By Brittani Howell

Impunity Watch Reporter

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – Last Thursday, two unnamed Israeli minors were given lengthy prison sentences for the murder of Palestinian teenager, Muhammed Abu Khdeir. The older of the two minors, who was seventeen years old at the time of the murder, was sentenced to 28 years (the 25-year maximum life sentence plus an additional three years). The younger one, he was 16 at the time, was sentenced to 21 years, because the court found that he was not actually involved in the murder.

The main defendant, 31-year-old Yosef Haim Ben-David, has yet to be sentenced as he plead insanity at the last minute. Last November, all three were found guilty of kidnapping and murder. Mohammed Abu Khdeir was kidnapped the morning of the 2^nd of July 2014 and his body was later found in the forest.

A few days before the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir three Israeli teenagers were found dead in a field in West Bank, presumably kidnapped and killed by Palestinian Hamas militants. After being arrested, the defendants confessed the murder of Abu Khdeir was an act of revenge for the killing of the three Israeli’s.

Regarding the shorter sentence for the younger teen, the court ruled “He is the youngest of the bunch with potential for rehabilitation.” The court continued, “His actions are also vicious, he captured the deceased, prevented him from resisting, assisted in strangling him. But nevertheless, he did not take part physically in the last stage that led to his beating and the pouring of the fuel or oil on his body.”

Mohammed Abu Khdeir’s mother, Suha, told reporters, “what kind of justice is this? I’m a mother who lost her son forever, while I’m sure they will be released in 10 years or less. Why? This isn’t justice. This is unfair. I won’t accept such a ruling.” The father stated the family will be sending an appeal, arguing both of the minors should have received life sentences.

Mohammed Abu Khdeir’s father stated, “My wife and I are having nightmares in the middle of the night when we think about what has happened to our son.” He continued, “We are not stable and very emotional about the entire thing.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Mohammad Abu Khdair Murder: Two Israelis Jailed – 4 February 2016

CNN – Israeli Teens Sentenced for Palestinian Boy’s Burning Death – 4 February 2016

The Guardian – Israeli Teenagers Jailed for Murder of Palestinian Boy – 4 February 2016

The New York Times – 2 Israelis Sentenced in 2014 Murder of Palestinian Teenager – 4 February 2016

By Brittani Howell

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

 CAIRO, Egypt – The body of an Italian student was found on Thursday in a ditch on the outskirts of Cairo. The student, 28-year-old Giulio Regeni, was last seen at 7pm on January 25, 2016, the fifth anniversary of the uprising, as he was headed to a friend’s birthday party.

Mr. Regeni’s body was found half-naked with “evident signs of torture,” namely cigarette burns and head wounds. The Egyptian prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Ahmed Nagy, stated that “there were bruises all over the body, swelling in the hands, and wounds on the face and head.” This form of torture is a signature of a form of abuse associated with the Egyptian security forces. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was from internal bleeding due to a beating to the head.

All of the findings so far have been preliminary. Forensic authorities have yet to release a final report on the incident. Prior to the autopsy, the deputy heard of criminal investigations in Cairo, Alaa Azmi told the Associate Press that, “What we know is that this is an accident.” However, Nagy told CNN that the, “Initial inspection of the body indicates that (this) was no accident.”

Paolo Gentiloni, the Italian foreign affairs minister, stated, “We want the truth to come out, every last bit of it.” He continued, “We owe that much to a family that has been stricken in an irreparable way and, at the very least, has the right to know the truth.

Mr. Regeni was a doctoral candidate at Cambridge University. He had arrived in Cairo to research informal labor organization and to improve his Arabic. He was aware of the politically sensitive nature of his research and according to his supervisor at the American University in Cairo, “He steered clear of anything politicized” and was cautious in his work.

It has not been ruled out that Mr. Regeni’s death was the result of a random criminal act, either a failed kidnapping or a militant act.

Gentoli stated, “Obviously, we are very upset for what happened, and we asked the Egyptian government to cooperate and to allow the Italian authorities to be involved in the inquiry to understand what happened there.” Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ensured that Egyptian authorities will pay, “the utmost attention to investigating the incident.”

