Impunity Watch: Middle East

Amnesty International Calls for Iran to End Gender Discrimination

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

LONDON, England - In a new report, Amnesty International claims that Iran continues to harass activists working to promote women’s rights. 

Kurdish Iranian activists Ronak Safarzadeh and Hana Abdi are currently detained without charge or trial and denied access to a lawyer. 

According to the report, the two activists were arrested in October and November 2007 for peacefully exercising their rights.  Both were working for the Campaign for Equality, an Iranian women’s rights initiative launched in 2006. 

Currently, the Campaign for Equality is attempting to gather one million Iranian national signatures for a petition demanding the end of legal gender discrimination in Iran.  The Campaign for Equality also provides legal training to volunteers who talk to women across the country about the need for reform. 

The Amnesty International report said that those involved with the Campaign have been harassed and intimidated.  Dozens of women who worked with the Campaign have been arrested and the organization’s website has been blocked at least seven times. 

There are several Iranian laws that discriminate against women.  According to Ann Harrison, a spokeswoman for Amnesty, women are discriminated against in the civil code and in areas of marriage and divorce.  For example, women can be married at the age of 13 or younger if the girl’s parents apply to a court. 

According to Harrison, a woman’s weight of testimony in an Iranian court is worth half that of a man’s.  In addition, women are likely to receive half the amount of compensation for injuries that a man receives.  Also, women are excluded from serving in the most senior positions in the government and as judges. 

The recent backlash against women’s rights may be in response to an increase in women attending the country’s higher education institutions.  Women currently outnumber men at universities and the disparity is greater at medical schools.

Recently, Iran imposed a new law instituting a gender quota for university classes.  The quota requires each class to consist of at least 30 percent men and 30 percent women, while the remainder of the spots will be determined competitively. 

According to a Pakistani news organization, the Daily Times, the quota was put in place in part to prevent women from dominating the medical profession.  The quota will increase the amount of women in some fields, such as mathematics and engineering, where there are fewer female students.  But the quota will also reduce the amount of women in the medical profession. 

For more information, please see:
Amnesty International - Women Act Against Repression and Intimidation in Iran – 28 February 2008

Amnesty International - Iran: Persecution of Women's Rights Campaigners Rife - New Report – 28 February 2008

BBC – Iran ‘Targeting’ Women Activists – 28 February 2008

VOA - Amnesty International Calls for Iran to End Gender Discrimination – 28 February 2008

FOX Business News - Iran Continues to Intimidate and Harass Women Human Rights Defenders According to Amnesty International – 27 February 2008

Daily Times – Iran Plans University Quotas Based on Gender – 26 February 2008

Campaign for Equality’s website: http://www.we4change.info/english/spip.php?article144

Chemical Ali Execution Approved

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On February 29, Iraqi officials announced that its presidential council approved the execution of “Chemical Ali”, whose real name is Ali Hassan al-Majid.  In June 2007, an Iraqi court convicted Majid of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his role in the Alfal campaign against the Kurds in 1988. 

In 1988, Majid was the commander of Iraqi forces in northern Iraq and following the cease-fire ending the Iran-Iraq war, he ordered the use of chemical weapons against the Kurds.  Alfal, meaning “spoils of war” was a campaign that targeted Iraq’s Kurdish population, who supported Iran during the war.  During Majid’s trial, the court heard that as many as 182,000 died in attacks that he oversaw.

During the trial, Majid remained defiant and showed no remorse.  At one hearing, he said, “I am the one who gave orders to the army to demolish villages and relocate the villagers. I am not apologizing. I did not make a mistake.”

His conviction and death sentence was upheld by an appeals court in September 2007.  Iraqi law states that executions must be carried out within 30 days of it being approved by the presidential council.  The US military stated that they have not received a request to turn Majid over; however, an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki said that Majid will be hung in a “matter of days.”

While his sentence was affirmed by an appeals court in September, his execution has been delayed due to legal and political concerns.  Majid was convicted along with two other top officials of the Hussein government - Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti, a senior military chief, and the former defense minister, Sultan Hashim al-Tai. 

The presidential council, which comprises Iraq's President Jalal Talabani and his two vice presidents, Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab, and Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shia, disagreed over the sentence of Hashim.  Iraqi Sunnis protested his sentence and  Hashemi was among prominent Sunnis who insisted Hashim was simply following orders and should be reprieved. 

