Weekly Bulletin Issue No. 375
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
Weekly Bulletin
Issue No. 375
21 OCT. 2011 – 27 OCT. 2011
Year 8
Egypt
Prosecution investigates students and employees of Akhbar Al-Yom Academy on charges of “attacking” Zaki Badr
Prosecution of 6 October city – police station 2 has summoned the 10 fired students from Akhbar Al-Yom academy, along with six employees, to investigate complaint No. 5476 for the year 2011. The complaint was filed by Ahmed Zaki Badr, head of the academy, accusing them of “unlawfully holding him inside the building of the academy” and “attacking him while performing his job”. Lawyers of the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression attended with the students and employees. Investigations with the students have been postponed, and only one employee, Yehia Hussein, was investigated. The lawyers are currently awaiting the prosecution’s decision in regards to this investigation.
It is worth noting that the families of the fired students had been to Ahmed Zaki Badr’s office to reach an understanding regarding the dismissal of their sons and daughters. However, he told them that he will not drop the complaint or the dismissals, unless those students officially apologize in the various mass media like newspapers and TV.
ANHRI refuses the referral of its complaint to the Military Prosecution against Osama Haikal by the Attorney General
ANHRI said today that the Attorney General Abdel-Mageed Mahmoud decided to refer its complaint against Osama Haikal, the Egyptian Minister of Information, to the exceptional Military Prosecution, albeit there is not any legal or logical justifications allowing such a decision, especially that Haikal is a civilian minister of a civilian ministry.
ANHRI filed the complaint on 12 October 2011 to the Attorney General, demanding an investigation into the incidents of broadcasting hate and incitement speech against Egyptian citizens, as well as spreading false news in the context of the peaceful demonstration organized by Egyptian Copts on 9 October. The demonstration was organized to demand protection of houses of worship, however, it ended up with 25 fatalities and hundreds of injuries because of violent confrontations with soldiers of the Egyptian Armed Forces. National media played such a bad role in these confrontations by broadcasting falsified news and preferring the interest of the authorities to the interest of Egypt and the ethics literature of the media profession. Subsequently, ANHRI was compelled to file this complaint to investigate Osama Haikal’s role in these events.
It is worth noting that ANHRI filed a litigation at the Administrative Judiciary on 16 October, demanding the dismissal of the Minister of Information for breaching his duties and his legal obligations imposed on him by his position as a Minister of Information, in the same context of negative role that the official media played during the events of Maspero.
“We will continue with the litigation filed at the Administrative Judiciary and drop the complaint we filed to the Attorney General. We do not recant our accusation of incitement against Haikal, but we refuse the fact that Attorney General has referred the complaint to the Military Prosecution although it does not fall within its jurisdiction. We also know for a fact that the Military Prosecution will not launch any investigations and will not convict the Minister of Information” said ANHRI
Sources:
Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression
ANHRI
For more information on Egypt
Saudi Arabia
THREE ONLINE TELEVISION JOURNALISTS HELD BY SAUDI POLICE
Reporters Without Borders condemns the arrest of Firas Baqna, Khalid al-Rasheed and Hussam al-Darwish, members of the production team of the Saudi Internet television series “Malub Aleyna”.
The series, spread over several episodes, tackles subjects that receive little coverage in the traditional Saudi media, such as sex discrimination, inflation and the lives of young people in Riyadh.
According to a Reporters without Borders report, five journalists have been killed, 32 have been imprisoned, eight have been detained, 15 have been kidnapped, and 30 were forced to leave the country since the outbreak of the uprising on 15 February 2011.
According to the website of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information , the team were summoned to a police station for questioning after the broadcast was posted. The three netizens are still in custody. The French news agency AFP reported that Saudi authorities suspected them of receiving financial help from theAl-Islah opposition movement.
Source:
Reporters without Borders
For more information on Saudi Arabia
Sudan
Sudan: Alwan newspaper confiscated after print
ANHRI condemns the ongoing repressive campaign launched by the Sudanese security forces, represented in closure and confiscation of newspapers and intimidation of the staffers, in order to silence critical dissenting voices. Most recently, security forces seized the copies of Alwan newspaper after print, failing to give reasons and without any legal basis.
The 2005 Sudanese press and publications law affirms in article (5) that press and journalists are free and that no publisher shall be detained in matters relating to the exercise of his profession, except in the cases specified by law. The article also states that gag orders, confiscation, and closure are only allowed in specific situations in accordance with the constitution and the law. However, this article is not realized on the ground.
“These ongoing repressive practices point at the stringency of the government and its open hostility towards press and media freedoms, albeit the publicity promises of the Sudanese president Al-Bashir that stress on press freedom and promise the release of detained journalists” said ANHRI.
“Freedom of opinion and expression is an inalienable human right that may not be confiscated under any circumstances or in any capacity. The Sudanese authorities have to be well aware that there is no room for confiscation in the light of social networking and technology. Therefore, they have to abandon the repressive policing mentality and to allow public freedoms, especially freedom of opinion and expression” added ANHRI.
Source:
ANHRI
For more information on Sudan
Iraq
Iraq: An American journalist detained; charged with inciting protests
ANHRI condemns the ongoing targeting of media practitioners and opinion makers by the Iraqi security authorities, and expresses regret over the dire situation of freedom of opinion and expression in Iraq.
