By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – To mark the five year anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, the International Commission of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Amnesty International released reports detailing the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.  Both reports highlighted the plight of Iraqi citizens, including: food and water shortages; violence and instability; and human rights abuses committed with impunity.

The ICRC and Amnesty reports expressed concern regarding the critical situation of many of Iraq’s most vulnerable citizens, such as children, families-headed by women, refugees, the elderly and the disabled.

There are over four million displaced Iraqis with at least 2.2 million who are internally displaced.  In addition, over 2 million Iraqis have fled to neighboring Syria and Jordan.  However, these countries are ill-equipped to provide this large number of refugees with appropriate shelter and humanitarian assistance.  As a result, both Syria and Jordan have imposed strict visa restrictions and essentially trapping fleeing refugees within Iraq.

Within Iraq, the humanitarian crisis has been described as “among the most critical in the world.”  In July 2007, Oxfam reported that 70 percent of Iraqis lacked access to safe drinking water.  ICRC accredited this water crisis to population growth, especially in urban areas, and the lack of trained engineers to repair and maintain the water and sanitation facilities.  ICRC pointed to the cholera outbreak in 2007 as one indication of the danger of unsafe water.

In addition to the water situation, Iraqis also face a health care shortage.  Not only do hospitals lack adequate supplies to treat the wounded and sick, but they also lack doctors.  ICRC stated that according to Iraqi officials, over 2,200 doctors and nurses have been killed and over 250 kidnapped since March 2003.  Of the 34,000 doctors registered in Iraq in 1990, over 20,000 have left.

In addition to water shortages, poverty, and lack of proper health care, Iraqi citizens are frequently victims of sectarian and insurgent violence.  While efforts to increase security have produced some results, ordinary Iraqi citizens are killed on a daily basis.  Attacks have been increasingly carried out with the intention of maximizing the loss of civilian life.

For example, on March 17, a bomb exploded in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and killed 43 people and injured 73 others.  The attack occurred less than a mile away from Imam Hussein shrine, a pilgrimage center for Shia Muslims.  In April 2007, two bombings targeted Karbala and resulted in the death of over 100 Iraqis.

Béatrice Mégevand Roggo, the head of the ICRC’s operations in the Middle East and North Africa, said, “Better security in some parts of Iraq must not distract attention from the continuing plight of millions of people who have essentially been left to their own devices.”

Mégevand Roggo added, “To avert an even worse crisis, more attention must be paid to the everyday needs of Iraqis.”

For the reports, please see:
Amnesty International – Iraq: Carnage and Despair: Iraq Five Years On – 17 March 2008

ICRC – Iraq: No Let Up in the Humanitarian Crisis – 17 March 2008

For more information, please see:
BBC – Iraq bomb Attack Toll Rises to 52 – 18 March 2008

The Guardian – 39 Die in Bomb Attack on Shias – 18 March 2008

New York Times – Bombing Kills 43 in  Shiite Holy City in Iraq – 18 March 2008

AFP – Red Cross, Amnesty Paint Grim Picture of Post-Invasion Iraq – 17 March 2008

Amnesty International – Carnage and Despair in Iraq – 17 March 2008

Associated Press – Red Cross: Many Iraqis Still Lack Basics – 17 March 2008

BBC – Bleak Picture of Iraq Conditions – 17 March 2008

Xinhua – Red Cross: Humanitarian Situation Still Critical in Iraq – 17 March 2008

Riots at Jabel Mukaber (Photo: Guy Assayag)

JABAL MUKABER, East Jerusalem – On March 16, hundreds of right-wing activists evaded police barricades and entered Jabal Mukaber, an Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem.  Once in the Jabal Mukaber, the demonstrators began throwing stones at the homes of the Arab residents.  Police moved in to disperse the demonstrators, sparking violent clashes between the two groups.  After several hours, the police successfully ended the demonstration and forced its participants to leave.  The incident resulted in minor injuries to two policemen and 22 protesters arrested on suspicion of stoning Arab residents’ houses.

Following the March 6 attack at Mercaz Harav yeshiva, there has been discussion of whether Israel should raze the home of Alaa Abu Dhaim, the gunman who carried out the attack.  Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter issued an order for its demolition.  A decision which is supported by Defense Minister Ehud Barak.  However, the order has not been carried out.

Groups organizing the demonstration stated that since the government has failed to demolish Abu Dhaim’s home, it was their duty as Israeli citizens to carry out the order.  One of the organizers, Baruch Marzel, stated, “The police must know that there is a price for the fact that they are not demolishing the terrorist’s house. Apparently other people have to complete the job for this to happen.”

For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera – Israelis Storm East Jerusalem – 16 March 2008

Ha’aretz – Right-Wing Demonstrators Try  to Storm Home Village of Mercaz Harav Gunman – 16 March 2008

Jerusalem Post – 22 Arrested in Right-Wing Demonstration – 16 March 2008

Middle East Times – Ultra-Nationalists Clash with Israeli Police in Jerusalem – 16 March 2008

Yedioth News – Police: We were Surprised by Intensity of Rightists’ Riots – 16 March 2008

Yedioth News – Rightists Hurl Stones at Arab Homes in Jerusalem – 16 March 2008

TEL AVIV, Israel – On March 12, Israel announced a boycott of Al Jazeera, an Qatar-based Arab broadcasting agency.  Israel accused Al Jazeera of bias and favoring militant organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.  Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Majali Wahbe announced that the government would deny visas to Al Jazeera employees and that the agency could no longer interview Israeli officials.  Also, Al Jazeera correspondents are banned from entering government offices in Jerusalem.

