Al Jazeera Journalists Jailed For One Year in Egypt #FreeAJStaff

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

CAIRO, Egypt – Monday marks the one year anniversary of the arrest of Baher Mohamed, Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste who were jailed in Cairo on December 29, 2013 on charges of aiding the Muslim Brotherhood and spreading “false news.” In June, Greste, an Australian, and Fahmy, an Egyptian-Canadian, received a seven-year sentence, while Mohamed, an Egyptian, was sentenced to 10 years. The arrests and charges sparked international condemnation from world leaders and journalism and speech advocates around the globe. Al Jazeera has denied all charges against its staff and has called on the immediate release of the journalists. Journalists and activists around the world have posted photos of themselves holding up banners bearing the Twitter hashtags “#FreeAJStaff” and “#JournalismIsNotACrime.”

Al Jazeera’s Adrian Finighan at a protest in London outside the Egyptian Embassy in the United Kingdom. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Baher Mohamed’s wife, Jehan Rashed, told Al Jazeera that the day her husband was arrested had been the worst of her life. “The sentiment of injustice is overwhelming,” she said. “Baher was arrested on this day a year ago. It was the worst day Baher, our children and I have ever lived.” She continued “It was a dark day. I wonder if the [Egyptian] Army and Police are protecting the people. They came to arrest a journalist, while realizing deep within he is a respectable professional, but they acted as if he was a felon.” Colleagues and friends of the jailed journalists marked the anniversary of their arrest at newsrooms across the world on Monday.

The three jailed al-Jazeera journalists: Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

Later this week an Egyptian court will decide whether the journalists have grounds for an appeal of their convictions. The court will start to look at the case on Thursday and will examine the process behind the original trial, a process that Al Jazeera has maintains was flawed. The journalists deny collaborating with the banned Muslim Brotherhood after the overthrow of democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi in a military coup last year. They say they were jailed simply for reporting the news.

The court can either dismiss the entire case, uphold the verdict and the original sentences, or order a new trial. The Egyptian government has defended the jailing of the journalists, arguing that it was not a political decision. While President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is able to issue a presidential pardon he maintains that he will not interfere in the judicial process.

World leaders have called for the release of the three journalism, viewing their arrest and convictions as an affront to free speech in the new Egypt, which the government maintains is a democratic state. United States President Barack Obama called for the release of the journalists earlier this year, urging the newly elected Egyptian president to free the jailed Al Jazeera journalists.

Peter Greste penned a letter just before Christmas from his cell in Cairo. The letter was first published in The Sydney Morning Herald. The Letter reads:

[one_half]

I write to all our friends and supporters from my jail cell in Mazraa Prison, Cairo.

As we approach Christmas and the rather inauspicious anniversary of our arrest on December 29, there is a temptation to become morose over our continued detention. After all, on paper we don’t seem to have made much progress.

The three of us – myself and my colleagues Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed – are still in prison, still convicted of broadcasting false news and aiding a “terrorist organization,” and still just one year into prison sentences of seven years for myself and Fahmy, and 10 years for Baher.

But, at the same time, we have changed something fundamental. We – and by that I mean all involved in this fight for justice, including us three, our families, and you, our supporters – have created a huge global awareness of not just our cause, but the far wider and more vital issues of press freedom, the persecution of journalists, and of justice in Egypt.

We have galvanized an incredible coalition of political, diplomatic and media figures, as well as a vast army of social media supporters to fight for that most basic of rights: the right to know. Everyone, from US President Barack Obama to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to Prime Minister Tony Abbott, has been speaking out both publicly and in private to demand our release and call for a free press in Egypt.

But, even more than that, we have reignited public discussion and awareness of the vital role that unfettered journalism plays in any healthy, functioning democracy.

Sometimes it is easy to forget why we need it at all. Journalism can, at times, look pretty sordid, and few of us who work in it can claim to have never succumbed to the more base instincts of our trade. And in the wired world of the internet, with its citizen reporters and millions of sources, it is tempting to wonder why we need professional journalists at all.

But that noise is the reason itself. Never has cleared-eyed, critical, skeptical journalism been more necessary to help make sense of a world overloaded with information.

