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Weekly update for the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information # 202
Year 5
13 March 2007 - 19 March 2008
Tunisia
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Hijab crisis now in Tunisia
Committee to Protect Veiled Women in Tunisia denounced the crime committed by Mohsen Balshadly (a mathematics teacher in Hassan Hosny Abdul-Wahab Institute, Basateen Monayhela district, Tunis). On Thursday march 6, 2008, where the teacher physically abused the veiled girl Asma'a Al-Habboby who is studying in the Economics Dept (forth year) and also abused here verbally by calling her repulsive names, then he pulled her veil apart in pieces by force while she was in the middle of her exam. The committee considered that crime as infringement of a Tunisian woman honor and a deviation from social and educational values.
The victim Asma'a Al-Habboby called all her Tunisian veiled colleagues to pluck up courage to unmask these practices, reaching all local administrative levels and to raise their complaints to the national and international courts and to sign petitions to international organizations such as : U.N, International Committee for Human Rights, International Court of Justice, Arab Organization for Human Rights, Amnesty International and Human rights Watch…etc.
Sources
Committee to Protect Veiled Women in Tunisia
For more information, visit http://www.hrinfo.net/tunisia
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Syria
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Release of Adnan Hemdan member of Committee of Defending Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria
After his arrest without a legal warrant, Syrian authorities released Adnan Hemdan the member of the Committee of Defending Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria and the programs director in the Syrian Center for Freedom of Expression and Media as the military security in Damascus summoned him on Thursday March 13, 2008.
The Committee of Defending Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria welcomed that release and called on the Syrian government to release all political detainees and prisoners of conscious, and also cessation of political detentions in Syria.
Sources
Committees of Defending Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria
Writer and politician Pierre Rostum is under arrest
Committee of Defending Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria confirmed that Air Forces Security branch in Aleppo governorate has detained the writer Ahmed Mustafa who is also known as Pierre Rostum. Kurdish Pierre is one the Kurdish Democratic Party cadres in Syria that when a police patrol (affiliated to the security body summoning him) broke into his house located in Gindrees village, they confiscated his documents, books and P.C.
The committee expressed its concern about the destiny of Pierre and also its worry that security bodies still insist on illegal arbitrary detentions and going after dissident writers and intellectual which is considered a frank violation of basic liberties provided by the Syrian constitution, yet it comes in accordance with the Emergency Law and Martial Laws declared. The committee also considered the arrest and the continued detention of Rustum as a violation of Syria's obligations who ratified international agreements concerned with human rights especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Sources
Committees of Defending Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria
For more information, visit http://www.hrinfo.net/syria
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Iraq
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UNAMI report about human rights situation in Iraq
The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) issued its twelfth report on the human rights situation in the country covering the period from July 1 to December 31, 2007. The report recognizes that the last three months of 2007 were characterized by a marked decrease in violent attacks involving mass casualties. The report notes the enormous challenges the Government of Iraq continued to face during the reporting period in its efforts to bring sectarian violence and other criminal activities under control against a backdrop of political instability and stalled efforts in revitalizing a national reconciliation process. UNAMI cautions that, “Although security has improved in parts of Baghdad and other locations, it deteriorated elsewhere with heightened activity by insurgent armed groups."
The twelfth Quarterly Human Rights Report welcomed the measures taken by the Government of Iraq and the judicial authorities in order to improve the treatment of detainees, including efforts exerted to ensure more effective judicial oversight.
Moreover, UNAMI welcomed the Iraqi Government’s decision to ratify the UN Convention Against Torture.
Sources
Eye on Iraq
After five-years occupation, what is the destiny of Iraq??
Amnesty International issued its report titled "Massacres & Despair" in which it confirmed that attacks and sectarian killings committed by armed groups, besides torture and maltreatment by Iraqi government forces and those thousands of suspected detained by Iraqi & American forces, emphasizing that all of this has a destructive effect, as it caused evacuation of more than 4 million Iraqi citizens. Many detainees are in custody for years with no accusation or trial.
Five years passed on Saddam Hussein's regime overthrowing by the forces led by the United States, yet Iraq is still one of the most compromising countries all over the world in regarding human rights.
Sources
Amnesty International
For more information, visit : http://www.hrinfo.net/iraq
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Palestine
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Storming into Ramtan news agency in Ramallah
Palestinian Center for Human Rights denounced the penetration of a news agency in Ramallah (Ramtan) by Palestinian security bodies. The Center considered this aggression as violating of journalistic liberties and freedom of expression. The Center also confirmed that the right to freedom of expression and exchanging information are all basic rights guaranteed by the basic law and international charters of human rights. Moreover, the journalist Nawaf Ibrahim Al-Amer has been detained and the security bodies confiscated his professional and personal properties including his P.C which belongs to the agency.
