13th Century Tomb Destroyed by Syrian Militants in act of Ethnocide

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

DAMASCUS, Syria – Militant fighters loyal to the Jabhat al-Nusra, an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, destroyed the tomb of Imam Nawawi, a revered Islamic scholar, on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK based Human Rights agency. Imam Nawawi, born in 1233 AD, is believed to have written several books on Islamic studies and Quranic verses. After his death in 1277 AD, he was buried in his hometown of Nawa. The tomb was built in the thirteenth-century and is only the latest significant cultural and historical site to be destroyed in the practiced civil war in Syria. A report published by the United Nations last year said that satellite images showed alarming damage to nearly 300 significant historical sites including never UNESCO World Heritage Sites last year. “The alarming level of damage to many of these areas do call for increased international and national attention to better protect the rich cultural heritage of Syria,” the U.N. said, in its report. One of these sites was located in the city of Raqqa, a city that was invaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which subsequently declared the city its headquarters, where the Sufi Muslim Uwais al-Qarni Mosque and a shrine to Ammar ibn Yasir, believed to be one of Prophet Muhammad’s companions was destroyed by the militant group. The act of destroying these historic sites is often seen as an attempt to destroy any cultural heritage and even erase the historical identity of any culture or idea that is contrary the extremist ideologies of groups like the Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, these actions may be considered acts of Genocide or Ethnocide under International Law.

Al-Nusra Front blows up 800-year-old mausoleum of leading Islamic scholar, Imam Nawawi, in Deraa province Syria. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Under the language of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, “genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.” the term “ethnocide” is not specifically referenced in the Genocide Convention, Raphael Lemkin intended the term to refer to the cultural or ethnic aspects of genocide; which involved not only the destruction of human life but the destruction of people, their identity and way of life. In terms of cultural genocide and ethnocide, the objectives of such a plan would be destruction of the elements that make up the identity of the group. Such a plan may be carried out with intent to disintegrate the “political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups.”

Militant groups like Jabhat al-Nusra, al Qaeda and the Islamic State group follow a puritanical Salafist doctrine that prohibits the construction and veneration of tombs and shrines, which are viewed as un-Islamic and sacrilegious by these extremists. A number of Salafist groups have also been implicated in attacks on Sufi shrines in Libya and Tunisia, according to media reports. These actions are an attempt to eradicate historic and cultural symbols that are seen as contrary to the ideology of the militant groups. As groups like Al Nursra and ISIS fight to establish an Islamic State in Syria and the region, based only on their own interoperations of the Quran, are not only attack other faiths, ideologies, cultures and views through violence today but by wiping out the long, diverse history that predates their extremist views.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Syrian Fighters Destroy Historic Muslim Tomb –8 January 2015

Al Arabiya – Extremists Destroy 13th Century Muslim Tomb in Syria – 8 January 2015

International Business Times – Al-Nusra Rebels Demolish 13th Century Tomb in Southern Syria Deemed Un-Islamic By Salafists – 8 January 2015

Economic Times of India – Al Qaeda-Linked Militants Blow Up 13th Century Muslim Tomb in Syria – 8 January 2015

Maryland Gov. O’Malley Commutes Remaining Death Row Inmates’ Sentences

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – Recently Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley commuted the death sentences of the last four inmates remaining on death row in the state. Such action will effectively end capital punishment in the state of Maryland, after lawmakers voted in 2013 to abolish the death sentence for future offenders. O’Mally, a potential 2016 White House candidate, said that leaving the last four prisoners to await the death penalty “does not serve the public good.”

Maryland Governor commutes sentences for remaining death-row inmates (Photo Courtesy of Reuters).

All four inmates were convicted of murder. One inmate, Heath Burch was convicted of the 1995 murders of Robert and Cleo Davis. The victims’ family has repeatedly asked the governor not to remove Burch from death row. However, O’Mally has commuted the four prisoners’ sentences, including Burch’s, to life without the possibility of parole. All four men are currently housed at the maximum-security North Branch Correctional institution near Cumberland, however the inmates will now be eligible for transfer to a medium-security prison.

