Bahrain Delays The Visit of UN Investigator

By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain– The UN human rights office in Geneva, Switzerland stated that on Thursday 01 March 2012, the Bahraini government had formally requested that the visit of the special rapporteur on torture be delayed until mid-July. The investigator, Juan Mendex, had originally been scheduled the visit the Gulf island nation from 8 March to 17 March. The Bahraini government has also imposed restrictions on groups attempting to monitor reforms inside the nation, clearly desiring to keep all foreign influence away from its citizens.

Anti-government protesters at a demonstration organized by al-Wefaq in Manama.(Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

While the protests and violence continues, three international human rights groups were informed last week by the Bahraini government of new restrictions on visiting the nation. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International stated that Bahrain’s Human Rights and Social Development Ministry told them that new rules limited them to five-day trips and those trips must be arranged through a Bahraini sponsor.

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, a regional Amnesty deputy director, shared these words in a statement concerning the situation.

“Regrettably, we have cancelled the fact-finding visit to Bahrain as the new five days limit imposed by the Bahraini authorities for visits by international human rights organizations is a serious impediment. The Bahraini authorities have repeatedly stated their commitment to undertake human rights reform and to cooperate with human rights organizations. These new restrictions contradict such commitment.”

The UN also released a statement concerning the inability to enter and inspect the nation. A spokesman for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Xabier Celaya, stated that Mendez would express his regrets to Bahraini representatives in meetings this week concerning the “last minute postponement.”

“Mr. Mendez will seek to secure new dates as he remains very committed to undertaking this important visit. Bahrain is still undergoing major reforms and wants some important steps, critical to the special rapporteur’s mandate, to be in place before he visits so he can assess the progress that Bahrain has made to date.”

Bahrain is ruled by the Sunni Muslim al-Khalifa family and has been under tremendous pressure to institute political and rights reforms since the violent crackdown on the uprising. Bahrain’s Minister for Social Development, Fatima al-Balooshi, told the UN Human Rights Council this week that the kingdom had learned important lessons from the demonstrations and protests against the government.

“Mistakes were made. Serious wrongs were committed. We believe we are on the right track.”

The road leading up the delay of Mendez’s visit is rather peculiar one. In January, Bahraini officials told a number of human rights organizations that they should delay trips to the country until after 22 February 2012, the date that the government had set for a review of the changes in the way the country functioned as a whole. This included changes for the police, the judiciary, the educational system, and the media. Also, as recommended by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), a body of international legal experts, the reforms included the payment of compensation to torture victims and a process of national reconciliation. The recommendation from the BICI came in November 2011.

On Thursday 01 March 2012, the Bahraini government said that it needed as many as 20 more days to complete its plans for implementing the recommendations of the BICI. The BICI reported that demonstrators and protesters, who come primarily from the majority, non-ruling Shia population, had suffered from systematic torture to elicit confessions that were subsequently used in military trials.

The ruling, minority Sunni Muslim community in Bahrain has been under pressure from the non-ruling, majority Shia Muslim community to change the rules on the appointment of government officials. The Shia community believes that if they had more officials, more policies would better serve their interests. The Sunni ruling party has been very reluctant to allow this to occur. Thus, demonstrations and protests have occurred across the Gulf island nation.

The Bahraini government has moved swiftly to control any widespread, anti-regime movement. It has even strengthened its tourist visa restrictions, after some Western activists took part in anti-government demonstrations last month that marked the first anniversary of the uprising on 14 February 2012. Bahraini police officers allowed the main parties, led by the al-Wefaq group, to hold a rally inside the nation’s capital of Manama last week.

On Thursday 01 March 2012, Wefaq released a statement concerning the situation.

“Many villages were repressed brutally by security forces, leaving at least two people seriously injured. One of the injured had been hit in the head by a tear gas canister, while another had sustained injuries from shotgun pellets.”

Inspired youth protesters and activists have regularly held demonstrations in Shia districts, although Bahraini police usually quell any momentum using armored vehicles, teargas, and stun grenades. The Bahraini government has repeatedly reported that the youth protests are rioters simply causing chaos with no aim of political objectives. Until the voices of the majority are genuinely heard and addressed, it seems that the suffering and violence will continue. The continued denial of human rights groups into the country projects the message that the rights of those not in power do not matter.

