Stop the executions!

Voices 02/17/07 02:33:49 pm, Categories: Voices, 2728 words Stop the executions! Hana Albayaty et al. From Brussels Tribunal Stop the executions! We hope all endorse, distribute widely, organize and act. Please reply to hanaalbayaty@gmail.com -Statement of Hana Albayaty, Ian Douglas, Abdul Ilah Albayaty, Iman Saadoon, Dirk Adriaensens and Ayse Berktay Wassan Talib, 31 years old, Zainab Fadhil, 25 years old, and Liqa Omar Muhammad, 26 years old, face imminent execution in Iraq, all charged with “offences against the public welfare” by a government that cannot even provide electricity but fills the streets with dead bodies. All are in Baghdad’s Al-Kadhimiya Prison. Two have small children beside them. The 1-year-old daughter of Liqa was born in prison. All women deny the charges for which they face hanging. [More:] Paragraph 156 of the Iraqi Penal Code, under which they were judged, reads: “Any person who wilfully commits an act with intent to violate the independence of the country or its unity or the security of its territory and that act by its nature, leads to such violation is punishable by death.” Iraq’s “puppet” government charges these women with its own crimes. None of the three women was permitted to see a lawyer. The trials to which they were subject are illegal under international law. All three are prisoners of war with protected rights under the Third Geneva Convention. Their execution would not only be illegal and summary, it would be utterly immoral. Civilization around the world reviles the death penalty while Iraq’s feudal leaders make a public spectacle of executions. In a country where it is evident there is no state or judicial system, the occupation and its puppet government use, as all repressive regimes in history, fake tribunals to exterminate those who oppose them. No legal judgement can be issued while there isn’t the civilised conditions of due process, at least the presence and security of lawyers. Iraqi women are testament to the life of the nation of Iraq. By contrast, the US-installed government, in its backwardness, imposes only a culture of death. Whereas Iraq was the most progressive state in the region for women’s rights, with the US invasion protective legislation was cancelled. The United States and its local conspirators, in creating hundreds of thousands of widows and reducing life in Iraq to a struggle for bare survival, have placed women in the crosshairs and now on the gallows. Women are always the first and last victims of war. We celebrate the numberless acts of resistance of Iraqi women, whether their resilience in the face of a culture of rape, torture and murder by US and Iraqi forces, their fortitude in continuing to give life amid state-sponsored genocide, their dignity as they try to maintain a semblance of normality for their children and families, their courage in burying their husbands, sons, daughters or brothers, or in direct action against an illegal and failed military occupation. We demand the release of Wassan, Zainab and Liqa and all political prisoners in Iraq. We call upon all persons, organisations, parliaments, workers, syndicates and states to withdraw recognition from this pro-occupation, sectarian Iraqi government. We call for immediate protest in front of every Iraqi embassy worldwide. There is no honour in murdering women. Occupation is the highest form of dictatorship. It is not these three women who should be prosecuted; it is this government and its foreign paymaster. Hana Albayaty Ian Douglas Abdul Ilah Albayaty Iman Saadoon Dirk Adriaensens Ayse Berktay © 2007 Brussels Tribunal ADDENDUM: PRACTICAL ACTION These impending executions are illegal, immoral, summary and an outrage. For context, I encourage all to read the last piece by Layla Anwar and another posted on Truth-About-Iraqis. There are at least four sets of things we can do: 1. Spread information in all of our networks, and in the media, on the imminent summary execution of the three Iraqi women. Contact local and national newspapers. Build pressure that way. 2. Organize protests at US or Iraqi embassies worldwide. 3. Pressure key human rights practitioners to intervene. Find below suggestions. 4. Written protest to the holding authorities (Iraqi Ministry of Justice and the occupation). Find below draft letters. Points 1 and 2 people can organize themselves. Please keep us updated on your actions. Send mail to ian@powerfoundation.org and hanaalbayaty@gmail.com 3. Pressuring key human rights practitioners to intervene We need pressure feeding upwards and downwards from all levels. I and others — including legal specialists — will work to submit urgent action petitions to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Others could usefully put pressure on (click on hyperlinks for emails): a) the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Write directly to High Commissioner Louise Arbour and Cc this email. Mark all mails "Urgent Action". +41-22-917-9022 (fax) It may be useful to review the OHCHR model complaint form. b) the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq. Contact director Said Arikat or information officers Furat Al-Jamil and Adnan Jarrar, or Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq Ashraf Qazi directly. Mark all mails "Urgent Action". (no known fax number — email only) c) the EU Commissioner for Human Rights. Mark all mails "Urgent Action". + 33 (0)3-9021-5053 (fax) NOTE: The response (if any) from Geneva and Brussels might well be that this is a issue for the Iraqi government, over which they have no power or influence. Kindly remind them that there is an occupation, and that there is no such thing as national jurisdiction under occupation. Remind them that several European countries are contributing, in one way or another, to