By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East 

CAIRO, Egypt. In a shocking decision an Egyptian court sentence 683 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood to death for “inciting violence” during deadly riots that broke out last year after the government cracked down on demonstrations in the central Egyptian city of Minya orchestrated by supporters of the Brotherhood in opposition of the military coup that resulted in the removal or President Mohamed Morsi from power last July. Mohamed Badie, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, was among those sentenced.

The sentence shocked the families of the accused, many accusing the state of using the court system as another tool for cracking down on the rights of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists. The sister of Abu Bakr Ismail, a 30 year-old pharmacist and father of two said “My brother is an innocent man.” She said; “he was arrested because he was bearded and memorized the Quran.”

In March, in a spate case, the same judge sentenced 529 men to death in connection to the murder of a single police officer who was killed during the violent clashes that broke out between government officials and Islamists. The violent clashes between security forces and opponents of the coup followed a deadly crackdown by security forces on two Cairo sit-ins being held by supporters of former President Mohamed Morsi.

The ruling raised the one-month total for capital punishment sentences for the judge, Said Yusuf, beyond the total number of people believed to have been judicially executed world-wide last year. While these verdicts are shocking observers have noted that it is unlikely that they will be carried out. Egypt’s state prosecutor has ordered a judicial review of both cases. Also, only a fraction of the men convicted in these cases are in police custody; and under Egyptian law any person sentenced in absentia has the right to a retrial.

The sentences reflect the paradigm shift that has occurred in Egypt since the state’s first democratically elected leader, who was supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, was removed from power last year. Since the removal or President Morsi the government has cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood, once again considering it an illegal organization, returning it to the status it had under the Mubarak Regime.

The violent crackdowns on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which have included these “mass death-Sentence” cases have sparked a firestorm of international condemnation and called the states transition to democracy into question.

Several senators in the United States, which has long-been a source of aid for the Egyptian military, moved to block future deliveries of military aid.  The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he is “is alarmed by the news” of the mass death sentence in Egypit. The Secretary-General’s spokesperson said the Secretary-General is “concerned” about the situation and “intends to discuss these concerns and other issues with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt Nabil Fahmy.”

The rulings came as the Egyptian interim government claims it remains committed to following its roadmap to democracy. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the general who led the coup against President Mori, is expected to win the presidential elections to be held on May 26-27, a fact may critics say is a sign that the Egyptian state has returned to a military regime.

For more information please see:

The Economist – Hang Them All? – 03 May 2014

CNN International – Egypt Court Sentences Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood Supporters to Death – 29 April 2014

Al Jazeera – Egyptians Reel from Mass Death Sentence – 29 April 2014

Reuters – Egyptian Court Sentences Top Muslim Brotherhood Leader to Death – 28 April 2014

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – In the time that has passed since the wildfire that is the Arab Spring spread to Egypt in 2011 when the county’s young masses took to the streets and toppled the Mubarak regime, which had ruled Egypt as a police state for several decades, it has become increasingly clear that Egypt’s future security is uncertain. While the world focuses on the questionable democratization process in Egypt, questioning whether the removable of President Morsi and the ongoing electoral process represents a transition to democracy or a pendulum swing back to a military regime, the real threat to Egypt future security may be located upstream, along the historic banks of the Nile River

Food and water security have had a profound effect on Egypt’s recent history and will continue to impact its future. Violence in Egypt have been linked to high food prices for decades; one of the major grievances of the Egyptian youth in 2011 was concern over unemployment and the high cost of food in Egypt. Egypt is a net-importer, the largest importer of wheat in North Africa. Food and water prices will likely increase in the future as Egypt’s population continues to increase and growing ecological concerns place a greater strain on the state’s water supply. The Egyptian population continues to grow at a rate of about 2% annually with the Historic Nile River, the main source of fresh water for the Egyptian people, supporting a population of 83 million people; these issues are already putting a strain on the Egyptian economy. The 2005 UNDP Human Development Report for Egypt stated that “poor water quality affects both health and land productivity with damage costs estimated to have reached LE 5.35 billion [$7.7m] or 1.8 percent of GDP.”