 

For more information, please see: 

Al-Jazeera – Bahrain Delays UN Investigator Visit – 02 March 2012

AllVoices – Bahrain: Government Delays Visit by UN Torture Investigator – 02 March 2012

Chicago Tribune – Bahrain Delays U.N. Investigator, Limit Rights Group Visits – 01 March 2012

Reuters – Bahrain Delays U.N. Investigator, Limits Rights Group Visits – 01 March 2012

 

Red Cross Denied Access to Civilians as Shelling Continues in Syria

By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian security forces resumed their attacks on the city of Homs, causing more civilian deaths and preventing relief access to the wounded. On Sunday 04 March 2012, activists reported that a bombardment came to Syria’s third-largest city of approximately one million residents as China presented a proposal to end the violence in the country. It called for an immediate ceasefire and dialogue between all of the parties but stood firm against any type of intervention by outside forces.

 

A member of the Syrian Free Army. (Photo Courtesy of NYT)

In addition to Homs, the Syrian security forces also descended upon the rebel-dominated city of Rastan on Sunday 04 March 2012. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, four children were said to be among seven civilians killed in the shelling. The victims included as many as six family members when a rocket crashed into their home, causing the building to collapse.

The focal point of the attacks by security forces has been the western Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr, where the situation has been described as “catastrophic.” On Saturday 03 March 2012, there were reports of power outages, shortages of food and water, and no medical care for the sick and wounded. The Red Cross has desperately been trying to gain access to the city for three days, attempting to deliver aid and supplies to those in need. The closest that the organization has come to assisting Baba Amr is handing out food and blankets to those fortunate enough to have the ability to flee the city to nearby areas.

Syrian officials informed the Red Cross that Baba Amr had to be cleared of booby traps before they could enter the area. But activists reported that troops were carrying out reprisal attacks around the city, causing more death and violence at the expense of thousands of civilians. While the attacks continue to occur, the bodies of two foreign journalists who lost their lives for the sake of letting the world know what was happening on the ground left Syria and were headed to France. The bodies of Remi Ochlik and Marie Colvin were placed on an Air France flight from Damascus on the evening of Saturday 03 March 2012.

Rebels from the Free Syrian Army withdrew their forces from Baba Amr late last week, as the weeks of shelling from government forces made it increasingly difficult for the rebels to maintain their positions. The Syrian government gave the Red Cross permission to access Baba Amr but once the help actually arrived in the form of a convoy, the government refused to allow it to enter the city. BBC correspondent Jim Muir, reporting from Lebanon, stated that this is when the Red Cross decided to assist those who were lucky enough to flee Baba Amr. Muir also stated that the ICRC had dispatched a 15-man team to the Abil area, a southern part of Baba Amr.

ICRC spokesperson Hicham Hassan shared these words with Reuters about the developing situation.

“The plan is to continue to the neighborhoods of Inshaat and Tawzii in order to assist local populations and families displaced from Baba Amr. We really don’t know how many people are still in there. It’s all a bit of a mystery to us.”

The Syrian state television has been broadcasting pictures of deserted streets laden with debris, being careful not to display any strife on the part of civilians. There have been a multitude of unconfirmed reports of revenge killings and summary executions by Syrian forces in Baba Amr. Opposition activists believe that a government-wide cover up is responsible for the delay in bringing these reports to public attention. The reports detail mass arrests of males over the age of 11, with the local cooperative building being transformed into a detention facility.

Another report detailed that truck full of bodies was seen driving away from Baba Amr.

Sunday Times photographer Paul Conroy, who fled Syria after being wounded while working in Homs, told the BBC that what he saw on the ground in Baba Amr classified as “systematic slaughter.”

“I’ve done a fair few wars, I’ve never seen anything on this level.”

Activists have reported that approximately 7,500 people have lost their lives since the demonstrations and protests against President Bashar al-Assad began almost a year ago. The government had repeatedly and staunchly blamed “terrorists and armed gangs” for the violence. Regardless of who the government chooses to throw the blame on, the people of Syria continue to pay a fatal toll as each day goes by.

The international community continues to debate the appropriate course of action and each day seems to bring a new idea to the table. The proposal by China and Turkey strictly rules out the use of foreign intervention, a theme that seems so necessary at this point but will not be used. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the lack of consensus among the international community has only emboldening the Syrian government to proceed with its crackdown. Davutoglu stated that the gravity of the killing closely resembles the bloodshed of the Balkans war of the 1990s.

He described the actions of al-Assad’s regime as “crimes against humanity.” And these crimes will only continue while the rest of the world watches and reports on the situation, instead formulating and agreeing on a plan to end it.

