Jon Boone for the Guardian wrote:
Hamid Karzai has been accused of trying to win votes in Afghanistan's presidential election by backing a law the UN says legalises rape within marriage and bans wives from stepping outside their homes without their husbands' permission.
The Afghan president signed the law earlier this month, despite condemnation by human rights activists and some MPs that it flouts the constitution's equal rights provisions.Jon Boone reveals Afghanistan's new law denying women's rights Link to this audio
The final document has not been published, but the law is believed to contain articles that rule women cannot leave the house without their husbands' permission, that they can only seek work, education or visit the doctor with their husbands' permission, and that they cannot refuse their husband sex.
A briefing document prepared by the United Nations Development Fund for Women also warns that the law grants custody of children to fathers and grandfathers only.
Senator Humaira Namati, a member of the upper house of the Afghan parliament, said the law was "worse than during the Taliban". "Anyone who spoke out was accused of being against Islam," she said.
The Afghan constitution allows for Shias, who are thought to represent about 10% of the population, to have a separate family law based on traditional Shia jurisprudence. But the constitution and various international treaties signed by Afghanistan guarantee equal rights for women.
Shinkai Zahine Karokhail, like other female parliamentarians, complained that after an initial deal the law was passed with unprecedented speed and limited debate. "They wanted to pass it almost like a secret negotiation," she said. "There were lots of things that we wanted to change, but they didn't want to discuss it because Karzai wants to please the Shia before the election."
Although the ministry of justice confirmed the bill was signed by Karzai at some point this month, there is confusion about the full contents of the final law, which human rights activists have struggled to obtain a copy of. The justice ministry said the law would not be published until various "technical problems" had been ironed out.
After seven years leading Afghanistan, Karzai is increasingly unpopular at home and abroad and the presidential election in August is expected to be extremely closely fought. A western diplomat said the law represented a "big tick in the box" for the powerful council of Shia clerics.
Leaders of the Hazara minority, which is regarded as the most important bloc of swing voters in the election, also demanded the new law.
Ustad Mohammad Akbari, an MP and the leader of a Hazara political party, said the president had supported the law in order to curry favour among the Hazaras. But he said the law actually protected women's rights.
"Men and women have equal rights under Islam but there are differences in the way men and women are created. Men are stronger and women are a little bit weaker; even in the west you do not see women working as firefighters."
Akbari said the law gave a woman the right to refuse sexual intercourse with her husband if she was unwell or had another reasonable "excuse". And he said a woman would not be obliged to remain in her house if an emergency forced her to leave without permission.
The international community has so far shied away from publicly questioning such a politically sensitive issue.
"It is going to be tricky to change because it gets us into territory of being accused of not respecting Afghan culture, which is always difficult," a western diplomat in Kabul admitted.
Soraya Sobhrang, the head of women's affairs at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said western silence had been "disastrous for women's rights in Afghanistan".
"What the international community has done is really shameful. If they had got more involved in the process when it was discussed in parliament we could have stopped it. Because of the election I am not sure we can change it now. It's too late for that."
But another senior western diplomat said foreign embassies would intervene when the law is finally published.
Some female politicians have taken a more pragmatic stance, saying their fight in parliament's lower house succeeded in improving the law, including raising the original proposed marriage age of girls from nine to 16 and removing completely provisions for temporary marriages.
"It's not really 100% perfect, but compared to the earlier drafts it's a huge improvement," said Shukria Barakzai, an MP. "Before this was passed family issues were decided by customary law, so this is a big improvement."
Karzai's spokesman declined to comment on the new law.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Why teach journalism when newspapers are dying?
