Shift in Power in Tunisia’s Journalist Union Causes Concern

August 25, 2009

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia– On August 19, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) announced that a group of pro-government reporters in Tunisia have taken control of the largest Tunisian union for journalists only two months before the general election.

RWB stated their concern for the independence of the national union of journalists, and stated that this change does not “bode well” for the fairness of the upcoming election.

Tunisia’s current president, Zine El Abdine Ben Ali, will be seeking a fifth term in this election. He has been in power since a bloodless coup in 1987. In 2002, Ben Ali challenged the constitution so that he could have more time in office. He has also continued to poll ninety-percent in elections.

The new union president Neji Bghouri stated that he believes that the government took over an organization that was meant to be independent. The new president of the journalists’ union denies any government involvement with the vote that resulted in his placement.

These alleged problems with the press only add to several other human rights violations that human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) reported on August 20.

Amnesty International’s report documents continued abuse in the name of counter-terrorism and security. AI’s focus surrounds the continued reports of mistreatment and ‘pervasive’ torture in Tunisian detention centers.

The report also criticizes other countries that continue to return prisoners to Tunisia against the prisoners’ wills, and with full knowledge of likely mistreatment. Extraditing a person to a country where it is known they are likely to face mistreatment, a practice sometimes called ‘Extraordinary Rendition,’ is a violation of the Convention Against Torture, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment.

Amnesty has called for the immediate end to torture and a clampdown on mistreatment and unlawful ‘security’ measures used in Tunisian detention centers.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Tunisia Continues Human Rights Abuses in the Name of National Security – 20 August 2009

Afrique en Linge – Tunisian Journalists Change Leadership– 19 August 2009

BBC – Tunisia Reporter Move ‘Bodes Ill’ – 19 August 2009

Reuters – Row as Tunisia Journalist Picks Pro- Government Boss – 16 August 2009

Fatah Denies Holding Political Prisoners

August 25, 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RAMALLAH, West Bank – On August 22, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad reiterated Fatah’s assertion that it did not hold any political prisoners.

The Prime Minister spoke at a ceremony for Protect the Palestinian Flag in Ramallah. Fayyad’s statement contradicted claims by several human rights organizations, which have confirmed that prisons in both the West Bank and Gaza hold prisoners arrested for political reasons. Fatah’s rival party, Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has also claimed that several of its members have been detained by Fatah security forces because of political motivations.

Hamas claimed earlier this month that one of its members, Fadi Hamarna, who was imprisoned in Jneid Prison in Nablus in the West Bank, died at the hands of Fatah security forces. The Palestinian government in the West Bank stated that Hamarna had committed suicide in his cell after interrogation.

The Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) attributes many of the abuses within the Palestinian security system to its chaotic power struggles between the nine security forces operating under the Palestinian Authority (PA). The PA employs almost 40,000 people, one of the highest ratios of police to citizens in the world. The PA security forces are often characterized as having wide-spread corruption and little systematic regulation. The Gaza Strip, which is smaller than the U.S. state of Rhode Island, has at least twenty-four detention centers, the locations for which were kept secret until April 2009. According to MERIP, search and arrest warrants are rare, and mistreatment of prisoners is the norm rather than the exception.

On August 21, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with the Palestinian interior minister about security issues, focusing on the release of so-called “petty criminals” ahead of the end-of-Ramadan festival, Eid-al-Fitr. President Abbas also noted that the PA had already recently released approximately seventy prisoners, and he encouraged efforts to maintain order within the Palestinian Territories.

For more information, please see:

Ma’an News Agency – Fayyad: PA Has No Political Detainees – 22 August 2009

International Middle East Media Center – Hamas Political Prisoner Dies at a Palestinian Prison – 11 August 2009

Middle East Report – Palestinian Political Prisoners – Fall 1996

Caning of Malaysian Model Delayed

August 25, 2009

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia– Caning of a Malaysian model and mother of two, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, who would have been the first women in Southeast Asia to be caned for drinking beer in public, has been delayed. Malaysia’s Islamic court postponed the caning until after Ramadan saying that the punishment was too harsh.

Kartika was arrested by Islamic morality police in December 2007 for drinking beer at a beach resort. 60% of Malaysia’s population of 27 million are Muslims, and they are prohibited from drinking alcohol. If found guilty of violating this Islamic law, such offense is punishable by up to three years in prison and caning.

Malaysia also has a dual-track justice system where Islamic courts operate alongside civil courts. Malays are subject to Islamic laws while Chinese and Indian minorities are not. Further, caning is used as a supplementary punishment for about 40 crimes in Malaysia, but caning is not a punishment for drinking alcohol in public in Malaysia’s civil courts.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno (Source: AFP)

Had the sentence been carried out, Kartika would have received six strokes with a rattan cane in addition to a $1,400 fine.

