By Yasmine S. Hakimian
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza – On September 18, South African archbishop, Desmond Tutu, argued that Israel may have committed a war crime when it attacked Beit Hanoun in Gaza two years ago. Israel has repeatedly explained the shelling resulted from a flawed artillery firing system. The Israeli military claims their private investigation of the shelling uncovered a technical error. Mr. Tutu is critical of the explanation in his report to the UN Human Rights Council.

Israel’s shelling of Beit Hanoun killed 19 people. In his report to the UN, Mr. Tutu asks Israel to pay compensation to the victims. The report includes horrific accounts from several people who survived the shelling. The victims speak of dead people lying in the streets, local hospitals being overwhelmed, and of victims paying guards at Israeli checkpoints to receive treatment.

Defying the standards for international humanitarian law, Mr. Tutu claims the shelling shows a disproportionate and reckless disregard for Palestinian civilian life. As a result, he is concerned that a war crime may have occurred.

In his report, Mr. Tutu asked for an independent investigation into the shelling. He argued that the largely secret internal investigation performed by the Israeli military is legally and morally unacceptable.

Even as a UN special advisor, Mr. Tutu never received a report from the Israeli investigation. Mr. Tutu protested that without a well-founded explanation from the military and no independent investigation, no one has been held accountable for the shelling.

He explained the shelling has greatly increased the suffering of Gazans who are entitled to protection and support from Israel. Residents of Gaza have been stripped of their right to life through the killings that occurred in Beit Hanoun and the lack of an appropriate investigation into the deaths. 

At the presentation, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Abu-Koash, said the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court should be contacted about Mr. Tutu’s report. In disagreement, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Aharon Leshno Yaar, said nothing can be gained by rehashing the shelling now as a thorough investigation was performed and the results were shared with the UN.

According to Barnaby Philips, a reporter for Al Jazeera, “there is no relief in sight for Gazans and little indication that Tutu’s report can alter the grim facts of the Beit Hanoun killings.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Tutu Urges Israel ‘War Crime’ Probe – 19 September 2008

Jerusalem Post – Tutu: Israel May Have Committed War Crime – 16 September 2008 

BBC – Israel Raid ‘Could be a War Crime’ – 15 September 2008

Ha’aretz – Archbishop Tutu to UN: Israel May Have Committed War Crime – 15 September 2008

Ynet – Tutu Says Israel May Have Committed War Crime – 15 September 2008

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

VAN, Turkey – On September 12, authorities in the Turkish town of Van delivered 24 Uzbek refugees and asylum seekers to a group of unidentified officials in Iran, where they face death threats and forcible deportation to Uzbekistan.

The refugees fled Uzbekistan for Tajikistan in the 1990s to escape religious persecution from the Uzbek government.  After moving to Afghanistan in the late 1990s, the refugees left in 2001 following the US led invasion, and moved to Iran.  There, they were recognized as refugees by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.  In 2007, the group fled to Turkey after the Iranian government threatened to forcibly deport them to Uzbekistan.  In Turkey, they were again recognized as refugees under the UNHCR.

According to Amnesty International, Turkish security services deceived the refugees, who were not aware that the government was planning to return them to Iran.  The Turkish security services told the refugees that they were invited to the Van General Directorate of Security where Turkish authorities would distribute educational materials to their children.  However, upon arriving at the station, they were forced to board a bus and were transported a deserted area near the Iranian border.  The Turkish security agents who transported the refugees are alleged to have told them “We don’t need you here” as they forced them to enter Iran.

According to Amnesty International, Turkey has violated international law by deporting refugees and asylum seekers to places where their lives could be in danger.  There is a concern that the refugees, if forcibly returned to Uzbekistan, will face torture and other ill-treatment.  In November 2007, the UN Committee against Torture concluded a study documenting the incommunicado detention, torture, and other ill-treatment of refugees and asylum seekers that were forcibly returned to Uzbekistan.  The refugees often face unfair trials with evidence based on confessions extracted under torture and are sentenced to long prison terms where they are held under cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions.

Amnesty International is urging people to petition the Iranian government to immediately release all 24 Uzbek refugees and to prevent their deportation to Uzbekistan.

For more information, please see:

Central Asian News – Turkey Expels Uzbek Refugees to Iran– 19 September 2008

Amnesty International – Turkey: Forcible Return – 18 September 2008

Amnesty International – Iran: 24 Uzbekistani Nationals Including Children – 17 September 2008 – 17 September 2008

By Nykoel Dinardo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen – Authorities in Yemen arrested at least 30 people suspected of belonging to al-Qaeda following the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Yemen on Wednesday, September 17.  Around 9 A.M. Wednesday morning, two cars carrying suicide bombers and armed fighters arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a killing four civilians, six guards and six of the attackers.  A bystander died on Thursday bringing the death total to 17; several more were injured.

AL-‘OTAYBA, Syria – State Security officers arrested Usra al-Hussein on July 31 and Bayan Saleh ‘Ali on August 4. The arrests took place in the village of al-‘Otayba, located 20 kilometers from Damascus. Both women are married to men detained due to suspicions regarding their associations with Islamist activities.

Usra al-Hussein’s husband, Jehad Diab, is detained at the US military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Jehad Diab has been at Guantánamo without any charge or a trial since August 2002. He was arrested in Pakistan in November 2001.

Bayan Saleh ‘Ali’s husband, Ahmad Saleh ‘Ali, is detained in Sednaya Military Prison in Syria. Ahmad Saleh ‘Ali was charged with violating three articles of the Syrian Penal Code, including: “forming an organization with the aim of changing the economic or social status of the state” (Article 306); “weakening national sentiment” (Article 285); and “inciting sectarian strife” (Article 307). He is set for trial before the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC). The SSSC has been known to ignore international standards for fair trials.

Since their arrest, Usra al-Hussein and Bayan Saleh ‘Ali have been held incommunicado. Syrian authorities refuse to release the location of the women, explain why they are being held, and if they will be charged. They are at great risk of being tortured or treated improperly.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Syria: Incommunicado/Torture – 15 September 2008 

Amnesty International USA – Free Wives Being Held Incommunicado in Syria – 15 September 2008

By Nykoel Dinardo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) announced yesterday that it will be partnering with the United Arab Emirates Red Crescent Authority (RCA) to launch a major fund raising campaign.  The campaign will be based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the guidance of Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, widow of the UAE’s founder and the president of the UAE Women’s Association.  The money raised will go into the Sheikha Fatima Fund for Refugee Women and the UNHCR and RCA will direct it to projects related to refugee women and children.