By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On December 27, the Iraqi High Tribunal commenced a new trial against several former Baathist officials, including former Iraqi Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as ‘Chemical Ali’, on charges that they were involved in the persecution of political opponents while Saddam Hussein was in power.  20 other high-ranking members of Saddam Hussein’s government were also indicted.

The current charges allege that both Aziz and Al-Majid’s perpetrated crimes against humanity, including the arrest of nearly 250,000 members of Dawa and other political parties.  Between 1981 and the 2003 US-led invasion, many of those arrested were either imprisoned or executed.  In 1980, the Iraqi government banned the Dawa party and threatened to execute any members.

One incident included in the indictment, is the massacre in Balad in 1981, where the government arrested 1,135 Dawa members and their families and held them captive at a camp in the desert near the Saudi border.  All men ages 15 years and older were executed, resulting in a death toll of 379.  When the women and children were released in 1984, the government had confiscated their homes and property.

Prosecutor Mahdi al-Haddo cited other instances of the Hussein government’s persecution of Dawa members in his opening remarks to the court including, accounts of Dawa members being fatally poisoned, tied to dynamite, or thrown into vats of acid.  Other allegations include the rape of the wives and daughters of Dawa party members.

According to al-Haddo, “We want to give a true depiction of crimes committed by the Saddamists against sons of Iraq in Balad.  We must show people across the nation, especially those characterizing Saddam as an Arab nationalist and his government as a democracy.”

The Dawa Party is currently led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.  While many Iraqis, including relatives of the victims, welcome the new charges, critics claim that the timing of the trial is a political move by the Maliki government to increase their support among its core constituency – Iraq’s Shia population – before the upcoming provincial elections in January.  These critics argue that the fact that several of the current defendants have previously been tried, convicted and sentenced suggests that the timing of the current trial is politically motivated.

Al-Majid has previously received two death sentences by the Iraqi court for his role in the gassing of Kurds in northern Iraq, which killed nearly 5,000 people, and for his role in suppressing a Shia uprising in 1991.  Aziz was previously tried for his involvement in the execution of Iraqi businessmen for allegedly raising prices during the first Gulf War.  Several of the other defendants are currently facing charges in other trials involving atrocities committed while serving in the Hussein government.

For more information, please see:

Alsumaria – New Charges Against Former Regime Officials – 29 December 2008

Azeri Press Agency –  Former Saddam Hussein’s Associate’s Tariq Aziz and “Chemical Ali” Go on New Trial – 29 December 2008

BBC – Saddam Loyalists Face New Charges – 28 December 2008

NY Times – Ex-Hussein Officials and Others Go on Trial  – 28 December 2008

Reuters – Iraq Tries Saddam Officials for Crushing Opponents – 28 December 2008

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – In December 2008, a Saudi corporation, which chooses to remain anonymous, initiated an ad campaign to stop abuse against migrant domestic workers in the country.  The campaign emphasizes religious teaching, focusing on mercy and compassion to advocate for a change in the treatment of foreign domestic workers.

 An estimated 1.5 million migrant domestic workers travel to Saudi Arabia annually in search of employment.  Many who are employed as domestic workers are subjected to emotional, physical  and sexual abuse by their employer.  For example, wealthy employers withhold wages.

 Human rights activities, including Human Rights Watch, claim that abuse against domestic workers is common in Saudi Arabia, and that the current ad campaign is a necessary first step toward addressing the issue.  All television advertisements end with a saying from the Prophet Muhammed regarding mercy and reciprocity.

The campaign features advertisements in several Saudi-owned newspapers and satellite television channels, and includes graphic images depicting the maltreatment of domestic workers in many Saudi homes.  One advertisement, which appeared in the newspaper Al Hayat, depicts a maid trapped in a kennel and wearing a dog collar; another ad shows a foreign chauffeur wearing saddle while a Saudi woman holds the reins.

 The ad campaign has been criticized heavily in Saudi Arabia, with many claiming that the harsh imagery is not an adequate representation of Saudi society.  Several journalists have called for an end to the ad campaign, claiming that it depicts Saudi society as cruel and heartless.  Several major newspapers have refused to publish the ads.  According to one journalist, Terad Al al-Asmari, the current campaign “could lead  to hatred between foreign labor and the Saudi citizen.”

 However,  a Saudi human rights lawyer and activist Abdel Rahmn al-Lahim has defended the campaign, stating that, “unlike conferences and seminar, a media campaign like Rahma reaches the average man and woman, who are more often than not, those same employers who mistreat their servants.”

 In response to a Human Rights Watch report released in 2008 regarding the plight of migrant domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, the government, through the Ministry of Labor, and the Saudi Association for Human Rights are collaborating to formulate guidelines that will regulate the relationship between foreign domestic workers and their employers.  The new regulations include legal guarantees for laborers, and an initiative to legalize professional contractors and corporations through which Saudi citizens can employ domestic workers based on a contractual relationship between the company, the migrant worker and the Saudi employer.  Both human rights advocates and the Saudi government consider eliminating the private sponsorship of migrant domestic workers to be a crucial step in ending abuse of migrant domestic workers.

