Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani

September 7, 2010

by Crystal Huskey

Although Sakineh Ashtiani's case is being widely reported this week, I wanted to analyze the situation myself, even if for no other reason than to understand it more personally.

From the news reports, her story is summed up in a few facts:
Sakineh was sentenced to death for the crime of adultery and murder. The files containing the evidence on her husband's murder are missing. She was originally accused of an "illicit relationship" with two men (which occurred after her husband's death) and sentenced to 99 lashes. It wasn't until one of the men previously mentioned was linked to her husband's murder that she was accused of adultery while married and involvement in the murder. Her two children successfully voiced her story to the world and are lobbying to have her released, or at least not stoned.

None of the details of the murder case are available. She confessed under extreme duress and torture. It is not the crimes themselves (or lack thereof) that are at the center of the controversy, but the method of execution. According to www.apostatesofislam.com:

"In stoning to death, the victims's hands are tied behind their backs and their bodies are put in a cloth sack. Then, this human "package" is buried in a hole, with only the victims heads showing above the ground. If its a woman, she is buried upto her shoulders. This is to give her an seemingly equal (but nonetheless impossible) chance to escape recognizing her lesser physical strength. After the hapless individual has been secured in the hole, people start chanting "Allah hu Akbar" (meaning, God is great), and throw palm sized stones at the head of the victim from a certain distance (a circle is drawn). The stones are thrown until the person dies or until he/she escapes out of the hole and crosses the circle. Escaping is impossible, given that the individual's hands are tied behind their backs and they are buried in a hole upto their necks or shoulders (in the case of males and females respectively). Naturally, the procedure is extremely barbaric and bloody."

The events that have taken place this week have particularly astounded me. The Times of London published a picture of what was presumably Ashtiani without the traditional head dress. The Iranian regime declared that it was indecent for her to expose herself in that way, and subjected her to another 99 lashes. The Times claimed that they received the picture from her former lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, who in turn claimed to have received it from Ashtiani's son. There are many questions unanswered here, but I'm sure there is a lot going on behind the scenes that the public does not know about. Mostafaei was reunited with his family in Norway this past Thursday, after being separated from them since fleeing the country. They were previously held as political prisoners in order to place pressure on Mostafaei www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/iran-must-end-harassment-stoning-case-lawyer-2010-07-28).

Many countries and groups have loudly declared their opposition to what is happening to Sakineh, including France, Brazil, and the Vatican. It is not simply a cry against one woman’s inhumane treatment, involving torture, threats, and ultimately a slow and painful death, but the lack of basic human rights being given to prisoners, whether political or criminal. Hopefully this can become a rallying point that will change the ways of the Iranian government and the future of its citizens.

For more information and ways to help Sakineh, visit www.freesakineh.org or http://www.facebook.com/savesakineh

For Amnesty International’s view on stoning in Iran, visit http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/campaigning-end-stoning-iran-20080115

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Nearly 200 Women Gang-Raped Near UN Congo Base

Nearly 200 Women Gang-Raped Near UN Congo Base
August 24, 2010 Crystal Huskey

On July 30, 2010, a series of breathtakingly atrocious crimes were committed against 200 women and four baby boys, ages one month, 6 months, one year and 18 month. Rwandan and Congelese rebels raped, pillaged, and plundered their way through a number of villages only a few miles away from a U.N. peacekeeping base. Now, more than three weeks later, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo has no statement to issue about the events.

The rebels blockaded the roads, keeping the victims in and the peacekeepers out. On top of that, there were only 25 peacekeepers stationed there. They were no match against the 200 to 400 rebels occupying the towns.

Many of the rebels were from the FDLR, the group that committed the mass genocide in 1994 in Rwanda. They fled to the Congo, and have been terrorizing the population there ever since. According to the survivors, they were accompanied by the Mai-Mai rebels. Mai-Mai is a term referring to basically any militia based group active in the Second Congo War (1998-2003) and its aftermath. Most were formed to resist the invasion of Rwandan forces and their affiliated Congolese rebel groups.