The US military, who has custody of the three former leaders, refused to surrender  any until the presidential council reached agreement.  While the council approved Majid’s execution, they have not yet approved the executions of Tikriti and Hashim.

For more information, please see:
Al Arabiya News Channel – Iraq Council Approves ‘Chemical Ali” Hanging – 29 February 2008

BBC – ‘Chemical Ali’ Execution Approved – 29 February 2008

Guardian – Chemical Ali to be Executed within 30 Days – 29 February 2008

Telegraph – ‘Chemical Ali’ Execution Approved in Iraq – 29 February 2008

Washington Post – ‘Chemical Ali’ Execution OK’d in Iraq – 29 February 2008

Rocket Death Results in IDF Strikes in Gaza

Journalists and policemen run for cover
during a rocket attack in Sderot [AFP]


By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Gaza – On February 27, violence between militants in Gaza and Israel escalated.  Early in the day, an Israeli air strike killed five militants from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.  According to witnesses, two missiles, fired by the IAF, struck the militants’ vehicle near Khan Younis.  Dr Moaiya Hassanain, a Gaza health ministry official, stated that four other people were wounded in the attack.

Militants fired rockets into southern Israel in retaliation to what Hamas called “the Zionist massacre committed this morning in Khan Younis.”  Over 40 rockets were fired into Israel; one landed on an Israeli college campus in Sderot, killing a 47-year-old Israeli. It was the first fatal rocket attack since May 2007.

The Israeli military responded by carrying out air strikes later that day and continued into the next day.  The operations resulted in at least 27 Palestinian deaths in two days.  Of the 27 deaths, at least seven were civilian children.

Two children, aged 10 and 11 were killed in an air strike on February 27.  Another, a six-month old boy, was killed later that evening, when Ministry of Interior office was targeted in a missile attack.  While the office was empty, it is located in a highly residential area.  Dozens of other Palestinians were injured during the strike.  The strike against the Ministry of Interior also caused extensive damage to the nearby offices of Oxfam-funded Palestinian Medical Relief Society.

On February 28, four boys, between the ages of 10 to 15 years, were killed while playing football near the Jabalya refugee camp.  According to Ahmed Dardouna, a family member, the boys were all related; two were brothers and the others were their cousins.  Also, hospital officials said that another child, a 12-year-old neighbor, died later, as a result of injuries sustained during the strike.  Yedioth News reports that the boys were not playing football, rather they were 16 to 17 year olds engaging in militant activity.  Also, the Israeli army said that they were targeting a rocket-launching cell.

Another strike was conducted against a police roadblock in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, about 150 yards from the home of Haniyeh, Hamas' prime minister.  It is thought that the strike was a message to Haniyeh since the area is not usually used to launch rockets.  Earlier that day, Haniyeh said that Israel's ongoing operations would “not weaken the steadfastness and the determination of the Palestinian people.”

In another strike, the son of Hamas lawmaker Khalil al-Haya, Hamza al-Haya, was killed.  Hamas said Hamza al-Haya had commanded a rocket-launching squad in northern Gaza.  When identifying his son in the morgue, Khalil al-Haya stated that he was proud that his son had lost his life for the Hamas cause and that he was "the 10th member of my family to receive the honor of martyrdom.

Despite, and in response to, Israel’s operations, militants fired at least 10 rockets into Israel on February 28.  Israeli officials state that at least five foreign made Katyusha rockets reached Ashkelon, a city of 120,000, nearly 20km north of Gaza.

For more information, please see:
The Guardian – Intensified Israeli Attacks on Gaza Kill Child Footballers – 29 February 2008

The Independent – Killed While They Played Football, the Child Victims of Israel’s Revenge on Gaza – 29 February 2008

AFP – Israel Pounds Gaza Militants after Rocket Death – 28 February 2008

Al Jazeera – Children Killed in New Israeli Raid – 28 February 2008

Associated Press – Israel Kills 18 Palestinians in Gaza – 28 February 2008

BBC – Four Children Die in Gaza Strike – 28 February 2008

Financial Times – Mideast Fear as Rocket Kills Israeli – 28 February 2008

Ha’aretz – IDF Kills 20 Palestinians in Gaza, W. Bank, Including 5 Children – 28 February 2008

Yedioth News – Report: 4 Teens Killed in IDF Strike – 28 February 2008

Al Jazeera – Israel Bombs Gaza Interior Ministry – 27 February 2008

Egypt Delays Verdict for Muslim Brotherhood Trial

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – On February 26, an Egyptian court delayed delivering the verdict for a case involving 40 members of the Muslim Brotherhood.  The court postponed the verdict until March 25, one week after the nominations for the upcoming local elections.  According to the brotherhood, the court's delay was politically motivated.