 

 

Human Rights Watch is urging Saudi Arabia to ratify the UN Migrant Workers Convention, which guarantees migrant workers’ human rights and requires a state to provide protection for foreign workers against abuse by private employers and public officials.

 For more information, please see:

 Al Arabiya – Saudi Mercy Campaign Highlights Islamic Values – 24 December 2008

 Angola Press – Saudi Campaign Against Maid Abuse – 24 December 2008

BBC –Saudi Campaign Against Maid Abuse – 23 December 2008

 Reuters – Mideast Should Act Against Maid Abuse – 17 December 2008

By Nykoel Dinardo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – On December 24, Egypt repatriated twenty-five Eritrean asylum caught on their way to Israel.  Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch made pleas that Egypt stay the repatriation until UNHCR could assess their claims. 

Human Rights Watch (HRW) deputy director Joe Stork said that Egypt’s actions were “outrageous” and that they were giving Eritrean officials access to nationals fearing persecution over the UNHCR.  Egypt is required under international human rights law and refugee law to stay repatriation of people who are at risk of torture or persecution. 

According to Amnesty International (AI), the group was part of a larger group of 104 – comprised of 78 men and 23 women, including one who was pregnant.  The remainder of the group is still being held in Nakhl detention center, in Northern Sinai.  AI reported that all of those deported are likely to be held incommunicado in inhumane conditions.  They could also be subject to torture or detention indefinitely without trial.  AI also reported that there are numerous other Eritrean detainees being held in other prisons in Egypt and that none of the migrants have access to UNHCR.  UN guidelines state that asylum holders should only be detained as a last resort.

Both HRW and AI request that Egypt uphold their obligations under international law.  HRW states that Egypt should under no circumstances deport the Eritrean refugees, and that the detainees should be given access to UNHCR.  AI is calling on Egypt to ensure that all those who are claiming asylum can have their petition reviewed. 

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Egypt Repatriates 25 Eritreans, Ignoring Appeals – 24 December 2008

Reuters – Egypt Must Allow UN Access to Eritrean Migrants, Says HRW – 20 December 2008

Amnesty International – Eritrean Asylum-Seekers Deported From Egypt – 19 December 2008

Human Rights Watch – Egypt: Don’t Return Eritrean Asylum Seekers At Risk – 19 December 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Gaza – On the morning of December 27, Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched a series of massive air raids on Hamas targets in Gaza.  IAF air raids targeted “terrorist infrastructure” in Gaza and included targets from Gaza City to Khan Yunis.  According to analysts, this is the largest and most intensive air attack since the Second Intifada began in 2000.

For the first time, Israel attacked not just militants ordering or taking part in operations but members of the security forces and any buildings connected with them.  Every known police station, arms store and headquarters building in Gaza was attacked, regardless of whether they were occupied.

Israeli sources said that 50 targets were struck by 60 jet fighters in the first raid, beginning at around 11.40am. A second wave then attacked militants attempting to retaliate by launching rockets at Israel.

At least 200 people are believed to be killed; the BBC reports that 225 were killed.  In addition, the raid resulted in an estimated 400 injuries.  Retaliatory fire from Gaza killed one civilian in southern Israel.

The raids followed a decision by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Security Cabinet to widen reprisals for cross-border rocket attacks on Israel.  The rocket attacks began again, after the six month cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas ended last week.  On December 25, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, issued a warning.  She stated that Israel “cannot tolerate” continuing attacks.  This warning came after about 50 rockets or mortars were fired from Gaza.

While Israel had been warning for days of action against Gaza’s militants, the scale and intensity of the attack, code-named Operation Cast Lead, was unexpected.  Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, warned that air attacks would continue until the threat of militants firing rockets into Israel had been dealt with once and for all: “The operation will go on and be intensified as long as necessary… The battle will be long and difficult, but the time has come to act and to fight.”

The intensity of the operation and the number of casualties resulted in Palestinian, Arab, and international condemnation of Israel’s actions.  Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka, an Arab-Israeli, labeled the raid as a war crime and called for indictment of Barak, Israel’s Defense Minister, on war crimes in Gaza.  Zahalka also called for a general strike by Israel’s Arab community in protest of the operation.

Arab-Israelis across Israel rallied against the raids.  Protests also occurred in several West Bank cities and throughout the Arab world.  Egypt condemned the Israeli raids and opened its border with Gaza to allow casualties to be treated inside its hospitals. 

In Lebanon, Hizbullah called for speedy international and UN action against Israel. “What is going on in Gaza Strip is an Israeli war crime and represents genocide,” said a Hizbullah statement.  International and UN action is necessary “because silence is tantamount to complicity in this aggression.”

