The Middle East

Saudi Arabia Bans Domestic Abuse

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – On Wednesday, Saudia Arabia’s cabinet passed the “Protection from Abuse” law. The purpose of the law is to protect women, children, and workers from domestic abuse. The law is the country’s first of its kind and has been celebrated by human rights activists.

A poster utilized in the King Khalid Foundation’s campaign against domestic abuse. (Photo Courtesy of the King Khalid Foundation)

The law explicitly lays out that physical and sexual abuse both at home and in the workplace are illegal. Anyone found guilty of abuse under the new law may face up to a year in prison and $13,300 in fines.

“This is a good law that serves major segments of the society in the kingdom, including women, children, domestic workers and non-domestic workers,” said Khaled al-Fakher, secretary-general of the National Society for Human Rights, a government-licensed body.

“We are always in favour of an explicit law that does not need interpretations or personal judgment,” said Fakher, whose organisation helped draft the law.

The passage of the “Protection from Abuse” law comes after years of international pressure from other countries, human rights groups, and the United Nations. Local organizations such as the King Khalid Foundation were a driving force behind the law’s passage as well.

In April, the King Khalid Foundation began an anti-abuse campaign that encouraged women report cases of domestic abuse. The campaign’s calling card became an advertisement (shown above) that featured a veiled woman with a bruised eye and the slogan “Some things can’t be covered. Fighting women’s abuse together.” The advertisement quickly gained notoriety for its portrayal of a typically taboo topic.

While the new law is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, many are waiting to see how it is implemented.

Rights activist Waleed Abu al-Khair said the law gives women some independence: “Women were required to bring in a male relative if they showed up at a police station to file a complaint,” he said. This will not now be necessary.

However, women are still required to receive permission from a male guardian to carry out business, apply for jobs, or travel out of the country. Further, women are often accompanied by a male guardian whenever they leave the home, which may inhibit a victim’s ability to report abuse.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Saudi Arabia outlaws domestic violence –  30 August 2013

Guardian – Saudi Arabia passes law against domestic violence  – 29 August 2013

Huffington Post – Saudi Arabia Passes Domestic Abuse Ban For First Time – 29 August 2013

BBC – Saudi Arabia cabinet approves domestic abuse ban – 28 August 2013

Iran Passes Bill to Sue U.S. for Involvement in 1953 Military Coup

Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran—Preliminary approval has been given by the Iranian Parliament to a bill that will allow the Government to sue the United States for its connection to the 1953 coup overthrowing Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister, Minister Mossadegh.

Iranian Parliament meets to discuss to possibility of suing the United States (photo courtesy of Global Post)

The coup, which reinstated exiled Shah Mohammed Reza—later again deposed during the 1979 Iranian Revolution—was code-named Operation TPAJAX.  Information regarding the coup recently surfaced from newly declassified documents offering more information about the CIA’s involvement of the overthrow of Mossadegh.

The document, titled “The Battle for Iran”, describes how the military coup was carried out under the direction of the CIA as an act of U.S. foreign policy at the highest levels of government.  Lawmakers claim the documents prove a history of U.S. bad intentions towards Iran.

Lawmaker Mahdi Mousavinejad stated, “America’s oppressive behavior shows that the Iranian nation has to stand up and pursue its trampled rights,” in support of Iran taking legal action to ensure U.S. responsibility for the coup.

However, other lawmakers have taken different views about parliament’s passing of the bill.  Mohammad Mahdi Rahbari opposed the bill saying, “Pursuing this bill has no benefits for our country.  It will waste the parliament’s time.”

Iran’s Parliament consists of 290 seats, and of the 196 parliamentarians who were in attendance, 167 voted in favor of the bill while only five opposed it.  The bill establishes a committee to study the process of bringing a lawsuit, and provides for six months to determine if legal action is appropriate.

The possibility of a lawsuit comes amidst ever growing tensions between Iran and the U.S.  In the 1980s, when Shah Reza was hospitalized in the U.S. after being deposed, relations began to crumble.  The US embassy hostage crisis, where pro-revolution partisans held the embassy severed more diplomatic ties.

Iran’s ties to nuclear weapons has also hindered relations, with the West claiming that Iran aims to further develop nuclear weapons to which Iran denies, claiming their nuclear programs are used for peaceful purposes.

At this point, it is unclear whether the lawsuit will ever come to fruition or have any sort of bearing in the international courts.  However, it could open the door for Iran to be susceptible to U.S. lawsuits claiming damages due to the Iranian hostage crisis.