Last year, 8,300 rapes were reported in Eastern Congo, and many more cases are believed to be unreported. Using rape as a weapon has become shockingly commonplace in Africa. According to the International Rescue Committee, one of the primary aid organizations for survivors of rape in the Congo, “rape is used as a weapon of war in Congo. Armed groups rape to terrorize and control women and communities and to humiliate families. It’s calculated and it’s brutal. The International Rescue Committee is focusing on emergency care, counseling, prevention, advocacy and other support for survivors.”
A 2007 report in the New York Times describes the scene in Congo well by interviewing a gynecologist in a Congo hospital. "We don't know why these rapes are happening, but one thing is clear," says Dr Mukwege who works in south Kivu province, the epicenter of Congo's rape epidemic. "They are doing this to destroy women." According to John Holmes, the United Nations Undersecretary of Humanitarian Affairs, the sexual violence in Congo is the worst in the world. That seems to be an understatement. The escalation of rape in the Congo took off in the 1990s, a direct correlation to the waves of Hutu militiamen who escaped into the Congo forest after the genocide in Rwanda.
The problem is much bigger than the resources devoted to it and is escalating every day. The following aid groups are doing work in the region to support the victims of rape.
International Rescue Committee – www.theirc.org
Eastern Congo Initiative – www.easterncongo.org

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Saudi Arabia and Women’s Rights

The women’s Rights issue in the Saudi Kingdom has always been a sensitive and much deliberated one both within the watchful eyes of the International community and amongst feminist groups. It always brings to fore the moot question of sharia laws and fundamental questions of Human Rights.

In January 2010, Sawsan Salim was sentenced to 300 lashes and one and half year imprisonment by a Saudi Court on charges of making “spurious complaints” against government officials and for “appearing without a male guardian in court”.

The verdict reflects the discriminatory system of male guardianship in Saudi Arabia, in which women are prohibited from many acts without the presence of a male guardian.[1]
Cases likes Salim’ s is not uncommon in the Kingdom. There have been numerous cases some which have been brought to light under the watchful eyes of the International Human Rights groups.

One of the high profile cases involves Fatima Azzaz who had to fight to live with her legal husband and her children after her family tried to force them to divorce. Eventually the Saudi Human rights commission and the Supreme judicial council had to intervene.[2]

Human Rights in Saudi Arabia like many Islamic Nations are based on sharia laws. Most often than not the laws transcends many forms of Human rights including those related to women. The kingdom itself ratified the International convention against Torture in October 1997 according to the office of the UN high commissioner for Human rights but the courts here continued to mete out corporal punishments including amputations and floggings.

These actions have been repeatedly condemned by the United Nation’s committee against Torture. Saudi Arabia also engages in capital punishments including public executions by beheading. Beheading is the punishment for murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and armed robbers, according to strict interpretation of Islamic Law.In 2005 there were 191 executions, in 2006 there were 38, in 2007 there were 153, and in 2008 there were 102.[3] .

The government has not set a minimum age for a girls marriage nor has it any ways undertaken measures to put limits to forces and early child marriages. Marriages of Saudi girls as young as 10 to much older men were reported in 2008, although the Human Rights Commission intervened in one such case to delay the marriage for five years.[4]

In a country where female students outnumber men at Universities, It is indeed ironic that the same does not apply to them in the mainstream workforce. They are not allowed to work or study at places which does not have separate female sections.The ministry of justice also denies women the right to become judges or prosecutors.

In contrast the situation is definitely better in terms of political participation and civil liberties in other Gulf countries .In Kuwait for example women gained the right to vote and stand for election in 2005 and last year in a historic electorate elected four female parliamentarians. Oman became the first Gulf country to give its women the right to vote in 1994. Bahrain and Qatar also have some minimal representation of women to public offices. Barring some insignificant transitions to political representation of Women in these countries it still remains an upheaval task for the Human Right and the feminist groups to progress on much of the aforesaid issues.

It’s not uncommon otherwise to come across a Salim or Fatima’s Story somewhere maybe provoking a thought or two in the minds of all those who read it but for the millions of women who continue to bear the brunt of it everyday it’s the life they live everyday……….

[1] Human Rights Watch” Saudi Arabia, Free Woman who sought court Aid “March 2 2010.
[2] ["http://thereport.amnesty.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/saudi-arabia#death-penalty" "Amnesty International Report 2009, Saudi Arabia"]. Amnesty International. "http://thereport.amnesty.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/saudi-arabia#death-penalty". Retrieved 2009-08-17.
[3] Human Rights Watch, report, 2008.

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Potential Prisoner Swap with Iran

Three American freelance journalists, Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal, are being held in Iran for illegally crossing the border and for allegedly being spies. They have been in detention since July 31, 2009 and on February 2nd, 2010 Iranian president Ahmadinejad proposed a prisoner exchange.