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, said he was “deeply alarmed” by Israel’s air attack and appealed “for an immediate halt to all violence.”  Additionally, Javier Solana, the European Union Foreign Policy Chief, called for an immediate ceasefire and urged “everybody to exert maximum restraint.”  White House spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, blamed the recent violence on Hamas, yet urged Israel to “avoid civilian casualties as it targets Hamas in Gaza.”

Despite the large number of casualties, Hamas leaders remain defiant.  Exiled political leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, called for a new uprising against Israel; “I call upon you (Palestinians) to carry out a third intifada.” He added, “Resistance will continue through suicide missions.”

 

Meanwhile, Hamas leaders and former Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh declared that Gaza would never cave to Israeli pressure, no matter how great. “We will not leave our land, we will not raise white flags and we kneel only before Allah,” he said.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Thousands Protest in Rabat Against Israeli Strikes on Gaza – 27 December 2008

Al Bawaba – Hamas Calls for New Intifada Against Israel as Gaza Death Toll Climbs to 225 – 27 December 2008

Al Jazeera – Hamas Press Conference After Israeli Gaza Strikes – 27 December 2008

BBC – Massive Israeli Air Raids on Gaza – 27 December 2008

BBC – Israel Defends Gaza Strikes – 27 December 2008

CNN – Israel Vows to Keep Up Gaza Attacks – 27 December 2008

The Economist – Hamas Rocket Attacks on Israel are Met with a Huge Air Strike on Targets in the Gaza Strip – 27 December 2008

The Guardian – Ian Black on Israel’s Hammer Blow in Gaza – 27 December 2008

The Telegraph – Israel’s Heaviest-Ever Air Strikes on Gaza Strip Kills Hundreds – 27 December 2008 l

The Wall Street Journal – Israel Strikes on Gaza Kill Scores – 27 December 2008

Yedioth – “Israeli Ministers War Criminals” – 27 December 2008

Yedioth – Mashaal: Launch Third Intifada – 27 December 2008

Yedioth – Olmert: Patience Needed on Gaza Op – 27 December 2008

By Yasmine S. Hakimian
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RAMALLAH, West Bank – On December 20, dozens of Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) prison guards entered the Oufar detention facility to conduct a security search during which many detainees were abused. The prison guards broke into rooms of detainees. IOF guards were accompanied by administrators of the Oufar detention facility. Nearly 400 prisoners were targeted in the operation.

The IOF searched Department B of the prison and violently beat a number of detainees. The detainees refused to be searched and clashes erupted in the prison compound. Administrators at the facility used open hot water cannons, sound bombs and tear gas against the detainees. The prisoners tried to defend themselves and threw anything in their possession at the soldiers. Prison guards fired at the detainees as they attempted to confront the raid using soap pieces and shoes. A fire commenced in nine tents during the attacks.

To punish the detainees, the IOF prison guards confiscated many of their belongings. In addition, the prison guards removed groceries and television sets.

Eight detainees were injured. Some of the injuries included very serious trauma to the head. According to Oufar detainees, several of the injured prisoners were suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma and heart ailment.

Oufar detainees declared a hunger strike and refused to have lunch and dinner after the security search. The detainees are demanding better food, treatment for the sick and to allow detained brothers to be in the same room. They are also seeking the right to hot water for showers, sanitary toilets and installing umbrellas for visitors.

Since the clash, prison administration has revoked all visitations. Many family members believe the ban on visitation is an attempt to prevent visitors from witnessing the injuries incurred by the prisoners during the clashes.

Lawyers and physicians have traveled to the facility to provide medical treatment and legal consultation, but the administration has not allowed them to enter the prison compound. The administration has declared the prison as a closed military zone and cannot be visited.

Approximately 1,200 Palestinians are currently detained in Oufar. Most of the detainees involved in the clash were Fatah members, the movement associated with Abbas and the ruling Palestinian Authority (PA) in the Occupied West Bank. Some belonged to smaller Palestinian resistance groups such as the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, stated the Israeli attack on the unarmed Palestinian prisoners reflected “Zionist terrorism and fanaticism.”

Raids in detention facilities by “Matsada” and “Nahshon” military units of the Israeli prison authority have escalated in the past year, especially since Bini Kaniac became director of the authority.

For more information, please see:

Sumoud – Israel Revokes Visitation Rights to Palestinian Detainees in Ofer Prison – 25 December 2008

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights – PCHR Strongly Condemns Assault Against Palestinian Detainees in Oufar Detention Center – 21 December 2008

Palestinian Information Center – Ofer Prison Guards Assault Palestinian Prisoners, Many Injured – 20 December 2008

Daily Star – Israel Still Abusing Palestinian Prisoners, Say Recently Released Detainees – 19 December 2008