By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East Desk

RIYDAH, Saudia Arabia – A group of over 100 Arab rights groups and intellectuals condemned a Saudi religious edict calling for the death of two newspaper columnists, saying the fatwa was the result of “clerics of darkness” performing intellectual terrorism.

“All we can see in this fatwa is intellectual terrorism which sees ‘Islam’ as its exclusive monopoly and only sees in the ‘other’ blood which can be shed freely,” said the statement sent out by the rights groups.  The statement also said that religious scholars who branded other Muslims as infidels were “clerics of darkness, fooled through their arrogance and inflated by their status into thinking that they speak in the name of God.”

Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak, one of Saudi Arabia’s most revered clerics, said in a rare religious ruling in March that two newspaper columnists should be put to death unless they renounced their “heretical articles” in public.

“Anyone who claims this has refuted Islam and should be tried so that he can take it back. If not, he should be killed as an apostate from the religion of Islam,” Barrak said. “It is disgraceful that articles [of] this kind of apostasy should be published in … the land of [Mecca and Medina].”

Writing in al-Riyadh newspaper, Yousef Aba Al-Khail and Abdullah bin Bejad questioned the Sunni Muslim view in Saudi Arabia that Christians and Jews should be considered unbelievers.  Barrak, who was backed by a group of 20 Saudi clerics, said their statement implied that Muslims were free to follow other religions. None of the clerics speak for the Saudi government, which is represented by the Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdel-Aziz Al al-Sheikh.

Barrak is seen as one of Saudi Arabia’s leading religious authorities and his fatwa, or religious ruling, was praised by clerics who asked God to support him in the face of liberals with “polluted beliefs.”  Fatwas by radical Muslim clerics led to the assassination in 1992 of the Egyptian writer Farag Foda and to an attempt in 1994 in Cairo to murder the Egyptian Nobel prize-winner Naguib Mahfouz.

“We are extremely worried about the safety of our colleagues and ask the Saudi government to ensure their safety,” Committee to Protect Journalists Executive Director Joel Simon said. “It is ironic that writers advocating tolerance and reform are subject to incitement and death threats.”

For more information, please see:
Washington Post – A Hint of Tolerance – 4 April 2008

Guardian – Intellectuals Condemn Fatwa Against Writers – 3 April 2008

New York Times – Saudi Ruling Assailed – 2 April 2008

Reuters – Arab Rights Groups, Figures Slam Saudi Death Fatwa – 1 April 2008

Arab News – Of Fatwas and Infidels – 27 March 2008

CPJ – Saudi Cleric Issues Fatwa Against Two Journalists – 20 March 2008

CAIRO, Egypt – Al Qaeda’s media arm, al Sahab, announced last December that Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s ideological chief and second-in-command, would answer questions submitted by the public on various websites.  In a 103-minute video Zawahiri addressed issues ranging from Palestine, opportunities for female militants and Osama bin Laden’s health.  This video was billed as the first installment of Zawahiri’s responses to the over 900 questions submitted.

One question related to al Qaeda’s suicide attacks on UN offices in Algiers on December 11, which at least 41 people died, including 18 UN employees.  The attacks on the United Nations office and the Constitutional Council building were claimed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

An Algerian medical student wrote, “I want al-Zawahiri to answer me about those who kill the people in Algeria. What is the legal evidence for killing the innocents?”  Zawahiri responded that the people killed were not innocents.  Rather, according to al Qaeda, “they are from the Crusader unbelievers and the government troops who defend them.”  He defended the attacks by stating the one of the targets, a UN building, was a legitimate target because the UN is “an enemy of Islam and Muslims.”

In addition, Zawahiri denied that the group was responsible for killing innocent people and stated, “If there is any innocent who was killed in the mujahedin’s operations, then it was either an unintentional error or out of necessity.”  Instead, Zawahiri claimed that al Qaeda’s enemies of intentionally taking positions amongst innocent people and using them as human shields.

