By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

RIDA, Yemen – On December 12, Moshe Yaish-Nahari, was shot to death in Rida, Yemen.  Shortly following the incident, police apprehended the alleged attacker, Abed el-Aziz el-Abadi.  According to eyewitnesses, Abadi confronted Nahari in a market; called out “Jew, accept the message of Islam,” and then opened fire with an assault rifle.

According to the deputy head of security of the Amran province, Ahmed el-Sarihi, the suspect has confessed to killing Nahari and has shown no remorse.  During investigations, Abadi said that he warned the Jews in the area through a message telling them they must either embrace Islam, leave the country or be killed. 

According to Abadi, he warned the Jews in writing one month ago. In his alleged letter he said, “You either convert to Islam, or leave the country, or face the sword.”  However, Nahiri’s family reports that they never received a letter from the suspect or any one else before the murder incident.

Nahari is the brother of Rabbi Yehiya Yaish, one of the leaders of Yemen’s Jewish community.  According to Rabbi Yaish, “Over the past months we have been suffering from repeated assaults and threats, and although we have been reporting to the official concerned bodies and tribal chiefs but without success.” 

The Jewish minority called on the government to protect them or deport them from the country.  Rabbi Yaish stated, “As long as the State is unable to protect us and secure us in our homeland, then, you buy our houses and properties and pay us the money and deport us from the country.”  He accused “some local people headed by bodyguards of some influential officials” of committing such repeated “assaults, abuses, harassments” against the Jewish minority community.

Sarihi says that Abadi is “an extremist who suffers from mental problems.”  According to the police, Abadi, a former pilot in the Yemeni Air Force, was dismissed for bad manners and extremist thoughts.  In addition, he killed his wife two years ago, but avoided jail time by offering her family compensation.

On December 13, the Ministry of Interior said it had arrested eight more suspects on suspicion of involvement in Nahari’s murder.  Sarihi confirmed that investigations are complete and the case will be referred to the prosecution during the upcoming days.

For more information, please see:

Ha’aretz – 8 Arrested in Murder of Jewish Man in Yemen – 15 December 2008

Yemen Observer – Yemeni Jews Want to Leave Yemen if Not Protected – 13 December 2008

International Herald Tribune – Police: Muslim Extremist Kills Yemeni Jew – 12 December 2008

Reuters – Yemeni Jew Shot Dead by Gunman – 12 December 2008

Yedoith – Jew Shot to Death in Yemen by “Disturbed Extremist – 12 December 2008

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

KIRKUK, Iraq – On December 11, a suicide bomber killed 50 people and wounded more than 100 in a crowded Kurdish restaurant in the city of Kirkuk. 

Iraqi authorities have stated that the bombing was deliberately designed to maximize casualties, coinciding with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, when many people were celebrating with their families.  In addition, a “meeting of understanding” between Kirkuk’s Arab and Kurdish leaders was happening in the restaurant at the time of the attack.  Authorities believe this meeting was the primary target of the attack.

Iraqi government officials maintain that this latest bombing is an attempt to provoke extremists in  mixed ethnic areas of Iraq as the US plans for withdrawal, challenging the Maliki government’s ability to maintain control over the country without US backing.

According to Joost Hilterman, an expert on Kurdish politics with the International Crisis Group, “The real objective is to sow division between the various communities and inflame passions among the extremists among them – of whom there are plenty in all the communities – and set them up against one another.  If it happened in a Kurdish restaurant, where there were Arabs earing, the Kurds will blame the Arabs and the Arabs will blame the Kurds for not protecting them.”

This latest suicide bombing underscores the tensions in the city.  Although the insurgent attacks have not targeted Kirkuk as frequently as other large cities, Kirkuk continues to suffer from sectarian divisions between Iraq’s majority Arab population and the minority Kurdish population.  Both sides are seeking control of the city, which sits on top of a massive oil reserve.

