By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran-An Iranian naval officer has said that a number of war ships have been ordered to approach U.S. maritime borders in response to U.S. vessels in the Persian Gulf.

Admiral Afshin Rezayee Haddad, stated “Iran’s military fleet is approaching the United States’ maritime borders, and this move has a message.”  Haddad, known as the commander of the Iranian navy’s northern fleet, further said the vessels began their voyage towards the Atlantic Ocean by way of waters near South Africa.

“A destroyer and a helicopter-carrying supply ship have already entered the Atlantic Ocean via waters near South Africa,” stated Haddad.  The ships reportedly set sail last month from the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, carrying some navy academy cadets for training along with their regular crews.  The ships are on a three-month mission.

A U.S. defense official responded by casting doubt on any claims that the Iranian ships were approaching the U.S. maritime borders, but added that the ships are free to operate and sail within international waters.

Iran views the Persian Gulf as its own “backyard” and believes that it has a legitimate interest in expanding its influence in the Gulf. However, the U.S. and its allies regularly hold naval exercises in the Gulf in order to ensure freedom of navigation where 40 percent of the world’s seaborne oil exports pass through

Iran has made claims that they could block the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf and has been under military attack due to its disputed nuclear program.  As such, Iran has been developing its presence in international waters, regularly launching vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirates within the area.

Iranian Members of Parliament have accused President Hassan Rouhani of stopping a scheduled missile exercise.  IRNA has reported that 24 members of parliament stated that the Supreme National Security Council, headed by President Rouhani, stopped the annual test while not approving its budget.

For more information, please see the following:

 Al Jazeera-Iran says warships to approach US borders-09 February 2014

Payvand Iran News-Iran: Warships to Approach US Maritime Borders-09 February 2014

Reuters-Iran says warships sailing towards U.S.: agency-08 February 2014

Voice of America-Iran: Warships to Approach US Maritime Borders-08 February 2014

 

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq-Thousands of women have suffer torture and other forms of abuse, including sexual assault, while being illegally held in Iraqi prisons, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday.

The allegations were based on a report containing the testimony of the female detainees, their relatives and lawyers, prison medics, court documents and meetings with official.  Thus, giving credit to one of the central claims made by disaffected Sunni Arabs frustrated with the Shiite-led government.

The minority community has taken issue with the dominating long-running protests in Iraq’s Sunni-dominated areas, saying it is unfairly targeted by the authorities and security forces, and points in particular to the treatment of women in prisons.

One of the 27 women interviewed by the New York-based watchdog had to walk on crutches because she said she had suffered nine days of beatings, electrical shocks and other forms of abuse leaving her disabled.

HRW reported that that woman was later executed despite a medical report supporting her allegations of torture.

A vast majority of the women prisoners have reported being beaten, kicked, and slapped, given electric shocks, and raped, while others have been threatened with sexual assault, sometimes in front of male relatives.

The women were often arrested either in order to question their male relatives’ alleged support for militants or to harass male family members or the community more generally.

“Iraqi security forces and officials act as if brutally abusing women will make the country safer,” HRW deputy Middle East and North Africa director Joe Stork said in a statement.

“In fact, these women and their relatives have told us that as long as security forces abuse people with impunity, we can only expect security conditions to worsen.”

Human rights groups, analysts, diplomats and lawmakers have become increasingly vocal over alleged abuses, including mass arrests, prolonged periods of detention without trial, the closure of some neighborhoods and detainee abuse.

Analysts say that while most Sunnis do not actively support militant groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a powerful jihadist group, their anger means they are less likely to cooperate with authorities in providing intelligence or handing in suspected insurgents.

“These abuses have caused a deep-seated anger and lack of trust between Iraq’s diverse communities and security forces, and all Iraqis are paying the price,” Stork said.

For more information, please see the following: 

Al Arabiya-HRW: Iraq security forces abuse women prisoners-06 February 2014

Al Jazeera-Iraq slammed for women prisoners abuse-06 February 2014

BBC-Iraqi security forces ‘abuse female prisoners’-06 February 2014

Rudaw-Human Rights Watch: Thousands of Women Suffer Abuse in Iraqi Jails-06 February 2014

 

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – While the interim government in Egypt has established a “roadmap” to democracy the military government has recently come under fire for the treatment of journalist reporting on the transition process and the brutal crackdown on Islamists organizations in the state. Al Jazeera has criticized the Egyptian government for failing to protect journalists and  abuses of press freedom claiming that several members of its staff have been beaten, threatened and unlawfully subjected to police raids. Al Jazeera has also criticized the government for failing to protect journalists after one of its journalists was shot by a sniper while reporting last year. Additionally, Al Jazeera has condemned the state for detaining its journalists for several months without charge.

Four Al Jazeera journalists are currently being held in Egypt. Peter Greste, a former correspondent for the BBC, Mohamed Fahmy, a former CNN reporter, and, Baher Mohamed a local producer were taken into custody by Egyptian forces last December. Abdullah al-Shami, A Journalist for Al Jazeera Arabic, has been held without charge in Egypt since last August. Al-Shami has been on hunger strike in protest of his detention for more than two weeks.

