By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – A young activist and lawyer in Iran became the first man sentenced for participating in a campaign to change laws that discriminate against women.  Amir Yaghoub Ali, 21, was convicted of acting against national security and sentenced to a year in prison for his role in the “Change for Equality” campaign, launched by Iranian women activists in September 2006.

Ali was detained last July while collecting signatures for the campaign in a park in northern Tehran and spent 29 days in Evin prison before being freed on $20,000 bail.

“Changing discriminatory laws will benefit Iranians and will create a fairer social environment,” Ali said. “Our call for change is considered by the ruling Islamic establishment as crossing the red lines. Authorities don’t want to allow any changes in laws in support of women rights. That’s why they seek to suppress such demands.”

Iran has refused to ratify the UN convention on women’s rights and the country’s senior clerics in Qom, Iran’s main center of Islamic learning, have rejected the convention, calling it un-Islamic.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Iranian Women’s Rights Activists Sentenced – 2 June 2008

Reuters – Iran Jails Man Campaigning for Women’s Rights-Lawyer – 2 June 2008

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BAGHDAD, Iraq – US military deaths in Iraq have fallen to the lowest monthly total since the invasion five years ago.  19 American service members died in Iraq in May, compared to 52 from April.  14 were killed in action and one solider died of wounds inflicted in combat.  Four of the deaths were non-combat related, the US military said.

Accounts for how many Iraqi civilians were killed in May vary, but most estimates put the number at approximately 530, about half of the number as were killed in March and April.

The US military claims that the troop surge was a key factor in limiting the amount of casualties in May.  The ceasefire in early May that stopped the fighting in Sadr City also explains the death reduction.

For more information, please see:

Bloomberg News – U.S. Deaths in Iraq in May Were Lowest Since 2003 – 2 June 2008

San Jose Mercury News – U.S. Deaths Hit 5-Year Low in Iraq – 2 June 2008

BBC – US Iraq Deaths ‘At Four Year Low’ – 1 June 2008

L.A. Times – In Iraq, Month Ends With Lowest U.S. Death Toll Yet – 1 June 2008

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ANBAR, Iraq – A suicide bomber killed 10 people at a police checkpoint in western Iraq on May 28 including Iraqi police Lieutenant Colonel Khaleel Abarhim.  The attacker approached the checkpoint in the town of Hit in the Anbar province and detonated an explosives belt he was wearing.  Hit’s administrator, Hikmat Jubeir, said that twelve other people were also wounded.

Iraqi security forces arrested 49 suspects in a sweep following the attacks and detained them on suspicions of links to the bombing.

The suicide bombing came as the Iraqi authorities reported a near 50 percent drop in violence across the embattled nation last month. The US military too said it recorded the lowest monthly toll in May with 19 soldiers killed.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Iraqi Troops Arrest 49 After Deadly Bombing – 2 June 2008

Associated Press – Suicide Bomber Kills 10 In Iraq – 31 May 2008

BBC – Iraqi Checkpoint ‘Hit By Bomber’ – 31 May 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

ANKARA, Turkey – On May 29, a Turkish court ordered Lambda Istanbul, a gay association, to close, ruling that it violated public morality and family norms.  The government prosecutor said that Lambda Istanbul violated a constitutional provision on the protection of the family and an article banning bodies “with objectives that violate law and morality.”

The full name of the group is Lambda Istanbul Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transvestites Solidarity Association.  The alleged breach of morality and family norms occurred when Lambda refused to remove the words describing the sexual orientation or identities of the group’s members.

A member of the association, Baran Ergenc, said “If we take out the words of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transvestites then it is not an association for them.” “The court found the association’s name in violation of public morality.”

