Abolish Torture

Muslims Against Torture And Political Imprisonment Everywhere

Archive for category Country Reports

Hunger and Trauma in Gaza: a nation being strangled before our eyes

Jun 1

Posted by Wael in Country Reports, Israel, Palestine | No Comments

A frightened mother and children in Gaza.

A frightened mother and children in Gaza.

TRAUMA IN GAZA:

Over 40 years of Israeli military occupation have had a devastating effect on Gaza; airstrikes, artillery shelling, ground invasions, jet flybys and their sonic booms have all led to an epidemic of suffering among Gaza’s most vulnerable inhabitants.

Dr. Evan Kanter, UW school of medicine professor and the current president of Physicians for Social Responsibility, cited studies that revealed 62 % of Gaza’s inhabitants reported having a family member injured or killed, 67% saw injured or dead strangers and 83% had witnessed shootings.

In a study of high school aged children from southern refugee camps in Rafah and Kahn Younis, 69% of the children showed symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress (PTS), 40% showed signs of moderate or severe depression, and a whopping 95% exhibited severe anxiety…

HUNGER IN GAZA:

The U.N. reports that four out of five Gazans are dependent on international aid for food. The three-year Israeli blockade of Gaza has resulted in desperate shortages of food, medical supplies and fuel. Malnutrition is common, especially among children.

The amount of aid allowed through by Israel is vastly insufficient to meet the need of the people. The United Nations has continuously stated that only a fraction of the required aid is entering Gaza due to what it calls ‘the medieval siege’.

We are looking at an entire nation of people slowly being strangled and starved to death before the eyes of the world.

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Update: Petition against Israeli attack on aid ships

Jun 1

Posted by Wael in Country Reports, Disaster Relief, Human Rights Activists and Journalists, Israel, Palestine | No Comments

From SuhaibWebb.com:

While Israel maintains that it has disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005, its attack on defenseless civilians in international water attests to Israel’s continued occupation of Gaza.

Further, Israel has exposed its commitment, or lack thereof, of peace and a viable solution for the Palestinian people. Too long have we placed faith in this elusive peace process which promises justice for the Palestinians.

It is time that our elected officials condemn this Gaza flotilla massacre, but withhold all military financing of Israel until Israel actually shows a commitment to non-violence and peace.

Take action and make your voices heard:

1. Sign the Petition: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Gaza2010/petition.html

2. Tell your family and friends to Sign the Petition

3. Contact President Barack Obama directly
Call: 202-456-1111
Email: www.whitehouse.gov/contact

4. Your local elected representatives
House: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

***

MuslimMatters.com has published a piece dispelling the disinformation that the Israeli PR machine is busy pumping out. See it here:

Gaza Freedom Flotilla Killings: FACT CHECK (Dispelling Myths as Israeli PR Moves into Full Swing)

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Criminal attack on Gaza aid fleet; and a bit of good news from China

May 31

Posted by Wael in China, Country Reports, Disaster Relief, Human Rights Activists and Journalists, Israel, Palestine | No Comments

Freedom Flotilla aid ship

Freedom Flotilla aid ship before Israeli attack

The attack by the Israelis on a flotilla of ships bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza is outrageous. The six Freedom Flotilla ships were in international waters, had cleared customs in four different nations, and were on a peaceful mission to bring desperately needed food and medical aid to the Gaza Palestinians, who have suffered under an Israeli blockade for three years now.

The casualty count is at least 20 civilian deaths and 50 injuries. Furthermore, the Israelis have arrested and incarcerated an unknown number of aid activists, taking them to a jail in the southern Israeli desert.

Reports indicate that the Israeli commandos came on board and opened fire. The aid activists attempted to defend themselves with wooden sticks. Reports by the Israelis that some of the aid activists had knives or rods, or even guns, have been flatly contradicted by observers on board the ships, and by the Israeli commando videos themselves.

International Responses:

Various international leaders have condemned the violence.

The Turkish Prime Minister described it as an act of state terror.

