Baha’i Iranians Denied Access to Higher Education

By Kevin Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – In Iran, students are excluded from university admissions solely based on the religion they practice. That meant 800 Baha’i students were prevented from obtaining their national matriculation exam results this year. Without the scores, they could not complete the university admission process. And because the process was incomplete, they were denied of admissions.

Baha’is regularly face discrimination and persecution in Iran, which is overwhelmingly Shiite Muslim. The religion was founded in Iran in the mid-1800s and became Iran’s largest religious minority with over 300,000 members. However, because the Iranian government considers Baha’is to be apostates from Islam, the authorities implemented broad restrictions on Baha’is that severely undermined their ability to function as a community – the latest of which is on education.

One applicant was suggested that he would be able to get his test scores only if his family recanted their faith. Others were simply told that the examination officials had “received orders from above not to score the tests of Baha’i students.”

This blatant religious discrimination is contrary to Iran’s commitment to make higher education equally accessible to all without discrimination as a member of International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Iran is also under obligation to guarantee freedom of thought, conscience, and religion as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Yet Baha’is cannot practice their religion in public and hundreds of Baha’i students will be absent from campuses because of their faith.

For more information, please see:

Chicago Sun-Times – Iran’s crackdown victimizes Baha’is – 30 September 2007

Iranian Truth – Grant Baha’is access to higher education – 22 September 2007

Reuters – Rights groups says Iran barring Baha’is from study – 20 September 2007

Human Rights Watch – Iran: allow Baha’i students access to higher education – 20 September 2007

Rebels in DRC Given Until October 15th to Cease Fire

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NORTH KIVO, Democratic Republic of Congo – In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, rebels under the leadership of General Laurent Nkunda have been given until October 15th to cease hostilities. The militants have been given the choice to enter the national army or face prosecution.

General Nkunda is currently backing DR Congo’s Tutsis population. He claims that he is protecting Tutsis from Hutus who escaped Rwanda and entered into the DR Congo after the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Nkunda firmly believes that Hutus in DRC have formed the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR). The Rwandan government denies supporting General Nkunda.

The fighting in North Kivu province forced thousands of people to become displaced when locals fled from their homes to avoid the violence. The “once-bustling” town of Mushaki, located 50 km west of Goma, is now deserted.

In Goma, the provincial capital, relief workers are preparing to accommodate at least 1,900 displaced families. The site’s capacity can hold 10,000 to 12,000 people. Furthermore, in the Masisi district, more than 16,000 people are sheltering along the roads that connect the villages.

Many people seeking relief avoid going to the displacement camps in Goma and travel up North into the Masisi Mountains. One reason for this growing trend is that the mountains in the north provide better grazing conditions for cattle “on which their livelihoods depend.”

The UNHCR stated that, “Displaced [people] report severe violations by armed groups, such as pillaging and destruction of houses, killings of civilians, recruitment of children into armed groups and cases of rape.” Between January and September 2007, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reported more than 2,000 cases of rape in North Kivu.

In total, the United Nation’s believes that more than 370,000 civilians have been displaced in the province in the latest round of fighting.

For more information, please see:

All Africa.com – Congo-Kinshasa: Rape Cases Up By 60 Percent in North Kivu – UNHCR – 12 October 2007

BBC – DR Congo army moves on rebel HQ – 12 October 2007

BBC – DR Congo Key Facts – Accessed 12 October 2007

Activists Arrested for Criticizing Torture in Egyptian Prisons

By Kevin Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – A culture of impunity is still widespread in Egypt, and those who criticize it are punished by the government.

Two Shiite activists were recently arrested for spreading “false rumors” on torture in Egyptian prisons. Mohammed Al Dereini was arrested at his home for alleging the government’s prevalent torture of Islamist detainees in prisons in his book Hell’s Capital. Ahmed Mohammed Sobh was arrested for telling a newspaper that “hundreds of people had been killed in a secret torture center.” Both men are being held in solitary confinement in Tora prison outside of Cairo and the charges against them may result in imprisonment for up to 8 years.

Al Dereini and Sobh have both been detained in the past. Al Dereini spent 15 months in prison without charge in 2004 and 2005. Though Al Dereini complained that he was tortured in detention, the public prosecutor never investigated his claims. Authorities released Sobh in 2005 after holding him for 15 years without trial.

