MOGADISHU, Somalia—The Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, just announced his choice of Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid, a political newcomer to serve as his new prime minister. Saaid who is new to the political realm has been a prominent businessman in the neighboring country of Kenya, and is married to Haji Elmi who is an influential peace activist originally from Somalia.
The New Prime Minister Was Appointed Yesterday by Current President Mohamud. (Photo Courtesy of The Associated Press)
Mr. Saaid made the following promise to his country, “I promise that I will do my duty in line with the Constitution and the national laws.”
The current President is also a political newcomer. He worked in several different international organizations and came into his leadership role last month. Augustine P. Mahiga, the top United Nations envoy to Somalia said, “The appointment of a new prime minister is another important step forward in the country’s peace building process.”
The next step, after Saaid’s appointment, is approval by parliament. If he receives this approval, the prime minister will begin to put together his Cabinet. This latest series of political appointments and new leadership is the first since the nation’s decades of civil war.
Not only did the nation just recently pick its new president, but Somalia has also adopted a new provisional constitution, has selected members of parliament and has appointed the parliament’s speaker. All of this has fallen into place in the last few months.
Saaid and Mohamud now face a new daunting task. They now have the task of running Somalia’s first effective central government since 1991. Twenty-one years ago, the country fell into chaos after the dictator, Mohamed Siad Barre, was overthrown. After his ousting, militants and local warlords struggled for control who launched a series of civil wars nationwide.
Mr. Mohamud has yet another challenge on his plate in his new presidency. This challenge involves the insurgency by the Shabab, a group linked to Al Qaeda that actually tried to assassinate him only two days after his election. While the government and the African Union forces have driven out the Shabab from Mogadishu, the group has been waging other relentless attacks against the Union and the government in other parts of the country.
The spokesman for the Shabab denounced the new prime minister saying, “The new prime minister is not different from those before him — they were all brought by Westerners. He will not change Somalia. We shall fight and keep on foiling the infidel government.”
By Emily Schneider Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
MANAMA, Bahrain – Hundreds of protestors in Bahrain were forcibly dispersed by police who were using water canons and tear gas on Friday. The crowd gathered after hearing that Mohammed Ali Ahmed Mushaima, 23, had died in custody. He was jailed after pro-democracy protests last year.
Police used water cannons to disperse protesters at a rally on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Rueters)
Mushaima was one of thousands to partake in protests in Bahrain in March 2011, following the example of those in Tunisia and Egypt. The protestors in Bahrain were rallying for more power for their elected officials and a more limited role for the ruling al-Khalifa family. Many of the dissidents were from the Shia majority and would prefer the Sunni al-Khalifa family to have less power. Some Shi’ites complain of discrimination in almost all aspects of government functions, including housing, jobs, and education.
In an effort to curb protests in the spring of 2011, martial law was enacted for two months. Clashes between protestors and government authorities continued almost daily in spite of those measures. Mushaima was taken into police custody in March 2011 for “vandalism, rioting, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.” He was sentenced to seven years in jail and had been in the hospital since August. According to Bahrain’s Information Authority ‘s written statement, a medical examiner determined “[his] death [to have been] natural and caused by sickle cell complications.”
Opposition activists claim that Mushaima died because the authorities mistreated him. After the memorial service held for him on Tuesday, hundreds of protestors gathered to again rally for a bigger role for their elected officials. As they headed towards Pearl roundabout, the site of the large protests last spring, police intervened. According to witnesses, riot police were deployed to the area and used tear gas, water canons, sound bombs, and buckshot against the crowd.
The interior ministry, in a statement made on Twitter, said that a “group of terrorists” threw Molotov cocktails at police and blocked access to streets, and so the police used “legal measures” in response.
This was the second time police forces have violently clashed with protesters in recent days. Last Friday, a seventeen-year-old was killed after he allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at a police patrol. The Bahrain Center for Human Rights said the incident is an example of “summary executions” by government forces.
By Madeline Schiesser Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
EVIA, Greece – A 27-year-old man was arrested last month in the Greek village of Psahna, Evia, on charges of “malicious blasphemy.” The unnamed man allegedly created a Facebook page satirizing deceased Greek monk Elder (Gerontas, Father) Paisios. Taking a page out of Pastafarianism’s book (the veneration of a Flying Spaghetti Monster), the Facebook page, titled Elder Pastitsios, replaced Paisios’ face with pastitsio, a popular lasagna-like greek dish.
