Sudanese Woman Takes a Stand Against Interpretation of Islamic Law

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Sudanese woman was arrested, found guilty of indecency, fined, and sentenced to 40 lashes for wearing trousers while dining at a cafe with friends.

Lubna Hussein, a widow with no children is a career journalist.  She was arrested along with 12 other women for breaking Islamic decency regulations and was ordered to pay a fine of Sudanese 500 pounds ($209) or face a month in jail.  This case has attracted world wide attention.

Hussein has refused to pay the fine.  She and many women activists say the Islamic decency regulations are vague and give individual police officers undue discretion to determine what is acceptable clothing for women.  Hussein has made an effort to publicize her case by posing in loose trousers for photos and calling for media support.

By printing up invitation cards for her initial court date in July and sending out e-mail messages asking people to witness her whipping, if it came to that, she was making it known that the world would see how Sudan treated women.

These measures were not overlooked.  On the date of her trial, hundreds of Sudanese women, many wearing pants, gathered in front of the court house protesting the law was unfair.  A few of the other women arrested with Hussein have pleaded guilty and were lashed as a result.  These floggings have been carried out in the past with plastic whips that leave permanent scars.

“The flogging, yes, it causes pain,” says Hussein. “But more important, it is an insult.  This is why I want to change the law.”

Article 152 of Sudan’s penal code states that up to 40 lashes and a fine should be given to anyone “who commits an indecent act which violates public morality or wears indecent clothing.”  The big question?  What is considered indecent clothing?

Another major factor at play is that northern Sudanese, who are mostly Muslim, are supposed to obey Islamic law, while southern Sudanese, who are mostly Christian, are not.  Hussein argues that Article 152 is intentionally vague, in part to punish women.

“I am Muslim; I understand Muslim law, but I ask what passage in the Koran says women can’t wear pants…” questions Hussein.

Rabie A. Atti, a Sudanese government spokesperson, insists that Hussein must have done something else to upset the authorities, besides wearing pants.  He says the act is only intended to protect people against harm from another person’s indecent behavior.  Atti also claims that many women in offices and wedding ceremonies wear trousers with no problems in Sudan, suggesting that Hussein must have been causing some additional harm in order to be arrested.

Hussein responded that she did not do anything else in order to violate the law, and that there were many who can support this.

“It is well known that Sudanese women are pioneers in the history of woman’s rights in this region, and that we won our rights a long time ago because of our awareness, open mind, good culture and struggle,” said Hussein.

For more information, please see:

AP – Trouser-wearing Woman Spared Flogging in Sudan – 7 September 2009

BBC – Sudanese “Trousers” Woman Fined – 7 September 2009

Reuters – Sudanese Woman Fined for Wearing Trousers – 7 September 2009

The New York Times – Sudan Court to Define Indecent Dress for Women – 7 September 2009

Civilians Killed in Mogadishu During Ramadan Break Fast

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A family of at least five were killed in Mogadishu when a mortar shell hit their house on Saturday.

Shortly after Ali Ahmed Jama, Somalia’s foreign minister, said the transitional government was negotiating with rebel fighters, a mortar shell hit the home of a family as they gathered for their meal at the end of the day’s Ramadan fast.

Sources say that fierce fighting exploded in the city on Friday night and Saturday morning, and witnesses claim that over 10 people have been killed, including a Somalia-American who joined the insurgents.

“We lost a martyr who was from Minnesota in the overnight raid,” said a Shabab foot solder.  Among the dead was a Somali-American identified as Mohamed Hassan, a 21 year-old from Minnesota.

“Soon after breaking fast we heard strange noises of weapons and we ran into a concrete building nearby,” said Fatima Elmi, a Mogadishu resident.

The militants causing the conflict in Somalia are the Hizbul Islam and the Shabab.  These groups are trying to overthrow Somalia’s moderate Islamic government and replace it with a regime that will impose strict Islamic Sharia law.

After Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the leader of the Hizbul Islam returned from exile in May, he built the group into a powerful force that, together with the Islamist militant group al-Shabab, has taken control of many parts of southern Somalia, including the capital of Mogadishu.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Six Civilians killed in Mogadishu Clashes – 5 September 2009

BBC – Five Die in Somalia Mortar Attack – 6 September 2009

The New York Times – Several Dead in Somali Clashes, Possibly Including U.S. Jihadist – 5 September 2009

VOA – Somali Militant Leader Says Fighting Will Continue Despite Civilian Casualties – 5 September 2009

Urumqi Syringe Protesters May Face Death

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– Five people were killed and 14 were injured in the latest unrest in China’s western city of Urumqi.  25 people are reportedly being held over the incident where demonstrators clashed with the police when the Han Chinese took the streets of Urumqi demanding better police protection from ethnic Uyghurs.