Torture is systematic in Egyptian jails and police stations. Typically, authorities torture political dissidents to obtain information and coerce confessions. Sometimes, officials torture solely to punish, intimidate, or humiliate. Police also detain and torture family members to obtain information and force a wanted relative to surrender. But over the recent years, torture has become epidemic, affecting even ordinary citizens who are under criminal investigations.

Most torture allegations are overlooked even though the Egyptian authorities have obligation to investigate under Egyptian and international law. In the few cases where prosecution does occur, officers often face inadequately lenient penalties. And those who question this apparent lack of effective public accountability and transparency such as Al Dereini and Sobh are prosecuted, thus breeding a culture of impunity.

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Activists detained for advocating for Shi’a minority – 6 October 2007

Middle East Times – Shiite activists arrested in Egypt over torture book – 3 October 2007

Reuters – Egyptian police detain Shiite Muslim activist – 3 October 2007

Human Rights Watch – Government detains Al-Jazeera journalist – 17 January 2007

Human Rights Watch – Egypt’s torture epidemic – February 2004

Bombing Kills Two During Quest for New Government

By Myriam Clerge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Eastern and Southern Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia– Late Wednesday evening, a suicide bomber drove his pickup truck, filled with explosives, into the army base on the Somali transitional federal government in the town of Baidoa. According to witnesses, two Ethiopian soldiers were killed as well as the bomber himself. The intended targets of the attack were the mainly Ethiopian soldiers stationed at the base. Ethiopian and government soldiers have been battling with Islamist insurgents since the overthrow of the Islamic government in December. Thousands of soldiers and civilians have died due to the relentless violence.

Following the attack, a Mogadishu based private radio station, Radio Simba, broadcast an interview with Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, an Islamist insurgent claiming responsibility for the attack. Robow is believed to be the number two military official of the former Islamic government. He is also believed to be the leader of insurgents at the forefront of near-daily attacks. Security forces of the transitional army surrounded the building and arrested the manager of the radio station, Abdullahi Ali Farrah, and a newscaster, Mahamed Farah Talyani. The journalists were later released but the radio station was closed.

The tremendous blast from the explosion rocked a nearby hotel, shattering several windows. Although Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi was staying at the hotel, he was not presumed to be the target. The Prime Minister set up the hotel as a temporary headquarter for the parliamentary session. He was not injured by the bombing. Prime Minister Ghedi has been meeting with supporters in Baidoa regarding the issue to dissolve the government. President Abdullahi Yusuf argues that constitutionally the government’s current term ends this month since it was formed in 2004. However, Ghedi argues that it should end in October 2009 since the charter was signed in 2006. Twenty-two members of Parliament have threatened to resign unless a vote of confidence in the government is held. The government is weak and has failed to implement several agendas. President Yusuf wants to hold the voting this week and assemble a new government.

For more information, please see:

Reuters: Africa – Somali Radio Staff Detained after Islamist on Air – 11 October 2007

Yahoo News – Suicide Bomber Kills 2 in Somalia – 11 October 2007

AllAfrica.com – Somalia: Private Radio Station Close, Two of its Journalists Arrested – 11 October 2007

Reuters: Africa – Suicide Bomber Strikes Near Somali PM, Kills 2 – 10 October 2007

BRIEF: Blocked Aid for Ogaden Region

BRUSSELS, Belgium- After reports of abuse and human rights violations as well as claims of genocide, the Ethiopian government has pledged to take action. Although the government has denied all allegations, mainly produced by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONFL), it did however address the United Nations (UN) report released last month. The UN report did not address the claims by the ONFL, instead it focused on the deteriorating humanitarian conditions. Ethiopia’s constructive response to adhere to UN recommendation was commended by the European Union (EU).

However, humanitarian aid groups like Medecins Sans Frontiers and the International Committee of the Red Cross have accused Ethiopian authorities of denying them access to the region. On Tuesday, the EU urged the Ethiopian government to ensure that civilians in the area received the much needed aid.

For more information please see:

Reuters: Africa- EU Urges Ethiopia to Allow Aid to Ogaden Region – 9 October 2007