DAMASCUS, Syria – On July 5, prisoners at the Sidnaya Prison clashed with guards and resulted in the death of several inmates.  Confusion surrounds the incident as there are varying accounts of the riot from the prisoners via human rights groups and the guards via the state run news agency.

According to London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights the incident began when prisoners reacted to “aggressive raids” that targeted Islamist inmates.  Guards responded by firing live ammunition and killing at least 25 prisoners.  One inmate reported that the guards “shackled our hands behind us, confiscated our clothes and possessions, and beat us. And they insulted the Koran, they trod on the Koran.”

However, on July 6, SANA, the state run news agency, reported that the “prisoners sentenced for crimes of terrorism and extremism caused trouble… They attacked their comrades during a prison inspection.”  The agency did not comment on the number of casualties.

Sidnaya Prison currently houses thousands of Islamists on political and security charges as well as, liberal or moderate political prisoners.  According to the Observatory, many of the Islamist prisoners have been at Sidnaya for years without trial.  The organization also reports that the raids were in response to protests held by the prisoners calling for improved prison conditions.

For more information, please see:

Financial Times – Confusion Clouds Fate of Prisoners in Jail Riot – 7 July 2008

BBC – Syria Blames Inmates in Jail Riot – 6 July 2008

Reuters – Syria Prison Riot Draws Conflicting Accounts – 6 July 2008

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BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Iraqi Foreign Ministry stated that the US has agreed to remove immunity for private security guards working in Iraq.  The lifting of immunity for foreign private security guards would make them subject to prosecution under Iraqi law.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari statement was made just prior to briefing Iraqi MPs on the controversial US-Iraq long-term security pact which is being negotiated.  Currently, US troops operate under a United Nations mandate, which expires in December.

According to Falah Shanshal, a lawmaker from the Sadrist bloc, Iraqi negotiators are working “to submit the American soldiers, their security companies and their movements and behaviors in military operations to Iraqi law.”  In addition to removing immunity for private security guards, some Iraqi politicians are working to remove immunity for US troops as well.

Immunity for private security guards became an issue last September when a Blackwater shooting in Baghdad in September left 17 Iraqis dead.

For more information, please see:

AFP – US Agrees to Scrap Immunity for Security Guards in Iraq – 2 July 2008

Al Jazeera – Immunity for Iraq Guards Removed – 2 July 2008

New York Times – U.S. Agrees to Lift Immunity for Contractors in Iraq – 2 July 2008

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RABAT, Morocco – On July 1, the Rabat Court of First Instance began hearing a case against Al Jazeera’s Rabat Bureau Chief Hassan Rachidi and human rights activist Brahim Sab’alil.  The two are charged with the dissemination of “false information” for reporting that people were killed in clashes with security forces.  The alleged incident occurred in the southwestern port city of Sidi Ifni on June 7 in a protest over poverty and rising unemployment.

Sab’alil is the president of the Sidi Ifni section of the Moroccan Center for Human Rights (Centre Marocain des droits humains, CMDH), an organization that provides ongoing information about human rights conditions in Sidi Ifni.

He was arrested on June 27, after he took part in a press conference in Rabat, where he presented evidence of human rights violations during the June 7 protest.  Rachidi was arrested for airing these claims on the network.

In addition to the charges, Rachidi also had his journalistic accreditation cancelled.

For more information, please see:

AHN – Morocco Under Fire Over Charges Against Journalist – 1 July 2008

Al Jazeera – Al Jazeera Trial to Open in Rabat – 1 July 2008

Human Rights Watch – Morocco: Drop Criminal Charges Against Rights Defender, Journalist – 1 July 2008

EAST JERUSALEM, Occupied Palestinian Territories – On July 4, the Israeli military prepares to demolish the home of Hussam Dwayat, a Palestinian living in East Jerusalem.  This follows the legal opinion of Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz which stated: “In light of repeated rulings over the years by the Supreme Court, it cannot be said that there is a legal objection… to the demolition of houses in Jerusalem, but the move would create considerable legal difficulties.”

On July 2, an attacker, thought to be Hussam Dwayat, who works as a contractor in Jerusalem, used a bulldozer to ram a bus in Jerusalem.  At least two Israelis were killed and at least 14 people were hospitalized.  The attack stopped only after the driver was shot by an Israeli police officer.

In response to the anticipated demolition, B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, stated, “The demolition of houses is a clear case of collective punishment, which violates the principle that a person is not to be punished for the acts of another. Collective punishment is therefore illegal regardless of its effectiveness.”

It is reported that 20 family members live in the targeted home.  Dwayat had no known ties to any political or terrorists groups, and the attack is not thought to be politically motivated.  In addition, he had a history of drug abuse and violence, for which he spent a year in jail.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Israel to Destroy Attacker’s Home – 4 July 2008

AFP – Israel Looks at Demolition of Palestinian Attackers’ Homes – 3 July 2008

International Herald Tribune – Driver Rams Bulldozer into Jerusalem Bus, Killing at Least Two – 2 July 2008

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SANA’A, Yemen – On July 3, a Yemeni non-governmental organization, composed of members of parliament, prepared a draft legislation that would guarantee the rights of people living with HIV/IDS.  Abdul-Bari Dughaish, chairman of Parliamentarians to Prevent HIV/AIDS, said that while the constitution guaranteed people’s rights, this law would reinforce that protection.