The three entered Iraq on July 28th, 2009 and travelled to an Iraqi tourist resort, Ahmad Awa, that is on the border with Iran. While they were hiking near Halabja, part of Iraqi Kurdistan, they crossed the border into Iran. The border between Kurdish Iraq and Iran is said to be unclear. (1)

They said they made “a simple and regrettable mistake” when they crossed the border, according to their friend Shon Meckfessel who spoke with Bauer that morning. They also did not know they were that near the border, stated Meckfessel. (2)

The Iranian government, however, accuses them of disregarding warnings from guards and originally held them for illegally crossing the border. (3)

In November 2009, three months after their detention, it was publicly announced by Tehran's prosecutor general, Abbas Ja'afari Dolatabadi, that they would be charged with espionage. "We believe strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever," stated U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. (4)

Since the U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, Swiss diplomats served as a mediator and met with the Americans to call for their release. The three were last seen by Swiss diplomats on October 29th, 2009. They seemed to be nervous and scared, but otherwise were in good physical and psychological health, a senior State Department official told CNN. (5)

They still have not been tried in court. Iran's foreign minister never stated when a trial would begin and never stated exactly what they would be charged with other than that their intentions were “suspicious.” In January, their families hired an Iranian attorney to rush the case because they feel that the alleged charges are “ludicrous.” (6)

On February 2nd, Ahmadinejad stated in an interview with state TV that there were negotiations about exchanging the hikers for 11 Iranians being held in the United States. "I had said I would help in releasing them, but the attitude of some of U.S. officials damages the job," said Ahmadinejad. "There are a large number of Iranians in prison in the U.S. They have abducted some of our citizens in other countries." (7)

The negotiations did not start and it is not guaranteed that the prisoner exchange will go through.

"There are no negotiations taking place between the United States and Iran. We believe they should unilaterally release our detained citizens," said Clinton after meeting with Bahrain's foreign minister. (8)

A reason against the swap, according to State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, is that there is not an “equivalence between the hikers and Iranians that had left Iran.” (9)

The three Americans crossed an unspecified border while the Iranian citizens that are in the held in the U.S. “have been indicted and/or convicted of arms trafficking in violation of international law,” said Crowley. (10)

Going through with a prisoner swap would release three Americans, but the flipside of the coin is that it would also release 11 Iranians who are suspected of or have been found to play a role in assisting Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Only three of the eleven have been tried. (11)

For those who want to press the release of the three Americans, with or without a prisoner swap, there is a petition they can sign. Freethehikers.org has more information about the Americans and the petition.

Articles:

¹ BBC News Online, “US concern as Iran holds Tourists.” 1 August 2009: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8180081.stm

² CNN Online, “Iran to charge 3 American hikers with espionage, says prosecutor.” 9 November 2009: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/11/09/iran.hikers/index.html

³ “US concern as Iran holds Tourists.”

⁴ “Iran to charge 3 American hikers with espionage, says prosecutor”

⁵ “Iran to charge 3 American hikers with espionage, says prosecutor”

⁶ Karimi, Nasser. “Ahmadinejad proposes prisoner swap for US hikers.” Yahoo! News, 2 February 2010: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100202/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_us_hikers

⁷ Karimi

⁸ BBC News Online, “Hilary Clinton rejects US-Iran prisoner swap proposal.” 3 February 2010: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8497363.stm

⁹ Karimi

¹⁰ “Hilary Clinton rejects US-Iran prisoner swap proposal”

¹¹ Karimi

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The Freedom Exchange Project

CSI has just launched its most recent negotiation effort called The Freedom Exchange Project. The goal of this project is for both the U.S. and Cuban governments to release political prisoners. For more information about the project and to sign the petition, visit: Freedom Exchange Project.

A prisoner exchange is an agreement between two opposing sides to release prisoners. These prisoners include political prisoners, spies, hostages and even dead bodies. “I’m very much encouraged by the exchange of prisoners,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon when Israel and Hezbollah swapped prisoners in 2008 (UN News Centre). “I hope this will be the beginning of many to come in the future,” he added.

Prisoner exchanges are a contemporary innovation, according to Derek Brown. In ancient times, he added, captured enemies were slaughtered rather than kept hostage and fed (Guardian). During the Hundred Years’ War, for instance, it was only necessary for the French to incapacitate the English bowmen they captured by cutting off their index and middle fingers and then releasing them.This prompted the untouched Englishmen to tauntingly wave their still-remaining middle fingers, giving birth to the infamous gesture (Guardian).

