By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DOHA, Qatar — Last Monday the Qatari Court of Appeals ruled to reduce the life sentence of poet Muhammed Rashid al-Ajami, who goes by the name ibn al-Dheeb in his poetry, to fifteen years.

Originally, al-Ajami was sentenced to life last November for composing and reading out a poem which allegedly incited “the overthrow of the ruling system.”  The poem, written in 2010, allegedly criticized the Emir, Sheikh Hamad al-Thani.

Human rights activists however claim that the actual poem that angered authorities was written in 2011, in which al-Ajami wrote about authoritarian rule in the region.  His poem, titled “Tunisian Jasmine,” which al-Ajami recited and later uploaded to the internet in January 2011, expressed support for the uprising that occurred in Tunisia, saying: “We are all Tunisia in the face of the repressive elite.” In the poem, he also denounced “all Arab governments” as “indiscriminate thieves.”  In a clear reference to Qatar, a home to a major U.S. base, al-Ajami wrote “I hope that change would come in countries whose ignorant leaders believe that glory belies in U.S. Forces.”

Dr. Nejib al-Naimi, al-Ajami’s lawyer, said that the five judges were unanimous in their decision, but he plans to take the case to the Court of Cassation, Qatar’s highest court, where a final hearing will be held on al-Ajami’s sentence.  During the case, al-Naimi asserted that “there was no evidence al-Ajami had recited the poem he is being tried for in public,” which was the central claim that the prosecution raised, and that he only read it “at his apartment in Cairo.”

Al-Ajami was said to have been visibly disappointed with the court’s ruling and looked agitated while he was escorted out of the courtroom.  Reuters reported that al-Ajami shouted out “there is no law for this,” as he was led out.  Al-Naimi said that “the appeals court was apparently politicized and does not differ much from the court of first instance.”

Dr. Ali bin Fetais al-Marri, Qatar’s Attorney General, said that he was also “not happy” with the judgment.  “As a chief prosecutor, I look forward to restoring the sentence to a life term.”

Human rights officials, who attended al-Ajami’s appeal, criticized the conviction, saying that “his trial was marred by irregularities, with court sessions held in secret.”

Qatar, whose human rights record has been criticized in the past, insists that the sentence was not an abuse of freedom of speech but is punishable because it is an “illegal call to overthrow political regimes.”  Under Article 130 of the Qatari Penal Code, the charge for inciting to overthrow ruling systems is punishable by death.  Naimi, a former Qatari Justice Minister who also was a member of Saddam Hussein’s defense team, said that according to the charges, his client should have faced a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

The Court of Cassation will make its final ruling on Al-Ajami in 30 days.

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya — Qatar Cuts Jail Term for Maverick Poet to 15 Years: Lawyer — 25 February 2013

BBC News — Qatari Poet Life Sentence Reduced to 15 Years — 25 February 2013

Gulf News — Qatar Slashes Life Term Against Poet to 15 Years — 25 February 2013

Al Jazeera — Qatari Poet’s Sentence Reduced to 15 Years — 25 February 2013

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MUSCAT, Oman – Recently, both Human Rights Watch, Swiss-based Arab rights group, Alkarama, and the International Federation for Human Rights have called for the release of reform activists in Oman who have merely utilized their rights to expression and association. Twenty-four of such individuals are participating in hunger strikes while incarcerated, in order to make others aware of their cause, and hopefully persuade Oman’s Supreme Court to listen to appeals on their cases, which they have so far rejected.

Oman’s actions to arrest and detain individuals who peacefully protest, violates both its own laws and international law. According to Oman’s Basic Law, Article 29 guarantees individuals the freedom of speech. Additionally, under international human rights law, content-based restrictions of expression are only allowed in incredibly narrow situations. Such situations include any inflammatory speech which is directed to incite violence, or slander or libel against private citizens.