Lambda’s lawyer, Firat Soyle stated, “This is a mistake and we hope that the Appeals Court will correct it.”  According to Ergenc, the group is determined to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if Turkey’s Appeals Court upholds the decision by the local court in Istanbul.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Turkish Court Slaps Ban on Homosexual Group – 30 May 2008

BBC – Turkish Gay Group Will Fight Ban – 30 May 2008

FOXNews – Turkish Court Rules Gay Group Violates Public Morality – 30 May 2008

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GAZA CITY, Gaza – Desmond Tutu, ending a three day fact-finding mission in Gaza, called the Israeli blockade an “abomination.”  Tutu traveled to Gaza on a UN fact-finding mission into the 2006 killing of 19 Palestinian civilians in Beit Hanoun by an Israeli artillery attack.

Tutu denounced international inaction to stop the Israeli blockade of Gaza.  “My message to the international community is that our silence and complicity, especially on the situation in Gaza, shames us all… Gaza needs the engagement of the outside world, especially its peacemakers.”

British professor Christine Chinkin, traveling with Tutu, stated, “I think what we’ve seen shows plenty of evidence of at least the possibility of war crimes that needs much further independent investigation… I would certainly say the concept of collective punishment in a situation of occupation constitutes the notion of war crimes and possibly of a crime against humanity.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Tutu Blasts International ‘Complicity’ Over Gaza – 29 May 2008

BBC – Tutu: Gaza Blockade Abomination – 29 May 2008

Reuters – UN Envoy Tutu Calls Gaza Blockade Illegal – 29 May 2008

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BEIRUT, Lebanon – On May 25, General Michel Suleiman was elected to be the next president of Lebanon.  He won the votes of 118 MPs in the 128-seat parliament.  In an address to the parliament following his election, Suleiman stated, “I call on you all, political forces and citizens, to build a Lebanon we all agree upon, setting the interests of Lebanon above our individual interests.”

Even though the parliament agreed to elect Suleiman as the next President of Lebanon, the parliament still delayed 19 times.  The delays resulted from disagreements between the March 14 majority and the Shia minority faction led by Hezbollah.  The May 25 election occurred as part of the Doha agreement.

Following the election, the March 14 majority unanimously nominated Fouad Siniora to return as the Lebanese Prime Minister.  On May 29, President Suleiman appointed Siniora  as Prime Minister and asked him to form a government.

For more information, please see:

The Daily Star – Some analysts see Doha as Stopgap solution to Lebanon’s Crisis– 28 May 2008

International Herald Tribune – Lebanon’s Sinora Set to Lead New Government – 27 May 2008

Ya Lebanon – Hollow Victory to Lebanon – 27 May 2008

(London) Times – Gunfire Welcomes Lebanon’s New Leader, General Michel Suleiman – 26 May 2008

by Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

NEW YORK CITY, United States – On May 22, Human Rights Watch released a report documenting systematic discrimination and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Turkey.  The report called on the Turkish government for a change in law and policy to offer greater protection to LGBT people. It also called on the European Union to make Turkey’s membership aspirations contingent on ending abuses relating to gender and sexuality..

“Democracy means defending all people’s basic rights against the dictatorship of custom and the tyranny of hate,” said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. “Where lives are at stake, Turkey needs to take concrete action and pass comprehensive legislation to protect them.”

The report includes over 70 interviews and documents how gay men and transgender people face beatings, robberies, police harassment, and the threat of murder.  It also documents how lesbian and bisexual women confront physical and psychological violence within their own families.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Facing Hate Crime in Turkey – 23 May 2008

Human Rights Watch – Turkey: Homophobic Violence Points to Rights Crisis – 22 May 2008

NEW YORK CITY, United States – On May 22, the United Nations General Assembly elected fifteen member states to the Human Rights Council for three year terms.  Bahrain was one of six states contesting four Asian seats.  In the vote, Bahrain followed Japan, but was ahead of South Korea and Pakistan; Sri Lanka and East Timor failed to secure enough votes.

In a written statement, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman, Bahrain’s prime minister, said, “The achievement is an honest international recognition of the good human rights situation in the kingdom and comes to crown the government’s successful policies to protect human rights.”

