BAGHDAD, Iraq – A series of suicide attacks, shootings, and rocket strikes have claimed dozens of lives this week in Iraq. The sudden rise of violence despite of additional 30,000 troops deployed in critical areas underscore the precarious nature of security in the country.

On early Sunday morning, 13 Iraqi soldiers died when a suicide attacker drove a fuel tanker into an army base in Mosul in northern Iraq. At least 40 people were also injured when the attack caused a massive blast. In other violence:

· Drive-by shooting in a Baghdad market claimed seven lives and injured 16 people

· Rocket strikes in Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone killed at least fifteen people, eight of whom were civilians

· A suicide car bomb killed at least three people near Samara

· A roadside bomb killed five Iraqi soldiers close to the city of Kirkuk

Violence in Iraq had declined since the stationing of extra 30,000 troops last June. But this week’s attacks have shown that any improvements made in security can deteriorate anytime.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – 42 die in series of attacks across Iraq – 23 March 2008

BBC News – Dozens die in attacks across Iraq – 23 March 2008

AFP – 54 killed in Iraq bloodshed – 23 March 2008

International Herald Tribune – Rockets hit Green Zone in Iraq – 23 March 2008

GAZA CITY, Gaza – On March 20, Hamas accused Egypt of detaining and torturing dozens of Hamas members.  Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhum stated that the organization “has expressed its dissatisfaction over the continuing detentions of dozens of Palestinians in Egyptian prisons and denounces the torture which has been inflicted on them.”

Hamas claims that 39 members are currently detained in Egypt and 90 have been released in recent days.  Most were arrested when they entered Egypt in January, along with hundreds of thousands of Gazans, when the border fence near the Rafah crossing was breached.

The alleged torture occurred during interrogations conducted by Egyptian authorities.  The individuals who have been released stated that they were questioned on topics such as the movements of Hamas leaders, such as former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, the whereabouts of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, and Hamas activities within Gaza.

Said Siam, former interior minister in the Hamas-led government, strongly condemned the Egyptian authorities.  “The Egyptians aren’t asking anything about what’s happening inside Egypt,” he said. Siam added, “These are the type of questions that only Israeli interrogators would ask.”  Barhum agreed, stating that the questions had nothing to do with Egypt’s security.

For more information, please see:
ABC – Hamas Accuses Egypt of Torturing its Members – 22 March 2008

AFP – Hamas Accuses Egypt of Militant “Torture” – 21 March 2008

BBC – Hamas Men “Tortured by Egyptians” – 21 March 2008

Jerusalem Post – Hamas: Egypt is Torturing Hamas Prisoners – 20 March 2008

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CASABLANCA, Morocco – King Mohammad VI pardoned Fouad Mourtada, a Moroccan computer engineer imprisoned for creating a fake Facebook profile of the king’s younger brother, Prince Moulay Rachid.  Last month, Mourtada, 26, was sentenced to three years in jail for “usurping” the identity of the prince by creating a profile of him on the popular social networking site.

During his trial, Mourtada insisted he meant no harm to the prince in creating the profile.  He reiterated those sentiments upon his release.  “I have nothing against the prince.”  Mourtada said.  “In fact, my act was done because of my admiration for him.  I regret that it was badly interpreted.”

Mourtada said he was “fine” after his pardon and thanked his supporters who campaigned for his release.  Mourtada’s arrest sparked free speech protests around the world.  Many prominent Moroccan bloggers stopped writing in solidarity with Mourtada.

“Fouad’s liberation is a victory for justice and freedom,” said Mourtada’s lawyer Ali Ammar. “The king has done what the court should have done in the first place.”

The king granted Mourtada’s pardon along with 565 others just before the anniversary of the birth of the prophet Mohammed, a public holiday in Morocco, and a date on which pardons are often announced.  The king did not provide any reasoning for his pardons.

Mourtada’s case caught the attention of the French based Reporters Without Borders organization.  After Mourtada’s release, the group released a statement that said, “This is a great relief.  Mourtada will be able to spend this holiday with his family tomorrow after 43 days in prison. Nonetheless, we regret that his release is the result of a royal pardon rather than a fair verdict and sentence. Moroccan bloggers will not be able to forget his imprisonment when they compose their blog entries.”

