The Middle East

Pakistan Reinstates Death Penalty for 500 Terrorism Cases in Wake of Peshawar Shootings

December 22, 2014

By Max Bartels

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

Islamabad, Pakistan

Last week Taliban gunmen stormed a school run by the Pakistani army, they shot and killed 149 people including 133 school children. In the wake of this attack Pakistan has decided to reinstate the death penalty for terrorism cases. The public outrage over the Peshawar shooting has driven Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to end a six-year moratorium on the death penalty. The Pakistani government now plans to use the punishment on around 500 militants who have been convicted on charges of terrorism.

Pakistani demonstrators push for executions after the Peshawar shootings. (Photo Curtesy of The Guardian)

So far six convicted terrorists have been executed. Two were executed on December 19th and four more on the 21^st. The four executed on the 21^st were convicted of terrorism charges for their attempted assassination of then military leader Pervez Musharraf with a suicide car bomb. While one of the two executed on the 19^th was convicted of an attack on army headquarters in 2009.

The Prime Minister had directed the Pakistani Department of Justice to pursue terrorism related cases and prepare them for capitol punishment. Of the 500 cases chosen, all of the convicts have exhausted their appeals and their mercy petitions have been denied. All 500 executions have been scheduled over a period of the next two weeks.

While the Pakistani public has pushed for the government to take a hardline against the Taliban, in the aftermath of the Peshawar shooting, Pakistan faces international pressure regarding their new anti-terror punishment. There are several economic and political implications to the executions, it dangers an E.U. trade deal, pressure from the U.N. as well as pressure from human rights groups around the world.

Several specific cases have been brought to the media’s attention in an attempt to halt the executions, The U.N. has released that one of the convicted terrorists already executed was a Russian citizen and appeals to Pakistan to avoid a potentially dangerous diplomatic situation by executing more civilians, many of which are foreign citizens. Human rights groups have released the story of one of the condemned terrorists who was only 14 at the time he was convicted of kidnap and murder and has since retracted his confession, saying it was the product of nine days of police torture. Regardless of the international pressure to halt the executions, the domestic pressure stemming from the outrage over the Peshawar school shooting has decided the matter and there is no sign Pakistan will halt any executions.

For more information, please see:

The Sydney Morning Herald — Four Militants Hanged in Pakistan, More Executions to Come — 22 December, 2014

SKY News — Pakistan to Execute 500 Terror Convicts 22 December, 2014

BBC News — More Executions After Peshawar School Massacre — 21 December, 2014

The Guardian — Pakistan Hangs Four More Prisoners as Execution Campaign Widens — 21 December, 2o14

International Criminal Court Recognizes Palestine as an Observer State

December 9, 2014

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

RAMALLAH, Palestine – In a move that could signal the possibility of an prosecution of war crimes allegedly committed by members of the Israeli armed forces as well as Hamas during the 2014 armed conflict between the two groups the International Criminal Court granted observer state status to the Palestinian Authority on Monday. The move clears the way for alleged war crimes to be investigated in the occupied Palestinian territories. The ICC, which is governed by the Rome Statute, is the first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community including war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

The entrance of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. (Photo courtesy of the Jerusalem Post)

The President of the Assembly of State Parties of the Rome Statute of the ICC noted that this step was not indicative of any imminent indication that the court’s judicial body might later take on the issue of potential crimes committed in the occupied territories. “The assembly takes the following decisions on procedure independently and without prejudice to decisions taken for other purposes, including the decisions of any other organization or any organ of the court concerning legal matters before it,” she said.

“At the same time I recall that Rule 94 of the rules of procedures states that at the beginning of every session of the assembly the president, subject to the adoption of the assembly, may invite states which are not parties to the Rome Statute and which have not signed the final act nor the statute to attend the assembly proceedings.”

After the meeting, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Ambassador to the UN in New York Riyad Mansour said that Palestine’s formal inclusion as an observer nation sent “a signal that we are inching closer and closer to the moment of signing on and becoming a state party to the ICC.” He continued “We have consensus among the Palestinian people and among the political groups within the PLO and outside the PLO that we should take that step. What happened today is inching forward in this direction.”

