September 12
SAUDI ARABIA:
Prominent Cleric May Face Death Penalty----Escalating Crackdown on Dissent
Saudi prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a prominent cleric on a
host of vague charges related to his political statements, associations, and
positions, Human Rights Watch said today.
Saudi authorities brought Salman al-Awda, 61, before the Specialized Criminal
Court, the country's terrorism tribunal, on September 3, 2018. A family member
told Human Rights Watch that Saudi authorities allowed him contact with a
lawyer at the hearing for the 1st time since his detention a year earlier. At
the hearing, prosecutors handed down 37 charges and announced that they would
seek the death penalty. The vast majority of the charges are connected to his
alleged ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and Qatari government, and his public
support for imprisoned dissidents. None refer to specific acts of violence or
incitement to acts of violence.
"At a time when Saudi Arabia's ambitious economic plans such as the Aramco IPO
are stalling out, the crown prince's prosecutors are investing in threatening
clerics and women's rights activists with execution," said Sarah Leah Whitson,
Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Unless Saudi Arabia has evidence
that al-Awda committed a recognizable crime the authorities should release him
immediately."
Al-Awda was among the first of dozens of people detained in mid-September 2017
by the Presidency of State Security, an agency established only months before,
following Mohammad bin Salman's appointment as crown prince. Al-Awda had
remained in detention, partly in solitary confinement, with no lawyer and
limited ability to contact family members. Authorities have also detained his
brother and banned 17 members of his family from traveling abroad. Al-Awda's
charges coincided with the opening of trials against a number of other people
for alleged association with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Al-Awda was a prominent member of the Sahwa Movement in the early 1990s, which
criticized Saudi Arabia's decision to allow the US military into the country to
protect it from a potential Iraqi invasion. Since 2011 al-Awda has advocated
greater democracy and social tolerance. In January, the office of the UN high
commissioner for human rights described al-Awda as "an influential religious
figure who has urged greater respect for human rights within Sharia [Islamic
Law]," and called for his release.
On September 5, local Saudi media outlets printed the first 5 of the charges,
and Human Rights Watch reviewed the others from a copy of the court???s charge
sheet it obtained. The initial charges are mostly related to his alleged ties
to the Muslim Brotherhood and other organizations supposedly connected to it.
Saudi Arabia declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization in March
2014. One such organization listed in the charge sheet, the International Union
of Muslim Scholars, was not named as a terrorist organization by Saudi
authorities until November 20, 2018, over 2 months after al-Awda's arrest.
The 1st charge reads: "Corrupting the land by repeatedly endeavoring to shake
the structure of the nation and bring about civil strife; inflaming society
against the rulers and stirring up unrest; and connection to characters and
organizations and holding meetings and conferences inside and outside the
kingdom to enact the agenda of a terrorist organization against the nation and
its rulers."
Multiple charges relate to his public solidarity with imprisoned dissidents,
opposing the Saudi-led isolation of Qatar in mid-2017, and alleged ties to the
Qatari government. Other charges include having "a suspicious relationship"
with the former Gaddafi government in Libya, publicly opposing Saudi Arabia's
hosting of former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, "mocking
governmental achievements," and "offending patriotism and loyalty to the
government and the country..."
Another group of charges alleges that al-Awda violated terrorism financing
regulations by calling for donations for "the Syrian Revolution" and rebel
groups "outside the jurisdiction of official agencies," without citing specific
incidents or groups. Al-Awda, merely called for people to donate to charity
organizations operating in Syria, the family member said.
Saudi authorities detained al-Awda on September 7, 2017. On September 12, 2017,
the Presidency of State Security announced that it was taking action against
those acting "for the benefit of foreign parties against the security of the
kingdom and its interests." Authorities detained al-Awda's brother Khaled later
that month after he tweeted about his brother's detention, media reported. He
remains in detention.
A family member told Human Rights Watch at the time of al-Awda's arrest that he
believed it was related to al-Awda's failure comply with an order from Saudi
authorities to tweet a specific text to support the Saudi-led isolation of
Qatar. Instead, he posted a tweet on September 9, just before his arrest, which
stated in part, "May God harmonize between their hearts for the good of their
people," an apparent call for reconciliation between the Gulf countries.
Al-Awda was among dozens of dissidents, writers, and clerics detained in
September 2017. Activists have circulated lists of more than 60 people being
held, though Saudi authorities have not released information about their cases.
