By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – The United Nations, several state leaders, and human rights organizations throughout the world put out calls for the violence in Iran to cease.  Following reports that Iran has been utilizing the Basij militia group, a grassroots military organization that has a reputation for brutality, demands that Iran take action to stop the violence continue to mount.

On June 22, Amnesty International (AI) released a press-release stating that it had received information that the Iranian government was allowing the Basij to take action against protesters, who continued to come together in the streets to object to election results.  AI described the group as “a volunteer paramilitary force of men and women under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).”  Many of its members are civilians, and they often wear no uniforms.  However, reports that members of the Basij fired into a crowd of protesters on June 15 has sparked international outcry.  The protest shootings killed at least eight people.

Videos of the demonstrations and the shootings have been appearing on news stations after someone anonymously posted a video to YouTube.com that showed a 26-year-old girl who was shot and died in the street.  The girl, who was later learned to be Neda Salehi Agha Soltan, a music student, has become a martyr in Iran.  The Iranian Government has banned memorial services and other gatherings in her honor.  Despite the ban, her last words “I am burning,” have become an iconic phrase to the protesters.

On June 22, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon made a statement about the violence.  In the statement, he expressed his growing concern about reports of the violence, stating that he has been “dismayed by the post-election violence, particularly the use of force against civilians.”   The Secretary-General urged Iran to put an immediate stop to the arrests, threats, and use of force, hoping that Iran would remember its dedication to fundamental civil and political rights.

Iran, however, has not taken kindly to the words of the UN Secretary General.  Soon after Ban Ki-Moon’s statement was released, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hassan Qashqavi held a press conference where he criticized the UN.  Calling the statement an example of “open interference” by the UN, Qashqavi went on to tell the press that “the United Nations Secretary General, under the influence of the negative atmosphere created by some powers… has ignored the realities of the recent presidential election in Iran.”  Qashqavi also stated that he believed that Ban Ki-Moon will lose international support because he made such a statement.

For more information, please see:

Times Online – Neda Salehi Agha Soltan’s Story Touches Everyone Except Iran’s Rulers – 24 June 2009

Tehran Times – Iran Says UN Chief’s Remarks Are Examples of ‘Open Interference’ – 24 June 2009

Amnesty International – Iran: Amnesty International Urges Iran to Stop Using Basij Militia to Police Demonstrators – 22 June 2009

Reuters – UN’s Ban Urges Halt To Use of Force in Iran – 22 June 2009

United Nations – Secretary-General Dismayed By Post-Election Violence in Iran – 22 June 2009

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East       

CAIRO, Egypt – On June 19 Egypt deported the son of a Chechen rebel leader back to Moscow, in spite of concerns of mistreatment and torture in Russian custody. Maskhud Abdullaev, the 22 year-old son of Supyan Abdullaev, was flown to Moscow despite warnings that he may face mistreatment and torture if deported. Supyan Abdullaev, with Movladi Udugoy, founded the Islamic Resistance Party, which has fought against Russia in two disputes.

Maskhud Abdullaev was detained as a result of a bomb attack in February in a popular Cairo tourist area that killed a French teenager. Egypt blamed the attack on militants with links to the terrorist organization al Qaeda. An investigation led to security sweeps that resulted in the detention of dozens of foreign students in May. Abdullaev was detained along with five other students that were studying at Cairo’s Al-Azhar Islamic University. Abdullaev has been studying there since 2006.

The human rights organization Amnesty International reports that Abdullaev was initially held incommunicado at Egypt’s Tora prison. Amnesty also reported that Abdullaev and the other students from Al-Azhar University claimed to have refugee status in Azerbaijan. However, Egyptian authorities insisted upon the students’ return to Moscow, in spite of risks of torture and mistreatment if they are sent to Russia.

Abdullaev and Ahmed Azimov, another Chechen student from Al-Azhar, arrived in Moscow on Friday via Egypt air. These two were supposed to be deported along with four other students on Thursday, but a traffic jam separated them from the group.

