A Voice for the Voiceless

Baha’i Leaders Mark One-Year Anniversary in Prison

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – May 14 marked the one-year anniversary of the arrest of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran.  Human Rights Watch called for the release of seven leaders of the Baha’i community in Iran who, in February, were charged with spying for Israel, “insulting religious sanctities,” and spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic.  The leaders could face the death penalty if convicted. 

The arrests are the latest in a series of hundreds of arrests that have taken place in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom estimates at least thirty Baha’is are currently imprisoned in Iran.   There is also evidence that since 1979, hundreds of Baha’is in Iran have been killed.  Iran’s constitution recognizes only Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians as legitimate religious minorities in the Islamic Republic, though these groups have also been subject to persecution.

Baha’is constitute the largest religious minority in Iran, with 300,000 members inside the Islamic Republic and approximately five million worldwide.  Baha’i was founded in the mid-nineteenth century in Persia, present-day Iran, and believers hold that humanity is one race derived from a single God.  Officials in Iran have deemed Baha’i a heretical offshoot of Islam.  The center of the Baha’i faith is the city of Haifa, in present-day Israel, heightening tensions between members of the faith and the Islamic Republic, which refuses to recognize Israel as a state.

The Baha’i leaders’ lawyer, Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, has experienced intense pressure from the Iranian government while preparing for the case.  Ebadi reported that in December 2008, police closed her human rights center and her private office was raided, and client files seized.  In addition, Ebadi has been denied access to the Baha’i leaders and no trial date has been set.

For more information, please see:

Iran Press Watch – Imprisoned In Iran For Religious Belief – 20 May 2009

Human Rights Watch – Iran:  Free Baha’i Leaders – 14 May 2009

New York Times – Seven Iranians Charged With Spying for Israel – 23 February 2009

BBC News – Iran arrests Bahai ‘leadership’ – 19 May 2008

Pakistan’s Refugee Crisis

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SWAT VALLEY, Pakistan – Almost 1.5 million people have registered for international assistance, fighting began in the Swat Valley region in Pakistan about three weeks ago. The total number of displaced people stands at about 2 million with the numbers steadily rising. The UNHCR spokesperson said that “it’s been a long time since there has been a displacement this big.”

The Swat Valley in Pakistan used to be a popular tourist attraction, but recently came under the strong control of the Taliban who imposed Sharia law in the region, and began advancing towards the capital. In response the Pakistani army launched an aerial attack, and have since then moved forward with a ground offensive, targeted at driving the militants out of the region.

The fighting has caused a mass refugee exodus, and has resulted in heavy civilian casualties.

Currently 1.30 million people are living in camps, while almost 1.04 million people are still without any shelter. Although the government of Pakistan in conjunction with the UNHCR is working hard to provide relief to the displaced citizens, the numbers are constantly rising and the situation is becoming dire as observed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres. “It’s like trying to catch something that’s moving ahead of us because the number of people on the move every day is so big and the response is never enough.”

Emergency aid and relief is being sent over to Pakistan, but more will be needed in order to sustain the fight against the Taliban. The growing needs of the displaced people are steadily increasing in a crisis many compare to the Rwandan genocide.

For more information, please see:

Guardian – Swat Valley Refugee Crisis – 19 May 2009

CBS News – Pakistan Refugee Influx – 18 May 2009

DAWN News – UNHCR Warns of Humanitarian Crisis – 16 May 2009

Nine Sentenced to Death in Absentia

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMANHUR, Egypt – On May 18th an Egyptian court in Damanhur sentenced twenty-four people to death. All twenty-four cases have been sent to the mufti to sign execution orders, in accordance with sharia law. Nine of those sentenced were not present for their trials and conviction, as they remain on the run. 

Each of twenty-four was sentenced on murder charges for their participation in a violent land dispute in March of 2008 in the northern province of Beheira. Two rival associations both claimed title to a 500 acre agricultural plot in the Nile delta. Both parties had hired security guards to protect their land, and the dispute arose when one group of guards tried to claim the plot by force from the other group of guards. Authorities believe that this was purely a financial conflict and had no sectarian aspects.