Other prominent detainees in the group include Essam al-Zamil, an economist;
Mustafa al-Hasan, an academic; Abdullah Al-Malki, a writer; and dozens of other
clerics including Awad al-Qarni, Ibrahim al-Nasser, and Ibrahim al-Fares.
Authorities imprisoned Abdulaziz al-Shubaily and Issa al-Hamid, human rights
activists, around the same time. Both had lost appeals of convictions for their
human rights work following unfair trials.
Al-Awda's trial follows a recent crackdown on women's rights activists in Saudi
Arabia that has led to the arrest of at least 13 women under the pretext of
maintaining national security.
The charges against al-Awda do not cross the threshold of crimes for which
capital punishment can be justified under international human rights law even
in countries that still have the death penalty. International standards,
including the Arab Charter on Human Rights, ratified by Saudi Arabia, require
countries that retain the death penalty to use it only for the "most serious
crimes," and in exceptional circumstances. In 2012, the United Nations special
rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions stated that where
used, the death penalty should be limited to cases in which a person is
intentionally killed.
Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment in all countries and under all
circumstances. Capital punishment is unique in its cruelty and finality, and it
is inevitably and universally plagued with arbitrariness, prejudice, and error.
"Saudi Arabia's Western allies should stop pretending that the country has a
reform agenda when at the same time the Saudi justice system is threatening to
kill peaceful government critics," Whitson said.
(source: Human Rights Watch)
IRAN----execution
Iran executes Kurdish political prisoner
Iran has executed Kurdish political prisoner Kamal Ahmadnejad in Minadoab,
northwest Iran, on Monday morning. He faced charges of killing an IRGC member
and membership in a Kurdish dissident group.
According to a source he was suddenly taken to Ward 2 2 weeks ago and was
executed on Monday, September 10. His family and relatives were not notified
until the prisoner was already hanged.
Kamal Ahmadnejad was arrested in 2014 along with 5 others each of whom was
sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
Political Prisoner Kamal Ahmadnejad, wrote a letter to the UN Human Rights
Rapporteur, Mrs. Asma Jahangir in November 2017, that revealed the horrific
extent of his experiences in prison. He detailed the tortures he had been
subjected to and described how the authorities tortured him to make televised
confession.
In his letter political prisoner Kamal Ahmadnejad wrote, "I was arrested on
December 24, 2014 by the Intelligence Ministry agents in Miandoab city. I spent
24 hours in the Miandoab Detention Center under torture. I would not even know
why I was arrested.
I was informed of a murder charge fabricated by the inspector at the behest of
Ministry of Intelligence. They set a bail bound for me on the charge of murder
and I was transferred to Intelligence detention center of Urmia on charges of
murder.
I was interrogated and tortured for 6 months in solitary confinement of the
Ministry of Intelligence. Cells colored with horror and fear. In fact, the
cells are designed in a way to break the will of the prisoner and make him
surrender by creating an atmosphere of fear, terror, and despair. Solitary
cells of Intelligence detention center, turns every citizen to a criminal and
felon.
I was no exception to the rule. I was subjected to physical, mental and
psychological torture for 6 months. Torturers and interrogators were only
trying to introduce me as a murderer.
I gradually realized that I am in custody along with 5 other individuals from
the village of Gamishgoli, 3 of whom were arrested 2 months earlier than me."
"Every day I wished a hundred times to die. I had gone completely mad! Why me?"
he said.
Among the torture methods he was subjected to are kicking and punching, lashing
with cable, electric shocks. He further mentioned that he was threatened with
his wife being arrested.
He also explained how he confessed under torture to the crime he had not
committed. Then he was forced to attend in a TV interview, after being
threatened with death.
"The text of the interview was already prepared by the interrogators and
torturers. A few days before the interview they tortured me to memorize the
text to then read it during the interview," Ahmadnezhad said.
In another part of his letter Kamal Ahmadnejad wrote, "During detention and
interrogation period, they did not pay attention to my personal remarks and
defenses.
During my incarceration and interrogation, no attention was paid to my
statements about being innocent. Judge of the First Branch of the Penal (court)
of Miandoab, issued a death sentence without considering my evidences and
documents, and only by referring to the Ministry of Intelligence.
