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Heightened Terrorist Activity and Security Threats Cause Evacuation in Yemen

By Darrin Simmons, 
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen-Increased threats of terrorist activities have caused the evacuation of U.S. Citizens as well as other Western nations in Yemen.  Following an intercepted electronic message between al-Qaeda leaders, a total of twenty one embassies have closed down.

Police perform security checks on cars headed to the airport in Sana’a (photo courtesy of The Independent)

The U.S. State Department issued a statement saying: “U.S. citizens currently in Yemen should depart. As staff levels at the Embassy are restricted, our ability to assist U.S. citizens in an emergency and provide routine consular services remains limited…The security threat level in Yemen is extremely high.”

The statement also noted that attacks on the U.S. Embassy Compound in September 2012 and the death of a U.S. citizen in Taiz in March 2012 at the hands of al-Qaeda have caused additional reasons for concern.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a highly sophisticated al-Qaeda affiliate, has been operating out of Yemen for many years, planning and attempting to carry out massive attacks on the U.S. both locally and overseas.  AQAP was behind the “underwear bomber” who attempted detonation of a bomb on a plane over Detroit in December 2009.

U.S. officials have claimed that it is unclear and there is still no information pertaining to a specific target or location of a potential attack.  However, the extroardinary and unprecedented security measures were put in place as the potential threat in Yemen has been classified  as one of the most serious threats since 9/11.

Approximately one hundred U.S. government personnel were evacuated and carried out by an US Air Force C-17 at dawn on Tuesday morning.  The personnel were headed for Ramstein air base in Germany with some essential embassy staff staying behind.

The heightened security measures have been implemented in the aftermath of a U.S. drone strike that hit central Yemen on Tuesday.  The drone strike killed four suspected al-Qaeda members hiding in Yemen with none being considered to be in high leadership positions.

George Little, the Pentagon Press Secretary stated that “the Defense Department continues to have personnel on the ground in Yemen to support the U.S. State Department and monitor the security situation.”

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi criticized the U.S. decision to evacuate saying, “Unfortunately, these measures, although they are taken to protect their citizens, in reality they serve the goals that the terrorist elements are seeking to achieve.”

“Yemen had taken these threats seriously and had taken all the necessary measures to protect all the foreign missions in the country,” claimed al-Qirbi.

The U.K. also evacuated its embassy staff and “strongly” urged British citizens to leave immediately.  “If you don’t leave the country now while commercial carriers are still flying it is extremely unlikely that the British government will be able to evacuate you or provide consular assistance,” said the U.K. government.

Former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Michael Leiter, expressed his opinion that the activities in Yemen are “certainly nothing remotely close to the worst thing we have seen since 9/11.” However, he went on to say, “We have been wrong on stuff before.”

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera – U.S. and U.K. urge citizens to leave Yemen – 6 August 2013

Guardian – Yemen security alert: US and British citizens told to leave  – 6 August 2013

Independent –  Yemen airlift: U.S. and U.K. fly staff out as al-Qa’ida terror threat level rises – 6 August 2013

NBC News – US personnel evacuated from Yemen; Americans urged to leave amid terror threat – 6 August 2013

 

 

 

 

Egypt Protesters Fortify Camps After Cabinet Threatens Dispersal

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Thousands of pro-Morsi supporters are defying warnings by the military-backed cabinet to cease protests across Cairo.  The government has authorized police to take “gradual steps” to remove the protesters but thus far no removal has occurred and does not appear imminent.

Protesters gathered in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

“The continuation of the dangerous situation in Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda squares, and consequent terrorism and road blockages are no longer acceptable given the threat to national security,” a statement from the interim government said on Wednesday, adding that it has told police to take “all necessary measures” to disperse crowds.

The protesters have employed barricades and sand bags to fortify significant sit-in locations in Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda squares in Cairo.  Additionally, thirty-three marches were planned around the city in support of ousted president Morsi.

On Friday, state television said that protesters would be allowed to leave safely, but that within forty-eight hours security forces would begin a “siege” at the camps in Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda squares.  Essentially, authorities will begin preventing people from entering the squares, which is one step from beginning removal of the protesters.  Given the security forces history of excessive force, human rights groups are concerned that the situation could result in further violence.

International human rights groups, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have called on the Egyptian government to refrain from using force against the protesters and allow for the peaceful demonstrations to continue.