The Egyptian government believes the development of a massive hydropower dam upstream in Ethiopia will place its water security in greater because the dam will obstruct the flow of water into Egypt, which depends on the Nile for about 85% of its water. Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a project that spans an area of about 1,800 km2, is now roughly 30% complete. When it is finished the Grand Ethiopian will be the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa. Despite concerns raised by Egypt Ethiopia is moving forward with construction.

In January Ethiopia rejected a proposal that would guarantee Egypt the right to most of the Nile River’s water. Egypt argues that its 1959 agreement with Sudan which gave Egypt the rights to 55.5 billion cubic meters out of a total of 84 billion cubic meters is the governing document on the Nile’s water. However, Ethiopia and other upstream nations reject the accord as they were not signatories to the agreement.

As construction continues Ethiopia has less incentive to negotiate with Egypt over the use and management of the Nile Watershed. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy has had the water dispute on his agenda. During a trip to Italy in February, Fahmy asked the Italian company contracted to build the dam to halt construction. In a letter to the company the Foreign Ministry said; “The government of Egypt calls upon the EU Commission, and the esteemed European governments, to give due consideration to the accountability of business enterprise of European nationality for their conduct in supporting Ethiopia’s projects affecting the Nile river downstream states.” A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said there is “no room at all for concessions or allowances harming our interests because it is a subject of national security”.

Ethiopia says it is open to negotiating the period over which it fills the dam’s retaining reservoir. However Egypt insists that it will be harmed regardless of this gesture. Egypt does not have a strong history of cooperating with other states over the use of the Nile Watershed. When the Nile Basin Initiative was formed as a partnership of Nile riparian state in 1999 with the support of the World Bank Egypt refused to sign any agreement that did not guarantee its current share of the Nile waters. While the end result of the current Nile water dispute remains uncertain what is clear is that Egypt’s future; much like its past, is deeply connected to the future and ecological health of the Nile River, which has supported the lives of the Egyptian people for thousands of years.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Egypt to ‘Escalate’ Ethiopian Dam Dispute – 21 April 2014

Daily Star Egypt – No New Policy on Ethiopian Dam: Foreign Ministry – 01 April 2014

BBC News – Will Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam Dry the Nile – 21 March 2014

Bloomberg News – Middle East’s Water Scarcity Seen as Food Security Issue – 20 February 2014

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East 

TEHRAN, Iran-In accordance with an agreement created last fall, Iran has diluted half of its stockpile of twenty percent enriched uranium.  A UN report is set to be released this week, confirming the dilution.

The dilution presents a significant step forward in complying with Western efforts to reduce Iran’s nuclear program as peacefully as possible.  As such, world powers are upholding their side of the bargain by releasing the fifth of eighth tranches of finances, a huge relief for the Islamic Republic.

The short-term deal between Iran and the P5+1 world powers was reached last November, at a time when the Islamic Republic was producing 181 kg of 20 percent enriched uranium.  This amount was nearly enough to create one nuclear warhead that would have only taking Iran only two months to create.

Not surprisingly, Iran’s twenty percent enriched uranium stores has been a huge concern for Western and Arab governments.  The interim Geneva solution will expire on July 20, unless all parties agree to a longstanding comprehensive nuclear stalemate.

If no agreement is met or negotiations don’t continue, Iran would enter August with the ability to manufacture high-grade stockpile in less than a year.  Further, Iran has also been producing “highly advantaged centrifuges” which have the ability to bypass the key thresholds and create weapons-grade material from uranium with lower than ten percent enrichment.

Iran further denies any interest in atomic arms.  However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported a delay in Iran’s construction of plants designed to turn low-enriched uranium gas into useless oxide powder.  Tehran told the IAEA last month that the site would be commissioned on April 9^th but has failed to give  a legitimate reason for why it has yet to be constructed.

