GAFSA, Tunisia – On January 13, the appeals of the sentences of Tunisian Trade Union Leader Adnan Hajji and several other union workers were postponed until February 3.  The men were arrested due to  protests during the summer of 2008 and they each face up to 10 years in prison.  They are charged with forming a criminal group with the intent to destroy property. 

Protests arose in the region over the summer in response to a promotion lottery that was allegedly rigged by the large mining companies to prevent certain people from being selected for promotion.  Tunisian authorities arrested several people, including those mentioned above.  Hajji and 37 others were tried by Tunisian courts in December and several were sentenced with the 10-year maximum sentence.

Amnesty International has called the trials unfair, stating that at least four of the accused were tried in absentia.  They describe the prison sentences as a “travesty of justice.”

Amnesty International – Tunisian Trade Unionists’ Appeal Postponed – 13 January 2009

Impunity Watch – Tunisian Trade Leader and Others to be Tried for Protests – 9 December 2008

By Nykoel Dinardo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Egyptian police detained 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood on January 14, bringing the total number of people detained during the week to over 100.  On January 13, Egypt detained at least 18 and at least 64 were detained on January 12.  At least 20 people were arrested on January 10 and 11 as well. The detainments began in response to protests against the Egypt government over the Gaza Strip.  Egyptian officials stated that those being detained are suspected of involvement with the protests.

On January 12, Egyptian police entered several homes in the Nile Delta town of Damanhur and arrested 17 Muslim Brotherhood members.  The detainees were questioned about their roles in organizing protests.  Later that day, another 47 people were arrested at protests that had gathered throughout the day.  They were arrested for obstructing traffic.   Others were detained in Sharqiya, Damietta, and Tanta provinces.  A security official confirmed that the arrests were related to the protests and that those arrested were also suspected of being members of an illegal organization. 

The Muslim Brotherhood is the chief opposition to Egypt’s current ruling party.  The Egyptian government has declared it an illegal organization but until recently it has been allowed to continue to operate within Egyptian borders.  In the 2005 parliamentary elections Brotherhood members gained a fifth of the popular vote, despite police intervention.  The Brotherhood claims that Egyptian authorities currently hold more than 700 members in custody.

The Muslim Brotherhood has idealogical ties to Hamas and thus has been particularly sensitive to the situation in Gaza.   They have called on Egyptian authorities to allow for freedom of expression of the people due to the public anger over the situation in Gaza.  Despite the detentions, protests continue to gather in many cities in Egypt as well as elsewhere in the Middle East.

For more information, please see:

Jordan Times – Protesters Gather Outside the Egyptian Embassy – 14 January 2009

Reuters – Egypt Police Hold 16 Islamists After Gaza Protests – 14 January 2009

Easy Bourse – Egypt Holds Over 35 Muslim Brotherhood Members Over Gaza Protests – 13 January 2009

Reuters – Egypt Police Detain At Least 18 In Gaza Protests – 13 January 2009

Reuters – Egypt Police Detain 64 In Delta Protest For Gaza – 12 January 2009

Reuters – Egyptian Police Hold 21 Islamists After Gaza Rally – 11 January 2009

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

LONDON, England – On January 11, the Times ran an editorial endorsed by 27 prominent lawyers and academics, which called the Israeli operations in Gaza war crimes.  While calling the Hamas rocket attacks “deplorable,” these legal scholars argue that the attacks do not justify Israel’s actions.  They reject Israel’s argument that the operations in Gaza are justified as self defense and state that under international law, self defense is subject to the principles of necessity and proportionality.

The editorial states: “The killing of almost 800 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 3,000 injuries, accompanied by the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN compounds and government buildings, which Israel has a responsibility to protect under the Fourth Geneva Convention, is not commensurate to the deaths caused by Hamas rocket fire.”

The group contends that Israel’s actions amount to aggression, not self-defense, “not least because its assault on Gaza was unnecessary.”  In addition, the group argues that Israel’s invasion and bombardment amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s 1.5 million residents.  Also, “the blockade of humanitarian relief, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and preventing access to basic necessities such as food and fuel, are prima facie war crimes.”

