Jordan’s Vengeance against ISIS Sets Bad Precedent for Syria

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United States and Royal Jordanian air forces conducting exercises over the Dead Sea in Jordan (Photo Credit: US Air Force)

Earlier this month, the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) burned the captured Jordanian pilot Moath al-Kasasbeh alive, filmed his execution with cinematic levels of production, and released the video worldwide. The brutality of the act was shocking, even for ISIS, and drew immediate outrage from all members of the international community. In Jordan, calls for vengeance were swift. Demonstrators throughout the country demanded retribution and the spokesman for the Jordanian Armed Forces vowed that al-Kasasbeh’s “blood will not be shed in vain.”

Within hours, Jordan executed two prisoners convicted of terrorism and promised that the response “will [continue to] be strong, decisive and swift.” Jordanian courts had sentenced one prisoner to death in 2005, and the other in 2007, so both were awaiting execution on death row. However, their hasty executions hours after the video was released and the language of high-level Jordanian officials confirm that revenge was a primary motivation for the executions and the subsequent air strikes against ISIS targets.

In an armed conflict, detainees must be protected from murder, torture, and other forms of cruel or degrading treatment. Thus, ISIS’s murder of al-Kasasbeh was a clear violation of international law and dignity. However, the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) is wary of the precedent that Jordan’s response may set for Syria going forward. While justice will be an important aspect of the reconciliation process in Syria, it must comprise processes that conform to and promote the rule of law rather than act on blood lust or in vengeful retaliation. Some members of the anti-ISIS coalition have lauded Jordan’s decisive actions, and the United States denied any wrongdoing on the part of Jordan’s leaders. Statements such as those by the United States and others overlook how Jordan’s reaction has affected perceptions among Syrians who are closely following these events.

Regionally, governments have set bad examples for how to implement justice processes, and Jordan’s recent behavior is just the latest demonstration of a poor response to extremism. In the Middle East, countless instances of judiciaries’ institutional corruption and their failures to adhere to consistent processes have created the perception that the people must take justice into their own hands, otherwise the perpetrator will escape justice. Even before Jordan’s hastily-staged executions, some Syrians viewed a Muammar Qaddafi-style, on-the-spot execution as preferable to a corrupt process whereby a former leader escapes punishment, as was the case in Egypt.

Jordan’s response to ISIS,therefore, may only affirm Syrians’ desire for revenge. Shortly after the video was released, Syrian Kurds, who have been battling ISIS in Kobane, promised to carry out revenge attacks “on behalf of the martyr al-Kasasbeh.” Many others, including al-Kasasbeh’s father, have demanded revenge. While such sentiments might be understandable, the immediate executions and increased bombing campaign as a method of vengeance show the state bending to these desires.When a state punishes violators responsible for crimes, one of its primary purposes and duties is to enforce retribution on behalf of the victims through formal mechanisms governed by clear standards and laws. These processes require that criminals be punished for only their own crimes and not for the crimes of others and that a government not  succumb to its own sense of injury and/or that of its people. Now that Jordan has demonstrated that its system can be used for vengeance, what will stop other Jordanians or Syrians from demanding revenge executions of their own?

As Syria’s conflict continues with no resolution in sight, patience for transitional justice is fading. A recent SJAC study to be released on February 19th indicates growing anger and a hardening resolve for an all-or-nothing fight to the finish when compared to Syrians surveyed last year. With supporters of sides in the Syrian conflict increasingly desirous of revenge and retribution against the other, the likelihood of effective transitional justice processes could be put at risk. By documenting crimes perpetrated by all parties and conducting outreach to Syrians and the international community on transitional justice processes, SJAC promotes measured and transparent responses to ISIS, opposition, and regime atrocities that will lay the groundwork for long term stability and impartiality in Syria.

For more information and to provide feedback please email SJAC at info@syriaaccountability.org. To attend the launch event for SJAC’s report on Syrian perspectives on local ceasefires, RSVPwith Eventbrite.

Regime Bombings Pushing Syrian Hospitals beyond Breaking Point

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

DAMASCUS, Syria – Attacks carried out by the Syrian Air Force against rebel-held areas east of Damascus have pushed poorly equipped hospitals and doctors beyond capacity to treated the wounded Doctors without Borders said on Wednesday. In the besieged Eastern Ghouta area, “the number of patients treated in the hospitals we support has gone beyond breaking point,” said Dr. Bart Janssens, director of operations the French charity, Medicines Sans frontiers, Doctors without Borders (MSF). “The number of requests for medical supplies has shot up,” he added. MSF reported the regime airstrikes two medical facilities on 5 February forcing both staff and patients to evacuate. “One nurse was killed on his way to work in a hospital on 8 February,” the international NGO reported, adding that hundreds of wounded people have been treated at MSF-supported medical facilities in Eastern Ghouta in recent weeks as regime airstrikes continue.

