By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

ISLAMSHAHR, Iran – On March 12, Iran’s Intelligence Minister, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie, accused a leading reformist MP, Noureddine Pir Mouazen, of treason.  Ejeie denounced Mouazen for giving an unauthorized interview with Voice of America, where Mouazen criticized the government of Iranian President Ahmadinejad.

Ejeie told the Iranian Republic News Agency that “this has definitely been treason and an appalling act.”  He stated that the law “bans people in such positions from interviews with foreign radios and television. The Intelligence Ministry will certainly probe this and will not ignore it.”

Ejeie explained that “contacting foreigners has certain codes and not everyone can talk over any issues to foreigners.”  He stated that such communication needed to be coordinated with the Foreign Ministry and that “it will harm the country and will be regarded as betrayal if issues against the system and domestic policies are discussed in these meetings which could be exploited by the enemies.”

In the March 9 interview Mouazen criticized the government’s decision to disqualify 1,700 reformist candidates, including himself, from standing in the parliamentary elections on March 14.  Before Mouazen’s interview, the Guardians Council, an unelected body of jurists and clerics, disqualified many reformist candidates on vague for obscure reasons related to a lack of loyalty to Islam or the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The reformist coalition is led by former president, Mohammad Khatami and cleric Hojatoleslam Mehdi Karroubi.  Before the Guardians Council disqualified the 1,700 reformist candidates, the coalition had a good chance of winning a majority of the seats in parliament.  However, after the disqualification, the coalition is able to compete for less than half of the 290 seats.

There is growing discontent within Iran against the current regime, lead by President Ahmadinejad.  However, the cause of criticism is varied.  Some reformist leaders, like Mouazen, criticize Ahmadinejad’s foreign policy, believing that Iran is now isolated within the international community.  Many reformist supporters criticize Ahmadinejad’s economic policy, which has led to double-digit inflation.

For more information, please see:
AFP – Khatami Urges Iran Reformists to Vote En Masse – 12 March 2008

BBC – Iran Accuses MP over TV Interview – 12 March 2008

Middle East Online – On Campaign Trail with Iran’s Khatami – 12 March 2008

Press TV – VOA Interview Will be Prosecuted – 12 March 2008

The Times (London) – Iran Starts ‘Treason’ Inquiry Ahead of Poll – 12 March 2008

Voice of America – Iran to Probe Iranian Lawmaker’s VOA Interview – 12 March 2008

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On March 9, Iran put twelve policemen on trial in an army court. The men are being charged in deaths of three anti-government protesters at the Iran’ Kahrizak prison. The deaths of the three protesters caused embarrassment for the Iranian government who finally acknowledged after months of denial that the deaths took place at the notorious prison. The detention center was ultimately closed in July by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported that the first “court session was held with the victims’ families, other plaintiffs and their lawyers and the defendants.” Additionally, IRNA reported that, “the indictment against the twelve defendants was read out.”

The judge trying the case, Mohammad Mosaddegh, spoke of the sensitive nature of trial. He said, “trying some officials should not be interpreted as questioning and ignoring the hard work of police. There might be offending people anywhere.” Mossadegh also warned the press that the details of the court session not be revealed to the public. The judge expressed concern that “the publication of some information in the case harms order in society.”

The three protesters who died were arrested during widespread unrest after Iran’s disputed June 2009 presidential election. The election gave the incumbent, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a second term in office among charges of voter fraud. The three were among the over one hundred forty five detainees that were kept for several days in the Kahrizak detention center in rooms that were seventy square meters.

IRNA’s report on the trial did not the suspects charged with the deaths. Iran’s judiciary originally charged three Karhrizak officials with the murder of the three pro-reform protesters in December.

Iran’s parliament released a report in January saying that Tehran’s prosecutor at the time, Saeed Mortazavi ordered that detainees be transferred to Kahrizak despite a lack of space, proper ventilation and sanitary conditions. The report also reject claims from the three originally charged officials that the deaths were caused by meningitis. The report said that the deaths came from a number of issues including physical attacks.

For more information, please see:

Reuters India – Iran Holds Trial of Suspects in Post-Vote Detainee’s Death – 10 March 2010

AFP – Iran Puts 12 Policemen on Trial Over Kahrizak Prison Deaths – 9 March 2010

Associated Press – Iran Tries Suspects in Protester Prison Deaths – 9 March 2010

By Bobby Rajabi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On March 8, officials from the Independent High Electoral Commission announced that the turnout for the March 7 Iraqi election was sixty two percent. The level of turnout was over sixty percent despite attacks throughout the country that killed over thirty five individuals. It is widely expected that Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition will win the most seats of another other Iraqi political party. The final officials results for the election will not be declared until the end of March

Maliki’s coalition reportedly did quite well in areas such as Baghdad and the Shi’ite south of Iraq. Anonymous Iraqi Officials told the Associated Foreign Press (AFP) that the Iraqi President was leading in nine of Iraq’s eighteen provinces. He was facing competition from the Iraq National Alliance, a Shi’ite dominated group, and the secular coalition led by former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Allawi’s group reportedly did well in Iraq’s northern and western provinces.

Despite the strong showing by Maliki’s State of Law Coalition, it is highly unlikely that an party received the number of votes needed to form a government alone. It is possible that months of negotiations will precede any coalition forming a governing on its own.

