Saudi Blogger Publicly Flogged After being Convicted of Anti-Islamic Sentiment

By Max Bartels 

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

 

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

A Saudi Arabian Blogger named Raif Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes after he was convicted of insulting Islam in 2014. On Friday he was subjected to the first of 20 sessions of public flogging, each session consisting of 50 lashes. Bawdawi was the co-founder of a website called the Liberal Saudi Network that has since been banned by the state. He was originally charged with apostasy, which would have carried the death sentence but was cleared of the charge. Instead he was convicted of a range of offences in the Saudi Anti-Terror Court for insulting Islam.

Mr. Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes (Photo curtesy of BBC News).

The flogging took place in the City of Jeddah outside a mosque. Bawdawi was brought to the site in police custody he was then read the charges against him in front of a crowd of spectators. After the charges were read he was made to turn his back on the crowd and receive his 50 lashes.

There has been much protest to the use of such harsh punishment by the U.S government and human rights activist groups. The Saudi Arabian Government remained silent after these statements were made and made no indication that the concerns of the international community were taken into consideration.

There are many in the international community who believe that Saudi Arabia is behaving no better than ISIS by giving out these punishments for religious crimes. Saudi Arabia is a primary ally in the Middle East for the U.S and is a member of the U.S led coalition to combat ISIS. However, many have compared the punishments given out by ISIS for religious based offenses including death and flogging to that of Saudi Arabia.

The international pressure against Saudi Arabia has been amplified after the recent attacks in Paris. The main focus of the demonstration following the attacks has been support for freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Badawi’s wife claims that her husband first created the online forum to encourage meaningful discussion of religion. Saudi Arabia’s harsh stance on anti-Islamic sentiment was a talking point for free speech and expression demonstrators in Paris. Saudi Arabia has not released a statement regarding Badawi’s conviction or punishment but have released statements condemning the Paris attacks, stating they were incompatible with Islam as well as sending a representative to Paris to show support for France.

For more information, please see:

BBC News — Saudi Blogger Badawi Flogged for Islam insult — 9 January 2015

CNN News — Saudi Arabian Rights Activist Reportedly Flogged Despite International Outcry — 13 January 2015

The Guardian — Global Outrage at Saudi Arabia as Jailed Blogger Receives Public Flogging — 11 January 2015

The Chicago Tribune — 1,000 Lashes for a Saudi Dissident — 12 January 2015

 

Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies (DCHRS): Death Toll since March 15, 2011

Death Toll since March 15, 2011

Click here to read the release

The Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies (DCHRS) is an independent human rights NGO that monitors the human rights situation in Syria. In its thematic reports, the DCHRS issues a first indication of the casualties that it has managed to document to date. Through monitors who operate within Syria, DCHRS gathers information from across the country. However, the center’s access to information from Kurdish-held and ISIS-held territories is limited. The DCHRS is also unable to obtain accurate records on the number of Syrian regime forces killed in action, because these figures are not published by the regime.

Death Toll since the Beginning of the Syrian Revolution on March 15, 2011 through to December 31, 2014

Throughout March 15th, 2011 to December 31st, 2014, the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies (DCHRS) documented a provisional total of 108,072 casualties. 79% of those killed were civilians. The remaining 21% belonged to one of the fighting factions. The number of documented children during the indicated period is 11,145 Children victims at a rate of 23% of the total victims. The documented number of women casualties is 7,720 at a rate of 16% of the total victims.

The most common cause of death was the shelling of residential areas. Moreover, the Assad regime used airstrikes, barrel bombs, and scud missiles targeting random residential areas, which caused the death of 28,889 people in that period. The total number of prisoners and detainees who were tortured to death in the detention centers of the Syrian government authorities is 4,886 victims, some of whom died simply due to starvation, disease, and ill treatments. Sniper fire and indiscriminate shooting killed 10,011, whereas 1,270 persons were murdered in extrajudicial killings.  Armed groups such as ISIS killed 1,660, whilst the source of the bullets that killed another 619 persons cannot be attributed to a particular group.

Due to the besiege imposed by the Syrian regime in many areas across the country, the number of people who died due to starvation during the indicated period is 1,265, about 98% of whom fell in the Damascus suburbs area. Various explosions killed 1,336 people. Finally, 105 persons were killed as result of airstrikes by the U.S.-led international coalition which began on September 23, 2014.

Death Toll for 2014

Throughout January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2014, the DCHRS documented a provisional total of 26,178 casualties. 70% of those killed were civilians. The remaining 30% belonged to one of the fighting factions. The number of documented children during the indicated period is 3,296 Children at a rate of 12% of the total victims, and the number of women casualties is 1,736 at a rate of 7% of the total number of victims.

The most common cause of death was the shelling of residential areas, which caused the death of 12,549 people in the year 2014. Sniper fire and indiscriminate shooting killed 1,303, whereas 2,275 people were tortured to death in the detention centers of the Syrian government authorities. A further 347 persons were murdered in extrajudicial killings.  Armed groups such as ISIS killed 968, whilst the source of the bullets that killed another 569 persons cannot be attributed to a particular group.

Due to the besiege imposed by the Syrian regime in many areas across the country, the number of people who died due to starvation during the indicated period is 395, about 98% of whom fell in the Damascus suburbs area. Various explosions killed 202 people. Finally, 105 persons were killed as result of airstrikes by the U.S.-led international coalition which began on September 23, 2014.

Death Toll for month of December 2014

In December 2014, the DCHRS documented a provisional total of 1505 casualties. 71% of those killed were civilians. The remaining 29% belonged to one of the fighting factions. Women and children respectively made up 5% and 11% of the total number of war casualties.