The decision to impose the boycott was influenced by Al Jazeera’s coverage of the recent Israeli operation in Gaza, which resulted in over 120 Palestinian and 5 Israeli deaths.  Israel accused the Arab station of bias because it rarely showed Israeli casualties or Palestinian rocket fire.  In general, the Israeli government complains that the station emphasizes Palestinian suffering while disregarding the rocket attacks targeting Israeli civilians.

Fatah has also criticized Al Jazeera’s coverage.  President Abbas complains that the agency supports Fatah’s rivals, Hamas.  Fatah lawmakers have criticized Al Jazeera of granting Hamas spokesmen a great amount of air time, while only minimal amounts to moderates.

Walid Al Omary, Al-Jazeera’s bureau chief in Jerusalem, denied that the station was biased and accused Israel of trying to “intimidate Al-Jazeera to influence our coverage.”

For more information, please see:
Arab News – When Media Becomes the News – 15 March 2008

Yedioth News – Time to End the Show – 14 March 2008

Gulf Times – Tel Aviv Orders Boycott of Jazeera News Channel – 13 March 2008

Associated Press – Israel to Impose Sanctions on Al-Jazeera – 12 March 2008

BBC – Israel Accuses Al-Jazeera of Bias – 12 March 2008

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MOSUL, Iraq – The body of a Catholic archbishop, Paulos Faraj Rahbo, was found north of Mosul.  He was abducted by gunmen while he was leaving mass on February 29.  During the kidnapping, the gunmen killed three of the archbishop’s companions.

The archbishop’s body was not tortured or shot and showed no signs of violence.  The archbishop, 65, suffered from health problems, including high blood pressure and diabetes.  An official from the morgue in Mosul said that the Archbishop probably died of natural causes.

The archbishop was shot in the leg during the kidnapping and forced into the trunk of a car.  While in the trunk, he called the church from his cell phone and told them not to pay any ransom for his release.  Church officials said that Rahbo believed that the ransom  “money would not be paid for good works and would be used for killing and more evil actions.”

Pope Benedict XVI called the archbishop’s death “an act of inhumane violence that offends the dignity of human beings and gravely damages the cause of fraternal coexistence among the blessed people of Iraq.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said those behind the kidnapping would not escape justice, calling it a “horrible crime” by “a criminal, terrorist gang.”

The archbishop’s kidnapping follows a pattern of attacks against Christian churches in Iraq.  A priest and three companions were killed in a church last June.  In January 2005, Archbishop George Yasilious of Mosul was kidnapped and later released.  In October 2006, an Orthodox priest, Polis Iskander, was beheaded after he was kidnapped and attempts to ransom him failed.

In a telegram of condolence sent to the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, Pope Benedict said he hoped that the “tragic event” would at least help build a peaceful future for the country.

For more information, please see:
New York Times – Kidnapped Iraqi Archbishop is Dead – 14 March 2008

Associated Press – Archbishop’s Body Found in Iraq – 13 March 2008

BBC – Kidnapped Iraqi Archbishop Dead – 13 March 2008

Guardian – Archbishop Kidnapped in Iraq Found Dead – 13 March 2008

International Herald Tribune – Body of Chaldean Catholic Archbishop is Found Near Northern City in Iraq – 13 March 2008

Reuters – Iraqi Archbishop Found Dead, Al Qaeda Blamed – 13 March 2008

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The Netherlands’ highest court, the Council of State, rejected an asylum plea by a gay Iranian teenager trying to escape potential prosecution in his home country.  Mehdi Kazemi, 19, says he will be arrested and executed if he is returned to Iran because he is gay.

Kazemi traveled to Britain in 2005 to study English.  While there, his former boyfriend in Iran was executed for sodomy.  Legal papers claim that Iranian authorities questioned Kazemi’s boyfriend about sexual relations he had with other men and, under interrogation, named Kazemi as his partner.

After learning about his boyfriend’s death, Kazemi applied for asylum in the UK.  In a letter to the UK Home Secretary, Kazemi said, “I did not come to the UK to claim asylum.  I came here to study and return to my country. But . . . my situation has changed.  The Iranian authorities have found out that I am a homosexual and they are looking for me.  I cannot stop my attraction towards men . . . I was born with the feeling and cannot change this fact . . . If I return to Iran I will be arrested and executed.”

After the British government denied Kazemi’s appeal, he fled to the Netherlands.  Dutch immigration authorities are more lenient with gay Iranians and afford them special status in asylum claims because of Iran’s hard line against homosexuality.

The European Union’s Dublin Regulation of 2003 holds members of the EU to an agreement that an application for asylum submitted in any EU country will be handled by that country alone.  The regulation seeks to ensure than an asylum seeker is not redirected from country to country simply because no one will take responsibility.

The Dutch Council of State abided by the Dublin Regulation and declined to hear the asylum request.  Kazemi’s last option is to ask his lawyer to request an “interim measure” that would allow Kazemi to stay in Europe until future notice.

“If anybody signs his deportation papers and says, look, he’s got to be deported to Iran, that means they have signed his death sentence,” said Kazemi’s uncle Saeed, who asked to withhold his last name over safety concerns.

For more information, please see:
Associated Press – Dutch Court Nixes Gay Asylum Seeker Bid – 11 March 2008

BBC – Gay Iranian Man Loses Asylum Plea – 11 March 2008

CNN – Gay Iranian Teen Loses Asylum Appeal – 11 March 2008

Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Dutch Court Rejects Appeal by Gay Iranian Man – 11 March 2008

The Times (London) – Gay Teenager is Facing Gallows as his Asylum Bid is Rejected – 11 March 2008