A Voice for the Voiceless

Israeli Tanks in Gaza

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza – On December 11, Israeli tanks, accompanied by military aircraft and bulldozers, moved into southern Gaza.  Residents and Hamas members state that 30 tanks participated in the operation near the Sufa crossing.  According witnesses, the tanks pushed about 2 miles into Gaza and engaged Palestinian gunmen.  However, an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) spokesperson stated that only 10 tanks were involved.

As a result, an estimated four to six militants were killed in the operation; including members from the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees.  Palestinian medics report that twelve others were injured; three were injured critically and five seriously.  Also, four Israeli soldiers were “lightly” injured when their tanks was hit by an antitank missiles.  During the operation, the IDF went house-to-house and detained 60 Palestinians for questioning about Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.

The Israeli government has down played the operation as a normal response to the constant rocket attacks launched from Gaza.  Israeli government spokesman, Mark Regev, claims that over 4,000 rockets have been launched from Gaza in the past few months.  Israel argues that the rocket attacks justify this “surgical incursion” into Gaza to destroy terrorist infrastructure.

Also, last week, Israel announced plans to build over 300 housing units in East Jerusalem.  In 2003, Israel promised to freeze development on occupied Palestinian territory.  However, Israel claims that they annexed East Jerusalem and thus the building is not contrary to international law.  Palestinians responded to the operation and the housing announcement with outrage. President Abbas’ spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, stated “the Israeli policy of escalation aims to sabotage and place obstacles before the negotiations even before they start.”

One result of the Annapolis conference was that Olmert and Abbas agreed to meet in the future and to negotiate a final peace agreement by 2008.  The first meeting between the two leaders is scheduled for December 12.

In addition to this operation in southern Gaza, an airstrike was carried out in northern Gaza.  It killed one member of the Islamic Jihad.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Israel Launches Gaza Incursion – 11 December 2007

BBC – Israeli Tanks Push Deep into Gaza – 11 December 2007

CNN – Six Dead in Israeli Attacks – 11 December 2007

International Herald Tribune – Israeli Army Attacks Southern Gaza Ahead of Talks – 11 December 2007

New York Times – Israeli Bulldozers Move into Gaza – 11 December 2007

Reuters – Israeli Ground Troop Kill Five in Gaza Strip – 11 December 2007

Times – Israeli Tanks in Gaza Threaten Peace Talks – 11 December 2007

Yedioth – Gaza Operation: 6 Militants Killed, 40 Interrogated – 11 December 2007

BRIEF: Journalists’ Account of Abuse in Rwanda

KIGALI, Rwanda – After the brutal beating and arrest of The New Times’s photographer, George Baryamwisaki (Barya) and staff colleague Ignatius Ssuuna, on Tuesday evening, other journalists have come forward with their accounts of assaults by the hands of Rwandan police.

While covering a story on hawkers being chased off the streets, a policeman turned his gun on Barya because he allegedly took his picture without his permission. Barya and Ssuuna were handcuffed and ordered to follow the officer to the police station. Along the way, the policeman allegedly punched and kicked Barya. The two journalists were detained for hours before being released. Upon release, Barya was admitted to the hospital.

The following day, the Commissioner General of Police, Andrew Rwigamba promised to investigate the allegations.

However many journalists are not hopeful the investigation will quell the tension between reporters and police officers. Three other reporters from The New Times and other newspapers came forward with similar stories of abuse.

In one incident, Daniel Sabiiti, reporter for The New Times, and Jean-Pierre Twizeyeyezu, reporter for Contact FM were arrested while covering a Garaca trial. According the reporters, the police officers tried to confiscate their identifications. When they refused, they were detained. When they were released, the reporters were forced to sign a paper stating that they had not been harassed or embarrassed. The reporters were then dropped off in the middle of the country “in the dead of night.”

Police spokesman, Inspector Willy Higiro, claims the reporters’ claims are “exaggerated” and that “[j]ournalists often believe they are above the law.”

For more information please see:

AllAfrica .com – Rwanda: Policemen used to beating Journalist – 10 December 2007

AllAfrica.com – Rwanda: Police Investigate Officer for Assaulting Journalist – 7 December 2007

BRIEF UPDATE: Arrested AP Reporter gets Hearing

Bilal Hussein was arrested on April 12, 2006 by the U.S. military.  The military did not release the reason for his arrest, only citing that he had been linked to insurgent activities. Today, he was given a hearing at the Central Criminal Court of Iraq.  His lawyers were finally allowed to see some of the materials that the U.S. military used to arrest Hussein 20 months ago.