Syringe attack Chinese troops patrolling streets of Urumqi (Source: AFP)

Uyghurs, who are being blamed for the recent attacks, are Turkic-speaking Muslim minority in China who consider Xinjiang their homeland.  Ethnic tensions between Uyghurs and the Han Chinese have resulted in violent riots since July.

A joint statement released by Urumqi’s court, prosecutor’s office and the police department noted that the syringe attackers who triggered the latest riots will face harsh punishment.  The Chinese officials said attackers who stabbed people with needles containing harmful substances may be jailed for three or more years.  The authorities also added that the attacker(s), if convicted, may receive the death penalty since China’s penal code allows for death penalty for crimes that involve dangerous substances used to harm others.

China’s Xinhua News Agency stated that more than 500 victims of hypodermic needle attacks are being treated in Urumqi hospitals, and the victims include various ethnic groups, including the Han, Uygurand and Kazakstan.

The syringe attacks began in early August, and one resident, wishing to remain anonymous said, “People are angry that the government is not doing much against the Uyghurs’ needle stabbing.”

Another resident said that the government had sent out text messages to citizens warning them of syringes containing unknown diseases.  This is a matter of grave concern since the Xinjiang region has the highest HIV infection rate in China.  In addition, Johns Hopkins University reported that Xinjiang serves as a convenient drug-trafficking route because the region is located between opium growing regions of Afghanistan and Southeast Asia.

Exiled Uyghur activist Rebiya Kadeer is asking the “Chinese officials to guarantee the security of all people living in East Turkestan (Xinjiang), including Uyghurs and Han Chinese.”  People of Urumqi are stocking up on groceries in fear of escalated violence.  Furthermore, there is no traffic around the city and schools have been closed.

For more information, please see:

BBC – China warning to syringe stabbers – 6 September 2009

CNN – Five killed as police face syringe protesters in Chinese city – 4 September 2009

Xinhua – Urumqi syringe attackers may face death penalty – 6 September 2009

Chautauqua Declaration

05 September 2009

Chautauqua Declaration

The issuance of the Chautauqua Declaration marked the culmination of the proceedings of the 3rd Annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogs held on August 31 – September 1, 2009. The subject was titled: “Honoring Women in International Criminal Law: From Nuremberg to the ICC (International Criminal Court)”. For further information on the Chautauqua Declaration, please visit www.roberthjackson.org.

Adjournment Until October for 26 Accused of Involvement with ‘Hezbollah Cell’

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt– The trial for twenty-six Egyptians accused of forming a terrorist cell in Egypt related to Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah has been adjourned until October. According to Nile TV, the delay will grant the defendants’ lawyers more time to review the cases.

The twenty-six men include nineteen Egyptians, two Lebanese, and five people from Palestinian territories. Some of the men appeared in court on August 23 to dispute claims that the defendants were smuggling weapons between Sinai and Gaza and plotting attacks against Israeli tourists in Egypt. 

Of the twenty-six accused, only twenty-two appeared in court. The remaining four are being tried in absentia, while they are still on the run. One man who appeared in court said that he had been tortured. He also added that he had been referred for medical check after the alleged torture.

The lawyer of the twenty-two men, Montaser al Zaiat has said that the charges are “absolutely not true,” and clarified that there was “never any question in this case of a plot for the assassination of figures in Egypt.”

Family members were not permitted to attend the hearing, many relatives braced high heat standing outside the courtroom to see their loved ones. The families are upset because they haven’t seen their loved-ones in months. One prisoner was arrested in December, and his family does not know the details of the charges that precipitated his arrest. The arrests of members of the alleged Hezbollah cell began in 2008.

Hezbollah is a Shiite backed group, which is at odds with Sunni dominated Egypt. Hezbollah believes that the charges are politically motivated, and based upon Egypt’s support for the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

For more information, please see:

AFP – ‘Hezbollah’ Accused Allege Torture in Egypt Jail’ – 23 August 2009

BBC – Egypt ‘Hezbollah Cell’ on Trial – 23 August 2009

LA Times – Egypt: How Guilty are Those in ‘Hezbollah Cell’ – 23 August 2009

Xinhua – Egyptian Court Postpones Trial of Hezbollah Cell to October 24 – 23 August 2009