Oil is at the center of the dispute over control of Kirkuk.  While the Arabs and  Turkmen minority maintain that the oil should be controlled by the central government, the Iraqi Kurds maintain that having been victims of Saddam Husseins “Arabisation” plan, which brought an influx of Arabs into the city and expelled many Kurds and other minority ethnic groups from the city, Kirkuk should become part of an autonomous Kurdistan.

According to Major General Torhan Abdul-Rahman, the Deputy Police Chief in Kirkuk, the attack is one of the deadliest suicide bombings since the Iraq War began.  While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Major General Yurhan Yusef, the Kirkuk Police Chief, the attack was likely carried out by a Sunni insurgent group.

Tensions are so high in the city that January’s provincial elections will not be held there, for fear that the elections will spark an increase in violence.

For more information, please see:

Asharq Alawsat – Suicide Bombing Kills 46 in Iraqi Restaurant – 11 December 2008

BBC – Analysis: Kirkuk Faultline – 11 December 2008

BBC – Iraqi Restaurant Blast Kills 50 – 11 December 2008

New York Times – Iraq Bomb Kills 48 in Volatile North – 11 December 2008

By Nykoel Dinardo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

LONDON, United Kingdom – On December 11, Amnesty International released a report that discussed the arrests of human rights activists trying to travel abroad on December 10.

In Tehran, Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was prevented from boarding a flight to Italy, where she was going to receive an award.  Sotoudeh has worked on several women’s rights cases, and she defended a 16-year-old boy who was sentenced to death.   Sotoudeh said that she was preparing to board the flight when her named was announced over the public announcement system and three plain clothes men approached her.    She said that her passport was taken with no explanation, and she was informed that she had 72 hours to present herself at an address in Tehran. According to Sotoudeh, “There was no legal written order. What they did was illegal.”  Sotoudeh’s husband and children were allowed to board the flight and her husband will be receiving the award on her behalf. 

According to Amnesty International, Iran’s actions are part of a continuing policy.  In March, women’s rights activist and journalist, Parvin Ardalan was stopped an the airport in Tehran while boarding a flight to Sweden where she was to receive an award.  In October, women’s rights activist Sussan Tahmasebi was stopped trying to board a plane to South Africa, where she was to attend a conference.

In Tunis, journalist, Lotfi Hidouri was detained by Tunisian authorities when he tried to board a flight to Beirut.  Hidouri writes for the independent online news magazine Kalima. His wife told media sources that she received a call informing her that Hidouri had been taken to the Bouchacha detention center outside Tunis.  He was taken before the prosecutor on December 11. Moments before Hidouri was detained, authorities arrested Mohammad Abbou, a human rights lawyer and writer, who was also boarding the plane to Beirut. 

Both Hidouri and Abbou were going to Beirut for the Third Arab Free Press Forum.  They were to take part in a special forum about the increasing censorship and harassment that Tunisian journalists face.  According to Abbou, Hidouri was detained for failure to pay a fine dating back to 2002.  As for Abbou, he was conditionally released from prison in July 2007 and was prevented from boarding the plane on grounds that he lacked sufficient documentation stating that he was not subject to parole restrictions.  Abbou has been stopped five times in the last year, while attempting to travel. 

In its report, Amnesty International (AI) calls on Iran and Tunisia to lift the travel bans.  AI urged the governments of these states to remember their obligations and dedication to Human Rights, especially in light of the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10.

For more information, please see:

ANSA – Teheran, Impedito Viaggio in Italia Avvocatessa Iraniana [Tehran, Prevents Iranian Lawyer from Traveling to Italy – 12 December 2008 [In Italian]

Menassat – Tunisia: Two Participants to Beirut Free Press Forum Stopped at Airport – 12 December 2008

The Post (Pakistan) – Iran Bars Woman Rights Activist from Leaving – 12 December 2008

Reporters Without Borders – Journalist and Human Rights Lawyer Prevented from Attending Arab Media Forum in Beirut – 12 December 2008

Amnesty International – Human Rights Defenders Barred from Leaving Iran, Tunisia – 11 December 2008

Reuters – Rights Activists Says Barred from Leaving Iran – 11 December 2008