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The Weekly Update for HRINFO, no. 173
Fourth year 2 August 2007 - 9 August 2007 Tunisia ======== Freedom of speech and expression The national council for freedoms in Tunisia and the working group for the freedom of press and expression in north Africa Issued two separate statements monitoring developments in the trail of Omar elmesteery, the managing editor of the "kalema" electronic magazine. Mr. Omar stood trail before the elementary court on 2nd August and the case was adjourned to 16th August. The council's statement quoted the Mesteery's team saying that this hasty adjournment raised worries about the possibility of having a fair trail in addition to denying observers to monitor this trail at the hands of security forces. Both statements called upon the democratic groups in Tunisia to stand their ground in supporting Mr.Mesteery and the freedoms of expression and the press. Prisoners and detainees The Tunisian Tadamon society issued a statement as a part of celebrating the release of 21 political prisoners belonging to el-Nahda group after spending 16 years behind bars. The society celebrates the resilience and tenacity those prisoners showed in holding to their legitimate rights and also congratulates the freed prisoners and their families. Nevertheless the society demands the release of the rest of prisoners who were left behind bars on the same accounts. Human rights organizations witnessed the absence of the most basic legal conditions to ensure a fair trail and regard those unfair trails as an attempt to persecute conscience and opinion. the society also called in its statement for an immediate response to the demands of all the national and international legal and human groups to free all the political prisoners and putting and end to policies of persecution and slow death targeting those prisoners and asked for a general legislative amnesty. Sources For more info. Tunisia homepage:http://www.hrinfo.net/tunisia ========================== Saudi Arabia ======== Torture and Capital punishment Despite the fact that the international law prohibits the KSA from decapitating individuals for crimes committed while under 18 years of age and despite the fact that the KSA insists that it is in compliance with the children's rights treaty. The authorities decapitated on 31 July 2007 a child convict in the city of Taif. Amnesty international strongly condemned the execution in its statement and called upon the authorities to suspend all the decreed decapitation verdicts and take all the necessary measures to end sentencing minors to the death. Sources For more info. Saudi Arabia homepage:http://www.hrinfo.net/saudi ========================== Sudan ======== Protecting civilians Amnesty international welcomes the international Security Council unanimous vote on decision no 1768 according to which, the UN and the African Union would sent an armed force to Darfur, Sudan, and called for the fast deployment of the troops and support from the Sudanese government. Amnesty International urged the Security Council to ensure the fast and effective embargo on transferring arms to the region. Sources For more info.Sudan's homepage: http://www.hrinfo.net/sudan ========================== Syria ======== Arrests Occupation forces in Golan arrest two activists, anew episode of the Israeli methodical oppression against the Syrians of the occupied Golan. In a separate incident, the Syrian intelligence arrested Ismail ben Saleh for his alleged public activism. Torture and capital punishment A dead-turned-out-to be arbitrarily detained individual, spent 2 years in a military interrogation premises (no235) Palestine branch. The military intelligence that brought the man's body to his relatives in a black bag, denied the departed burial in the local cemetery and buried him in a stretch of land belongs to his father. The intelligence also denied the bereaved the right to see the man's body. The Syrian committee for human rights reported the story in its statement. for full statement http://www.hrinfo.net/syria/shrc/2007/pr0807.shtml Sources For more info.Syria's homepage : http://www.hrinfo.net/syria ========================== Iraq ======== Journalists and media worker The British troops open fire on el-Alam satellite TV crew vehicle (Irani state channel, launched in 2003) bullets went through into the vehicle's body, no injuries reported among the crew which was on its way to cover IDE explosion hit a British patrol unit in Basra downtown, speratley, security services broke into Iqra newspaper main office, destroyed and confiscated property for military purposes. Four local journalists working in Sumerion.net in (Ze kar) governorate stand trail before Nasserya appeal court. Local police filed a lawsuit against those journalists after the website published a complaint made by a number of albataha district in which they criticized the performance of the local police force. Sabah newspaper reporter in Wasit released after being tortured while an Iraqi journalist working for an American agency disappeared more than a week ago. Sources For more info:Iraq's homepage:http//www.hrinfo.net/iraq ========================== Palestine ======== Murders Israeli jets launched two raids on eastern Rafah leading to 2 dead and more than 20 injured in an escalation gripped-Gaza and part of collective punishment measures on the Palestinian people amidst a chocking siege. The national society for democracy and law calls in its statement upon" the international courts persecuting the Israelis criminals involved in committing massacres against the Palestinian people and regards these crimes as methodical acts of terrorism. Freedom of speech and expression Mada centre welcomes the British public attorney's statement urging the Israeli government to try those involved in killing the British photographer James Miller on 2nd May 2003 in Gaza strip while working on a