By Cary Tennis March 17, 2009 | Dear Cary, I am a college journalism professor. When I got into this field a half dozen or so years ago, after 17 years as a journalist, I was excited to enlighten young minds and inspire them. And I have, and hope I still do. The problem is this: I feel like I'm teaching them something that will be as useful as Sanskrit when they graduate. I am trying to get them involved in learning the latest technology as well as teaching them important writing and life skills, so they will be employable. But every morning I read stories about how huge, venerable newspapers will likely be shuttered by the end of the year, and it absolutely freaks me out. What the heck am I doing? I feel like I'm a participant in the theater of the absurd. I feel horribly guilty, wondering what will become of them. I'm already hearing from former students how they've been laid off and are aimlessly trying to pursue anything to survive. I know it's tough all over, but how can I get past the guilt and continue feeling good about what I do? I still firmly believe there will be journalism -- it has to survive -- but what about all these poor kids who are caught in this awful transitional period? Feeling Existential Dear Existential, Journalists find things out and tell people about it. If you are teaching your students how to do that, you are not only doing your job, you are giving them the gift of a lifetime. It is not your job to guarantee them stable employment. I'm not even sure that stable employment is good for young journalists. Journalists exercise power. Ideally, they exercise that power on behalf of the powerless. If they know nothing about what it is like to be powerless themselves, they may come to exercise their considerable power on behalf of the already powerful. As to the conventions of story form and lingo that are often taught in journalism school, and as to the many artifacts and customs that make up our lore, we are tradespeople and we are proud of what we know how to do. We like our tools and our lingo. But we must be smart and nimble, and if we remain sentimentally attached to the artifacts of our trade in the face of massive technological change, then we are no better than GM. So I do not think it is such a terrible thing that your journalism students are entering an uncertain world. It's the kind of world that is ripe for enterprising journalists. It is the kind of world that needs to be reported on and explained. Where information is kept hasn't changed all that much. The information is still in people's heads and in official records. How to get it remains much the same. Leave it to your students to create new modes for the buying and selling of this information. Their generation will do this. I feel confident about that. Teach them how to find out what is true and what is hidden, and how to say it so others can understand what it means and why it is important. Then you will have done your job and given them the gift of a lifetime.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Steeled for peace
By Hisham Fahim /alahram weekly / 1999NB .LOUISA HANOUN IS AGAIN CONDIDATE FOR THE PRESEDENTIAL ELECTIONS OF APRIL 2009
 |
Dubbed the "Iron Lady", Hanoun's strength and determination in the face of opposition has earned her many enemies on the Algerian political scene. Yet even these enemies view her with respect, on account of her principled positions, and her unwavering dedication to socialism and to the Workers Party, which she has led since founding it in 1990.
Born in 1954 in Al-Shafqa in Hegal governorate east of Algeria, Louisa Hanoun is the youngest ever candidate to run for president. In the early 1970s, she started her career as an employee at Air Algérie. She soon became active in the trades union movement and joined a number of women's groups. In the late seventies, she was a militant with the Socialist Workers Organisation, an underground Marxist group. In 1983, she was one of the founders of the Algerian Human Rights Association. Nine months later, she was sentenced to prison, and was only released in 1988.
The following year saw the official adoption of political pluralism in Algeria. Louisa Hanoun took advantage of the new climate to found the Workers Party (WP). Under her leadership, the party established itself as a radical formation opposed to the policies of the regime, In particular, it took a firm stand against the cancellation of the general elections in 1992 which the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was poised to win. The WP subsequently contested the June 1997 legislative elections, winning four seats. Hanoun herself was elected as a representative for Algiers. Although there are not many of them, the WP deputies have since established their party as a significant presence on the political scene.
Why did you decide to run in the presidential elections and what does your party hope to achieve by your candidacy?
Since President Liamine Zeroual declared early elections on 11 September 1998, the central committee of the Workers Party has been involved in a wide-ranging dialogue with the people of Algeria. Despite our doubts about how serious these elections really are, a majority of our members were in favour of our having a go, if only to publicise our positions and proposals -- in particular, our demand for a national congress for all Algerian political groups, including the FIS, so as to put an end to violence.
This meeting would also aim to defuse the explosive situation in the country, which threatens to tear the nation apart, and thus establish the foundations for a peace which would help us move towards a real democracy and could give us hope for the future.
Isn't it odd to nominate a woman in an Arab country, where many people might not feel comfortable with a woman president?
Our major concern is with the future of the country, not with whether a man or a woman becomes president.
Personally, I have no complexes about being a woman. Although we still have a number of conservative laws pertaining to women and the family, the question of gender is of no significance to Algerians.
I felt it was my duty to accept my nomination by the central committee, so as to do what I could to help the country find a way out of the present crisis.
Tell us about the priorities of your electoral programme.
Peace is my highest priority and the very core of the electoral platform on which I am standing. Peace has been our party's aim since 1992. We have reiterated this aim continuously.
We want to restore confidence and hope to Algerians, curb violence and put an end to the guerrilla war that is being waged under the cloak of terrorism. We want to escape from this vicious circle, so as to alleviate the suffering of the people, after seven long years of violence.