“Given the Egyptian security forces’ record of policing demonstrations with the routine use of excessive and unwarranted lethal force, this latest announcement gives a seal of approval to further abuse,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty.

“The authorities as well as the security forces should start with an approach that avoids the use of force and is based on ‘methods of persuasion, negotiation and mediation’, as recommended by international standards,” she added.

“To avoid another bloodbath, Egypt’s civilian rulers need to ensure the ongoing right of protesters to assemble peacefully, and seek alternatives to a forcible dispersal of the crowds,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The police’s persistent record of excessive use of force, leading to dozens of deaths this month, and the density of the sit-ins mean that hundreds of lives could be lost if the sit-in is forcibly dispersed.”

According to Human Rights Watch at least 137 people have been killed by Egyptian security forces in the last month alone.  Other reports claim that at least 250 people have killed since Morsi was removed from power on July 3.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Morsi backers stage defiant rallies in Egypt – 2 August 2013

Human Rights Watch – Egypt: Do Not Forcibly Disperse Sit-Ins – 2 August 2013

Al Jazeera – Egypt police told to break up rallies – 1 August 2013

BBC – Egypt protesters defy cabinet threat to end sit-ins – 1 August 2013

Snowden Stranded in Moscow As US Congress Refuses to Limit NSA Surveillance.

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Lawyers for former NSA contractor Edward Snowden said Wednesday that issues with his requests for asylum are expected to leave Snowden stranded in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Snowden requested temporary asylum in Russia last week after he was stopped from boarding a flight out of the country.

Snowden, 30, sparked a national debate about the legality and morality of secret mass surveillance programs targeted at US citizens. (Photo courtesy of NPR)

Snowden made headlines back in May when he released classified information detailing an NSA program designed to collect phone meta-data from users of Verizon’s phone service.

Snowden arrived in Moscow late last month, expecting only a short layover before traveling to South America. When Snowden arrived in Moscow on a revoked passport, however, bureaucratic measures prevented him from leaving the airport or boarding an outbound flight. Instead, lawyer for Snowden, Anatoly Kucherena, now says that he will remain in the airport until the Russian Federal Migration Services grants temporary asylum.

Back in the United States, Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a measure demanding the State Department coordinate with lawmakers in applying sanctions to Russia and any other country that offered asylum to Snowden. So far Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have offered Snowden asylum.

The measure passed unanimously through the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday after it was included as an amendment to next year’s foreign operations bill.

This came just one day after the House of Representatives voted on a bill that proposed to curtail the NSA’s ability to conduct mass surveillance programs like the one Snowden exposed. The bill was the first opportunity for members of Congress to take a position on mass surveillance since details of the NSA’s program came to light.

The bill, which fell seven votes short of passing, saw the bi-partisan alliance of libertarian conservatives and liberal Democrats as strong proponents.

For more information, please see:

CBS News – Senate pushes sanctions on nations aiding Edward Snowden – 25 July 2013

Fox News – NSA leaker Edward Snowden stuck in a holding pattern at Moscow airport – 24 July 2013

LA Times – Edward Snowden turned back at Moscow passport control, official says – 24 July 2013

The Guardian – Edward Snowden plans to stay in Russia, says lawyer – 24 July 2013

The New York Times – House Vote 412 – Rejects Limits on N.S.A. Data Collection – 24 July 2013

The Washington Post – Edward Snowden, NSA leaker, could remain in Russia indefinitely – 24 July 2013

 

 

 

Myanmar Releases 73 Political Prisoners

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar– In honor of a commitment made to European leaders last week, Myanmar’s President, Thein Sein, ordered the release of 73 political detainees. President Sein’s pledge seeks to have all prisoners released by the end of 2013.

Chit Thura Ko Ko was released from the Insein Prison yesterday. (Photo courtesy of AP)

Shortly after meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Sein promised amnesty for the prisoners as part of a larger transition from half a century of military rule and authoritarianism to democracy. Sein, a reformist who took power with military support late in 2011 from the former junta, said that over a thousand political detainees have already been released from the country’s jails, and that a committee had been established to work through cases of those that remained locked up. Human rights groups confirmed these statements, and noted that of those already released, hundreds were persons who had been held for political reasons.

In a radio broadcast last month, Sein announced that any prisoners serving jail time for holding, expressing, or acting in accord with political beliefs would be set free. “I don’t want anyone who is imprisoned with particular political beliefs in any jail,” he said during the broadcast, adding that a government investigation into cases that had been “confused with criminal acts” was ongoing and had “taken some time.” Sein did not reveal the number of prisoners which the government considers “political.”