Egyptian novelist, Ahdaf Soueif, stated on her Facebook page that there was, “something so extra sad about a person who comes to Egypt in good faith to live and study and gets caught in a nightmare, this obtuse and brutal thuggery that’s the undertone of our lives here today.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – Italian Student Who Went Missing in Cairo Found Battered and Dead – 4 February 2016

Reuters – Body of Italian Student Shows Signs of Torture: Egyptian Officials – 4 February 2016

The New York Times – An Italian’s Brutal Death in Egypt Chills Relations – 4 February 2016

The Washington Post – Italian Student’s Battered Remains Reveal Torture and ‘Slow Death,’ Egyptian Prosecutor Says

– 4 February 2016

By Brittani Howell

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – On Friday, the opposition group, High Negotiations Committee, agreed to attend the United Nations peace talks in Geneva, at the last minute. However, the HNC still refused to participate in peace talks until there is a reprieve in the bombings of civilians. The HNC went to Geneva to press their case to the United Nations as well as the public.

The opposition is only interested in discussing stopping bombings, releasing political prisoners, and lifting the government siege of towns. Civilian society activists supported the oppositions ban of peace talks and stood outside the United Nations holding flags and banners, one of which stated ” UN stop talking and start acting.” 

Salma Kahale, a Syrian activist who works for Planet Syria, stated, “It’s not that we don’t want negotiations, but we want them to succeed.” The civil society groups urge that steps to relieve the suffering of civilians are taken before political negotiations.

One group of activists served “siege soup”, a wan recipe made of salted water, herbs, and bits of grass, which is eaten by Syrians in besieged towns to attempt to ward off starvation. They also dressed up as the world leaders they fault for the misery that Syrians suffer. The masks of the presidents of Russia and the United States; the foreign minister of Russia, Sergey V. Lavrov; United Nations Secretary General, Ben Kimoon; and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, donned beaming smiles.

Wael Mashati, a refugee dressed as Mr. Lavrov, stated that the masks represent the “laughing at the suffering of the Syrian people.”

The Syrian government delegations arrived for the third round of negotiations with the United Nations mediator on Friday. After two hours after talks with the United Nations special envoy, Steffen de Mistura, the delegation left the meeting room.

While the Syria government was meeting with the U.N. mediator, Syrian and Russian forces continued their siege on as many as 15 rebel held towns, furthering the starvation of civilians. Since the last peace talks in January 2014, the Syrian government has conducted chemical attacks, dropped barrel bombs – unguided, makeshift cylinders of explosives – on rebel towns and systematically starved civilians. In the same time frame, rebel groups have besieged government held towns and launched rockets into civilian neighborhoods.

Since the beginning of the conflict more than 250,000 have been killed, hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to Europe and civilians have been displaced. Mohannad, a doctor in the besieged town of Moadhamiyeh, told the New York Times, that nine civilians in Moadhamiyeh have died as a result of malnutrition. In addition, he also stated that ” people are dying from barrels and from the cold. People in the street don’t know where to go some fled to another part of Moadhamiyeh and others are sleeping in the streets.”

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – UN Hosted Syria Peace Talks Begin in Geneva – 29 January 2016

Reuters – U.N. Launches Syria Peace Talks as Opposition Ends Boycott – 29 January 2016

The New York Times – Syria Peace Talks Begin, With Only One Side at the Table – 29 January 2016

The Washington Post – Syria Peace Talks Open in Disarray with Opposing Groups Staying Away – 29 January 2016

By Brittani Howell

Impunity News Reporter, The Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – On Wednesday, Israel made public a letter written by Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin presented the letter at a ceremony to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Eichmann who oversaw the lethal logistics during the Holocaust, had escaped from a prisoner of ware camp shortly after WWII and fled to Argentina in 1950. Eichmann lived in Argentina, under a pseudonym, where he was eventually found and captured by Mossad agents in the 1960 and smuggled into Israel.

In a letter dated May 29, 1962, the day his appeal was rejected by Israel’s supreme court, Eichmann pleaded, ” There is a need to draw a line between the leaders responsible and the people like me forced to serve as mere instruments in the hands of the leaders.”

The letter continued, “It is also incorrect that I never let myself be influenced by human emotions. He added, ” Specifically after having witnessed the outrageous human atrocities, I immediately asked to be transferred. Also, during the police investigation I voluntarily revealed horrors that had been unknown until then, in order to help establish the indisputable truth.”

Eichmann wrote that the judges that convicted him were ” not able to empathize with the time and situation” and that he had only been following orders. “I am not able to recognize the court’s ruling as just, and I ask, Your Honor Mr. President, to exercise your right to grant pardons and order that the death penalty not be carried out,”

Eichmann’s wife and his five brothers also appealed for a pardon for Eichmann. These documents were released with Eichmann’s letter, along with President Ben-Zvi’s response.

