By Eric C. Sigmund Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Islamic scholars in Saudi Arabia issued a fatwa, a religious edict, Tuesday, forbidding protests in the country. The edict declares that anti-government demonstrations are punishable as un-Islamic. The Saudi government reports that it will print and additional 1.5 million copies of the edict, to add to the 500,000 already printed, to distribute to citizens.
The fatwa, issued by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al al-Sheikh, the most prominent religious official in the country, urges citizens to “have a united front….under its wise and legitimate leadership.” Despite the government’s quick endorsement of the edict, not all Islamic scholars support a ban on free expression. Sheikh Gamal Qotb, the former head of the Al-Azhar fatwa committee, the highest religious institution in the Sunni world, expressed that the edict was a “big mistake,” noting that protest helps to promote peace and check tyranny.
While countries throughout the region continue to experience massive popular uprisings, Saudi Arabia has been largely immune from pro-democracy resistance. The government quickly reacted to attempts by opponents to stage mass protests on March 11 by increasing the street presence of its police forces. Heightened security patrols and strong rhetoric from the Saudi leaderships has thus far allowed the government to suppress and deter civilian protests.
By Patrick Vanderpool Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
Orlando Sierra Hernandez, deputy editor and columnist for La Patria newspaper, was murdered in 2002 (photo courtesy of Committee to Protect Journalists)
BOGOTA, Colombia – Francisco Ferney Tapasco and Dixon Ferney Tapasco, father and son politicians, will be charged with the planning of the 2002 murder of Orlando Sierra Hernandez, a Colombian journalist, according to the Colombian Attorney General’s Office. Sierra Hernandez was the assistant editor of La Patria newspaper; he was gunned down in January 2002 outside the newspaper’s offices in Manizales.
According to the prosecution, several key witnesses have linked Ferney Tapasco, the former director of the Liberals in the Caldas department, and Dixon Tapasco, his ex-congressman son with the murder. The murder came shortly after Sierra Hernandez published allegations of corruption against the father and son.
Luis Fernando Soto Zapata, the confessed shooter, was sentenced to 29 years in prison, but was subsequently released after only six years on good behavior. The early release spurred large-scale protests by journalists across Colombia. Zapata ultimately was killed in a June 2008 gunfight with police in the southwestern city of Cali.
Francisco Ferney Tapasco is already serving jail time in connection with an investigation of his alleged ties to a violent right-wing rebel group in Colombia. His son is also previously served a seven-year prison sentence for paramilitary links, but left prison earlier this month.
The arrests of these politicians support the fears initially expressed by the Colombian journalistic community that the murder was politically motivated. Sierra Hernandez had been outspoken against what he perceived as corrupt politicians for years prior to his murder. In face, he the journalist was assigned bodyguards following death threats that he had received in 1998.
Majella O’Hare was 12 years old when she was shot twice in the back by a British army soldier in 1976. Photograph courtesy of Pacemaker.
By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
BELFAST, Northern Ireland — The British government has issued a formal apology to the family of a schoolgirl who was killed by the British army in Northern Ireland in 1976. The apology, coming almost 35 years after the incident, has acknowledged that the version of what happened as told by the solider involved is “unlikely.”
Majella O’Hare, a 12-year-old Catholic girl, was walking with school friends to church in county Armagh during the summer of 1976 when she was struck in the back by two bullets. Her father, who was the school caretaker, witnessed the shooting. Majella died in a helicopter on the way to the hospital.
The paratrooper who fired the shots, Private Michael Williams, claimed that he had fired the shots in response to an IRA sniper hiding in the bushes. The RUC conducted an initial investigation, and found that Williams was not returning fire at a gunman. The RUC recommended Williams be charged with manslaughter and prosecuted. Williams was prosecuted but he was acquitted by a senior Belfast judge.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Historical Enquiries Team (HET) has been conducting investigations into more than 3,000 unsolved killings, many of which took place during the Troubles. The HET reinvestigated Majella O’Hare’s case and concluded that there was never any evidence to suggest there had been an IRA gunman present. Last summer, the HET’s director urged the army to apologize for killing Majella. This was in addition to campaigning for a formal apology which British Irish Rights Watch, a civil liberties group, has done for years.
The apology, signed by secretary of defense Liam Fox, was hand-delivered to Majella’s 88-year-old mother by the Northern Ireland secretary. The letter read in part: “I apologise for Majella’s death and offer you my heartfelt sympathy…both the initial investigation by the RUC and the more recent review have concluded that it was unlikely that there was a gunman in the area when the soldier involved opened fire and struck Majella, as he claimed. The soldier’s actions resulted in the loss of a young and innocent life, causing sorrow and anguish for those who knew and loved Majella. On behalf of the army and the government I am profoundly sorry that this tragic incident should have happened.”
This was only the second apology to ever be issued by the British government for army conduct during Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Last summer, a general apology was issued in response to a report that rejected the army’s defense for what happened on Bloody Sunday in 1972, when 13 Catholic demonstrators were killed. Groups like British Irish Rights Watch hope that this signals a change in the attitude of politicians and military figures, and in the future they might be more willing to acknowledge that what happened in certain cases was wrong.
Majella’s family has welcomed the apology, though they’ve noted it’s been a long time coming. “It’s good to get this apology,” Majella’s brother Michael said. “It’s not going to bring Majella back but at least it will set the record straight for history.”
By Eric C. Sigmund Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
AMMAN, Jordan – Civil unrest in Jordan continues to rise as protesters, unsatisfied with government concessions, become more emboldened, spurring violate clashes between protesters and government supporters. Saturday’s clashes were the bloodiest yet in the country, leaving 2 protesters dead and 160 injured. Concerned that Jordan is edging closer to civil war, King Abdullah II called for national unity and announced that the government “is going ahead with political and economic reforms, strongly and enthusiastically.”
Protesters Remain Strong Three Months Later Despite Crackdowns (Photo Courtesy of The Medial Line)
Pro-reform protest continued to remain resilient three months after their initial outbreak despite security crackdowns from government supporters and police forces. While the King has expressed his commitment to address the concerns of discontent citizens, some of his proposed reforms face significant opposition from Parliament. In particular, the Jordanian Parliament has been unwilling to limit the King’s power, claiming that a diminution of the King’s constitutional authority represents a “threat to Jordan’s survival.” Commenting on Saturday’s deadly clashes, Parliamentary leaders announced that it will “make sure [the King] remains powerful to preserve the Jordanian identity and the constitution” and warned that “political blackmail is rejected.”
Parliament’s statements however, have not been well received by government critics and have led some political analysts to issue their own warnings about the heightened possibility of civil war. One commentator noted that “there is a sense that the situation may explode at any moment.” While King Abdullah has already taken some steps to calm popular discontent, such as raising pensions and reshuffling his Cabinet, these reforms have largely been rejected as half-hearted reforms which do not address protester’s core demands. Until all their demands are met, citizens will continue to clog the streets and pursue reform notes one protester. Given Parliaments resistance to further constitutional reforms, the prospects for peaceful reform may be dwindling in Jordan.
