By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi released a statement denouncing the Iranian government’s actions and calling for changes.  In the statement, he criticized the government crackdown on the protesters and called for a restoration of civil liberties to those detained in the aftermath.  Mousavi went on to say that the threats to his life would not deter him, and that he was ready to be a martyr, if necessary.

In his statement, Mousavi gave the government five proposals.  First, Mousavi argued that the administration must be accountable to the people and to parliament.  He stated that it must also be accountable to the judiciary and that the government must take resposibility for its actions.  The reformist explained that the people will not consider the administration to be competent and legitimate unless they take these actions. 

In his second proposal, Mousavi explained that Iran must draft a transparent and reliable election law.  He stated that the law should reassure the people that their elections are fair and unaffected by fraud and intervention. 

Next, Mousavi demanded that the government release the political prisoners.  He also asked that the government reestablish the reputations of those detainees. 

In his fourth demand, he asked the government to lift the restrictions on freedom of the press and and that the newspapers that were closed be allowed to reopen.

Finally, Mousavi has asked that the government respect the human and civil rights contained within Article 27 of the Constitution which allows people to gather and grants the right to freedom of association.

Iranian media has interpreted Mousavi’s proposals as his acceptance that the elections are over and that the result will not change.  Tehran Times posted that Mousavi also condemned the protesters for their actions on the during Ashura.  Western media, on the other hand, has not reported any statements condemning the protesters and continued to report only on his statements against the government.

For more information, please see:

Financial Times – Opposition Chief in Iran Ready for Martyrdom – 2 January 2010

Tehran Times – Mousavi Makes Five Proposals – 2 January 2010

CNN – Iran Reformist Criticized Government Crackdown – 1 January 2010

Los Angeles Times – Opposition Leader Denounces Iran’s Crackdown – 1 January 2010

Wall Street Journal – Opposition Leader Strikes Back in Iran – 1 January 2010

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

EREZ, Gaza/Egypt Border – International activists against the blockade of the Gaza Strip protested across Egypt on December 30, calling for Egypt to open its border with Gaza at Rafah. Egyptian border officials refused to allow the activists to cross into Gaza, telling the activists that they were not allowed to cross because of the “sensitive situation,” and that the Egyptian border is opened occasionally, and then only to goods, not people.

 

Over one thousand protesters gathered in Cairo, some reporting they were injured in scuffles with Cairo police. At one point, the Egyptian authorities offered to allow one hundred members of the Gaza Freedom March (GFM) into the Gaza Strip, but GFM leaders refused the offer, saying in a statement that they “refuse to whitewash the siege of Gaza.”

 

The GFM organized protests in Cairo, at the border with Gaza, and at the French Embassy in Cairo. Over one thousand, three hundred protesters from forty-two countries joined in the demonstrations. Other protesters, such as U.S. citizen Hedy Epstein, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor, have gone on hunger strikes to protest the one-year anniversary of the Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip.

 

Many Palestinians, Egyptians, and members of the international community have questioned Egypt’s role in the ongoing Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. In addition to refusing to allow border crossings, Egypt has drawn sharp criticism from neighboring Arab countries for its reported construction of a deep steel wall at its border crossing at Rafah. Smuggling tunnels dug between Gaza and Egypt have been the only routes for goods to come in and out of Gaza since the Israeli blockade began in early 2009.  The wall would cut off these tunnels.

 

Since the beginning of the blockade, rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel have decreased by ninety percent from 2008 levels, but the blockade has also severely restricted construction and humanitarian supplies to the Palestinian territory, as well as food and fresh water. Though Gaza lies on the Mediterranean coast, the Israeli blockade has restricted the Palestinian fishing range. The Gaza desalination plant that had been nearly completed and was expected to supply the territory with ample freshwater was completely destroyed by the Israeli military during the fighting at the end of 2008. The blockade has nearly halted all reconstruction efforts in the territory.

 

Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz has reported that Egyptian officials have signaled that if an Israeli prisoner swap with Hamas for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit goes through, Egypt will open its border at Rafah. Some critics have pointed to this report as further evidence that Egypt is collaborating with the Israelis in their blockade of Gaza.