Peacefully protesting and calling for reforms to bring about a better government do not warrant restriction. Defamation against politicians is possible, however, the standard at which the defamation is judged is greater than that of the ordinary citizen. Politicians willingly submit themselves to the spotlight of the public forum. Furthermore, it has been globally recognized that the citizen’s right to hold politicians accountable leads to a greater government which better corresponds to the will of the people.

Many of those who have been detained were arrested for cybercrimes based on their Twitter tweets and Facebook posts. Their comments fell very short of calling for tyranny or death to the Sultan. Instead, they spoke of specific instances in which reform would be beneficial to the country.

For example, Ismail Al-Muqbali tweeted, “the lower house will not be able to respond to the people’s demands until it transforms its policies from mere reactions to initiatives and affirmative actions.”

Osama Al Tuwayyah blogged, while out on bail, “to everyone. . .our judicial system does nothing but protect corruption. . .To everyone. . .Our judicial system is not transparent or accountable in any form.”

Instead of being able to work towards positive reform of Oman, these individuals have been found guilty of defaming the Sultan, violating the cyber law, unlawful assembly, disturbing the public order, and illegal gathering.

Deputy Middle East director for Human Rights Watch, Joe Stork said that “Omani authorities are trying to suffocate the pro-reform movement by imprisoning these activists with laws that violate international standards, but the activists are refusing to be silent.”

Besides for refusing to be silent, they are also refusing to eat. Twenty-four activists have been partaking in a hunger strike to protest their incarcerations since February 9, 2013. Six additional violent protestors who were arrested have also joined this hunger strike. That makes a total of thirty Omani individuals who are starving for government reform.

As time passes, the conditions of these hunger strikers continue to deteriorate, almost to the point of death. Saeed Al-Hashemi was taken to the Royal Hospital in Muscat, where a neurologist said he was in dire need of treatment after taking some horrific blows to the head at a “peaceful” protest. Hamad Al-Kharusi and Bassam Abu Qasida  have also been moved to the jail’s clinic to treat their extreme exhaustion.

For further information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Oman: Free Reform Activists – 22 February 2013

International Federation for Human Rights – Oman: Release Immediately and Unconditionally all Detained Human Rights Defenders and Activists – 21 February 2013

Alkarama – Oman: Nine Online Activists Calling for Reforms Sentenced to Prison – 9 February 2013

Amnesty International – Oman: Activist Arrests Threaten Freedom of Expression – 15 June 2012

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen — At least four demonstrators were killed last Thursday by Yemeni security forces in the southern port city of Aden.  Security forces opened fire on demonstrators who assembled t0 call for independence for Yemen’s southern region.  At least eighteen other protesters were wounded.

On the first anniversary of the uncontested election of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, who succeeded the ousted theocratic leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, thousands of demonstrators gathered at a square in Aden.  Many demonstrators came to voice their support for Hadi, while many others came to show their support for the Southern Movement.

“They [the police] fired on activists trying to reach the place where the rally was being held,” said Fathi Ben Lazraq, a member of the independence seeking Southern Movement.  Officials reported that police forces were trying to stop a clash between the Southern Movement and the Al-Islah (Reform) party, who held their demonstration in support of national unity and of Hadi.  Officials also reported that at least four of those wounded during the protests were Yemeni army soldiers.  Security officials also reported that two policemen were wounded by sniper fire from buildings that surrounded the square.

Al-Islah supporters numbered in the thousands, as they gathered in the square, they were seen waving Yemeni flags and carrying portraits of Hadi.  They also held banners that exclaimed “unity is our strength,” and chanted “for dialogue, we will pursue our march.”

Southern Movement supporters also came to the square waiving flags of the former South Yemen, which unified with the north in 1990.  They were carrying portraits of Ali Salem al-Baid, the last president of the region prior to the unification of Yemen.  They chanted “Revolution in the south, occupiers go out,” as they made their way to the square.

Many from the southern Yemen region feel that they have been disenfranchised for decades, and want South Yemen to be a socialist state independent from the northern region.  Prior to its unification with the north, and following its independence from Britain, the region was formerly a secular socialist state.