Monday’s decision is a symbolic victory for advocates of Palestinian statehood who have called on the Palestinian Authority to be granted a seat at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Monday’s decision means that it is now legally possible for war crimes to be investigated in the occupied territories by the International Criminal Court if requested. “What this means is that Palestine is now listed as a ‘non-state party observer’ – exactly the same status as the US or Russia or every other country that is not a signatory of the Rome Statute,” said Al Jazeera Diplomatic Editor James Bays reporting from the United Nations Headquarters where the open meeting of the assembly of states parties of the International Criminal Court occurred on Monday. “In other words, all the ICC signatories now consider Palestine to be a state. The acceptance is symbolic but adds to the international momentum for Palestinian statehood and has legal repercussions,” he said. “If Palestine now applies to join the Rome Statute, it will be much harder to reject them. The acceptance clearly brings war-crimes trials against Israelis one step closer.”

For more information please see:

Al Arabiya – Palestinians secure observer status at ICC – 9 December 2014

Al Jazeera – Hague-based ICC accepts Palestine’s status – 9 December 2014

International Business time – Palestine Becomes Observer in International Criminal Court, Can Seek Probe into War Crimes – 9 December 2014

The Jerusalem Post – Palestinians gain observer status at ICC Assembly of State Parties – 9 December 2014

Controversy of Israeli “Jewish State” Bill

December 3, 2014

By Max Bartels

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

Jerusalem, Israel

Israel is in the midst of passing legislation known as the “Jewish State” bill, a bill that would effectively enshrine Jewish law in the Basic law (Constitution) of the nation. This is significant for several reasons; first, the basic premise of the law puts Jewish law and Jewish rights before democracy. Jewish law would become the basis of the Israeli legal system, while it affirms the personal rights of all citizens, but according to the law communal rights are reserved only for Jewish citizens. The Arab minority in Israel, which accounts for about 20% of the population, would have rights as individuals but not national rights. The Arab minority is afraid that they will be framed as second-class citizens in a nation that is meant for Jews. The proposed laws effect has caused a great deal of controversy and it has come at a time where Arab-Israeli relations are the most strained they’ve been in sometime.

IW #26 Jewish State — Palestinian Israeli citizens protest the proposed “Jewish State” bill (Photo curtesy of Al Jazeera)

There are many who believe that for the Arab population who hold Israeli citizenship nothing significant will change. According to many Arab advocacy groups, for the most part Arabs have never had equal rights to Jewish Israeli citizens. The Arab population has always faced discrimination; the only practical effect, they claim is that the bill will now make it legal. Israelis who support the bill are mainly comprised of Israel’s right wing Likud Party. Prime Minister Netanyahu is a member of the Likud party; the right wing has pushed him for a nationalist bill for sometime. Palestinian leaders and other Arab leaders still refuse to recognize the connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, the Prime Minister has stressed this in many speeches given in support of the bill. Advocates of the bill say it is the right of the Jewish people to pass legislation in their own country.

Protests have been wide spread by both Arabs and Jews who don’t support the bill. Most protesters believe the bill is fueling an already raging fire. The U.S. State Department has urged Israel to uphold democratic principles. The European Union has also spoke out against the passage of the Jewish State bill. Tensions will continue to rise as the wait for the vote on the bill continues.

The Prime Minister’s Cabinet approved the bill by a vote of 14-6. The bill now has to pass through the Israeli Knesset, which is the legislative body of the Israeli government. However, the vote has been delayed in the Knesset due to the Prime Minister calling for early elections and the dissolving of the parliament. The vote on the bill will be delayed until a new parliament is elected.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — “We are not Citizens with Equal Rights” — 3 December 2014

The Telegraph — What is the Jewish State Bill? — 27 November 2014

Eyewitness News — Hundreds Protest over “Jewish State Bill” — 2 December 2014

The Jerusalem Post — PM: Palestinian Failure to Recognize Jewish Links to Israel is a “Tragedy” — 1 December 2014

Pope Francis travels to Turkey to address xenophobia, the persecution of Christians, and Eastern and Western Reunification

November 30, 2014

By Ashley Repp

News Desk Reporter, Middle East

Istanbul, Turkey–

As the situation in the Middle East becomes ever more dire, Pope Francis traveled to Turkey to discuss Isil, refugees, Christian expulsion, Islamiphobia, and the reunification of the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

In a display of humility, mutual respect, and the understanding of the grave situation of Syrian and Iraqi refugees, many of whom are Christians, Bartholomew I, Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, and Pope Francis, jointly condemned the violence that has escalated in the Middle East. The Middle East has traditionally been home to Christians since the birth of the religion more than 2,000 years ago. In recent decades, renewed persecution of Christians has forced many to leave their homes and settle in Western countries. For example, just since 2003, the Christian population in Iraq has fallen by 70%.