As civilization became more sophisticated, so did the tactics used in war. It became the norm to capture and hold prisoners alive by the time of the Napoleonic wars.Using captives as a means to achieve an end was a practice honed during the American Civil war. A value was assigned to captured soldiers based on their rank. A captured general, for example, would be released in exchange for 46 privates (Guardian).

Capturing prisoners and keeping them alive, rather than killing them, became a way for one side to have leverage over another. The Cold War, to use a more recent example, did not have soldiers to capture, but it did have spies. In 1960, Gary Powers, a US Pilot whose plane was shot down, was found guilty of espionage and crimes against the Soviet people. He was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in the Soviet Union (Military). He was released two years later in one of the most famous spy swaps, negotiated by Wolfgang Vogel, when he was exchanged for the KGB spy Rudolf Abel.

Up until the Cold War ended, the people being captured were soldiers or spies directly involved with the war being fought. With the types of warfare changing, so are the types of people being captured and exchanged. Civilians, such as politician’s family members, journalists, and political dissidents, are being held because of ethnic conflicts, terrorist groups and political oppression.

Israel, for example, engaged in swaps with her neighbors and groups such as Hezbollah. In 2004, an Israeli businessman and the remains of three Jewish soldiers were transferred for over 400 Arab prisoners, 59 remains of Lebanese, a spy, and maps of landmines. Israel has a policy of saving every possible life, so many of the deals brokered have had an uneven number of prisoners exchanged (Guardian).

Another type of prisoner exchange that developed is a Humanitarian exchange. This type of exchange is used in Colombia to describe a swap between hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC for its initials in Spanish) and imprisoned guerillas. FARC has kidnapped thousands of people, ranging from ordinary civilians to high-profile politicians such as Ingrid Betancourt, to put raise funds and also to put pressure on the Colombian government to create a demilitarized zone and release guerillas (BBC).“I see no possible solution to the conflict other than negotiation,” said former politician Alan Jara after he was released from captivity (IPS).

From the ongoing political prisoners held in Cuba to the recent holding of Newsweek journalist Maziar Bahari in Iran, it is clear that people, and more frequently civilians with information or dissident ideas, will be continued to be detained. Exchanging prisoners is a model that worked in the past.

“I was neither a resistance fighter nor a good Samaritan,” said Wolfgang Vogel, the late overseer of many Cold War swaps. “My ways were not white or black. They had to be grey — otherwise it would not have worked,” he added (Times). Conflicts can be ended and civilians can be released with prisoner exchanges, if both sides are willing to negotiate.

Articles:

Brown, Derek. “Prisoners of Fortune.” The Guardian Online, 2 February 2004: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/feb/02/comment.derekbrown

Sullivan, Michael. “Francis Gary Powers: One Man, Two Countries and One Cold War.” Military.com: http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent1/?file=cw_fgpowers

Viera, Constanza. “COLOMBIA: Freed Hostage Calls for Peace.” IPS News Agency, 4 February 2009: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45677

UN News Centre, “Ban Encouraged by Prisoner Exchange between Israel and Hizbollah.” 16 July 2008: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27386&Cr=Leban&Cr1

Times Online, “Wolfgang Vogel:East German Lawyer,” 27 August 2008: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article4613780.ece

BBC News Online, “Q&A: Colombia Hostage Situation,” 3 July 2008: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7161276.stm

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Cuba: Past, Present and Future

On the night of June 12, 2009, CSI hosted an event titled, “Cuba: Past, Present and Future” at the Letelier Theater in Georgetown. In this event, the audience was able to hear from four professionals who have done work in Cuban affairs. Each gave the audience a different perspective on how to view the United States’ relationship with Cuba—these experts included Wayne Smith, Eugene Puryear, Jose’ Pertierra and Cecila Domeyko.

Wayne Smith was a former diplomat of the US Department of State that worked on Cuban affairs for well over 30 years. He presented many interesting facts about Cuba, and US-Cuban relations during his tenure working for the State Department. At that time Cuban-American relations were tense with the Bay of Pigs incident and the alignment of Fidel Castro with the Soviet Union. Smith discussed a long history of presidential administrations doing far too little to improve U.S.-Cuban relations, including the most recent Bush administration. It was interesting to note that post-9/11 Cuba kept their airspace open and also signed all 12 anti-terror conventions, which provoked no response from the United States. It seemed to Smith that former President Bush’s main objective was to topple the Castro’s government.