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera-Iran moves to sue US over 1953 coup-August 28, 2013

Business Line-Iran okays bill to sue US over 1953 coup-August 28, 2013

Global Post-Iran debates suing US over Mossadegh coup in 1953-August 28, 2013

Washington Post-Iran’s parliament approves bill to sue US over 1953 coup involvement-August 28, 2013

Egypt Becoming Increasingly Hostile Towards Journalists, Reporters Without Borders Says

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt has become an increasingly dangerous environment for journalists as Egyptian forces have cracked down on free press, as well as protests. Several journalists have been arrested or killed since Egyptian forces began cracking down on protests.

Al Jazeera demands the release Shami, left, detained last week, and Badr, right, held since last month. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

 

Tamer Abdel Raouf, Regional Bureau Chief for the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram’s, was shot in the head after soldiers opened fire on his car last week at an army checkpoint in Damanhur, Egypt during a government enforced curfew. Hamed Al-Barbari, a reporter for the Egyptian Daily Al-Gomhuria, was traveling with him; he was injured during the shooting and hospitalized in Damanhur.

Raouf and Barbari were returning to their homes in the town of Kafr Al-Dawwar when the shooting took place. They were returning from a meeting with several other journalists and Beheira’s governor.

According to Barbari, they decided to take a different route home as they approached the checkpoint and the military opened fire as they were turning their car around. Military officials claimed in a statement released Augusts 20, the day after the shooting, that soldiers fired on the car after the two journalists allegedly attempted to drive through the checkpoint at high speeds ignoring calls for the them to stop.

Raouf is the fourth journalist to be killed in Egypt since 14 August, the day that the new authorities began using force to disperse the sit-ins being staged by deposed President Mohamed Morsi’s supporters.

The Egyptian government ordered the curfew, set to last for at least the next month, after security forces violently broke up two protests camps demanding the reinstatement for of Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday, August 14. The government enforced curfew in Egypt allows for an expectation for health officials and journalists, allowing them to move freely at night. However, according to Union of Journalists member Khaled Al-Balchi, many journalists have complained that the military officials is respecting this exemption for journalists.

Several journalists have been arrested since Egyptian forces began cracking down on protests. Abdallah Shami, a reporter for Al Jazeera has been held since August 14. He was detained by Egyptian forces during the government’s deadly crackdown on supporters of overthrown president Mohamed Morsi. No formal charges have been brought against him. Metin Turan, a reporter for the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), has been held since August 16 without charges. Mohamed Badr, a cameraman for Al Jazeera has been held in Egypt for more than a month; his detention recently extended for another 15 days pending further investigation.

Reporters Without Borders has called the arrests a sign of “growing hostility” towards journalists in Egypt. The group said in a statement that “the climate for journalists became even tenser on 17 August when the State Information Service issued a statement to the foreign media condemning their coverage of recent events.”

For further information please see;

Al Jazeera – Egyptian Journalist shot Dead After Curfew – 19 August 2013

Reporters Without Borders – Two Journalists Still Held, Others Arrested or Attacked – 19 August 2013

Al Jazeera – Al Jazeera Demands Release of Journalists – 20 August 2013

Reporters Without Borders – Egyptian Journalists Shot Dead During Night Curfew – 20 August 2013

U.N. Department of Safety and Security has Blocked Investigators from Heading to the Site of Chemical Weapons attack in Syria as International Community Demands and Investigation

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian opposition activists claim that the Syrian regime carried out a massive chemical attack in Ghouta, a suburb of the capital, Damascus, killing hundreds of people. Al Jazeera’s Nisreen El-Shamayleh reported that videos capturing the alleged attack showed children and adults in field hospitals, some of them suffocating and coughing.

Hundreds of people were treated at the site of Wednesday’s alleged chemical attack in Syria for symptoms similar to those seen in victims of nerve gas attacks. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Chemical weapons experts have said that the symptoms of the victims shown on the footage could indicate the use of a nerve agent. Dina Esfandiary of the International Institute for Strategic Studies said, “By looking at the videos, you can tell that some of the victims are suffering from asphyxiation. They don’t have any external wounds, so it’s consistent with the use of a chemical agent.” She said that it is difficult to determine what actually happened at the site of the alleged attack without physical samples.

Leaders of the international community are demanding that the Syrian government immediately allow United Nations inspectors onto the site of the alleged chemical attacks, which have killed as many as 1,800 people.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the Syrian government to allow the team of U.N. inspectors already in Syria to investigate alleged chemical weapons attacks at three unrelated sites. He has said that the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime should be investigated immediately. He also said there is “no time to waste” in getting an inspection team to Ghouta.

