A Voice for the Voiceless

Many Egyptians Arrested for Allegedly Breaking the Ramadan Fast

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt– Police have arrested one hundred fifty-five people for breaking fast during the daylight hours of the holy month of Ramadan, according to several Egyptian newspapers and human rights activists.

On September 9, Al-Arabiyya reported that an unnamed source within the interior ministry stated that Egypt has launched an unprecedented campaign to enforce prohibitions against eating, drinking, and smoking during the Muslim holy month.  Several human rights organizations have condemned the arrests as a violation of personal freedoms. Furthermore, many human rights activists have emphasized that these detentions have no legal or religious legitimacy.

During the Lunar month of Ramadan all healthy adults are expected to refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, or having sexual relations between dawn and dusk. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and sick individuals are not expected to keep the strict fast.

However, Gamal Eid of the Arabian Network for Human Rights (ANHR) said that fasting is something that people should do according to their own will, and that it is not an obligation, though many do fast out of courtesy. He further commented that there is no law that prohibits eating and drinking during the day in Ramadan, and that all citizens have the right to do so without being harassed. He believes that the government’s arrests are an implicit endorsement of turning Egypt into a religious state. He primarily blames the government for being complicit.

Negad Al Borei, head of the Institution for Democracy Development commented that he found it strange that, although the administration typically chases extreme religious and jihadist groups, it was executing an extreme policy based on religion. Khaled Ali, Executive Manager of the Hesham Mubarak Law Centre for Human Rights, accused the Ministry of imposing religiosity on citizens. 

For more information, please see:

Al Arabiyya News Chanel – Egypt Cracks Down on Breaking Ramadan Fast – 9 September 2009

J Post – Egyptians Irked By ‘Ramadan Eating’ Arrests – 9 September 2009

UPI – Ramadan Arrests Called Unconstitutional – 9 September 2009

LA Times – Egypt: Police Arrest 155 for Failing to Keep Ramadan – 7 September 2009

U.S. Citizen Denied Re-entry to Egypt

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt– On September 2, American citizen Travis Randall of Denver, Colorado was denied entry to Egypt after being told he was “on a list.” Randall was not given any reason for being denied entry, or for being detained, and he plans on remaining in London until he finds out the particular reason why Egypt denied his re-entry.

Randall, age 27, had been living and working in Cairo for the last two and a half years, working as an environmental consultant and a free lance writer. He was returning from a trip when he was detained for twelve hours in a holding cell, and forced to purchase a ticket to London, England, as he could not return to Egypt.

The only time that Randall has ever had any problems with the Egyptian authority, was after a small protest of the Egyptian and Israeli blockade of the Gaza strip in February. After the protest, Randall was briefly detained.  The officials at the airport would not give Randall any reasons for his detention beyond Randall’s name being on a list. Randall’s laptop and cell phone were taken from him during his detention, and returned to him only upon is departure.

Egyptian police have detained hundreds of members of the Muslim brotherhood, and some Egyptian Bloggers because of their protests and writings against the blockade of the Gaza strip. One airport security officer who spoke anonymously theorized that Randall must be on the list for his own “activism” over Egyptian involvement in the blockade of the Gaza strip.

Randall does not consider himself an activist or a blogger, as his last post before his detention was from 2007. He has not participated in many protests, and does not want to be labeled an activist, as he does not believe that he fits the title.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) commented on Randall’s detainment, stating that “[even] assuming that the authorities have the right to stop the blogger from entering Egypt even though he has not been accused of anything, they have absolutely no right to seize his laptop and prevent him from making phone calls. This is an intolerable abuse.”

For more information, please see:

BikyaMasr – Egyptian National Press Lies Over Travis Randall’s Deportation – 6 September 2009

LA Times – EGYPT: Authorities Detain and Deport American Blogger – 6 September 2009

AP- US Citizen Deported from Egypt – 4 September 2009

International Freedom of Expression Exchange – American Blogger detained at Cairo Airport, Barred from Entering Egypt – 3 September 2009

U.S. Citizen Denied Re-entry to Egypt

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt– On September 2, American citizen Travis Randall of Denver, Colorado was denied entry to Egypt after being told he was “on a list.” Randall was not given any reason for being denied entry, or for being detained, and he plans on remaining in London until he finds out the particular reason why Egypt denied his re-entry.

