daily.” Ms. Gluck noted that the fighting takes place closer to civilian homes in a “densely-packed area,” which results in families being “terrified by the mortars, the shelling and the airstrikes[.]” She stated that most families rely on one meal per day, which typically consists solely of water and flour. She further added that people are “desperate” due to the lack of fuel and heating. The U.N. estimates that over 600,000 people are still trapped in the city of Mosul.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo News—Iraqis remove bodies from rubble in west Mosul—26 March 2017

The Guardian—Shell-shocked Mosul survivors tell of intense airstrikes—26 March 2017

AlJazeera—In west Mosul, ‘nowhere is safe for civilians’—26 March 2017

New York Post—Iraqi military pulls 61 bodies from Mosul as airstrikes probed—26 March 2017

NBC News—Coalition Airstrikes Hit Mosul Location Where Scores of Civilians Were Killed: CENTCOM—26 March 2017

The Guardian—Iraq probes reports of civilian deaths in Mosul—26 March 2017

 

by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates—On Monday, March 20^th, a political activist described as a “courageous and prominent human rights defender” was arrested in the United Arab Emirates on charges of spreading hatred and sectarianism on social media. In the days prior to his arrest, Mr. Mansoor had made several posts on social media, including a tweet calling for the release of Mr. Osama Al-Najjar, an Emirati human rights defender, as well as an article that criticized the Egyptian government.

The political activist, Mr. Ahmed Mansoor, was arrested at the home he shares with his wife and four young children, subsequent to a “surprise overnight raid[.]” Amnesty International indicated that ten male and two female uniformed law enforcement officials “stormed” Mr. Mansoor’s apartment, and engaged in a lengthy search of each room, including the bedrooms of his young children. During the search, they seized electronic devices including laptops and the family’s cellular phones, however, it was not clear whether the security officials had a search warrant prior to engaging in this search. Mr. Mansoor was arrested around 3:15 a.m., yet, his wife was not informed of where he was being taken, and his location is still currently unknown. Furthermore, he has not been granted access to an attorney and has not been permitted to see his family.

The public prosecutor stated that Mr. Mansoor had used social media “to publish false information and rumors[,]” while also “promoting a sectarian and hate-incited agenda[.]” The prosecutor further added that Mr. Mansoor’s posts are a threat to “national unity and social harmony[,] and damage the country’s reputation[.]”

Mr. Mansoor is noted as being one of the last human rights defenders living in the United Arab Emirates and his arrest has been harshly criticized by human rights groups worldwide. Amnesty International stated that it is “appalled” by Mr. Mansoor’s arrest, and indicated that his detention violates his freedom of expression. The rights group called upon the United Arab Emirates for his “immediate and unconditional” release from detention based on fears that he could be tortured in prison. Human Rights Watch added that Mr. Mansoor must immediately be granted access to an attorney and his family, and his whereabouts must be revealed immediately.

The United Arab Emirates, which is a monarch known for little tolerance for public criticism of its government, has prosecuted several people in the past for “insulting the country’s leaders.” In 2011, Mr. Mansoor, along with four other pro-democracy activists, had been convicted of these charges after calling for reform in Arab countries.

For more information, please see:

ABC Online—Human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor arrested in United Arab Emirates—20 March 2017

Human Rights Watch—UAE: Free Prominent Rights Activist—21 March 2017

Amnesty International­—UAE: Surprise overnight raid leads to arrest of prominent human rights defender—20 March 2017

Reuters—UAE arrests prominent activist for incitement: state news—21 March 2017

OMCT World Organization Against Torture—United Arab Emirates: Arrest and detention in a secret location of Mr. Ahmed Mansoor—20 March 2017