Mr. Smith then came to discuss the current administration under Barack Obama. Smith hopes that the United States will open a greater dialogue with Cuba by allowing for remittances and also by opening channels of migration to the States. This would enable Cuba to be an open society, he stressed. He wants the relationship to move forward and still presses for policy to change towards Cuba. U.S.-Cuban relations are better off now with the Obama administration in power, he said.

Eugene Puryear, a Cuban 5 advocate, talked about the current battle to free five Cubans illegally arrested for preventing anti-Castro terrorist organizations from carrying out terrorist attacks in Cuba. Puryear also discussed the pattern of past presidents dealing with Cuba in a negative light, and all the aspirations attached to the new Obama administration to strengthen relations between the two countries.

The 4th speaker, Jose Pertierra, represented the council for Alien Gonzales, the Cuban illegal immigrant who sailed on a raft to the United States to seek asylum and be with his father. Mr. Pertierra said that there was a abnormal relationship between the United States and Cuba, stressing scornful paternalism with which United States treats Cuba. He wanted the United States to put into focus the geopolitical issues which are at stake with regards to this fragile relationship between the two countries. Pertierra stated that more effort and cooperation is needed between the states when dealing with trade, immigration, and travel. Other issues that need to be deliberated should be prisoner exchange and the way in which the Organization of American States is shifting policy towards Cuba.

The final speaker was Cecila Domeyko, a documentary film-maker. She made a documentary on an all-women orchestra in Cuba, sharing with us her thoughts on making the documentary. She hoped to show women’s empowerment through her documentary, allowing for an unprecedented view into the daily lives of the Cuban women. She wanted everyone to know what their homes looked like, their hopes and dreams. The theme was the artist and family—the universality of the artist struggle.

The various dimensions presented in the panel discussion on the past, present and future of Cuba allowed the audience to see how the relationship between the United States and Cuba has evolved, and how professionals dealing with Cuba advocate for a strengthening of the relationship.

Written by Rajit Das, a CSI volunteer.

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Separation of Church and State, Muslim World and Civil Society

Three major power players in the Muslim world held an intriguing discussion under the title, “Separation of Religion and State: Muslim World and Civil Society”, at the Henry L. Stimson Center on the 26th of May.

The first speaker, Elias Aoun, is a lawyer who discussed how the Islamic world should inject their legal system with common principles. Tyranny may have resulted from the lack of common law and lack of adoption of natural rights in some parts of the region. Aoun stated we should learn from religion the basic tenets of Righteousness, and just Truth, resulting in the eventual incorporation of these concepts within the law. Overall he emphasized the need for a reform in the current laws found in Muslim countries.

The second speaker, Dr Katrin Michael, a female member of the opposition party in the Iranian government, spoke about the urgent need for the reformation of existing laws and establishing new ones in regards to a rights of the women. Currently, she is a human rights activist who stressed that women are treated as second class citizens since, in Islam, a woman is legally considered to be half of a man. Furthermore, throughout her speech, she gave numerous citations of passages from the Quran, such as Article III of Surah 1.4 that allows a husband to beat his wife. She also discussed the practice of Female Genital Mutilation. She concluded her speech by saying that countries should create a independent commission for women that works along with the president, ensuring that women have a role in government, and that peace movements towards societal ills against women should become more progressive through the use of the media.

The final speaker, Peshwaz Faizulla, a Kurd and the online editor of Chiraiazadi.org, showcased some unique points in ways in which Muslim countries should reform the establishment of their laws. For example, Islam has no “church”, therefore there shouldn’t be a relationship between church and state found in certain Muslim countries. Also he stated that religion is a product of human history, and Islamic disputes are more for power than for necessity. This has led to the continuing bloody conflict found in Muslim history. He also made the point of emphasizing that knowledge is what Prophet Muhammad advocated for, and that knowledge was not desired amongst his people after his death. “Secularism” is deemed to be a western concept, unfamiliar to people in the Muslim world. Yet this form of government should be implemented in its various ways in the Middle East, according to Faizulla.

These speeches were given by reputable Middle East specialists, showcasing the multifaceted ways in which reform ideas are being circulated amongst intellectuals in the Islamic world. It allows one to think how, if possible, any changes may come in future discussions of this sensitive topic. This CSI event allowed an “outsiders” view into what is happening in the Muslim world and I am certainly optimistic of the positive changes that are yet to come for the region.

Written by Rajit Das, a CSI volunteer.

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