A Voice for the Voiceless

Egypt Convicts Journalist Critical of the Mubarak Government

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – On September 28, Ibrahim Issa, editor of Al Dustour, an independent newspaper published in Egypt, was sentenced to two months in prison for publishing rumors that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was near death.  The verdict followed a lower court ruling in March that had sentenced Issa to six months in prison.

In August 2007, Issa published a series of articles in Al Dustour alleging that Mubarak’s health was rapidly deteriorating, and claimed that the President had lapsed into a coma.  Issa was arrested and charged with “publishing false information and rumors … and damaging public interest and national stability.”  According to prosecutors, as a result of Issa’s allegations, foreign investors withdrew more than $350 million dollars from the Egyptian stock exchange.

According to Issa, “The verdict opens the door of hell…it deals a blow to all illusions of a free press and confirms the state’s hostile position towards freedom of opinion and expression.”

The Egyptian government has a history of cracking down on journalists for publishing on a range of issues including the President’s health, inflation, poverty and government corruption.  Often, journalists or bloggers who publish on such issues are arrested, detained and imprisoned.

According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, four years ago, Mubarak promised that he would end imprisonment for crimes related to free press.  Yet in the last year, at least seven Egyptian journalists were sentenced to up to two years in prison on charges ranging from misquoting the Minister of Justice to spreading false rumors about Mubarak.

In protest over Issa’s conviction, more than 23 Egyptian newspapers suspended publication for one day. The Journalists Syndicate filed a petition requesting the prison sentence be delayed pending an appeal to Egypt’s highest appeals court.  Reporters Without Borders denounced Issa’s trial, and Amnesty International stated that the trial and conviction are part of a pattern by the Egyptian government to “chill” freedom of the press.  According to the Egyptian Hisham Mubarak Legal Centre, Issa’s conviction for publishing allegations of the President’s failing health is in violation of international treaties that protect freedom of the press, of which Egypt is a party.

For more information, please see:

Al Arabiya – Egypt Editor Jailed Over Mubarak Health Rumours – 28 September 2008

Al Jazeera – Egypt Editor Jailed Amid Press Row – 28 September 2008

BBC – Egypt Editor’s Jail Term Cut – 28 September 2008

Los Angeles Times – EGYPT: Editor Sentenced to Jail – 28 September 2008

According to Government Report, Physicians in American Samoa are “Left Making Guesses About Patient Diagnoses”

By Sarah E. Treptow

Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa – The U.S. Interior Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report stating that physicians at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Medical Center (LBJ) in American Samoa are “left making guesses about patient diagnoses” due to a lack of medical specialists and critical equipment.  According to the report, one of the most serious problems the hospital has is recruiting and retaining physicians and overworking the ones it does have.  LBJ is the only hospital in American Samoa, which is home to 65,000 residents.

The report contains personal observations of the OIG and interviews of the staff members of the hospital, combining to provide an idea of the difficulties.

Togiola Tulafono, American Samoa’s Governor, claims the federal government should take part of the blame for the deteriorating standard of health care on the island.  The governor said the reason the hospital cannot hire specialists and buy critical equipment is a lack of funds.  Mr. Tulafono reported the hospital can only afford to pay specialists a third of the salary they would earn in Hawaii or the mainland.

The governor said the report was issued to coincide with the Health Summit sponsored by the government taking place this week in Honolulu.  The report and finding solutions to specific issues it has pointed out will be topics of discussion at the Summit.

The governor left Sunday and will return Thursday. He has promised to brief the community when he returns.

For more information, please see:

Pacific Magazine – Togiola Welcomes Critical U.S. Report on Territory’s Medical Care – 30 September 2008

Radio New Zealand International – American Samoa Governor blames US government for problems at medical centre – 29 September 2008

Pacific Islands Report – Scarcity of Doctors Hampers Pago Hospital – 29 September 2008

LBJ American Samoa Medical Center Authority

Two Sons of Chinese Pastor Reported Beating by Chinese Officials

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – According to the U.S. based rights group China Aid Association, house church leader Zhang Mingxuan’s two sons were brutally beaten by up to 15 officers of China’s Public Security Bureau.  Zhang’s oldest son, Zhang Jian, was “severely beaten” unconscious when police raided the family’s home in Beijing.  The injuries were serious, and he may lose sight in his right eye.  A younger son was also beaten, China Aid Association added.  The family was evicted from their apartment, and Pastor Zhang was detained in Kunming city, southwest China.

U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesman Robert Wood called on “the government of China to immediately release Pastor Zhang and permit his family members to return home, to condemn the violent acts committed against his sons, and to bring to justice those individuals responsible for such acts.”

However, Chinese government called remarks by the United States, regarding religious intimidation of Pastor Zhang, “groundless” and “irresponsible.”  Jiang Yu, spokeswoman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, “We encourage the U.S. to pay more attention to its own human rights problems, instead of viewing itself as a human rights bodyguard interfering in other country’s internal affairs.”  Jiang also said that Chinese citizens enjoy religious freedoms, but nobody can use religion as an excuse to commit crimes.