Fighters loyal to Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad ride on military vehicles and tanks after regaining control of Deir al-Adas, a town south of Damascus February 10, 2015. (Photo courtesy of Reuters UK)

Medicines Sans Frontiers has highlighted the changes of providing medical assistance to civilians living under horrific conditions in Syria stating that it is sometimes nearly impossible to provide aid; “it is almost a mission impossible in view of the blockades and road blocks. If we are lucky we will get there, but the process will take a long time and tremendous effort. The same goes for donations. We are hardly able to receive any donations because of the siege. Some hospitals in the region have shared with us some of their limited stock, but there is not really enough to go around. We can hardly imagine how we could cope should a similar emergency occur again, the agency said.” Doctors without borders has criticized the international community’s failure to adequately respond to the critical medical situation in Syria, saying “the world has been watching for years. The medical situation, and the general living conditions, are beyond any red lines, and alarm bells have been vainly ringing for a long time.”

Khaled Khoja, leader of the Syrian National Coalition, called on world leaders to take “immediate action” to end regime attacks on civilian populations in the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus. He issued the appeal on Thursday at a press conference held from the group’s base in neighboring Turkey. Reports say that an estimated 150 people have been killed in regime airstrikes within the last 10 days. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a human rights origination based in the United Kingdom, said it has documented at least 183 people, including 29 children, who were killed in regime airstrikes in Ghouta since the beginning of the month.

“The Assad regime’s killing of children and the elderly with rockets, barrel bombs, and toxic gases is as a crime as horrible as ISIS’s slaughtering and burning of people alive,” Khoja said. Khoja argued that Assad’s “barbaric assault” on Douma constitutes a war crime and urged the United Nations to force the Syrian leader to stop indiscriminate bombardment of rebel-held territory.

For more information please see:

ABC News – Syria Rebels Call for Help against Assad As Death Toll Rises – 12 February 2015

Al Arabiya – Syria Bombings Push Hospitals ‘Beyond Breaking Point’: MSF – 11 February 2015

Reuters UK – Syrian Air Attacks Kill Nearly 200 in Damascus Suburbs – Monitor – 11 February 2015

Medicines Sans Frontiers – Syria: Hospitals Struggle to Cope with Shelling In Besieged Areas – 10 February 2015

Three Muslim Students Killed Near North Carolina Campus

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America – A shocking incident of violence against three Muslims near the campus of the University of North Carolina has generated a tense debate about why a neighbor gunned down these individuals, and whether religion played a role in the violent outburst.

Pictured above are the three victims Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha (Photo Courtesy of USA Today).

A resident of Chapel Hill called 911 on Tuesday reporting five to 10 shots fired and the sound of people screaming. Police officers responded to the report around 5:15pm, and found the three victims, all pronounced dead at the scene. The victims, all shot in the head, were identified as Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife, Yusor Mohammad, 21, both of Chapel Hill, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, or Raleigh. All three victims were born United States citizens.

Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, turned himself in to authorities, and has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder. Mr. Hicks was a devout atheist and appeared to have a deep dislike of all religion. He openly expressed his beliefs on his Facebook page. Neighbor Samantha Maness described the suspect as “very angry,” and said that Hicks often complained about noise and parking. The killings set off a debate which echoed the #blacklivesmatter campaign.

Police Spokesman Lt. Joshua Mecimore said a preliminary investigation indicated that the crime was “motivated by an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking.” However, friends and relatives of the victims insist that the incident should be viewed as a hate crime. Durham District Attorney Echols said that he couldn’t discuss a motive. When asked whether Hicks could be charged with a hate crime, he said the facts of the case are still under investigation.

On the UNC campus Wednesday night, several thousand people attended a candlelight vigil for the victims. Imam Abdulla Antepli, a Duke university Islamic leader, said he has “full trust” that law enforcement officials would determine Hicks’ motives. “The incident immediately revealed the vulnerability of the Muslim community and the image and reputation of Islam as a religion and Muslims as people in Americas society at large.”

Hicks made a brief court appearance on Wednesday morning, saying that he understood the charges. His probable cause hearing was set for March 4 and he is being held without bond.

 

For more information, please see the following:

AL JAZEERA – Three Muslim Students Killed At North Carolina Campus – 11 Feb. 2015.

NEW YORK TIMES – In Chapel Hill Shooting Of 3 Muslims, A Question of Motive – 11 Feb. 2015.

WASHINGTON POST – Three Muslims Killed In Shooting Near UNC; Police, Family Argue Over Motive – 11 Feb. 2015.

USA TODAY – Chapel Hill ‘Rocked’ By Killings Of 3 Muslim Students – 12 Feb. 2015.