U.N. General Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he was “shocked” and demanded a full investigation.

German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said, “The German government is shocked by events in the international waters by Gaza…”.

Greek deputy foreign minister Dimitris Droutsas said, “There is no excuse. The level of violence cannot be excused … we condemn it and this is exactly the message I conveyed this morning to the Israeli ambassador.

Uri Avnery, an Israeli journalist, wrote: “This night a crime was perpetrated in the middle of the sea, by order of the government of Israel and the IDF Command A warlike attack against aid ships and deadly shooting at peace and humanitarian aid activists It is a crazy thing that only a government that crossed all red lines can do.” (Gush Shalom)

And Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg made the most important point of all: “This underlines that the blockade of Gaza should be ended as soon as possible,” Stoltenberg told reporters. “This type of military action is unacceptable. The shootings must be investigated and documented. It is clear that this is a use of force against civilians.”

Even if the Israelis had not intended to allow the Freedom Flotilla to dock, they could have found other ways of stopping it. They could have entangled the propellers (as has been previously done in similar operations), or surrounded and blockaded the fleet. These would still have been criminal actions, but that has never stopped Israel in the past, and at least there would have been no loss of life.

This action by Israel is a crime, plain and simple. Those who sanctioned it and those who perpetrated it have committed murder on the high seas.

***

Inmates in a Chinese jail

Inmates in a Chinese jail

China Declares that Evidence Obtained by Torture is Inadmissible

Now, for a bit of good news. The Chinese government has declared that confessions obtained by means of torture can no longer be used in Chinese courts to prove guilt. This came about as a result of the case of Zhao Zuohai, who spent 11 years in jail for a murder that never happened. He says he was beaten by police until he confessed. Eleven years later, his “victim” was found to be still living. The Chinese government freed Zhao and paid him $96,000 in compensation. Two of the policemen who beat him have been arrested.

In fact laws banning torture are already in place in China, but are widely disregarded by the authorities. Convictions in Chinese courts depend heavily on confessions rather than the investigation and evidence-based systems found in the West, so Chinese police feel pressure to beat suspects into confessing.

I’m not naive enough to think that this will end torture in China, or will instantly end the routine beating of suspects. Nor does it ameliorate China’s abominable human rights record, with its oppression of human rights activists, use of secret prisons, and suppression of ethnic minorities.

But simply acknowledging the existence of one serious problem and declaring it to be unacceptable is a significant step in the right direction.

“Big Progress”

The Chinese government issued two new sets of procedures in the use of evidence – the first covers cases subject to the death penalty, and the second rules on evidence obtained under duress in all criminal cases.

For people appealing against the death penalty, testimony given under duress and evidence from unnamed sources is now to be excluded.

Death-penalty defendants have also been given the right to ask for an investigation into whether their testimony was obtained illegally.

Legal expert Zhao Bingzhi told the state-run China Daily that it was the first time a “systematic and clear regulation” had been given on the issue.

“Previously we could only infer from abstract laws that illegal evidence is not allowed. But in reality, in many cases, such evidence was considered valid,” he said. “This is big progress, both for the legal system and for better protection of human rights. It will help reduce the number of executions.”

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Should Vladimir Putin be Respected as a Judo Practitioner?

May 5

Posted by Wael in Human Rights Activists and Journalists, Russia | No Comments

Vladimir Putin doing JudoMany people don’t know that Russia’s President Putin has been a long time practitioner of the sport of Judo. In sixth grade he took up the Russian grappling sport of Sambo, and then Judo. He eventually graduated to the high rank of 5th Dan in Judo, authored a Judo book, and a few years ago put out a DVD titled, “Let’s Learn Judo With Vladimir Putin.”

I also practice and teach martial arts, and I subscribe to the blogs of some well known martial artists. One extremely skilled martial artist, and someone who I have the greatest respect for, recently wrote a post expressing pleasure that Putin’s practice of Judo has helped to popularize martial arts.