Zhang Mingxuan was nicknamed Pastor Bike for having traveled China by bicycle to distribute Bibles and preach the Christian gospel. Chinese officials have harassed members of the house church where Zhang Mingxuan preaches in the past. “During the past 22 years,” said China Aid Association, “Pastor Zhang has been arrested 26 times, beaten and evicted from his home numerous times for his faith.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – US presses China to free EU prize-winning dissident – 23 October 2008

Reuters – U.S. condemns beating of sons of Chinese pastor – 23 October 2008

Voice of America – Religious Repression In China – 28 October 2008

XinHua – China refutes U.S. remarks on religious beating – 25 October 2008

One Year After Violent Crackdown in Myanmar

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar’s military junta claims its recent release of several political detainees and about 9,000 other prisoners marks the dawn of a new political era and another milestone in its roadmap to “disciplined democracy”. At least four other prominent former members of the NLD were also released. The mass release of prisoners has come as a surprise to diplomats and residents in Yangon.

Win Min, the country’s longest serving political prisoner and a veteran journalist and political activist, among those freed last week, says that the release probably signals the start of Junta’s preparations for the national elections in 2010.  The mass release of prisoners has come as a surprise to diplomats and residents in Yangon.  Suu Kyi, however, remains under house arrest in the Yangon residence where she has spent more than 13 of the last 19 years, with no sign she will be freed any time soon.

However, according to Human Rights Watch, repression in Burma has increased since the ruling military government crushed pro-democracy protests a year ago.  A report released by Human Rights Watch last week, says some 2,100 political prisoners are in Myanmar’s jails while “pseudo-political reforms” go on.  It also accuses the international community of failing to demand real reform and accountability from Myanmar’s military junta.

The crackdown that began on September 26, 2007, was a brutal response to growing protests in Myanmar.  Buddhist monks in Rangoon, Mandalay, and other towns across Myanmar staged peaceful marches to protest government policies and poor living standards.  “Last September, the Burmese people courageously challenged their military rulers, and they were answered with violence and contempt,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The repression continues. While a handful of political activists have been released, more are being arrested and thousands remain in prison.”

The group acknowledges that seven political activists were among thousands of prisoners recently released by Burmese authorities.  But it says about 39 political activists were arrested in August and September alone.  It also says the authorities have done nothing to bring justice to the perpetrators of extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and torture during last year’s crackdown.

For more information, please see:

Asia Times – False dawn in Myanmar – 27 September 2008

BBC – Burmese gloom one year after protests – 25 September 2008

BBC – No progress in Burma, says group – 25 September 2008

Human Rights Watch – Burma: One Year After Violent Crackdown, Repression Continues – 26 September 2008

Bus Attack Kills Soldiers in Lebanon

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Lebanon – On September 29, a bomb exploded in Tripoli, killing several Lebanese soldiers and civilians.  Explosives, mixed with nuts and bolts, detonated as a bus carrying Lebanese Army soldiers passed, killing five and wounded at least 17 others.  The dead included four soldiers. 

Officials state that the bomb was stored in a stationary car and that it was detonated as the bus passed.  The detonation occurred at 8:00am, local time.  The bus was carrying soldiers, as well as civilians, to work.  The police immediately cordoned off the area and forensic experts began collecting evidence.

This is the second attack in the past two months that has targeted the Lebanese military.  On August 13, a suitcase bomb exploded as a bus carrying Lebanese Army soldiers passed, killing at least 15, including 9 soldiers.  In the earlier attack, explosives were also mixed with nuts and bolts.  It was the deadliest in Lebanon in more than three years.

The September 29 attack occurred two days after an alleged suicide attack targeted Syrian security forces in Damascus.  According to Syrian authorities, the car, packed with explosives, crossed into Syria from a “neighboring Arab country.”  Some have placed blame on Sunni militant groups in the region and claim that sectarian tensions in neighboring countries, such as Iraq and Lebanon, are spilling over into Syria.

Tripoli has been the site of a number of sectarian battles, with dozens of people killed or wounded in recent fighting between pro-government Sunni fighters and pro-Syrian Shias.  Despite the recent reconciliation agreement, sectarian tensions are still high. 

For example, last month Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian President, stated that Sunni extremists were destabilizing north Lebanon.  Then, two weeks ago, Assad deployed thousands of Syrian troops along the north Lebanon border.  The official reason cited by the Lebanese Army is to fight smuggling.  However the deployment triggered fears in Beirut of a possible incursion.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Blast Hits Lebanese City of Tripoli – 29 September 2008

BBC – Analysis: Lebanon-Syria Attacks Linked? – 29 September 2008

New York Times – 4 Soldiers Killed in Lebanon Bombing – 29 September 2008

Reuters – Car Bomb Hits Bus Carrying Troops in Lebanon, 5 Dead – 29 September 2008 

The Times – Six Dead and Seventeen Injured in Tripoli Car Bombing – 29 September 2008