They did not summon to court the witnesses who were willing to testify that I
was at home on the day the murdered was committed. The scene of murder was also
not restored due to lack of evidence.
Therefore, I declare that I am innocent and do not commit any crime. The
Intelligence Ministry and other provincial security agencies are trying to kill
me."
He urged Ms. Asma Jahangir, UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran,
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and all human rights activists, to
speak out over his situation in any way possible.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
*****************
Kamal Ahmad Nejad, Kurdish political prisoner, was executed / Execution of 6
Kurdish political activists in the past week
Another Kurdish political prisoner was sentenced to death, executed by the
Iranian government.
According to Report of the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Kamal Ahmad
Nejad, a political prisoner sentenced to death , was executed on Monday,
September 10, at the central prison of Miandoab.
A source informed, Kamal Ahmadnejad's death sentence was arrested and convicted
of being a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and was executed
without family information and the last visit wasn't carried out.
Kamal Ahmadnejad is from the village of Gamishgolli Miandoab. In the fall 2015,
along with 5 others, the names of Milad Abdi, Saeed Siahi, Soleyman Kerry,
Mostafa Tahazadeh and Halmat Abdollahi were arrested on charges of killing 1 of
the members of the Revolutionary Guard called Hashem Zinali.
The Iranian judiciary was sentenced to death for Ahmadnejad on September 18,
2016, and for 5 other defendants, each sentenced to 15 years in prison.
By registering the statistics, in the statistics center of Hengaw, only in the
past week, 4 Kurd political prisoners and 2 Peshmerga were executed by the
Judiciary and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
(source: hengaw.net)
PAKISTAN/IRAN:
Pakistanis on death row in Iran: LHC gives last chance to ministries for reply
- 15 seconds ago
The Lahore High Court (LHC) Tuesday directed federal ministries - Foreign
Affairs, Interior and Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development - for
filing reply to a petition about Pakistani citizens on death row in Iranian
jails.
During the proceedings, the court took serious note of non-filing of reply by
the respondents despite passage of a period of 5 months.
Justice Shahid Waheed heard the petition, filed by Justice Project Pakistan
(JPP), seeking details of Pakistanis imprisoned in Iran and the actions taken
by the government in order to get their death sentences reviewed under recently
amended Iranian drug laws.
Reacting to a request for grant of more time for filing the reply, the court
observed that there were so many Pakistanis languishing in Iran's jails. "Don't
you care about them?" he asked.
The court directed the respondent ministries for filing their replies and a
list of Pakistanis on Iran's death row in 2 weeks. "No further adjournment will
be granted after this period," the court added.
The petitioner had requested the court to direct the Government of Pakistan to
make immediate and forceful representations, as required by law, on behalf of
Pakistani citizens on death row in Iran, both to secure reviews of their death
sentence under the Amendment, and to ensure their extradition to Pakistan.
The JPP submitted that new Iranian drug laws entitled prisoners sentenced to
death under previous standards to filing reviews; however, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Pakistan embassy in Tehran had not taken any steps to
facilitate the Pakistani prisoners.
In January 2018, the Supreme Court of Iran announced that those sentenced to
death for drug crimes would have their sentences commuted only if they apply
for such a commutation.
The Pakistanis sentenced to death in Iran under previous standards faced
imminent execution if applications for review were not filed on their behalf,
it added.
(source: Pakistan Today)
EGYPT:
EU condemns Egypt's mass death sentence
The Cairo courtoom in which the death sentences of 75 people, initially passed
in July over clashes in 2013 between security forces and supporters of ousted
president Mohamed Morsi, was confirmed on Saturday
The European Union on Tuesday condemned death sentences passed on 75 people in
Egypt, saying there were "serious doubts" over whether the defendants had been
given a fair trial.
An Egyptian court on Saturday confirmed the sentences, initially passed in July
over clashes in 2013 between security forces and supporters of ousted president
Mohamed Morsi, prompting criticism from the UN and rights campaigners.
A spokesperson for the EU's diplomatic service reiterated the bloc's
"opposition to capital punishment in all circumstances".
"The circumstances of this mass trial cast serious doubts on the respect of due
process and in particular the defendants' rights to a fair trial," the
spokesperson said in a statement.
Some 739 defendants were tried together, most of them charged with killing
police and vandalising property. Nearly 350 were given 15-year sentences and
another 47 jailed for life. Award-winning photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, who
was arrested as he covered the clashes that turned into a bloodbath, was given
a 5-year sentence.