Satsita, Maskhud’s mother, waited in the Moscow airport to catch a glimpse of her son when he returned. She did not see him, and could not get any further information from the customs officers or other officers. When Azimov, Abdullaev’s travel mate, came out, he said that he and Abdullaev had been separated and questioned. That was the last that Azimov had seen of Abdullaev.  

Amnesty International warned against the deportation, because it put all six students at risk of torture and mistreatment. Amnesty criticized Egypt for deporting these students. Egypt is a state party to the United Nations Convention on Torture, which expressly prohibits the return of anyone to a place which they would likely be tortured. All five students would be at risk of mistreatment, but Abdullaev would especially be at risk because of his father.

For more information, please see:

Al Arabiya-  Fate of Deported Chechen Warlord’s Son Unknown– 21 June 2009

AFP- Egypt Deports Chechen Warlord’s Son– 19 June 2009

Reuters- Egypt Deports Son of Chechen Rebel Leader to Moscow – 19 June 2009

AFP-Egypt Deports Chechen Students– 18 June 2009

Amnesty International- Egypt: Forcible Return/ Fear of Torture or Other Ill-Treatment– 17 June 2009

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – United States Department of State (State Dept.) released its annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) for 2009 on June 16.  It is the ninth TIP Report created by the State Dept. in their efforts to reduce human trafficking.  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that the report “sheds light on the faces of modern-day slavery and on new facets of this global problem,” and that she hoped that the U.S. will be seen as a partner when working towards elimination of human trafficking.   However, the report has not been well received by several Middle Eastern countries that were placed in the ‘worst’ category in the report.

The report creates four categories to define a country’s progress towards compliance with the Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act (TVPA).  Tier 1 countries – those considered to be in complete compliance with the TVPA – are mostly Western, developed countries, including most European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand.   Tier 2 countries – those who are not in compliance but are considered to be making significant progress towards compliance – are most of the remaining Western nations, and is the largest group of countries in the report.  Tier 2 Watch List Countries differ from Tier 2 countries in that the U.S. considers these countries to be losing ground in their progress, or the U.S. has found the number of persons trafficked in these countries to be numerous.  Finally, Tier 3 countries are those who are not in compliance with the TVPA and who appear to be making no progress towards compliance. 

Most Middle Eastern Countries were placed within the Tier 2 Watch List, although four Middle Eastern nations – Iran, Syria, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia – were placed in Tier 3.  Many countries have yet to make an official statement in response to the report. However, human rights groups throughout Bahrain, which was placed on the Tier 2 Watch List, have put out a “Trafficking Battle Call,” asking Bahrain to take steps towards compliance with the TVPA. 

Other countries have not had such a positive response.  Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi made a statement on June 18 harshly criticizing the United States for placing Kuwait in Tier 3.  “I have repeatedly said that Kuwait is not a country of angels but what hurts me is that the United States thinks itself to be a country of angels,” al-Khorafi explained to reporters when asked to comment on the report.  He went on to say that he believed the report falsely depicted Kuwait, stating that the U.S. “is not the world’s police and not a guardian of the world and if it wants to be so it should make sure that the information it gathers is true.”  Countries that have been placed in the Tier 3 category could face economic sanctions, and be barred from any trade not related to humanitarian aid. 

For more information, please see:

Gulf Daily News – Trafficking Clamp Underway – 21 June 2009

Kuwait Times – Khorafi, MPs Blast US over Trafficking Report – 18 June 2009

Time – Human Trafficking Rises in Recession – 18 June 2009

Jerusalem Post – Four Countries ‘Blacklisted’ by US – 17 June 2009

AFP – Malaysia, Six African States Listed for Human Trafficking – 17 June 2009

U.S. Department of State – Trafficking In Persons Report 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

EAST JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – An Israeli District Court has sentenced two Palestinian journalists to two months in jail and six months of probation for reporting on the Israeli ground invasion in January 2009.  The pair was accused of violating Israel’s censorship laws, though some supporters of the journalists allege they were jailed because they work for an Iranian television station.