Human rights activists welcomed the release, and the government’s pledge to continue freeing political prisoners, but still had some concerns. According to Bo Kyi of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), “we welcome this release, [but] we are very concerned because of the new trials, they continue to send new (political prisoners) to jail.”

Aung Min, a minister in Thein Sein’s office who negotiated the tenuous peace deal between the government and the  Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in May after two years of hostilities, said that more than two dozen of the prisoners released were from the Kachin state.

“The president released about 70 prisoners including 26 from Kachin state,” he said from the regional capital Myitkyina.

Aung Min personally escorted well-known Kachin political prisoner Brang Shawng, who was sentenced to two years in prison last week under the Unlawful Association Act for his alleged role in the KIA, back to his home Tuesday from Myitkyina Prison.

Thousands of political prisoners have been released in batches over the past two years. But human rights activists say the government has to do more to recognize other individuals who are in prison-–specifically whistle-blowers who were former government workers-–as political prisoners and grant them similar amnesty.

For more information, please see:

BBC — Burma frees a further 73 political prisoners — 23 July 2013

Reuters — Myanmar frees 73 political prisoners: government committee member — 23 July 2013

Radio Free Asia — Myanmar Releases Scores of Political Prisoners — 23 July 2013

AFP — Myanmar frees dozens of political prisoners: official — 23 July 2013

Wall Street Journal — Myanmar Releases New Batch of Political Prisoners — 23 July 2013

Dubai: Norwegian Woman Who Reported Rape Sentenced to 16 Months in Prison

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – In March, Marte Deborah Dalelv, a 24-year-old Norwegian woman, was on a business trip when she reported to Dubai police that she was raped by a colleague.  This week, she was sentenced to sixteen months imprisonment after a United Arab Emirates court convicted her of extra marital sex, drinking alcohol, and perjury.  The ruling was immediately appealed, which means the sentence is delayed until after her appeal is heard on September 5th.

The beautiful city of Dubai has proven unkind to female sex crime victims. (Photo Courtesy of Alamy)

When she reported the rape, police did not believe her and instead threw her in jail and confiscated her passport.  It wasn’t until four days later that she was allowed to call home and alert her parents to the situation.

“She called after four days in jail and told me that she had been raped and was in jail. I was totally shocked,”  said Stefar Toregier Furesund, the woman’s father, who has visited his daughter several times since the arrest.

Dalelv’s employer, The ONE Total Home Experience, was aware that she was imprisoned in Dubai, but neglected to inform the her parents.  Then, the company terminated her employment because of what it deemed “unacceptable behavior”.  The ONE has refused to comment on the matter despite harsh criticism.

The victim’s parents notified Norwegian authorities of their daughter’s arrest and their foreign consulate was able to secure her release to the Norwegian Seamen’s Church in Dubai.  Dalelv has lived with the Church for the past six months while she awaited trial.

“This verdict flies in the face of our notion of justice,” said Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide. “It appears very odd that a person who reports rape is convicted for crimes that in our part of the world are not considered crimes.”

Under UAE law, a rape conviction requires either a confession or four adult, male witnesses to the attack.  The alleged rapist has been sentenced to only thirteen months in prison for having sex outside of wedlock.

The UAE has seen similar cases arise over the past few years.

In December, a 28-year-old British woman who was reportedly kidnapped and raped by three men was found guilty of drinking alcohol without a license.

In 2010, an 18-year-old Emirati woman reported that she was gang-raped by six men, but she was sentenced to one year in prison for having sex outside of marriage.

In 2008, an Australian woman reported that she was drugged and gang-raped, but was sentenced to a year in prison for having sex outside of marriage and drinking alcohol.  Her sentence was pardoned after eight months, but so were the men that raped her.

Human Rights Watch has called for the UAE to reform its rape laws and has accused the country of condoning sexual violence.

For further information, please see:

Local – Norway slams Dubai jailing of rape victim – 18 July 2013

NRK –There is no forgiveness for such behavior  – 18 July 2013

USA Today –Dubai imprisons Norwegian woman who reported rape – 18 July 2013

Daily Mail – Norwegian woman who reported being raped in Dubai is jailed for 16 months – 17 July 2013

NRK – Reported rape – was sentenced to prison in Dubai – 17 July 2013