Although, Hussein was not formally charged with a crime, the military has stated their belief that he has been involved in multiple activities with terrorists.  The AP has released a statement stating that the allegations are untrue.  The case will be difficult for the defense because the court has ordered that none of the information used for the indictment can be removed from the courtroom, which will limit the defense team’s ability for discovery of the facts behind the allegations.

For more information, please see:

Washington Post- AP Photographer Gets First Hearing- 9 December 2007

Angola Army Denies Rape Allegations

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

LUANDA, Angola – On Wednesday, international humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) released a report that Angolan soldiers routinely and repeatedly rape Congolese women who have illegally crossed the border looking for work in the diamond fields.  The army in Angola explicitly denied the allegations, although they have said that they will investigate. 

MSF stated that over a two-week period in October they saw over 200 rape victims at a clinic in Western Kasai, a Congolese province bordering Angola.  The rape of Congolese women was described as “pervasive and systematic” and the report stated that some migrants have died as a result of the violence, while others have been exposed to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.  “Women are systematically raped by several soldiers, some of them raped in front of their children.  The abhorrent practice continues and is repeated over several days as they are transported to the border.” 

MSF’s allegations follow similar reports by other human rights groups.  Angola’s government does not typically respond to criticism from Western rights groups, although it has described illegal immigration as a major problem.

Human rights activists in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) accused their government as well as Angola’s of turning a blind eye to the reports. Voice of the Voiceless, a DRC non-governmental organization, stated that “[t]he situation seems to be getting worse but the Angolan and Congolese authorities we have repeatedly approached show no political will to end the situation.”

UN figures estimate that 44,000 Congolese have been expelled from the diamond fields in Angola since January.  An estimated 400,000 DRC citizens continue to live in those areas despite the recurring problems.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Angola army denies Congolese migrant rape charges – 8 December 2007

AllAfrica.com – Angola: UN Human Rights Chief Alarmed By Reports of Abuses of Congolese – 7 December 2007

AllAfrica.com – Congo-Kinshasa: Activists Denounce Political Apathy Towards Migrant Rape Victims – 7 December 2007

AP – Angolan Soldiers Accused of Mass Rape – 6 December 2007

Iran Hangs Juvenile Offender Despite Judiciary Order

By Kevin Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – An Iranian man has been hanged despite judicial order to stay the execution pending review of the case.

Makwan Mouloudzadeh, 20, was hanged for allegedly raping three teenage boys when he was 13 years old. The hanging took place on Wednesday morning at the prison in the western city of Kermanshah. Mouloudzadeh’s family was later told to come and pick up his body.

“On 11 November the head of the justice administration of Kermanshah received an order from the judiciary head, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, to stop the verdict being carried out,” said his lawyer, “but the case, which was supposed to be reviewed in Tehran, was sent back from there to Kermanshah, and the execution was carried out quickly.”

On May 2007, a Kermanshah court ordered Mouloudzadeh’s execution despite “a trial filled with irregularities.” During trial, all of his accusers withdrew their accusations against him and Mouloudzadeh himself testified that his confession to the crime was coerced by the police. The judge, however, did not accept their testimonies and tried Mouloudzadeh under the “crimes of chastity.”

“Crimes of chastity” such as rape is a capital offence in Iran, which also include murder, armed robbery, serious drug trafficking, apostasy, adultery and homosexual acts between men. Under Iranian law, judgments against rape are not subject to the regular appellate process, and are instead directly reviewed by the country’s Supreme Court.

Iran is notorious for executing juvenile offenders – persons under 18 at the time of the crime. Even though Iran is party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which bar the imposition of the death penalty to juvenile offenders, the Iranian government has already executed two others this year. So far, Iran has executed 27 minors since 1990.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Arbour rebukes Iran for hanging juvenile offender – 7 December 2007

BBC News – Iranian hanged after verdict stay – 6 December 2007

AFP – Young Iranian hanged despite judiciary order – 6 December 2007

Human Rights Watch – Prevent execution of juvenile offender – 5 December 2007

Human Rights Watch – Revoke death sentence in juvenile case – 3 November 2007