Voter turnout varied throughout Iraq. In Anbar, the province composed mainly of Sunnis, reported a voter turnout of sixty one percent. Over five hundred candidates, mostly Sunni, were banned from running because of alleged connections to the Ba’ath party, the party of former President Saddam Hussein

The reported voter turnout number was even higher in Duhok. The AFP reported that Duhok, the northern Kurdish controlled autonomous area reported a voter turnout of eighty percent.

Attacks on election day took place in Baghdad, Mosul, Fallujah, and Baquba. Despite insurgents threatening to disrupt the election, there were no large suicide bombings as feared by many Iraqi officials. The worst attack took place on an apartment block in Baghdad which collapsed and killed twenty five people.

President Obama commented on the election, saying that it showed that “the future of Iraq belongs to the people of Iraq.”

For more information, please see:

AP – Iraq Elections Head Says Turnout at 55-60 percent – 8 March 2010

Al Jazeera – Iraq Awaits Election Results – 9 March 2010

BBC – Iraq Elections Turnout 62%, Officials Say – 9 March 2010

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – Yemen, under international pressure to quiet domestic unrest and focus its sights on al Qaeda, has offered to hold talks with southern separatists and hear their grievances, state media said on March 9.

The move by President Ali Abdullah Saleh follows an escalation in violence on both sides in south Yemen that has left a trail of dead and wounded in recent weeks even as insurgent violence elsewhere in the country fades.

North and South Yemen united in 1990, but many in the south – home to most of Yemen’s oil facilities – complain northerners have seized resources and discriminate against them.

“We say to them: Come talk with your brothers in the authority, and we will talk with you. We extend the hand of dialogue without having to resort to violence or blocking roads or raising the flag of separation,” Saleh said in an address at a military academy.

“I am certain the flags of separation will burn in the days and weeks ahead. We have one flag we voted on with our free will. We welcome any political demands. Come to dialogue,” he said, according to the Defense Ministry’s online newspaper.

Civil war between southern and northern forces shook Yemeni unity in 1994. A crackdown on separatists in recent weeks left several dead on both sides, though Sa’na claimed it arrested dozens of high-profile figures in recent weeks. Secessionist leaders in February called for an uprising against the government in Sa’na.

Yemen is dealing with looming presence of al Qaeda as well as threats from secessionist supporters. A truce with the Houthi rebel group in the north appears to be holding. However, Saleh said he would form a committee to have a dialogue with those who were interested in talks but stressed sustainable development required a strong stance.

“I don’t want the chair of presidency or Cabinet, I want to be a soldier to serve the nation and its unity,” he said.

For more information, please see:

 

Al-Jazeera – Yemeni Leader In Dialogue Call – 9 March 2010

AFP – Yemen President Warns Separatists But Offers Talks – 9 March 2010

Reuters – Yemen Offers Talks With Separatists As Unrest Flares – 9 March 2010

UPI – Yemen’s Saleh Open To National Dialogue – 9 March 2010

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
 
GAZA CITY, Gaza – British reporter and filmmaker Paul Martin continues to be held in a Gaza prison, over three weeks after he was arrested by Hamas officials at a trial of Palestinian man who was accused of collaborating with Israel. According to a Hamas military court, Martin “committed offenses that harmed the security of the country.” Hamas has refused to publically specify Martin’s alleged offenses.
 
Hamas security officers arrested Martin on February 14, and after the fifteen-day detention period lapsed, security officers petitioned the Hamas military court for another fifteen-day extension, which was granted on March 1. Martin had been working on a documentary about Mohammed Abu Muaileq, the accused collaborator, when he was arrested. Martin has previously produced stories for the BBC, The Times of London, Al Jazeera International, CNN, and Channel Four News.
 
Martin’s lawyer, Sharhabil Zayim, said that the fifteen-day extension would be the longest that investigators could hold Martin without filing formal charges. When the Associated Press interviewed Zayim on February 28, Zayim said he had last seen Martin ten days previous, that he looked fine, but that he had not been allowed to see his client since.
 
Since that interview, Martin’s family in the United Kingdom have broken their silence and expressed concern about Martin’s well-being. Martin’s wife, Anne Martin, released a statement saying that her husband “has been kept in solitary confinement and interrogated whilst being denied access to his Gazan lawyer or to official British representatives. …We understand that he is now being held without reading and writing materials and without means of communication with the outside world.”
 
The British Embassy in Israel has also expressed concern, echoing Anne Martin’s statement that her husband’s arrest was the first arrest of a foreign press representative in Gaza.
 
“We are urgently looking into the matter and following up with the responsible people so we can sort this matter out on the consular level,” said Fadi Adeeb, a spokesperson for the British consulate in Jerusalem.
 
For more information, please see:
 
Sky News – Family’s Fears for Briton Held by Hamas – 2 March 2010
 
BBC News – Hamas Extends British Reporter Paul Martin’s Detention – 1 March 2010
 
New York Times – Hamas Says it is Extending Briton’s Stay in Detention – 1 March 2010
 
Associated Press – Hamas Seeks Extension of Detention of UK Reporter – 28 February 2010
 
Ha’aretz – Hamas Seeks to Extend Gaza Arrest of U.K. Journalist – 28 February 2010