SNHR: Report about Targeting Hospitals in Syria, Facts and Figures
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Bahrain Court imprisons 50 Activists
By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
MANAMA, Bahrain-Following charges of inciting anti-government protests to topple the government force, 50 people have been sentenced to between five and fifteen years in jail for “training elements to commit violence and vandalism and attacking security men.
Activists reported that the government accused the convicted of being involved in the February 14 Revolution Youth Coalition and other protests against the government since 2011. The group has been described as a terrorist organization by Bahrain’s head of public prosecution.
Since February 2011, daily protests have been ongoing by members of the Shia Muslim majority who are demanding that the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty give up power. When asked for comment, an official said a government statement regarding the matter was in preparation.
“This was a sham trial with a political verdict, they should be released immediately,” stated Maryam Al-Khawaja, president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. It was further stated that it was a “black day for justice.”
Other civil rights groups have reported that many of those convicted were denied access to a lawyer and provided confessions under torture. In a separate action, two police officers were jailed for torturing a protest to death in his prison cell in 2011.
Sixteen of the defendants were hand fifteen year terms, while four were jailed for ten years and the other thirty defendants received five years.
“This is the result when you have a court with a judge appointed by the king of Bahrain. The court is just a tool to suppress the opposition and human rights defenders, and to acquit those who torture and kill protesters,” stated Yousif al-Muhafda, deputy-head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights.
One of the defendants to receive a fifteen year sentence was Njai Fateel, who is a well-known blogger and protest organizer who had been jailed and tortured twice before his latest arrest in May. Fateel has been prevented from providing testimony describing torture in prison in.
Another defendant was Rihanna al-Moussawi who was arrested for taking part in an anti-government rally during the Formula One race in April. She was sentenced to five years and was also denied a lawyer.
“All of those who were jailed today are activists and protest leaders in their villages. The authorities just want to send a message to the opposition to stop and to accept the political situation as it is,” stated Muhafda.
For more information, please see the following:
Alakhbar-Bahrain jails 50 activists for up to 15 years-September 29, 2013
Aljazeera-Scores of activists imprisoned in Bahrain-September 29, 2013
BBC-Bahrain unrest: 50 Shia Muslims sentenced to up to 15 years-September 29, 2013
New York Times-Bahrain Dissidents Said to Get Prison Sentences-September 29, 2013
Nigerian Students Killed While Asleep
By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa
ABUJA, Nigeria – Roughly 50 students were killed as suspected Islamist gunmen attacked a college in north-eastern Nigeria.
The students were shot dead while they were asleep in their dormitories at the College of Agriculture in Yobe state. The gunmen also torched the college’s classrooms.
The attack is blamed on the Boko Haram extremist group, even though there has been a four and a half month old state of emergency covering three states and one-sixth of the country.
“They attacked our students while they were sleeping in their hostels, they opened fire at them,” Provost Molima Idi Mato of Yobe State College of Agriculture said.
Mato further said he could not give an exact number for death toll because security forces are still recovering bodies of students mostly aged between 18 and 22. The Nigerian military has collected 42 bodies and transferred 18 wounded students to a local hospital.
In addition, Mato reported that about 1,000 students had fled the scene.
Most of those killed were Muslims, as is the majority of the college’s student body.
The college is roughly 25 miles from another school that suffered from a similar attack around Damaturu town. There are no security forces stationed at the college despite the attacks.
Two weeks ago, state commission for education Mohammed Lamin urged all schools to reopen and promising protection by soldiers and police.
In June, Boko Haram carried our two attacks on schools in the region. At least nine children were killed in a school on the outskirts of Maiduguri, while 13 students and teachers were killed in a school in Damaturu.
In July in the village of Mamudo in Yobe state, Islamist militants attacked a school’s dormitories with guns and explosives, killing at least 42 people, mostly students.
Boko Haram regards schools as a symbol of Western culture. The group’s name translates as “Western education is forbidden.”
Some of Boko Haram’s fighters have trained with al-Shabab in Somalia.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has said in video addresses that his group wants to end democracy in Nigeria and allow education only in Islamic schools.
Its uprising poses the biggest security challenge in years to Nigeria which is Africa’s biggest oil producer and its most populous nation with more than 160 million people – almost equal numbers of which are Muslims and Christians.
Boko Haram militants have killed more than 1,700 people since 2010.
