Impunity Watch: Middle East

Yemeni Fighters Leave Saudi Arabia

By Ahmad Shihadah 

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East 

SA’NAA, Yemen – Fighting between Saudi forces and Houthi fighters on the border with Yemen has ended, Saudi officials have said. Prince Khaled bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister, said on Wednesday that his forces had achieved a “clear victory over the enemy” on the Yemen-Saudi border. 

“They did not withdraw. They have been forced out,” said Prince Khaled bin Sultan, assistant minister of defense and aviation for military affairs. Prince Khaled’s statement was the first response from a Senior official after Yemeni rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi announced Monday the voluntary withdrawal of his fighters. 

Saudi ground forces and warplanes have pounded Houthi militants since the rebels killed a Saudi border guard and infiltrated a string of villages in early November. The fighting which led to fear of wider regional chaos, drew the kingdom into a sporadic 5-year old conflict between insurgents and Yemeni government 

The leader of the Houthi rebel group said that his fighters were withdrawing from Saudi Arabia after three months of fighting along the border. Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi offered a ceasefire in a message posted on the Internet on Monday January 24, saying he wanted to prevent further civilian casualties. 

Houthi forces entered Saudi Arabia in November after making accusation that the government in Riyadh was aiding the Yemeni in their campaign against the rebels. Fighting between members of the minority Shi’ite Zaydi sect and the state has occurred sporadically since 2004. The rebels accuse the Yemeni government of social, economic and religious marginalization. 

Western powers and Yemen’s neighbors fear the growing chaos in the impoverished Arab country could allow al-Qaeda to strengthen its operations there, spreading instability across the region and beyond 

For more information, please see: 

Arab News – ‘Infiltrators Chased Out of Country’ – 28 January 2010

Al-Jazeera – Saudi-Houthi Border Fighting Ends – 27 Wednesday 2010 

Los Angeles Times – Saudis Say Fighting with Yemen Insurgents Ceased – 28 January 2010

BBC News – Saudi Troops ‘Forced Yemen Rebels from Their Soil’ – 27 January 2010 

Reuters – Saudi Says Achieved Victory Over Yemen Rebels – 28 January 2010

Israel, Hamas Deny Wrong-Doing Ahead of UN Gaza Report Deadline

 

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – As the U.N. General Assembly’s deadline for a second report on the 2008-2009 Gaza War approaches on January 29, both the Israeli government and Hamas party leadership are denying they deliberately targeted citizens during the 22 days of fighting.

 

Israel announced that it would release its own report on January 29, responding to allegations of war crimes, made in the investigation by the U.N. Human Rights Council, and was led by South African Judge Richard Goldstone. The Goldstone Report accused both Israel and Hamas with war crimes and crimes against humanity, citing incidents during which each party’s military forces allegedly targeted civilian populations. The Goldstone Report also alleged that Israeli forces deliberately targeted humanitarian property, with the intent of completely destroying the Gaza infrastructure and terrorizing the Gaza population. Finally, the Goldstone Report called upon both the Israeli and Hamas governments to conduct internal investigations into its accusations, and for any war crimes to be tried by the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

 

In its anticipated response, Israel is expected to give explanations of Israeli Defense Forces actions in Gaza, without specifically addressing any of the allegations in the Goldstone Report. Likewise, Hamas has claimed that it only targeted Israeli military installations, and hit civilian buildings “by mistake.” Human Rights Watch has responded to the Hamas statement, saying it was “belied by the facts,” and that “[c]ivilians were the target…and deliberately targeting civilians is a war crime.”

 

Outgoing Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz told the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz on January 28 that Israel must conduct an independent internal investigation into the Goldstone Report’s allegations to preserve its legitimacy.

 

Mazuz said that although he thought the Goldstone Report was biased, there was a danger of a “Serbianization” of Israel.

 

“Therefore I believe that Israel has a clear interest in conducting a serious, expert examination that will deal with the report and produce an opposing report,” said Mazuz. “It would be a serious mistake not to establish some sort of committee. We must remove the shame of accusing Israel of being a country that commits war crimes.”

 

For more information, please see:

 

Ha’aretz – Deadline Nears For Second UN Report on Gaza War – 29 January 2010

 

Ha’aretz – Mazuz: Israel Must Probe Gaza War to Counter Goldstone – 29 January 2010

 

Christian Science Monitor – Why Hamas Is Denying It Targeted Civilians in Israel – 28 January 2010

 

New York Times – Israel Completing Rebuttal to Goldstone Report – 23 January 2010

Iran Hangs Two Election Protesters

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran - On January 28 the Iranian government hanged two men convicted of being enemies of God (Mohareb). These marked the first executions of protesters wince the protests over the disputed presidential election in June that awarded second term to Iranian President Mahmound Ahmedinejad. The executions of the two men were condemned by both nations around the world and Amnesty International.