Today, that violence is shifting to new areas. No family in Algeria has been spared. Children are orphaned, women widowed. The entire country is faced with a future of assassination, aggression and rampant crime. The settling of old scores and the reign of criminal gangs are the order of the day.
Yet the right to live in peace shall prevail. We have to remember that the war of liberation lasted for seven years. Already we have suffered seven new years of bereavement. This cannot go on any longer. How can we possibly take any more of this horror?
Does your entire electoral programme come down to this determination to restore peace?
My electoral programme stems from the priority of peace and of the halting of bloodshed. Peace is the prerequisite for solving all our other problems -- for life itself.
We have many economic and social policies in place, with which the Algerian people are familiar. We have to put a stop to the economic reform measures which are currently in progress, since they prevent the state from playing its essential role of providing for the most urgent and basic needs of the people.
These "reforms" are destroying social well-being and compromising human dignity. We demand that the privatisation of banks and agricultural land be put on hold, that the public sector be preserved, together with the gains achieved by independence -- social security, old-age pensions and free education.
In the domain of human rights, we demand that democracy be irreversibly adopted, and that to this end a constituent assembly be established to draft a new constitution for Algeria.
We demand the settlement of the Tamazight language problem and of all other such problems, even though these are of a less urgent nature, as by necessity they are secondary to the right to peace and the right to life itself.
What kind of candidate could forge a consensus among the Algerian people? If such a candidate were to emerge in the course of the election campaign, on what conditions might you give them your backing?
As a matter of principle, we do not believe that any one individual can represent an entire nation. As far as the issue of a consensus candidate is concerned, we have yet to see their electoral programmes and learn their ideas, particularly where peace is concerned.
We support the right of any party to nominate candidates and we endorse freedom of speech as a right that stems directly from the sovereignty of the nation. That said, I would be ready to back any consensus candidate who viewed the issue of peace as our party views it, and who would pledge to halt the process of privatisation which is generating poverty and fueling violence.
How do you assess the guarantees that have been given that the election results will not be tampered with? And what is your party's view on the proposal to bring in monitors from abroad to oversee the elections?
The technical guarantees given so far seem dubious. Political parties are still experiencing obstacles and pressure of various sorts.
We have been through a number of elections in the past, and we cannot be certain that what happened in the past will not happen again -- that the election results will not be falsified, despite the genuine intentions of President Liamine Zeroual and the reassurances he has given us. The president, after all, simply cannot be in every election station at once!
Yet despite this, we are determined to take part, because there is no alternative, at least at this moment. However, we reserve our right to change our position if the situation should deteriorate further.
As for the question of bringing in monitors, we are categorically against any such action, which we would regard as a violation of our national sovereignty. We also found that the monitors' impact on previous elections was negative. But we will certainly send a WP representative to the independent national committee to supervise the elections, notwithstanding our dissatisfaction with the committee's basic mandate and terms of reference.
Would you like to be the first Arab woman to be elected president of a republic?
I have neither personal nor party ambitions to become president. My only aim is to help the country emerge from the present cycle of horror, and to see peace and true democracy prevail in Algeria.
Peace, and more peace -- that is my ambition. I am standing in these elections because I want to give some real meaning to the idea of peace.
ouarda L/
Découvrez toutes les possibilités de communication avec vos proches
Steeled for peace
By Hisham Fahim /alahram weekly |
Dubbed the "Iron Lady", Hanoun's strength and determination in the face of opposition has earned her many enemies on the Algerian political scene. Yet even these enemies view her with respect, on account of her principled positions, and her unwavering dedication to socialism and to the Workers Party, which she has led since founding it in 1990.
Born in 1954 in Al-Shafqa in Hegal governorate east of Algeria, Louisa Hanoun is the youngest ever candidate to run for president. In the early 1970s, she started her career as an employee at Air Algérie. She soon became active in the trades union movement and joined a number of women's groups. In the late seventies, she was a militant with the Socialist Workers Organisation, an underground Marxist group. In 1983, she was one of the founders of the Algerian Human Rights Association. Nine months later, she was sentenced to prison, and was only released in 1988.