The EU said it was relieved he would soon be freed, based on time already
served behind bars, but warned that the conditions for his release "appear not
to be in line with Egypt's constitution and international obligations".
(source: al-monitor.com)
*******************
The execution of those who survived at Rabaa in Egypt
While the world's attention is on Idlib on the one side and on Trump's lawsuits
and the wars he has declared against everyone on the other, the military coup
court in Egypt silently sentenced 75 people to death.
Conducting a coup is the vilest crime in the world because it is one which
includes all kinds of despicable offenses. It includes lying, betrayal,
treason, theft, usurpation, murder, rape and all other offenses. A coup is an
entity of crimes wherein all crimes are committed at once.
When a coup cannot be prevented, these crimes are continuously committed.
Murder, lies, theft and distorting the facts continue. Even though Sisi
deserves to be tried for all these crimes, he finds a way to try the ones whose
basic living rights he violated.
The coup organized by Sisi in Egypt opened a new space for itself by spreading
the lie that Morsi was becoming a dictator. Eventually, a defense minister
appointed by Morsi was shown as a savior and his coup caused the death of
thousands of people, leading to a dark period that was not experienced even in
the darkest times in Egypt's history. It also resulted in a coup regime that
deems oppression proper for its own people. When it was not possible to disband
the peaceful demonstrators by persuasion, fire was opened at the crowds and
3,000 unarmed demonstrators were barbarically massacred. Those who were not
massacred on the streets were arrested and held in prisons under grave
conditions where they were tortured for years. In these prisons, a few people
die every week under these conditions. Those who survive, on the other hand,
get the death penalty in a single-session trial.
Recently, in a trial continuing in Egypt, 75 people were sentenced to death,
including the close coworkers of Egypt's 1st democratically-elected President
Mohammed Morsi. Hundreds of others were sentenced to life in prison. Among
those who were given the death penalty were Muhammad Biltaci, father of Esma
Biltaci who was deliberately massacred and became a symbol of the Rabaa square,
and 2 of the greatest scholars of Egypt, Imam Saffad Higazi and Tarik al Zumer.
Among those who were given lifetime imprisonment, there is Mohammed Bedii who
maintained his composure even after 3,000 of his brothers and sisters were
brutally massacred in a bloody ambush by the coup plotters at Rabaa square.
They knew very well that if they were carrying a single pocket knife, the
regime would use it to legitimize the violence. But beyond that, not resorting
to armed resistance was a result of the responsibility they felt towards their
own people. Armed resistance would lead to a civil war and chaos that no one
would be able to stop. They knew this very well and even though it was hard to
stand, even though they were being oppressed and even massacred, they chose to
have patience.
If peace is one of the most important values of the world we are living in,
these people should have been rewarded for sacrificing their own rights to
prevent the escalation of violence in their country.
Yet, while the world did not see this graceful act, the military coup regime
held them responsible for its own massacres. There is no doubt that the
massacre of 3,000 demonstrators is a great crime that necessitates a trial.
However, when not a single person asked questions about the context or
aftermath of this massacre, not to mention conducting trials, the coup plotters
got even more shameless and dared to try the Rabaa victims, those who could not
run away, those who did not die, the survivors of a massacre, and they pin
their own crimes on these people.
It is such a boldness that not even one person feels ashamed when it was found
out that 5 of those sentenced to the death penalty died in prison due to
torture and the dire conditions.
The coup in Egypt and the attitude of the world toward this coup is an example
that reveals the hypocrisy of the world order we are living in with all its
parameters.
How long will the Western world, who is giving lectures over and over again on
why democracy has not developed in the Muslim world, be able to hide the fact
that almost all of the blame, if there is any, is theirs?
In the meantime, while the military coup regime was sentencing 75 innocent
protesters to death, the U.S. gave 1,2 billion dollars of aid to Sisi. Just
like paying a subcontractor his fee!
Yet, democracy and human rights or the so-called "Western values" are being
trampled here.
While the U.S. is stopping the sale of weapons to Turkey through congress
decisions whenever there is a disagreement, it is paying Sisi even after all he
has done to kill democracy??? Isn???t this the killing of a blooming democracy
in a Muslim country?
(source: yenisafak.com)
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