Treason Cases in Russia Increase as Tension Continues to Grow Between East and West

By Kyle Herda

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Svetlana Davydova, a Russian mother of seven, is facing 12 to 20 years in prison on charges of high treason. Davydova allegedly overheard a conversation while on public transportation regarding Russian conscripts being moved undercover into Ukraine to assist pro-Russian rebels, and is accused of reporting that information to the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow. The irony is that Russia denies even having a military presence in Eastern Ukraine, so Davydova’s alleged report to the Ukrainian Embassy would be not state secrets justifying a treason charge, but merely what Russia regards as lies.

Davydova is the most recent Russian facing treason charges. (Photo courtesy of The New York Times)

The first attorney appointed to Davydova did not even dispute the claims, merely stating that the charges were based on facts. Journalists and activists, however, came to her aid and hired a new attorney who helped release Davydova on bail. Davydova is not the only one in need of help against Russian treason charges, however. Savy serviceman Sergei Minakov, Gennady Kravtsov, former nuclear scientist Vladimir Golubev, and Russian Orthodox Church employee Yevgeny Petrin have all been charged with treason over the past year for allegedly giving information to foreign sources.

This rise in treason charges comes as the ruble continues to drop following multiple rounds of sanctions by the US and EU over the past year, and Russia faces even more due to renewed fighting in Eastern Ukraine. While a meeting to discuss peace is scheduled to occur soon between Russia, England, France, and Ukraine in Belarus, tensions are steadily climbing. After a discussion with German Chancellor yesterday, Obama talked with Putin today and was warned that the United States’s recent discussion about giving lethal aid to Kiev would be seen as an act of war by Russia.

The US has also made the decision to send 12 A-10 Thunderbolt attack planes, which were initially designed to attack Soviet tanks during the Cold War, and 300 personnel to an airbase in Germany to bolster NATO’s strength in Europe. This is all in addition the US decision to give further training to Kiev’s troops fighting in Eastern Ukraine, where fighting continues to intensify. Given the strengthening of Russia’s foes and the weakening condition of the Russian economy, along with instability across their border in Eastern Ukraine, and even some instability within their own borders (which peaked during 2011 and 2012 protests regarding Putin’s third election as President), a picture begins to take shape possibly explaining why Russia is cracking down on treason charges that are likely meant to scare the public into conformity at the expense of the few accused.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo Finance – Ukraine Tensions Hit Boiling Point as Obama Confronts Putin – 12 February 2015

Business Insider – The US is redeploying A-10s to Europe – 11 February 2015

RT – US military to train Kiev troops fighting in E. Ukraine – US Army commander – 11 February 2015

The Moscow Times – Russia’s Sudden Spate of Treason Cases Are Scare Tactic, Analysts Say – 10 February 2015

BBC – Ukraine crisis: ‘Don’t arm Kiev’ Russia warns US – 10 February 2015

The New York Times – High Treason, a New Russian Low – 9 February 2015

U.S And Cuba May Need To Compromise on Guantanamo Before Restoring Diplomatic Relations

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

HAVANA, Cuba – Recently, Roberta Jacobson, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America traveled to Havana, Cuba for two days of talks with Cuban officials regarding the restoration of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba. It was the highest-level trip to Cuba by a United States official in 35 years. The talks come after a 17 December announcement that Cuban President, Raul Castro, and US President, Barack Obama, will be moving towards restoring full diplomatic relations between their respective countries. The countries have agreed that the first step in renewing these relations is the reopening of embassies in both the United States and Cuba.

Pictured above is Cuban President Raul Castro (Photo Courtesy of the Telegraph).

Castro has laid out his long-term objectives for the compromise, which include the United States returning the Guantanamo naval base and prison, lifting the embargo, and compensating for damages. Cuba’s most pressing demand is an end to banking restrictions, which is linked to its U.S. designation as a “state sponsor of terrorism.” The United States is working toward diplomatic relations but government officials state that if these problems are not resolved then the restoration of diplomatic relations will not make any sense.

The Cuban government has stated that it has no intention of changing its system. The United Sates State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Castro’s remarks. However, the Obama administration has stated that it will not consider handing over the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, which was a central demand of Castro. On the other hand, it is likely that the U.S. government will concede to lifting Cuba from the list designating it as a sponsor to terrorism in the coming months.

While the United States is likely to make some concessions in order to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba, many of Castro’s demands are highly unlikely which may ultimately hinder the two countries hope for future diplomatic relations.

 

For more information, please see the following

BOSTON GLOBE – US Won’t Return Guantanamo To Improve Ties With Cuba – 5 Feb. 2015.

THE GUARDIAN –Raul Castro Demands That US Return Guantanamo Base To Cuba – 28 Jan. 2015.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS – U.S. Rules Out Returning Guantanamo Bay To Improve Ties With Cuba – 5 Feb. 2015.

THE TELEGRAPH – Raul Castro: US Must Return Guantanamo To Cuba – 28 Jan. 2015.