Yemen Rebels Reportedly Kidnap Man, Briefly Hold Saudis

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – Shi’ite Muslim rebels have kidnapped a Yemeni man in the country’s north and also briefly held a group of Saudi citizens, the government said, incidents that threaten a fragile truce with Sanaa.

The northern rebels seized the man in the Harf Sufyan district and took him to an unknown location, Yemeni security services said in a statement.

“A number of Houthi rebels led by Mabghout Shatbouny abducted on Thursday two Saudi citizens in Hiasha area of the district of Harf Sufian in Amran province, north of the capital Sanaa,” said the ministry on its website, citing an unidentified security official of the Interior Ministry.

“The rebels held the Saudis several hours in Hiasha area before later setting them free,” said the security official. “While the Yemeni citizen, identified as Hammam Daris, is still held by the rebels in an unknown area of Harf Sufian district,” he added.

A Saudi diplomatic source at the Kingdom’s embassy in Yemen said that he has no information about reports that Saudi citizens were kidnapped and then released by Houthi rebels near Amran Province 30 km north of the Yemeni capital.

The source emphasized that the embassy has been following up these reports with the responsible authorities at the Yemeni Ministry of Interior in an attempt to verify them.

The Defense Ministry considered the kidnap as another confirmed breach by the Shiite Houthi rebels to the cease-fire truce that was struck on Feb. 11.

The new breach came a week after the Yemeni government accused Shiite Houthi rebels of opening fire on a military plane flying above the city of Saada while a number of top army personnel were on board, an accuse the rebels later denied. According to official Saba news agency, “the plane was not damaged.”

Yemen has witnessed sporadic battles since 2004 between government troops and the Shiite Houthi rebels, whom the government accused of seeking to re-establish the clerical rule overthrown by the 1962 Yemeni revolution which yielded the Yemeni republic.
For more information, please see:

The Washington Post – Yemen Says Rebels Kidnap Man, Briefly Hold Saudis – 24 April 2010

Saudi Gazette – ‘Reports Of Saudis Kidnapped In Yemen Lack Verification’ – 24 April 2010

People’s Daily Online – Yemeni Shiite Rebels Kidnap 2 Saudis, A Yemeni In Fresh Breach Of Truce – 25 April 2010

French Police Fine Muslim Driver For Wearing Niqab

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

NANTES, France – A French citizen was fined earlier this month for operating a automobile in the city of Nantes on the grounds that the niqab she was wearing impaired her vision.

The women, whose identity has not been disclosed, was fined 22 euros for wearing a niqab while driving.  A niqab is a veil that leaves only the area around the eyes uncovered.  Following the incident, the woman stated that the fine was not warranted.  “My eyes were not covered [by the niqab].  I can see just like you, and my field of vision was not obstructed.”

The police, however, concluded that the fine was appropriate since it was determined that veil would prevent her from having a complete line of vision while driving.

This arrest brings further attention to the national debate over a proposed law offered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy that would forbid any woman from wearing a full veil while in public.  Sarkozy has stated in the past that he believes the veil is discriminatory towards women and does not respect the values of French culture.

Jean-Michel Pollono, the lawyer for the women who was fined, stated that “this fine is not justified on road safety grounds and constitutes a breach of human and women’s rights.”  He also noted that other headwear, despite also diminishing a driver’s line of sight, has not been banned.  “If the veil is forbidden behind the wheel, then nuns should not be able to drive, and full helmets for motorcyclists should be banned, because you can’t see on the sides, and even some police units who drive with masks should be fined.”

The woman said that she believed the actions of the police were motivated in part by discrimination.  There are also concerns that Sarkozy’s proposed legislation would give French law enforcement broad authorities to discriminate against France’s minority Muslim population and immigration groups in general.

The proposed ban on niqabs is set to be introduced in the national parliament next month.  Some political observers have stated that Sarkozy, who has recently been struggling in national approval polls, is pushing for this ban as part of a broader political effort to portray him as a protector of French culture.  Regional elections are being held this month.

For more information, please see:

WASHINGTON POST – Suspicion of polygamy stokes France’s veil debate – 25 April, 2010

AP – Driver wearing Islamic face veil fined in France – 24 March, 2010

IRISH TIMES – Veiled French driver fined fro not having clear field of vision – 24 April, 2010

BBC – French police fine Muslim driver for wearing veil – 23 April, 2010

THE GLOBE AND MAIL – French police fine women for driving while veiled – 23 April, 2010

REUTERS – Veil Leads to Fine for French Driver – 23 April, 2010

Arizona Passes Immigration Law

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

ARIZONA, United States-Today, the state of Arizona passed the United States’ strictest immigration law.  Under great pressure from a primary opponent, Governor Jan Brewer signed the legislation which will take effect 90 days after the current legislative session is complete.  President Obama rebuked the law in a speech at the White House today.

The Arizona law is the strictest immigration law in the United States. Entitled SB 1070, the law was sponsored by State Senator Russell Pearce.  According to the legislation, immigrants are required to carry proper immigration and identification documents at all times.  If a person is found without documentation, he or she will be charged with a misdemeanor crime.  It also grants police officers the authority to detain people they reasonably believe are in the United States without proper documentation.  The police are required to check with federal officials to determine if a person has proper immigration documents.

