By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Adly Mansour, Egypt’s interim president called on citizens to vote “yes” for the amended constitution in a referendum vote that will be held in mid-January. Mansour said the vote, set for Jan. 14-15, would be a first step in Egypt’s transition to a modern democratic state.

Mansour told an audience of government officials, which included members of a government panel that was reasonable for drafting the constipation, and relatives of victims of the past three years of unrest across the countries that “The document in our hands today is a text that should make every Egyptian proud, and (it is) the correct starting point for building the institutions of the modern democratic state that we all aspire to,” claiming the amended constitution is a important step towards what the military-backed government calls a transition to democracy.

On Friday Egypt’s Interior Ministry reported that at least two demonstrators were killed, sixteen arrested and 54 arrested during a protest against the military-run government.

The first protester killed in during the protests was shot and killed by birdshot during clashes between demonstrators and Egyptian police in the canal city of Suez. The second Demonstrator was killed during a clash between ant-government protesters and supporters of the military-backed government in the town of Fayoum, a community south of Cairo.

Since the military-backed government seized power in July Egyptian security forces have brutally cracked down on ant-government protesters. According to Human Rights Watch more than 1,000 people have been killed the organization says has been the most violent era in modern Egyptian history. The majority of the victims have been supporters of Mohamed Morsi, who was thrown out of power in July.

Some Morsi-Supporters and Islamist groups are considering a Boycott of the upcoming constitutional referendum.  “We are heading toward a boycott campaign,” said Islam Tawfiq, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. According to Tawfiq participating in the constitutional referendum, even with a vote of no, would be “an implicit recognition of the legitimacy” of the military-backed government’s road map for the country.

However, Some Islamists groups are planning to rally behind the new referendum. The ultraconservative political power, Salafist Al-Nour, which was the only Islamist political party to take part in the constitutional drafting process, is calling for a yes vote. The party has received harsh criticism from Morsi allies, some of whom claim the new conisation is anti-Islamic.

The adoption of the constitution is vital for the country’s current authorities as it could be interpreted as a sign of renewed popular support as voices of dissent have begun to rise even among secular, anti-Morsi forces.

Gamal Eid, head of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, a group that is currently carrying out a study of the amended charter, said he will recommend a vote of “no” during the referendum. He said nearly 30 articles in the 247-article draft charter are too vague; giving Egyptian authorities greater room to supress freedom of association and information. He also said other amended articles give the military too much power, “making it a state above the state.”

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Egypt President Sets Date for Referendum – 14 December 2013

Al Arabiya – Egypt Referendum to Be Held Mid-January – 14 December 2013

ABC News – Egypt to Vote on Amended Constitution Mid-January – 13 December 2013

Al Jazeera – Clashes during Egypt Anti-Military Protests – 13 December 2013

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel-In a heavy criticized decision, Israel Prison Service (IPS) opened a new detention facility for African migrants on Thursday.  IPS began the process of moving 480 migrants who are currently held in a prison in Saharonim, with 50 migrants moved so far.

The transfer was made possible after the Knesset passed an amendment to Israel’s anti-infiltration law last Tuesday.  This new entry follows the Israel Supreme Court’s cancellation of a previous amendment due to it being disproportionate.

The new amendment will reduce the maximum amount of time a migrant can be held in a detention facility, while creating a default of open detention indefinitely for migrants.  The facility will currently hold 1,000 people with expansions to 3,300 in the next few months.

“We are determined to deport the tens of thousands of illegal migrants who are here after having reduced to zero the number of illegal labor migrants who enter Israel’s cities,” said Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

He further stated, “The steps that we unanimously approved today are proportionate and necessary for maintaining the Jewish and democratic character of the state and will restore security to Israel’s citizens while upholding the directives of the High Court of Justice and international law.”

Agitated human rights groups have called the new facility a “de facto” prison.   A group of Israeli human rights activists said detention of African asylum seekers “is not only draconian, undemocratic, and a fatal blow to human rights, it will also do nothing to help the already marginalized residents of South Tel Aviv.”

Marc Grey, spokesperson for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said, “We don’t see this as an improvement…The law itself, whether it’s three years or one year…it’s still just absolutely a massive violation of asylum seekers’ rights.”

The Israeli government addressed these concerns by saying “the law creates a suitable balance between the right of the State of Israel to defend its borders and prevent infiltration, and its obligation to act in a humanitarian manner toward anyone within its borders and protect the human rights due to every person.”

Police Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonvitch, also rejected the claims that it resembled a prison.  “I invited the press in order not to conceal anything.  I wanted you to see it with your own eyes.  This will be a fenced site allowing entrance and exit through a main gate,” Aharonvitch said.

