Protests in Iran Re-Ignite at End of Mourning Period

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Forty days have passed since Neda Agha-Soltan was killed during a post-election protest on the streets of Iran, and as the traditional mourning period draws to a close, those who question the validity of the June 12 presidential election are once again taking to the streets.

On July 30, hundreds of protestors gathered at the grave of Neda, a 26-year-old music student whose death was captured by a fellow protestor’s mobile phone camera and was watched by millions worldwide on YouTube. Police reportedly prevented Mir Hossein Mousavi, the leading reformist presidential candidate, from staying at the graveside service. Mehdi Karroubi, another reformist candidate, was also at the service.

As the mourning period ends, several people arrested during the protests are preparing to go on trial beginning August 1, under numerous charges such as attacks on government and military offices, vandalism, arson, and “contacts with enemies.” Many international human rights groups question the validity of such trials, especially considering reports that the Iranian government has repeatedly arrested and intimidated human rights lawyers.

Human Rights Watch’s Middle East Division reported that on July 15, plainclothes policemen seized human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr while she was walking to Friday prayers. On July 21, security forces reportedly made a threatening phone call to Mohammed Seifzadeh, another leading human rights lawyer, telling him they would “take steps” to prevent him from continuing to represent defendants. At least four other human rights lawyers have been arrested in Iran since June 12, and the head of the Iranian Judiciary has revised the regulations governing the Iranian Bar Association, severely restricting its members’ independence.

International human rights groups have called for Iranian authorities to end the threats against lawyers and to release those arrested. On July 25, several international cities hosted a global day of support for those killed and arrested since the election nearly two months ago.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Iranian Police Clash with Mourners– 30 July 2009

Human Rights Watch – Iran: Stop Arresting, Intimidating Rights Lawyers– 26 July 2009

United for Iran – A Global Day of Action in Solidarity with the People of Iran– 25 July 2009

Amnesty International USA – Global Day of Support for Iran’s Victims of Human Rights Abuse– 24 July 2009

Human Rights Watch – Iran: Halt Moves to Curtail Lawyers– 16 July 2009

US Threatens Sanctions for Eritrea Over Somalia Rebels

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter,  Africa

WASHINGTON DC, United States – United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told a congressional committee that the United States is “deeply concerned and very frustrated” with Eritrea’s behavior in Somalia.

Eritrea is accused of arming, supporting, and funding al-Shabaab militants in Somalia, and of helping to destabilize the country and the surrounding region with a direct impact on US security.

“It is unacceptable, and we will not tolerate it, and nor will other members of the Security Council,” Rice said to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Rice told the UN that Eritrea’s contributions to Somali rebels would not be tolerated and that the Obama administration is committed to international peacekeeping operations.  The US supports reforms that will save money, strengthen oversight, and prevent fraud and abuse, including a zero tolerance policy on sexual exploitation by peacekeepers.

The United States is contributing $2.2 billion of the United Nations’ $7.8 billion UN peacekeeping budget for 2009.

Eritrea is running out of time before the UN Security Council intervenes and faces possible sanctions if it does not change its behavior.

US UN Ambassador Susan Rice_VOA “As I said in New York, there is a very short window for Eritrea to signal, through its actions, that it wishes a better relationship with the United States and the wider international community. If we do not see signs of that signal in short order, I can assure you that we will be taking appropriate steps with partners in Africa and the Security Council to take cognizance of Eritrea’s actions both in Somalia and the wider region,” said Rice.  “We will continue to discuss with colleagues in the Security Council appropriate measures, including potentially sanctions, against Eritrea for its actions in Somalia.”

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to visit with Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed during her visit to the region next week.

For more information, please see:

BBC – US Threatens Eritrea Over Somalia – 30 July 2009

Al Jazeera – US Threatens Eritrea with Sanctions – 29 July 2009

Reuters – U.S.’s UN Envoy Warns Eritrea Over Somalia Rebels – 29 July 2009

VOA – UN Ambassador Says US Committed to Peacekeeping – 29 July 2009

Over 100 Civilians Freed From Captivity in Nigeria

By Jennifer M. Haralambides

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – Security forces in Nigeria have recently freed around 200 women and children who were being held captive during a crackdown on the radical Islamic sect responsible for the violence that has been sweeping the country, killing over 150 people.

The leader of the radical group involved in the violence, the Boko Haram, is Mohammed Yusuf.  Security forces and soldiers surrounded parts of a compound that houses the leader in the city of Maiduguri, destroying buildings including a small mosque.  During this raid they did not find the leader, his whereabouts are still unknown.

In search of his Yusuf’s followers, joint military and armed forces went from house to house arresting more than 100 people.  A major obstacle the troops face is that there are sill civilians in some of the neighborhoods, and troops need to be careful.   Human rights activists have counted at least 10 new bodies of those who have fallen victim to this religious clash.

