A Voice for the Voiceless

Saudi Women Defy Driving Ban

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – More than 60 Saudi women claimed to have answered the call for women across the country to defy the state law forbidding women from driving in Saudi Arabia. This display of civil disobedience took place on Saturday, when activists for women’s rights across Saudi Arabia called on women to get behind the wheel of a car in defiance of the ultra-conservative state’s discriminatory laws.

Saudi women defy driving ban across the country on October 26 (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

The campaign for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, particularly the campaign for the right of women to drive, has gained international attention on social media after numerous Saudi women filmed themselves driving in open defiance of the law and posted the videos to YouTube.

Saudi authorities stopped five women who were spotted driving in Riyadh. Fawaz Al-Meeman, an assistant spokesmen for the Riyadh police, said, “each case was dealt with accordingly.” He explained that the women were not taken to police stations. Instead, they were detained in their vehicles until their male guardians arrived at the scene, at which point they were released into the custody of their guardians.

Mai Al-Swayan posted a video to YouTube showing her driving from her home to a nearby grocery store in defiance of the law. She said, “I drove on the highway and was noticed by a couple of cars but they were fine with it.”

While Riyadh police did not take any women to police stations for breaking the law banning women from driving, that was not the case in other cities. In Jeddah, photographer Samia El-Moslimany said she was taken into custody for having driven a car. She said she was taken to a police station where another woman was being detained for having driven a car.

Saudi Arabia’s spokesman for the Interior Ministry Mansour Al-Turki said Saturday was a “normal day, just like every Saturday,” and said that he was not aware of any violations to the driving law, but regional police spokesmen said that if violations of the ban on women driving did occur, they would be dealt with. “Not just on the 26th. Before and after. At all times.”

The Interior Ministry issued a warning earlier in the week in response to the calls of activists women who openly defy the law. The warning was issued to women caught driving as well as anyone taking part in demonstrations.

Adam Coogle, a Saudi Arabia researcher for Human Rights Watch said the discriminatory driving laws in Saud Arabia are shameful and that the Saudi Interior Ministry is trying to “deflate the momentum” behind the activists campaign through “direct, individual intimidation.”

There is not a specific traffic law that prohibits women from driving in Saudi Arabia, but religious edicts are often interpreted to mean women are not allowed to operate a vehicle.

Sheikh Saleh Al-Loheidan, a prominent religious figure in Saudi Arabia, claimed that driving can have a negative impact on a women’s ovaries. He claimed that “medical studies show that it would automatically affect a woman’s ovaries and that it pushes the pelvis upward.”

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Saudi Women Defy Driving Ban across Country – 27 October 2013

CNN – Saudi Arabia Women Defy Authorities Over Female Driving Ban – 26 October 2013

CNN – Why Saudi Arabia Can’t Ban Women from Driving Forever – 25 October 2013

CNN – Saudi Cleric Warns Driving Could Damage Women’s Ovaries – 30 September 2013

 

German Intelligence Delegates Will Visit White House to Discuss Spying

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States –  The National Security Agency (NSA) has been listening in on calls made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the past ten years according to German Language news service Der Spiegel. Chancellor Merkel, outraged by the news, summoned the US ambassador for the first time in decades.

In response to news of NSA spying, officials from Germany and France have asked the United States to sign a no spying deal by the end of the year. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

German government spokesman Georg Streiter announced that officials from Germany’s foreign and domestic intelligence agencies will be traveling to the United States to talk with White House and NSA officials sometime in the near future.

“We are seeking a basis for cooperation between our [intelligence] services, which we all need and from which we have all received a great deal of information … that is transparent, that is clear and is in keeping with the character of being partners,” Merkel said.

European Union leaders, angry over allegations of widespread NSA spying, have reluctantly agreed to maintain their partnership with the United States.  Analysts suspect France and Germany may be seeking an arrangement similar to the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence-sharing agreement the United States has had with the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada since just after World War II.

News of Chancellor Merkel’s phone calls being bugged is just one of several reports that surfaced last week detailing widespread NSA spying.  Headlines in European newspapers this past week have included allegations that the NSA has been spying on millions of French citizens. Additionally, a British newspaper says it has obtained a confidential memo detailing NSA spying on 35 foreign leaders back in 2006.