Khodr Shahine, a correspondent for Iran’s Arabic language station Al-Alam, and Mohammed Sarhan, a producer for Al-Alam, were accused of reporting on the military invasion nearly two hours before the Israeli government cleared the operation for press coverage on January 3. 

Israel rarely enforces its censorship laws, even though all accredited journalists have to sign a censorship form that requires them to clear any sensitive security information with a military censor before releasing that information.  The laws were widely ignored during Israel’s 2006 campaign in Lebanon, though no journalists were prosecuted.  The fact that Shahine and Sarhan’s sentencing came down in the same week that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected in Iran has fueled suspicions that the pair’s imprisonment was actually motivated by Israeli-Iranian political tensions.

Reporters Without Borders condemned Israel’s imprisonment of the Palestinian journalists as inextricably tied to Ahmadinejad’s reelection.

“Journalists should not be hostages to geopolitical developments,” read a statement from the press freedom organization.

Fares Sarafandy, the Al-Alam bureau chief in Ramallah, said Shahine and Sarhan were just doing their jobs.

“They reported what they saw, namely that tanks were beginning to move,” said Sarafandy.  “They didn’t say the invasion had started.  At heart, this issue is about Israel and Iran.”

For more information, please see:

The National – Israel Jails Two TV Journalists – 18 June 2009

Reporters Without Borders – Palestinian Journalists Working for Iranian TV Station Get Two Months in Jail from Israeli Court – 16 June 2009

World Bulletin – Israel Jails Palestinian Journalists for Gaza Invasion Report – 16 June 2009

Ha’aretz – Two East Jerusalem Journalists Jailed for Reporting for Iran – 15 June 2009

Ma’an News Agency – Palestinian Journalists Jailed for Violating Censorship During Gaza Invasion – 14 June 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Human Rights Watch has called for the Iranian government to begin investigations into the deaths of as many as eight protesters, who were allegedly killed by police and pro-government militia.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, a candidate in Iran’s presidential elections, gathered in Tehran on June 18.  The crowds continued their nearly week-long protests of the results of the June 12 presidential election, which Mousavi’s supporters contend was rigged and maintain that Mousavi was the real winner, rather than the incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Mousavi also asked his supporters to march to commemorate the deaths of those killed in the protests this week, encouraging the supporters to wear black in mourning.

The crowds gathered in Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Square despite an order against such rallies, issued by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader.  The crowds marched silently until they reached the Square, when shouts of “God is Great” began, echoing calls heard by crowds during Iran’s 1979 revolution.

Authorities have arrested those perceived as dissidents, as well as shutting down access to many websites, including BBC Farsi, Facebook, and pro-Mousavi sites, in attempts to stifle the protests.  Foreign journalists have been banned from Tehran’s streets, and most are now reporting from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Though details remain hazy, Mousavi’s supporters report that those killed were students attacked in dormitories by pro-government militia.  As in recent days, during the protest on the 18th, police remained on the sidelines.  There have been reports, however, of police violence against protesters after dark.

Human Rights Watch called on the Iranian authorities to ensure that all security forces follow the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials in policing the demonstrations.  Mousavi has continually asked his supporters to remain non-violent.  The Guardian Council has ordered a recount of approximately 600 ballot boxes, but future government action remains unclear.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Iran’s Mousavi Addresses Protesters – 18 June 2009

Human Rights Watch – Iran:  Investigate Protester Deaths – 18 June 2009

NPR – Opposition Protesters Fill Streets of Iran’s Capital – 18 June 2009

New York Times – Protesters Gather Again, as Iran Panel Offers Talks – 18 June 2009

Associated Press – Iranian Protester Killed After Opposition Rally – 15 June 2009