Eleven people were killed, and as many as twenty-seven were injured in the conflict. Land suitable for farming is scarce in the Nile delta and this shortage often leads to disputes. While land disputes are not uncommon in Egypt, the number of casualties in this instance is unusual. Many landlords in Egypt hire private armed security guards to protect their land interests, but the guards typically only keep out squatters, and do not incur casualties.

Both the Daily News Egypt and E- Taiwan News article attributed to the Associated Press allege that the “gun battle” was over 1,500 acres, not 500 acres. Both sources also maintain that no dates for execution have been set, and all of the sentences have been appealed.

The nine people convicted in absentia remain on the run. The due process rights of these individuals under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights may come into question if they are found. This covenant, signed by the United Nations, supports the right for all people to be present at their own trial and conviction.

For more information, please see:

APA – Egyptian Court Sentences 24 to Death – 19 May 2009

Daily News Egypt – 24 Sentenced to Death Over Deadly Land Dispute – 19 May 2009

E-Taiwan News – Egypt: 24 Get Death Sentence on Murder Charges – 19 May 2009

News 24 – 24 Sentenced to Death in Egypt – 18 May 2009

New York Times – Egypt: Death Sentences Over a Gunfight – 18 May 2009

Reuters – Egypt Court Sentences 24 to Die Over Land Clash – 18 May 2009

Senate Blocks Closing of Guantanamo

By Karla E General
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States – The United States Senate voted 90-6 against the $80 million spending bill that would have financed the closure of Guantanamo Bay by January 2010, as well as the transfer of the 240 detainees that remain there. The vote came just one day before President Barack Obama was scheduled to outline his plan for the transfer of the 240 terrorism suspects detained at the facility located in Cuba.

Obama had requested the $80 million last month, an amount necessary for the Pentagon and Justice Department to close the detention facility, which is known by international human rights groups for its use of harsh interrogation techniques and detention of suspects without trial. The funds were requested without an immediate and detailed plan of action for the transfer of the detainees and without a definitive answer on whether the detainees would be transferred to U.S. soil. Republicans have criticized Obama’s quest to shut down Guantanamo, saying that human rights abuses that have occurred at the facility are a thing of the past.

The 90-6 vote followed testimony to Congress by FBI Director Robert Mueller who stated: “The concerns we have about individuals who may support terrorism being in the United States run from concerns about providing financing to terrorists, [and] radicalizing others … [as well as] the potential for individuals undertaking attacks in the United States.”

Similarly, Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota said: “The American people don’t want these men walking the streets of America’s neighborhoods.  The American people don’t want these detainees held at a military base or federal prison in their backyard either.”

In spite of the vote, Democrats remain hopeful that President Obama will devise a detailed plan that meets the objectives of both Democrats and Republicans. “The president’s very capable of putting together a plan that I think will win the approval of a majority of members of Congress,” said Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson. “I can’t imagine that he won’t.”

Fiji Lawyers Concerned After Police Seize Computers with Confidential Client Information

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – Fiji’s police have seized the computers of three prominent lawyers which may contain confidential client information belonging to ousted members of Fiji’s federal government.

The President of the Fiji Law Society, Dorsami Naidu, confirmed that those computers were taken from a police station in Suva, Fiji’s capital city.

Jon Apted, Richard Naidu and Tevita Fa’s computers were seized allegedly because of their suspected involvement with an anti-government blog site.

Recently, the interim government imposed emergency regulations on the media which forces journalists to cast the government in a positive light. All published material must first go through the Ministry of Information, Major Neumi Leweni.

But the lawyers are concerned about the confidential client information contained on those computers. Tevita Fa is also the lawyer for the ousted prime minister, Laisenia Qarase. Fa is concerned that the interim government may have access to his clients’ information.

“There’s a lot of confidential matters. I mean anyone who goes to a solicitor relies on confidentiality and there may be a lot of information and other data and there’s no guarantee that the police will not abuse their powers of search in this case,” Fa said.

Meanwhile, Fiji police have not confirmed that they have seized any of the lawyers’ property.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International – Fiji police seize computers of three prominent lawyers – 20 May 2009

ABC, Radio Australia News – Fijian lawyers questioned by police – 20 May 2009

ABC, Radio Australia News – Grassroots crime rising as Fiji law in limbo – 20 May 2009