LONDON, England—Attorneys representing five Iraqi men released evidence that alleging that British soldiers tortured and executed up to 20 Iraqis after a battle in 2004.

The British military denied the claims, and said that the dead were insurgents that were killed in a gun battle after ambushing British troops.

Martyn Day and Phil Shiner, the attorneys representing the five Iraqis, said that witness testimony, death certificates and video footage of mutilated bodies all support their claims.  All five of the Iraqis claim to be laborers who were caught in the middle of the violence.  The lawyers have asked the British High Court to order a public inquiry into the May 14, 2004 battle near the town of Al Majar Al Kabir.

Day and Shiner claim that the five Iraqis were handcuffed and blindfolded and could hear other men screaming, moaning in pain and choking.  The men also claim to have heard gunfire.

Day said that the nature of a number of the injuries of the Iraqis would seem to be highly unusual in a battlefield.

“For example, quite how so many of the Iraqis sustained single gunshots to the head and from seemingly at close quarter, how did two of them end with their eyes gouged out, how did one have his penis cut off [and] some have torture wounds?” Day said.

The attorneys for the five men have called for the ongoing investigation, being conducted by the Royal Military Police be taken over by Scotland Yard.

For more information, please see:
Associated Press – UK Troops May Have Executed Iraqis – 23 February 2008

Gulf News – UK Troops Killed 20 Iraqis In Their Custody, Claim Lawyers – 23 February 2008

BBC – Claim UK Troops ‘Executed’ Iraqis – 22 February 2008

The Guardian – British troops executed 20 captives in southern Iraq, say lawyers– 22 February 2008

The Turkish military launched a land invasion into the Matin mountains of N. Iraq to hunt down the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK).  A discrepancy between the reported casualties suffered by each side exists. Turkish reports state that they have killed 147 PKK members and lost only 15 casualties.  (Guardian Unlimited)  However, the PKK reporting killing 47 Turkish soldiers and only losing two soldiers. (Times Online) The Turkish force is comprised of 5,000 soldiers and 60 tanks.  As the fighting continues, it may continue to destabilize the region.

A solution to create lasting peace will be is almost impossible, because of the intensity of each party’s goal.  The Turkish military wants to completely eliminate the PKK.  The PKK wants to carve out an independent Kurdish nation for the 14 million Kurds living in Turkey.  However, since the Turks believe that the PKK rebels are hiding in the Kurdish region of N. Iraq to situation has increased complexity.  The northern Iraqi Kurds have promised not to betray fellow Kurds, despite its own desire for peace in the region and the urging of its American benefactors.  The United States, an ally of Turkey, has given the Turkish military access to American intelligence.  Therefore, a truce will be difficult to be worked out because of the tangled web of competing interests.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian- Turks send more tanks into Iraq against PKK- 25 February 2008

Times Online- PKK guerrillas seek help from Iraq Kurds- 25 February 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Editor, Middle East

KOBAR, West Bank – On February 22, Majd al-Barghouthi died in a prison while in the custody of the Palestinian Authority (PA).  According to a senior PA security official, Barghouti was arrested on suspicion of membership in Hamas and “incitement” against the PA leadership.  The Jerusalem Post stated that al-Barghouthi was arrested on February 14, as he left his mosque, where he served as an imam.

While the official autopsy report stated that al-Barghouthi died as a result of a heart attack, his family claims that he was tortured to death by PA interrogators.  A statement released by the Palestinian Security revealed that al-Barghouthi was rushed to Khalil Hospital in Ramallah two days before his death, after he complained of pain in his abdomen.  After he was examined, doctors determined that he did not need hospitalization.  Then, on February 22, al-Barghouthi was taken to Khalid hospital, after he complained of pain in his chest.  He died shortly after.

According to Seif Barghouthi, the family learned of the torture from four men, who were arrested with al-Barghouthi and were released after his death.  One of the released detainees, Azzam Sahel, said that he was forced to stay in painful positions, including standing on his toes for extended periods, and was forced to sleep on a wet floor in nothing but a shirt and his underwear.  Sahel said that he could hear al-Barghouthi in a nearby cell shouting for help repeatedly, but that he did not witness actual mistreatment.

As rumors of mistreatment spread, members of al-Barghouthi’s family began calling for an independent investigation into his death.  On February 22 and 23, members of his family blocked a main road near Kobar with rocks and burning tires, demanding that his interrogators be put on trial.

On February 24, thousands of Hamas supporters gathered in Kobar and marched as al-Barghouthi’s funeral.  Some 3,000 supporters carried his body, which was draped in a green Hamas flag, and shouted slogans against PA such as Fayyad and Abbas’ intelligence chief, Tawfik Tirawi.

PA security officials have not commented on al-Barghouthi’s death, besides to say that the cause of death was a heart attack.  On February 23, Abbas called for an investigation into al-Barghouthi’s death.  However, relatives and Hamas denounce any PA investigation, and will only permit an autopsy if monitored by an independent observer.

al-Barghouthi’s death occurs during a time of increased tensions between Fatah and Hamas.  Tensions increased following Hamas’s forceful takeover of Gaza in the summer of 2007.  Following Fatah’s ouster from Gaza, dozens of Hamas members and leaders in the West Bank have been arrested and detained by PA officials.  Hamas officials accuse Abbas and Fatah of “factional cleansing” in the West Bank, which continues to be under the control of Fatah.