This case and Kartika’s plight has drawn widespread international attention regarding the use of Islamic laws in addition to raising questions as to whether radical Islam was starting to grow in a traditionally moderate Muslim country.

However, Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil of Women, Family and Community Development, who was once concerned that Kartika’s sentence “projected a ‘cruel image’ of Malaysia,” said, “I am impressed with, and commend, the chief judge’s wisdom for making the order of revision.”

Malaysia’s prime minister is urging Kartika to appeal since she is unique in that she has chosen to go through with her sentence. However, she has told reporters that she will not file an appeal. Her family is refusing to comment.

For more information, please see:

AP – Malaysian court puts caning of woman on hold – 25 August 2009

BBC – Malaysia to review caning woman – 25 August 2009

CNN – Malaysia postpones woman’s caning – 25 August 2009

Rebel Groups in Darfur Establish a Unified Front

August 24, 2009

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

DARFUR, Sudan – Four prominent Darfur rebel groups have agreed to establish a unified front after a U.S.-sponsored negotiation in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa over the weekend.

Although the four factions: the United Resistance Front (URF), the Sudan Liberation Movement – Abdulwahid, the Sudan Liberation Movement – Unity, and the Sudan Liberation Movement – Abdulshafi have not yet agreed on specific ways to facilitate peace within the groups, they have agreed on a road map to unify their struggle and engage in peace talks.

The U.S. special envoy to Darfur, Scott Gration mediated the agreement between the factions and was present during the signing. He called rebel unity a prerequisite for political talks on stopping the war that has lasted for over six years, killing an estimated 300,000 people.

“It’s a remarkable achievement,” said Gration. “What I’ve seen with these groups is that they are working so hard to ensure that we learn from past attempts to reunify, to get peace; and this time to make it lasting and durable,” he continued.

The rebel factions have created a committee in order to continue to deal with the remaining issues which have been the cause of conflict between the groups. One major issue that remains is that of leadership. Initially they planned to elect their “unity leadership” in Addis Ababa, although there is no concrete final agreement on the leadership post as of yet.

Even though the peace talks are a step in the right direction, Ahmed Abdulshafi Toba, chairman of Sudan Liberation Movement – Abdulshafi said the unity talks do not include a ceasefire. Also, one of the main rebel groups, Justice for Equality and Movement (JEM) did not take part in the unity talks due to their previous disagreements with U.S. envoy Gration.

There are currently 30 different rebel groups in Sudan fighting for their cut in the oil industry and for fair representation in the national political system.

For more information, please see:

All Africa – Sudan: U.S., Africa Step Up Darfur Peace Drive – 24 August 2009

Daily Nation – Darfur Rebel Factions Unite for Peace Talks – 24 August 2009

VOA – Four Darfur Rebel Groups Reach Unity Deal – 23 August 2009

AFP – US Envoy Pledges to Help Darfur Rebels Unite – 22 August 2009

Civilians Killed in Mogadishu During Ramadan

August 23, 2009

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – At least five civilians were killed in the Somali capital during an exchange of fire that broke out on Saturday night.

The fighting occurred in southern Mogadishu’s Hodan and Holwadag neighborhoods between rebels and government forces, who were backed by African peacekeepers. Some of Saturday’s fighting was centered on a strategic road linking the capital with the town of Afgoye. Each side of the conflict accused the other of starting the fighting.

Residents of the neighborhoods say that the fighting has died down since Saturday, although the hard-line Islamist rebel leader Hasan Dahir Aweys has vowed to intensify the war against the Somali government and the African peacekeepers. He declared his intentions to continue the violence during Ramadan, against President Sheikh Sharif Ahmand’s call for a ceasefire during the holy month.

“We will not accept that ceasefire call. This holy month will be a triumphant time for mujahideen and we will fight the enemy,” said Aweys.

The radical leader also accused African Peacekeepers of having recently deployed additional troops in the capital city.

“They deployed more troops to worsen the security situation in Somalia, but we will never stop fighting them until they leave our soil alone,” continued Aweys.

President Ahmed’s United Nations-backed government is viewed as the countries best hope for a return to stability after almost 20 years of conflict, although it holds only small pockets of the capital and parts of the south.

Aweys claims there are efforts under way to unify his group, Hizb Al-Islam and the al-Qaeda inspired rebel faction known as the Shebab. Both groups are the two main factions in the insurgency bent on taking over President Ahmed and ousting the African Union forces from the country.

This violence follows Friday’s battles between the same groups, where more than 20 people were killed in Mogadishu. So far, thousands of civilians have been killed and more than a million driven from their homes from the fighting that has taken place over the past two years.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Six Civilians Killed in Somali Capital – 23 August 2009

BBC – ‘Several Dead’ in Somali Clashes – 23 August 2009

Reuters – Somali Insurgents Reject Ramadan Ceasefire Call – 23 August 2009

VOA – 5 Killed in Mogadishu Fighting – 23 August 2009