A statement released by EU leaders Friday warned that “[a] lack of trust could prejudice the necessary cooperation in the field of intelligence-gathering.”

President Obama ordered a review of U.S. surveillance programs after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents detailing widespread spying operations that outraged US citizens.

For more information, please see:

NBC News – US spied on German leader Merkel’s phone since 2002: report – 26 October 2013

Times of India – German spy chiefs to head to US for talks – 26 October 2013

ABC News – Germany, France Want US to Agree to Curb Spying – 25 October 2013

BBC News – Top German spy chiefs to go to Washington for talks – 25 October 2013

TIME – Germans Coming to U.S. On Heels of Snooping Reports – 25 October 2013

Iran Hangs 16 Rebels in Retaliation for Border Attack

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran-In retaliation for the deaths of at least 14 border patrol guards, Iran has hanged 16 rebels who were “linked to groups hostile to the regime,” stated the attorney general of Sistan-Baluchistan province.

Iranian border guards monitor the hostile south-eastern border with Pakistan (photo courtesy of BBC)

“These individuals were executed this Saturday morning in response to the terrorist action of last evening at Saravan and the martyrdom of the border guards,” said an Iranian prosecutor.

No details of the trial proceedings were given, with reporters speculating that the 16 rebels were already tried and convicted with their executions being brought forward after the ambush.

Details on the total number of border guards killed in the ambush were also unclear with some reports totaling the number at 20 while others reported the number to be closer to 17.

Iran’s Deputy Interior Minister Al Abdollahi stated, “Three soldiers have been taken hostage and taken to the other side of the border in Pakistan,” announcing measures would be taken to secure their release.  “We warned the rebel groups that any attack targeting civilians or members of the security forces would not go unanswered,” he further stated.

The attack occurred in a mountainous region outside of Saravan near the south-eastern border with Pakistan.  Saravan’s Member of Parliament, Hedayatollah Mirmoradzehi, blamed the attack on “anti-revolution guerrillas.”  However, unconfirmed reports have claimed that a rebel group called Jaish al-Adl was responsible for the attack.

Soraya Lennie, a reporter for Al Jazeera, said that Jaish al-Adl is a relatively new group that is vehemently anti-Shia and the Iranian government has put pressure on the Pakistani government to crack down on the group’s activities.

A historical unrest of mainly the Sunni Muslim population complaining of discrimination by Iran’s Shia Muslim authorities has been a catalyst for increasing deaths and tension along the Iran-Pakistan border.

The south-eastern border region is common to attacks with officials claiming that more than 4,000 police officers and soldiers have been killed in the area during three decades of fighting with drug traffickers.

A parliamentary committee on national security is meeting with relevant officials to look into the recent attack and address the long standing issue of deaths along the border.

This is not the first time that Iran has hanged captured rebels in retaliation.  Iranian authorities hanged 11 suspected rebel members who were held in Zahedan prison in December 2010 in response to a deadly bombing that occurred at the Shia mourning procession in Shabahar.

For more information, please see the following: 

 ABC News-Iran hangs 16 people in reprisal for Pakistan border killings-27 October 2013

Al Jazeera-Iran hangs rebels in border attack reprisal-26 October 2013

BBC-Iran hangs 16 rebels ‘in reprisal for border deaths’-26 October 2013

Gulf Times-Iran hangs 16 in reprisal for border attack-26 October 2013

 

 

Unclear Czech Elections Prompt Negotiations to Create a New Administration

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Following an inconclusive election, political parties in the Czech Republic will soon hold negotiations to form a new coalition government to replace the coalition taken down by corruption last June.

A close win for Social Democrats enabled the party to help determine who will form the new coalition administration in the Czech Republic. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

In June 2013, allegations of corruption, espionage, and abuse of power broke down the governing Czech coalition, led by Prime Minister Petr Necas. At that time, Necas had an affair with a close aide, who authorities arrested on suspicion of bribery and ordering an intelligence agency to follow Necas’ wife.

Without a proper administration in the coalition’s place, in July 2013, Czech President Milos Zeman angered parties when he created a caretaker cabinet of technocrats to govern the country.

