ISSUE #55 CONTENTS:
- Nokia Protests in Shiraz & NYC
- Wanted for Publishing Good News
- Half-Hearted Action on "Honor" Crimes
- QUIZ: 40 Lashes for What?
SPOTLIGHT CASES:
"Nokia is the Best Choice" - Protests in Shiraz & NYC
Over 10,000 people from around the world have now participated in HAMSA’s letter-writing campaign to Nokia demanding it stop providing the Iranian regime with technology to crackdown on peaceful protestors. Prominent Iranian journalist Issa Saharkhiz, claims he was recently detained thanks to Nokia’s technology, with authorities using his Nokia cell phone to track him down and arrest him (breaking his ribs in the process). Saharkhiz’s son has launched a hunger strike in New York to protest his father’s arrest.
Elsewhere in New York City, on Thursday afternoon, August 20, activists will gather outside the Nokia flagship store in midtown Manhattan on 57th Street. Protestors will hold a peaceful demonstration outside the Nokia store calling for a boycott and a related flashmob is planned for Penn Station. CRIME Report readers are encouraged to get involved. To learn about how you can help, please contact campaign@aicongress.org.
In Washington, the US Senate has already taken notice and unanimously passed the Victims of Iranian Censorship Act, which pledged $20 million to ensure freedom of communication in Iran. Meanwhile inside Iran there is growing outrage at Nokia’s continued support for the regime. Unnamed protestors in Shiraz splashed green paint across a Nokia highway billboard (see photo above), which features a most ironic advertising tagline in Farsi: “Nokia is the Best Choice.”
Wanted for Publishing Good News: Tel Quel Seized
On August 1, all 100,000 copies of this latest edition of Morocco’s top two magazines were seized and destroyed by the Interior Ministry. TelQuel and Nichane, the country’s best-selling French and Arabic weekly magazines were confiscated for a grievous crime: Printing an opinion poll showing that 91% of Moroccans approve of King Mohammed VI. According to palace representatives, the monarchy is above any polling; apparently the king does not want to know people’s opinion of him. The CRIME Report spoke with editor Ahmed Benchemsi, who also serves as a judge for “Dream Deferred” essay contest, about his latest brush with the censor.
Why were your magazines seized?
No legal code outlaws surveys in Morocco. The Minister of Communication simply lied when he said that the survey was “illegal.” I was totally surprised, especially as this came after a four-issue series analyzing the king in a critical manner. And then this survey issue was deemed unacceptable even though it showed that Moroccans overwhelmingly approve of the king’s ten years on the throne. We have had problems with the government before, but never for printing something positive.
What is the damage to TelQuel and to the Moroccan press?
The seized issues cost us about 100,000 euros. Our magazines were not banned, so we are already back on newsstands, yet with no poll (we'd be seized again if we reprint it). Still, censorship in Morocco in 2009 is absurd because you can find the survey on numerous websites and now the whole country and world know about it. The information is not secret. But, the seizure of our magazine will certainly affect the image of free press and democracy in Morocco. In protest of “judicial persecution,” many local papers on July 20 published blank editorial pages. Other people have started a Facebook protest campaign called “I’m one of the 9%” – a reference to those polled who disapproved.
What has the response been like from outside Morocco?
We have received support from international advocates, and the story has been covered around the world. One unusual example was that TelQuel got included in the Al Khan comic strip in Egypt’s Daily News. The back-story on this is that Tarek Shahin, the illustrator, wrote an excellent essay about a cartoonist for the first year of HAMSA’s essay contest. As a judge, I read it, loved it, and decided to run a French translation in TelQuel. Now Tarek has his own comic strip in an Egyptian paper and decided to return the favor by including TelQuel last week. The joke in his comic is both about Morocco and Egypt, a sign that the region as a whole has a long struggle ahead to secure freedom of expression. I really loved the cartoon. Go, Tarek!
Syria's Half-Hearted Action on "Honor" Crimes
In response to international pressure, Syria has announced a new legal reform to beef up sentencing for men convicted for conducting so-called “honor” killings of female relatives. But the new regulations still fail to treat such crimes like regular murders, sending a signal that the state still views them as somewhat acceptable.
In Syria, men who killed their daughters, sisters, or wives over issues of “honor” previously faced a maximum of one year in prison. Now Syria’s President Assad introduced a mandatory minimum sentence: Convicted perpetrators will face at least two years in jail. Syria’s small step is certainly one in the right direction, but the basic idea that honor can be restored through murder persists. Patriarchal attitudes about “honor” killings remain partially sanctioned as long as the context of the murder allows for reduced punishment.
Rooted in tradition, “honor” killings are seen in some families as a way to atone for behavior by women regarded “impure.” A human rights violation in any circumstance, some cases are made even more chilling when it is later discovered the woman was a victim of rape or was falsely accused of the offending act. With some governments in the region hesitant to act forcefully against the growing crisis.
QUIZ Why is this Sudanese Woman Facing 40 Lashes?:
Answer: For wearing pants in public. Lubna al Hussein, a journalist in Sudan, could face a steep price for wearing trousers last month. She was charged by the “discipline police” with wearing pants that were too tight, and a blouse that was too transparent. She and 18 others were arrested on July 3rd for indecent exposure, a crime with only one punishment: public whipping. Of the 18 arrested, 6 were released and actually 10 received the cruel sentence. Al Hussein and two others have hired lawyers to fight the charges.
BECOME A PARTNER IN CRIME:
Here are quick ways to contribute to the Middle East civil rights movement:
- Forward this newsletter to friends & encourage them to subscribe.
- Write a letter to imprisoned Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer.
- Join 10,000 others in demanding Nokia stop aiding Iran's crackdown.
- Apply to participate in HAMSA's civil rights fellowship program.