We should never forget that journalism is not a science. It is a human craft as vulnerable to biases and inaccuracies and flaws as any other. And, at its worst, it can be quite destructive. But the reason we still buy newspapers, listen to the radio or switch on the evenings TV news bulletin is to find context and understanding; a sense of perspective.

The best journalism puts a frame around an issue. It helps define it, clarifies it, and makes sense of it. And, above all, it challenges authority.

In a functioning democracy, political legitimacy comes from the voters. We, the people, hire politicians. As with any responsible business, it is incumbent on employers to keep an eye on their employees and, as we all know, we tend to work better, more efficiently and more honestly when we know we are being monitored.

I am not talking of a big brother society here. Just good, old-fashioned accountability.

The philosopher and writer Albert Camus was absolutely right when he said the press can, of course, be both good and bad, but without freedom it can never be anything but bad. 

That is why our cause, as opposed to simply our case, is so important, and not just for Egypt. The noise you all have been making sends a clear and unequivocal message to politicians around the world: a free press is an indivisible part of a free society.

As we approach the end of our first year in prison, I cannot help but feel proud and strengthened by all that has been achieved so far. We haven’t won this fight yet – we are still behind bars after all – but we have made our cause abundantly and unequivocally clear. 

And for that reason, it really is a very good Christmas.

So, from our cell in Cairo, all the very best in season’s greetings.

[/one_half]

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Al Jazeera Staff Held for One Year in Egypt – 29 December 2014

BBC News – Egypt Urged To Free Al-Jazeera Staff on Arrest Anniversary – 29 December 2014

Al Jazeera America – Jailed Al Jazeera Journalist Pens Letter before Christmas – 23 December 2014

Al Jazeera – Obama Presses Sisi on Jailed Al Jazeera Staff – 26 September 2014

US Formally Ends Longest Combat Operation in American History despite Spike in Civilian Casualties

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

KABUL, Afghanistan – Coalition Fores formally ended their combat mission in Afghanistan Sunday, marking the end of the longest combat operation in American history. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) combat mission in Afghanistan, which began in the weeks after the September 11th 2001 attacks on the United States and has lasted 13 years, formally ended with the ceremonial retirement of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission’s green flag in a gymnasium in Kabul. Top officials within NATO have pledged to remain reliable partners in Afghanistan war against the Taliban and other militants in the region. The ceremony represented the shift from NATO’s combat mission to a much smaller support mission which will involve smaller scale assistance to Afghan forces as well as training.

Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), General John Campbell opens the “Resolute Support” flag during a ceremony at the ISAF headquarters in Kabul on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of National Public Radio)

“Our commitment to Afghanistan endures. . . . We are not walking away,” promised General John F. Campbell, the United States’ commander of the outgoing International Security Assistance Force mission. General Campbell will lead the new NATO support mission, which technically begins at midnight on New Year’s Eve. NATO’s support mission will leave 13,500 soldiers in the country, most of them American. “Resolute Support will serve as the bedrock of an enduring partnership” between NATO and Afghanistan, Campbell said. He paid tribute to the international and Afghan troops who have died fighting over the past 13 years, saying: “The road before us remains challenging but we will triumph.”

The President of The United States, Barack Obama, said in a written statement, “On this day we give thanks to our troops and intelligence personnel who have been relentless against the terrorists responsible for 9/11 — devastating the core al Qaeda leadership, delivering justice to Osama bin Laden, disrupting terrorist plots and saving countless American lives.” He added, “We are safer, and our nation is more secure, because of their service. “A total of 3,485 allied troops died in Afghanistan over the past 13 years in a war that is estimated to have cost more than $1 trillion dollars.

Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan on Monday declared the “defeat” of the United States and its NATO allies, a day after the coalition officially marked the end of its combat mission. “ISAF rolled up its flag in an atmosphere of failure and disappointment without having achieved anything substantial or tangible,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement emailed on Monday. Despite suffering major losses during the 13 year war the Taliban continues to stage attacks on Afghan and NATO troops and is largely reasonable for growing civilian casualties in the country.

“There is a lot of concern for the rise in civilian casualties,” said Hadi Marifat, a Kabul-based analyst with the Centre for Civilians in Conflict. “The more territory the Taliban tries to occupy in the coming years, the more civilian casualties there will be because of military confrontations.”