The 25-26 October 2013 election placed the Social Democrats on top. But with only 20% of the vote, the Social Democrats are not powerful enough to form a government on their own. Although the election was meant to resolve months of uncertainty, analysts say the failure to produce a clear winner could lead to another unstable coalition.

Since the 1989 “Velvet Revolution” marked the fall of Communism, Czechs have used the ballot against established parties stained by corruption. The recent election sought a way to reverse the previous administration’s austerity policies, which fueled the longest recession in the country’s history.

Prague resident Petr Janecek said he voted for the new party ANO “because I think that the Czech political scene needs some changes.”

The Czech people join a list of European countries that have toppled established political parties due to austerity measures in recent years.

The centre-right parties removed from power in June suffered a massive defeat.

Social Democrat leader Bohuslay Sobotka stated that he was ready to begin negotiations with all parties, even though the election results were “not what we expected.” On 27 October, Sobotka put sights on new centrist party ANO, which mustered votes on their anti-corruption platform, and the Christian Democrats, a traditional small centrist party.

In the 200-member lower house, the Social Democrats won 50 seats, ANO 47 seats, and the Christian Democrats 14 seats.

If talks last several months, the country will likely begin 2014 with a provisional budget, which limits spending to 2013 levels.

President Zeman holds the right to appoint prime ministers, and will play a critical role in negotiations. While parliament convenes on 25 November 2013, Zemen expected the establishment of a new government to take between two and three months.

To prevent long-term damage, the Czech Republic will need a firm government that lifts the people’s trust and brightens investors’ projections.

For further information, please see:

Reuters – Czech Social Democrats Look to Protest Party to Form Government – October 27, 2013

BBC News – Czech Election: Social Democrats Lead but No Clear Winner – October 26, 2013

RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty – Center-Left Party First in Czech Elections – October 26, 2013

Bloomberg Businessweek – Czechs Vote as Social Democrats Pledge U-Turn on Austerity (2) – October 25, 2013

Child Solider Recruitment in DR Congo Remains ‘Endemic’ Says New UN Report

By Erica Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — The United Nations peacekeeping mission for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), or MONUSCO, issued a report Thursday detailing the continuing recruitment of child soldiers in the DRC.

Child Soldiers in the DRC (Photo courtesy of Amnesty International UK)

According to the report 1,000 cases of child recruitment were verified by MONUSCO between January 2012 and August 2013, predominantly in the conflict prone eastern province of North Kivu. The armed groups Nyatura, Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) and the 23 March Movement (M23) were identified as having recruited 451 children total during the reporting period. Children formerly associated with M23 describe how they were forced to dig graves for other children and adults killed in fighting with the DRC army.

In  most of cases, children were abducted and forced to join the groups. Other children joined voluntarily after having been promised money, education, and jobs by recruiters. Children were used as porters, cooks, spies, sex slaves, guards and combatants. The children are also reported to have been victims and witnesses to other children’s rights violations, such as rape, abduction, killing and maiming.

“Despite awareness raising campaigns and attempts to pacify armed groups, recruitment of children remains endemic in the country, with high numbers of children recruited in the past two years as a result of renewed hostilities in the east of the country,” the report states.

“This situation is unacceptable and has been going on for much too long with impunity. Recruiting children into armed groups is a crime, and destroys the lives of the victims who are forced to do things that no child should be involved in…We need to stop this now. One case of child recruitment is one case to many,”said Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for DRC and head of MONUSCO.

MONUSCO has called on all armed groups and their commanders in the DRC to halt recruiting children and to unconditionally release all children currently in their custody.

The mission recommended that the Government, the international community, donors and all child protection advocates ensure that all efforts are made to prevent child recruitment and to ensure long-term, sustainable reintegration programs for victims of child solider recruitment.

For more information, please see:

UPI — U.N. envoy says child-soldier recruitment in Congo ‘unacceptable’ — 25 October 2013

United Nations News Centre — Child recruitment remains ‘endemic’ in DR Congo, UN says in new report — 24 October 2013

UPI — Rwanda denies backing child soldiers in DRC — 7 October 2013

Reuters — U.S. sanctions Rwanda, others over child soldiers — 3 October 2013