Palestinian Families Evicted from East Jerusalem Homes

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East Photo:   A Palestinian woman confronted Israeli riot police as she was evicted from her home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Sunday.  Courtesy New York Times.

EAST JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – Early on the morning of August 2, Israel security forces evicted two Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem.  The Ghawi and Hanoun families, with thirty-eight and seventeen members, respectively, had lived in the houses for generations.

The evictions came after a drawn-out legal battle over the title to the land in the Sheikh Jarrah district, a wealthy, predominantly Arab neighborhood.  Witnesses reported that as soon as the Palestinians were forcibly removed, Israeli nationalists moved in.

The evictions have drawn heavy international criticism from the United States, United Nations, and European Union.  A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State stated that the moves in East Jerusalem are not in “keeping with the Israeli obligations under the Roadmap,” referring to the 2003 “Roadmap for peace” plan.

Saeb Erakat, the Senior Palestinian negotiator with Israel, said he was outraged by the Israeli actions.

“Israel is once again showing its utter failure to respect international law,” Mr. Erakat said.  “Now settlers from abroad are accommodating themselves and their belongings in the Palestinian houses and nineteen newly homeless children will have nowhere to sleep.”

Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesperson, attempted to downplay the controversy, describing the dispute as a legal one between two private parties who had title to a property in East Jerusalem.  In the suit filed by the Israeli settlers, the Palestinians had allegedly violated an agreement under which they were allowed to live in the houses.

Mr. Regev further denied that the evictions were part of a systematic effort to cleanse Palestinians from East Jerusalem and replacing them with Israeli settlers.

Maher Hanoun, head of one of the evicted families, was on the street following the removal.

“I do not need a tent or rice,” Mr. Hanoun said.  “What I need is to return to my house, where I and my children were born.”

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – US Criticizes Israeli Eviction Move– 4 August 2009

Jerusalem Post – EU Protests Evictions of Palestinians from East Jerusalem– 4 August 2009

CNN – Israel Defends Jerusalem Evictions-3 August 2009

BBC News – Israel Condemned Over Evictions– 2 August 2009

New York Times – Israel Evicts Palestinians from Homes– 2 August 2009

Canadian Gets Life Sentence in Ethiopia on Terror Conviction

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Ethiopian-born, Bashir Makhtal, was charged with being a member of the  separatist group, Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which is fighting for the independence of an ethnically Somali part of the country.

The conviction is debated because human rights groups say the prosecution failed to produce credible evidence and witnesses proving Bashir’s guilt.  The prosecution was pushing for him to be executed, but the judges decided against it, sentencing him to life in prison instead.

In response to the allegations of a one sided trial, the Ethiopian government has denied the trial was unfair in any way.

Bashir denies being the leader of the separatist group, saying he was prosecuted because his grandfather had helped fund the rebel group decades ago. Bashir, a 40-year-old Canadian left Ethiopia at age 11 and does not speak the local Amharic language.

“In fact, I am a victim of the ONLF,” said Bashir when he testified at his trial.

In 2006 Bashir was among dozens of people arrested when Ethiopia invaded Somalia.  His family in Canada says he was held in solitary for almost two years with no access to lawyers or embassy officials.  Bashir’s relatives also said he was a businessman, selling second-hand clothing in Kenya and that he was in Mogadishu on a business trip when the he was captured.

“The only hope that I have now is the government of Canada,” said Bashir. “I don’t see any fair treatment here and won’t see any … as long as I’m in their hands.”

Regardless, the Addis Ababa court found him guilty on four charges. He was found guilty of being a member of the ONLF central committee, for recruiting and training members of the ONLF at a military camp, for leading a contingent of the ONLF in the field, and for collaborating with Somalia’s Union of Islamic Courts in Eritrea in an effort to overthrow the Ethiopian government.

Bashir’s lawyers plan to appeal against the conviction.
For more information, please see:

AFP – Ethiopia Jails Canadian for Life on Terror Charges – 3 August 2009

BBC – Ethiopia Jails Canadian For Life – 3 August 2009

Reuters – Ethiopia Jails Canadian ONLF Rebel for Life – 3 August 2009

The Toronto Star – Canadian Gets Life Sentence in Ethiopia on Terror Conviction

Polls on King Mohammed Get Two Magazines Banned

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RABAT, Morocco – A poll published in two  Moroccan magazines on King Mohammed VI’s ten years in power has resulted in a ban on the two magazines for this month’s issue.   

The poll was conducted by the French daily Le Monde, and asked what 1,108 people thought of their 46-year-old leader during his time in office, and what kind of a job King Mohammed was doing.  

The Independent weeklies Tel Quel in French, and Nichane in Arabic, had their most recent issues banned for failing to follow the 1958 press code.  The 1958 Press code gives the Minister of the Ministry of Information permission to administratively seize a newspaper or periodical that “is of a nature to disturb public order” and can suspend periodicals that “attacks the political and religions institutional foundations of the kingdom.” 

Moroccan minister of communications Khalid Nariri told the associated press that “any publication, be it foreign or Moroccan, that publishes the poll in Morocco will be banned.” Additionally, Nariri announced that “Monarchy cannot be the subject of opinion polls, and those who practice this sport are aware of the consequences.”