The following year saw the official adoption of political pluralism in Algeria. Louisa Hanoun took advantage of the new climate to found the Workers Party (WP). Under her leadership, the party established itself as a radical formation opposed to the policies of the regime, In particular, it took a firm stand against the cancellation of the general elections in 1992 which the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was poised to win. The WP subsequently contested the June 1997 legislative elections, winning four seats. Hanoun herself was elected as a representative for Algiers. Although there are not many of them, the WP deputies have since established their party as a significant presence on the political scene.
Why did you decide to run in the presidential elections and what does your party hope to achieve by your candidacy?
Since President Liamine Zeroual declared early elections on 11 September 1998, the central committee of the Workers Party has been involved in a wide-ranging dialogue with the people of Algeria. Despite our doubts about how serious these elections really are, a majority of our members were in favour of our having a go, if only to publicise our positions and proposals -- in particular, our demand for a national congress for all Algerian political groups, including the FIS, so as to put an end to violence.
This meeting would also aim to defuse the explosive situation in the country, which threatens to tear the nation apart, and thus establish the foundations for a peace which would help us move towards a real democracy and could give us hope for the future.
Isn't it odd to nominate a woman in an Arab country, where many people might not feel comfortable with a woman president?
Our major concern is with the future of the country, not with whether a man or a woman becomes president.
Personally, I have no complexes about being a woman. Although we still have a number of conservative laws pertaining to women and the family, the question of gender is of no significance to Algerians.
I felt it was my duty to accept my nomination by the central committee, so as to do what I could to help the country find a way out of the present crisis.
Tell us about the priorities of your electoral programme.
Peace is my highest priority and the very core of the electoral platform on which I am standing. Peace has been our party's aim since 1992. We have reiterated this aim continuously.
We want to restore confidence and hope to Algerians, curb violence and put an end to the guerrilla war that is being waged under the cloak of terrorism. We want to escape from this vicious circle, so as to alleviate the suffering of the people, after seven long years of violence.
Today, that violence is shifting to new areas. No family in Algeria has been spared. Children are orphaned, women widowed. The entire country is faced with a future of assassination, aggression and rampant crime. The settling of old scores and the reign of criminal gangs are the order of the day.
Yet the right to live in peace shall prevail. We have to remember that the war of liberation lasted for seven years. Already we have suffered seven new years of bereavement. This cannot go on any longer. How can we possibly take any more of this horror?
Does your entire electoral programme come down to this determination to restore peace?
My electoral programme stems from the priority of peace and of the halting of bloodshed. Peace is the prerequisite for solving all our other problems -- for life itself.
We have many economic and social policies in place, with which the Algerian people are familiar. We have to put a stop to the economic reform measures which are currently in progress, since they prevent the state from playing its essential role of providing for the most urgent and basic needs of the people.
These "reforms" are destroying social well-being and compromising human dignity. We demand that the privatisation of banks and agricultural land be put on hold, that the public sector be preserved, together with the gains achieved by independence -- social security, old-age pensions and free education.
In the domain of human rights, we demand that democracy be irreversibly adopted, and that to this end a constituent assembly be established to draft a new constitution for Algeria.
We demand the settlement of the Tamazight language problem and of all other such problems, even though these are of a less urgent nature, as by necessity they are secondary to the right to peace and the right to life itself.
What kind of candidate could forge a consensus among the Algerian people? If such a candidate were to emerge in the course of the election campaign, on what conditions might you give them your backing?
As a matter of principle, we do not believe that any one individual can represent an entire nation. As far as the issue of a consensus candidate is concerned, we have yet to see their electoral programmes and learn their ideas, particularly where peace is concerned.
We support the right of any party to nominate candidates and we endorse freedom of speech as a right that stems directly from the sovereignty of the nation. That said, I would be ready to back any consensus candidate who viewed the issue of peace as our party views it, and who would pledge to halt the process of privatisation which is generating poverty and fueling violence.
How do you assess the guarantees that have been given that the election results will not be tampered with? And what is your party's view on the proposal to bring in monitors from abroad to oversee the elections?
The technical guarantees given so far seem dubious. Political parties are still experiencing obstacles and pressure of various sorts.
We have been through a number of elections in the past, and we cannot be certain that what happened in the past will not happen again -- that the election results will not be falsified, despite the genuine intentions of President Liamine Zeroual and the reassurances he has given us. The president, after all, simply cannot be in every election station at once!
Yet despite this, we are determined to take part, because there is no alternative, at least at this moment. However, we reserve our right to change our position if the situation should deteriorate further.
