JURIST - Paper Chase: Sunday, February 3, 2013

[JURIST] Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court [official website] on Sunday postponed ruling whether the legislative constitutional assembly that just last week drafted a new charter was legitimate. The judges claimed a crowd of Islamists outside the courthouse of had intimidated the judges and blocked the entrance to the courthouse. The judges stated that they were suspending the court's sessions [NYT report] until they could return to work without the threat of harm and other external pressures. However, the Islamists countered, accusing the judges of fabricating an excuse for failing to show up and claimed that the courthouse's exterior was much quieter than the judges had presented. Hundreds of riot police officers, a fire truck and several armored personnel carriers were available to secure the judges' entry to the courthouse, and several people were able to enter and leave the courthouse without harm. Egypt's Ministry of Interior [official website] had arranged to secure the entrance and protect the judges and stated that the protests were peace and some judges had arrived safely. The constitutional court has been unclear about when it might continue work or issue a decision on the legislative assembly.

Egypt has been plagued by continuing protests and violence since the beginning of the revolution. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] in late January voiced concern [JURIST report] over the growing violence and rising death toll in Egypt stemming from ongoing protests throughout the country. Earlier in January, Morsi declared a state of emergency in an attempt to quell growing unrest and violent political protests in cities a day after nationwide unrest compounded following an Egyptian court ruling handing down 21 death penalties [JURIST reports] for a 2012 soccer riot that resulted in 74 deaths and thousands of injuries. Also in January, an Egyptian rights group reported [JURIST report] that police abuse and torture continue to be ongoing issues and that police conduct has not improved since the abuses faced under the old regime. Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court was forced to indefinitely halt operations [JURIST report] in December amid pressure from protesters attempting to block judges from entering the court. Protests in the country have been increasing since Morsi signed the new constitution [JURIST report] into law earlier that month. Many individuals and rights groups have questioned the validity of the constitution, as only 32.9 percent of Egypt's total of 52 million voters actually participated in the referendum to approve it.

[JURIST] Somalia's new prime minister, Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid, said Sunday that the Somali authorities would become more involved in protecting rape victims [statement] following intense criticism after the arrests of a woman allegedly gang-raped by soldiers and the journalist who interviewed her. The trial of an unidentified 27-year-old woman, her husband and the journalist has generated concern [Reuters report] over both sexual violence and freedom of the press in Somalia. The charges against them include insulting a government body, making false accusations, and seeking to profit from the allegations, and the charges carry potential prison sentences. The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Hawa Bangura [official profile] criticized the government's response [press release], saying that the "approach taken by the Somali police does not serve the interest of justice; it only serves to criminalize victims and undermine freedom of expression for the press." The UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) [official website] also issued a statement [press release], saying they "will monitor the process throughout and trusts that the defendants will receive a fair trial, in line with the Government of Somalia's stated commitment to ensure due process and the fair administration of justice." Saaid has promised to reform Somali armed forces and the judiciary after the trial, has launched public awareness campaigns to reduce rape, and will soon form a new and independent task force on human rights which will investigate violence against women and journalists.

A collection of human rights groups and free-press advocates issued a joint statement [JURIST report] in January calling for the release of the journalist and three others who were detained in Somalia following the woman's claim of rape by government security forces. Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) [advocacy websites] joined together to make the public request that Somali forces release journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim and three others who were involved in a report related to rights abuses in the African nation. Ibrahim had interviewed a woman who claimed she had been raped by government forces a few months prior. According to the groups' statement, the Central Investigation Department (CID) of the Somali police arrested the alleged victim, confiscated her phone to call Ibrahim and insisted he turn himself in. CID has since arrested two others who helped put the victim in touch with the reporter though they did release the alleged victim, allowing her husband to take her place in prison.

[JURIST] The Iranian Parliament [official website, in Persian] on Sunday voted 192-56 to impeach the country's labor minister, Abdolreza Sheikholeslami, because he appointed an official who was implicated in the deaths of anti-government prisoners in 2010. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [JURIST news archive] said that this constituted an abuse of power [AP report] by parliament speaker Ali Larijana. Larijana is the leader of the conservative party in the parliament, which has been in a power struggle against Ahmadinejad. Lawmakers sought to impeach Sheikholeslami after he appointed former chief prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi to the head of the Social Security Organization. Mortazavi had been suspended [JURIST report] from his post as chief prosecutor in 2010 after a parliamentary inquiry found that he was responsible for the deaths of three prisoners who were arrested during anti-government protests after the country's disputed presidential election [JURIST report].

Despite this move by the parliament against Mortazavi, Iran's government has been criticized for human rights abuses recently, specifically against prisoners and detainees. Last week, the UN urged Iran to stop the execution [JURIST report] of five activists who were sentenced to enmity against God, corruption on earth and propaganda against the government. That same day, a US pastor was sentenced to eight years [JURIST report] in prison in Iran on charges of threatening national security for leadership in Christian houses. The pastor had been beaten and tortured while being held on these charges. The UN in October also released a report [JURIST report] showing that the Iranian government was torturing human rights activists and threatening their families with rape or death.

[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] on Sunday urged Afghanistan [press release] to make meaningful reforms to end the use of torture in government detention centers. HRW called attention to a UN report [text; JURIST report] released last month that more than half of pre-trial detainees being held in Afghanistan were being subjected to torture, saying this report "should sound alarm bells for the Afghan government to take decisive action to end torture." Afghan President Hamid Karzai appointed a commission [NYT report] to look into the findings of the UN report, but he denied that the report accurately portrayed the country's detention centers and the amount of torture that occurs in them. HRW Asia Director Brad Adams, however, said:

This government taskforce is little more than window dressing because it lacks the personnel, expertise and political will to credibly tackle the very serious problem of torture in Afghanistan's detention facilities. Afghanistan needs a fully independent and permanent anti-torture body staffed by experienced human rights advocates with the resources and powers to conduct long-term and consistent monitoring and reform.

Karzai created the task force on January 22 and gave it two weeks to look into the allegations and respond.

The UN's January report is not the first to be released detailing findings on human rights abuses by the Afghan government. In October the UN released a report [JURIST report] which showed that nearly half of the 273 detainees interviewed said that they had been subject to torture. A month earlier, HRW released a report showing that the Afghan Local Police had been committing serious rights abuses [JURIST report] and that officers were not being held accountable for these abuses. The UN also released a report in March showing that human rights abuses in Afghanistan were intensifying the issue of poverty [JURIST report] in the country, which affected more than two-thirds of its population.