By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Saad Eddin Ibrahim in 2003
CAIRO, Egypt – Saad Eddin Ibrahim was convicted on the charge of damaging Egypt’s reputation for speaking out against current President Hosni Mubarak and his regime in August of 2008. The conviction was founded Ibrahim’s vocal opposition of Mubarak and the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). Ibrahim suggested in an opinion piece for the Washington Post that the United States withhold aid until Cairo took steps to end the smuggling of arms into the Gaza strip, and to rein in police abuses.

On May 25, Judge Ashraf Sheta overturned Ibrahim’s two-year sentence. The decision comes just days before President Obama is scheduled to speak in Cairo, and there is speculation that this decision was motivated by Obama’s visit. Ibrahim is hesitant to believe this, and has praised the Egyptian appellate court for their independent decision.

Ibrahim has been living in the United States in exile, and would like to return to Egypt to see his wife and family. He is hesitant to return while he still faces charges of spying, and treason. If convicted he could be sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. His lawyers are advising that Ibrahim remain in the United States until the charges have been resolved.

The complaints filed against Ibrahim have all been brought by members of the NDP. Ibrahim believes that this is a way for the government to try to intimidate him without directly criticizing or sanctioning him. While visiting Egypt previously there have also been attempts on Ibrahim’s life, which he thinks might have had some government involvement.

In spite of all of this, Ibrahim plans on continuing to speak out. He sees it as his duty to be a critic, because the country needs critics. Ibrahim wants to be a free voice to speak on behalf of those who are oppressed, and hopes to shed light on the problems within his nation.

For more information, please see:

The Media Line – Egyptian Dissident: Obama Should Listen to People, Not Officials – 27 May 2009

The Media Line – Egyptian Dissident ‘Will Not Stop Criticizing Regime – 26 May 2009

AFP – Egypt Court Overturns Dissident’s Jail Term – 25 May 2009

Al Arabiya News Channel – Egypt Court Acquits Leading Rights Activist – 25 May 2009

BBC News – Egypt Quashes Saad Eddin Ibrahim Jail Term – 25 May 2009

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – Despite calls from the United Nations for demolitions of Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem to cease, the city continues to demolish what it calls “illegally developed” homes. The deputy mayor, Naomi Tsur, says that all residents of Jerusalem are being treated equally. Tsur insists that all homes built without permit are being destroyed, regardless of their being in east or west Jerusalem.

The Israeli police pounded on the doors and entered homes as if they were executing a raid. One resident was told that she had five minutes to don her scarf, collect her valuables, and get out of the house. One thousand illegally built homes in Jerusalem have been marked for demolition so far this year. Israeli based NGO B’Tselem estimates that that number could double in the next few months.

Amidst the rubble of her home a Palestinian girl gets food from her fridge. Her home in east Jerusalem was demolished on April 22. Image Courtesy of Tara Todraswhitehill/AP

Many Palestinians whose homes have been demolished admit that they built their home without a permit. Permits are difficult to get, because there is only a limited percentage of land that Palestinians are allowed to build on, and most of this land is already being used. Out of the seventy square kilometers that constitute the west bank and east Jerusalem that were annexed by Israel, only thirteen percent is zoned for Palestinian construction.

Even changes to existing homes, like additions, are subject to Jerusalem’s strict building permit regulations. In Jerusalem’s Old City, a resident has been ordered to demolish a room of his house and to pay a 6,000 shekel fine (1,500 USD). The resident was given 45 days to comply, or he faces a three month jail term. He had already paid an 8,000 shekel fine in 2004 for building the room onto his house.

Jerusalem is allegedly stingy in their granting of building permits. Many Palestinians are denied permits if they submit applications, which discourages many other citizens from even attempting to get the proper permits. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) alleges that the building permit process and the current demolition practices are all part of a plan to remove the Palestinians from Jerusalem.

Mayor Nir Barkat’s administration denies the allegations of the ACRI, and recently announced that 13,500 additional housing units would be allowed in east Jerusalem. These additional units are not an immediate solution, only part of a city plan for the year 2030. The city has a large development plan that will allow a developer to create a large tourist complex near the Old City, and supports a group that buys Palestinian land in east Jerusalem, and relocates the Palestinians to more Arab neighborhoods.

The demolitions and restrictions on Palestinian development in Jerusalem add to the difficulties of the peace process and the proposed two state solution. With mounting pressure from the United States and world wide for peace, Israel will be under more scrutiny for its city planning measures that appear to be discriminatory in effect.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Demolitions build Jerusalem tension – 25 May 2009

Ma’an News Agency – Jerusalem Court orders Palestinian to demolish room of his home – 24 May 2009

BBC News – Jerusalem Mayor ‘stepping up demolitions’ – 19 May 2009

Christian Science Monitor – In Jerusalem, an uptick in demolition orders of Arab homes – 19 May 2009

United Nations Radio – End Palestinian demolitions in Jerusalem, UN tells Israel – 1 May 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

YEREVAN, Armenia – A prominent Armenian journalist, Never Mnatsakanian, was attacked by unknown assailants outside of his home in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, on May 6.  Mnatsakanian’s assault is the latest in a series of attacks on journalists in the South Caucasus region.  In addition to the assault on Mnatsakanian, the editor of a pro-opposition news website, Armenia Today, was severely beaten on April 30. The Paris-based media outlet, Reporters Without Borders, ranked Armenia 102nd out of 173 countries in its 200 report of media freedom.