As for the question of bringing in monitors, we are categorically against any such action, which we would regard as a violation of our national sovereignty. We also found that the monitors' impact on previous elections was negative. But we will certainly send a WP representative to the independent national committee to supervise the elections, notwithstanding our dissatisfaction with the committee's basic mandate and terms of reference.
Would you like to be the first Arab woman to be elected president of a republic?
I have neither personal nor party ambitions to become president. My only aim is to help the country emerge from the present cycle of horror, and to see peace and true democracy prevail in Algeria.
Peace, and more peace -- that is my ambition. I am standing in these elections because I want to give some real meaning to the idea of peace.
ouarda L/
Tous vos amis discutent sur Messenger, et vous ? Téléchargez Messenger, c'est gratuit !
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Kurdish family wounded and boy is killed during continued Iranian shelling
The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported today that a two-year Kurdish boy was killed and his parents seriously wounded after continued Iranian bombardment of the Kurdistan region in the northernmost part of Iraq. The attack and tragedy was confirmed by the mayor of the town of Zarawa, located just 100 miles north of the city of Sulaymaniya. In a statement released to the AFP, the mayor of Zarawa, Azad Wassu said, "Iranian artillery bombarded border villages on Tuesday evening killing a child and wounding his parents." Since last October, Iran and Turkey have extensively bombed border regions in Iraqi Kurdistan under the pretext of pursuing rebel fighters of PKK and PJAK. However, according to officials in the region, much of the attacks have targeted villages and towns where there are no rebel fighters. Iranian and Turkish shelling against the Kurdistan region has been ongoing since at least October of 2007. Alliance for Kurdish Rights reported in May 2008 that over 200 families had been displaced as a result of the attacks on the villages in the region, (See the Report). The AFP has reported that at least 20 different villages in the region have been destroyed as a result of Iranian airstrikes. Voices of Iraq named "Rizka/Rezga, Mardo, Shinawa, Sorkola, Sordi, Arka, Basta, and Toutmi" as the most frequently hit villages in the region. According to Wassu, the most recent attack targeted the villages of "Rez[g]a, Mara and Duwu," with attacks lasting nearly two hours. The total numbers of wounded and killed in the continued airstrikes are unknown. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), despite calling for U.N. intervention on more than one occasion, has also played a counterproductive role by disallowing journalists and other groups to enter the region after claiming that the media had been "aggravating the crisis with Turkey". Unfortunately, there is no evidence that the media blockade has reduced the number of airstrikes against the region. Furthermore, the blockade has allowed Turkey and Iran to carry out their operations with little accountability. The names of the family members affected by the recent bombing in the Zarawa area were not released. Alliance for Kurdish Rights (AKR).Alliance for Kurdish Rights (AKR). Adnan |
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Journalists Killed and Injured as Suicide Bomber Strikes in Baghdad
March 10, 2009 Journalists Killed and Injured as Suicide Bomber Strikes in Two journalists were among the 33 victims killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up today in a targeted attack on tribal leaders near the town hall in Abu Ghraib, in The Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, an affiliate of the International Federation of Journalists, expressed shock at the attack. "This is a hideous crime against the Iraqi journalists who are doing their job honestly and independently in the road to peace and reconciliation," they said. The private Al-Baghdadia channel said their correspondent and a cameraman Haider Hashim and Suhaib Adnan were killed in the blast. The station put up photographs of its two slain staff on their website. Ibrahim al-Katib, a reporter from Iraqi state television, Iraqia TV, was gravely wounded and had to undergo emergency surgery. Iraqia TV photographer Raa'd Qasem, his assistant Udei Munther and the technician Fawzi Idan were also injured. The Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate says that his attack raises the number of Iraqi killed journalist to 295 journalist since April 2003. "Journalists killed and injured while reporting on events that are part of a peace-making story illustrates vividly the tragedy of Adnan |
Journalist who threw shoes at Bush sentenced for 3 years
BAGHDAD – The Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at then-President Gerge W. Bush was convicted Thursday of assaulting a foreign leader and sentenced to three years in prison, lawyers said. He defiantly shouted "long live Iraq" when the sentence was read.
Muntadhar al-Zeidi's bold act in December electrified many across the Middle East who consider him a hero for expressing his anger at a president who is widely disliked for his decision to invade Iraq in 2003.