The municipal elections were scheduled for April 2006 but were postponed after members of the Muslim Brotherhood won 20 percent of the seats in the parliamentary elections in 2005.  It is speculated that group will win a landslide victory if its leaders are allowed to participate in the local elections scheduled for April 8. 

In the past, the local councils have had relatively little power in national politics.  However, constitutional amendments in 2005 require that presidential candidates obtain 140 recommendations city councils before they could run.  If the Muslim Brotherhood wins enough seats in the local elections on April 8, they could challenge Mubarak for the presidency in the next presidential election.

Of the 40 defendants, 33 have been held since their arrest December 2006 and the other seven are being tried in absentia.  The defendants are being tried by a military tribunal for charges of money laundering and terrorism.  Earlier, an appeals court held that the defendants should be tried in a civilian court, but the state overturned the decision and the military tribunal resumed last year.

On February 24, nearly 2,500 students, most of whom are members of the Muslim Brotherhood, protested the trial.  At Ain Shams University, in Cairo, and al-Azhar University, in Assiut, students shouted anti-government slogans and condemned the trial.  Also, when the postponement was announced, several hundred protesters gathered outside the court at the Haekstep military base. 

In the past two weeks, over 250 members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested.  Many of those arrested are potential candidates in the local elections.  In total, the group claims that over 600 of its members are imprisoned.  Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh, an influential Brotherhood member, warned that there could be up to 10,000 arrests by the time polls close on election day.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded in 1928, has been banned in Egypt since 1954.  The organization is the current government’s greatest opposition.  The Egyptian police officials state the many of the recent detainees were arrested under suspicion of being members of the banned group.

For more information, please see:
AHN – Egyptian Protesters Angered at Military Trial Verdict Delay – 27 February 2008

Al Jazeera – Egypt Accused of Delay Tactic – 27 February 2008

Reuters – Egypt Delays Brotherhood Verdict and Arrests 17 – 26 February 2008

International Herald Tribune – Over 2,000 Egyptian University Students Protest Against Islamist Leaders’ Military Trial – 24 February 2008

International Herald Tribune – Muslim Brotherhood Says Egypt’s Government Trying to Block it from Key Local Elections – 21 February 2008

BBC – Egypt Detains Brotherhood Members – 20 February 2008

CNN – Egyptian Security Forces Raid Muslim Brotherhood – 20 February 2008

Jurist – Egypt Police Arrest 70 more Muslim Brotherhood Candidates Ahead of Local Elections – 20 February 2008

Moroccan Jailed For Royal Facebook Impersonation

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Importer, Middle East Desk

CASABLANCA, Morocco - A Moroccan court sentenced Fouad Mourtada to three years in prison and a 10,000 dirhams ($1,304) fine on February 22 for making a fake Facebook profile of Prince Moulay Rachid.

Mourtada, a 26 year-old computer engineer, was accused of “villainous practices” and of stealing the identity of the crown prince, who is second in line to the throne.  There are thousands of fake profiles exist on Facebook, ranging from President George W. Bush to Osama Bin Laden. 

After posting the fake profile, Mourtada was allegedly kidnapped and tortured on February 5.  A website started by his family and supporters said that Mourtada was arrested, blindfolded and taken to an unknown building where he was beaten and insulted (www.helpfouad.com).  The Moroccan Security Forces denied that Mourtada was tortured. 

Mourtada is quoted as saying the following to relatives who visited him in jail: “I never thought that by creating a profile of his Highness Prince Moulay Rachid I am harming him in any way.”  Mourtada said he built the page as a tribute to Prince Rachid.  “I admire him,” Mourtada said. 

Since the allegations were made, the Moroccan blogosphere has exploded in protest.  Facebook groups, such as “Help Fouad Mourtada – Aidez Fouad Mourtada,” have given further notice to the issue.  The group is planning a peaceful protest outside of the Moroccan Embassy on March 1. 

Since Mourtada’s arrest, at least four other Facebook profiles of Prince Rachid have sprung up, although the pages’ authors are thought to be outside of Moracco and beyond the country’s jurisdiction. 