For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera – Al-Qaeda Deputy: UN Enemy of Islam – 3 April 2008

Bloomberg – Zawahiri Defends Al-Qaeda that Kill Muslims – 3 April 2008

CCN – Al Qaeda No. 2: We Don’t Kill Innocents – 3 April 2008

Los Angeles Times – Bin Laden’s Deputy Fields Queries – 3 April 2008

BBC – Al-Qaeda Deputy Defends Attacks – 2 April 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

NEW HAVEN, United States – On March 28, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, a non-profit organization based in New Haven, Connecticut, released a report titled “Crushing the Reformist Students: A Commentary by Mehrangiz Kar.”  In this report, Kar describes the institutions the conservative Iranian government employed to counter the reform movement amongst Iran’s student population.

Kar argues that during President Khatami’s term in office, the student movement played a crucial role in calling for reforms.  To counter the reformist student movement, Iran’s conservative clerics established parallel student organizations, which were directly under the control of the Supreme Leader, Iran’s highest political and religious authority.  Kar argues that these student organizations used violence to intimidate reformist student groups.

In the report Kar describes how these and similar institutions were used to suppress the academic freedom and the freedom of expression on university campuses.  These institutions “subjected students arbitrarily to harsh punishments and expelled professors on trumped up charges.”

Recently, government suppression of free expression can be seen in the case of Babak Zamanian.  On March 3, Zamanian was sentenced to one year imprisonment on charges of acting against national security.  Zamanian’s lawyer, Behnam Daraiezadeh, stated that his client “was given the maximum sentence for acting against national security by propaganda against the system, which is punishable by three months to one year in jail.”

Zamanian is a student leader at Tehran’s Amir Kabir University of Technology, which is one of Iran’s leading universities.  Amir Kabir is also a long-standing hotbed of student activism.  In December 2006, Zamanian organized a protest against Iranian President Ahmadinejad.  Hundreds of students chanted “Death to dictatorship!” and “Dictator, go home!” while holding upside-down posters of the hard-line president.  The incident made international headlines.

While President Ahmadinejad publicly stated that he welcomed criticism and that he would not exact revenge, few believed him.  Zamanian was arrested in April 2007 and sent to Section 209 of Evin Prison, the infamous solitary confinement block run by the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

During his 40 day detention, Zamanian claims that he was subjected to various types of physical abuse.  He stated that his interrogators wanted him to confess to trying to incite an uprising and corroborating with foreign governments to seek change in Iran.

In addition, three other Amir Kabir students, charged of publishing anti-Islamic images in reformist student newspapers, have been sentenced to jail terms of up to three years.  Denying the charges, the three students allege that the images were planted in order to discredit them.  The three were arrested in May 2007 and remain in jail.  In recent months, several students have been arrested during demonstrations calling for their release.

For more information, please see:
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center – “Crushing the Reformist Students: A Commentary by Mehrangiz Kar” (in Farsi) – 28 March 2008

Iran Human Rights Documentation Center – Press Release: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center Releases Report: “Crushing the Reformist Students: A Commentary by Mehrangiz Kar” – 28 March 2008

AFP – Iran Student Activist Sentenced to Jail: Report – 3 March 2008

Los Angeles Times – Broken by Prison, for a Cause all but Lost – 23 December 2007

The Dutch film by Dutch MP Geert Wilders seeks to expose the “strife” caused by the Koran.  Fitna means strife in Arabic.  His work has met with great opposition from both middle eastern nations and world organizations such as NATO and the United Nations.

The fifteen minute video features verses from the Koran that discuss an Islamic view that states that non-Muslims should be eliminated.  The video builds on the verses from the Koran and calls from imams calling for the reign of Islam and is punctuated by graphic imagery showing radical Islamists killing infidels.  The imagery also includes a child’s view of Israelis and footage from the World Trade Center.

The actual purpose of the video is to show how Islam is growing in the Netherlands.  The rapid increase of Muslims in the nation worries the Dutch MP and he has called for the nation to be wary regarding the growth of the religion arguing that Islam will transform the government.