The Secretary-General said that the use of chemical weapons by Bashar al-Assad’s regime would constitute a crime against humanity. He warned the Syrian regime of “serious consequences” that will follow if their use of chemical weapons against their own people was proven.

Russia, which has maintained support for the Al-Assad regime, has called on the Syrian government to cooperate with the United Nation’s experts in Syria to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry after the reports first emerged Wednesday, that the “Russian side called on the Syrian government to cooperate with the UN chemical experts,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.

U.S. President Barack Obama has said that what has occurred in Syria “indicates that this is clearly a big event, of grave concern.” He said that the international community must determine more about whether a chemical weapons attack has occurred and has called for the al-Assad regime to allow for a full investigation.

The United Kingdom and France have also issued strong statements demanding U.N. investigators be granted access to the attack sites.

Despite the International community’s collective demands for an investigation, the U.N has yet to authorize investigator’s to go to Ghouta, Kevin Kennedy, acting head of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security told reporters at the U.N. headquarters on Friday that he has not yet given the inspectors a green light to visit the sites of the alleged attacks, citing extreme violence in the region. Kennedy said, “It’s an active war zone in Damascus.”

For further information please see;

Al Jazeera – Hundreds reported killed in Syria gas attack – 21 August 2013

Foreign Policy – Congress’ Doves Rethinking U.S. Intervention After Syria’s ‘Chemical’ Attacks – 22 August 2013

Al Jazeera – New footage emerges of Syria ‘gas attack’ – 23 August 13

Al Jazeera – Russia backs UN probe of Syria attack – 23 August 2013

CNN International – Official: US military updates options for possible strikes on Syria – 23 August 2013

CNN International – Syria under pressure to allow urgent probe of chemical weapons claim –23 August 2013

Former Egyptian Vice President of Foreign Affairs Charged with Breaching the Nation’s Trust

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt-Mohamed ElBaradei, recently-resigned interim vice president of Egypt’s foreign affairs, is being sued for a “betrayal of trust” due to his decision to resign.  A Cairo court has set the trial for the 19th of September.

ElBaradei speaks with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton during a news conference (photo courtesy of Reuters)

Mr. ElBaradei faces charges of “breaching national trust” that were brought forth by a law professor, Sayyed Ateeq, at Cairo’s Helwan University.  Mr. Ateeq stated that ElBaradei could face up to three years in prison with the finding of a guilty verdict.  However, judicial sources say that the maximum sentence is a fine and suspend jail time.

A co-leader of the National Salvation Front (NSF), an organization aimed at deposing ex-President Morsi, Mr. ElBaradei gained ample political support.  The former head of the UN nuclear agency, he originally supported the overthrowing of Morsi from power on July 3rd.

However, on August 14th, Mr. ElBaradei resigned from his post as Vice President of Foreign Affairs.  His resignation followed yet another massacre of several hundred Morsi supporters by police forces at the dispersal of a protest in eastern Cairo.

“He was appointed in his capacity as a representative of the NSF and the majority of the people who signed the Tamarod declaration,” stated Ateeq.  “Dr. ElBaradei was entrusted with this position and he had a duty to go back to those who entrusted him and ask to resign instead of stepping down on his own,” Ateeq further stated.

In the aftermath of ex-President Morsi’s ousting, politically driven lawsuits have flooded the Egyptian court system on both sides of the table.  Morsi supporters earlier brought numerous cases against opposition figures during Morsi’s time in power while anti-government activists have called the suits “a form of political intimidation.”

Further arrests of Muslim Brotherhood leaders along with the public prosecutor’s decision to charge Morsi have preceded the filing of the case.  Mr. ElBaradei, who recently left Egypt for Europe, is unlikely to attend any part of the trial.

Khaled Dawoud, an aide to ElBaradei and former NSF spokesman reported, “If this case against ElBaradei is true then it is a major escalation showing that things are getting very polarized.  You’re either on this side or on that side.”

Dawoud further expressed disapproval of the decision to file the case by saying, “Set a precedent that harms Egypt’s reputation abroad, when a politician is prosecuted just for resigning from his post, something that has never happened before in any country in the world.”

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera-Cairo court sets trial date for ElBaradei-21 August 2013

First Post-Egypt: Mohamed ElBaradei to be tried for ‘betrayal of trust-21 August 2013

Independent-Egypt crisis: Now Mohamed ElBaradei faces wrath of army after resigning from cabinet-20 August 2013

Reuters-Egypt’s ElBaradei to face court for ‘betrayal of trust’-20 August 2013