Certainly it’s good to see a well-known figure publicizing martial arts. However, I’d be happier if it weren’t someone who is essentially a war criminal. Under Putin’s watch, hundreds to thousands of civilians have been kidnapped, tortured or “disappeared” in Chechnya.

Russian police in Russia itself are notorious for torture. And within the military, humiliation and torture of recruits is common. Journalists and human rights activists who try to speak out about these matters take their lives into their hands.

Consider the murders of opposition figures and journalists such as Anna Politkskaya, Yuri Schekochikhin, Galina Starovoitova, Sergei Yushenkov, as well as imprisonments of human rights defenders, scientists, and journalists like Trepashkin, Igor Sutyagin, and Valentin Danilov.

Some might say, “Well, we are speaking of him as a sportsman, not a politician.” I know that’s the argument of those who are against politicizing the Olympics, for example.

But why should we legitimize him in that way? If an ordinary citizen committed such crimes he would be a terrorist. Why should someone be allowed to hide behind the veil of presidential authority and therefore excused from responsibility from terrible crimes?

As a human rights blogger, I condemn Putin’s human rights record. As a martial artist, I still condemn him. Being able to throw someone to the mat does not excuse murder.

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AOHR report on torture in Egypt

Apr 4

Posted by Wael in Egypt Human Rights and Torture | No Comments

Police beating demonstrator in Egypt

Many human rights report suggest Egyptian police brutality is systematic and not isolated incidents

Torture in Egypt is out of control and is one of many elements destroying the fabric of Egyptian society, shredding all remnants of trust in the government, and pushing the Egyptian people to the edge of despair.

I am of Egyptian-American descent but have never lived in Egypt, though I visited in the summers when I was a child. I have many friends who spent much of their lives in Egypt and who return periodically to visit. I was talking to one of these friends recently and he was complaining about corruption in Egypt. I said, “It sounds like the country is really going downhill.” He replied, “It’s not going downhill. It’s gone, gone. There is nothing good left except the people themselves.”

But I’m not talking here about individual rants or subjective viewpoints. I’m talking about one specific issue, torture, and the overwhelming evidence that this abominable act has become the default M.O. of the Egyptian government.

A 2009 report by the London-based Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) says that torture is systematically being used on all levels of Egyptian society including women, children, elderly men and youth, regardless of their social status.

The organization submitted a complete file which includes the names of victims and their torturers to the United Nations Human Rights Council and other concerned international bodies.

While previously restricted to detention centers, torture is now widely used at police stations and illegal detention areas, said the report, adding that it is not only being used on the political opposition, but also on criminal suspects and others who are not suspected of a crime.

(I have even read of fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters being detained and tortured when coming to the police station to inquire about detained family members).

The report also points out that 285 instances of torture have been recorded, resulting in 119 deaths over a nine-year period. The number of forced disappearances has also increased, with 73 people disappearing between 1992 and 2009. Of the 73 disappearances, 56 are still missing.

How much more must the Egyptian people suffer at the hands of tyrants and torturers?

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Support Umida Akhmedova

Jan 26

Posted by Wael in Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Activists and Journalists, Uzbekistan | No Comments

Umida Akhmedova

Umida Akhmedova

Please support Uzbek photographer Umida Akhmedova, who has been charged with defamation for publishing photos of the everyday lives of the Uzbek people.

Sign this Online petition – Stop the criminal suit against prominent photographer Umida Akhmedova.

Also please call or email the Uzbekistan embassy in your country and ask them to stop the persecution of Umida Akhmedova.

See the bottom of this post for contact information for the Uzbekistan embassy and President, and for a sample letter you can send.

Email the press office of the President of Uzbekistan, Mr. Islam Karimov:

presidents_office@press-service.uz

Why Should We Care?

Although this blog is titled, “Abolish Torture”, I am also concerned about political imprisonment, attacks on journalists and human rights activists, and laws curbing freedom of expression.

Why? Because when freedom of expression is denied, dictatorial governments can inflict any sort of barbarity on their people, and no one can speak out. No voice can be raised.