Iranian state television reported that Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmani Pour were executed. Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi confirmed the hanging as well. Dolatabadi explained that "they objected to the preliminary sentencing, but the appeals court upheld the verdict and they were hanged (on January 28." He also said that Zamani and Pour "belonged to the monarchist group Tondar. During their trials they confessed to obtaining explosives and planning to assassinate officials."

Zamani was among the scores of people who were arrested in the mass protests that followed the election. However, Pour's lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, denied that her client had anything to do with the post-election riots. Sotoudeh told the Associated Foreign Press that Pour "was arrested in Farvardin (the Iranian month convering March-April) before the election and charged with cooperation with Tondar." 

Sotoudeh explained that Pour was convicted in a show trial in July 2009 and that he confessed to the charges because of threats made against his family. She insists that what her client went through constituted a "show trial." 

Baqer Moin, an Iranian author and journalists, said that the executions were intended to "set an example and frighten some of the people who may shout slogans that are not of the liking of the authorities." Moin also explains that the executions could be used to head off any possible mass rally that could take place on the anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Civil unrest erupted in Iran after the June 12 Presidential election. The opposition insisted that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad won the election through fraud. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians poured into the streets. Dozens of protesters were killed with hundreds being detained. The Iranian government, in response to the protests, insisted that they were were a foreign backed bid to undermine the country's Islamic system of government. 

For more information, please see:

AFP - Iran Hangs First Two Post-Election 'Rioters' - 28 January 2010

Al Jazeera - Iran Executes Two Over Poll Unrest - 28 January 2010

AP - Iran Hangs Opposition Activists - 28 January 2010

BBC - Iran 'Executes Two Over Post-Election Unrest' - 28 January 2010

Back to Back Days of Bombings Rock Baghdad

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq - On January 25 a series of bombings unleashed minutes apart destroyed landmark Baghdad hotels that cater to foreigners. The triple bombing killed thirty six people and wounded over seventy. Iraqi officials noted that similar attacks took place in August, October and December. The following day a car bomb exploded in central Baghdad. The bombing caused the collapse of a building that belonged to the criminal investigation department of the interior ministry. Eighteen people were killed with another eighty injured.

The January 25 bombings targeted hotels that served foreign journalists and expatriate businessmen. The hotels were to seen house observers of the March 7 parliamentary elections. Iraqi officials suggest that the attack was aimed at affecting international opinion regarding the country's security. Hazim al-Nuami, a Baghdad-based political analyst, said, "the messages is that Iraq can't provide security for foreigners."

The first bomb struck the Ishtar Sheraton at 3:28pm. Three minutes later the second bomb hit the Babylon Hotel. The final bombing took place at 3:37pm and hit the Hamra Hotel. The bombs cut through traffic during rush hour and took off the facade of one hotel. The blasts shook the Iraqi capital and shattered windows miles away from he hotel. Gunfire echoed through the streets as security forces tried to cordon off the bombing scene.

The January 26 bombing claimed the lives of five policemen and thirteen civilians. The attacker was able to evade the tight security that surrounds the central neighborhood of Karrada. Checkpoints are located at all entrances into the neighborhood. Additionally, police conduct regular security searches. Major General Qassim Atta, a spokesman for the Iraqi military in Baghdad, confirmed that the attacker targeted the forensics institute. Atta also said that, "at 10:45am a suicide bomber races his vehicle towards his vehicle towards the institute. The building collapsed soon after the explosion." 

Security officials believe that the bombing was directly related to the execution of Ali Hassan al-Majid, more commonly known as Chemical Ali. Majid was executed the day before the bombing of the forensics institute that played a major role in his prosecution. During his trial, Iraqi courts heard testimony that military assaults ordered by Majid were responsible for the deaths of close to one hundred eighty thousand people. 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera - Car Bomb Rocks Iraqi Capital - 26 January 2010

BBC News - Iraq Crime Lab Car Bomber Kills Many in Baghdad - 26 January 2010

Guardian - Suicide Car Bomber Strikes Baghdad Police Forensics Office - 26 January 2010

New York Times - Baghdad Blasts Shatter Sense of Security in Capital - 25 January 2010

Palestinian Election Date Passes, Rights Group Alleges Violation of Human Rights

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Failure to hold Palestinian parliamentary elections by the date set in an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation document is a violation of Palestinians’ right to democratic elections, according to the Al-Marsad Center for Human Rights. The human rights organization, based out of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, issued a statement on January 25, saying that the mandate for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) had expired, and called upon Hamas to sign the reconciliation agreement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to set a date for elections in June, the date called for by the reconciliation document.