Multinational Force-Iraq. Human rights organizations can also be pressed to issue urgent alerts on this case and to take a position. Amnesty International already has and should be supported in this action and pressed to go further. Others (like Human Rights Watch) should be alerted and pressed to act. Relevant human rights instruments: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Third Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilians in Time of War UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty Iraqi Law of Criminal Proceedings with Amendments (1971) 4. Written protest to the holding authorities Individuals must decide for themselves if they are willing to take the step of addressing the puppet forces of the occupation, or indeed the occupation itself. a) Iraqi government: Minister of Justice Hashim Al-Shilbi (Cc this email and also his deputy) Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki President Jalal Talabani Draft letter of enquiry/protest to Iraqi authorities: To Iraqi authorities in occupied Iraq Cc: International Committee of the Red Cross UN High Commissioner for Human Rights UN representant in Iraq IRIN news agency Amnesty International Al-Jazeera, Reuters, BBC RE: The Imminent Execution of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad I am appalled by reports of the conviction and imminent execution of Wassan Talib (31), Zainab Fadhil (25) and Liqa Omar Muhammad (26) after unfair trials during which they had no access to legal counsel and faced charges that cannot be brought in national courts in Iraq. All three are held in Baghdad’s Al-Kadhimiya Prison. Two have small children beside them. The 1-year-old daughter of Liqa was born in prison. All three women deny the charges brought against them. Amnesty International has highlighted their case in an "Urgent Alert": http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE140052007 Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad were reportedly all convicted under Article 156 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which reads: "Any person who willfully commits an act with intent to violate the independence of the country or its unity or the security of its territory and that act, by its nature, leads to such violation is punishable by death." Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad are accused of being part of — or taking part in — the Iraqi resistance. These are not charges that the Iraqi government can bring upon anyone. International law affirms: "the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle” (UN General Assembly Resolution 37/43, adopted 3 December 1982). If these women are to be detained at all, international law demands that they be treated as combatants and prisoners of war. As POWs, all three women enjoy protected rights under the Third Geneva Convention. They cannot be tried and executed summarily. Strict conditions apply to their treatment in all respects. Once again, all three women deny the charges brought against them. In light of the above: I add my name to the many now demanding the immediate release of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad. I add my name to the many who demand, as a minimum, that all three women are given immediate independent legal counsel, as is their right under international humanitarian law, whether treated as combatants (Article 99 of the Third Geneva Convention) or civilians (Article 113 of the Fourth Geneva Convention). Iraq and the United States, individually and severally, are also bound to the principles of international human rights law, including Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the right to fair trial. I add my name to the many who oppose completely the execution of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad. Their execution would not only be immoral and an outrage, it would be illegal under international law. The fact alone that they had no access to legal counsel makes their imminent execution "arbitrary", "summary" and "extra-judicial" by definitional legal standards. Civilization reviles the death penalty in all cases. I remind you that Article 3 of the UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty (ECOSOC resolution 1984/50, adopted 25 May 1984) stipulates that the death penalty cannot be imposed on new mothers. Further, Article 5 demands that no death penalty be passed unless the legal process is competent and all due process rights are safeguarded, in particular by allowing defendants free and regular access to legal counsel. None of the women was able to consult a lawyer. Article 6 of the UN Safeguards guarantees that anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to appeal before a court of higher jurisdiction. Article 8 of the UN Safeguards demands that capital punishment shall not be carried out pending any appeal. I also remind you that holding detainees in an unsafe location is a violation of Article 85 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. In light of the above: I request immediate information on the well-being of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad. I request information on the legal standing of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad. I request detailed information on the charges Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad have faced and been convicted on. I await your timely reply to these requests. Kindly confirm the full names and dates of birth of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad in any communication. Sincerely, [ Signature here] Cc addresses: International Committee of the Red Cross: + 41-22-733-2057 (fax) and Email. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: +41-22-917-9008 (fax) and Email. UN representant in Iraq: +1-212-963-2800 (fax) and Email. IRIN News Agency: +971 (4) 368-1024 (fax) and Email. Amnesty International: +44-20-7956-1157 (fax) and Email. Al-Jazeera: +974-442-6865 (fax) and Email. Reuters: +44-20-7542-4064 (fax) and Email. BBC: +44-20-7557-1254 (fax) and Email. b) Multinational Force-Iraq: Address to: General David H. Petraeus Commanding General Multi-National Force - Iraq Lieutenant General G. C. M. Lamb Deputy Commanding General Multi-National Force - Iraq Care of: MAJ Vincent Mitchell / CPT Tommy Mitchel. Draft letter of enquiry/protest to the occupation: To US command in occupied Iraq Cc: International Committee of the Red Cross UN High Commissioner for Human Rights UN representant in Iraq IRIN news agency Amnesty International Al-Jazeera, Reuters, BBC RE: The Imminent Execution of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad I am appalled by reports of the conviction and imminent execution of Wassan Talib (31), Zainab Fadhil (25) and Liqa Omar Muhammad (26) after unfair trials during which they had no access to legal counsel and faced charges that cannot be brought in national courts in Iraq. All three are held in Baghdad’s Al-Kadhimiya Prison. Two have small children beside them. The 1-year-old daughter of Liqa was born in prison. All three women deny the charges brought against them. Amnesty International has highlighted their case in an "Urgent Alert": http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE140052007 Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad were reportedly all convicted under Article 156 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which reads: "Any person who willfully commits an act with intent to violate the independence of the country or its unity or the security of its territory and that act, by its nature, leads to such violation is punishable by death." Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad are accused of being part of — or taking part in — the Iraqi resistance. These are not charges that the Iraqi government can bring upon anyone. International law affirms: "the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle” (UN General Assembly Resolution 37/43, adopted 3 December 1982). If these women are to be detained at all, international law demands that they be treated as combatants and prisoners of war. As POWs, all three women enjoy protected rights under the Third Geneva Convention. They cannot be tried and executed summarily. Strict conditions apply to their treatment in all respects. Once again, all three women deny the charges brought against them. In light of the above: I add my name to the many now demanding the immediate release of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad. I add my name to the many who demand, as a minimum, that all three women are given immediate independent legal counsel, as is their right under international humanitarian law, whether treated as combatants (Article 99 of the Third Geneva Convention) or civilians (Article 113 of the Fourth Geneva Convention). Iraq and the United States, individually and severally, are also bound to the principles of international human rights law, including Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the right to fair trial. I add my name to the many who oppose completely the execution of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad. Their execution would not only be immoral and an outrage, it would be illegal under international law. The fact alone that they had no access to legal counsel makes their imminent execution "arbitrary", "summary" and "extra-judicial" by definitional legal standards. Civilization reviles the death penalty in all cases. I remind you that Article 3 of the UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty (ECOSOC resolution 1984/50, adopted 25 May 1984) stipulates that the death penalty cannot be imposed on new mothers. Further, Article 5 demands that no death penalty be passed unless the legal process is competent and all due process rights are safeguarded, in particular by allowing defendants free and regular access to legal counsel. None of the women was able to consult a lawyer. Article 6 of the UN Safeguards guarantees that anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to appeal before a court of higher jurisdiction. Article 8 of the UN Safeguards demands that capital punishment shall not be carried out pending any appeal. I also remind you that holding detainees in an unsafe location is a violation of Article 85 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. In light of the above: I request immediate information on the well-being of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad. I request information on the legal standing of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad. I request detailed information on the charges Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad have faced and been convicted on. I await your timely reply to these requests. Kindly confirm the full names and dates of birth of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad in any communication. Sincerely, [ Signature here] Cc addresses: International Committee of the Red Cross: + 41-22-733-2057 (fax) and Email. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: +41-22-917-9008 (fax) and Email. UN representant in Iraq: +1-212-963-2800 (fax) and Email. IRIN News Agency: +971 (4) 368-1024 (fax) and Email. Amnesty International: +44-20-7956-1157 (fax) and Email. Al-Jazeera: +974-442-6865 (fax) and Email. Reuters: +44-20-7542-4064 (fax) and Email. BBC: +44-20-7557-1254 (fax) and Email. Dr Ian Douglas Visiting Professor Political Science Department An-Najah National University Nablus, Palestine +44 207 067 8399 (fax) +972 59 9 426 906 (mobile Nablus) +972 54 794 1029 (mobile Jerusalem) +20 12 167 1660 (mobile Cairo) www.najah.edu