News media have reported similar attacks on journalists in neighboring Azerbaijan. On May 10, Azerbaijani police used physical force against protestors marching against the commemoration of the “Flower Holiday,” a nationalist celebration of the late president.  News media reported that police had arrested thirty students involved in the protests.  Police also attacked Khadija Ismailova, director of the Baku bureau of Radio Liberty, after she tried to get information from them about the arrests.  Other sources report that Durna Safarli, correspondent for Radio Liberty, Elchin Hasanov, reporter for Yukselish Namina, and Afgan Mukhtarli and Layla Ilgar from the newspaper, Yeni Musavat, were also attacked by police as the journalists covered the Flower Holiday protests.

In Armenia, a senior police official has recommended that journalists carry guns to protect themselves against such attacks.  Several non-governmental organizations have called for police investigations, though many Armenians believe that such investigations are cursory at best.  One journalist attacked in late 2008, Edik Baghdasarian, is conducting his own investigation into the identities of his assailants.

Article 19, a United Kingdom-based advocacy group for free expression, has condemned the attacks on journalists in these former Soviet republics as “creating a climate of impunity for the perpetrators and fear amongst journalists working in these countries.”

For more information, please see:

NASDAQ – Armenian Television Journalist Attacked in Capital – Police – 22 May 2009

Article 19 – South Caucasus:  Continued Violence Against Journalists Symptomatic of Ongoing Repression in the Region – 15 May 2009

Eurasianet.org – Armenia:  Free Speech Under Assault in Yerevan – 14 May 2009

Human Rights House Network – Journalists Harassed by Police while Attempting to Cover Student Protests – 13 May 2009

Azeri Report – Student Protests Spoiled “Flower Holiday” of Azeri Government – 10 May 2009

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

ADEN, Yemen – Three people died following protests in Southern Yemen during the week of May 18, after police clashed with the protesters.  One man died at the scene of the protest.  The other two died in the hospital shortly thereafter.   At least twenty-five others were injured and another 120 were arrested for their involvement.

The protests were focused on the political status of South Yemen.  The protests marked the 19th Anniversary of Unity Day, the day when South Yemen and North Yemen were united at one nation.  The people of South Yemen have claimed independence and many of the organizations leading the protests are considered separatist organizations.  Most of the protests have been organized by the Southern Movement, a group that is strongly against the government in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a.

Yemen is the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula; however most of the oil reserves are located in South Yemen.  A large portion of the population is also located in the South.  Residents in the South claim that they face discrimination and live in poor economic conditions.  As the economic crisis has hit the country, residents of the South claim that they have been denied jobs and property so that they could be reserved for Northern residents. 

Over 3,000 protesters were trying to go into Aden City to protest these conditions when they were met by security forces that were sent to break up the groups.  When the protesters met the security forces, they used themselves as human shields when police fired live rounds into the crowd.  They also shot tear gas into the groups of people. 

State-run news agencies in Yemen refused to admit that the clash took place, despite reports of the clash in many international news sources.  The news agency, SABA, claims that the deaths were not caused by security forces but instead by “rogue elements.”  According to Aden Governor, Adnan al-Jefri, the event has been escalated and magnified by the media.  He told SABA on May 21 that there had been “no clashes…between security forces and demonstrators in Aden.” 

For more information, please see:

CNN – Yemen Denies Reports of Deadly Clashes – 22 May 2009

AFP – Yemeni President Urges Dialogue After Deadly Clashes – 21 May 2009

Al-Bawaba – Yemen: At Least Three Killed in Clashes – 21 May 2009

BBC – Civil War Fears As Yemen Celebrates Unity – 21 May 2009

Reuters – Three Killed as Police Disperse South Yemen Protest – 21 May 2009

SABA – Aden Governor: No Clashes Between Citizens and Security – 21 May 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – May 14 marked the one-year anniversary of the arrest of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran.  Human Rights Watch called for the release of seven leaders of the Baha’i community in Iran who, in February, were charged with spying for Israel, “insulting religious sanctities,” and spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic.  The leaders could face the death penalty if convicted. 

The arrests are the latest in a series of hundreds of arrests that have taken place in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom estimates at least thirty Baha’is are currently imprisoned in Iran.   There is also evidence that since 1979, hundreds of Baha’is in Iran have been killed.  Iran’s constitution recognizes only Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians as legitimate religious minorities in the Islamic Republic, though these groups have also been subject to persecution.

Baha’is constitute the largest religious minority in Iran, with 300,000 members inside the Islamic Republic and approximately five million worldwide.  Baha’i was founded in the mid-nineteenth century in Persia, present-day Iran, and believers hold that humanity is one race derived from a single God.  Officials in Iran have deemed Baha’i a heretical offshoot of Islam.  The center of the Baha’i faith is the city of Haifa, in present-day Israel, heightening tensions between members of the faith and the Islamic Republic, which refuses to recognize Israel as a state.

The Baha’i leaders’ lawyer, Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, has experienced intense pressure from the Iranian government while preparing for the case.  Ebadi reported that in December 2008, police closed her human rights center and her private office was raided, and client files seized.  In addition, Ebadi has been denied access to the Baha’i leaders and no trial date has been set.

For more information, please see:

Iran Press Watch – Imprisoned In Iran For Religious Belief – 20 May 2009

Human Rights Watch – Iran:  Free Baha’i Leaders – 14 May 2009

New York Times – Seven Iranians Charged With Spying for Israel – 23 February 2009

BBC News – Iran arrests Bahai ‘leadership’ – 19 May 2008