The Middle East

Egyptian President Morsi Ousted By Military

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt’s military has seized control of the country and forced President Morsi out of office.  Adly Mansour, the Chief Justice of the country’s top court, has been sworn in as the interim president.

Egypt’s new interim president Adly Mansour. (Photo Courtesy of AFP)

The events of the last four days unfolded rather quickly.  Initially, protesters began gathering in Tahrir Square on the night of Thursday, the 28th, for planned weekend protests in opposition of President Morsi.  By Sunday, protesters across Cairo and the entire country reportedly numbered in the millions.

On Monday, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the highest ranking Egyptian military officer, gave President Morsi a 48-hour ultimatum to come to an agreement with the protesters and opposition parties or face military intervention. Morsi balked at the ultimatum and refused offers from the opposition to negotiate until offering a last second plan for a coalition government that the military and opposition leaders saw as too little, too late.

The military’s ultimatum carried with it a 5:00 P.M. Wednesday deadline.  When the deadline passed, the military began deploying armed forces around Cairo and detaining key Muslim Brotherhood political officials including President Morsi.

In a statement posted on the Egyptian Presidency Facebook page, Essam El-Haddad, Egypt’s national security adviser called the on-going situation “a full military coup.”

Late Wednesday, opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei and religious leaders made a televised a statement regarding the military’s future plans for the government according to the state news agency.  The military’s road map provides for a brief period of rule under a civilian leadership council followed by new presidential and parliamentary elections.  However, it has not been made clear exactly when elections will take place.

Cheif Justice Mansour was sworn in before the Constitutional Court on Thursday and addressed the public.  He emphasized that the Muslim Brotherhood were still a part of the people and would not be excluded.

“I swear by God to uphold the Republican system and respect the constitution and law… and safeguard the people and protect the nation,” he said.  “[…] Nobody will be excluded, and if they responded to the invitation, they will be welcomed.”

To the contrary, Egyptian authorities have ordered the arrests of Muslim Brotherhood leaders and officials.  At least a dozen have already been taken into custody including Saad El Katatni, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, and President Morsi, who is under house arrest.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Top judge sworn in as Egypt interim president – 4 July 2013

Al Jazeera – Profile: Egypt’s interim leader Adly Mansour – 4 July 2013

Washington Post – Top Muslim Brotherhood officials ordered arrested as Egypt appoints interim president – 4 July 2013

BBC – Egypt army deployed amid Cairo tension– 3 July 2013

New York Times – Before Protests, Morsi Takes Critics Head On – 27 June 2013

Seven Saudi Arabian activists jailed for peaceful protest via Facebook

by Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The use of Facebook has recently caused problems for seven Saudi Arabian activists who received prison terms for inciting riots on the social network site.  The activists were held for a year and a half before being sentenced by a special tribunal handling terrorism related cases.

Facebook usage has led to seven Saudi activists being jailed for peaceful protest (photo courtesy of Aljazeera)

After the leading Shia cleric, Tawfiq al-Amer, was jailed for a year without trial beginning in 2011 for calling for a constitutional monarchy, the seven activists took to Facebook to express their support for al-Amer.

Each of the seven received varying amounts of jail time ranging from five to ten years.  The activist who set up the Facebook account received ten years for allegedly providing information on how to perform the best protesting techniques.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York rights group, reported that the Saudi activists, who weren’t even charged with actively participating in the riots, have been subjected to a violation of their right to voice their opinion and hold a peaceful protest.

“Sending people off to years in prison for peaceful Facebook posts sends a strong message that there’s no safe way to speak out in Saudi Arabia, even on online social networks,” claimed the deputy Middle East director of HRW, Joe Stork.

The seven activists were banned from travelling for any additional periods of time and several of the them claimed that they were tortured into signing confessions, reported HRW.  The Saudi Interior Ministry has not been available to comment or make an official statement.

HRW also insisted that Catherine Ashton, European Union foreign policy chief, condemn the conviction as she and other European officials were attending a discussion in Bahrain with other members of the Gulf States.

Every activist is from East Province, an area that has experienced protests and disturbance amongst the minority Shi’ites who have alleged discrimination and negligence against the Riyadh government.

Major discontent amongst Shias and Shi’ites has been seen throughout Saudi Arabia with at least twenty people being killed by security forces since 2011.  Last Thursday, a protest was held at the funeral of a wanted man killed by the police with thousands gathering to express their dissent of the ruling al-Saud family.

