The Middle East

Mousavi’s Nephew Among the Dead in Anti-Government Protests in Iran

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Anti-government protesters clashed with Iranian security forces on December 27. The clash left at least eight protesters dead, including the nephew of opposition leader Mir Hussein Mousavi. Iranian officials deny opposition claims that police shot Seyed Ali Mousavi.

According to Mousavi’s website, Seyed Ali was shot in the back on the 27th as security forces fired on demonstrators in Tehran. The Mousavi family claims that Seyed Ali’s body had been taken without their permission from the hospital where it had been held. The official news agency of Iran reports that Seyed Ali and other bodies of people killed on December 27 were “retained in order to complete forensic and police examinations and find more leads on this suspicious incident.”

Opposition websites report that police fired tear gas on December 29 at a group of Mousavi supporters who were demonstrating outside of the hospital where Seyed Ali’s body had bee held.

Foreign media in Iran reports that the country is arresting opposition figures to stifle protests. Among those arrested on December 29 is Ebrahim Yazdi, leaders of the Freedom Movement of Iran, and his nephew. Yazdi’s son, Khalil, who lives in the US, told the BBC that Iranian authorities wanted to close down all opposition groups.

Also among the arrested was three aides to Mir Hussein Mousavi. A senior cleric from the holy city of Qom close to Mousavi, Mousavi Tebrizi, is also reported to have been arrested The Parlemannews website also reports that two aides to reformist former President Mohammad Khatami were among the individuals rounded up by authorities.

The violence on the streets of Iran’s major cities on December 27 were the worst since the protests immediately after the disputed presidential election. While state media confirmed eight deaths, other reports put the number as high as fifteen people. Mehdi Karroubi, another reformist candidate in the election, accused the Ahmedinejad regime of “dipping its hands in people’s blood.”

The Iranian government’s action towards the protesters has sparked controversy around the world. The US, UK, France, Germany and Canada all condemned the violence in Iran’s streets. President Barack Obama said that “the Iranian people have sought nothing more than to exercise their universal rights. Each time they have done so, they have been met with the iron fist of brutality.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Iran Rally Leaders ‘Enemies of God’ – 30 December 2009

Los Angeles Times – Iran Clamps Down on Protests – 29 December 2009

BBC – Iran Opposition Figures Arrested After Protests – 28 December 2009

Telegraph – Iran Arrests Key Opposition Figures in Effort to End Protests – 28 December 2009

Israel Continues Construction, Land Seizure Despite Settlement Freeze

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

EAST JERUSALEM, West Bank/Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a plan to build seven hundred new housing units in East Jerusalem and has invited construction contractors to bid on the project. The move has been widely condemned by the Palestinians and the broader international community, as East Jerusalem is predominantly Arab and is considered to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

 

Several weeks ago, Mr. Netanyahu announced a ten-month freeze on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, as a gesture to show Israel’s good faith effort in negotiating with the Palestinians. The Israeli government did not include East Jerusalem in the settlement freeze, and has said it considers East Jerusalem to be part of a unified Jewish Jerusalem.

 

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat denounced the planned construction, and said that it was further evidence that the Israelis do not intend to negotiate with the Palestinians as equals.

 

“With each individual action it undertakes on the ground, Israel is saying no to meaningful negotiations, no to a just and lasting peace and no to the two-state solution,” said Mr. Erekat in a statement released after the Israeli announcement. “Every decision Israel takes to construct more illegal settlements makes a mockery of its so-called ‘settlement moratorium.’ If this is what Israel means by a settlement moratorium, then one can only wonder what Israel intends to do once that moratorium has ended.”

 

Mr. Netanyahu’s government has also drawn criticism from conservative Israelis for imposing the construction freeze in the West Bank. A week prior to the announcement of construction in East Jerusalem, a group of rabbis signed a letter saying that Israeli soldiers’ loyalty to religious institutions and communities that build settlements takes precedent over any duty to carrying out Israel’s diplomatic agenda, including enforcing the settlement freeze.

 

In addition to the planned construction in East Jerusalem, the Israeli State Prosecutor’s Office notified the High Court of Justice on December 27 that Israel was considering seizing private Palestinian land in the West Bank, despite the moratorium on such activity. Lawyers advocating for the Palestinian land owners, many of whom have lived on the land for generations, called the move “nothing short of an outrage.”

 

For more information, please see:

 

Al-Jazeera – Israel Plans Settlement Expansion – 28 December 2009

 

Ha’aretz – U.S.: Israel Plan to Build in East Jerusalem Harms Peace Process – 28 December 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – White House Criticizes New Israeli Settlement Plan – 28 December 2009

 

Press TV – Israel Invites Tenders for Expanding Settlements – 28 December 2009

 

Christian Science Monitor – Israeli Settlements: Rabbis Say Soldiers’ Loyalty to God Trumps Army Orders – 18 December 2009

Lebanon Misses Deadline to Establish Torture Prevention Committee

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon– According to a number of human rights organizations, Lebanon has not met a December 22 deadline to establish a national institution devoted to preventing torture.