There are currently 3,054 inmates on death row in the United States, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, which compiles statistics published by the Bureau of Justice. Maryland was one of six states to ban the death penalty between 2007 and 2013. In recent years, Connecticut and New Mexico have also abolished the death penalty, but those laws were not made retroactive. In 2014, the United States executed 35 inmates, the fewest in two decades, and sentenced only 72 to death.

The abolishment of the death penalty was one of O’Mally’s progressive accomplishments during his time in office, others included the legalization of same-sex marriage, and sweeping gun-control measures. O’Mally has lobbied lawmakers since 2007, his first term, to abolish capital punishment. He claims that the executions are not cost-effective, do not have any deterrent effect, and are at odds with “our values as a people.” However, A Washington Post – ABC News poll in June found that 60 percent of Americans favor the availability of the death penalty.

 

For more information, please see:

BALTIMORE SUN – 4 Former MD. Death Row Inmates Could Get Medium Security – 6 Jan. 2015.

REUTERS – Maryland Governor Commutes Sentences For Remaining Death Row Inmates – 31 Dec. 2015.

US NEWS – Maryland Governor Commutes Sentences For Remaining Death Row Inmates – 31 Dec. 2015.

WASHINGTON POST – Gov. O’Mally to Commute Sentences of Maryland’s Remaining Death-Row Inmates – 31. Dec. 2015.

At Least 12 Shot Dead at French Satirical Paper

By Kyle Herda
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France – Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical newspaper known for publishing the Prophet Mohammed twice over the past few years and causing an international stir, was attacked today by multiple gunmen armed with AK-47’s and possibly a rocket launcher. The gunmen, still on the run, stormed the building and began firing indiscriminately into the crowd for several minutes before an ensuing shootout with police outside. The gunmen eventually escaped into a rental car.

“Je Suis Charlie,” translating to “I Am Charlie,” has been trending on social media in a show of solidarity and support after the attack on Charlie Hebdo. (Photo courtesy of Zee News)

The attack came shortly after the newspaper released a tweet mocking Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. A few mocking releases by the paper in the past of the Prophet Mohammed have caused violent reactions. Following a 2011 “Shariah Hebdo” edition, a firebomb badly damaged the office after the paper claimed the Prophet Mohammed guest edited an edition to salute the victory of an Islamist party in Tunisian elections. In 2012, the magazine showed the Prophet Muhammed and forced French embassies and schools closed. Stephane Charbonnier, chief editor since 2009, has been on an al Qaeda hit list.

The paper, which has depicted many different religions and political figures in dissatisfactory manners, has been targeted by al Qaeda and affiliates in the past. This time has been the most severe, prompting French President Francois Hollande to visit the scene and report this is “undoubtedly a terrorist attack,” and that “several terrorist attacks were thwarted in recent weeks.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel also condemned the shooting as an “attack on freedom of speech and the press, core elements of our free democratic culture.” The United States, whom France was the first to join in striking IS targets in Iraq and Syria last year, also pledged assistance and condemned the attack.

France joins a few other nations in having suffered this type of lone-wolf attack. In May, a lone gunman shot four dead at a Jewish Museum in Brussels, Belgium. In October, Canada had a gunman storm Parliament after shooting dead a soldier at a monument across the street. In December, a lone gunman and two hostages were killed in Sydney, Australia after a long hostage crisis. All of these attacks have been linked to ISIS, although today’s attack has not yet been formally linked to any particular group.

For more information, please see:

NBC – Paris Terror Attack: What You Need to Know about Charlie Hebdo – 7 January 2015

France 24 – Live: Deadly shooting at Paris HQ of French satirical magazine – 7 January 2015

The Jerusalem Post – Merkel says shooting in France attack on core democratic freedoms – 7 January 2015

The New York Times – Terror Attack on Charlie Hebdo Newspaper in Paris Kills 12 – 7 January 2015

Mediaite – Charlie Hebdo’s Last Tweet Spoofed ISIS Leader Al-Baghdadi – 7 January 2015

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules Juvenile Sex Offender Registration Unconstitutional

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – In a 5-1 decision the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the requirement that all sex offenders who were juveniles at the time of their crime must remain on the Megan’s Las Registry for life is unconstitutional. The decision stemmed from a list of juvenile cases in York County. The York County case involved seven males who had committed crimes as teens that ranged from aggravated indecent assault to involuntary deviant sexual intercourse.