Governor Brewer pledged that the new law would not violate citizens’ constitutional rights.  She believes that the law is a compromise that helps Arizona deal with the problem of undocumented immigrants while balancing people’s liberty interests.  She stated; “I will not tolerate racial discrimination or racial profiling in Arizona.”

Arizona lawmakers believed they needed to take action because of the federal government’s failure to pass immigration reform.  Governor Brewer stated that Arizona has been “more than patient waiting for Washington to act.”  Also, Senator Pearce said that those who oppose the legislation were “against law enforcement, our citizens, and the rule of law.”

Before the legislation was signed into law, President Obama expressed his thoughts on it during a speech before members of the United States armed forces.  President Obama stated that the new law threatens to “undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”  The President also has instructed the Justice Department to assess the legality of the new law. He also called upon Congress to pass immigration reform at the federal level.  Harry Reid, majority leader of the United States Senate, stated that an immigration reform proposal may be before the Senate after Memorial Day.

For more information, please see:

FOX News-Arizona Immigration Enforcement Law Spurs Obama Criticism-23 April 2010

MSNBC-Ariz. governor signs immigration bill into law-23 April 2010

NY Times-U.S’s Toughest Immigration Law Is Signed in Arizona-23 April 2010

Pacific Region Tackles Food Security Challenge at Summit in Vanuatu


By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

PORT VILA, Vanuatu – Delegates are currently meeting in Vanuatu to discuss food security issues in the Pacific region.

There are currently 170 delegates meeting in the tiny island nation.  Many are concerned about the “urgent” and “enormous” challenge the food security issue poses in the nations of the Pacific.

Local agriculture and the fisheries are being threatened by globalization and climate change.  Hence, there is a great need for change.

The Summit supported the idea that everyone must ensure that all people in the Pacific have access to safe and nutritious food from the area, as it is a basic right of all humans.

According to Dr. Chen, South Pacific’s Representative for the World Health Organization and Chair of the Summit, the delegates have been discussing a “Framework for Action”, which would provide for working together to pool resources and coordinate amongst regional nations.  The goal of the plan is ultimately to “sustain human life, minimize early death and ensure healthy and productive people.”

Trade, health, and agriculture Ministers came together for the first time to deal with the food security issue and establish a plan that will promote countries taking the initiative to resolve the problem.

The Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat says that the plan demonstrates that countries and regional organizations have worked together to develop a way to resolve the food security situation.

The Summit focused on sustainable local agriculture and protection of the rights of “vulnerable individuals”.

Food security was first recognized as an issue of increasing importance in August 2008 at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ meeting.  According to remarks by the Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Mr. Feleti P. Teo, it was at this meeting that leaders realized that “[f]ood security is no longer simply a health issue; it is a development issue and one that is multi-sectoral in nature and must be viewed in it[s] broadest scope.”

For more information please see:
Radio Fiji – Pacific Food Summit ends – 24 April 2010

Pacific.Scoop – Opening remarks by DSG Teo at the Food Summit – Vanuatu – 22 April 2010

Radio New Zealand International – Food summit in Vanuatu focuses on sustainable agriculture – 22 April 2010

Chechen Leader Accused of, Denies Political Slayings

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GROZNY, Chechnya – The President of Chechnya was accused this week of killing two of his political opponents and ordering the murder of a third.  The accusations were quickly and summarily denied.

Mr. Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya’s President, was accused on Wednesday of ordering and organizing the killings of Sulim Yamadayev in March 2009 and Ruslan Yamadayev in March 2008. Kadyrov quickly denied the allegations without a statement.  His spokesman confirmed this denial today.

Both of the men were political enemies of Mr. Kadyrov, who has been the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya since 2007.  Sulim, a former general in the Russian army, was shot in Dubai.  Ruslan was shot in Moscow by an unidentified assailant.

The brother of the two men, Isa Yamadayev, sent a letter to a Moscow daily newspaper, Moskovsky Komsomolyets, claiming that he has video evidence that links Mr. Kadyrov to the slayings.  The video was obtained legally from a Russian Investigative Committee.

Moskovsky Komsomolyets posted the video on its website.  The video shows footage of an interrogation of Isa’s bodyguard, who claimed that Mr. Kadyrov ordered him to kill Isa for $1 million or otherwise his family would be killed.

The bodyguard did attempt to kill Isa in 2009, but Isa survived the murder attempt when he overpowered the bodyguard in his house.

During a meeting with Kadyrov in 2007, the bodyguard claims that the President Kadyrov also told him that Ruslan and Sulim were killed by Kadyrov’s “personal order”.

Previous links between Mr. Kadyrov and the killings have been more speculative.  Earlier this month, a Dubai trial court convicted Adam Delinkhanov of organizing the 2009 shooting of Sulim.  Mr. Delinkhanov was a close advisor to President Kadyrov.

For more information, please see:

RADIO FREE EUROPE – Chechen Leader’s Spokesman Rejects Assassination Allegations – 23 April 2010

MOSCOW TIMES – Kadyrov Accused of Ordering 3 Yamadayev Murders – 21 April 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – Chechen President Denies Ordering the Killings of 2 of His Opponents – 21 April 2010