RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – On April 22, the Saudi Interior Minister announced that Hamoud al-Ansi, convicted of murder, was beheaded in the eastern Saudi city of Dhahran.  Ansi was convicted for stabbing another man to death during a conflict about land.  According to the Associated Press, his execution brings the total to 48 in 2008.

In addition, on April 18, two Syrian nationals, Firas Faycal Al-Aghbar and Firas Hussein Maktabi, were beheaded in the northwestern city of Tabuk.  They were convicted on drug trafficking charges for receiving a shipment of hallucinogenic drugs.

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law, under which those convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape or armed robbery are executed in public with a sword.

According to an Amnesty International report on capital punishment, Saudi Arabia executed the third highest number of people in 2007.  China, who executed at least 470, was first; followed by Iran (317).  In 2007, Saudi Arabia executed 143 people, which was a drastic increase from the total in 2006 (37).  The report also notes that Saudi Arabia was one of three countries who executed child offenders in 2007.  Also, in 2007, at least 76 of the 143 people executed were foreign nationals.

For more information, please see:

FoxNews.com – Saudi Arabia Executes Convicted Murderer in 48th Beheading this Year – 22 April 2008

Kuwait Times – Syrian Protesters Stage Sit-in Against Saudi Executions – 22 April 2008

Amnesty International – Death Penalty: World Trend Down but Secrecy Surrounds China Execution Figures – 14 April 2008

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

LONDON, England – An April 21 report released by Human Rights Watch alleges that Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship of women and sex segregation policies prevent women from enjoying their basic rights.  The 50 page report, “Perpetual Minors: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia,” documents the effects of these discriminatory policies and draws on more than 100 interviews with Saudi women.

Human Rights Watch said that the Saudi government treats adult women as legal minors who are not in control of their own well-being.  The group said that Saudi women must often obtain permission from a guardian (a father, husband or even a son) to work, travel, marry or even access health care.

“The Saudi government sacrifices basic human rights to maintain male control over women,” said Farida Deif, women’s rights researcher for the Middle East at Human Rights Watch. “Saudi women won’t make any progress until the government ends the abuses that stem from these misguided policies.”

The report claims that Saudi women are prevented from accessing government agencies without a male representative unless the agency has established a female section.  According to the report, the need for separate office spaces provides a disincentive to hiring female employees.

The report also alleges that even when no permission from a guardian is required, some officials will ask for it.  Despite national regulations to the contrary, some hospitals require a guardian’s permission to allow women to be admitted, agree to medical procedures for themselves or their children, or be discharged.

Male guardianship over adult women also contributes to their risk of exposure to violence within the family as victims of violence find it difficult to seek protection or redress from the courts. The report says that social workers, physicians and lawyers say that it is nearly impossible to remove guardianship from male guardians who are abusive.

“It’s astonishing that the Saudi government denies adult women the right to make decisions for themselves but holds them criminally responsible for their actions at puberty,” Deif said.  “For Saudi women, reaching adulthood brings no rights, only responsibilities.”

For more information, please see:
ABC  – Saudi Women ‘Kept in Childhood’ – 21 April 2008

BBC – Saudi Women ‘Kept in Childhood’ – 21 April 2008

Human Rights Watch – Saudi Arabia: Male Guardianship Policies Harm Women – 21 April 2008

Human Rights Watch Report – Perpetual Minors: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia – 21 April 2008

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

LONDON, England – An April 21 report released by Human Rights Watch alleges that Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship of women and sex segregation policies prevent women from enjoying their basic rights.  The 50 page report, “Perpetual Minors: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia,” documents the effects of these discriminatory policies and draws on more than 100 interviews with Saudi women.

Human Rights Watch said that the Saudi government treats adult women as legal minors who are not in control of their own well-being.  The group said that Saudi women must often obtain permission from a guardian (a father, husband or even a son) to work, travel, marry or even access health care.

“The Saudi government sacrifices basic human rights to maintain male control over women,” said Farida Deif, women’s rights researcher for the Middle East at Human Rights Watch. “Saudi women won’t make any progress until the government ends the abuses that stem from these misguided policies.”

The report claims that Saudi women are prevented from accessing government agencies without a male representative unless the agency has established a female section.  According to the report, the need for separate office spaces provides a disincentive to hiring female employees.

The report also alleges that even when no permission from a guardian is required, some officials will ask for it.  Despite national regulations to the contrary, some hospitals require a guardian’s permission to allow women to be admitted, agree to medical procedures for themselves or their children, or be discharged.

Male guardianship over adult women also contributes to their risk of exposure to violence within the family as victims of violence find it difficult to seek protection or redress from the courts. The report says that social workers, physicians and lawyers say that it is nearly impossible to remove guardianship from male guardians who are abusive.

“It’s astonishing that the Saudi government denies adult women the right to make decisions for themselves but holds them criminally responsible for their actions at puberty,” Deif said.  “For Saudi women, reaching adulthood brings no rights, only responsibilities.”