Reporters Without Borders expressed their worry that Mourtada’s arrest would have a stifling effect on free speech.

“This is the first time a Moroccan has been convicted for an online offence and Mourtada was the victim of a summary trial,” a Reporters Without Borders press release said.

“We are worried about the effect on freedom of expression on the Moroccan Internet as all of the country’s bloggers will feel targeted. This disproportionate sentence has shocked the Moroccan blogger community, which is one of the biggest in the region.”

Mourtada’s sister, Amina, echoed those sentiments, telling the Washington Post “Morocco should not want to go down in history as the first country to torture and imprison someone ‘for having created a profile on Facebook.’”

Mourtada’s brother, Ilyas, said the family would appeal the conviction. 

For more information, please see:
Reporters Without Borders - Moroccan Bloggers Worried After “Disproportionate” Three-Year Jail Term For Internet User Who Created Spoof Facebook Profile – 26 February 2008

The Washington Post - Fouad Mourtada Gets Three Years for Phony Facebook Page – 26 February 2008

CNN - Morocco Jails Facebook Royal Imposter – 25 February 2008

New York Times - Morocco: Prison for Facebook Prince – 23 February 2008

United Press International - 3 Years for Royal Facebook Fake in Morocco – 23 February 2008

Reuters - Moroccan Jailed over Spoofing Prince on Facebook – 22 February 2008

For sites supporting Fouad Mourtada, please see:
Facebook - Help Fouad Mourtada - Aidez Fouad Mourtada -

Fouad Mourtada’s Family’s Website - http://www.helpfouad.com/

BRIEF: HRW Calls on Morocco to Release Men Accused of Homosexual Acts

NEW YORK, United States – Human Rights Watch and the Moroccan Human Rights Association called on the Moroccan government to protect the rights to privacy and a fair trial.  In November 2007, six men were arrested and later convicted under Article 489 of the penal code, which criminalizes “lewd or unnatural acts with an individual of the same sex.” 

The men were arrested after a video of a private party, allegedly including the men, circulated on the internet.  Abdelaziz Nouaydi, a Rabat lawyer on the men’s defense team, said that the men were convicted after the prosecution showed no evidence of any Article 489 violation and only offered the video as evidence.  However, the video showed no indication of sexual activity.  The men were sentenced to imprisonment, ranging from three to ten months.  Article 489 provides a punishment of up to three years imprisonment.

HRW states that criminalizing consensual, adult homosexual conduct violates international law.  Morocco has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which bar interference with the right to privacy.  Also, the United Nations Human Rights Committee stated that laws that criminalize consensual homosexual conduct violate the ICCPR.

For more information, please see:
Human Rights Watch – Morocco: Protect Rights to Privacy and Fair Trial – 26 February 2008

Human Rights Watch – Morocco: Overturn Verdicts for Homosexual Conduct – 12 December 2008

Gazans Form Human Chain

(Eyad Baba/AP)

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza – On February 25, thousands of Palestinians, mostly women and children, gathered to form a human chain in a demonstration against Israel’s closure.  The demonstration, organized by the Popular Committee Against the Siege, expected that over 40,000 Palestinians would form a human chain along Saleheddin Road, the main highway running approximately 25 miles along the north-south border.  Hamas supported the demonstration, Gaza closed their schools and so students could participate in the demonstration.

Jamal al-Khudary, a Palestinian MP, with close links to Hamas, led the planning and organizing of the demonstration.  He stated that the demonstration was “a peaceful and civilized act to let the people express their rejection of the siege and of collective punishment.”  He said that the demonstrators are “raising a cry to the world for it to act.”

Fawzi Barhum, spokesperson for Hamas, stated that demonstration was “a message addressed to the international community and to the Israeli occupation,” and that he hoped that Israel will “seize the opportunity to lift the siege.” 

Israel imposed increasingly harsh restrictions on the border following the Hamas takeover in June 2007.  Currently, the border is completely closed, except for vital humanitarian supplies.  Huzeifa al-Masri, age 14, participated in the demonstration.  He said that he took part in the protest because “there is hardly any food, and the Israeli incursions are frequent.”