Southern Movement leaders said they are open to dialogue, however a hardline separatist faction within the group led by the exiled al-Baid refuses to take part.  Abdullah al-Alimi, organizer of the Al-Islah rally, said of the Southern Movement that “the cause of the southerners is just, but it should be resolved through dialogue.”

Amnesty International urged authorities to end “the routine violent repression of protests.” “The Southern Movement and its followers have a right to protest peacefully, and the Yemeni authorities must allow them this right,” the human rights group said.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Three Killed in Yemen Ahead of Protest Rally — 22 February 2013

BBC News — Yemen Forces Fire on Aden Demonstrators — 21 February 2013

Global Post — Yemen: Protestors Killed in Pro-Secession Rallies — 21 February 2013

Naharnet — Yemen Police Kill Four at Aden Rally — 21 February 2013

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – “Tradition, tradition! Tradition!” are the main words repeated in the classic Fiddler on the Roof song. While it is true that many cling to tradition, there are plenty of modern women who envision something more for themselves than keeping a proper, kosher home and raising the family so that Papa can be free to read the holy books. Such modern women include Israeli-American Rabbi Susan Silverman, her daughter Hallel Abramovitz, chairwoman of the Women of the Wall, Anat Hoffman, and United States rabbis, Debra Cantor and Robin Fryer Bodzin. These women were arrested approximately a week ago for singing and reading from the Torah while wearing traditionally male prayer shawls at a Rosh Chodesh service at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Rosh Chodesh is a special service which celebrates the start of a new month of the Hebrew calendar. The Western Wall in Jerusalem, also known as the Kotel, is the holiest of Jewish sites, and is believed to be the last remnant of the ancient Jewish Temple. The holy site, which is an extremely popular location for prayer, is governed by ultra-Orthodox law. There is a bifurcation of women and men, and women are not allowed to wear prayer shawls.

In 2003, the Israeli Supreme Court upheld a ban by the government which denied women the ability to wear teffilin or tallit prayer shawls, or read from the Torah at the Western Wall. Silverman, her daughter, and the others insisted that they were not actively protesting the ban, but merely trying “to perform the four Ts.”

The police stood and waited as the women danced in a circle. At the completion of the service, the women were then taken to the Old City of Jerusalem Police Department. They were released on the condition that they sign a document stipulating that they not visit the Wall for fifteen days.

Famed American comedian and sister and aunt to Rabbi Silverman and Abramowitz, Sarah Silverman took to Twitter and tweeted, “So proud of my amazing sister and niece for their ballsout civil disobedience. Ur the tits #womenofthewall.” Abramowitz tweeted back, “hey auntie, want a copy of my mugshot?”

Although the punishment for the arrest was just a two week ban; when Abramowitz realized that the ban coincided with the holiday of Purim and the Women of the Wall’s Megillah reading, she went back to the police station with her father and lawyer. Shortly after, the police acquiesced to Abramowitz’s requests, and she was cleared to attend the services at the Kotel. When you read from the Megillah during Purim, you are reading from the Book of Esther. Anat Hoffman reminds us that Esther was not a lady who was afraid to speak out.

The few that were arrested were not the only Women of the Wall who have been arrested recently. The number of arrests have risen so much so that Prime Minister Netanyahu appointed Natan Sharansky to find some type of compromise. He will apprise Shmuel Rabinowitz of his decision in the spring.

For further information, please see:

Jewish Press – Police let Sarah Silverman’s Niece Visit Western Wall on Purim – 20 February 2013

Guardian – Sarah Silverman Tweet Puts Women’s Western Wall Protest in Global Spotlight – 16 February 2013

Daily Beast – Women of the Wall, Sarah Silverman-Style – 13 February 2013

Virtual Jerusalem – Women of the Wall, Silverman’s Sister Arrested at Kotel – 11 February 2013