For more information, please see:
ABC  – Saudi Women ‘Kept in Childhood’ – 21 April 2008

BBC – Saudi Women ‘Kept in Childhood’ – 21 April 2008

Human Rights Watch – Saudi Arabia: Male Guardianship Policies Harm Women – 21 April 2008

Human Rights Watch Report – Perpetual Minors: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia – 21 April 2008

GAZA CITY, Gaza – Human Rights Watch condemned Israel on Saturday for the death of a Reuters cameraman and three others in an Israeli strike in Gaza. The New York-based rights group believes an Israeli tank crew fired either recklessly or deliberately at Fadel Shana and three others standing near him.

Human Rights Watch believes Israeli soldiers failed to make sure they were aiming at a military target before firing. Shana’s final video showed a tank on a distant hilltop open fire. Shana was wearing a bullet proof jacket marked with “Press” at the time and his vehicle was also marked with “TV” signs. His final video turned black immediately after the shots were fired.

The tank fired flechette shells, which rights groups consider inappropriate for densely populated areas like the Gaza Strip. The flechette shell is an anti-personnel weapon generally fired from a tank, which explodes in the air and releases thousands of small metal darts, which disperse in a conical arch of approximately 300 by 90 meters. Use of flechette shell usually results in indiscriminate firing, thereby endangering innocent civilians in violation of international humanitarian law.

Shana was the first Gaza journalist to be killed in the territory in the past eight years of Israeli-Palestinian fighting.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Rights group: Israel must investigate cameraman’s death – 20 April 2008

Jerusalem Post – Israel must probe cameraman’s death – 20 April 2008

Human Rights Watch – Investigate death of Gaza civilians – 19 April 2008

AFP – Media Watchdog IPI condemns killing of Reuters cameraman – 19 April 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Gaza – On April 16, at least 20 Palestinians and 3 Israelis were killed as violence between the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and Palestinian militants quickly escalated.  Fighting began shortly after midnight when IDF raided northern Gaza in an operation to keep militants away from the border fence.

According to Ha’aretz, IDF soldiers exchanged gun fire with armed Palestinians, mostly members of Hamas.  During the exchange, four Palestinians were killed and one Israeli soldier was injured by sniper fire.  The military stated that Palestinian gunmen open fire from a mosque used to store explosives.  IDF returned fire and later blew up explosive devices found in the mosque; causing the building to sustain heavy damages.

Later, three IDF soldiers were killed and two others wounded when Hamas ambushed an IDF unit.  The 12 person IDF unit crossed into Gaza to pursue militants who approached the border near the Nahal Oz crossing.  A second group of Hamas gunmen fired on the unit; killing Sgt. Matan Ovdati (19), Sgt. Menhash Albaniat (20), and Sgt. David Papian (21).  The fighting also resulted in the deaths of four Hamas gunmen.

Violence escalated later in the day, as the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched four missiles at the Bureij refugee camp in the centre of Gaza City.  The strike killed at least eight Palestinians; some media sources report that 12 were killed.  Of these, at least two were children, under the age of 16, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry.  The BBC reports that of the 11 individuals killed in the strike, five were children.

Another strike in Gaza City killed a Reuters cameraman and two by-standers.  Fadel Shana’a, 23, a Palestinian cameraman, was reporting on the violence when an Israeli tank shell struck his vehicle, which was clearly marked with “Press” on the roof.  Two other journalists were wounded in the strike.  David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief of the news agency, called for an investigation by the Israeli military.

While Israel expressed regret over Shana’a’s death, a military spokesman said that “it must be pointed out that there’s a war going on against armed terrorists who are extremists and dangerous.”  The military official told Reuters that “the presence of media, photographers and other uninvolved individuals in areas of warfare is extremely dangerous and poses a threat to their lives.”

The increase in violence occurred one week after members of the Islamic Jihad and two smaller militant groups attacked a fuel depot at the Nahal Oz crossing, killing two Israeli civilians.  Since the attack, no fuel had passed through the crossing, resulting in a fuel shortage.  On April 15, two universities in Gaza were forced to shut down because students were unable to travel to class due to the lack of petrol.

On April 16, Israel permitted necessary fuel deliveries to Gaza’s only power station.  Earlier, the station warned that it only had enough fuel supplies to run the plant for a few more days.  The fuel shortage is exacerbated by a strike of Gaza petrol station owners in protest to the delivery reduction.  Israel accuses Palestinians of preventing distribution in order to create a fuel crisis.

For more information, please see:
The Guardian – 20 Die in Gaza Clashes after Fire Fight at Fuel Crossing – 17 April 2008

Ha’aretz – 20 Palestinians, Including Reuters Man, Killed in Heavy Gaza Clashes– 17 April 2008

The Independent – Cameraman among 20 Dead as Violence in Gaza Escalates – 17 April 2008

International Herald Tribune – A Bloody Day of Fighting in Gaza – 17 April 2008

Jerusalem Post – Some 20 Gazans Killed in IAF Strikes – 17 April 2008

The Times (London) – Cameraman among at Least 22 Dead as Violence Returns to Gaza – 17 April 2008

Al Jazeera – Children among Israeli Raid Dead – 16 April 2008

Al Jazeera – Palestinians Killed in Israeli Raids into Gaza (video) – 16 April 2008

BBC – Day of Gaza Unrest Leaves 22 Dead – 16 April 2008

Reuters – Israel Kills 17 in Gaza after Troops Die in Clash – 16 April 2008