By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran-In retaliation for the deaths of at least 14 border patrol guards, Iran has hanged 16 rebels who were “linked to groups hostile to the regime,” stated the attorney general of Sistan-Baluchistan province.

“These individuals were executed this Saturday morning in response to the terrorist action of last evening at Saravan and the martyrdom of the border guards,” said an Iranian prosecutor.

No details of the trial proceedings were given, with reporters speculating that the 16 rebels were already tried and convicted with their executions being brought forward after the ambush.

Details on the total number of border guards killed in the ambush were also unclear with some reports totaling the number at 20 while others reported the number to be closer to 17.

Iran’s Deputy Interior Minister Al Abdollahi stated, “Three soldiers have been taken hostage and taken to the other side of the border in Pakistan,” announcing measures would be taken to secure their release.  “We warned the rebel groups that any attack targeting civilians or members of the security forces would not go unanswered,” he further stated.

The attack occurred in a mountainous region outside of Saravan near the south-eastern border with Pakistan.  Saravan’s Member of Parliament, Hedayatollah Mirmoradzehi, blamed the attack on “anti-revolution guerrillas.”  However, unconfirmed reports have claimed that a rebel group called Jaish al-Adl was responsible for the attack.

Soraya Lennie, a reporter for Al Jazeera, said that Jaish al-Adl is a relatively new group that is vehemently anti-Shia and the Iranian government has put pressure on the Pakistani government to crack down on the group’s activities.

A historical unrest of mainly the Sunni Muslim population complaining of discrimination by Iran’s Shia Muslim authorities has been a catalyst for increasing deaths and tension along the Iran-Pakistan border.

The south-eastern border region is common to attacks with officials claiming that more than 4,000 police officers and soldiers have been killed in the area during three decades of fighting with drug traffickers.

A parliamentary committee on national security is meeting with relevant officials to look into the recent attack and address the long standing issue of deaths along the border.

This is not the first time that Iran has hanged captured rebels in retaliation.  Iranian authorities hanged 11 suspected rebel members who were held in Zahedan prison in December 2010 in response to a deadly bombing that occurred at the Shia mourning procession in Shabahar.

For more information, please see the following: 

 ABC News-Iran hangs 16 people in reprisal for Pakistan border killings-27 October 2013

Al Jazeera-Iran hangs rebels in border attack reprisal-26 October 2013

BBC-Iran hangs 16 rebels ‘in reprisal for border deaths’-26 October 2013

Gulf Times-Iran hangs 16 in reprisal for border attack-26 October 2013

 

 

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria-Syrian authorities have released at least 10 women detainees, with other reports amounting to 16 detainees, in a hostage deal with kidnappers in northern Syria.  The women were the first of 126 women expected to be freed in a three-way prisoner and hostage swap.

The release of the women was the main demand of kidnappers who released nine Lebanese men who were held hostage for 17 months.  The nine hostages and two Turkish pilots were abducted in Lebanon and were freed last week under a deal negotiated by Qatar.

Syria has made no official comment about the release, nor has it acknowledged playing any role in the hostage exchange deal.  The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition monitoring group, stated that Damascus had released dozens of prisoners last week, who also may have been part of the deal.

Turkey hosts many opposition groups and has generally kept its border open to rebels.  The Turkish pilots were abducted by relatives of the Lebanese hostages to put pressure on Turkey since it is believed to hold sway with the opposition.

“They [the women] were released overnight.  We do not know if more will be released today or later, or if that is it.  We are waiting,” said a Syrian human rights activist.

“For their own safety, they will have to leave the country,” said activist Semar Nassar.  “Among them was a cancer patient who had been imprisoned twice before and whose husband has been killed in Syria’s 31-month-old conflict,” continued Nassar.

Little information has been provided about the women who were released or when they were originally detained.  It is believed that the women are those whose release Syrian rebels had originally demanded as the price for freeing the Lebanese hostages.

Other activists have reported that only 13 female prisoners were released in Damascus province, but it was uncertain whether their release was related to the exchange deal.  There has been no official comment in Damascus on the women detainees.

For more information, please see the following:

Al Arabiya-Syria frees 14 women detainees after hostage deal-23 October 2013

Al Jazeera-Syria frees women detainees in hostage deal-23 October 2013

Global Post-Syria frees 14 women detainees after hostage deal-23 October 2013

Guardian-Syria frees 10 women in hostage deal-23 October 2013

 

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt-Three people, including an eight year-old girl, were shot dead by gunmen on motorcycles who opened fire on wedding guests outside a Coptic Christian church in Cairo.  At least nine others were wounded in the attack.

One source reported that the masked gunmen opened fire on the crowd randomly as guests were leaving the church.  It was not immediately clear if the three who were killed were Christians.

Coptic Christians make up 10 percent of the 85 million people who inhabit Egypt, and have generally coexisted peacefully with majority Sunni Muslims for centuries.  However, the army’s overthrow of Islamist President Morsi on July 3 has sparked the worst attacks on churches and Christian properties in years.

When General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, the chief of the army, went on television to announce that President Morsi had been removed from power, Pope Tawadros II appeared by his side.  The Pope has said that the “roadmap” laid out for by the general had been devised by “honourable people who had Egypt’s best interests at heart.”

Pope Tawadros’ II statement led many Islamists to believe that the church was somehow behind the overthrow of Morsi.  The Pope has received numerous death threats while many Christians have been killed while targeting Christian shops, homes, and businesses.

Bishop Angelos, from the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, stated: “It’s terrible to see that in the light of recent attacks where Christians and Muslims are trying to get on with life, regardless of antagonism and violence, that even on a night like this, when people are trying to celebrate, people can lose loved ones.”

The Bishop went on to further say, “There are still some who wrongly accuse the Christians to be responsible for the ousting of the former president,” addressing the heightened tension and increased attacks on Christians in recent months due to the political situation.

Amnesty International reported that as of October 9, more than 200 Christian-owned properties were targeted and 43 churches seriously damaged across Egypt since the August 14 crack down on Morsi supporters in Cairo.

For more information, please the following:

Al Arabiya-Gunmen open fire at Egyptian Christian wedding-20 October 2013

Aljazeera-Deadly attack on Cairo church wedding-20 October 2013

BBC-Egypt gunmen open fire on Coptic Christian wedding in Cairo-20 October 2013

Reuters-Egyptian gunmen kill three outside church in Cairo suburb-20 October 2013