Thousands of Christians have been forced to flee as Isil tightens its grip on the region. Remaining in Syria and Iraq means risking likely death and persecution for religious beliefs. Fleeing offers refugees not only a chance for survival, but a chance to continue to practice their religious faith. Jordan and Turkey have become refuges for those escaping the fundamental Sunni Islam imposed under Isil. But the burden of so many refugees will begin to weigh more heavily on those countries hosting them, which is likely to exacerbate issues in an already relatively unstable Middle East.

Pope Francis addressed the issue of fundamentalism, the primary reason religious minorities have been forced to flee their homes, during his trip to Turkey. He called for an end to fundamentalism and its devastating effects that take a serious toll on the lives it touches. Now, Pope Francis asserted, more than ever is the time for interfaith dialogue, respect, and friendship. He also urged that military intervention is not the way to end fundamentalism and extremism; rather, addressing the needs of the impoverished and starving is the most viable way to end fundamentalism. Pope Francis urged that addressing the needs of those most in need is not simply applicable to the Middle East, but to the world as a whole.

The joint efforts by the Bartholomew I and Pope Francis suggest a desire to establish closer ties between the Eastern and Western wings of Christianity. These efforts, as well as closer ties between the two churches, may enable Christian leaders to better handle the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, particularly under Isil.

For more information, please visit:

The Telegraph- Pope and Patriarch condemn expulsion of Christians from the Middle East- 30 Nov, 2014

The Guardian- Pope and Patriarch condemn Middle East persecution of Christians– 30 Nov, 2014

Reuters- Pope condemns ‘barbaric violence’ of Islamic State– 28 Nov, 2014

Deutsche Welle- Pope Francis raises alarm over Middle East conflict in Turkey Visit- 28 Nov, 2014

The untold story of Syria’s smallest victims: The “bucket children”

November 15, 2014

By: Ashley Repp

News Desk Reporter, Middle East

East Ghouta-Syria

In an area the UN has declared one of the most dangerous places on earth, roam young Syrians carrying pots and pails. They are called Syria’s “bucket children,” and as their world, safety, and health deteriorate around them, these youngsters will roam up to 15 kilometers a day in a desperate search for scraps of food; anything edible to get them, and their families, by for another day. After the war sufficiently devastated the East Ghouta area in 2012, little food has made its way to the markets. With few survival options, despairing parents send their children out in groups to search for scraps. And while many of these children smile for photos, and enjoy a sense of comradery as they search for food together, their situation is dire.

The psychological and developmental implications of homelessness, war, and hunger, are incredibly grave. The bucket children suffer from severe malnutrition in many cases, and while they endlessly search for food, their brains become trained to focus solely on hunger and finding sustenance. As a result, psychologists concede that most of these children will have serious developmental delays and will struggle to concentrate on quite tasks, including reading and writing. The devastating impact malnutrition has on development and cognitive ability cannot be overstated, and the longer malnutrition continues, the more irreversible and serious the effects are on brain and physical development.

The bucket children are also exposed to serious dangers to their person when they venture out onto the streets to search for food. The children are often sexually assaulted or physically abused while out on their search. They are also exposed to sniper fire and crossfire. Death and injury become part and parcel of the fight for survival on the war torn streets.

Further compounding the issues of food shortage, is the difficulty many NGO and IGO organizations have in obtaining permission from the Syrian government to enter the country and distribute food and supplies to those in most serious need. It is nearly impossible for these organizations to have any impact, and many are ready and willing to help these bucket children and their families. And while aide waits at the door for permission to enter Syria, the dire conditions in which these children live deteriorate further with each passing day, as the war rages on around them. Without access to food and safety, most of these children do not have promising fates, and many will die as they struggle to survive another day, buckets in hand.

For more information, please visit:

Al Jazeera- Syria’s bucket children desperate for aide– 10 Nov., 2014

UNICEF- Syria Children’s Appeal

NBC- Hungry, homeless, helpless, Syria’s children know too much about war

Save the Children- Help and hope for Syria’s children and refugees