Middle East Politics.Net » human rights

Official Figures on Gaza Offensive

davidhulme — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:08:48 +0000

B’Tselem, the Israeli organization that focuses on human rights in the occupied territories issued its assessment of fatalities during the Gaza offensive known as Operation Cast Lead.

David Hulme

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Human Rights Progress Seen in Saudi Arabia

boyunliu — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:53:53 +0000

The Human Rights Commission, a government group, issued a statement outlining their commitment to improving human rights conditions in Saudi Arabia.

Some of the progress includes a multi-faith dialogue recently held in New York, sponsored by King Abdullah.

One of the most significant involvements of HRC is perhaps its intervention in court cases that are relevant to the human rights issue in the Kingdom. It has been involved in over one thousand cases from April to August 2008, many with notable results.

Bo-yun Liu

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Police Violence Rises in Turkey

hazzout — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:28:57 +0000

New York-based, Human Rights Watch, said in a report released today that the failure of Turkey’s government to prosecute police officers has resulted in an increase of police violence. There have been at least 28 reported cases of such violence since 2007, including excessive force and even shootings of demonstrators. While reforms aimed at gaining EU membership have been making progress in areas such as torture and ill treatment of prisoners, cases of police violence have increased. This is probably a result of changes made to a law in 2007, which allows police to use lethal force and encourage arbitrary searches. Ironically, the EU Commission report also stated that incidents of torture have also increased.

The Justice Ministry reports that while police torture and violence increased from 2854 cases in 2006 to 3339 in 2007, convictions decreased from 104 in 2006 to 48 in 2007. Human Rights Watch has urged the Turkish state to take action by establishing an independent entity that will be charged with investigating police misconduct. The government has yet to take action, however. An interesting event occurred recently, which also displays the apparent fear among Turks of the police. Five men dressed as police officers raided a crowded Istanbul restaurant and kidnapped and raped a woman. The occurrence was taking place for six hours and yet no resistance was seen.

Adam Hazzout

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Human Rights Coalition Praise Ruling in Lebanon, Urge For More Progress

sdemetri — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:28:19 +0000

Human rights organizations around the world have praised Lebanon’s recent ruling in the case of Muhammad Mugraby, a prominent human rights lawyer. Mugraby was on trial for slander following his 2003 speech in which he openly and harshly criticized the Lebanese government’s policies, focusing particularly on the violent suppression of political dissent and the use of torture in interrogations. Last week, a criminal court in Beirut ruled that Mugraby was protected by constitutional rights of freedom of speech, prompting organizations such as Human Rights Watch to praise the decision as an affirmation of progress. Mugraby still faces eight additional charges, however, which a coalition of 11 human rights organizations have pressed the Lebanese government to lift. In a joint statement these organizations emphasized that “the cases against Mugraby may be multiple and complicated, but they are all motivated by a desire to punish him for publicly criticizing the country’s judicial and legal institutions…The Lebanese government should put an end to this campaign of harassment.”

Stefanie Demetriades

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An Eye for an Eye in Iran

stevencc — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 04:34:21 +0000

It is well-known internationally that Iran has a draconian legal system that lags behind the rest of the world in current human rights standards. Punishment for some crimes includes, “amputation of limbs, eye gouging, stoning to death, and throwing prisoners off a cliff in a sac,” noted an article on Iranfocus.com. The combination Islamic law and the biblical philosophy of “an eye for an eye” combine to form a punitive system that can seem appalling to outsiders. On the 27th of November, a 27-year-old man identified only as Majid “was sentenced by the court to be blinded in both eyes” for his crime of blinding a woman in 2004. The principle of “an eye for an eye” is adhered to very strictly in Iran’s Islamic system and in this case the concept was taken quite literally. Such actions by the Iranian judicial system further call into question Iran’s regard for human rights and humane treatment.