The group recognized that Hamas rocket and suicide attacks are also war crimes.  The group also recognized that “Israel has a right to take reasonable and proportionate means to protect its civilian population from such attacks.”  However, the manner and scale of Israel’s operations amount to acts of aggression and are “contrary to international law, notwithstanding the rocket attacks from Hamas.”

Similarly, condemnation from states and human rights groups continue to increase as the Israeli operations in Gaza enter their third week.  For example, on January 12, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeman, Hassan Qashqavi, stated that it is expected that an international court will bring to justice the Israeli leaders for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.  Qashqavi’s statements followed a call by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to leaders of the regional states to support a demand for an international war crimes tribunal.

In addition, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi tabled 10 resolutions before the UN General Assembly relating to Israel’s operations in Gaza.  Specifically, one urged the General Assembly to immediately set up an International Crimes Tribunal to investigate and prosecute suspected Israeli war criminals involved in the atrocities against Palestinians.

Additionally, Raji Sourani from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said the Palestinian Authority will conduct legal proceedings against top Israeli officials for alleged war crimes committed during the Gaza operations.  According to Sourani, “The repeated bombing of clearly marked civilian buildings, where civilians were sheltering, crosses several red lines in regard to international law.”

According to Richard Falk, Israel’s violations include collective punishment, targeting civilians, and disproportionate military response.  While UN figures state that only a quarter of the casualties have been civilians, Mezan Center for Human Rights said that 85 percent of those killed were noncombatants.  In particular, the center mentions that over 200 children have died since Operation Cast Lead began on December 27. 

The Mezan Center explains the difference between their figures and the UN’s figures is the UN’s reluctance to include men, other than the elderly or infirmed, as noncombatants.  The center notes that the vast majority of men killed are not “Hamas militants,” but rather they are teachers, students, shopkeepers, construction workers, laborers, students, as well as the civil policemen.  Under international law, police officers are considered noncombatants and are not legitimate targets 

For more information, please see:

Free Gaza – ‘Spirit of Humanity’ Leaves for Gaza – 12 January 2009

ISRIA – Iran Calls for Trial of Israeli Leaders for War Crimes in Gaza – 12 January 2009

Sun2Surf – Investigate, Prosecute Israelis for War Crimes, UN Urged – 12 January 2009

EasyBourse Actualités – Syrian Foreign Min Accuses Israel of Gaza ‘War Crimes’ – 11 January 2009

Times – Israel’s Bombardment of Gaza is Not Self-Defence – 11 January 2009

Wall Street Journal – George E. Bisharat: Israel Is Committing War Crimes – 10 January 2009

Anti-War.com – Israel May Face Charges for War Crimes – 8 January 2009

Alter.Net – Israel’s War Crimes – 7 January 2009

Foreign Policy Association – Palestinian Authority to File War Crimes Charges Against Israel – 7 January 2009

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia– On January 11, Saudi professor and human rights advocate Matrook al-Faleh, was released from a maximum security prison near Riyadh, after being held for eight months without being charged.

Al-Faleh’s detention was in violation of the Saudi criminal code, which states that no individual may be held for more than a six month period without being charged.  According to a report by Human Rights Watch, it is not clear why the Saudi government initially arrested and detained al-Faleh.  However, the report stated that al-Faleh’s detention occurred just two days after he publicly criticized the prison conditions at Buraida General Prison, where the government had unlawfully imprisoned two other human rights activists at the time.  Al-Faleh’s subsequent arrest and detention has been heavily criticized by both Saudi and international human rights organizations.

