Human Rights in the Middle East

originally published 25 June 2010

Amnesty International has urged the Egyptian authorities to drop the charges of defamation brought against leading human rights activists on account of their peaceful exercise of freedom of expression.

Amnesty International made this call ahead of a trial session involving three human rights activists tomorrow and the separate trial of a fourth on Sunday. These prosecutions are part of stepped up efforts by the Egyptian authorities to silence their critics and those who expose human rights abuses.

On Saturday the Khalifa court in Cairo will continue hearing the case against three men charged with "defamation", "the use of threats" and "misuse of communication tools", after allegations of extortion were made by a judge in 2007.

Amnesty International is sending a delegate to observe the proceedings of this trial.

Gamal Eid, Director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and Ahmed Seif El-Islam Hamad, founder of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center (HMLC) both are due to appear before the Khalifa Court of Misdemeanour on Saturday.

Egyptian blogger Amr Gharbeia, now an Amnesty International staff member, will not be in court but will be represented by his lawyers.

Read the full Public Statement

Israel enforces a planning and building policy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) that violates international human rights law and international humanitarian law. The demolitions of Palestinian homes, water cisterns, and other private and communal buildings are the most extreme manifestations of this policy,

According to the UN, the Israeli authorities demolished more than 270 Palestinian structures in the West Bank in 2009 alone, and an estimated 4,800 demolition orders are pending. Some 600 Palestinians were displaced in 2009, more than half of them children. The families are not re-housed or compensated, so they must rely on friends, family and charities for help. Often those at risk are the most vulnerable in society, such as shepherds and farmers in Area C of the West Bank, living near Israeli settlements or military zones, and the urban poor in Palestinian East Jerusalem.

Among the buildings threatened with demolition is a school built by the members of al-Jahalin community. This is a violation of the right to education. 

It is also a violation of international humanitarian law.  Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the destruction of property that is not justified by military necessity.  Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the transfer of an occupying power’s civilian population into the territory it is occupying.  Israel’s arguments that human rights treaties and the Geneva Conventions do apply to the OPT have been rejected by the international community.

click for more...

Amnesty International has accused the Israeli authorities of subjecting jailed nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by holding him in solitary confinement.

The 56-year-old, who spent 18 years in prison for revealing details of the country's nuclear arsenal to a UK newspaper in 1986, was sent back to jail for three months on 23 May on charges of contact with a foreign national, and almost immediately placed in solitary confinement. Amnesty International is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

“Mordechai Vanunu should not be in prison at all, let alone be held in solitary confinement in a unit intended for violent criminals,” said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East Programme.

“He suffered immensely when he was held in solitary confinement for 11 years after his imprisonment in 1986 and to return him to such conditions now is nothing less than cruel, inhuman or degrading.”

Vanunu is held in Ayalon Prison in central Israel. His lawyer revealed to Amnesty International that he has been placed in an isolated cell, ostensibly to protect him from other prisoners.

For years, Vanunu has been portrayed by some Israeli media and politicians as a traitor and an enemy of the state for disclosing Israeli efforts to develop nuclear weapons, and he says he has received death threats.

Read the full news release

Amnesty International today urged Israel to completely lift without delay its blockade on Gaza, which imposes a collective punishment on 1.4 million Palestinians in clear violation of international law.

On Thursday, the Israel cabinet announced that the blockade would be eased, allowing more of what it terms “civilian goods” into the impoverished territory where 4 out of 5 people are dependent on international aid.

“This announcement makes it clear that Israel is not intending to end its collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population, but only ease it. This is not enough,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Any step that will help reduce the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza is to be welcomed, but Israel must now comply with its obligations as the occupying power under international law and immediately lift the blockade.”

“Just as important as allowing goods into Gaza is allowing exports to leave Gaza, yet there is no mention of this in today’s announcement. Banning the vast majority of exports, raw materials and the movement of people has destroyed the economy of Gaza, and pushed its population into unemployment, poverty and dependency on aid agencies for survival.These problems will not be solved while the blockade continues.”

According to media reports, Israel is to move from allowing only listed products into Gaza, to using a list of products that will be specifically prohibited.

Read the full news release

Originally released 16 June 2010

Amnesty International is calling on the Israeli authorities to end house demolitions which leave thousands of Palestinians living in daily fear of eviction from their homes.

A new briefing, As safe as houses? Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes, reveals the extent to which Israeli forces are destroying homes and other structures in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, claiming they have been built illegally.

According to the UN, in 2009 more than 600 Palestinians - over half of them children - lost their homes after they were demolished on order from the Israeli authorities.

"Palestinians living under Israeli occupation face such tight restrictions on what they can build and where that their right to adequate housing is being violated," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"The Israeli authorities are putting Palestinians in an impossible situation. Whatever choice they make, they face homelessness.

"The majority of people are denied building permits by Israel, even after lengthy and expensive bureaucratic and legal processes, so they have little choice but to go ahead without official permission. But as they do so, they know that these buildings may soon be flattened by Israeli bulldozers."

Full text of the news release | Report: As safe as houses? Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes

Amnesty International today criticized Israel’s proposed investigation into its military action against a Gaza aid flotilla on May 31 as lacking in transparency and unlikely to ensure accountability over the nine deaths of activists during the operation.

The Israeli cabinet approved a three-man Israeli commission, with two international observers, to examine Israel’s military action off the Gaza coast in which nine international activists were killed by Israeli forces.