The NATO mission in Afghanistan is drawing to a close despite the recent spike in violence and civilian casualties in the country which has left the future of Afghan security uncertain.  2014 has become the bloodiest year in the war’s 13 year history, with more than 10,000 civilians killed since the start of the year. Compared to 2013, this year also saw a 33% rise in casualties among children and a 12% increase among women, according to a UN report.

For more information please see:

Reuters – Taliban Declare ‘Defeat’ Of U.S., Allies in Afghanistan – 29 December 2014

CBS News – U.S. Formally Ends the War in Afghanistan – 28 December 2014

The Guardian – NATO Ends Combat Operations in Afghanistan – 28 December 2014

National Public Radio – Ceremony in Afghanistan Officially Ends America’s Longest War – 28 December 2014

The Washington Post – NATO Flag Lowered In Afghanistan As Combat Mission Ends – 28 December 2014

Al Jazeera – Afghan Civilian Casualties ‘Hit Record High’ – 20 December 2014

Protesters Oppose Nicaraguan Canal

By Mridula Tirumalasetti

Impunity Watch Reporter

MANAGUA, Nicaragua—Protests have ensued opposing the construction of a $50 billion interoceanic shipping canal in Nicaragua, which has been backed by a Hong Kong-based company, HNKD. Road blocks were set up by protesters along the Pan-American Highway right after the official ceremony that marked the beginning of the construction of the canal, and along the Managua-San Carlos Highway.

Injuries associated with the violence pictured above (photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Protesters are concerned that their homes will be displaced and threatened by the implementation of the canal. The canal will run through the rain forest and at least 40 villages, which include those of El Tule and Nueva Guinea. The canal is expected to displace at least 30,000 Nicaraguans, many of whom are farmers and natives.

However, the canal could also be a financial boost for the economy of Nicaragua. “Nicaragua, with this great canal, aims to move five percent of international trade conducted on the seas today,” said Nicaraguan Vice President, Moises Omar Halleslevens. The canal is expected to be more than three times longer than the Panama Canal, and is projected to increase Nicaragua’s GDP between four and five percent to 10.8 percent in 2015, and then 15 percent in 2016.

Chinese businessman Wang Jing, the president of HKND Group, promised to compensate “according to market principles in a fair, open and transparent way,” but many people are left feeling uncertain because of a lack of information. Further, critics of the canal have pointed out that there has been little debate in the Nicaraguan parliament about possible environmental consequences to Lake Nicaragua, which the canal is expected to pass through and to lands of the Creole communities and Rama indigenous community.

Nicaragua’s Police Chief, Aminta Granera, reported 15 police officers and six civilians to have been injured, but organizers of the protest estimated at least 40 demonstrators to have been injured. Police used rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas to disperse the hundreds of demonstrators protesting at the roadblock in El Tule on the Pan-American Highway. Granera stated, the police were “Faced with the use of firearms, machetes, stones, and sticks by the protestors” and also said that 33 protestors in the Managua-San Carlos Highway roadblock were detained by police, who acted with ‘tolerance and peace.” Granera added that the protesters were affecting commerce and tourism by not allowing people to move through the country freely.

Organizers of the protest stated that the demonstration was a peaceful one, but according to The Guardian, one farmer said during an interview in November, “We’ll use machetes, stones, anything to protect our land. My grandparents were born here. They say they are going to pay me, but I never put the land up for sale.”

For more information, please see: 

Al Jazeera–Protest against Nicaragua canal turns violent–24 December 2014

The Guardian–Protests erupt in Nicaragua over interoceanic canal–24 December 2014

Latin American Herald Tribune–Nicaragua Starts Construction of Canal Despite Protests–23 December 2014

Reuters–At least 21 injured in protect against Nicaragua canal: police–24 December 2014

Freedom Of Speech Rights Tested By Anti-Police Protests And Threats

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C, – United States of America – In the wake of racially charged protests, instances of violence have erupted and police tactics in dealing with such protests have been scrutinized. The protests have reignited a longstanding debate about how police forces treat non-white citizens. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has asked protestors to suspend demonstrations after two New York City police officers were ambushed while sitting in their patrol car in Brooklyn last week.

