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Weekly update for the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information # 193
Year 5
4 January 2008 - 10 January 2008
Bahrain
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Detainees safety is the responsibility of the King, Prime minister and security systems
Human rights organizations and the detainees relatives followed up the conditions of the detainees who were detained upon the demonstrations that took place on December 17. During these demonstration Mr. Jasim Ali Mekki met his end. The number of the detainees reached 50 persons among whom 11 are human rights defenders. The detainees relatives said that the detainees face torturing while being interrogated from dawn time to sunset time. The detainees are tortured by electricity and by being wet while being naked. Also, from the time of their detention, the detainees are cuffed and blindfolded knowing nothing about day or night and without washing and wearing the same cloths all the time long.
The relatives of the detainees said that the King, prime minister and the security systems are responsible for the conditions of the detainees. They also demanded that the detainees should be allowed to meet with them and lawyers. They requested that the detainees should be examined by a neutral medical authority, and to allow national and international human rights organization to visit the them. The relatives of the detainees assured that they will spare no effort to free the detainees and abandon the charges against them.
Sources
The committee of detainees families
Front line organization
For more details visit http://www.hrinfo.net/bahrain
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Tunisia
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The unbalanced balance is the slogan of Tunisian justice
Seven years have passed on the complaint handed by the dean of human rights activists (Mr. Ali Bin Salim) who handed his complaint on April 26, 2007. His complaint was about the political security officers who had beaten him while he was going to visit the journalist Tawfiq Bin Braik. The officers assaulted him and kicked him down and stepped on him. Then they left him unconscious on the ground for hours without any aid, and after this they threw him in a garbage place. Later on, some citizens found him and toke him to a hospital for medical aid. Mr. Ali got a medical statement indicating his injuries in the skull, shoulder bones and ribs. The statement recommended immediate surgical intervention in the backbone.
The UN committee against torturing issued a statement numbered 269/2005 on November 22, 2005 which stated that what happened to Mr. Ali is a violation against articles 1, 12, 13, 14 of the anti torturing convention. The statement requested the Tunisian authorities to follow up the assaulters and notify the committee within 90 days about the procedures done for the same.
Two years after issuing the statement, and on December 8, 2007, the judge of the first stance court held a hearing session to listen to Mr. Ali, the dean of the human rights activists.
On another track, we find the strangest reason to arrest persons. Fifteen students were arrested for being members in the Tunisian students federation in December 2007. The students are charged with getting eatable items upon the events that took place in the university mess in Sosa. The students had their meals without getting the meals coupons for some days after the delay of the university scholarships.
On the track of terrorism, some of the arrested were set free, but the Tunisian government is playing the game of the rolling door (free some … and arrest others). Some are being set free while some others are arrested allovers the municipalities specially Bezier municipality.
Sources
The international association Association Internationale de Soutien aux Prisonniers Politiques
The Tunisian assembly for defending human rights
For more details visit http://www.hrinfo.net/tunisia
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Syria
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The consequences of Damascus declaration
The consequences of Damascus declaration, an assembly organized on December 1 by some opposition groups and activists calling for decmocarcy in Syrian, continued. On January 4, 2008 the intelligence systems (Mokhabarat) arrested (Rashid Muhammad Al Satof) in his house located in Al Rekka, Al Wadi street, and he was led to an unknown place. Mr. Rashid Al Satof is a political dissident and one of the Communist labor party leaders in Syria, and a member in the national council of Damascus Declaration. He was set free on January 5, 2008.
Also, on January 3, 2008, the intelligence systems arrested Mr. Gayez Sarah, a freelancer writer to several newspapers and magazines and periodicals among which are (Al Hayat, Al Safeer, Al Arabi, and Al Dawli). He is also a human rights activist. He was arrested upon his defending the Damascus declaration detainees while he called for their freedom. He was also seen on a TV show condemning the practices of the Syrian authorities specially the practices against the figures and leaders of Damascus declaration for national democratic change.
On January 7 Mr. Muhammad Heggy Darwish was arrested after responding to a security summon. Arresting Darwish comes in the framework of the arresting campaign launched by the authorities against the members of Damascus declaration. The number of detainees reached 9 activists.
Sources
The Syrian human rights committee
Committees for the Defense of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria
Syrian observatory human rights
Arab Organization for Human Rights in Syria
Syrian association for human rights (Sawasia)
The national organization for human rights in Syria
For more details http://www.hrinfo.net/syria
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Palestine
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2007 is the worst year for the Palestinian media
2007 is the worst year passed on the Palestinian media since the establishment of the
Palestinian national authority in 1993. The media field in Palestine witnessed more than 250 violations against the media freedom. The worst of these violations were committed by Palestinian parts because of the conflict between Fatah and Hamas movements. The conflict became more deeply-rooted after Hamas has taken the power in Gaza strip in the middle of June 2007.
The year 2007 witnessed the kidnapping of foreign journalists however it is lower that the year 2006. The uncontrolled security situation led to the departure of foreign journalist from Gaza strip. The international media systems depend on local correspondents to cover the events.
