Jordanian Parliament Member Opens Fire During Parliamentary Session

Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 AMMAN, Jordan-During a heated parliamentary session, one member of Jordan’s parliament, Talal al-Sharif, pulled out an AK-47 rifle and opened fire.  Aiming at a fellow member Qusay Dmisa, intervention from other parliament members prevented any wounds from occurring.

Jordanian Parliament discussing budget issues the moment before the shooting (photo courtesy of Sky News)

The dispute between al-Sharif and Dmisa arose during a closed parliament session involving budget matters.  Eye witnesses confirmed that al-Sharif left parliament to go to his car to get the gun and upon return was stopped by fellow member, Mariam Al Lozi, causing the three fired bullets to hit the ceiling and wall.

After the shooting, al-Sharif was arrested and is to be detained for the next fifteen days while King Abdullah II decides how to further proceed.  Many members of parliament have called for al-Sharif’s expulsion, but since parliament is sitting in an extraordinary session, the issue cannot be decided without special decree from the king.

Local websites showing video footage of the shooting as caused uproar from citizens and political activists that have spread through Jordan.   Many are expressing their displeasure and calling for “stern measures to be taken against the attacker.”  Others have said that the incident “damages the country’s reputation.”

Al-Sharif is facing charges of attempted murderer, possession of a firearm without a license, and resisting police arrest.  If convicted of the related charges, al-Sharif could be facing up to 15 years in jail.

This is not the first violent altercation that has occurred amongst parliament members while in session.  The 180-member parliament is prominently members of the traditional Bedoin tribes with no particular ideological agenda causing sessions to become disorderly and unruly.

During the summer, one member was overpowered by a fellow colleague when he attempted to pull a gun on another.  In other debates, members have been known to throw shoes or bottles of water during heated debates.

This was the first time that an actual firearm has been fired by a member of parliament.  However, given the members’ track record for outbursts, and their increasing intensity, it is only a matter of time before someone actual does get hurt.

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera-Jordanian MP opens fire in parliament-September 10, 2013

Al Arabiya-Jordanian MP shoots rifle during parliament session-September 10, 2013

Euro News-Mayhem as MP fires AK-47 at colleague in Jordan’s parliament-September 10, 2013

Independent-Jordanian MP opens fire on tribal rival in parliament-September 10, 2013

Sky News-Jordan MP ‘Opens Fire’ On Fellow Politician-September 10, 2013

Trial of Kenyan Deputy President Charged With Crimes Against Humanity Begins

By: Dan Krupinsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The trial of Kenya’s deputy president, William Ruto, began earlier this week, marking the first time that a serving government official has stood trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Ruto faces charges of crimes against humanity, stemming from the aftermath of the 2007 Kenyan presidential election, when more than 1,100 people died. On Tuesday, he plead not guilty to all charges against him. Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, will be tried on the same charges in November.

William Ruto sits in the courtroom, awaiting the start of his trial. (Photograph: Michael Kooren/AP)

Specifically, Ruto and Kenyatta are charged with murder, deportation and persecution of political opponents in the Rift Valley region in late 2007 and early 2008, following the disputed election.

Kenyatta and Ruto, who teamed up to win the most recent election, were political rivals at the time, with Kenyatta being a prominent member of the Kikuyu ethnic group while Ruto was a leader of the Kalenjin group.

Following the election, ethnic clashes across the nation resulted in the deaths of over 1,100 people and the displacement of some 600,000 more, and were said to be the work of Ruto and his co-defendant, Joshua arap Sang, an influential radio executive.

“The crimes of which Mr. Ruto and Mr. Sang are charged were not just random and spontaneous acts of brutality,” said the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, in court. “This was a carefully planned and executed plan of violence. Ruto’s ultimate goal was to seize political power for himself and his party in the event he could not do so via the ballot box.”

Ruto is accused of arming and organizing the attackers, while Sang’s role, according to the prosecution, was fostering hatred against Kikuyu tribe members through his radio show and broadcasting coded instructions about where to attack.

“It is difficult to imagine the suffering or the terror of the men, women and children who were burned alive, hacked to death or chased from their homes by armed youths,” Bensouda said.

Even after the Kenyan parliament voted last week to withdraw from the court, Ruto appeared voluntarily for the start of the trial, and continues to cooperate.

Ruto’s principal defense counsel, Karim Kahn, asserts that the charges against Ruto “[will] be shown to be patently false.”

“One cannot escape the reality that this investigation has been exceptionally deficient,” he said.

The legitimacy of the case is already being called somewhat into question, as prosecutors claim that witnesses have been afraid to testify, recanted their testimony after accepting money and in some cases, even killed.

The trial will resume Tuesday, September 17, when the prosecution will start presenting witnesses in a first session, which ends October 4. The second session is scheduled from October 14 to November 1.

 

For further information, please see:

All Africa – First Prosecution Witness to Testify Tuesday – 12 September 2013

BBC – Kenya’s William Ruto formed an army for war, ICC hears – 10 September 2013

The Guardian – Kenya’s deputy president William Ruto denies murder at ICC – 11 September 2013

New York Times – Deputy President of Kenya Goes on Trial in The Hague – 10 September 2013

ICC Decision on the Confirmation of Charges

 

 

President Obama Tentatively Endorses Diplomatic Approach with Syria

by Michael YoakumImpunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – President Obama, in a prime time speech Tuesday, called upon Congress and the American public to give him time to pursue diplomatic options for disarming the Bashar al-Assad government of its chemical weapons.  The President tentatively endorsed an agreement by which Assad will surrender his chemical weapon stockpiles to the United Nations for disposal.

President Obama spoke for fifteen minutes on why deterring the use of chemical weapons is important to national security. (Photo courtesy of ABC News)

President Obama used most of his time persuading the American public that allowing unchecked use of chemical weapons would embolden Iran and make it easier for terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda to gain access to chemical weapons. The President also answered questions from the American public about the scope of military action expected if the diplomatic measures should fail.

The President’s call for a diplomatic solution marked the third strategy in two weeks for dealing with allegations that the Assad government was behind the August 21 sarin gas attack in Damascus.

On August 31, President Obama seemed certain of the need to make targeted cruise missile strikes against Syrian chemical weapons depots.  However, the President surprised the American public and his own national security team over the Labor Day weekend by asking Congress to authorize military force in Syria.

This latest strategy came to fruition on September 9 when Secretary of State, speaking off the cuff, offered the Assad government a way to avert military action.  “[Assad] could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week,” Kerry said, adding “All of it.  Turn it over.  Without delay and allow a full and total accounting for that.”

While Kerry dismissed the idea that Assad would acquiesce to such a plan, Russia took steps towards putting that plan into action.  Since that plan was offered, Assad has admitted to possessing stockpiles of chemical weapons and expressed his desire for Syria to join the Chemical Weapons Convention, a UN resolution banning the use of chemical weapons in war.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Syria speech: What’s next on Obama’s to-do list – 11 September 2013

NBC News – Uncertain path forward after Obama makes his case – 11 September 2013

The Guardian – Syria crisis: Obama leans to diplomacy on chemical weapons impasse – 11 September 2013

The New York Times – Planned as Call to Act, Obama’s Speech Became a Plea for Time – 11 September 2013

ABC News – Obama Blends Threat of Attack, Hope of Diplomacy – 10 September 2013