Steven Craig

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Why Would the Duchess Sabotage?

hambolu — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:50:08 +0000

As reported in Turkish news recently, Sarah Ferguson, Britain’s Duchess of York, will be featured in a documentary about Turkish and Romanian orphanages that will air in the United Kingdom. Turkish officials note that the timing of the documentary’s airing is political–the European Union is about to release its report on Turkey’s progress toward EU membership. The Duchess has denied any political motive, and asserts that her only purpose was to help the welfare of the children in the orphanages.

The timing of the documentary is too coincidental for there not to be any political motivation. The report, which has been speculated to misconstrue facts, comes at a crucial moment for Turkey. The EU’s main concern is with Turkey’s human rights record, but an undercover “expose” about orphanages in rural areas may be neither the most effective nor diplomatic way to address the problem. Turkey has admitted that the orphanage system needs a monumental systematic makeover. But it says that some of the accusations are simply untrue.

Olorunbunmi Hambolu

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Continued Human Rights Violations in Iran

stevencc — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:08:20 +0000

Iran continues to violate the rights of its own citizens in an attempt to minimize opposition to the conservative Islamic Republic. Following the imprisonment women rights’ activist, Esha Momeni, Mohammad Sadeq Kaboudvand has been convicted “of acting against national security and propagating against the ruling Islamic establishment,” according to Iranfocus.com. Kaboudvand founded the Human Rights Oranization of Kurdistan and is headed to prison for the apparent crimes of setting up the organization and creating publicity against the government. These two offenses amount to eleven years of jail time for the activist, which is a hefty sentence for something that is perfectly legal in the United States. Incidents such as this are becoming increasingly commonplace for the hard-line Islamic government, which is already the subject of international criticism for its nuclear programs.

Steven Craig

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Is it Becoming Easier to Say “I’m Sorry”?

hambolu — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:35:18 +0000

As reported by the Associated Press, Turkish officials made a rare move in apologizing for the brutal murder of an inmate in a Turkish prison. Engin Ceber, a protester for human rights, was taken into custody, while being beaten, and was beaten while in prison. Over a period of time, his body was not able to sustain the injuries, and he died at a hospital in Istanbul from a brain hemorrhage. Turkish officials suspended 19 staff that were involved in the killing, and are still investigating. Ceber was 29 years old and was protesting the inaction against police officers who had paralyzed a young man last year for distributing left-wing leaflets.

Countries, many in the Middle East, rarely apologize for human rights violations. This apology by Turkey is the start of a new corner being turned, of Turkey reinventing itself in the 21st century. Leaving traditions behind, Turkey’s apology is a great stepping stone for the government to begin taking action against human rights violations. Although many protesters assert that many officers and law officials still go unpunished for their human rights violations, this apology is a step in the right direction.

Olorunbunmi Hambolu

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Egyptian Women Dies in Police Raid

aljoaan — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:32:40 +0000

The death of a pregnant woman in Egypt during a police raid on her home in a town south of Cairo has caused a backlash in Egypt with crowds attacking police, using clubs and stones. According to the BBC, the woman was pushed down by police when she did not allow them to enter her home during a search for her brother, a suspected thief. The woman Mervet Abdul Salam Abdul Fattah, 32, was in the last stages of pregnancy and died of internal bleeding. Some reports say she was struck with a butt of a rifle after she blocked police from entering her home. Residents of the her hometown, Samalout, rioted after hearing of the incident. They threw stones at police officers, beat them with clubs and set fire to a police truck. Human rights groups say that police brutality is not uncommon in Egypt. While authorities recognize isolated incidents, they deny that the problem is widespread and claim that all cases are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Ahmad Aljoaan

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Yemeni Journalist Freed

bkeenan — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:20:06 +0000

After serving a five-months of his prison term for writing critical statements about the government and president of Yemen, journalist Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani was granted a presidential pardon. The country has a long history of not respecting freedom of press or expression. While in prison, Al-Khaiwani was to be given an award by the President of the International Federation of Journalists, Jim Boumelha, but t he government did not allow this.

Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani vows to keep on working for democratic principles, human rights and freedom of expression within Yemen.

Brad Keenan

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