The 30-year-old journalist pleaded not guilty to the assault charge Thursday, telling the three-judge panel that "what I did was a natural response to the occupation."
Reporters and family members were then ordered out of the courtroom for the verdict, which was relayed to them by defense attorneys and a court official.
Some of al-Zeidi's relatives collapsed after the ruling was issued and had to be helped out of the courthouse. Others were forcibly removed by guards after shouting "down with Bush" and "long live Iraq."
"This judiciary is not just," al-Zeidi's brother, Dargham, said tearfully after Thursday verdict was announced.
Court spokesman Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar said al-Zeidi received the minimum sentence for the assault charge but could appeal the conviction. He could have received up to 15 years in prison for hurling his shoes at Bush during a Dec. 14 news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Defense lawyers said the judge showed leniency because of al-Zeidi's age and clean record. But they had hoped for an even lighter sentence, arguing the journalist's actions constituted an insult rather than an assault.
"The sentence was unexpectedly harsh," said Yehya al-Eitabi, one of some two dozen defense lawyers who attended Thursday's hearing. He said they would appeal the verdict.
His assessment was shared by some in Baghdad.
"Al-Zeidi should have been honored and not sent to prison," said Salam Omar, who owns a cell phone shop in eastern Baghdad.
The journalist has been in Iraqi custody since the shoe incident. Bush quickly ducked to avoid being hit and was not injured. Al-Zeidi was quickly wrestled to the ground by guards and dragged away.
During Thursday's proceedings, al-Zeidi, wearing a beige suit over a brown shirt and brown leather shoes, walked swiftly to the wooden dock where defendants are kept and greeted the panel of three judges with a nod and a wave.
Presiding Judge Abdul-Amir al-Rubaie asked al-Zeidi to enter a plea.
"I am innocent," he replied.
The proceedings took place under heavy guard with scores of armed policemen inside the courtroom and the Iraqi soldiers who escorted al-Zeidi waiting outside.
The trial began on Feb. 19 but was adjourned until Thursday as the judges weighed a defense argument that the current charge is not applicable because Bush was not in Baghdad on an official visit, having arrived unannounced and without an invitation.
Al-Rubaie read a response from the prime minister's office insisting it was an official visit.
Chief defense attorney Dhia al-Saadi then demanded that the charge be dismissed, saying his client's action "was an expression of freedom and does not constitute a crime."
He echoed al-Zeidi's testimony at the previous hearing, saying his client had been provoked by anger over Bush's claims of success in a war that has devastated his country.
"It was an act of throwing a shoe and not a rocket. It was meant as an insult to the occupation," the lawyer said.
The judge then turned to the defendant and asked whether he had anything to add.
"I have great faith in the Iraqi judiciary. It is a judiciary that is both just and has integrity," al-Zeidi responded.
Many people in the region — angry over the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq — have embraced al-Zeidi. They have staged large street rallies calling for his release, and one Iraqi man erected a sofa-sized sculpture of a shoe in his honor that the Iraqi government later ordered removed.
When al-Zeidi threw his shoes at Bush, he shouted in Arabic: "This is your farewell kiss, you dog! This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."
Al-Maliki was deeply embarrassed by the action against an American president who had stood by him when some Arab leaders were quietly urging the U.S. to oust him.
Muntadhar al-Zeidi's bold act in December electrified many across the Middle East who consider him a hero for expressing his anger at a president who is widely disliked for his decision to invade Iraq in 2003.
The 30-year-old journalist pleaded not guilty to the assault charge Thursday, telling the three-judge panel that "what I did was a natural response to the occupation."
Reporters and family members were then ordered out of the courtroom for the verdict, which was relayed to them by defense attorneys and a court official.
Some of al-Zeidi's relatives collapsed after the ruling was issued and had to be helped out of the courthouse. Others were forcibly removed by guards after shouting "down with Bush" and "long live Iraq."
"This judiciary is not just," al-Zeidi's brother, Dargham, said tearfully after Thursday verdict was announced.
Court spokesman Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar said al-Zeidi received the minimum sentence for the assault charge but could appeal the conviction. He could have received up to 15 years in prison for hurling his shoes at Bush during a Dec. 14 news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Defense lawyers said the judge showed leniency because of al-Zeidi's age and clean record. But they had hoped for an even lighter sentence, arguing the journalist's actions constituted an insult rather than an assault.