Prior to the demonstration, there were concerns that the demonstrators would attempt to storm the border and compromise the security along the border.  The Israeli Defense Force increased the number of soldiers along the border and practiced a variety of different scenarios should the border be threatened.  Prior to the demonstration, Israel warned Hamas and the demonstrators that it would defend its territory and the responsibility would fall on Hamas.

A joint statement, released by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, said that “Israel will not intervene in demonstrations inside the Gaza Strip but it will ensure the defense of its territory and prevent any violation of its sovereign borders.”  The statement also accused Hamas of "orchestrating a premeditated effort to put civilians on the front line."

However, turnout was lower than expected and the chain was not completed in some areas.  Various causes for the low turnout are thought to be the intermittent rain in the region and the fear caused by Israel’s statement.

A group of protesters did attempt to approach the Erez border crossing.  However, Hamas police officers stopped their approach about a half mile before the crossing.  Also, a separate group of youths approached the crossing and threw stones and a burning tyre at the IDF soldiers at the crossing.  This demonstration led to shots being fired to disperse the crowds and to the arrests of approximately 50 individuals.

Prior to the demonstration, two separate IDF raids into Gaza resulted in the deaths of three militants; two in a raid near Khan Yunis.  According to Al Jazeera, these deaths bring the toll to 190 Palestinians killed since peace talks began in November 2007. 

Also, IDF reported that on February 24, five smuggling tunnels were found in Gaza and around 40 Palestinians were detained in the territory’s frontier.

Shortly after the demonstration, several rockets were fired at the Israeli town of Sderot, injuring one Israeli boy.

For more information, please see:
New York Times – Gazans Protest at Border Fence – 26 February 2008

AFP – Gazans Form “Human Chain” to Protest Israeli Blockade – 25 February 2008

Al Jazeera – Gaza Rally Condemns Israeli Siege – 25 February 2008

Associated Press – Hamas Protests Israeli Blockade of Gaza – 25 February 2008

BBC – Gaza Protesters Form Human Chain – 25 February 2008

Gulf Daily News – Human Chain Against Blockade – 25 February 2008

Jerusalem Post – Gaza Human Chain a Few Links Short – 25 February 2008

Middle East Times – Gazan Human Chain Protests Israel Blockade – 25 February 2008

Times (London) – Women and Children in Gaza Form Human Chain – 25 February 2008

BRIEF: UK Troops May Have Executed 20 Iraqis

LONDON, England—Attorneys representing five Iraqi men released evidence that alleging that British soldiers tortured and executed up to 20 Iraqis after a battle in 2004. 

The British military denied the claims, and said that the dead were insurgents that were killed in a gun battle after ambushing British troops. 

Martyn Day and Phil Shiner, the attorneys representing the five Iraqis, said that witness testimony, death certificates and video footage of mutilated bodies all support their claims.  All five of the Iraqis claim to be laborers who were caught in the middle of the violence.  The lawyers have asked the British High Court to order a public inquiry into the May 14, 2004 battle near the town of Al Majar Al Kabir. 

Day and Shiner claim that the five Iraqis were handcuffed and blindfolded and could hear other men screaming, moaning in pain and choking.  The men also claim to have heard gunfire. 

Day said that the nature of a number of the injuries of the Iraqis would seem to be highly unusual in a battlefield.

“For example, quite how so many of the Iraqis sustained single gunshots to the head and from seemingly at close quarter, how did two of them end with their eyes gouged out, how did one have his penis cut off [and] some have torture wounds?” Day said. 

The attorneys for the five men have called for the ongoing investigation, being conducted by the Royal Military Police be taken over by Scotland Yard. 

For more information, please see:
Associated Press - UK Troops May Have Executed Iraqis - 23 February 2008

Gulf News - UK Troops Killed 20 Iraqis In Their Custody, Claim Lawyers - 23 February 2008

BBC - Claim UK Troops 'Executed' Iraqis - 22 February 2008

The Guardian - British troops executed 20 captives in southern Iraq, say lawyers - 22 February 2008

BRIEF: Turkey Continues Northern Iraqi Invasion

The Turkish military launched a land invasion into the Matin mountains of N. Iraq to hunt down the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK).  A discrepancy between the reported casualties suffered by each side exists. Turkish reports state that they have killed 147 PKK members and lost only 15 casualties.  (Guardian Unlimited)  However, the PKK reporting killing 47 Turkish soldiers and only losing two soldiers. (Times Online) The Turkish force is comprised of 5,000 soldiers and 60 tanks.  As the fighting continues, it may continue to destabilize the region. 