The Accusation

Uzbek photographer Umida Akhmedova published an album of photos in 2007 called “Women and Men: from Dawn to Dusk”. It contains over 100 photos of Uzbek people – rural people, in particular – often engaging in traditional rites and customs.

The Uzbekistan authorities have accused Ms. Akhmedova of portraying the Uzbek people as backward. She has been charged with defamation and insulting Uzbek traditions. The general prosecutor’s office in the capital, Tashkent, set up a special commission to study the photographs, and the commission subsequently decided that the photographs distort reality, ignoring the modern aspects of life in the Uzbek capital, and focusing on images that portray Uzbekistan’s people as poor, suffering, unattractive or primitive.

Umida Akhmedova is now awaiting trial and has been banned from leaving the country. If convicted she faces up to six months in prison or three years of labor.

Umida Akhmedova

Umida Akhmedova

According to the information received, on December 16, 2009 Ms. Umida Ahmedova was informed by the Mirobod Department of Internal Affairs (RDIA) that she was facing charges of “slander” and “insult” (respectively Articles 139 and 140 of the Uzbek Criminal Code) of the Uzbek people.

Those charges were brought by the Tashkent Prosecutor’s Office, in relation to her book of photographs entitled “Women and Men: From Dawn to Dusk”, which was published in 2007 and contains 110 photographs reflecting the life and traditions of Uzbek people, as well as to her documentary films “Women and Men in Customs” and “Rituals and Virginity Code”. She is facing up to six months’ imprisonment or from two to three years of “correctional work”.

These charges follow an investigation carried out in November 2009 by the Uzbek Agency of Media and Information into several books and films on gender issues that were produced in collaboration with the Gender Programme of the Swiss Embassy in Tashkent.

Umida says that the first time she was called by police was on November 17, 2009. Captain Nodir Akhmadzhanov invited her to Mirabod RDIA to give a statement regarding her “Women and Men: from Dawn to Dusk” album.

According to Umida Akhmedova, captain Nodir Akhmadzhanov, investigator of the Tashkent [EN] city police department, told her that the criminal charges have been filed against all local authors who cooperated with the Gender Program of the Swiss Embassy. There is no information on other authors against whom the charges were filed.

The investigator interviewed Umida for two hours and asked questions related to Akhmedova’s participation in the production of the photo album and such documentary films as “Men and Women: Rites and ritual” and “The Burden of Virginity”.

“He does not even know what the ethnography is,” Umida said. “I said I did ethnography. He asked ‘What is that?’

“I said, ‘In my work I am mainly interested in the ethnographic side of people’s lifestyle. I photograph ethnic rites, traditions and weddings.

“Where is the slander?’ The question remained without answer.”

Photographs Matter

I agree that many of Ms. Akhmedova’s photos portray Uzbek people and customs negatively. But that’s not the point. The freedom to take and publish photographs is important.

A photograph titled, “Migrant Mother”, taken in 1936 in the USA, triggered a public outcry and spurred federal relief to suffering migrants. A photograph titled, “”Murder of a Vietcong by Saigon Police Chief”, taken in Vietnam in 1968 by Eddie Adams, played a part in turning the American public against the Vietnam War. A photograph of starving children in Biafra (Africa) in 1969 shocked the world and prompted an outpouring of aid. The photograph of a Chinese man standing fearlessly before a line of tanks in Tiananmen Square in 1989 gave hope to Chinese people struggling for freedom. The photographs of American abuse of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib woke up the American public to the dangers of neglecting human rights standards.

Photographs matter, and the freedom to take and publish them must not be curtailed.

Exposing Desperate Poverty

Global Voices Online writes,

Many believe that the main reason for prosecution of photographer Umida Akhmedova is her active civil position.Albatrossdoc writes (ru) that Umida Akhmedova and her husband Oleg Karpov (director of Tashkent Film Museum) were way too active for Uzbekistan – making films, photos and showing social topical movies in the Film Museum.

Albatrossdoc guesses that there could be people, who didn’t like it. The Museum has been closed for the last three months and no official explanation was given.