 

Protestors at 116th St. in New York (Photo Courtesy of Huffington Post)

However, some organizers of the protests, including Answer Coalition, the organization which led the march on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, stated that they would continue with their protests despite the mayor’s plea for a quell in demonstrations. The organization released a statement, which said, “[t]he mayor’s call for a suspension of democracy and the exercise of free speech rights in the face of ongoing injustice is outrageous.”

Marvin Knight, a 71-year-old African American from Brooklyn, expressed his disapproval of the Mayor’s request to suppress protests, stating, “[t]his is America,” “[w]hy should we stop doing what we know is right?” Knight argued that the call for a halt to demonstrations infringed on the protestor’s first amendment rights.

Compared with other countries the United States has a strong guarantee of speech rights, even if that speech displays racism or hatred. However, state laws make it a crime to communicate specific threats. Generally, a threat must have some degree of specificity regarding who or what is going to be attacked, or some other details of the threat. Context is important in threat cases, so much so that in 2003, the Supreme Court ruled that the burning of a cross was protected speech so long as it was done in an open field and not intended to intimidate a specific individual. The USSC on December 1, 2014 has decided to revisit the law of threats. The court intends to address the question of whether prosecutors must show that a person intended to threaten, or whether it is enough to show that a reasonable person would have felt threatened.

 

For more information, please see the following:

FOX NEWS – ‘To Protest is a First Amendment Right’: New Yorkers Defy Mayor’s Request to Pause Demonstrations– 23 Dec. 2014.

HUFFINGTON POST – Protestors Flood New York City Streets Despite Mayor’s Call For Moratorium – 24 Dec. 2014

REUTERS – NY Protesters Reject Plea For Hiatus Despite Police Slayings – 23 Dec. 2014.

REUTERS – Talk of ‘Wings on Pigs’ Threats on Police Tests U.S. Speech Rights – 23 Dec. 2014.

Threats Directed Toward Police Officers Are Met With Arrests

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America – Following the murders of two New York City police officers last week, New York as well as the rest of the nation have erupted in both anti-police and pro-police protests. There has also been a drastic rise in threats against police officers, resulting in at least six arrests. The New York City police department has received more than 40 threats since the death of officers Ramos and Liu.

A NYPD logo was placed on a memorial at the site were officers Ramos and Liu were murdered last week (Photo Courtesy of Reuters).

On Wednesday, Tyrone Melville, a 41-year-old Manhattan native, called the switchboard of Brooklyn’s 84th Precinct, requesting to speak to Ramos, one of the slain officers, asking if the bullets had been removed from the dead officer’s head so he “could kill more cops,” according to Sergeant Carlos Nieves. Melville has since been charged with making terroristic threats and aggravated harassment. Another incident occurred through Facebook where, Jose Maldonado, 26, posted pictures of weapons and made threatening statements regarding the killing of police officers.While the United States has a strong guarantee of free speech, state laws generally make it a crime to communicate a specific threat against a police officer or anyone else.

The Sergeants Benevolent Association tweeted late Tuesday night that a threat was communicated to the organization by a confidential informant regarding a Baltimore street gang called the Black Guerilla Family who planned to storm New York City precincts for a shootout with police. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has denounced the various threats stating that the city “will protect the men and women who protect us,” and that security measures “will be assessed and police resources will be deployed accordingly.”

Other political figures are speaking out against the threats, including former New York governor George Pataki. Pataki has blamed the outspoken Al Sharpton for using rhetoric that has created incitement and fostered an anti-police environment. Additionally, former New York City police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, said that Sharpton and others had “blood on their hands.” However, Sharpton has presented himself as a peacemaker, and has publicly condemned the killings, while still defending the rights of the protestors to decry perceived racist police tactics.

 

For more information, please see the following:

CBS NEWS – At Least 4 Arrested For Threatening Police After NYPD Officers Killed – 24 Dec. 2014.

CNN – NYC Mayor Meets With Families Of Slain Police Officers – 22 Dec. 2014.

REUTERS- Two More NY Men Arrested For Threatening Police After Officers Killed – 25 Dec. 2014.

WASHINGTON POST- Sharpton Faces Criticism After NYC Officers’ Deaths – 23 Dec. 2014.