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, however, is optimistic that a deal will be reached in three months or less.  “There is a political will to get an answer.  The domestic audience will be satisfied if we have a good deal.  Of course some people will never be satisfied but that is fine because we have a pluralistic society,” stated Zarif.

However, there are numerous criticisms of the interim agreement.  Those opposing have said that Iran has had difficulty receiving billions of dollars from oil revenue unfrozen the agreement.  Meanwhile, Iran’s Gulf neighbors expressed alarm this week over growing signs of support from Iran for Assad’s military.

For more information, please see the following: 

Al Jazeera-Iran cuts sensitive nuclear stockpile-17 April 2014

Jerusalem Post-Iran on target with interim nuclear deal: Cuts high-grade uranium stockpile in half-16 April 2014

Reuters-Iran cuts sensitive nuclear stockpile, key plant delayed: IAEA-16 April 2014

Tehran Times-Iran has significantly reduced stockpile of higher-grade enriched uranium-16 April 2014

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

United Nations Headquarters, United Nations – Horrific images of deceased Syrian detainees killed by the Assad regime as a result of torture and severe malnutrition during the county’s civil war were presented at the United Nations Tuesday. The images were among some 55,000 photographs taken by a Syrian police photographer known as Caesar and smuggled out of Syria, the images document some of the most horrific crimes committed by the Assad regime including torture. The United Nations Security Council spent more than two hours viewing the photographs on Tuesday Morning. The photographs were shown to the Council in an effort by France to refer the Syrian Case to the International Criminal Court.

 

The United States Ambassador tot eh United Nations, Samantha Power, responded to the images after she saw them at a closed meeting of the U.N. Security Council, “The gruesome images of corpses bearing marks of starvation, strangulation and beatings and today’s chilling briefing indicate that the Assad regime has carried out systematic, widespread and industrial killing.” She also said that; “nobody who sees these images will ever be the same. The perpetrators of these monstrous crimes must be held accountable, and the international community must unite in the face of such horrors.”

While working at a military hospital from September 2011 to August 2013, Caesar photographed the bodies of detainees from three regime detention centers in the Damascus area. His smuggled photographs were passed over to the Syrian National Movement, which is backed by Qatar. Ten of the 55,000 photographs of roughly 11,000 Syrians tortured by the Assad regime were released to the public in a study called the Caesar report. The study was funded by the Gulf state of Qatar, a major supporter of the Syrian opposition.

Two of the report’s authors, David Crane, chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and founder of Impunity Watch, and Doctor Stuart Hamilton, a British forensic pathologist briefed the Council on Tuesday. Crane stated that the photographs document evidence of killing on an industrial scale by the Assad regime. He stressed that rebel forces are also “committing international crimes” in Syria. “We’re well beyond a good-guy, bad-guy scenario here,” he said, pointing out that human beings are killing one another “at a scale that has not been seen since Rwand

Tuesday’s briefing came a day after The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay condemned the treatment of detained persons saying that “in armed conflict, torture constitutes a war crime. When it is used in a systematic or widespread manner, which is almost certainly the case in Syria, it also amounts to a crime against humanity.” She continued “I urge the Government and armed opposition groups in Syria to immediately halt the use of torture and ill-treatment, and to release all those who have been arbitrarily detained in conditions that clearly breach international human rights standards. Those detained must be treated humanely.”

The comments come as her office issued a paper containing detailed testimony from victims and witnesses, describing systematic patterns of torture and ill-treatment against individuals in Government facilities, as well as documenting reports of torture by other armed groups.

For the Caesar Report please see:

A Report into the Credibility of Certain Evidence With Regard to Torture and Execution Of Persons Incarcerated By the Current Syrian Regime

For further information please see:

BBC World News – Syria Crisis: ‘Torture’ Photos Shown To UN Security Council – 15 April 2014

Fox News – Horror of Syria’s War Displayed At Un – 15 April 2014

The Guardian – Syrian Torture Images to Be Examined By UN Security Council – 15 April 2014

The New York Times – At U.N., A Grim Viewing of Alleged Syrian Torture – 15 April 2014

United Nations News Centre – UN Rights Chief Condemns Rampant Use of Torture By Syrian Forces, Opposition Groups – 14 April 2014

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Palestine – The politics of the Israeli-Palestinian crises has prevented an athlete who has represented his country at more than 40 international contents, including the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, from competing in one of his home countries largest running events.