Both the Tel Quel and the Nichane  have a history with censorship and the Moroccan Government.  Both were seized in 2007 for publishing editorials that were deemed “bellow stoking.” Additionally, Nichane’s former editor also received a three-year jail sentence for an article that was found to be defamatory to Islam.

Although the poll showed that most Moroccans were please with their ruler, the government maintains its decision to ban the magazines. According to the poll, ninety-one percent of those surveyed said that they had a positive opinion of their King. The issue that Moroccans were most unhappy about was a lack of improvement of Morocco’s poverty. 

Some people polled also expressed a dislike for the Moudawana bill, which granted many marital rights to women.

A blogger that blogs for the Media Line under the psudonym Labri, says that freedom of the press is protected in  Morocco, so long as the as the article does not touch on Islam, the Sahara, or the Monarchy.

The magazines that have published the poll are only banned for the issues that contain the poll.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Moroccans Like Their King: Banned Opinion Poll – 3 August 2009

Al Arabiya – Banned Survey Shows Moroccans Like Their King – 3 August 2009

The Media Line – Two Moroccan Magazines Banned over Commemorative Poll – 2 August 2009

News Day – 2 Moroccan Magazines Banned for Poll on King – 2 August 2009

Uzbek Journalist Jailed for Over 12 Years


By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan – Independent journalist, Dilmurod Saidov, was sentenced to 12 ½ years in prison following what many call a “flawed” trial.

The trial was brought on by politically motivated charges according to Human Rights Watch, and was riddled with “procedural violations.” Several witnesses withdrew their testimony claiming to have given false evidence earlier. Saidov was arrested on February 11 at his home in Tashkent and accused of extortion by Asliddin Urinboev, head of the Agricultural Equipment and Tractor Park. Urinboev alleged that Saidov had sought to extort $15,000.00 from him with the help of another individual, Marguba Juraeva. After both their arrests, Juraeva gave written testimony implicating Saidov, but rescinding her testimony the following day saying she was under the influence when she had given it.

Saidov was convicted of extortion and forgery in a closed session at the Tailak District Court. Neither Saidov’s lawyer nor his public defender were informed of the trial date in advance. The court secretary said the sentencing was closed “in the interest of security” and did not comment further.

Local human rights agencies on ground in Uzbekistan believe that Saidov was prosecuted and convicted because of his efforts to expose local officials’ abuse of power and corruption. Uzbekistan has a history of jailing reporters and human rights activists according to Human Rights Watch. “Dilmurod Saidov is well known for his courageous work to expose rampant corruption in Uzbekistan and this conviction is clearly an attempt to stop him,” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The trial was a travesty of justice, and Saidov should be freed immediately.”

The investigation and trial were plagued with inconsistencies and violations according to Human Rights Watch. Court hearings were repeatedly conducted without prior notice to Saidov’s attorneys. Other witnesses who spoke out against Saidov claimed they had been detained for two days in pretrial detention and pressured into making allegations against Saidov.

Saidov is amongst 13 other human rights defenders and journalists currently being detained in Uzbekistan pending trial. Several other civic activists and independent journalists are serving sentences on what many groups call “politically motivated charges.”

 

For more information, please see:

Ferghana – Free-Lance Journalist Saidov Jailed to 12.5 Years – August 3, 2009  

Human Rights Watch – Free Journalist Sentenced to Over 12 Years – Augu  st 3, 2009

Nasdaq – Uzbek Journalist Jailed for 12 Years – August 3, 2009

Woman Dares Court Over Flogging for Wearing Trousers

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – On July 3, police arrested Lubna Al Hussein and eighteen other women.  Their charge: dressing indecently in public.

According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information there is only one punishment under Sudanese law for an indecent clothing charge – 40 lashes in public.

Hussein is a journalist who worked for the media department of the UN mission in Sudan until recently.  At the time of arrest, she was wearing trousers, a blouse, and a hijab (headscarf).  The police say her trousers were too tight and that her blouse (Source: Sudan Tribune) was too transparent.

Her trial is set to begin on Tuesday.

“They ought to stop it,” said Nabil Adib, lawyer for Hussein. “It is quite unnecessary and degrading. It is harassment.”

Adib believes the charges will be dropped saying, “These things have their ups and downs.  These laws have generally relaxed as a matter of policy. But they are still sometimes enforced.”

Although some believe that the Sudanese government’s threat of flogging is a form of retaliation for Hussein’s criticism of the Sudanese regime, Adib does not believe that his client was targeted.

“There are round-ups that they do and it is indiscriminate,” he said. “I don’t think she was targeted specifically. They attack public and private parties and groups. They are called ‘morality police’ and she was just a victim of a round-up.”

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called flogging “against the international human rights standards.”  He said he would protect his staff member with every effort but her lawyer says she resigned from her position with the UN to avoid the immunity she would have received.

Hussein will maintain her position of no wrongdoing.

For more information, please see:

The Age – Sudanese Woman to Dare Court Over Flogging – 03 August 2009

ABC News – Pants-wearing Woman Not Afraid of Flogging – 01 August 2009

Sudan Tribune – UN Ban Ki-Moon Says Deeply Concerned by Sudan Trousers Trial – 01 August 2009

Telegraph – ‘Whip Me if You Dare’ Says Lubna Hussein, Sudan’s Defiant Trouser Woman – 01 August 2009

CNN – Sudanese Lawyer Calls Woman’s Flogging Punishment ‘Degrading’ – 30 July 2009