A solution to create lasting peace will be is almost impossible, because of the intensity of each party’s goal.  The Turkish military wants to completely eliminate the PKK.  The PKK wants to carve out an independent Kurdish nation for the 14 million Kurds living in Turkey.  However, since the Turks believe that the PKK rebels are hiding in the Kurdish region of N. Iraq to situation has increased complexity.  The northern Iraqi Kurds have promised not to betray fellow Kurds, despite its own desire for peace in the region and the urging of its American benefactors.  The United States, an ally of Turkey, has given the Turkish military access to American intelligence.  Therefore, a truce will be difficult to be worked out because of the tangled web of competing interests.   

For more information, please see:

The Guardian- Turks send more tanks into Iraq against PKK- 25 February 2008

Times Online- PKK guerrillas seek help from Iraq Kurds- 25 February 2008

Hamas Imam Dies in West Bank Prison

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Editor, Middle East

KOBAR, West Bank – On February 22, Majd al-Barghouthi died in a prison while in the custody of the Palestinian Authority (PA).  According to a senior PA security official, Barghouti was arrested on suspicion of membership in Hamas and "incitement" against the PA leadership.  The Jerusalem Post stated that al-Barghouthi was arrested on February 14, as he left his mosque, where he served as an imam.

While the official autopsy report stated that al-Barghouthi died as a result of a heart attack, his family claims that he was tortured to death by PA interrogators.  A statement released by the Palestinian Security revealed that al-Barghouthi was rushed to Khalil Hospital in Ramallah two days before his death, after he complained of pain in his abdomen.  After he was examined, doctors determined that he did not need hospitalization.  Then, on February 22, al-Barghouthi was taken to Khalid hospital, after he complained of pain in his chest.  He died shortly after.

According to Seif Barghouthi, the family learned of the torture from four men, who were arrested with al-Barghouthi and were released after his death.  One of the released detainees, Azzam Sahel, said that he was forced to stay in painful positions, including standing on his toes for extended periods, and was forced to sleep on a wet floor in nothing but a shirt and his underwear.  Sahel said that he could hear al-Barghouthi in a nearby cell shouting for help repeatedly, but that he did not witness actual mistreatment.

As rumors of mistreatment spread, members of al-Barghouthi’s family began calling for an independent investigation into his death.  On February 22 and 23, members of his family blocked a main road near Kobar with rocks and burning tires, demanding that his interrogators be put on trial.

On February 24, thousands of Hamas supporters gathered in Kobar and marched as al-Barghouthi’s funeral.  Some 3,000 supporters carried his body, which was draped in a green Hamas flag, and shouted slogans against PA such as Fayyad and Abbas' intelligence chief, Tawfik Tirawi.

PA security officials have not commented on al-Barghouthi’s death, besides to say that the cause of death was a heart attack.  On February 23, Abbas called for an investigation into al-Barghouthi’s death.  However, relatives and Hamas denounce any PA investigation, and will only permit an autopsy if monitored by an independent observer.

al-Barghouthi’s death occurs during a time of increased tensions between Fatah and Hamas.  Tensions increased following Hamas’s forceful takeover of Gaza in the summer of 2007.  Following Fatah’s ouster from Gaza, dozens of Hamas members and leaders in the West Bank have been arrested and detained by PA officials.  Hamas officials accuse Abbas and Fatah of “factional cleansing” in the West Bank, which continues to be under the control of Fatah.

For more information, please see:
AFP – Crowds Vow Revenge at West Bank Funeral of Hamas Imam – 24 February 2008

Associated Press – Hamas Members Turn Funeral into Protest – 24 February 2008

International Middle East Media Center – President Abbas Orders a Probe into  Death of Political Prisoner in a PA Prison – 24 February 2008

Jerusalem Post – Hamas: PA Violating Detainees’ Human Rights – 24 February 2008

Reuters – Hamas says Leader Killed to Extract “Sham Confession” – 24 February 2008

Associated Press – Fatah-Hamas Tensions Over Prisoner Death – 23 February 2008

International Herald Tribune – Hamas Preacher Dies in Palestinian lockup; Family Alleges he was Tortured – 23 February 2008

Yedioth – Hamas: Palestinian Authority  Worse than Israel – 23 February 2008

Al Jazeeera – West Bank Protest Over Hamas Death – 22 February 2008