Sebastian Usher, the BBC World Service’s Middle East editor, reported that the activists received their sentences because their case involved two highly controversial aspects that concern the Saudi Arabian government: “political criticism expressed online and protests staged by the Shia minority in the east of the country.”

One Saudi-based human rights campaigner said, “The sectarian situation in the region made the sentences tough and unreasonable.”  As tension increases among the sects, one wonders what freedom will next be taken away for the Saudi Arabian people.

For further information, please see the following: 

National – Seven Saudis jailed for up to a decade for protest call on Facebook – 1 Jul. 2013

Aljazeera – Saudis jailed for urging protests on Facebook – 30 Jun. 2013

BBC – Saudi Arabia court jails seven Facebook cyber activists – 30 Jun. 2013

Reuters – Seven Saudis jailed for urging protests on Facebook: HRW – 30 Jun. 2013

 

Bahrain Teenager Sentenced to One Year in Prison over a Tweet

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain—A lower criminal court in Bahrain, led by a member of the Bahraini royal family, sentenced 17-year-old Ali Al Shofa to serve a year in prison for insulting remarks made about King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah of Bahrain. According to The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), Ali Al Shofa was arrested in a house raid in March and held in jail for two months while his case was under investigation. The 17-year-old was accused of tweeting insulting comments about Sheikh Hamad Al-Khalifa on the Twitter Account @alkawarahnews. He denied any relationship with this account and his lawyer submitted evidence that despite his client’s lack of access to the web the account was still being run by other people.

Ali Al Shofa, age 17, was sentenced to a year in prison for allegedly insulting the king. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

The sentencing appears to be a part of a wider crackdown on freedom of speech in Bahrain which has been occurring since the Arab Spring spread to the region in 2011.Earlier this year five Bahraini men were tried separately for allegedly insulting the Bahraini ruler via Twitter, each was sentenced to serve a year in prison. 25-year-old Bahraini lawyer Mahdi al-Basri, was arrested after the police conducted a raid on his home in Karrana. 34-year-old Mahmood ‘Abdul-Majeed ‘Abdullah Al-Jamri, 33-year-old Hassan ‘Abdali ‘Issa, 26-year-old Mohsen ‘Abdali ‘Issa, 36-year-old and ‘Ammar Makki Mohammad Al-Aali, 36, were all detained the day after Mahdi al-Basri’s arrest a day later. The Five men were sentenced to one year imprisonment on May 15, 2013.Mahdi al-Basri was accused of tweeting insulting Twitter messages in June 2012 on an account that was allegedly traced back to his IP address. He has denied all charges and argues that the tweets he was accused of posting were not tweeted from his personal Twitter account.

Amnesty Internati0onal has called for the immediate release of the accused men.  Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director at Amnesty International said “The authorities in Bahrain seem to be using every trick in the book to stop people from expressing their views.”

Amnesty International has argued that two years after the uprising in Bahrain, despite the government’s claims of having implemented reforms aimed at addressing the concerns of the Bahraini people, Bahrain has begun to further crack down on freedom of expression. On April 14, 2013 the country’s cabinet endorsed an amendment to Article 214 of the Penal Code. The amendment increases the penalty for insulting King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah, the country’s flag and other national symbols. The Amendment would make any insulting comment mad about the king or notational symbols punishable by steep fines and up to five years in prison.

The United States Department of State issued a report in April 2013 which claimed that the situation in Bahrain has not improved since the uprising two years ago. The Report said that “the most serious human rights problems included citizens’ inability to change their government peacefully” the report alleged that protesters are often detained on vague charges which in some cases have let to torture in prisons.

Albawaba – Bahrain Student Sentenced for Insulting King on Twitter – 30 June 2013

Al Jazeera – Bahrain Student Sentenced for Insulting King – 29 June 2013

Amnesty International – Bahrain Must Release Twitter Users Jailed for Allegedly Insulting the King – 16 May 2013

Al Jazeera – Bahrain Rejects US Report on Human Rights – 25 April 2013

Israel Approves Building New Settlements in East Jerusalem Ahead of John Kerry’s Visit to the Region

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a controversial Israeli settlement in the West Bank on Monday where he dedicated a school named for his late father. The Netanyahu visit to the West Bank was played down by Israeli officials; however, the visit drew the Israeli settlement program into the limelight just ahead of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the Middle East. The Secretary of State’s visit to the region is an attempt to reignite peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Jerusalem construction prepares new homes in two Palestinian-populated districts. (Photo courtesy of Aljazeera)

An Israeli planning committee has introduced a plan to build an additional sixty-nine housing units in Har Homa, a Jewish settlement of East Jerusalem originally constructed more than a decade ago with a population of roughly twelve thousand Israelis. The municipality has said that this plan is not new and has already been passed through initial planning stages.