A screen capture of the satirical Elder Pastitsios Facebook page. (Photo Courtesy of Kathimerini)
Greek police arrested the man September 24, after the police’s “Cyber Crimes” bureau claimed they received thousands of complaints about the page from around the world.
However, the arrest came only days after a member of parliament belonging to Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn), a far-right, neo-fascist party that has been gaining power since May, brought the page to the attention of the minister of public order.
The police also confiscated the man’s laptop as evidence in order to determine if he was the one who created and managed the Elder Pastitsios Facebook page.
The accused man was arraigned on court on September 25, but released pending trial.
In the 98 percent Greek Orthodox Christian nation, a Facebook page critical of religion has the potential to cause offense. Paisios remains popular in Greece for his spiritual teachings, and there have been many books published about him and his prophecies. Some high-ranking members of the Greek orthodox priesthood have moved to have the Church sanctify him, a status similar to sainthood.
The Elder Pastitsios Facebook page, which has since been removed, showed satirical images and articles about the Greek Orthodox faith and Elder Paisios. The accused man explained in an interview with the Greek website Pandoras Box that his purpose was to critique the commercialization of the deceased monk.
“Pastitsios was pure satire and without any vulgar language or insults,” he explained. “I take the books and criticize them. I use satire.”
Greece is one of the very few nations in Europe that maintains and enforces blasphemy laws. If convicted, a person may be fined up to €3,000 (£2,400, $3,8000), and imprisoned up to two years.
George Katrougalos, professor of public law at the Demokritos University of Thraces, notes that there are problems with the law. “Especially, according to the [Greek] Constitution and the protections of freedom of speech, as well as the European Convention on Human Rights. The intention of the legislator seems to have been to protect minorities in general, or even the public peace.”
The arrest caused outrage on the Internet and across Greece. On Greek Twitter, the hashtag #FreeGeronPastitios trended strongly. Also, a petition directed at the Greek parliament demanded the accused man’s release and the abolishment of blasphemy laws.
Within the Greek government the Democratic Left and the main opposition party, Syriza, responded quickly. While also demanding the abolishment of the blasphemy law, the Democratic Left condemned the pandering of the government to the ultra-nationalist party, characterizing the arrest as of a “fundamentalist nature, which is not appropriate for a European, democratic state, but, rather, for theocratic regimes.”
Syriza called the arrest a “blatant act of violation of free speech by authorized officers of the state, who should be protecting it like the apple of their eye.” They further stated that it is “unacceptable that in Greece of 2012 a citizen is arrested over satirical commentary on a personal page of a social networking website.”
NEW DELHI, India – Yesterday, five family members were sentenced to death for the murder of a young couple in 2010.
Neighbor shows where couple was tortured. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)
Members of the young girl’s family tortured the couple in an alleged honor killing. Authorities arrested the girl’s parents, cousin, uncle, and aunt the day after the couple’s murder.
“It can be safely concluded that the prosecution has been able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused persons had caused the death of the victims with the common intention after giving them merciless beatings by tying them with rope and thereafter electrocuting them on various parts of their body,” said Judge Ramesh Kumar on Monday.
However, the convicted family could appeal against the decision in a higher court.
Last year India’s Supreme Court ruled that honor killings would receive the death penalty and deemed the crime a “barbaric slur” on the nation.
According to Telegraph, Yogesh, a taxi driver, wanted to marry nineteen-year-old Asha, the daughter of a vegetable seller, but Asha’s family objected because Yogesh belonged to a lower caste.
Local media reports revealed that the Autopsy reports showed that the couple had been tied up, beaten with metal pipes, and electrocuted.
“Medical examination had revealed that the two had died due to the thermoelectric shock from repeated electrocution,” read the Indian Express newspaper.
There are no statistics regarding the number of honor killings in India, but one 2010 study states that as many as 900 people are killed each year for falling in love or marrying despite their families’ objections in the northern states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Most parents in India still prefer arranged marriages within their own caste and relationships outside of caste are frowned upon.
According to Telegraph, New Delhi lawyer, Ravi Kant, has been fighting to pass a law that will provide detailed and harsh penalties to reduce honor killings
“Such a punishment will certainly have a huge impact on the society. It will serve as a strong deterrent to one and all. The sentencing is also in line with the Supreme Court directive and it must be lauded,” shared Mr. Kant.
By Justin Dorman Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
TEHRAN, Iran – Friday was World Teachers Day. In observance of the event, Human Rights Watch issued a statement that all teachers imprisoned in Iran for speaking out against the government should be set free.