 

As the expiration date for PLC members’ terms passed, the two major Palestinian parties argued about what the PLC’s next move should be. Hamas declared that their members’ mandate only ends when new parliamentarians have been sworn in, and are therefore allowed to remain in office until new elections are held. Fatah argued that the PLC’s mandate was legally over.

 

The PLC is the main legislative branch of the Palestinian territorial government, and is based in the West Bank. Hamas took control of the PLC in a landslide election in January 2006, replacing Fatah as the dominant party in the PLC. Since the Hamas take-over, however, the PLC has been largely unable to function, as Israel arrested most of the Hamas representatives after Hamas militants led a cross-border raid into Israel and captured an Israeli citizen. Both Hamas and Fatah representatives have been arrested by opposing parties, as long-standing animosity between the factions have grown stronger in the past few years.

 

Al-Marsad said in its statement that the current PLC should be regarded as a “caretaker council with limited powers,” and that “[n]ot holding elections on their legal and constitutional day is a serious violation of the right of the Palestinian citizens to practice their right to political participation through voting.”

 

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)’s Central Council met in Ramallah in December 2009 and asked the Palestinian president and legislature to continue in office until elections are held. Hamas has not recognized the Central Council’s decision.

 

For more information, please see:

 

Ha’aretz – Fatah and Hamas No Nearer to Unity as Palestinian Parliament’s Term Ends – 25 January 2010

 

Ma’an News Agency – Rights Org: Failure to Hold Elections Violates Palestinian Rights – 25 January 2010

 

Palestinian News Network – Human Rights Organization: Position Paper on Elections – 25 January 2010

 

Ynet News – Palestinian Parliament’s Term Expires – 24 January 2010

Iranian Nuclear Plant to be Operational by 2011

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MOSCOW, Russia - On January 21 Iranian and Russian officials said that Iran's first nuclear power plant will be operating by mid-2011. Russian officials confirmed that the nuclear reactor would be started to be built in 2010. The plant will be located in the Iranian city of Bushehr. Russia's nuclear chief, Sergei Kiryenko, commented that "2010 is the year of the Bushehr." 

Kiryenko also said that "all the work is going as scheduled. The tests are a success." The Director of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, also commented on the plants creation. Salehi said that the Bushehr nuclear power plant will be operational by late September. He also explained that experts are conducting final tests and there would be no delays on the part of the Russians in the launching of the nuclear plant. 

This development comes amidst rising tensions over Iran's refusal to accept a proposal by the United Nations aimed at easing the international concerns over Iran's nuclear program. The IAEA (nuclear arm of the united nations) plan calls for the Islamic Republic to ship low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment and then to France where it would converted into fuel for Tehran's medical purpose reactor.

Iran's refusal to accept this deal lead to Western nations in the UN Security Council to threaten to imposed further sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The other two members of the Security Council, Russia and China, have called for more restraint and patience. Iran insists that they only have peaceful intentions with their nuclear program. The West believes that these claims are a cover-up for a nuclear weapons program.

The Bushehr plant's construction began in 1974 but was abandoned five years later after the Islamic Revolution led to upheaval in Iran's government. Western companies reneged on their commitments and pulled out of the Islamic Republic and the project after political pressure from the United States federal government. Russia ultimately agreed to complete the project.

In 1992 the two countries signed a deal to complete the construction of the nuclear power plant. Russia started working on the plant in 1995 and its contract was estimated to worth close to one billion dollars. The plant was was originally scheduled to open in 1999 but has been repeatedly delayed.

For more information, please see:

BBC - Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant to Open in 2010 - 21 January 2010

Press TV - Russia: Bushehr Plant to Come on Stream in 2010 - 21 January 2010

RTT - Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant to be Launched by Mid-2010 - 21 January 2010

Washington Post - Russia Says to Start Iran Nuclear Plant in 2010 - 21 January 2010

U.N. Says Israeli Blockade Threatens Gazans’ Health

 

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

GAZA CITY, Gaza – The United Nations said that Israel’s year-long blockade on the Gaza Strip has jeopardized the health of 1.4 million Palestinians and threatens to undermine the crumbling health system in Gaza. On January 20, the U.N. and aid organizations called on Israel to immediately open its borders with Gaza.