The video has been condemned by the Dutch government because it will hurt the nations economic and safety concerns.  The film has been called anti-Islamic propaganda by the United Nations Secretary General Bi-Ki Moon.

The film has caused uproar in many nations including 53 MP protestors in Jordan that have asked the government to break all diplomatic ties with the Netherlands and remove the Dutch Embassy.  (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)

“‘These kinds of attacks by so-called sane European politicians and scholars will lead to very serious repercussions, pushing mankind to a situation of chaos and conflict,’ said Dr. Saleh S. Al-Wohaibi, secretary-general of WAMY.”  (Arab News)  These statements regarding serious repercussions caused the Christian community in Egypt to be fearful that they may be attacked and sent a damage limitation committee.  (Bos News Life)

The film was removed from the internet from its official site because of the overwhelming protests.

For more information, please see:

Arab News- Wilders Film Aims to Block Dialouge:WAMY- 31 March 2008

Bos News Life- NEWS ALERT: Christians Anxious As Fitna Film Is Posted Online-28 March 2008

Radio Netherlands- Jordanians protest against Fitna- 30 March 2008

VAO News- Iran Summons Dutch Ambassador Over Anti-Islam Film- 30 March 2008

Reuters- U.N.’s Ban condemns Dutch film as anti-Islamic- 28 March 2008

Middle East Times- Anger continues over Dutch film on Islam- 30 March 2008

Al-Jazeera- Iran protests over Dutch Quran film- 30 March 2008

Bos News Life- BREAKING NEWS: Anti-Islamic Film Fitna Taken Offline Following Threats; “Sad Day For Freedom Of Speech” (UPDATE)- 28 March 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Libya – On March 29, Human Rights Watch called for the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoner Fathi al-Jahmi.  Despite an announcement by the Gaddafi International Foundation that Jahmi was released on March 11, HRW stated that Jahmi remains in Libyan custody.

Jahmi’s brother said that the Gaddafi Foundation’s announcement that Libya released Jahmi to the care of his family was not accurate.  Jahmi’s family stated that while they have access to him, he remains in detention at the Tripoli Medical Center , where he receives medical care for diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.  HRW added that due to real or perceived governmental pressure, Jahmi and his family were not free to make independent decisions about his medical care.

In July 2007, Jahmi was transferred to the Tripoli Medical Center from a psychiatric hospital.    According to Dr. Allen, an advisor to Physicians for Human Rights, Jahmi was experiencing severe heart failure at the time of the transfer.  Allen added that Jahmi’s health has improved since then, significant and pressing health problems remain.

According to Allen, “There’s no doubt that negligent care contributed to the serious deterioration of al-Jahmi’s health during his early detention.”  HRW stated that it is likely that the Jahmi’s health deteriorated due to improper treatment and denial of medications during his detention in the psychiatric hospital.

Jahmi, a former provincial governor was first arrested and convicted in 2002, after he criticized the government, calling for the abolition of Gaddafi’s Green Book, free elections in Libya, a free press, and the release of political prisoners.  A court sentenced him to five years in prison.  After foreign intervention, Libya reduced Jahmi’s sentence to a one year suspended sentence and he was released on March 1, 2004.

Jahmi was arrested just two weeks after his release after he gave two interviews where he again called for free elections and free press.  In his March 5 interview with al-Hurra television, Jahmi called Gaddafi a dictator and said, “All that is left for him to do is hand us a prayer carpet and ask us to bow before his picture and worship him.”

In March 2004, Libya charged him with trying to overthrow the government, insulting Gaddafi and contacting foreign authorities.  For the past four years, Libya has imprisoned Jahmi without trial.

For more information, please see:
Human Rights Watch – Libya: Free Hospitalized Political Prisoner – 29 March 2008

Reuters – Libyan Dissident Released, Gaddafi Charity – 12 March 2008

AFP – Libyan Political Prisoner Released: Kadhafi Foundation – 11 March 2008

International Herald Tribune – Prominent Dissident Freed After 4 Years in Jail for Criticizing Leader, Urging Democracy – 11 March 2008