“The format of this government-appointed Commission represents a disappointment and a missed opportunity,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The Commission looks to be neither independent nor sufficiently transparent, the two international observers may be denied access to crucial information, and the Commission’s findings may not be used in future prosecutions.”

The Commission will not have access to members of the Israeli military who were involved in the planning and implementation of the military action, except for the Chief of Staff, and there is nothing to indicate that its findings or recommendations will be binding.

The Commission will be chaired by former Israeli high court judge Jacob Turkel, a specialist in civil law who has also served as a judge on military court appeals panels.

Read the full news release

Amnesty International has urged an Israeli military court not to convict a Palestinian non-violent activist who has been detained since last July, after he took part in a protest against the Israeli built fence/wall on Palestinian land.

Adeeb Abu Rahma has been charged with "being present in a declared military zone", "incitement" and "activity against public order". There is a real concern that the Ofer Military Court in the Israeli-occupied West Bank will convict him on Sunday.

"A guilty verdict would set a worrying precedent for other activists charged and awaiting trial, as Adeeb Abu Rahma would be the first activist against the fence/wall to be brought to a full evidential trial in a case of this kind," said Amnesty International.

Many Palestinians who protest non-violently against the fence/wall are detained without charge or trial, others who are charged with offences such as stone-throwing will frequently enter plea bargains.

Adeeb Abu Rahma has denied all charges, other than stating that he was present on a number of different occasions in non-violent demonstrations against the fence/wall.

An initial charge made against him for inciting others to throw stones was withdrawn following arguments and evidence put forward by his legal defence.

The activist has repeatedly expressed his commitment to the principle of non-violence. Amnesty International said it is unaware of any credible evidence that he may have used or advocated violence.

Read the full news update | Further background

Amnesty International is calling for an immediate, full and independent investigation into the brutal killing of a 28-year-old Egyptian man, Khaled Mohammed Said, while in the hands of Egyptian security forces in the city of Alexandria on Sunday 6 June.

Shocking pictures of Khaled Mohammed Said's body, whose face is almost unrecognizable from the beating he received, at the hands of the Egyptian police and in public according to reports, have been posted on the internet.

“The horrific photographs are shocking evidence of the abuses taking place in Egypt which are in stark contrast to the image of the country depicted today by Egyptian officials to members of the UN Human Rights Council and their reluctant recognition of some minor wrongdoings,” said Amnesty International.

“These pictures are a rare, first-hand glimpse of the routine use of brutal force by the Egyptian security forces, who expect to operate in a climate of impunity, with no questions asked.”

Although, the exact circumstances surrounding the killing are still being pieced together, what is known is that Khaled Mohammed Said was severely beaten by two plain-clothes police officers in an internet cafe. He was reportedly dragged out of the café and the beating continued until he died.

Read the full news release

Orginally published 3 June 2010

Amnesty International has said that a prompt and credible international inquiry into the deaths caused by Israel’s military action against the aid flotilla in international waters outside Gaza on 31 May is necessary to ensure accountability. Those individuals selected to conduct this should be recognized for their impartiality, competence and expertise, and Israel should cooperate fully with this international inquiry. The organization is urging the immediate lifting of the Israeli military blockade on the Gaza Strip.

On 2 June 2010, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution that provides for the dispatch of an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, arising from the Israeli actions against the flotilla of ships on 31 May. The resolution authorizes the President of the Human Rights Council to appoint members of this international fact-finding mission, adding that they should report their findings to the Council at its fifteenth session in September 2010.

Amnesty International is urging the President of the Council to ensure that those appointed to the mission are appropriately qualified to carry out the task, in order to ensure that the investigation is comprehensive, thorough, credible and independent and thus provides a basis for establishing full accountability.

In addition to its call for an international investigation, Amnesty International reiterates that the blockade of Gaza is a form of collective punishment in contravention of international law and called on the Israeli government to lift it without delay.

Read the full Public Statement | Take Action

Amnesty International has called for Israel to launch an immediate credible and independent investigation into the killing by its armed forces of at least 10 activists on boats protesting the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.

“Israeli forces appear clearly to have used excessive force,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Israel says its forces acted in self-defence, alleging that they were attacked by protestors, but it begs credibility that the level of lethal force used by Israeli troops could have been justified. It appears to have been out of all proportion to any threat posed.”

As a first step, Amnesty International has called on the Israeli authorities to make public immediately the rules of engagement issued to the troops who carried out this lethal attack.

“The activists on the ships made it clear that their primary purpose was to protest against the continuing Israeli blockade, which constitutes a form of collective punishment and so a breach of international law,” said Malcolm Smart.

For nearly three years Israel, which is the occupying power in the Gaza Strip, has implemented a policy of banning all movement of goods and people, except for the most basic humanitarian necessities which are imported by international aid agencies. Only a fraction of patients in need of treatment outside Gaza are allowed out, and dozens have died waiting for Israeli permission to travel.

“The blockade does not target armed groups but rather punishes Gaza’s entire population by restricting the entry of food, medical supplies, educational equipment and building materials,” said Malcolm Smart. “Unsurprisingly, its impact falls most heavily on those most vulnerable among Gaza’s 1.5 million people: children, the elderly and the sick.”

“The blockade constitutes collective punishment under international law and must be lifted immediately.”

Israel has a duty under international law to ensure the welfare of Gaza’s inhabitants, including their rights to health, education, food and adequate housing.