Having a look at Umida’s pictures one can see that she makes photos of the ordinary Uzbek people. Many of them live in poverty – and many are in desperate poverty.

Exposing this poverty is necessary to spur change. It must not be considered a crime.

Here are some of Ms. Ahmedova’s photos:

Some People to Contact:

President Islam Karimov
Office of the President
43 Uzbekistan Avenue
700163 Tashkent
Email: presidents_office@press-service.uz

Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the United States:

Phone: (202) 887-5300
Fax: (202) 293-6804
Mailing Address:
Embassy of Uzbekistan
1746 Massachusetts Avenue,
N.W., Washington, D.C.
20036-1903
Email: info@uzbekistan.org

Sample Letter

This is an example of a letter you can send to the embassy or email to the President of Uzbekistan. Feel free to personalize it to reflect your thoughts or concerns:

Dear Sirs,

I am writing concerning the Impending trial of Umida Akhmedova, as reported by many news outlets including the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8473285.stm

As believer in Human Rights, I feel it would be a serious injustice to prosecute a photographer for such documentary photography. Ms. Akhmedova’s prosecution will be rightly seen as an offense against freedom of expression, free press and free speech. I particularly feel it would be unfortunate considering that “Improvement in human rights now a top government priority” (your website: http://www.uzbekistan.org/social_issues/ ).

I don’t agree that the photos accompanying the BBC story defame and insult Uzbek traditions. I saw a series of beautiful photos illustrating a picturesque country with interesting social customs and sights.

Even if it is true that some photos depict poverty and hardship, the appropriate response to this is to work to alleviate these conditions, not to persecute the photographer.

Please end the unfortunate and unjust prosecution of Umida Akhmedova.

Sincerely

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BBC poll: World against torture, Israel in favor

Aug 27

Posted by Wael in Israel, Torture | 1 Comment

An Israeli defense forces soldier points his gun at a Palestinian boy. Beatings, torture and illegal killings by the IDF are commonplace.

An Israeli defense forces soldier points his gun at a Palestinian boy. Beatings, torture and illegal killings by the IDF are commonplace.

Poll of 25 countries reveals that the majority of world’s population opposes torturing prisoners suspected of terror involvement. In Israel, over half of Jewish population supports using torture to get information from terrorists, while most Muslims oppose it.

Reprinted from Ynet, Published: 10.19.06

Nearly a third of people worldwide support the use of torture against terror suspects in some circumstances, a BBC survey suggests.

Over 27,000 people in 25 countries, including Israel, were asked if torture was acceptable if it could provide information to save innocent lives. Fifty-nine percent were opposed to torture, 29 percent replied it an acceptable means to combat terrorism.

Respondents were asked which position was closer to their own views:

a) Clear rules against torture should be maintained because any use of torture is immoral and will weaken international human rights standards against torture.

b) Terrorists pose such an extreme threat that governments should now be allowed to use some degree of torture if it may gain information that saves innocent lives.

During a press conference held by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, actors demonstrate the Israeli Shin Bet torture method known as "Banana b'kiseh," where a detainee with hands and feet cuffed is painfully stretched, in the shape of a banana, over a chair by his jailer.

During a press conference held by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, actors demonstrate the Israeli Shin Bet torture method known as "Banana b'kiseh," where a detainee with hands and feet cuffed is painfully stretched, in the shape of a banana, over a chair by his jailer.

In Israel a majority of Jewish respondents in Israel, 53 percent, agreed that the governments should be allowed to use some degree of torture to obtain information from terror suspects, while 39 percent were completely opposed and wanted clear rules against it. However the Muslim population in Israel polled overwhelmingly against any use of torture.

58 percent against torture in US

And what do countries who have suffered terror attacks think? In the United States 58 percent oppose torture, 36 percent are in favor and 6 percent haven’t made up their minds yet.

In Britain, where a large scale terror plot was recently thwarted, 72 percent are against retrieving information from terror suspects through torture while 24 percent are in favor. Similar figures were apparent in Spain, where 65 percent oppose terror and only 16 percent condone it.