Randall, age 27, had been living and working in Cairo for the last two and a half years, working as an environmental consultant and a free lance writer. He was returning from a trip when he was detained for twelve hours in a holding cell, and forced to purchase a ticket to London, England, as he could not return to Egypt.

The only time that Randall has ever had any problems with the Egyptian authority, was after a small protest of the Egyptian and Israeli blockade of the Gaza strip in February. After the protest, Randall was briefly detained.  The officials at the airport would not give Randall any reasons for his detention beyond Randall’s name being on a list. Randall’s laptop and cell phone were taken from him during his detention, and returned to him only upon is departure.

Egyptian police have detained hundreds of members of the Muslim brotherhood, and some Egyptian Bloggers because of their protests and writings against the blockade of the Gaza strip. One airport security officer who spoke anonymously theorized that Randall must be on the list for his own “activism” over Egyptian involvement in the blockade of the Gaza strip.

Randall does not consider himself an activist or a blogger, as his last post before his detention was from 2007. He has not participated in many protests, and does not want to be labeled an activist, as he does not believe that he fits the title.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) commented on Randall’s detainment, stating that “[even] assuming that the authorities have the right to stop the blogger from entering Egypt even though he has not been accused of anything, they have absolutely no right to seize his laptop and prevent him from making phone calls. This is an intolerable abuse.”

For more information, please see:

BikyaMasr – Egyptian National Press Lies Over Travis Randall’s Deportation – 6 September 2009

LA Times – EGYPT: Authorities Detain and Deport American Blogger – 6 September 2009

AP- US Citizen Deported from Egypt – 4 September 2009

International Freedom of Expression Exchange – American Blogger detained at Cairo Airport, Barred from Entering Egypt – 3 September 2009

Hundreds of Thousands Displaced By West African Flood

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso – After three months of rain West Africa has been devastated by flooding that displaced 600,000.  The current season has been unusually rainy and the rain is expected to last through the end of the month.

People from Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, and Niger have all been affected by the floods.  According to meteorologists, nearly one quarter of Burkina Faso’s yearly rainfall fell in a twelve-hour span.

According to the latest report from the United Nations, more than 150 people have been killed.  Many of those lives were claimed in Sierra Leone.

Half of the capital city of Ouagadougou has been affected including the part that housed the university hospital.  More than 150,000 from Burkina Faso are homeless, living in community centers and schools so overcrowded that some sleep outside.  These men spend the night exposed to malarial mosquitoes that breed in the standing water.

“The [university] hospital was one of the main hospitals in Ouagadougou where thousands of people were treated each day,” said West Africa spokesman for the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Yvon Edoumou.  “So clearly that is a major concern for us.  If you think in terms of just basic health services or even more acute health conditions, there is a fear that people who were there at the time of the flooding ate not getting the treatment that they should be.”

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) began feeding the displaced on Tuesday, feeding tens of thousands.  The goal is to feed 177,500 people, mainly from Ouagadougou.  According to the WFP this is the worst flooding in Burkina Faso in 90 years.

“It is always the poor and vulnerable who suffer the most from floods like these as their few remaining assets are swept away, leaving them hungry and destitute,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.

OCHA issued a statement calling the situation “very worrying.”

This is, however, a mixed blessing.  The countries that are dependent on agriculture will have more plentiful harvests because of the wet season.

For more information, please see:

AP – UN Distributes Food to West Africa Flood Victims – 08 September 2009

CNN – West Africa Flooding Affects 600,000, U.N. Reports – 08 September 2009

Reuters – Catholic Relief Services to Assist Flood Victims in Burkina Faso – 08 September 2009

VOA – Flooding Displaces Hundreds of Thousands in West Africa – 08 September 2009

IRIN – Floods Shut Down Hospital, HIV Reference Lab – 07 September 2009

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