ANHRI condemns the ongoing targeting of media practitioners and opinion makers by the Iraqi security authorities, and expresses regret over the dire situation of freedom of opinion and expression in Iraq.
ANHRI condemns the ongoing targeting of media practitioners and opinion makers by the Iraqi security authorities, and expresses regret over the dire situation of freedom of opinion and expression in Iraq.
“The ongoing targeting of media practitioners by the security authorities is a setback for freedom of opinion and expression, currently in such a regrettable situation” said ANHRI.
Iraq: ANHRI condemns the ongoing assaults against media practitioners
ANHRI condemns the series of ongoing assaults against media practitioners in Iraq, and expresses its concern over the bad situation of situation of freedom of opinion and expression under the proliferation of armed groups, and also the targeting of journalists by police and army forces through detention, prosecution, and storming of their houses.
Most recently, Al-Iraqiya channel reporter Abdul-Hussein Al-Rikaby encountered an armed attack by the end of last week in Nasiriyah. He was shot in different parts of his body by unknown assailants as he returned from the channel’s office to Qadaa Al-Rifai, where he lives. Al-Rikaby has worked in Al-Iraqiya channel as a correspondent since 2003. He is considered to be one of the most prominent activists and journalists in Nasiriyah.
On 17 October, the house of Khalil Elwani, Al-Shorouk newspaper correspondent, got illegally stormed by the Iraqi army, without a judicial permit. The incident comes in the context of his articles that address aspects of the daily life in the city of Anbar, the proliferation of armed violence, and the dramatic increase of death toll as a result of insecurity.
“Freedoms in Iraq have becomes in a critical situation. In addition to the proliferation of armed groups that target many activists and media practitioners, army forces as well attack and restrict journalists, preventing them from playing their role” said ANHRI.
Source:
ANHRI
For more information on Iraq
Morocco
Sahrawi political prisoners brought before judge
Sahrawi political prisoners Mohamed Huda and Mohamed Babit were brought before the investigative judge at the Military Court of Rabat, Morocco, on 25 October 2011. They have already served varying periods under preventive detention in Al-Zaki local prison in the city of Besla.
They were brought before the judge for a detailed investigation into the charges against them and against a number of the Sahrawi detainees in the case of Akdim Ezik camp. The camp received thousands of Sahrawi citizens, in a peaceful manner and in tents that spread out over an area exceeding 5 square kilometers.
The Moroccan authorities are still detaining 23 Sahrawi political prisoner, among of which member of the dialogue committee delegated by the displaced Sahrawi civilians in the aforementioned camp, as well as Sahrawi human rights defenders. The authorities have been detaining them pending investigations for over 11 months at the Military Court in Rabat.
Source:
Executive office of CODESA
For more information on Morocco
Yemen
Yemen: Al-Saeeda channel headquarters destroyed, one staffer dies
ANHRI condemns ongoing attempts to gag and intimidate media practitioners after the Al-Saeeda television station headquarters was set on fire in the Sofaa area of the capital, Sanaa, on 22 October. The building was destroyed after being bombarded with heavy weapons amid clashes between pro- and anti-Saleh forces. One employee of the station was killed and another was injured by snipers whose identity has not yet been revealed.
The station issued a statement calling the incident “criminal” and in violation of both Islamic law and any human morality, and said that it represents a form of terrorism against media staffers in particular.
“Despite the resilience and insistence of the Yemeni people to complement their revolution by toppling the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh,, these armed confrontations between the tribes and pro-Saleh forces portray the situation as a tribal conflict, not a popular uprising with legitimate demands,” said ANHRI.
Source:
ANHRI
For more information on Yemen
Syria
Syrian governmental forces continue to violate the right to life of protesters
The Syrian governmental and semi-governmental forces continue its repressive campaign against t he Syrian peaceful protesters across the country, using excessive and fatal force as they address them demonstrations which took to the streets following the Friday prayer, in demand of the ouster of Al-Assad and the ruling regime in Syria.
The fierce security and military campaign that targets all the areas of protests resulted in claiming the lives of 27 civilian, two in Edleb, two in Reef Damascus, three in Hama and its countryside, and 20 in besieged Homs, following the military operation that used tank shells and heavy weapons.
The Syrian Association for the Defense of Human Rights demands quick measures to protect the Syrian civilians, as required by the international law, from the flagrant violations they are subjected to across Syria. It also demands working on bringing all those implicated in war crimes against the Syrian people to the International Criminal Court as criminals against humanity.
Source:
The Syrian Association for the Defence of Human Rights.
For more in formation on Syria
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
ANHRI issued 9 press releases this week on the conditions of freedoms in MENA:
ANHRI: No room for initiatives that absolve Saleh of trial
http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=
Iraq: An American journalist detained; charged with inciting protests
http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=
Wasla releases issue No.33 entitled “Boycott it”
http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=
Sudan: Alwan newspaper confiscated after print
http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=
Egypt: New 6 April activist in the graffiti case
http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=
Iraq: ANHRI condemns the ongoing assaults against media practitioners
http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=
Egypt: Justice is in danger until the Attorney General is dismissed
http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=
Yemen: Al-Saeeda channel headquarters destroyed, one staffer dies
http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=