Recently, police declared that they have freed over 180 women and children whose husbands were among Yusuf’s followers.  Some of the men had been found with home-made guns and explosives believed to be planning attacks.

“These people have been organized and are penetrating our society and procuring arms and gathering information on how to make explosions and bombs to force their view on the rest of Nigerians,” said President Umaru Yar’Adua.

The Boko Haram, which translates to, “Western education is a sin,” in the Hausa language which is spoken across Nigeria is said to be modeled on the Taliban movement, and is sometimes called the “Nigerian Taliban.”  Its followers wear long beards and read or black headscarves and recognize only their own interpretations of sharia law.

For more information, please see:
AFP – Nigeria Fighting Rages as Death Toll Passes 300 – 29 July 2009

BBC – Captives Freed in Nigerian City – 29 July 2009

Reuters – Nigeria Hunts Islamic Sect, Women and Children Freed – 29 July 2009

Human Rights Watch Calls for Tunisia to End Activist’s Banishment

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

NEW YORK, United States – On July 28 Human Rights Watch sent a letter to the Tunisian Minister of Justice Béchir Tekkari and Minister of Interior Rafeek Belhaj encouraging the end of Tunisian activist Abdallah Zouari’s exile.

Zouari was convicted on charges of plotting to overthrow the state in a mass trial of the leaders and members of the Islamist Nahdha movement. He was sentenced to eleven years jail time plus five years “complimentary sentence” of post-release “administrative control.” Such administrative detainments are common in Tunisia and are typically executed by local police while the person lives in their own neighborhood or city.

After Zouari’s release from prison in June 2002, he was exiled to the Zarzis area in the southern governorate of Medenine, about 500 km from where his family lives in the capital of Tunisia. Aside from a thirteen- month stint in prison, Zouari has served the additional five year complementary sentence in Zarzis. In June of 2007, when the complementary sentence should have ended, an extra twenty-six months of banishment were added to his sentence without explanation.

 He served both the regular and the “complementary term” of his sentence and at the end of the complementary sentence the local authorities extended his confinement to the village for 26 months without reason on June 5 2007. This extension will run out in less than a week, Human Rights Watch has preemptively asked that Zouari be allowed to go free unless the Tunisian government can show real cause for continued detainment. When Zouari asked the chief of police who explained Zouari’s extended detainment to him, the officer merely said that the orders, “came from above.”

As the end of the 26 month extension is quickly approaching, Human Rights Watch has written a letter demanding that Tunisia show cause for further detainment. While Human Rights Watch did not agree with the legitimacy of the initial sentence, they are even more opposed to the arbitrary continuation of Zouari’s sentence.

For more information please see;

Human Rights Watch – Tunisia: End Activist’s Banishment – 28 July 2009

Media Line – Rights Group Calls for End to Tunisian’s Exile – 28 July 2009

Reuter’s – Alert Net: Tunisia: End Activist’s Banishment – 28 July 2009

Arabic News – Journalist Abdahlla Zouari’s Internal Exile Extended by 26 Months – 12 June 2007

Rivals Challenge Indonesia Election Results

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri launched a Constitutional Court challenge Tuesday to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s landslide re-election victory.

Megawati received 26.79 percent of votes in the July 8 poll and Kalla 12.41 percent, while Yudhoyono received 60.8 percent, according to the final count released by the General Election Commission Saturday.

But Megawati believes she has won 35.09 percent compared to 48.70 percent for Yudhoyono, close enough to force the pair to contest a run-off in September, her chief legal adviser Gayus Lumbuun said.

“A lot of foul play in the election has meant people in this country have not been able to use their constitutional rights,” Firman Jaya Daeli, a member of Megawati’s camp, told reporters.

Megawati claims millions of voters — out of around 170 million who eligible in the world’s third-biggest democracy — were disenfranchised by inaccurate voter lists and insufficient polling booths in key districts.

Both defeated candidates had alleged that the voter lists were flawed in the run-up to the elections, amid claims that duplicate names and those of dead people were appearing on the electoral rolls.

Kalla has also challenged the results at the Constitutional Court. He said his challenge was about protecting the future of democracy in a country that emerged from 32 years of dictatorship only 11 years ago.

“The principle is that this nation must progress properly, honestly and democratically, because the democratic process must be implemented correctly and fairly,” Kalla said

Supporters of Kalla have alleged that electoral lists contained around 20 million duplicate names.

Election Supervisory Body chief Nur Hidayat Sardini said that “there were many violations,” but said the polls were “considered a success.”

President Yudhoyono was elected president in 2004 and Indonesians have, correspondents say, been impressed by his ability to manage the economy and clamp down on corruption.

Many see President Yudhoyono as someone who has turned the economy around and brought much-needed stability and security to the country.

For more information, please see:
BBC – Indonesia poll result challenged – 25 July 2009

Reuters – Indonesia president’s rivals cry foul after poll win – 25 July 2009

AFP – Megawati challenges Indonesia vote result – 28 July 2009