By Kathryn Maureen Ryan

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt–Amnesty International has accused the Egypt government of unlawfully detaining and deporting hundreds of Syrian refugees, including women and children, who had fled their homes to escape the violence in Syria. .

The Syrian civil war has uprooted approximately 7 million people since the uprising began in March 2011. More than 100,000 Syrians have been killed since the start of the conflict and more than 2 million Syrians have fled their homes and sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

Quoting UNHCR, the United Nations agency for refugees, Amnesty said 946 people had been arrested by Egypt while attempting the crossing, and that 724 remained in detention. According to Amnesty the Egyptian navy has intercepted around 13 boats in the Mediterranean carrying refugees from Syria. The refugees were attempting to reach and seek refuge in Europe. According to Amnesty International 12 people drowned after a boat carrying Syrian refugees capsized off the cost of Alexandria.

Sherif Elsayed Ali, Amnesty’s head of refugee and migrants’ rights, said in a statement on Thursday that; “Instead of offering vital help and support to refugees from Syria, the Egyptian authorities are arresting and deporting them, flouting human rights standards.” He said the Egyptian state had failed to “meet its international obligations to protect even the most vulnerable refugees.”

Refugees detained by Egyptian forces must decide between accepting deportation or accepting prolonged, indefinite and unlawful detention in Egypt. Lawyers told Amnesty International that in at least two instances refugees were collectively deported back to Damascus, Syria, which would constitute a violation of international law, Non-refoulement prohibits the deportation of persecuted persons back to the state that is violating their human rights. “Sending refugees back to a bloody conflict zone is a serious violation of international law. Refugees who have fled are at an obvious risk of human rights abuses,” said Sherif Elsayed Ali.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Amnesty International’s report was “inaccurate and does not reflect the reality of [Syrians’] situation in the country” and said “There is no policy of deportation of our Syrian brothers and the vast majority of them live in peace.” However Egypt has recently began to require Syrians and other foreign nationals to acquire visas from Egyptian consulates aboard before entering the country.

The Egyptian media has accused Syrian refugees of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and has even accused refuges of being involved in the violence that occurred after President Mohamed Morsi was removed from power in Egypt. Popular media outlasts have accused Syrian refugees of attacking Egyptian civilians and security forces and of participating in the Rabaa El Adawiya and Al-Nahda sit-ins, which began in June and were brutally broken up by Egyptian authorities on August 14.

The anti-Syrian refugee propaganda heard over Egyptian airwaves is being felt by Egyptian refugees in the streets of Egypt’s cities; one Syrian refugee, whose family is living in a neighbourhood of 6 October City, outside Cairo, said her children cannot play outside anymore because “they are cursed by the other kids, told really bad words.”

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Egypt Accused of Unlawfully Detaining Syrians – 17 October 2013

Amnesty International – Egypt: End Deplorable Detention And Deportation Of Refugees From Syria – 17 October 2013

Amnesty International – We Cannot Live Here Anymore’: Refugees From Syria In Egypt – 17 October 2013

Huffington Post – Egypt Unlawfully Detains Syrian Refugees, Including Children, Amnesty International Says – 17 October 2013

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – World powers and Iran engaged in preliminary talks regarding Iran’s nuclear program on Tuesday and Wednesday. The sides described the talks as “substantive” and “forward-looking,” and will reconvene in early November.

Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and Catherine Ashton, the foreign policy chief for the European Union, who is the lead negotiator with Iran issued a joint statement detailing the negotiations. The statement recognized Iran’s presentation of a plan designed to promote productive negotiations as an “important contribution.”

“The participants also agreed that E3+3 and Iranian nuclear, scientific and sanctions experts will convene before the next meeting to address differences and to develop practical steps,” the statement added.

“I’ve been doing this now for about two years, and I have never had such intense, detailed, straightforward, candid conversations with the Iranian delegation before,” said a senior Obama administration official.

“There is more work, much more work to do,” added the official, who declined to be identified under the diplomatic protocol for briefing reporters. “This is a beginning. Beginnings are rarely groundbreaking because you are putting pieces on the table.”

The meeting was the first between the six powers (United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany) since Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, took office in August. President Rouhani, seen as a moderate, has emphasized the importance of resolving international concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran has reiterated for years that it has no intention of creating a nuclear weapon, but it has not eased concerns of the international community. In fact, sanctions have made more severe over the last several years and as a result the Iranian rial lost an estimated 80 percent of its value against the US dollar between March 2012 and March 2013.

Despite positive responses to the negotiations, some difficult and challenging issues remain. Iran maintains that it has a right to enrich uranium and conversely, the U.N. Security Council wants the enrichment program to stop completely.  Meanwhile, Iran would like to see Western powers take a “balanced” approach to easing sanctions, suggesting that each side make concessions throughout the process. Western officials have balked at this proposal and want to maintain sanctions until their demands are met.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Iran nuclear checks most detailed ever – Ashton – 16 October 2013

EU – Joint Statement –  16 October 2013

New York Times – After Talks on Iran’s Nuclear Program, Officials Highlight the Positive –  16 October 2013

Reuters – U.S. says talks intense, serious after Iran hints at atomic concessions – 16 October 2013

Al Jazeera – Iran and world powers begin nuclear talks – 15 October 2013

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – The Human Rights Watch has issued a report that alleges Syrian rebels killed 190 civilians and took 200 hostages during a single offensive in August. The particular offensive occurred on  August 4th in the Latakia province, which is home to many Alawites, a minority sect that supports President Bashar al-Assad.

The attack began in the dawn hours and targeted more than a dozen villages. The report cites evidence, which includes video footage, that demonstrates the rebels attacked with a strategy focused on killing civilian men and keeping their women and children as hostages.

“Eight survivors and witnesses described how opposition forces executed residents and opened fire on civilians, sometimes killing or attempting to kill entire families who were either in their homes unarmed or fleeing from the attack, and at other times killing adult male family members, and holding the female relatives and children hostage,” the report says.

Joe Stork, acting Middle East director at HRW, said the abuses were “not the actions of rogue fighters.”

“This operation was a co-ordinated, planned attack on the civilian population in these Alawite villages,” he said.

The report states that out of the 190 dead civilians at least 67 were executed or unlawfully killed. For example, a video posted online by the rebels shows a fighter leading a peaceful woman in good health out of her house, yet she was found buried days later.

Additionally, two rebel groups are still holding over 200 hostages from the attack according to opposition sources. While negotiations for their release are ongoing, Human Rights Watch has called for their release and demanded that they be treated humanely.

In conducting the report, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 35 people, including survivors, emergency responders, and fighters on both sides. Further, the group completed an on-site investigation, documenting the destruction caused by the attack. The group also received medical reports for several victims that were consistent with execution.

The report “strongly suggests that the killings, hostage taking, and other abuses committed by opposition forces on and after August 4 rise to the level of crimes against humanity.”

For further information, please see:

BBC – Syrian rebels executed civilians, says Human Rights Watch – 11 October 2013

Human Rights Watch – Syria: Executions, Hostage Taking by Rebels – 11 October 2013

Guardian – Syrian rebels accused of killing hundreds of civilians – 11 October 2013

New York Times – Syrian Civilians Bore Brunt of Rebels’ Fury, Report Says –  11 October 2013