For more information, please see:
AFP – Crowds Vow Revenge at West Bank Funeral of Hamas Imam – 24 February 2008

Associated Press – Hamas Members Turn Funeral into Protest – 24 February 2008

International Middle East Media Center – President Abbas Orders a Probe into  Death of Political Prisoner in a PA Prison – 24 February 2008

Jerusalem Post – Hamas: PA Violating Detainees’ Human Rights – 24 February 2008

Reuters – Hamas says Leader Killed to Extract “Sham Confession” – 24 February 2008

Associated Press – Fatah-Hamas Tensions Over Prisoner Death – 23 February 2008

International Herald Tribune – Hamas Preacher Dies in Palestinian lockup; Family Alleges he was Tortured – 23 February 2008

Yedioth – Hamas: Palestinian Authority  Worse than Israel – 23 February 2008

Al Jazeeera – West Bank Protest Over Hamas Death – 22 February 2008

MECCA, Saudi Arabia – On February 23, the Prosecution and Investigation Commission started an investigation into 57 young men arrested on February 21 for allegedly “flirting” with girls at malls in Mecca.  The men were arrested by regular police officers after the police were summoned to the malls by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, also known as the religious police or Muttawa.  According to the Saudi Gazette, an English-language daily, the muttawa sent 20 of its staff and policemen to Meccan malls to arrest the young men, who were transferred to the Al-Mansour Police Station.

The young men are accused of wearing “indecent clothing and playing loud music and dancing” to attract the attention of the opposite sex.  The men found innocent upon investigation will be released and the others will be referred to the court of law.

For more information, please see:
AFP – Saudi Police Crack Down on Flirting in Mecca – 23 February 2008

BBC – Saudi Men Arrested for “Flirting” – 23 February 2008

Saudi Gazette – 57 Men Nabbed for Flirting – 23 February 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – On February 21, Peace Now, an Israeli organization that monitors settlement expansion, released a report in which the group states that there is a clear policy of discrimination against Palestinians.  As the result of the Olso Accords, the West Bank was divided into three different areas: Area A, controlled by the Palestinian Authority; Area B, controlled by the Palestinian Authority and Israel; and Area C, controlled by Israel.  In order to build private homes, expand private homes, or to build public buildings and infrastructure in Area C, a permit needs to be issued by the Israeli Civil Administration.

The Peace Now report states that between 2000 and 2007, less than 6% of building permits submitted by Palestinians have been approved.  During this period, only 91 (of 1,624) building permits submitted by Palestinians were approved, while 18,472 homes were built in the West Bank for Israeli settlers.  Also, the report states that of the 4,993 demolition orders issued to Palestinians, 1,663 were carried out, resulting in a 33% rate of demolition.  In contrast, of the 2,900 demolition orders issued to Israeli settlement buildings, 199 demolitions were carried out, resulting in a 7% rate of demolition.

Most of the demolitions have been carried out against private homes and buildings that were built illegally without a permit.  Captain Zidki Maman, spokesman for the IDF unit that oversees civil affairs in the West Bank, stated that “If Palestinians would submit request for building permits, there could be thousands more approvals.”  However, Palestinians frequently complain that the authorities reject most building requests as a matter of policy.

The status of Israeli settlements in the West Bank remains a focal point in the peace talks between Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Abbas.  At the beginning of the talks, Olmert announced a settlement freeze in which no new settlements would be built, but did not limit the construction of new homes in existing settlements.  As a result, the expansion of settlements continues; evidenced by new homes in settlements such as Eli, south of Nablus, and Maskiot, in the Jordan valley.

While the IDF oversees all settlement activity and is aware of the construction, it has not approved the construction or issued permits for the construction.  Maman stated that the IDF is aware of the situation and “in the end, all illegal building is taken care of.”  He declined to say whether the illegal homes would be dismantled.

Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer stated “the Civil Administration figures clarify that the West Bank territories controlled by Israel are for Jews only.” Also, Oppenheimer said that “the data proves that the discrimination is clearly and blatantly against the Palestinian population, and the denial of permits and the firm enforcement in the Palestinian communities raises the suspicion that this is an intentional policy aimed at bringing about a quiet transfer of the Palestinians from Area C.”

For more information, please see:
BBC – W Bank Building “Bias” Condemned – 21 February 2008

Peace Now – Area C: Palestinian Construction and Demolition Stats – 21 February 2008

Yedioth – Peace Now: Only Palestinians’ Houses Demolished – 21 February 2008

Ha’aretz – Construction Continuing in West Bank Settlements Despite PM’s Pledge – 20 February 2008

Jerusalem Post – IDF Says Homes Still Being Built in Eli – 20 February 2008

YouTube – Making Maskiot: Israel’s Settlement Expansion – 20 February 2008

Reuters – ISRAEL-OPT: House Demolitions Cause Palestinians to Leave Village – 19 February 2008