The Al Jazeera network has reported that it has been served with a list of 20 individuals wanted by the Egyptian government in connection with the case it claims it has against Al Jazeera’s journalists. However, Aljazeera has stated than only nine of those named are actuality on its staff.

Claims made against the journalists include accusations that members of Al Jazeera’s staff have collaborated with terrorist by taking to members of the Muslim Brotherhood during the course of their reporting last year.

The Muslim Brotherhood, longed banned under the regime of Hosni Mubarak that came to power in Egypt after Mohamed Morsi became the first Democratically elected President in the nation’s history, has been under attack by the Egyptian government which has cracked down on its members and has once again declared the organization an illegal political party.

Responding to her inclusion on the list, Sue Turton, one of the Al Jazeera journalists included on the list, has said she was astonished that a warrant for her arrest has been issued in Egypt. Turton has worked as a television journalist for almost 25 years. She said, “I have no allegiance to any political group in Egypt or anywhere else and no desire to promote any one point of view.”

Several members of the international community including major news organization have spoken out against Egypt’s treatment of journalists, including the prolonged detention of the Al Jazeera reporters. UK based media outlets, TBBC, Sky and the Daily Telegraph newspaper have issued a joint call for the immediate release of all journalists currently being detained in Egypt.

The Obama Administration has condemned the Egyptian government for this violation of press freedom. White House Spokesperson Jay Carney expressed the United States’ “deep concern” about the arrests. In a statement Tuesday he said, “The restrictions on freedom of expression in Egypt are a concern, and that includes the targeting of Egyptian and foreign journalists and academics simply for expressing their views.”

Activists are using social media to get the word out about Egypt’s detention of journalist using the hashtag #FreeAJStaff. More than 40 journalists are currently being held in Egypt.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Al Jazeera Staff Charged In Egypt Are Named – 05 February 2014

Al Jazeera – Timeline: Al Jazeera’s Challenges in Egypt – 05 February 2014

CNN International – 8 Al Jazeera Journalists Charged By Egyptian Authorities, Network Says – 05 February 2014

The Guardian – British Reporters Deny ‘Aiding Terrorists’ In Work For Al Jazeera In Egypt – 05 February 2014

Al Jazeera – #FreeAJStaff campaign: ‘What if all journalists were gagged?’ – 04 February 2014

BBC News – US Urges Egypt To Free Al-Jazeera Journalists – 04 February 2014

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RAMALLAH, The West Bank – Super Bowl XLVIII, an otherwise boring game, may be remembered more for the controversy caused by its famous multi-million dollar commercials than it will be for the excitement on the gridiron. One of these ads may have even cost a Hollywood starlet her position as the public face of a major international charity.

The UK based Oxfam charity, an internationally acclaimed charity dedicated to the eradication of poverty and famine across the globe, has announced that it accepted the resignation of actress Scarlett Johansson as an ambassador for the charity.

Although Johansson officially resigned, Oxfam says she her resignation came as a result of a conflict of interest representation of the company that makes the machines is a conflict of interests. The “conflict of interest” arose from Johansson’s decision to appear in a Super Bowl commercial for SodaStream, a consumer product that converts water and flavouring into carbonated soft drinks.

The organization stated that “While Oxfam respects the independence of our ambassadors, Ms Johansson’s role promoting the company SodaStream is incompatible with her role as an Oxfam Global Ambassador.”

Like many members of the international community Oxfam believes the ongoing construction of settlements in Palestinian territories in the West Bank are a violation of international law. The charity said it opposes all trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. The organizing, which is committed to the eradication of global poverty, believes that companies that do business in illegally constructed settlements in the West Bank not only encourages the further development of illegal settlements but contribute to the spread of poverty in Palestine. In a statement the organization said “Oxfam believes that businesses, such as SodaStream, that operate in settlements further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is working both Israel and Palestinian leaders on an Israeli-Palestinian framework agreement, the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territories is a critical issue in the drafting of this agreement.

The public stance taken by Oxfam, often regarded as a pro-Palestine organization, and other international organizations has fuelled fears that international opposition to illegal settlements in the West Bank may come at a large economic price for the state of Israel.

Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid reiterated these fears by warning that if negotiations break down in the ongoing talks between Israel and the Palestinian Boycotts of Israeli goods will be likely. He said that if Israel face a “reality of a European boycott, even a very partial one, Israel’s economy will retreat backward and every Israeli citizen will feel it straight in the pocket.”

SodaStream fired back at Oxfam’s criticisms by accusing the charity of funding the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, allegations that the charity denies.

For more information please see:

The Jerusalem Post – SodaStream Accuses Oxfam of Funding BDS – 03 February 2014

ABC News – Scarlett Johansson, Oxfam Part Ways Over Politics – 30 January 2014

CNN – Oxfam Loses Scarlett Johansson over SodaStream Ads and Jewish Settlements – 30 January 2014

Oxfam – Oxfam Accepts Resignation of Scarlett Johansson – 30 January 2014