By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMANHUR, Egypt – On May 18th an Egyptian court in Damanhur sentenced twenty-four people to death. All twenty-four cases have been sent to the mufti to sign execution orders, in accordance with sharia law. Nine of those sentenced were not present for their trials and conviction, as they remain on the run. 

Each of twenty-four was sentenced on murder charges for their participation in a violent land dispute in March of 2008 in the northern province of Beheira. Two rival associations both claimed title to a 500 acre agricultural plot in the Nile delta. Both parties had hired security guards to protect their land, and the dispute arose when one group of guards tried to claim the plot by force from the other group of guards. Authorities believe that this was purely a financial conflict and had no sectarian aspects.

Eleven people were killed, and as many as twenty-seven were injured in the conflict. Land suitable for farming is scarce in the Nile delta and this shortage often leads to disputes. While land disputes are not uncommon in Egypt, the number of casualties in this instance is unusual. Many landlords in Egypt hire private armed security guards to protect their land interests, but the guards typically only keep out squatters, and do not incur casualties.

Both the Daily News Egypt and E- Taiwan News article attributed to the Associated Press allege that the “gun battle” was over 1,500 acres, not 500 acres. Both sources also maintain that no dates for execution have been set, and all of the sentences have been appealed.

The nine people convicted in absentia remain on the run. The due process rights of these individuals under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights may come into question if they are found. This covenant, signed by the United Nations, supports the right for all people to be present at their own trial and conviction.

For more information, please see:

APA – Egyptian Court Sentences 24 to Death – 19 May 2009

Daily News Egypt – 24 Sentenced to Death Over Deadly Land Dispute – 19 May 2009

E-Taiwan News – Egypt: 24 Get Death Sentence on Murder Charges – 19 May 2009

News 24 – 24 Sentenced to Death in Egypt – 18 May 2009

New York Times – Egypt: Death Sentences Over a Gunfight – 18 May 2009

Reuters – Egypt Court Sentences 24 to Die Over Land Clash – 18 May 2009

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

NEW YORK, New York – On May 19, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report titled The Island of Happiness: Exploitation of Migrant Workers on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi.  The report claims that migrant workers hired to help build Saadiyat Island of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are being mistreated. 

Saadiyat Island is a 27 square kilometre island off the coast of Abu Dhabi.  In May 2009, the UAE intended to break ground on huge construction projects to take place on the island, including 27 hotels, outposts of the Guggenheim and the Louvre, and a campus of New York University.  Hundreds of migrants workers have been hired to work on these projects, as well as others, including the leveling of the island itself before construction can begin.  However, according to HRW, these workers are facing harsh, unreasonable work conditions, poor housing and health conditions, and have no legal remedies to address these problems.

Many migrant workers get to the UAE through employments agencies.  These agencies often charge outrageous fees, in some cases equaling as much as four times a year’s wages.  Migrant works borrow money from family in some cases, but often they borrow money from high interest rate loan companies.  By the time the workers arrive in the country where they want to work, they are already in so much debt that they are forced to accept any work conditions in order to work a wage high enough to pay off their loans.  Although hiring workers through these agencies is illegal under UAE law, there is little enforcement. 

Because workers have no power to negotiate their contracts, they are forced to work twelve hours days in temperatures over 100 degrees Farenheit, with high humidity.  After a long day of work, a worker takes home an average of $8 US per day.  According to HRW, the average salary of a foreign worker is $2575 US; however the average per capita income is $30,000 US.  HRW states that many companies cut costs by keeping overtime wages below the legal requirements.

Furthermore, HRW claims that companies are also preventing workers from getting better jobs by illegally confiscating their passports.  These companies threaten workers with deportation should they look for a better job.  Although this practice is illegal, HRW says that the workers they interviewed explained that the practice is universal on Saadiyat Island.  Migrant workers are also unable to get representation from outside groups because the UAE does not recognize non-governmental organizations that may aid the workers.

HRW has asked the UAE to reconsider its labor laws and to improve enforcement.  They also ask the UAE to implement programs to improve workers’ awareness; they explain that, as long as workers are unaware of their rights, workers will be taken advantage of by companies.

For more information, please see:

Financial Times – Plight of Abu Dhabi Workers – 20 May 2009

Human Rights Watch – The Island of Happiness – 19 May 2009

Human Rights Watch – UAE:  Exploited Workers Building ‘Island of Happiness’ – 19 May 2009

Telegraph – Workers on Luxury Island ‘Exploited and Abused’ – 19 May 2009

United Press International – Rights Group Blasts Abu Dhabi Project – 19 May 2009

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen  – On May 7, 2009 dozens of journalists gathered in front of the press syndicate in Sana’a in a staged sit-in to protest the Yemeni governments decision to suspend more than eight newspapers for their coverage of unrest in southern Yemen.  An additional protest was held in the city of Aden.

On May 4, the Ministry of Information ordered the suspension of several privately owned newspapers including Al-Masdar, Al-Wattani, Al-Diyar, Al-Mustaqila, Al-Nida, Al-Ayyam and Al-Share, due to their recent coverage of clashes between residents and government security forces in southern Yemen.  The government has followed its decree by taking active measures to forcibly halt the sale of these publications, including seizing the production plant of one of the newspapers in order to prevent distribution.  Security forces were directed to confiscate these publications from kiosks and stores throughout Sana’a.

Yemeni Ministor of Information Hassan Ahmed al-Luzi claimed that the decision to ban the sale of these publications was necessary as the journalists had violated Yemen’s press law “by publishing articles against national unity and the country’s highest interests and they incited to violate law and order and spread hatred and enmity among the united people of Yemen.”