Sources
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
For more information, visit : http://www.hrinfo.net/palestine
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Egypt
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A campaign to set civil associations free and amend Associations Act no. 84/2002 in Egypt
On Monday March 24, 2008, Egyptian Organization for Human Rights and the German Foundation Friedrich Naumann will hold a general conference to launch a campaign to set civil associations free and amend Associations Act no. 84/2002 and it will be funded by the EU. The conference shall be in Nefertety hall, Shepheard Hotel, Cairo.
A number of human rights activists and civil associations representatives from all Egyptian governorates are participating in the conference, in addition to many members Of Shura Council & People's Assembly, professors of constitutional law and representatives of political parties.
Sources
Egyptian Organization for Human Rights
Who can protect civil society organizations..!
Observatory of Democracy Status in the Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement started field monitoring of local elections by observing violations committed by the Executive Authority against Egyptians citizens willing to run into local elections candidacy although it is the right guaranteed by the constitution and international charters ratified by successive Egyptian governments.
The observatory called on bodies supervising the elections, including the high committee (for elections) and National Council for Human Rights to facilitate the mission of civil society organizations observers and protect them from being subject to arbitrary practices carried out by administrative & security bodies of the Executive Authority. The observatory considered this call as a notification directed to the above mentioned bodies and the Egyptian public opinion.
Sources
Democracy Status Watch
For more information, visit : http://www.hrinfo.net/egypt
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Yemen
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A statement regarding the banning of aleshteraki.net website
Yemeni Journalist Syndicate expressed its severe concern about the violations which recently targeted independent and partisan mass media. The syndicate denounced in particular the disabling of news websites that aleshteraki.net was the last one disabled, which has been disabled four times in less than one year, which illustrates that the government didn't keep faith of its obligations with the syndicate.
Last action taken against aleshteraki.net and the banning of the search engine "Yemen Portal" were considered by the syndicate as a direct aggression against the right to freedom of expression & press that is guaranteed by the Yemeni constitution. The syndicate called on the Yemeni government to stop its aggressive policy against independent and opposition mass media.
Sources
Yemeni journalist Syndicate
For more information, visit : http://www.hrinfo.net/yemen
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Regional & International
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Human rights violations in Egypt
The International Center for Justice & Human Rights (London), in cooperation with the Arab Commission for Human Rights (Paris) will hold a conference entitled "Human Rights Violations in Egypt" on March 20, 2008 in Brussels as a large number of human rights organizations representatives, European parliamentarians, western and Arab politicians shall attend.
The organizing committee stressed upon this conference as the Capital of European Union shall witness the largest gathering about human rights in Egypt where the conference will deal with human rights status in Egypt in the light of international charters and laws, human rights future in Egypt under the current political regime and Egyptian general elections in regards to prevention (from candidacy and running), forgery and detention.
Sources
Arab Commission for Human Rights (Paris)
For more information, visit : http://www.hrinfo.net/mena
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Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
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Chasing Ikhwanonline editor-in-chef and his sit-in in journalist syndicate
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information denounced the police campaign continued against media professionals belong to Muslim brotherhood as Ikhwanonline editor-in-chef and the journalist Abdul-Jalil Al-Sharnooby's house was taken by storm.
The Network confirmed that Al-Sharnooby wasn't available the time his house was attacked that when he knew about his arrest warrant, he rushed to the journalist syndicate in which he is still in a sit-in.
Moreover, the Arabic Network expressed its solidarity with journalists and media professionals targeted by the brutal campaign, and confirmed that freedom of expression whether online or in printed Press, is a right guaranteed for every citizen by the constitution & the law. The Network calls on the government to stop all kinds of oppression and systematic violations against these liberties.
In the battlefield of defending freedom of expression
Judge Abdul-Fattah Mourad appeals against a judgment supporting freedom of internet
Supreme Administrative Court started considering an appeal submitted by Judge Abdul-Fattah Mourad against a judgment issued by the Administrative Court on December 29, 2007 which supported freedom of internet and freedom of expression in Egypt.
In last March 2007, Mourad brought a law suit against the Cabinet and number of ministries requesting to ban 21 human rights organizations websites besides online newspapers and blogs, then he increased the number to be 49 websites that included several international human rights organizations and media institutions claiming that they are tarnishing Egypt and Arab governments reputation, but the Court judged in favor of freedom of expression and rejected the law suit which ensured freedom of internet and the right to information exchange. Judge Mourad didn't accept the judgment, so he submitted the appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court.
It is worthy to mention that the Arabic Network discovered plagiarism committed by Judge Mourad as he conveyed scores of pages from the Network's report titled "Implacable Opponent, Internet and the Arab Governments" and included these pages in his book entitled "Scientific and Legal Fundamentals of Blogs" without any permission or even citing a quotation. Mourad in this way violated rules of scientific research and Intellectual property as he didn't recognize his crime or even give an apology. Not only this, but he also fabricated various cases against the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Hisham Mubarak Law Center and number of bloggers, rather than his trial to ban online newspapers and blogs that stood in solidarity with the Arabic Network in posting news about the abovementioned crime against intellectual property.
The report is available on http://openarab.net/reports/tunisia2007/index.shtml
The Network details are available on : http://www.hrinfo.net/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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