However, several rights groups described Bahrain as “not qualified” to sit on the Human Rights Council. For example, Paula Schriefer, the director of advocacy for Freedom House, said,  “Bahrain does not have any right to be on the Human Rights Council… It organizes crackdowns on its political opposition, it remains a monarchy, it has arrested many activists that remain in prison and we have reports of torture of those people.”

For more information, please see:

Gulf Daily News – Societies Hail New Rights Role – 23 May 2008

The National – Bahrain Celebrates UN Post – 22 May 2008

United Press International – 15 Elected to U.N. Human Rights Council – 22 May 23, 2008

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A High Court judge reviewed the case of Nour Miyati, an Indonesian maid whose toes and fingers were amputated following alleged abuse by her sponsor and his wife.  In a previous ruling all abuse charges against Miyati’s male employer were dropped.  The female employer confessed to abuse and was sentenced to 35 lashes.  Reviewing a previous ruling, the judge dropped charges against the wife of Miyati’s sponsor and overturned the female employer’s 35 lash sentence.

Miyati told Human Rights Watch that her employers “withheld her passport, knocked out a tooth and caused damage to one of her eyes.”  Miyati received treatment in a Riyadh hospital in March 2005 for “gangrene, malnourishment and other injuries” and that delays in treatment resulted in her losing her toes and fingers.

The court ruling granted Miyati 2,500 riyals as compensation, or approximately US$670, a small fraction of what such injuries would normally garner in Saudi Arabia.  “The meagre compensation of 2,500 riyals is a slap in the face… showing that a foreign domestic worker’s life and limb is not valued on the equal basis of a Saudi,” said Nisha Varia, senior researcher in the Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch.

“Instead of instilling confidence among migrant workers that they can seek redress through the Saudi justice system, this decision shows that even a case involving egregious abuse, ample evidence, and intense public scrutiny has not been given fair treatment.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – HRW Slams Saudi Ruling over Abused Indonesian Maid – 22 May 2008

Human Rights Watch – Saudi Arabia: Nour Miyati Denied Justice for Torture – 21 May 2008

The MEMRI Blog – Abused Indonesian Maid Gets Paltry Compensation – 21 May 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon – On May 10, Lebanon’s army overturned two government measures in an attempt to diffuse escalating tensions between Hezbollah opposition and the Lebanese government.  Following two key decisions on May 5, Hezbollah and other Shia opposition groups called for general strikes, which quickly resulted in armed confrontations between the opposition and pro-government supporters.

On May 5, the Lebanese government, led by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Sunni majority leader Saad Hariri, issued two decisions sparked the opposition’s anger.  First, the cabinet removed Beirut’s airport security chief for alleged ties to the militants.  Second, the cabinet also determined that Hezbollah’s communication network, including its own telephone system, was illegal and threatened Lebanese sovereignty.

Following the government’s decision Hezbollah’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, called for general strikes in protest.  Shia opposition members set up road block on all major roads leading to Beirut’s airport and well as major roads within and around Beirut.

On May 8, Nasrallah stated that the government’s decisions were a declaration of war against Hezbollah.  Following this public statement, street violence between armed members of the Shia opposition group and pro-government supporters broke out in Beirut.  As of May 10, the violence has resulted in at least 25 deaths and dozens of injuries.

Most recently, on the morning of May 10, two people were killed when gunmen targeted a funeral procession for a Sunni, pro-government supporter.  Also, according to Reuters, five gunmen and two soldiers died in clashes in northern Lebanon.

On May 9, Shia opposition fighters launched a rocket-propelled grenade at the outer perimeter of Hariri’s home in west Beirut.  While Hariri was at home, he was not harmed.  Also on May 9, opposition gunmen forced Future News TV, owned by Hariri, off air.  Following a warning from the gunmen, security forces evacuated station employees.

Opposition forces also took over the offices of Hariri’s Al-Mustaqbal newspaper.  According to the paper’s managing editor, gunmen fired on the office with guns and rocket-propelled grenades, and later set fire to one of the floors.