Mohammad Davari is an imprisoned teacher who has been tortured and beaten. (Photo Courtesy of International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran)
Many teachers are regularly harassed by the Iranian authorities for making anti-government statements. The government justifies it under the guise of protecting national security. Even comments calling for higher wages are regarded as seditious. As a result, association with a trade union is cause for further persecution.
Since 2009, at least thirty-nine teachers have been detained. Mohammad Davari, Rasoul Bodaghi, Abdollah Momeni, and Mahmoud Bagheri are only a few of the educators who are currently imprisoned. Collectively, the four are serving a sentence of twenty-four and a half years in jail for the national security charges of “propaganda against the regime,” “colluding and assembly with the intention of disrupting national security,” and participating in illegal gatherings. Only Momeni is not a member of a teachers’ trade association.
“The arrest and detention of teachers is symptomatic of the Iranian government’s inability to tolerate any show of dissent, even from those it entrusts with the education of its children,” said Nadim Houry, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Middle East director.
Davari was previously the editor-in-chief of the Saham News website, but is now a teacher. He is a disabled Iran-Iraq War veteran, and was a member of the Central Council of the Iranian Teachers Association and union activist. Since being put in prison, Davari has been tortured. The condition of his teeth have been worsening and he has suffered chest pains. Additionally, he has developed acute psychological illness that has progressively worsened. Prison officials often deny Davari’s privilege to see family and visitors and deny him phone calls. His attorneys have sought a furlough from prison so that he can seek treatment and get the affairs of his mother, whom he had previously been supporting, in order. Not only was his request denied, but his five year sentence was increased to six years.
Rasoul Bodaghi serves on the board of directors of the Iranian Teachers Trade Association. Since being imprisoned, he has been repeatedly beaten by guards in Karaj Gohardasht prison. In the past, the guards have taken Bodaghi into corridors and have tied him to the prison bars where they have assaulted him. Bodaghi has sustained injuries to his head, face, and teeth.
Momeni, the former spokesperson for the Central Council of the Alumni Organization of University Students of the Islamic Republic, has been particularly outspoken.
“[W]e believed and continue to believe that the student movement should not sing the praises of the power structures and those in power, rather it must offer criticism of those who take advantage of their power, no matter what their background, and must defend the rights of the people, including women’s rights and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities,” he wrote to Ayatollah Khomeini in an August 2010 letter from prison.
For his beliefs, he has been imprisoned and subjected to solitary confinement. When he was arrested, security officials used tear gas in a closed, confined space. He was then beaten until he had a bloody nose and bleeding teeth before he was brought to Evin prison. Since his arrival, he has seen the sky on just a few occasions due to his solitary confinement. Momeni would often be interrogated, during which he would be choked until he approached his last moments of consciousness. The constant strangling made eating and drinking incredibly painful. All the while, officials would use torture on Momeni to coerce him to admit to false allegations. In addition to brutally beating him, the authorities would also humiliate him. On one occasion, his head was forced down a toilet filled with feces.
Momeni has called for a truth commission to investigate how prisoners are tortured until they confess to crimes they never committed. The Ayatollah’s present stance is that anything an accused person says about himself in court is credible.
Mahmoud Bagheri was imprisoned for his attendance at protests demanding higher wages for teachers. (Photo Courtesy of the Iranian)
Mahmoud Bagheri, a member of the Iranian Teachers’ Association’s Board of Directors, has twenty-seven years of experience teaching physics. His prison sentence is currently set for nine and a half years. Bagheri’s imprisonment is the result of his attendance at demonstrations where teachers low wages were protested. Like Davari, Bagheri is an Iran-Iraq War veteran who requires medical attention.
Human Rights Watch is not the only group that is striving to make a difference regarding teachers in Iran. Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, has been pushing a new teachers’ rights initiative called “Be Voice of Iranian Teachers.” The group is comprised of human rights activists, journalists, teachers, and lawyers who seek to have the Iranian government listen to Iranian teachers’ legitimate demands without arresting and imprisoning them.
Ebadi’s fear is that, “[w]hen our youth observe that their teachers are imprisoned for legitimate demands, what lesson can they learn from this unjust act of the regime, especially as the teachers in prison have been deprived from due process and some of them have been tortured?”
“Take a stand for teachers” was the slogan of this year’s World Teachers’ Day. Supporting the teachers of Iran was a large part of the discussion held by the United Nations, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, and UNICEF.