The law prohibited discrimination against HIV-positive people looking for accommodation and services.  It would outlaw the dismissal of workers based on their HIV status.  It would also guarantee paid health leave for public employees living with HIV/AIDS.

One objective of this legislation would be for people with HIV to be treated in the same way as people with other chronic health conditions. “Those living with HIV can lead as normal lives as diabetics or hepatitis patients,” Dughaish said.

In addition, in June 2008, several workshops were held in Yemen to train 25 religious and health officials on how to combat the stigma and discrimination attached to HIV/AIDS.  Not only did the workshops aim to reduce the negative connotations associated with HIV, but also to prevent the spread of the disease by promoting education.

For more information, please see:

Zaywa – New Law to Guarantee Rights of People Living with HIV – 3 July 2008

Yemen Observer – Stigma and Discrimination Against HIV/AIDS People can be Reduced – 24 June 2008

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NEW YORK, United States – On July 1, Human Rights Watch called on the Jordanian prime minister, Nader Dahabi, to withdraw two draft laws from consideration by the parliament.  The first, regarding non-governmental organizations, would further expand the government’s wide control over establishing, operating, and funding NGOs.  The second, on public assembly, would continue to restrict Jordanians’ right to congregate, by requiring the Ministry of Interior’s approval for meetings that discuss “public policies.”

The two laws were introduced in an extraordinary session of parliament in May and June 2008, after Dahabi had withdrawn an earlier draft of the NGO law from parliamentary consideration in January 2008 and urged a revision of the assembly law.

The NGO law would give the government power to obtain an NGO’s future work plans, governmental approval for donations to an NGO, and allow the government to shut down an NGO for minor infractions. Also, the law allows the government to appoint a state employee to serve as temporary president of an NGO.

“These draft laws show Jordan’s intolerance for critical debate in a democracy,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

For more information, please see:

AHN – Jordan Criticized Over New  Laws, Urged to Withdraw Drafts – 1 July 2008

Human Rights Watch – Jordan:  Scrap New Laws that Stifle Democracy – 1 July 2008

Jerusalem Post – Jordan Enacts Laws Restricting Demonstrations, NGOs – 1 July 2008

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Twenty-five UAE prison officers, including a former prison director, were given jail sentences after being convicted of their involvement in prison beatings.  The former director and six others were jailed for six months while the other 18 officers were jailed for three.

The incident happened in 2007 in Dubai during a search for drugs.  The defendants were all accused of “abuse of power and ill-treatment of detainees under their guard.”

According to attacked prisoners, the officers formed two lines outside the cell door and ordered the inmates to come out.  As they walked through the two lines, the officers beat and kicked them.  One man suffered spinal injuries.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Dubai Jailers Jailed for Beatings – 30 June 30 2008

Khaleej Times – Prisoner Assault Case Verdict on June 29 – 16 June 2008

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ALGIERS, Algeria – Two Algerian men who converted from Islam to Christianity were arrested and charged with illegally promoting Christianity in Algeria.  The two men, Rachid Mohammed Seghir, 40, and Jammal Dahmani, 36, were charged with praying in a building that had not been granted a religious permit by authorities and of trying to spread the Christian faith among Muslims.

The two men were already convicted in absentia for illegal practice of a non-Muslim religion in 2007 but requested, and were granted, a new trial.

Algeria’s constitution allows religious freedom but a 2006 law narrowed how non-Islam religions can be practiced.  The law forbids anyone from attempting to convert a Muslim to another faith with penalties as high as five years in prison and a $15,570 fine.  The law is viewed as a response to a recent rise in the membership of Protestant faiths in Algeria.

Both Seghir and Dahmani are evangelical Christians.

For more information, please see:
Associated Press – Christians on Trial in Algeria for Spreading Faith – 25 June 2008

International Herald Tribune – Converts on Trial in Algeria for Spreading Christian Faith – 25 June 2008

AFP – Algeria Court to Rule Next Week in Trial of Christian Converts – 25 June 2008

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BAGHDAD, Iraq – Kamel al-Shewaili, a leading judge in Iraq, was ambushed and assassinated as he was driving in eastern Baghdad on June 25.  Al-Shewaili was the head of one of Baghdad’s two appeals courts and was in charge of handling criminal cases for eastern Baghdad.

Masked assailants blocked the judge’s car with two vehicles and then opened fire on his car. In January, gunmen killed Appeals Court Judge Amir Jawdat Naeib as he was drove to work.  Both judges were members of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council which supervises the judiciary and nominates senior judicial officials.

Iraqi professionals, such as judges, doctors and lawyers have often been targeted in the sectarian fighting in Baghdad.

For more information, please see:
BBC – Top Judge Assassinated in Baghdad – 27 June 2008

CNN – Iraq Judge Gunned Down – 27 June 2008

Reuters – Gunmen Kill Leading Iraqi Judge in Ambush – 27 June 2008