 

 

For more information, please see: 

Ahram – China Demands End To Violence As Syria Blocks Aid – 04 March 2012

Al-Jazeera – Syrian Forces Renew Assault On Homs – 04 March 2012

BBC – Syria Crisis: Red Cross Pushes For Baba Amr Access – 04 March 2012

CNN – Rockets Fall On Syrian City of Rastan, Opposition Activists Say – 04 March 2012

The Guardian – Syria: Red Cross Blocked Again From Baba Amr – 04 March 2012

NYT – Bearing Witness in Syria: A Correspondent’s Last Days – 03 March 2012

 

20 DEAD IN XINJIANG INCIDENT

by Hibberd Kline
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Regional authorities have increased the death toll from Tuesday’s violence near the city of Kashgar in China’s western Xinjiang region to 20 up from an initial figure of 12 reported by China’s official Xinhau News Agency.

China has maintained a heavy police presence in Xinjiang since riots between ethnic Uighurs natives and Han Chinese migrants in 2009 left approximately 200 dead and 1,700 injured. (Photo courtesy of the Guardian).

According to the regional government, the “attack” was instigated by knife-wielding “terrorists” who attacked passers-by on a busy shopping street. The authorities attribute 13 deaths to the alleged terrorist attack. State news agency Xinhua previously described the incident as a “riot.”

The official government report also increased the number of alleged terrorist assailants shot dead by police officers from the earlier reported 2 to 7.

According to Xinhua, the authorities are in pursuit of an unspecified number of additional suspects thought to have taken part in the alleged terrorist attacks.

Details are still not forthcoming about what may have set off the violence. However, the region has a long history of ethnic tension between the native, muslim, ethnic Uighur population and Han Chinese migrants. That history has often been punctuated by oubursts of violence, which are often portrayed officially as terrorist attacks.

Uighur activists groups claim that China oppresses their culture and religion and say that instances of violence, which the Chinese government claims to be the work of “mobs” or “terrorists” are actually anti-government riots or peaceful protests turned violent.

Foreign media access to the region is restricted. Therefore, China’s official accounts of violence in Xinjiang are generally difficult to independently confirm and are often the subject of dispute by human rights organizations. Following the attack, Chinese censors were quick to block internet searches including the name of either the county “Yecheng” or the town “Kashgar” in which the attack took place.

The Chinese Government is currently expanding its security footprint inside Xinjiang. Last month, authorities in Xinjiang announced plans to recruit 8,000 additional security officers to help maintain control in the region.

China sees Xinjiang with its vast oil, natural gas and mineral deposits as strategically vital to Chinese economic expansion. The Chinese Government has adopted a policy of intensive economic investment in the region coupled with a stifling security presence in order to reduce the potential for open unrest.

Following the attack in Xinjiang, a Chinese woman was shot to death in Peshawar, Pakistan. An element of the Pakistani Taliban took responsibility for the woman’s death. According to a Taliban spokesman, the killing was carried out as “revenge for the Chinese Government killing… [the Taliban’s] Muslim brothers” in Xinjiang.

China and Pakistan have long been close allies and recently staged joint anti-terrorism drills. The Chinese Government responded to the killing by demanding that Pakistan investigate the incident and take steps to protect Chinese nationals inside Pakistan. Pakistan’s ambassador to China has promised that Pakistan will hunt down the attackers.

China often asserts that alleged terrorist activity in Xinjiang, Tibet and other restive regions within China are encouraged and supported by foreigners.

For more information, please see:

Reuters — Pakistani Militants Say Chinese Woman Killed for Revenge — 01 March 2012

BBC News — China Violence: ’20 Dead’ in Kashgar City in Xinjiang — 29 February 2012

AP News — China Says at Least 12 Killed in Xinjiang Riot — 28 February 2012

The Telegraph — ‘Violent Mob’ Riots Leave 12 Dead — 29 February 2012

BBC News — China Violence: 12 Dead in Kashgar City in Xinjiang — 28 February 2012

The Guardian — China Unrest Kills at Least 12 — 28 February 2012

Iran’s Parliamentary Elections Take Place Amidst Claims of Unfairness

By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran — On 2 March Iran held their first elections since the 2009 election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spurred mass protests.  Human Rights Watch has called Iran’s parliamentary elections grossly unfair due to their arbitrary disqualifications and other restrictions.

Large turnout at Iran's Parliamentary elections (Photo courtesy of Christian Science Monitor).

The voting for 290 seats came after the disqualification of hundreds of candidates on the basis of vague and ill-defined criteria.  Opposition leaders were either barred from participating, serving suspicious prison sentences, or they voluntarily refused to participate in what they considered sham elections.

On 21 February, the Guardian Council, an unelected body of 12 religious jurists, announced that only about 3,500 of the approximately 5,400 candidates running for parliamentary seats had been approved by Iran’s parliament.  At least 35 of those who were disqualified are current members of parliament.  The Interior Ministry had previously disqualified 750 candidates.

Iran’s opposition and reformist movement called for an election boycott in response to these disqualifications, and other state actions.