 

The blockade is causing “on-going deterioration in the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health,” according to Max Gaylord, the resident Humanitarian Coordinator for the U.N. in Gaza. “It is hampering the provision of medical supplies and the training of health staff and is preventing patients with serious medical conditions getting timely specialized treatment outside Gaza.”

 

Israel imposed the blockade after the twenty-two-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009. Israeli officials have pointed to the dramatic decrease in rocket attacks from Gaza into Southern Israel as justification for continuing the blockade. Israeli officials did not make any immediate comment after the U.N. statement.

 

During the 2008-2009 war, also known as Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces damaged fifteen of Gaza’s twenty-seven hospitals, as well as damaged or destroyed forty-three out of one hundred-ten primary care facilities, according to the U.N. Patients who need advanced medical care at Israeli hospitals must apply for Israeli permits to enter into Israel, a process that is often unsuccessful.

 

Such was the case of Fida Hejji, an eighteen-year-old Gazan student with Hodgkin’s disease. Fida had made three appointments at Israeli hospitals for bone marrow transplants, but each time the Israeli authorities did not respond in time with the requisite entry permit. Three days after Fida died in November 2009, her family received word Fida had been granted a permit to an Israeli hospital.

 

While Israel and Egypt have opened their borders to basic humanitarian goods, the supply is often not enough to meet demand. Additionally, construction supplies have not been allowed into Gaza, so the damaged or destroyed health centers have been unable to rebuild.

 

Matters appear to be growing worse as winter grips the region. The flooded Wadi Gaza, south of Gaza City, has forced thousands of Palestinians to flee to evacuate their homes and farms. But in a region the size of the American capital, Washington DC, it is unclear where these people will go. Besides the flooding, local fuel suppliers warn of an impending fuel shortage, as only one hundred tons of fuel per week have been allowed through the blockade, in contrast with the needed three hundred tons.

 

Many Gazans fear a humanitarian crisis is now inevitable.

 

For more information, please see:

 

BBC News – UN Warns Israeli Blockade Puts Gazans’ Health at Risk – 20 January 2010

 

Ma’an News Agency – Gaza Fuel Union Rep Warns of Impending Shortage Crisis – 20 January 2010

 

Palestinian News Network – Floods in the Gaza Strip Force Hundreds to Flee – 20 January 2010

 

Times of India – Israeli Blockade Jeopardising Health of 1.4 mn Palestinians – 20 January 2010

 

Washington Post – World Aid Agencies Appeal to Israel to Unlock Gaza – 20 January 2010

 

Chemical Ali Receives Fourth Death Sentence

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq - On January 15 Ali Hassan al-Majid was sentenced to death by hanging by an Iraqi court. Saddam Hussein's senior aide, also known as "Chemical Ali," was convicted of ordering the gassing of the Kurds in the Iraqi town of Halabja in 1988. The attack killed an estimated five thousand people and took place near the end of the Iran-Iraq War. This marked the fourth time that Majid has been sentenced to death.

During the 1988 attacks, Iraqi jets swooped over the small north eastern Iraqi town. The jets proceeded to spray Halabja for five hours with a deadly cocktail of mustard gas and Tabun, Sarin and VX, all nerve agents. The was part of Iraq's Anfal campaign, which Majid was in charge of overseeing. Most of the five thousand Kurds that died were women and children. Majid said "thanks be to God" as the sentence was being read.

Majid was a close cousin of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. He earned his moniker from ordering the poisonous gas attacks in a campaign of bombings and mass deportations that killed over one hundred eighty thousand Kurds during the 1980s. He received his first death sentence from these attacks.

"Chemical Ali" received his second death sentence in December 2008 for war crimes committed during a 1991 Shi'ite uprising in southern Iraq that proved to be ill-fated. His third death sentence came in March 2009 for the 1999 murders of dozens of Shi'ites in Sadr City and Najaf.

It is not clear when Majid will ultimately be executed. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said that it woudl take place soon. Dabbagh told Reuters that "it will not take a long time for Hassan al-Majid to receive his just punishment for the crimes he committed against the Iraqi people." Despite the wishes of Iraqi authorities, Majid still has the right to appeal to the sentence.

Majid's first execution was due to be carried out by October 2007. It was ultimately delayed so as not to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Majid was first captured in August 2003, five months after US-led forces invaded Iraq.