President Ben-Zvi’s letter to Dov Yosef, Israel’s justice minister, dated May 31, 1962, stated “After considering the pardon requests made on behalf of Adolf Eichmann and after having reviewed all the material presented to me, I came to the conclusion that there is no justification in giving Adolf Eichmann a pardon or easing the sentence imposed on him.” Eichmann was executed at midnight on June 1, 1962.

President Rivlin stated to the audience in the unveiling of the documents, ” Not a moment of kindness was given to those who suffered Eichmann’s evil,” He continued, ” Eichmann’s application for amnesty revealed here today proves that Eichmann and his family recognized that in the state of Israel, a murderer such as Eichmann would be convicted and that justice would be done.”

The documents had only been discovered within the last few weeks, when researchers were digitizing documents for the president’s archive.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Eichmann Claimed He was ‘A Mere Instrument’ in Holocaust, Appeal Reveals– 27 January 2016

The New York Times – Pardon Plea by Adolf Eichmann, Nazi War Criminal, is Made Public – 27 January 2016

Time – Nazi War Criminal’s Plea for Pardon is Made Public for the First Time – 27 January 2016

The Seattle Times – Israel Makes Public a Pardon Plea by Nazi Adolf Eichmann – 27 January 2016

TEHRAN, Iran – On Saturday, Iran released four Iranian-Americans from prison in exchange for the release of seven Iranians from the United States prisons. The exchange has eased tensions between the two countries. Three of the four Americans left Tehran to Switzerland, via plane. Once they landed in Switzerland, the Americans left for a United States base in Germany for medical treatment.

President Obama attributed the end to the prisoner dispute to a cultivation of diplomacy. He stated, ” This is a good day because once again we are seeing what’s possible through strong American diplomacy.” A senior United States administration official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the exchange stated that Iran, “understood this was a priority for us, and that we’d never give it up.” He continued, “we consistently said it was independent from  the nuclear negotiations but of great importance.”

Jason Rezaian, one of the released Americans, had been imprisoned since July 2014 on charges of espionage. Rezaian prior to imprisonment, was the Washington Post bureau chief in Tehran since 2012. Rezaian had been convicted in September, but had never heard anything regarding his punishment.

Washington Post’s publisher, Frederick J. Ryan Jr. stated, ” We couldn’t be happier to hear the news that Jason Rezaian has been released from Evin Prison.”

Saeed Abedini, another one of the released Americans, is a Christian pastor who had been imprisoned since July 2012 for organizing churches in the homes of Iranians. His wife, Naghmeh Abedini, had heard that Mr. Abedini had been moved from prison by Iranian intelligence police and told her children that their dad was coming home.

Amir Hekmati, a former United States Marine, had been imprisoned since his arrest in August 2011 when he was visiting his grandmother. Mr. Hekmati was alleged to be a spy and was imprisoned. Earlier this month, Mr. Hekmati had been permitted to leave prison for treatment of swollen lymph nodes. This had been the indication that Mr. Hekmati was likely to be released.

A fourth prisoner who was released, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, was not on the plane that left for Switzerland. A United States senior administration official to CNN that, “we can confirm that our detained U.S. citizens have been released and those that wished to depart Iran have left. We have no further information to share at this time and would ask everyone respect the privacy of these individuals and their families.”

The seven Iranian prisoners who were released had been indicted or imprisoned for sanction violations. In addition to the release of the seven Iranian prisoners, the United States rescinded international arrest warrants on 14 Iranians, also suspected of sanction violations.

The exchange also requires Iran to continue to cooperate with the United States’s search for a retired FBI agent, Robert A. Levinson, who has been missing in Iran since 2007. “We are happy for the other families,” stated Levinson’s family, “but once again, Bob Levinson has been left behind. We are devastated.”

A fifth American was also released on Saturday, but was not part of the prisoner exchange. Matthew Trevithick, had been detained for 40 days at Evin Prison, according to his family, after he had gone to Iran for language study in September. Mr. Trevithick’s family says he was a co-founder of a Turkey-based research center, SREO, which focuses on humanitarian issues,

American officials are continuing to work on freeing Siamak Namazi, a business consultant who worked for an oil-company based under the United Arab Emirates who had been detained in mid-October.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – The Latest: Americans freed by Iran Arrive in Germany – 17 January 2016

BBC News – Jason Rezaian and Three Other US Prisoners Freed in Iran – 17 January 2016

CNN – Americans in Iran Prisons Swap Arrive in Germany – 17 January 2016

Reuters – U.S. Prisoners Leave Iran for U.S Base as Obama Hails Win for Diplomacy – 17 January 2016

The New York Times – Iran frees Americans, Including Jason Rezaian, in Prison Swap – 16 January 2016