Following the government’s order to ban the publication and distribution of these newspapers, security forces arrested Fuad Rashif, the Editor-in-Chief of the Mukalla Press Web site.  The Web site had been covering the recent violence between residents and security forces in the south, as well as the government’s marginalization of southern Yemen.  Rashid has been held incommunicado since his arrest on May 8.

According to Joel Simon, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, “we are concerned about the ongoing ban on independent newspapers and call on authorities to immediately end this censorship…Covering the ongoing conflict in the south is an essential journalistic function, and for authorities to ban this coverage is to criminalize journalism itself.”

Saeed Thabit, spokesman for the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate has organized the recent demonstrations of journalists in Sana’a and Aden, claiming that the government’s recent crackdown on the media is tantamount to restricting free speech, which according to Thabit is “one of the pillars of national unity and democracy.”  Thabit is seeking to unite Yemeni journalists to oppose the recent government ban.  The Committee to Protect Journalists is calling on the Yemeni government to end its ban on the media and to disclose the location of a Rashid.

For more information, please see:

Committee to Protect Journalists – Yemeni Editor Held Incommunicado, Critical Newspaper Sued – 8 May 2009

AFP – Yemen Reporters Protest at Closure of Papers – 7 May 2009

Arab Monitor – Yemeni Government Confiscates Seven Newspapers – 7 May 2009

Committee to Protect Journalists – CPJ Alarmed by Yemen Government’s Newspaper Censorship – 7 May 2009

Yemen Times – Ministry of Information Prevents Seven Newspapers from Distribution – 6 May 2009

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations (UN) concluded an inquiry into parts of the Gaza offensive and found that Israel is responsible for damage to seven UN facilities.  The inquiry covered damage to nine facilities total.  Of the other two, Hamas was determined to be responsible for the damage to one, and it is unsure who is responsible for the damage to the last facility. 

The investigation was led by Ian Martin, former head of Amnesty International.  The damage was done to UN clinics, schools and offices.  UN staff and other civilians were also injured or killed in the incidents.  The investigation’s scope was limited only to damage to UN property and injury or death of staff; however, the investigatory staff stated that the other injuries should be investigated under international humanitarian law.

The investigatory committee found that Israel’s conduct was negligent or reckless. It further found that the Israeli military failed to take adequate precautions to protect the UN premises.  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said that he would seek damages from Israel for the damage.  The damage rendered by Israel has been estimated at approximately $11 Million.  Damage by Hamas has been estimated at $29, 000. 

Israeli has responded to the investigations by claiming that they were “patently biased.”  Israeli Defense Force officials claim that the UN fails to consider the fact that they were fighting against a terrorist organization.  Furthermore, they claim that many of the UN facilities were hit after Hamas used them as bases and fired rockets at Israel.  The UN investigatory committee has rejected this argument in several cases.

For more information, please see:

Haaretz – UN Demand For IDF Compensation in Gaza Could Reach $11 Million – 6 May 2009

Times – UN Report Condemns Israel over Gaza War – 6 May 2009

The Washington Times – U.N. seeks Israeli ‘reparations’ – 6 May 2009

Guardian – UN accuses Israel of Gaza ‘Negligence or Recklessness’ – 5 May 2009

Reuters – UN Report Accuses Israel of Recklessness in Gaza – 5 May 2009

Voice of America – UN Report Slams Israel for Damages During Gaza Offensive – 5 May 2009

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria  – On January 27, Human Rights Watch released a statement reporting that the  status of inmates at Sidnaya military prison is still unknown.  The prison has been at the center of controversy since July 2008, after prison guards were accused of using lethal force in order to put down a prison riot.   

At least 1,500 inmates are imprisoned in Sidnaya, located northwest of Damascus.  Syrian authorities maintain that prison guards “quickly restored” order after the riot began, and publicly blame Sidnaya inmates convicted on charges of terrorism and religious extremism for instigating the riot.  According to Syrian human rights organizations reports, at least 25 inmates have died as a result of the prison guards use of lethal force in quelling the riots, although HRW reports indicate that ten people died in the riot, including one police officer.

In October 2008, after several attempts to obtain an update on the status of the prisoners from the Ministry of Justice failed to produce any information, 17 mothers of prisoners detained in Sidnaya publicly appealed to the Syrian government, in particular to Syrian President Bashar al-Asad.  They urged the government to provide them with information on family members detained at the prison.  According to the statement released by the mothers, they were aware of “the burial of bodies in [the town of] Qatana at night,” on the order of the Syrian security services and they were concerned their relatives may have been among the dead.

Since July, the fate of the inmates has been unknown, as government authorities have prohibited any outside contact with the prisoners, “imposing a complete information blackout,” including banning the use of cell phones around the perimeter of the prison. 

On December 18, residents of the town of Sidnaya reported seeking smoke emerge from the prison and the sound of gunshots.  One resident reported to HRW that after smoke was seen emerging from the prison, Syrian authorities closed the road leading from the town to the prison in order to accommodate military trucks en route to the prison but that the road was reopened the following day.

According to Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa Director at HRW, “Syria’s long blackout on the fate of at least 1,500 detainees is nothing less than scandalous…The lack of information about Sidnaya has caused enormous anguish to the families and fueled fears and rumors…The Syrian authorities need to come clean and allow families and lawyers access to Sidnaya.” 

HRW urged the Syrian government to reveal the status of the inmates, and to begin an allow lawyers to begin an independent investigation into the fate of prisoners who were injured or killed as a result of lethal force used by prison guards in the July riot. 

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Syria: Reveal Inmates’ Conditions – 27 January 2009

Reuters – Reports of More Trouble at Syria Jail-Rights Group – 27 January 2009

Taiwan News – HRW: Syria Must Speak Out on Prison Riot Victims – 27 January 2009