To read the whole report visit http://www.hrinfo.net/palestine/mada/2008/pr0108.shtml
Sources
The Palestinian center for development and media freedoms
For more details visit http://www.hrinfo.net/palestine
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Lebanon
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A campaign for the solidarity with Palestinian refugees
Although there are not accurate statistics for the real number of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon who are neither recognized by the state of Lebanon nor the UNRWA, the number of such refugees is between 4500 and 5000 persons according to the inaccurate data of the PLO bureau and the Palestinian Human rights organization (PHRO) and the Dutch refugees center (DRC). The refugees are hiding in camps for fear of being arrested by the Lebanese authorities who consider them illegal residents. In the last months of 2007 more than 450 refugees were arrested by the Lebanese authorities for the charge of illegal residency, but they were set free later on.
Sources
The Palestinian human rights society (Rased)
For more details visit http://www.hrinfo.net/lebanon
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Libya
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Rights at risk
Upon the visit of the Libyan foreign minister to USA to meet his counterpart on January 3, 2008, the Human Rights Watch organization welcomed the improved relations between Libyan and USA but not at the expense of the political prisoners and victims of torture and other Libyan citizens who suffer aggressions.
To date, international engagement with the oil-rich country has focused on counter-terrorism and business ties.. But, the relations improvement should seriously tackle the improvement of human rights conditions and the rule of law. Despite some improvement in Libya, serious rights abuses persist. Human rights watch specified some important issues to be tackled namely, the absence free press, the ban on independent organizations, the torture of detainees and finally the continued incarceration of political prisoners. The human rights watch organization released its report titled “Libya, rights at risk” , to read the report in English visit http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/01/03/libya17674.htm
to read in Arabic visit http://hrw.org/arabic/docs/2008/01/03/libya17690.htm
Sources
Human rights watch organization
For more details visit http://www.hrinfo.net/libya
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Egypt
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Alexandria judges club elections
The elections of the judges club in Alexandria resulted in the selection of the ministry-and-government authorities supported list and selecting the judge Ismail Al Basiouni as a chairman against the judge Al Kudairy (one of the leaders demanding the complete independence of the judiciary authority). 1080 judges and prosecution members, nearly half number of the Club's general assembly members, turned out for voting. 1104 votes were correct and 40 votes were nullified.
The judge Al Kodairy was not selected because, as said by many judges, that the list of his rival included many of the most prominent members who are not hawkish towards the government and are close to the State's executive power, represented in either the Ministry of Justice or the appointed Supreme Judicial Council.
Sources
Arab foundation for civil society support and human rights
The Egyptian association for community participation enhancement
For more details visit http://www.hrinfo.net/egypt
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Morocco
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Resuming the negotiations about the Western Sahara
The third round of UN-brokered negotiations between Morocco and Polisario Front was held on January 7, 2008, in Manhasset New York. The human rights watch organization demanded that negotiations on the future status of Western Sahara should be accompanied by serious commitments by the Moroccan government to respect freedom of expression in that territory. Human Rights Watch recently concluded a two-week mission to Western Sahara and the refugee camps in Algeria controlled by the Polisario, to document human rights conditions in both places. Moroccan authorities bar most activities they consider advocacy for an independent Western Sahara, invoking provisions of Moroccan law that criminalize attacks on the country’s “territorial integrity.”
Sources
Human rights watch organization
For more details visit http://www.hrinfo.net/morocco
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The Arabic network for human rights information
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The Tunisian authorities should stop its violation against the right to travel
38 human rights organizations condemn the Tunisian authorities stance represented in denying a passport to Mr. Kamal El Ebaidy, a Tunisian journalist, human rights activist and CPJ representative in the Middle East. Mr. Kamal is deprived from returning back home or traveling outside the USA because of having no passport for six months.
While being in the USA, Mr. Kamal lost some of his documents among which was his passport last July. He, directly, asked for a new passport from the Tunisian embassy in Washington. Six months passed on his request to the embassy without getting his passport till now.
Forming the Egyptian alignment for supporting the international criminal court
Thirty one Egyptian human rights organizations along with the committee of liberties in the bar association denounced the establishment of an Egyptian alignment for supporting the international criminal court. This comes to urge the Egyptian government to join the international criminal court as a step forward to make the international just prevail and to put an end for the phenomenon of impunity.
On Thursday, January 3, 2008, the Egyptian human rights organizations held a meeting in the lawyers club in Cairo along with the committee of liberties of the bar association. The meeting concluded with the importance of establishing an Egyptian alignment including the civil society institutions to urge the Egyptian government to join the international criminal court and Rome statute. This comes as a stance for supporting the people’s right to punish whoever practices any violations against humanity allover the world.
For more details visit http://localhost/en/reports
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HRinfo is a legal organization that defends the freedom of opinion and expression of the press and the right to exchange information. Moreover, it works on collecting the publications of nearly 140 Arabic human rights organizations from 18 countries across the Middle East and North Africa, which are published in Arabic and presented in one website. It also provides human rights Sources in the Arab world for media workers, journalists, activists and the public in an attempt to increase the number of internet users and those interested in human rights issues in the Arab speaking world. Though one of many human rights groups serving the Middle East and North Africa, it is the only one in the Arab world devoted exclusively to protecting the freedom of expression across the region.
For more information, suggestions or membership in the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, please contact HRinfo at:
Address: second floor, flat 10, 5,105 St, Horriya Square, Maadi, Cairo, Egypt.
Phone Number: (00202) 5249544
Email address:
info@hrinfo.net
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