“Iranian authorities have stacked the deck by disqualifying candidates and arbitrarily jailing key members of the reform movement,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.“There is no transparency surrounding the vetting and selection of candidates.”

Iran’s vetting process for both parliamentary and presidential elections is comprised of several stages.   Initial cuts come on the basis of election laws, with some concrete criteria such as age and education, but many of the criteria are extremely vague and ambiguous, allowing the authorities to cut applicants without discretion.

Candidates were disqualified for “a lack of adherence to Islam and the Constitution,” for being critical of President Ahmadinejad’s government, and for being allegedly affiliated or supportive of “illegal” parties.

Of note, several of the candidates banned from running are members of the 15 member Sunni bloc in parliament.  The Sunni are a minority in Iran, and on December 19, 2011 the bloc sent Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a letter asking him to protect the political and social rights of Iran’s Sunni minority.

The parliamentary elections have been largely viewed as a contest between President Ahmadinejad’s supporters and those of Ayatollah Khamenei.  The underlying issue has been the growing tension between the president and Khamenei since Ahmadinejad’s controversial 2009 reelection.  Though Khamenei supported Ahmadinejad’s victory as president, there has been uneasiness between the two ever since, including an incident with Ahmadinejad disappearing from public view for 11 days after his decision to fire an intelligence minister was overruled by Khamenei.

It appears that Khamenei was the victor in the most reason battle. Candidates who support Khamenei look to gain about ¾ of the parliamentary seats, Iran’s state-run Press TV reported on Sunday.

The strength of the various parties after this election will set the stage for the, vastly more important,  2013 Iranian presidential elections.

The results of the election are not likely to change Iran’s stance on their controversial nuclear program.

For more information, please see:

CNN — Iran leader consolidates power, vote results suggest — 4 Mar. 2012

Tehran Times — Iran dismisses Hague’s claims on Majilis polls — 4 Mar. 2012

BBC — Iran conservatives contest poll for parliament — 2 Mar. 2012

Human Rights Watch — Iran: Fair Vote Impossible — 1 Mar. 2012

Activist Imprisoned for Exposing China’s ‘Black Jails’

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – A Chinese court has sentenced an activist to eighteen months in a labor camp after he gave journalists information that led them to a “black jail” which is an unofficial detention facility kept by the Chinese government.

A Chinese activist has been sentenced to a labor camp following detention in one of China's black jails (Photo Courtesy of Radio Free Asia).

Zhao Zhenjia was recently sentenced after being detained by Beijing police on January 22.

Chinese authorities claim that Zhao was indicted for fraud based on alleged dealings with rural machinery workers.

According to Chinese activists, those who try to make against the local government are often detained in black jails where they are beaten and harassed by government authorities.

A former black jail detainee expressed their experience when they stated, “[the guards] entered without a word, grabbed me…kneed me in the chest and pounded my lower belly with their fists until I passed out. After it was over I was in pain, but they didn’t leave a mark on my body.”

Another former detainee stated that, “[t]here was no medical treatment [in the black jail]. I’m not very healthy and combined with the disgusting conditions inside [the facility], I was sick every day, but they wouldn’t give me medical treatment and wouldn’t let me go to see a doctor. [A guard] said, ‘You don’t want to die here because your life [to us] isn’t worth one cent. [If] I want you dead, you can die [here] as easily as an ant.’”

A 2009 Human Rights Watch report alleged that Chinese officials regularly take citizens and keep them in unlawful detention facilities maintained in state-owned hotels, nursing homes and psychiatric hospitals.

According to the report local officials create black jails to allow activists to be detained and punished in a way that will not cause these officials to be reprimanded under rules that impose penalties when a large portion of prisoners flow from their areas.

Those hired to guard the prison often subject prisoners to physical violence, theft, extortion, threats and deprivation of food, sleep and medical care.

Minors have not been spared black jail detention in China. Human Rights Watch interviewed a fifteen year old girl who reported that after being abducted and taken to the jail, she was detained for two months and subjected to severe beatings.

Black jails appeared following the government’s abolishment of laws allowing arbitrary detention of non-residents and according to Human Rights Watch the operators of black jails receive payment from the local governments for each person kept in the black jail.

Despite the recent change of government, few expect to see changes in the treatment of activists due to  the need of the new government to assert power and stability over the nation.

For more information, please see:

Radio Free Asia – Labor Camp for Petitioning Activist –  29 February 2012

Reuters – China “Black Jails” Prompt Fears of Wider Security Crackdown – 10 November 2011

Human Rights Watch – China: Secret “Black Jails” hide Severe Rights Abuses – 12 November 2009