The most common cause of death was the shelling of residential areas, which caused the death of 663 people in November. Sniper fire and indiscriminate shooting killed 77, whereas 100 people were tortured to death in the detention centers of the Syrian government authorities. A further 36 persons were murdered in extrajudicial killings.  Armed groups such as ISIS killed 52, whilst the source of the bullets that killed another 63 persons cannot be attributed to a particular group. 27 died from starvation, which is a direct result of the siege that the Syrian regime imposes in many areas. Various explosions killed 32 people. Finally, 10 persons were killed as result of airstrikes by the U.S.-led international coalition.

Out of all the Syrian regions, most deaths were recorded in the Aleppo province. Violent clashes between regime forces and various armed groups have engulfed large parts of Aleppo city as well as the surrounding countryside. The Syrian regime has also targeted people in this area with barrel bombs. Almost one in six casualties this month occurred in Aleppo (415 people). 63% of those were civilians (262 people).

Through analysis of the casualties, it is possible to obtain a general picture of the human rights situation in Syria. Two observations indicate that the Syrian regime continues to actively target civilians. First, 71% of the total casualties are civilians. Secondly, about 41% of the casualties were the results of shelling, missiles, barrel bombs, and airstrikes. These methods of warfare belong exclusively to the regime and are associated with a high number of civilian deaths. The evidence collected by DCHRS points to grievous violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Torture and extrajudicial killings constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The DCHRS advocates for the protection of Syrian civilians. As a member of the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP), the DCHRS calls upon the international community to fulfill its Responsibility to Protect with regard to Syria. DCHRS also appeals to medical and humanitarian organizations to provide relief to ease the suffering of the Syrian people inside Syria and abroad.

Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies (DCHRS)

Five Years after the Earthquake Haiti Still Waits For Relief and Justice

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

PORT–AU–PRINCE, Haiti – Five years ago, on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, a devastating 7.3 magnitude earthquake devastated The Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince and the surrounding community, destroying entire communities and claiming the lives of about 220,000 people. The quake, which also created 1.5 million internally displaced peoples, was the most devastating natural disaster in modern North American history. Five years after the deadly earthquake Haiti is still struggling to recover, at least 80,000 Haitians continue to live without a “proper roof” over their heads and many Haitians fear that the Haitian government and international community’s “Build Back Better” campaign is failing and the members of the international community have not been held accountable for mistakes made in Haiti even as Haitians continue to suffer.

A man walks past a camp for people displaced by the earthquake on March 4, 2012 in Port-au-Prince. (Photo courtesy of NBC News)

Billions of dollars were donated and pledged by state government, NGOs, private corporations and private citizens, to rescue, recover and rebuilding process in Haiti during the days and months that followed the Earthquake. In the United States alone tens of millions of dollars were raised by the American Red Cross through a texting campaign that allowed cellphone users to donate ten dollars to the Red Cross by sending a text message. However, five years after the quake many are asking where the billions pledged to rebuild Haiti have been spend. According to the United Nations in total $13.34 billion has been earmarked for the crisis through 2020, though two years after the quake, less than half of that amount had actually been released, according to U.N. documents.

The United States government has allocated $4 billion; $3 billion has already been spent, and the rest is dedicated to longer-term development projects. The Haitian government reports that 90% of the refugee camps established after the devastating quake have been destroyed and its residents have found more permanent housing. However, nearly 80,000 live day to day without a proper roof over their heads and according to the International Organization for Migration. Many of these people live in displacement camps. Private land owners in Haiti have forcibly evicted homeless quake victims who they see as illegally squatting on their land. “Although we are happy to report on the fifth anniversary of the earthquake that IOM has registered a 94 per cent decrease in the number of Haitians displaced, and a 93 per cent decrease in the number of sites still housing displaced populations, the international community must not forget the almost 80,000 persons that continue to wait for their chance to rebuild their lives with a proper roof over their heads,” said Gregoire Goodstein, International Organization for Migration Chief of Mission in Haiti.

In the months after the Haitian Earthquake the country was struck by an outbreak of Cholera that killed more than 8,000 people and sickened more than 700,000 since human waste was dumped into Haiti’s principal river in October 2010. Scientific studies have concluded that cholera was likely introduced to Haiti by United Nations peacekeepers from Nepal, where the disease is endemic. Haiti has called for the United Nations to be held liable for introducing the disease to Haiti and have called on the United Nations to step up its efforts to fight the deadly disease and provide for survivors. Last Friday a case seeking compensation for the victims of the outbreak was through out of court in the United States. Judge J. Paul Oetken argued that the UN’s charter provides broad legal immunity and that the international body has not waived it. “Where such an express waiver is absent, the United Nations and [its operation in Haiti] are immune from suit,” Oetken wrote. The United Nations has repeatedly declined to comment on the lawsuit but has said it is working with Haiti’s government to eradicate cholera. In December 2012, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced a $2.27bn initiative to help eradicate cholera in Haiti.

For more information please see:

NBC News – What Does Haiti Have To Show For $13 Billion In Earthquake Aid? – 11 January 2015

CNN International – Five Years after the Quake: Haiti at a Crossroads – 12 January 2015

Al Jazeera – UN ‘Immune’ From Haiti Cholera Lawsuit – 10 January 2015

International Organization for Migration – Five Years after 2010 Earthquake, Thousands of Haitians Remain Displaced – 9 January 2015

ICTJ | In Focus: A Look Back at 2014

WCPW–Vol. 9, Issue 21–12 JAN 2015