"The sentence was unexpectedly harsh," said Yehya al-Eitabi, one of some two dozen defense lawyers who attended Thursday's hearing. He said they would appeal the verdict.
His assessment was shared by some in Baghdad.
"Al-Zeidi should have been honored and not sent to prison," said Salam Omar, who owns a cell phone shop in eastern Baghdad.
The journalist has been in Iraqi custody since the shoe incident. Bush quickly ducked to avoid being hit and was not injured. Al-Zeidi was quickly wrestled to the ground by guards and dragged away.
During Thursday's proceedings, al-Zeidi, wearing a beige suit over a brown shirt and brown leather shoes, walked swiftly to the wooden dock where defendants are kept and greeted the panel of three judges with a nod and a wave.
Presiding Judge Abdul-Amir al-Rubaie asked al-Zeidi to enter a plea.
"I am innocent," he replied.
The proceedings took place under heavy guard with scores of armed policemen inside the courtroom and the Iraqi soldiers who escorted al-Zeidi waiting outside.
The trial began on Feb. 19 but was adjourned until Thursday as the judges weighed a defense argument that the current charge is not applicable because Bush was not in Baghdad on an official visit, having arrived unannounced and without an invitation.
Al-Rubaie read a response from the prime minister's office insisting it was an official visit.
Chief defense attorney Dhia al-Saadi then demanded that the charge be dismissed, saying his client's action "was an expression of freedom and does not constitute a crime."
He echoed al-Zeidi's testimony at the previous hearing, saying his client had been provoked by anger over Bush's claims of success in a war that has devastated his country.
"It was an act of throwing a shoe and not a rocket. It was meant as an insult to the occupation," the lawyer said.
The judge then turned to the defendant and asked whether he had anything to add.
"I have great faith in the Iraqi judiciary. It is a judiciary that is both just and has integrity," al-Zeidi responded.
Many people in the region — angry over the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq — have embraced al-Zeidi. They have staged large street rallies calling for his release, and one Iraqi man erected a sofa-sized sculpture of a shoe in his honor that the Iraqi government later ordered removed.
When al-Zeidi threw his shoes at Bush, he shouted in Arabic: "This is your farewell kiss, you dog! This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."
Al-Maliki was deeply embarrassed by the action against an American president who had stood by him when some Arab leaders were quietly urging the U.S. to oust him.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Woman arrested for driving in Saudi Arabia
Police in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca Wednesday arrested a woman for violating the country's ban on women driving, according to the Saudi English-language daily Arab News.
The woman, whose nationality and name were not released but who was described as being in her 20s, attempted to flee when she realized police had spotted her driving, Saudi authorities said.
"The woman tried to escape when she saw a police car and in the process hit another car, which was slightly damaged," Maj. Abdul Mushin Al-Mayman, a police spokesman, told Arab News. According to the spokesman, the woman was turned over to the Saudi Prosecution and Investigation Commission for investigation.
Women are barred from driving in most of Saudi Arabia, with rural areas being the exception.
It is not known how frequent such arrests are in Saudi Arabia, and arrest statistics are not released.
The issue has become one of the more controversial ones for Saudi Arabia in recent years. While women's rights activists in the country have been openly campaigning for the right to drive, many high ranking officials maintain it is a societal issue and will be resolved only when Saudis feel the time is right.
Last year, more than 125 women signed and sent a petition to Saudi Interior Minister Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, asking that the ban on women driving in the kingdom to be overturned.
The woman, whose nationality and name were not released but who was described as being in her 20s, attempted to flee when she realized police had spotted her driving, Saudi authorities said.
"The woman tried to escape when she saw a police car and in the process hit another car, which was slightly damaged," Maj. Abdul Mushin Al-Mayman, a police spokesman, told Arab News. According to the spokesman, the woman was turned over to the Saudi Prosecution and Investigation Commission for investigation.
Women are barred from driving in most of Saudi Arabia, with rural areas being the exception.
It is not known how frequent such arrests are in Saudi Arabia, and arrest statistics are not released.
The issue has become one of the more controversial ones for Saudi Arabia in recent years. While women's rights activists in the country have been openly campaigning for the right to drive, many high ranking officials maintain it is a societal issue and will be resolved only when Saudis feel the time is right.
Last year, more than 125 women signed and sent a petition to Saudi Interior Minister Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, asking that the ban on women driving in the kingdom to be overturned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