To focus public attention on the conditions of prisons and the 11 political detainees, including al-Faleh, held without charges, in November 2008, more than 70 people participated in a hunger strike, protesting the government’s unlawful detention of human rights advocates.  The participants declared their commitment to fast for two days by using Internet forums such as facebook to publicize the strike, and remained in their homes during the strike to avoid violating a Saudi law that prohibits unauthorized public assemblies.  According to Saudi human rights activist Mohammad al-Qahtani, as a result of the widespread support for the political detainees throughout Saudi Arabia following the hunger strike, several of the detainees have been released, and prison conditions have slightly improved.

Al-Faleh is a well-known advocate for reform in Saudi Arabia.  In 2004, he was imprisoned after organizing a petition demanding that Saudi Arabia become a constitutional monarchy and create an elected parliament.  Although initially sentenced to seven years in prison, he was freed in 2005 and was later pardoned by King Abdullah. 

 

For more information, please see:

The National –Saudi Political Activist Released from Prison  – 12 January 2009

AP –Saudi Authorities Release Activist Jailed in May  – 11 January 2008

CNN – After 8 Months, Saudi Professor Released from Prison  – 11 January 2009

International Herald Tribune –Saudi Reformer Freed After 8 Months in Jail  – 11 January 2009

Middle East Online –Jailed Saudi Democracy Activist Freed  – 11 January 2009

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza – On January 10, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of illegal use of phosphorus munitions.  In their statement, HRW said that on January 9 and 10, its researchers observed multiple air-bursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over what appeared to be the Gaza City and the Jabaliya refugee camp.

In addition, Palestinian medics in Khan Younis said the Israelis fired phosphorus shells at Khouza, in southern Gaza, that killed a woman and caused at least 60 people to suffer gas inhalation and burns.  The hospital’s chief doctor, Dr. Yousef Abu Rish, said “These people were burned over their bodies in a way that can only be caused by white phosphorus.”

Israel categorically denied HRW’s accusation and Palestinian medics’ reports of recent casualties from white phosphorus, saying that all weapons use were legal.  In a statement issued yesterday, military spokesman’s office said: “We don’t specify operational details, nor the type of ammunition that we use, but any ammunition that is used by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is within the scope of international law.”

The 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons says that white phosphorus should not be used as a weapon of war in civilian areas, but there is no blanket ban on its use as a smokescreen or for illumination.  However, HRW believes that the use of white phosphorus in densely populated areas, such as Gaza, violates the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life. 

James Ross, the Legal and Policy Director at HRW, said “We are concerned over its use over a densely populated area…Our concern is that it is being air-fired, often at relatively low altitude. We are particularly concerned over how it can cause severe civilian harm.”  When fired into the air, the smoke can provide a useful smoke screen to mask large troop movements.  However, the incendiary effects spread over a wider area.  Thus, when used in a densely populated area, it could have a widespread devastating impact on civilians.

Munir Albarsh, the Head of Emergency Medicine at Gaza’s Ministry of Health, said that doctors were collecting tissue samples at hospitals across Gaza to send for phosphorus testing at international laboratories. He added that the ministry would demand an independent international investigation into Israel’s use of white phosphorus.

Without independent investigation, there is no way to know for certain whether Israel used white phosphorus in densely populated areas. HRW statement said that their researcher did observe Israel using white phosphorus as an “obscurant,” which is permissible under international law.  Additionally, even if the burns were caused by white phosphorus, it is not conclusive on whether its use was illegal under international law.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Israeli Army ‘Using White Phosphorus’ (Video) – 12 January 2009

Times – Gaza’s Burn Victims Add to Pressure on Army Over Phosphorus – 12 January 2009

Associated Press – Rights Group: Israel Uses Incendiary Bombs in Gaza – 11 January 2009

BBC – Israel Denies Banned Weapons Use – 11 January 2009

HRW – Israel: Stop Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza – 10 January 2009

International Middle East Media Center – Human Rights Watch: ‘Israel is Using White-Phosphorus Against Gaza – 10 January 2009

Reuters – FACTBOX – Key Facts About White-Phosphorus Weapons – 10 January 2009

Guardian – Airburst Shells ‘Are Danger to Civilians’ – 9 January 2009