Kerry’s visit will be his fifth to the region since being sworn in as Secretary of State in February. Kerry is expected to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramalhal. Patrick Ventral, acting deputy spoken for the State Department decided to answer any questions about the announced settlements, but stated that on his trip Kerry will “sit down with both sides.” Kerry mentioned that he is not concerned with setting any deadlines for specific actions to be taken by either side, including limits on settlement development.

Kerry said “I’m not setting any deadlines. We purposefully wanted to avoid deadlines. Deadlines can become self-imposed hurdles and, in fact, impediments to actually making progress.” However, Kerry stated that this is an urgent time in the Middle East peace process and a critical moment to make difficult decisions because ultimately “time is the enemy of a peace process.”

Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be recognized as the Palestinian state, which was annexed by Israel but never recognized by the international community. Palestine also feels that Israel must stop the development of new Jewish settlements in the occupied regions of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, lands that Palestinian hope will encompass the new Palestinian state. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of the state they seek in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. They say that Israel must stop building settlements before peace talks resume.

Palestinian officials condemned Netanyahu’s controversial visit to a Jewish Settlement and plans for continued construction in Har Homa as “message” to Secretary of State John Kerry intended to underpin the Israeli government’s possession in regard to continued settlement development in the West Bank.

For further information, please see:

Guardian – McDonald’s Israel Rejects West Bank Branch Proposal – 27 June 2013

Aljazeera – Israel Approves Settlements in East Jerusalem – 26 June 2013

CNN International – Israel Okays East Jerusalem Settlement Just before Kerry’s Peace Visit – 26 June 2013

Washington Post – Ahead of Kerry Visit, Israeli Leader Dedicates School in West Bank Settlement – 24 June 2013

Tunisia Frees Femen Activists After Apology

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia – Josephine Markmann, Pauline Hillier,  and Marguerite Stern, the three Femen activists arrested last month for a topless protest, were released on Wednesday after a Tunisian court heard their appeal.  The women had been sentenced to four months in jail for public indecency and offending public morals after protesting Amina Tyler’s arrest.  The women left Manouba prison late Wednesday night in the midst of small protest and arrived back in Paris on Thursday.

The three Femen activists held in Tunisia raise their fists triumphantly as they arrived at Orly airport on Thursday in Paris. (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images)

The women, dressed in the traditional Tunisian veil or sasfari, apologized for their actions during the appeal on Wednesday.

“I didn’t think it was going to shock Tunisians to that extent. Given the consequences, I would never do it again. We want to return to our country and our loved ones,” Ms Hillier told the court.

Local Islamist associations were attempting to join the trial as a civil party, which is allowed under Tunisian law, in an attempt to seek damages and delay the appeal.  Their lawyers asked for an extension and unsuccessfully argued that there had not been sufficient time to review the case file.

The activists’ French lawyer, Patrick Klugman, argued that the Islamist associations were merely trying to delay the appeal in an effort to keep the women imprisoned.  The court agreed and allowed arguments to proceed.  Klugman appealed to the court  that the protest was not sexual in nature and that the women did not exact such significant backlash as a result of their actions.

“You cannot pervert the message of Femen. Their breasts were visible to the public but they were carrying a message you can’t ignore. Stop looking at their breasts… and listen to them,” Klugman told the court.

The ruling comes after the Tunisian government came under pressure from Germany, France, and the European Union to reform its freedom of expression laws.  These governments along with international human rights groups had criticized the punishment as harsh and unjust.

The three activists had also received support from fellow Femen members.  Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Larayedh had been visiting Brussels on the eve of the hearing when three topless Femen protesters jumped on the hood of his car demanding the jailed Femen protesters be released.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Tunisia frees European Femen activists – 27 June 2013

Reuters – Tunisia frees trio who staged topless protest against Islamist-led government – 27 June 2013

BBC – Tunisia frees Femen topless protest activists – 26 June 2013

Daily Star – Jailed activists apologize for topless Tunisia protest – 26 June 2013