The poll was also conducted in Muslim countries. In Iraq, which suffers daily terror attacks, 42 percent are in favor of torturing terror suspects, 55 percent are against it. In Egypt the figure drops to 25 percent in favor and 62 percent against. The rest are undecided.

In three other countries, besides Israel, less than half the population polled against torturing terror suspects. In China – 49 percent were against and 37 percent were in favor.

In Russia, 43 percent polled against and 37 percent were in favor. In India, which has also suffered from terror attacks the data is intriguing – 23 percent are against torture and 23 percent are in favor of the tactic. The remaining 45 percent have yet to make up their minds.

Editor’s Note: there is no shortage of graphic photos of actual torture committed by Israeli defense forces and secret police, but I chose not to publish them there. I do think that such images should be published, but the reader should be warned first and given the option not to view them.

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Justice for the Killing of Natalia Estemirova

Jul 18

Posted by Wael in Chechnya, Human Rights Activists and Journalists | No Comments

Natalia Estemirova, human rights activist murdered in Chechnya

Natalia Estemirova, human rights activist murdered in Chechnya

Historical Background

Russia first began extending its rule over the Caucasus region in the late 1700’s. Ever since then the Chechens, a fierce Muslim people of the mountains, have been fighting for their freedom. The most famous Chechen opposition leader was Avar Imam Shamil, who led the fight against the Russians from 1834 to 1859.

The history of Russian control of Chechnya has been filled with abuses on a large and small scale, with the most outrageous being Stalin’s deportation of the entire Chechen and Ingush populations to Kazakhstan in 1944.

More recently, the First Chechen War of 1994 to 1996, and the Second Chechen War (which began in 199 and continues on a low-level basis) have been characterized by massive civilian deaths, war crimes on both sides, the creation of large refugee populations, widespread torture by the Russians and their local clients, and the murder by the Russians of reporters and human rights activists.

Anna Politkovskaya

Investigating abuses by the Russians (including death squad executions, disappearances and torture) has become one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. One of the best known cases was the assassination of Anna Politkovskaya in 2006. Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist who was well known for her opposition to the Russian occupation of Chechnya, and her criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Politkovskaya had given an interview to Radio Free Europe the week before her death in which she said she was a witness in a criminal case against Ramzan Kadyrov (Moscow’s puppet ruler in Chechnya) in connection with abductions in Chechnya—a case based on her reporting. In that same interview, she called Kadyrov the “Stalin of our days”.

The European Union and many governments condemned the murder of Politkovskaya, calling for a thorough investigation into the crime by Russian authorities. Though suspects were later arrested and taken to trial, they were ultimately acquitted, and the true actors behind this contemptible crime remain unknown and unpunished.

Natalia Estemirova

Now the world witnesses the murder of yet another brave soul working in Chechnya, Natalia Estemirova.

Natalia Estemirova, a leading human rights activist in the troubled Russian republic of Chechnya and a close colleague of Human Rights Watch, was abducted near her home in Grozny on the morning of July 15, 2009, and carried off in a car as people on a nearby balcony heard her call out that she was being kidnapped. She was found shot dead later that day in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia.

As a researcher with the leading Russian human rights group Memorial, Estemirova had been at the forefront of efforts to investigate human rights abuses and seek justice for their victims for close to a decade. She worked closely with Human Rights Watch, including on its recent investigations into the punitive killings and house burnings against people suspected by Chechen authorities of having links to rebels. She was honored by Human Rights Watch as a recipient of their Human Rights Defender Award in 2007, and received many other international prizes in recognition of her important human rights work, including the European Parliament’s Robert Schuman medal in 2005, and the “Right to Life” award from the Swedish Parliament in 2004. She was the first recipient of the Anna Politkovskaya prize, in honor of the slain Russian journalist.

Please call on President Medvedev to ensure a comprehensive, independent, and transparent investigation into the murder of Natalia Estemirova.

To send a message demanding an investigation into Ms. Estimirova’s death, click here.

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