 

For more information, please see:

 

BBC News – Hundreds of Activists Protest Against Gaza Blockade – 31 December 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Internationals Injured in Gaza Protests – 31 December 2009

 

Al Jazeera – Activists Reject Egypt’s Gaza Offer – 30 December 2009

 

Ha’aretz – Egypt to Open Gaza Border if Shalit Deal Succeeds – 30 December 2009

 

Palestinian News Network – Egypt Blocks the Gaza Freedom March – 30 December 2009

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RAMADI, Iraq – Twenty four people died on December 30 as the capital of Iraq’s Anbar province, Ramadi was rocked by a double suicide bombing. In addition to the dead, sixty people were wounded in the bombings. Among the wounded was the Anbar province’s Governor, Qassim Mohammed. Iraqi officials have described his condition as “very serious.”

According to Iraqi police, the first bomber was in a car while the second was on foot and wearing an army uniform. The first attack took place at 9:30am at a traffic junction near the provincial administration buildings located at the center of the city. A suicide bomber in a car triggered the first blast at a checkpoint on the main road.

The second bombing took place approximately thirty minutes later at a government building two hundred meters away. Mohammed was injured in this blast as he emerged from his office the inspect the damage from the first blast. The second attacker wore a suicide vest under what appeared to be an Iraqi army uniform and blew himself up as he ran into the crowd around the governor. According to a local police officer, Captain Ahmed Mohammed al-Dualimi, “some security people held him back, and he detonated himself.”

Initial reports on state television were that the governor had been killed in the second suicide blast, but they were quickly denied by his deputy, Hikmet Khalaf. The AFP quoted a doctor at the Ramadi General Hospital who said, “the governor is wounded. American forces came and took him for more treatment.” The US military did not immediately confirm the AFP’s report.

The recent attack appeared the mirror an October 11 triple bombing in Ramadi which killed nineteen people and injured more than eighty.

Anbar province was the center of Iraq’s Sunni uprising following the invasion of Iraq led by the United States in 2003. The province, however, had become relatively secure after tribal fighers accepted US support in 2006. There is a fear, however, that the recent attacks show that increase in violence is likely ahead of Iraq’s general elections in March 2010.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Twin Iraq Attacks Kill 23, Provincial Governor Wounded – 30 December 2009

Al Jazeera – Deadly Blasts Hit Western Iraq City – 30 December 2009

BBC – Deadly Double Blast Hits Street in Iraq City of Ramadi – 30 December 2009

New York Times – Bombs Kill 24 in Iraq and Wound a Governor – 30 December 2009

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On December 31, Prosecutor General Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei stated that opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi would be put on trial if they do not denounce the anti-government protests that took place earlier in the week.  Ejei’s statement was published in the state-owned newspaper.

The Prosecutor stated that the anti-government leaders would be charged with “supporting apostates,” meaning that they would be charged with aiding those that go against God. 

Iranian police continue to actively hunt for the protesters.  Police posted over 100 pictures to their website and called upon others in the community, asking them to identify and report those in the pictures.  The police urged others to distance themselves from the protesters.  The police stated that they will be detained on suspicion of “damaging public property and insulting sanctities.”  There has not yet been any statement by the prosecutor regarding trials for detained protesters. 

Meanwhile, Pro-government ralliers have gathered outside the offices of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a display the Iranian state news service called “splendid”.  The protesters wear white funeral shouds bearing red ink with statements like “May My Life Be Sacrificed for the Health of the Leader,” and “Khameneie is the Prophet’s Offspring, His Enemy is Impotent.”  Their shrouds symbolize their willingness to die if necessary to defend Iran’s clerical rulers. 

For more information, please see:

Business Week – Iran Prosecutor Threatens to Try Opposition Leaders – 31 December 2009

Chicago Tribune – Rally Backs Iran’s Leaders – 31 December 2009

Islamic Republic News Agency – Mass Rally of Pro-Leader Ralliers in Tehran Splendid – 31 December 2009

Tehran Times – Police Chief Urges Critics to Distance Themselves from Rioters – 31 December 2009

The Washington Post – Iran Opposition Leaders Face Threat of Prosecution – 31 December 2009