Prime Minister Siniora responded to the recent violence in a public statement on May 10.  He accused Hezbollah of carrying out an “armed coup.”  In addressing the army, Siniora said, “I call on it once again to impose security on all, in all areas, deter the gunmen and immediately remove them from the street … to restore normal life.”

Rula Amin, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Beirut, said that Siniora had described Beirut as being “occupied” and “besieged;” an attempt to appeal to Lebanese inside and outside the country, as well as the mostly Sunni population in the Arab world.

Pro-government supporters accuse Iran and Syria of supporting Hezbollah and of approving their take over of Beirut.  Iran accuses US and Israeli interference in creating tensions that led to current crisis.  Syria and Israel both state that the crisis is an “internal affair.”

The violence has led Saudi Arabia and Egypt to call for an emergency meeting of the Arab League to discuss the political crisis.  This meeting is scheduled for May 11.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Lebanon PM Calls for Action by Army – 10 May 2008

Al Jazeera – Who’s Who in Lebanese Politics – 10 May 2008

Associate Press – Lebanese Prime Minister Accuses Hezbollah of ‘Armed Coup’ – 10 May 2008

BBC – Lebanon Army Moves to End Crisis – 10 May 2008

Herald Sun – Militants Attack a Top MP – 10 May 2008

International Herald Tribune – Lebanese Chief Calls on Army to Restore Order – 10 May 2008

Reuters – Hezbollah Fights Start Withdrawing from Beirut – 10 May 2008

Al Jazeera – Timeline: Crisis in Lebanon – 9 May 2008

BBC – Cabinet Condemns Hezbollah ‘Coup’ – 9 May 2008

By: Julie Narimatsu
Impunity Watch Managing Editor – Journal

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Violence was rekindled Thursday when Hezbollah supporters and Lebanese government supporters exchanged rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades.  The violence was sparked after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah accused the Lebanese government of declaring “open war” when it tried to shut down Hezbollah’s telecommunications network.  In a televised speech, Nasrallah stated that “we will cut the hand that will reach out to the weapons of the resistance no matter if it comes from the inside or the outside.”  He further defended Hezbollah’s use of the telecommunications network, avering that it is a right of any militia during war.  He referenced the Taif Agreement, which marked the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1989.  The agreement demilitarized all militias except Hezbollah because of its efforts against the Israeli occupation.

In response, government officials attributed this “new round of horror” solely to Nasrallah, asserting that Nasrallah’s speech was a “direct threat of assassinating” them and claiming that the network was being used to oversee Hezbollah’s enemies in the western-backed government.

So far, it is being reported that six people have been killed and fifteen wounded.  While it had been previously limited to Shiite and Sunni neighborhoods in downtown Beirut, it appears that the violence has expanded to include its surrounding neighborhoods.  Further, Hezbollah supporters have blocked the roads to the airport, resulting in the cancellation of flights, a disabling move given Lebanon’s strategic location between Syria and Israel.  The United Nations Security Council called on all parties to begin dialogue again.  The U.S. government is urging Hezbollah to “start playing a constructive role and stop their disruptive activities.”

Saad Hariri, the leader of Lebanon’s parliamentary majority has urged fighters to disarm and “to save Lebanon from hell,” while also calling for a meeting with Nasrallah to discuss the “misunderstanding” over the telecommunications network.  Nasrallah stated that the government must “withdraw their decisions, and there would be no war.”  It is unclear where this stand-off will lead, but the violence does not appear to be subsiding.

For more information, please see:

CNN.com – Gunbattles break out in Beirut – 8 May 2008

MSNBC – Violence rekindles fears of Lebanese civil war – 8 May 2008

Reuters – Fighting rocks Beirut, Hezbollah defiant – 8 May 2008

BBC News – Fierce clashes resume in Beirut – 8 May 2008

Al Jazeera – Beirut wracked by street battles – 8 May 2008