For more information, please see:

AFP - Iraq's 'Chemical Ali' Sentenced to Death - 17 January 2010

Al Jazeera - 'Chemical Ali' Sentenced to Death - 17 January 2010

BBC - Fourth Death Sentence for 'Chemical Ali' - 17 January 2010

Reuters - Iraq's "Chemical Ali" gets 4th Death Sentence - 17 January 2010

Turkey Blocking Websites to Curb Freedoms

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ANKARA, Turkey- Europe’s main security and human rights watchdog, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said that Turkey was blocking over 3,700 internet sites solely for “arbitrary and political reasons.”  OSCE urged that Turkey rescind these restrictions in an effort to show further commitment to freedom of expression in the country.

Milos Haraszti, the spokesperson for the OSCE, said that Turkey’s Internet law is infringing upon freedom of expression in the country and that the law should be changed or rescinded immediately.  In a statement released by the OSCE, Haraszti said that “in its current form, Law 5651, commonly known as the Internet Law of Turkey, not only limits freedom of expression, but severely restricts citizens’ right to access information.”

Haraszti then commented that Turkey, a candidate for acceptance into the European Union, was barring access to some 3,700 websites including most notably YouTube, GeoCities and some Google pages.  He acknowledged that some of the content that is being barred is in fact bad, sites which for example promote child pornography.  Yet, in the end, Haraszti said that “by blocking access to entire websites, Turkey is paralyzing access to numerous modern file-sharing or social networks.”

“Some of the official reasons to block the Internet are arbitrary and capricious, and therefore incompatible with OSCE’s freedom of expression commitments,” said Haraszti.  When asked about the OSCE remarks, a Turkish communications ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters that “Turkey provides unlimited and equal access for all parts of society.  It is above the EU average on this issue.”  The official added that “the regulations over Internet (usage) have a dynamic structure and necessary legal changes are made when problems are detected in implementation.”

Despite the official’s comments, Haraszti said Turkish law was still failing in its attempt to safeguard freedom of expression while numerous criminal codes clauses were being used against journalists who risk being sent to jail as a result. 

Back in October, the European Commission’s annual report on Turkey’s progress toward EU membership said that Ankara needed to do more to protect freedom of expression and the press.

For more information, please see:

AFP- Turkey Should ‘Reform or Abolish’ Internet Law- 18 January 2010

Reuters- Turkey Blocking 3,700 Websites, Reform Needed- 18 January 2010

Times Online- YouTube Banned in Turkey After Video Insults- 7 March 2007
 
 

Human Rights Groups Push for Palestinian Internal War Crimes Investigation

 

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

GAZA CITY, Gaza – Eleven international human rights groups called upon Hamas and Fatah authorities to open investigations around allegations of war crimes by Palestinian forces during 2008’s Gaza war. The groups each sent identical letters to Palestinian President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya on January 18, asking the leaders to follow the recommendations of the United Nations’ Goldstone Report.

 

On November 5, 2009, the U.N.’s General Assembly endorsed the Goldstone Report, the result of an investigation led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone. Though the Goldstone Report found that most of the war crimes committed during the Gaza war was the at the hands of the Israelis, it did not absolve Palestinians of such crimes, and cited several violations of international law by Palestinian forces. Examples include Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians, as well as instances of internal political repression both during and after the fighting, such as summary executions in the Gaza Strip and arrests and torture in the West Bank. Fatah has also admitted it previously tortured Hamas prisoners in its prisons in the West Bank and Gaza.

 

The call by the human rights groups came as Amnesty International accused Israel of “suffocating” the 1.4 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. Israel has imposed a blockade on the tightly populated territory since fighting ended in January 2009, cutting off reconstruction supplies. Much of the Gaza Strip remains covered in rubble from the Israeli mortars that rained down during the three-week war.

 

The letter from the human rights groups called on both Israel and the Palestinians to conduct internal investigations into the Goldstone Report’s allegations.

 

“Although a large part of the report deals with violations committed by Israel, it also touches on violations committed by armed Palestinian groups and the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank,” the letter said. “As international and Palestinian non-governmental associations, we call on Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to immediately launch credible internal investigations.”

 

For more information, please see:

 

AFP – Palestinian Rights Groups Urge Internal Gaza War Probe – 18 January 2010

 

BBC News – Call For Palestinians to Investigate Gaza “Crimes” – 18 January 2010

 

Canadian Press – Palestinian Rights Groups Call For Independent Investigation of Hamas in Gaza Fighting – 18 January 2010

 

Ha’aretz – Palestinian Activists Urge Hamas to Probe Own Gaza War Crimes – 18 January 2010