PA Supreme Court strikes down juvenile sex offender law

The court declared that the law is unconstitutional because it fails to allow for an appeal and assumed that all juvenile sex offenders posed a risk of reoffending as adults, despite the fact that studies show that just one percent of juvenile offenders commit new crimes as adults.

The Pennsylvania law had required registration for teens 14 years and older found guilty of sex crimes. The law required offenders to report quarterly to state police and report changes of address, job or personal appearance within three days of such action. Additionally, the placement of the registry comes with much public stigma. Only after being on the registry for 25 years, could an offender petition to be removed from the registry, and only if the offender had not committed any other sex crime.

Justice Max Baer wrote in the majority opinion, “[SORNA will] improperly brand all juvenile offenders’ reputations with an indelible mark of a dangerous recidivist. SORNA is the state’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Justice Baer also stated that the law may have remained in affect if the legislature would have required due-process hearings to examine the potential for rehabilitation before a juvenile was placed on Megan’s list.

The Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center, which served as co-counsel on the case, argued that the registry was an added punishment for juvenile offenders, which did little to protect the community.

 

For more information, please see the following:

JAMESTOWN SUN – Pennsylvania High Court Strikes Down Law On Juvenile Sex Offenders – 2 Jan. 2015.

JURIST – Pennsylvania Top Court Strikes Down Law on Juvenile Sex Offenders – 3 Jan. 2015.

PHILLY TRIBUNE – PA. Supreme Court Strikes Down Juvenile Sex Offender Registration– 2 Jan. 2015.

REUTERS – Pennsylvania High Court Strikes Down Law on Juvenile Sex Offender – 2 Jan. 2015.

Australian Inquiries After Sydney Siege

By Max Bartels 

Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

 

Canberra, Australia

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has ordered inquiries into the Sydney Siege and the gunman Man Haron Monis who killed two hostages when he seized a Sydney coffee shop and took 18 hostages. Police stormed the coffee shop and killed Monis after he executed one of the hostages. Since the attack there has been much speculation on whether the attack was a terrorist attack by the Islamic State or the actions of one mentally unstable fanatic.

Tony Abbott meets with Australian Defense Forces deployed to the Middle East to participate in the U.S led coalition against ISIS. (Photo curtesy of ABC News)

After the attack a leader of Australia’s Labor Party resigned after it came to light that he wrote a letter of support to Monis back in 2011 over the custody of his children on Father’s Day. The request for custody was granted even though Monis had been charged for sending offensive letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers. Monis’ then wife was murdered two years after the letter was written and Monis was charged with accessory to murder while his girlfriend, Almirah Droudis was arrested for murder. The politician stated that at the time, the letter was just a routine granting of a constituent’s request but its effect on the polls and the loss of the support of his colleagues led him to resign.

Prime Minister Abbott has warned that terrorist chatter regarding attacks on Australia has increased since the Sydney Siege and Australia remains on high alert. The Prime Minister has refused to link the attack in Sydney to the Islamic state or Islam. Monis was previously on the Australian terror watch list but fell off at some unknown point. The attack was committed while Monis was out on bail for the accessory to murder charge.

The Prime Minster continues to support Australian troops fighting in the coalition against the Islamic State. Abbott has stated that fighting the IS threat abroad keeps Australians safer at home. Currently Australia has deployed 200 special forces personnel to Iraq to assist in training the Iraqi military as well as about 400 other personnel, including fighter jets to aide in the airstrikes against IS assets in Iraq and Syria. Abbott has not ruled about expanding Australia’s contribution and role in the U.S led coalition.

For more information, please see:

The Telegraph — Australian MP Resigns Over Letter of Support for Sydney Siege Gunman — 23 December 2014

The Daily Mail — Police Believed Sydney Gunman had a Bomb Strapped to Himself — 3 January 2015 

The Guardian — Tony Abbott Warns Terrorism Chatter has Increased and Attack Remains “Likely” — 23 December 2014

ABC News — Tony Abbott Speaks Says Fighting IS Keeps Australians Safe at Home on Visit to UAE — 4 January 2015