For more information, please see the following: 

Al Jazeera-Israel opens ‘de facto jail’ for migrants-12 December 2013

Haaretz-Israel’s new holding center for African migrants opens Thursday-12 December 2013

Jerusalem Post-Israel to begin using ‘open’ detention facility for migrants-12 December 2013

Telegraph-Israeli to open migrant ‘detention centre’-12 December 2013

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen-The heavily guarded defenses ministry compound was attacked by a suicide bomber and gunmen yesterday, resulting in the death of 52 doctors and nurses as well as injuring 162 people.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but a Yemeni expert on Islamist militant affairs stated that it had the characteristics of al Qaeda, who have repeatedly attacked government officials and sites over the past two years.

Abdelrazzaq al-Jamal, a Yemeni analyst who specializes in Islamist militant affairs, stated, “the operation carries the fingerprints of al Qaeda because of the suicide nature of the attack.”

The U.S. military issued its alert status throughout the region after the coordinated strikes on Yemen, an ally and what Washington believes to be the home to the most active branch of al Qaeda.

The area poses a security threat for the international community.  The impoverished Yemen shares a long border with Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, as well as key shipping lanes.

One of the attackers drove a loaded car with explosives through the gate of the ministry’s compound while a gunmen in another vehicle sped in and opened fire on soldiers, doctors, and nurses all working at hospital inside, reported witnesses.

The explosion rippled throughout the city, shaking the active neighborhood of Bab al-Yemen on the edge of the capital.  The area is known for its maze of market stalls and stone towers that are decorated with stained glass windows and ornate plasterwork.

One employee working the area reported that “the explosion was very violent, the whole place shook because of it.”

A defense ministry official reported that the gunmen grabbed a Western doctor and a Filipino nurse into the courtyard of the hospital and shot them in front of local staff.  It was also reported that the attackers killed one of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s relatives, who was visiting a patient in the onsite hospital.

The bloodshed ceased when security forces retook the compound after killing most all of the attackers.

For more information, please see the following:

New York Times-Attack on Yemen’s Defense Headquarters Is Linked to Al Qaeda-06 December 2013

Al Jazeera-Doctors killed in Yemen’s ministry assault-05 December 2013

Reuters-Suicide bomber, gunmen kill 52 at Yemeni defense ministry-05 December 2013

Voice of America-Yemen: Suicide Car Bomb, Assault Kill 52-05 December 2013

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – According to Egypt’s Interior ministry, Egyptian police have arrested dozens of Islamist protesters Friday while dispersing demonstration rallies across the country.

In Cairo, police fired tear gas into crowds in the Mohandiseen neighbourhood, a middle class community in the capital city, in order to disperse demonstrators who gathered outside a mosque after mid-day prayers.

Egyptian authorities have targets Islamist activists and supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi since he was forced from power by the Egyptian military in July. However, attacks on attacks on civilian rights by authorities have not been limited to right leaning Islamist activist.

Egypt’s public prosecutor Ahmed Maher, a leading political activist in Egypt, for trial on Thursday. According to a judicial official his charges will include protesting without government permission. Wael Shibl, the prosecutor, said Maher will also face other charges including allegedly assaulting police and “resisting the authorities”. He will be the first to be charged under a new law of a new law which has been criticized for limiting the right of Egyptian people to protest.

Ahmed Maher is a well-known activists, he is the founder and leader of the April 6 youth group that played a major role in encouraging Egyptian youth to protests against the Mubarak regime in 2011 which eventually led to the fall of the oppressive Hosni Mubarak regime.

Last week, Maher compared the current oppressive climate in Egypt to the political climate in 2008, before the fall of President Mubarak in 2011. He said “when I was hiding and trying to escape the police, and trying to make my wife and family safe”.

Last week, another high-profile activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, was arrested in a violent raid during which his wife claims he was assaulted by police. Abd El Fattah has been targeting by every Egyptian regime since Hosni Mubarak’s brutal regime. Activists claim his arrest, and alleged abuse by police, is evidence that the interim government is being led by the military back into the dark days of the Mubarak regime.

Abd El Fattah’s arrested followed the sentencing of 14 women and young girls to 11 years in prison for participating in pro-Morsi demonstrations. Human rights organizations have accused the government of severely curtailing the right of the people to protest through the use of a legal process that the United Nations has called seriously flawed.”

For further information please see:

Al Jazeera – Dozens of Protesters Arrested In Egypt – 6 December 2013

Reuters – Egyptian Police Fired Tear Gas to End Clashes In Cairo – 6 December 2013

The Guardian – Egypt Charges Three Top Activists over Cairo Protest – 5 December 2013

The Guardian – Egyptian Activist Arrested Amid Government Crackdown on Dissent – 29 November 2013