Nader al-Masri began competing as a long distance runner in 1999, he first competed at an international level in Belfast, Northern Ireland and went on to compete in more than 40 international competitions across Europe, Asia and the Arab World. He represented Palestine at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, where he ran 5,000 meters in 14 minutes, 41 seconds. He has won two marathons in his home country, both in Gaza, where he has competed in marathons spanning the coastline of the Gaza Strip. However, as a result of political tensions he has been unable to compete in races in the West Bank.

The Israel government has barred 30 runners, including Nader al-Masri, from leaving the Gaza Strip to participate in The Palestine Marathon in Bethlehem, Palestinian officials said last Tuesday. The decision highlights the real life effects of Israel’s tight restriction on Palestinian travel in and out of the Gaza territory.

Human rights activist argue these restrictions on travel amount to collective punishment, punishing to people of Gaza for the actions of the Hamas organizations, which controls the coastal strip. Some further criticizes the restrictions claiming travel bans are an attempt to sever ties between Gaza and the West Bank, both territories are claimed by Palestinian to be a part of the emerging Palestinian state.

The Egyptian govern has also restricted Palestinian travel from Gaza to Egypt, which share a common border since Hamas took power in the territory in 2007. These restrictions have led to a virtual halt of all exports in and out of Gaza, including much needed fuel for electricity, and has left most of the territories 1.7 million residence unable to travel abroad or visit the rest of Palestine.

The Palestinian Olympic Committee said it had requested that the Israel Government issues travel permits for the 30 runners so that they could leave Gaza and attend the second annual international marathon in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Friday. Itidal al-Mugrabi, a senior official in the committee, said all requests were denied last month. She said the Bethlehem event, which also included shorter races, was expected to draw some 700 runners from Europe in addition to Palestinian athletes.

After being denied a permit allowing home to leave Gaza, Masri approached the Israeli rights group Gisha, which appealed the decision to Israel’s Supreme Court.

The judges ruled Tuesday that they could not intervene in the defense minister’s policy considerations, but suggested the military should consider more exemptions from the travel ban, including exemptions for athletes.

Masri said of the decision; “I’m very sad because I couldn’t take part in this race.” He added, “I want everyone to know that I’ve represented Palestine in over 50 events and I don’t know why the Israelis refused to allow me to take part. So many foreigners and Arabs are taking part in it.”

The Palestine Marathon went forward and was held under the banner “Right to Movement” in order to highlight obstacles to freedom of movement placed on Palestine living in the occupied territories by the Israeli government. More than 3,000 Athletes took part in the event.

The travel restrictions continue to have a devastating effect on the day to day lives of Palestinians, not only have the bans created shortages of basic supplies and utilities but the bans have prevented Palestinian from visiting friends and family living outside of Gaza or from participating in events located outside of the territory. In addition to the recent bans on athletes leaving the Gaza Strip 36 young musicians who requested to leave Gaza for a weeklong music competition in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem were permission to leave Gaza, organizers said.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Nader Al-Masri, the Missing Palestinian – 11 April 2014

Al Jazeera – Thousands Take Part in Palestine Marathon – 11 April 2014

International Middle East Media Center – Thousands Run the Palestine Marathon in Bethlehem – 11 April 2014

The New York Times – Mideast Tensions Sideline a Gazan Marathon Runner – 10 April 2014

CCTV News – Israel stops Olympic runner from leaving Gaza ahead of West Bank marathon – 08 April 2014

The Washington Post – Israel bars Palestinian Olympian from leaving Gaza – 08 April 2014