By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – On September 9, 2 Sudanese refugees were shot and killed by Egyptian soldiers as they tried to cross the Egyptian border into southern Israel.  A third refugee was wounded in the shooting and was subsequently arrested by the Egyptian police.

In the past three years, more than 4,000 refugees have crossed through the Sinai Desert illegally, seeking asylum in Israel.  Many of the refugees are escaping from the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan.  During the summer of 2007, Egyptian authorities implemented a live-fire policy along the Sinai border between Egypt and Israel.  Since then, at least 20 African refugees have been shot dead by Egyptian security forces while trying to reach Israel.

According to Amnesty International, 23 of the refugees have been shot to death by Egyptian security forces since January, and dozens of others have been wounded.  Other refugees captured by the Egyptian security forces have either been imprisoned or forcibly sent back to their country of origin where they will likely face severe human rights abuses; a violation of the guidelines of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Survivors have reported that the Egyptian security forces have gunned down some of the refugees without a warning, including in situations where the refugees have raised their hands in surrender, although Egypt denies the allegation.  Sudanese refugees who are in Israel have reported they were caught and tortured in Egyptian prisons.

According to the Amnesty International Report, Egypt: Deadly Journeys through the Desert, the use of deadly force on the part of the Egyptian security forces against the African refugees violates international law as the refugees are unarmed and therefore do not pose a threat to Egypt.

While refugee advocates claim that Egypt adopted its live-fire policy as a result of US and Israeli pressure on Egypt to stop the flow of African refugees into Israel, both the US and Israeli governments deny this assertion.  However the Sudanese government has urged the Egyptians to take a tougher position on any Sudanese refugee caught in Egypt while trying to escape to Israel.  In a statement given in July 2007, Sudanese Refugee Commissioner, Mohammed Ahmed al-Aghbash, stated that any Sudanese citizen entering Israel was attempting to pursue a “Zionist agenda” and urged the Egyptian government to “firmly penalize them.’

Despite the Egyptian government’s adoption of a live-fire policy along the 155 mile border with Israel, thousands of African refugees continue to cross through the Sinai Desert seeking asylum in Israel.

For more information, please see:

The San Francisco Chronicle – Egypt Accused in Killings of African Refugees – 12 September 2008

United Press International – Egypt Said Increasing Migrant Slaying – 12 September 2008

The Media Line – Sudanese Killed At Egypt-Israel Border– 10 September 2008

Israel Today – Egyptians Gun Down Two More African Refugees – 9 September 2008

Amnesty International USA – Egypt: Deadly Journeys through the Desert – 20 August 2008

By Yasmine S. Hakimian
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

WEST BANK, Israel – Two human rights organizations, Hamoked (Center for the Defense of the Individual) and B’Tselem, claim the Israeli government has taken steps to further separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank. The West Bank and the Gaza Strip are separated by Israeli territory. Since the outbreak of a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, Israel has increasingly restricted Palestinian travel between the territories.

According to a paper cited in the Jerusalem Post, since last year Israel has furthered its criteria to “perpetuate a new factual and legal reality of separation between residents of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, while severing the interdependent social, economic and cultural ties between the two groups, infringing their rights and impeding the possibility that the Palestinian people will realize their right to self-determination.” 

Now, Palestinians whose registered address is in the Gaza Strip must obtain a permit to enter West Bank. The military issues the permit, which is valid for three months. To obtain a permit, a Palestinian resident of Gaza must show he or she has lived in the “West Bank continuously for the past eight years, is married with children, must have a security clearance and must provide humanitarian grounds for requesting the permit.”

Even though the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have historically been one entity, a Palestinian who does not have this permit is considered an “illegal alien.” A permit must be issued regardless of the fact that some of the Palestinians were born in West Bank, have resided there for years, or established their home there.

West Bank residents who seek to visit the Gaza Strip must sign a commitment to remain there. In a recent situation, a female resident of West Bank sought to visit her ailing husband in Gaza, but the military only approved a one way permit.

In another case, a Palestinian from Gaza returned to the West Bank when his mother’s leg was amputated. His request for a permit to return to Gaza was rejected. The army also refused to allow his wife and infant daughter in Gaza to join him in the West Bank. Eventually, the man was permitted to return to Gaza if he signed that he would never come back to the West Bank. The new policy forces relatives to move to Gaza with no possibility of returning to West Bank.

Marriage between residents of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank is not a sufficient cause for issuing a permit. Israel is being accused of “exploiting the hardship of families which are split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.” Furthermore, Israel is turning Palestinian residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories into ‘illegal aliens’ in their own homes.

