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The weekly update for ANHRI # 252
Sixth Year
13 March 2009 – 22 March 2009
Bahrain
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Targeting Demonstrators with Shotguns
Special Forces affiliated with the national security forces in Bahrain used shotguns for hunting birds to disperse participants in a peace gathering on March 14 in Sutrah region. They resorted to using the same weapon on March 15 when relatives of detainees demanded the release of their sons near al-Diraz village.
This particular type of gun fires a bullet that explodes soon after shooting, releasing dozens of pieces of shrapnel in order to injure the greatest possible number of demonstrators. The shrapnel from bullets fired pierces the human body and stops at the bones, making it hard to extract.
Source:
Bahrain Centre for Human Rights
More information and topics on Bahrain page: http://anhri.net/bahrain
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Tunisia
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Hearing on Dr Sadik Shurur Case Postponed
The misdemeanors circuit of the appeals court decided on March 14 to postpone the hearing on the case of Dr Sadik Shuru, head of the banned Nahda movement, who is to be charged for running an unlicensed organization. The case was postponed to 28 March 2009 in response to the defense team's request, three months after the initial ruling of one year in prison. The court refused to release Dr Sadik Shuru in spite of his deteriorating health conditions, the legal shortcomings of the trial, and the appeal court's ruling of approximately half the original sentence.
Source:
The International Society for Defending Political Prisoners
Liberte & equalite
More information and topics on Tunisia page: http://www.anhri.net/tunisia
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Syria
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Opposition Figure and Writer Habib Saleh Sentenced to Three Years in Jail
The criminal court in Damascus sentenced Syrian writer and opposition figure Habib Saleh to three years in prison on March 15 for "disseminating false information at a time of war that aimed to weaken nationalist feeling and incite racism and sectarianism" based on political articles he wrote on the internet calling for reform, democratic progress and protection of the freedom of expression in Syria. The court acquitted him on the charges of "inciting civil war" and "insulting the President of the Republic." This is the third time that Saleh has been imprisoned during the rule of Bashar al-Asad.
Source:
Centre for the Defense of Media and Press Freedoms in the Middle East
The Arab Organization for Human Rights
The Syrian Network for Human Rights
Committees for the Defense of Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights in Syria (CDF)
The Syrian Human Rights Monitor
More information and topics on Syria page: http://www.anhri.net/syria
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Iraq
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Targeting of Journalists
Statistics show that the status of the media and press in Iraq continues to deteriorate, as 2008 has witnessed the murder of eighteen journalists, while four others have survived attempts on their lives. In each of these cases, the killer was registered as "unidentified." The number of journalists detained in 2008 was 12, while others remained in jail from before. Up to 265 journalists have been beaten, detained, assaulted and prevented from fulfilling their duties or participating in press briefings. Journalists have not been spared in a single province from violations against their rights.
Source:
The Iraqi Society for the Defense of the Rights of Journalists
More information and topics on Iraq page: http://www.anhri.net/iraq
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Oman
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Stifling Voices of Reform
Al-Zwaidi has been a prominent writer in the Omani press for twenty years. He has just moved to online writing, like many other writers, due to the tightening restrictions of censors on the paper press. He is being tried as a supervisor of the Sablat Oman forum, which allowed for the publication of an article dealing with suspicions of corruption in the company Omantel. Al-Zwaidi court hearing was on 17 March and the pronouncement of the ruling was postponed until 21 April 2009.
Source:
the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
More information an topics on Oman page: http://anhri.net/oman
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Palestine
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Violations of Freedoms of the News Media in Feb 2009
Violations of freedoms of the news media in February were lower compared to January. The reason for this is the internal dialogue sessions between the Palestinians and the undeclared truce between Hamas and Israel. Nevertheless, violations have included the detention of the television crew from Russia Today channel in Selvit, a break-in at the headquarters of Asia TV in Nabel Samrah, and shooting twice at the office of al-Hayat al-Jadidah newspaper in al-Bayrah.
Source:
The Palestinian Centre for Development and Media Freedoms (Mada)
More information and topics on Palestine page: http://www.anhri.net/palestine
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Egypt
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The Right of Bahais to Receive Official Papers without Being Compelled to Change Their Beliefs
After a legal conflict lasting five years, the Supreme Administrative Court issued a verdict affirming the right of Egyptian Bahais to obtain national ID cards and birth certificates without mentioning religion. The ruling supports a similar verdict by the administrative judiciary court in Jan 2008 to the effect that Bahais should not be obliged to follow an officially recognized religion --that is Islam, Christianity or Judaism-- to obtain their compulsory corroborative documents.
Source:
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
More information and topics on Egypt page: http://www.anhri.net/egypt
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Yemen
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Group Accused of Belonging to al-Qaeda Go on Silence and Hunger Strike
A group of sixteen people suspected of belonging to al-Qaeda (including four Syrians and a Saudi Arabian of Yemeni origin) announced, in front of the division of the Yemeni criminal court specializing in cases of terrorism, that they were going on a silence and hunger strike. The measure was taken due to the ill-treatment they suffered from security forces and the administration of political security (intelligence).
Source:
The National Organizations for the Defending Rights and Freedoms
More information and topics on Yemen page: http://anhri.net/yemen
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The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
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Interior Minister Must Stop Police Officers' Bullying of ANHRI
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) stated that the minister of interior should stop the harassment and bullying of ANHRI by the police. Some police officers arrested the security guard of the building where ANHRI is located on March 17 and insulted him for not informing them about the symposium organized by ANHRI under the title of "The Press: Between Freedom and the Judiciary."
More information and topics on ANHRI page: http://www.anhri.net/press
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anhri 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 anhri at:
Address: 19-26 July st-Downtown - Cairo- 4th floor - suit 55
Phone Number: (00202) 27736177
Email address:
info@anhri.net
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