documentary about the effects of armed conflicts on children, the centre insisted that violating the media freedoms is due to the impunity conferred upon the perpetrators on both sides and called upon the British Government to continue its efforts to prosecute Miller's murderer's, two separate statements condemn banning a TV interview with two legal activists in Gaza strip to go live. Sources For more info:Palestine's homepage: http://www.hrinfo.net/palestine ========================== Libya ======== Prisoners and detainees The Libyan writer's friends society Calls upon all the Libyan, Arab, International organizations to join in rescuing Ahmed Ebeidy from limp amputation at the hands of internal security services after arrested 6 months ago for signing a statement with three other citizens who stand trail with 13 other in what is known as Bou-faid and his companion's case. Sources For more info.Libya's homepage:http://www.hrinfo.net/libya ========================== Egypt ======== Fair trail The Arab committee for human rights condemns the ban on Arab and international observers to attend a Muslim brotherhood trail held in a military court which is also known as case no963/2006 and also condemns this ongoing absurdity and calls for an end to the military courts and keeping the military away from the narrow-minded Polly of this regime. Amnesty international also sent a letter to the President urging him to remove the ban on independent observers from attending the trail. the authorities didn't respond. Refugees and torture Israeli TV channel 10 aired a a footage taken from a border-monitoring Camera's showing 3 immigrants running towards the Israeli borders under a rain of fire coming from the Egyptian side according to Israel witnesses. one immigrant killed while the other 2 were beaten harshly to death." they were ganging upon them and beat them down to the ground till they stopped moving, we heard them moaning and screaming till they were dead". Human rights watch sent a letter to the Minister of Interiors urging a full investigation and prosecuting the perpetrators and also called for UN international independent investigators to join in investigating that incident and other violence against immigrants incidents. Torture against ant-torture activists The people of Telbana ,provoked by the death of Nasr Ahmed at the hands of the security services-rallied to protest his death. Police forces stepped in and arrested 30 and detained them in the local police station where ill-treatment and torture is the norm. Mostafa a disabled person has had the biggest share, he wasn't able to stand up and pay the police officer the proper deal of respect despite pleadings made from his partners concerning his medical situation. Shomoo centre for human rights and rights of the disabled. The statement urged to prosecute the butchers of the ministry of interiors. Sources For more information: http://www.hrinfo.net/egypt ========================== Morocco ======== Freedom of speech and expression A working group to protect press freedom and freedom of speech in North Africa, reporters without borders and the Moroccan society for human rights condemned in 3 separate statements the ban slammed the weekly "Neeshan" for disruptive behavior against the king and the Islamic religion and also condemned the ban on a French speaking magazine for disruptive behavior, the authorities interrogated the editor in chief for hours. Immigrants The Moroccan society for human rights condemned the death of two immigrants form southern Sahara at the hands of security services while attempting to reach the Canary island and also condemned massive arrests, about 400 , among immigrants staying close to the university campus. Sources For more info.Morroco's homepage:http://www.hrinfo.net/morocco ========================== Yemen ======== Freedom of speech and expression The committee for journalists rights condemn attacking the weekly" el-Shari" at the hands of an armed group in the Yemeni capital Sana last Monday. the accident raised concerns related to the law-suit filed against the newspaper by the ministry of defense for committing detrimental acts against the national security, an accusation through which the authorities seek to sentence 3 journalists to death. Hood calls for revoking a security committee decision in Eden in which it prohibits unlicensed gatherings and marches on the pretext of compliance with article3/law no 29 -2003. Hood condemns the discoing and calls upon the security services to protect those participating in the sit-in. Sources For more info. http://www.hrinfo.net/yemen ========================== International and regional ======== Iraqi refugees situation is deteriorating day by day. the international community must step-in effectively by providing tangible aids rather than accepting a number of asylum seekers. Amnesty International said in its statement about the situation of Iraqi refugees. Sources For more information:http://www.hrinfo.net/mena ========================== The Arabic Network for Human Rights ======== Hrinfo sent yesterday a legal warning to the minister of justice calling upon him to declare the results of questioning judge Murad regarding a complaint hrinfo has filed against the judge last April for Plagiarism concerning intellectual property belonging to hrinfo. Judge Murad filed a number of unjust law-suits against hrinfo and a number of bloggers and lawyers as a punishment for their role in disclosing the plaigirasim he committed. For more info:http://www.hrinfo.net/en/reports/2007/pr0808.shtml For hrinfo statements:http://www.hrinfo.net/en/reports/ ========================== 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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The published articles reflect the author's opinion, either individual or organization, it does not necessarily present the Network's opinion
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