Last year, Lebanon signed the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT).  As part of that signing, Lebanon’s government was required to set up a mechanism within a year that would prevent torture through regular visits to the country’s detention centers.

A committee was set up June 20 under the direction of Former Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar.  The committee drew up a draft proposal to implement a torture monitoring program, and they eventually sent their proposal to the Justice Ministry on September 30.  However, since that date the government has not taken any further steps.

Human Rights Watch and a number of other human rights organizations issued a statement saying that “the Justice Ministry took an important step when it created the committee, but now it has to finish what it started.  The next step is to send the proposal to the Cabinet.”  These human rights organizations believe it is imperative for the government to act on the draft proposal as soon as possible.

Additionally, the human rights groups have urged the Lebanese government to amend the country’s penal code to criminalize all forms of torture, not just physical violence, regardless of the objective of such torture, and to make the crime of torture punishable by a heavier sentence than the current maximum of three years.

The UN protocol is the first international human rights attempt to prevent torture and other forms of ill treatment by establishing a system of regular visits to detention centers.

In Lebanon, torture is prohibited by law.  However, despite the ban, a number of detainees, including suspected Islamists and suspected spies for Israel, have told various human rights groups that their interrogators beat them and tortured them.

For more information, please see:

The Daily Star- Lebanon Misses Deadline to Help Prevent Torture– 24 December 2009

United Press International- Beirut Lax in Torture Measures, Groups Say– 24 December 2009

Human Rights Watch- Lebanon: Government Misses UN Deadline on Torture Prevention– 23 December 2009

Bus Attacked in Northern Lebanon

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Lebanon–   A bus carrying Syrian workers came under fire Monday in northern Lebanon.  One person was confirmed killed and several others were reported injured by shattered glass during the attack.
The bus was transporting Syrian workers along one of the main highways between northern Lebanon and Syria near an army checkpoint in the Deir Emar district, approximately three miles north of Tripoli.

According to an eyewitness, the vehicle’s tires were riddled with bullet holes and several of the windows on the driver’s side were shattered by the shots.  The person killed was believed to be a seventeen year old migrant worker.

A Syrian police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that gunmen were responsible for the attack although he acknowledged that no motive was known.  In addition to the lone fatality,  three other people were wounded by flying glass on board the bus which was carrying twenty-five Syrian workers.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem described the attack as a criminal act and pledged to inform his Lebanese counterpart of the results of the investigation, the identity of the attackers, and who was behind the shooting without delay.

The attack came a day after Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Syrian President Bashar Assad met for two days in Damascus.  The talks between the two leaders were said to be positive according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

At a press conference held at the Lebanese Embassy, Prime Minister Hariri told reporters that he was optimistic about the growing diplomatic relationship between the two countries.  “We want to have good relations with Syria based on openness and honesty,” Hariri was quoted as saying, conveying the hope that the two neighboring countries would come to a fresh start after decades of war and animosity.  President Assad echoed similar statements saying that he was optimistic about progress for the future.

For more information, please see:

Gulf Times- Lebanon Shooting Kills Syria Worker– 22 December 2009

BBC News- Bus Carrying Syrian Workers Attacked in Lebanon– 21 December 2009

The Jerusalem Post- Hariri, Assad Hold Second Meeting– 20 December 2009

Bus Attacked in Northern Lebanon

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Lebanon–   A bus carrying Syrian workers came under fire Monday in northern Lebanon.  One person was confirmed killed and several others were reported injured by shattered glass during the attack.
The bus was transporting Syrian workers along one of the main highways between northern Lebanon and Syria near an army checkpoint in the Deir Emar district, approximately three miles north of Tripoli.

According to an eyewitness, the vehicle’s tires were riddled with bullet holes and several of the windows on the driver’s side were shattered by the shots.  The person killed was believed to be a seventeen year old migrant worker.

A Syrian police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that gunmen were responsible for the attack although he acknowledged that no motive was known.  In addition to the lone fatality,  three other people were wounded by flying glass on board the bus which was carrying twenty-five Syrian workers.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem described the attack as a criminal act and pledged to inform his Lebanese counterpart of the results of the investigation, the identity of the attackers, and who was behind the shooting without delay.

The attack came a day after Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Syrian President Bashar Assad met for two days in Damascus.  The talks between the two leaders were said to be positive according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

At a press conference held at the Lebanese Embassy, Prime Minister Hariri told reporters that he was optimistic about the growing diplomatic relationship between the two countries.  “We want to have good relations with Syria based on openness and honesty,” Hariri was quoted as saying, conveying the hope that the two neighboring countries would come to a fresh start after decades of war and animosity.  President Assad echoed similar statements saying that he was optimistic about progress for the future.

For more information, please see:

Gulf Times- Lebanon Shooting Kills Syria Worker– 22 December 2009

BBC News- Bus Carrying Syrian Workers Attacked in Lebanon– 21 December 2009

The Jerusalem Post- Hariri, Assad Hold Second Meeting– 20 December 2009