For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Nigeria attack: Students shot dead as they slept – 29 September 2013
Scottish Express – Gunmen massacre Nigeria students – 29 September 2013
Kuwait Times – Militants storm Nigeria college, kill 50 students – 29 September 2013
Yahoo! News – Nigeria College Attacked: At Least 40 Killed – 29 September 2013
Sky News – Nigeria College Attacked: At Least 40 Killed – 29 September 2013
The Globe and Mail – Boko Haram blamed after attack on Nigerian college leaves as many as 50 dead – 29 September 2013
Boko Haram Gunmen Kill College Students in Early Morning Attack
By Erica Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
LAGOS, Nigeria — At least 40 students were killed today when Boko Haram gunmen opened fired on their dormitory. All of the dead are believed to have been students in the College of Agriculture in Gujba, some 30 kilometres from Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state. Northeastern Nigeria has been under a state of emergency for several months following multiple attacks by the extremist group.
Initial reports indicate that most of the students were asleep when the dormitory was attacked and many died in their sleep. A local politician has told the BBC that two van loads of bodies were taken away from the scene. College provost Molima Idi Mato, speaking to Associated Press, said the number of dead could be as high as 50 and that about 1,000 students had fled the campus. The gunmen also set fire to classrooms.
Surviving students are looking for family and many people have shown up at the hospital looking for loved ones.
Academic activities only resumed last week in schools in Yobe state following 10 weeks of closure after an attack by members of Boko Haram on two secondary schools, which led to the death of 29 students and three teachers . Boko Haram, which roughly translates to “western education is forbidden”, has a penchant for attacking schools and students because they believe that schools are a symbol of Western culture and ought to be destroyed.
The military believes that the recent school attacks are a sign of desperation by the Islamists because the group only has the capacity to hit soft targets, like schools. The defence ministry has said that an offensive launched against Boko Haram in May has greatly weakened the group and scattered their fighters across the northeast. The fact that the group is still launching attacks, even if they are in remote places, casts some doubt on the military’s claims of success.
For further information, please see:
ABC News — At least 40 dead after Boko Haram militants open fire in college dorm in Nigeria — 29 September 2013
All Africa — Nigeria: Breaking – Boko Haram Gunmen Kill Many Yobe Agric College Students in Early Morning Attack — 29 September 2013
BBC News — Nigeria attack: Students shot dead as they slept — 29 September 2013
Daily Post — Several Students killed as Boko Haram attacks College of Agriculture in Yobe — 29 September 2013
Fighting Continues in Zamboanga City
By Kevin M. Mathewson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — An estimated 158 people have been killed, including 15 members of the military, five police and 13 civilians, since fighting broke out between Philippine soldiers and separatist rebels.
A majority of those killed, roughly 125, were members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
The fighting began more than two weeks ago in Zamboanga City when a large number of MNLF rebels came ashore. The rebels took nearly 180 people hostage causing Philippine security forces to move in.
The majority of the captives have now been freed, but authorities believe the rebels could still be holding up to five people hostage, Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, a military spokesman, said Wednesday.
As a result of the fighting over 1000 buildings have been destroyed, driving at least 80,000 local residents from their homes. Continued sporadic fighting has closed schools and halted transit.
“The Zamboanga crisis has laid bare the inherent vulnerabilities of Philippine government in providing security to its citizens as well as instituting durable peace in Mindana,” Asia Times Online reported.
President Benigno Aquino III has issued an ultimatum for the rebel front’s founder, Nur Misuari, to surrender, warning that the government is prepared to use additional force. The Philippine government has already deployed more than 3,000 police and soldiers.
The Philippine government has been struggling with Muslim rebels since the MNLF was founded in 1971, with at least 120,000 estimated to have died in fighting. The MNLF was created with the aim of establishing an autonomous region for Muslims in the mainly Catholic Philippines.
The MNLF signed a peace deal with the central government in Manila in 1996, but some of its members have broken away to continue a violent campaign.
For further information, please see:
CNN – Death toll climbs as army, militants fight on in the Philippines – 26 September 2013
Los Angeles Times – Battle drags on between Philippine troops and Muslim rebels – 25 September 2013
Aljazeera – Deaths as battle drags on in Philippine city – 25 September 2013
The Big Story – 6 MORE DIE AS FIGHTING DRAGS ON IN PHILIPPINE CITY – 21 September 2013