BBC’s James Copnall said that Mourtada’s case has shown that while human rights conditions in Morocco have greatly improved in recent years, the royal family continues to be off-limits for criticism and even parody.

King Mohammed VI is regarded as a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad, and to question his authority is seen as a challenge to his religious role as the Commander of the Faithful.

For more information, please see:
AFP – Moroccan King Pardons Joker Jailed for ‘Royal’ Facebook Page – 19 March 2008

Associated Press – Royal Facebook Usurper Freed in Morocco – 19 March 2008

BBC – Morocco ‘Facebook Prince’ Pardon – 19 March 2008

CNN – King Pardons Morocco Facebook Imposter – 19 March 2008

New York Times – Facebook Prankster Released in Morocco – 19 March 2008

Reporters Without Borders – Press Release – 19 March 2008

Reuters – Royal Pardon Frees Moroccan Facebook User – 19 March 2008
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL19737224.html

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On March 17, the Iranian Judiciary Amnesty Commission released a woman sentenced to death by stoning.  Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, was convicted of adultery and had been in prison for the last 11 years, was released in the city of Qazvin.

Ebrahimi was released along with her four-year-old son whom she conceived with Jafar Kiani.  Kiani, also convicted of adultery, was stoned to death in July 2007.  Kiani was stoned to death despite a 2002 directive by judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi that imposed a moratorium on such executions. Kiani’s stoning was the first such execution to be confirmed in years.

Ebrahimi’s lawyer, Shadi Sadr, said that his client could not believe that she was pardoned.  “I cannot tell how the commission came up with this decision,” Sadr said. “Whether it was our defense, top clerics’ rulings against stoning or Ayatollah Shahroudi’s decree.”

“But you cannot deny the role of public opinion and domestic and international pressures,” said Sadr.  Sadr is a leading women’s rights activist and is campaigning to remove stoning from Iran’s law books.

According to Amnesty International, death by stoning is still legal under Iranian law.  Article 102 of the Iranian penal code states that men should be buried up to their waists and women up to their breasts while being stoned.  Another article prescribes the size of stone to be used.

Sadr said that Ebrahimi and her son had returned to northern Iran to be with her family.

For more information, please see:
AFP – Iran Frees Woman Facing Stoning For Adultery: Lawyer – 18 March 2008

AGI – Iran: Woman With Death Sentence Released With Son – 18 March 2008

BBC – Iranian Women Escapes Stoning Death – 18 March 2008

News.com.au – Woman Escapes Stoning for Adultery – 18 March 2008

Amnesty International – Amnesty International appeals against planned executions by stoning – 20 June 2007

TEHRAN, Iraq – Dawn on May 14th, 2008, officers from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence in Tehran arrested six members of the Bahai community in charge of coordinating activities of the Baha’i religious community.  The six members were taken to Iran’s Evin Prison that has a history of human rights abuses.  Another member, Mrs. Mahvash Sabit, Secretary of the group, was questioned about a burial that took place in a cemetery in Mashad.  The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (“IHRDC”) is concerned that the Iranian government will use these arrests to further persecute members of the Baha’i community merely because of their faith.  The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (“USCIRF”) states, “since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power a few years ago, Baha’is have been harassed, physically attacked, arrested and imprisoned.”

There has been a history of oppression under the Iranian government.  The IHRDC says, in 1980, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards arrested nine members of the Baha’i National Spiritual Assembly and were never seen again.  In 1981, again, “a second National Spiritual Assembly was constituted and eight of its members were arrested and summarily executed.”  In 1983, history repeated itself when seven members of the Assembly were hunted down and once again executed.  The IHRDC is concerned that the recently arrested members are in danger of meeting the same fate.  The report on the IHRDC website says members of the Baha’i community have been under surveillance by the Iran government since 2005 when the Ayatollah Khamenei ordered military agencies identify and monitor members of the Baha’i community.  Since 2005, Bahai’s have been the targets of attacks by vigilante groups acting with impunity under the Iran government.

For more information, please see:

Iran Human Rights Documentation Center – IHRDC Condemns the Arrest of Leading Baha’is – 15 May 2008

CNN – Iran’s Arrest of Baha’is Condemned – 15 May 2008