For more information, please see:

BBC –Israel’ Dividing up Palestinians’ – 10 September 2008

Jordan Times – Israel Deepens West Bank-Gaza Split – 10 September 2008

Jerusalem Post – ‘Israel is Dividing Gazan, W. Bank Populations’ – 10 September 2008

iafrica – Palestinians Forced Into Gaza – 10 September 2008

Yahoo News – Israeli Groups Chide Limitations on Palestinians – 10 September 2008

By Nykoel Dinardo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

AHWAR, Yemen – At least 26 Somali refugees died when smugglers forced them overboard near the coast of Yemen, reported the UN Refugee Agency on Wednesday, September 9. Seventy-four survivors made it to the Yemeni coast and were then taken to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Center in Ahwar, Yemen. Twenty people are still missing.

Survivors told the UN Refugee Center that around 120 people were being smuggled on a boat to Yemen when smugglers forced the passengers off the boat at gunpoint on Monday, September 7; those who refused were pushed, beaten and some killed. Survivors explained that they had been told by the smugglers before boarding that a smaller boat would meet them to take them ashore, but no small boat arrived.

A similar incident occurred in late August when 12 refugees died after jumping overboard during a gun battle between a smuggling boat and a Yemeni military vessel.

Fighting between factions in Somalia has caused a surge in refugees pouring into Yemen across the Gulf of Aden. Despite a ceasefire that was signed in June, violence in Somalia has not lessened causing many to flee. According to a UNCHR press release, at least 25,859 people have been smuggled to Yemen, more than two times the number from this time last year.

Smuggling in the Gulf of Aden normally declines during the summer months due to bad weather conditions. It is believed that a decline in coastal security, due to the arrival of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, has let to a rise in smuggling.

Many refugees face additional problems once they reach Yemen. Despite official statements by the Yemeni government that Somali refugees would be allowed prima facie, many migrants face the possibility of imprisonment or deportation once they arrive.

Despite the belief that Ramadan will lead to a decrease in coastal security, Yemen has recently increased its military presence in the Gulf of Aden. The increased military presence has caused smugglers to panic resulting in incidents like this to avoid contact with the Yemeni military. While the official reason for the increased security is for protection of sea vessels from piracy, increased danger for Somalis seeking refuge in Yemen may also result.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Dozens of Migrants Die Crossing Gulf of Aden: UNHCR – 10 September 2008

Al Jazeera – Dozens Drown Off Yemeni Coast – 10 September 2008

CNN International – Gunmen Force Refugees Overboard off Yemen – 10 September 2008

Reuters Africa – At Least 25 Somali Migrants Drown Off Yemen Coast – 10 September 2008

UNHCR – At Least 26 Dead in Gulf of Aden Smuggling Incident – 10 September 2008

Yemen News Agency – Yemen Wages War on Pirates in Regional Waters – 9 September 2008

Yemen Times – Dire Circumstances Will Force Refugees To Become Involved In Acts of Terrorism – Issue: (1188), Volume 16, From 8 September 2008 to 10 September 2008

BBC – Somalis Flood to Yemen for Refuge – 4 July 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

ASSIUT, Egypt – On September 8, prisoners in prison in the city of Assiut rioted following reports about an inmate’s death.  Egyptian officials released a statement reporting that prisoners rioted, holding some guards hostage, and seized guns.  The statement reported that the guards used tear gas and rubber-coated bullets to regain control of two wings of the prison.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement the incident began with a brawl between four prisoners armed with table cutlery. Police intervened to separate them and decided to punish them with 48 hours in solitary confinement.

“The first prisoner (Abdel Salam) died while undergoing this punishment. A rumor then spread among the prisoners that he died because an officer assaulted him,” it said.  However, a conflicting report names the inmate as Hani Ghandour, who was serving a seven-year sentence for assault.

There are also conflicting reports of how the inmate died.  One report states that the inmate died while in solitary confinement; possibly from abuse, torture, or ill-treatment by the guards.  A second report states that inmate was killed during armed clashes after a group of 15 gunmen had stormed the building in an attempt to free prisoners.

There is no explanation for the discrepancies in the dead man’s name or the reason which lay behind the violence.

Four guards and at least 20 prisoners were said to have been injured in the clashes.

Conditions as Egyptian prisons are often dire and overcrowded. A lawyer said in June that prison guards near the Mediterranean city of Alexandria had beaten up 17 inmates to force them to end a hunger strike.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Upper Egypt Prison Shaken by Riot – 8 September 2008

Middle East Times – Egyptian Prisoners Riot After Inmate’s Death – 8 September 2008

Reuters – Twenty Five Injured in Egyptian Prison Riot – 8 September 2008

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East