Hanging the womb of Iraq

 

RENEWED CALL FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION  

IAON STATEMENT, 28 July 2009

STOP THE EXECUTIONS OF THE IRAQI WOMEN! 

According to Amnesty International. at least nine Iraqi women risk being executed at any moment. Three other women have been executed since the beginning of June.

 The women are: Samar Sa´ad Abdullah, Shuruq Hassun, Sabrine Nasser, Samira Abdullah, Um Hussain (mor Hussein, her name unknown), Hanan (her real name unknown), Dhikra Fakhry, Wassan Talib and Lamya Adnan.

 

* Read also the Urgent appeal on the pending execution of nine Iraqi women  

 

Stop the executions!

Statement of Hana Albayaty, Ian Douglas, Abdul Ilah Albayaty, Iman Saadoon, Dirk Adriaensens and Ayse Berktay (14 Feb 2007)

[Français] - [Arabic] - [Spanish] - [Turkish] -  Click here for list of endorsers.

We hope all endorse, distribute widely, organize and act. Please reply to [email protected]

 

* Take Action ! Now ! Click here to read what you can do.

* Selected statements and actions against the imminent execution of 3 Iraqi women.

* Update on actions to stop the execution of three Iraqi women (01 March 2007)

CALL FOR WORLDWIDE INTENSIFYING MOBILIZATION - Second update on efforts to stop the summary execution of three Iraqi women  (03 March 2007)

*  Third update on the three Iraqi women facing imminent execution - Dernières informations sur les condamnées à mort irakiennes - Situación actual de las tres condenadas a muerte iraquíes - İdam Cezası verilen Üç Iraklı Kadının Durumu Hakkında Son Bilgiler  (09 March 2007)

 

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.

 
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


First endorsers:

 
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, chairman of the Perdana Global Peace Organisation, honorary member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Ramsey Clark, former attorney general of the United States, founder of the International Action Center – USA
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat,  former Chief of Naval Staff — India
Hans Von Sponeck, former UN assistant secretary general & UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, 1998-2000 – Germany, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Susan George, director of the Transnational Institute – France
Eduardo Galeano, Essayist, journalist, historian, and activist – Uruguay, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Ahmed Manai, director of the Tunisian Institute for International Relations – France
Aida Seif El Dawla, founding member and chairperson of the Egyptian Association Against Torture, El–Nadim Centre for the Psychological Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence – Egypt
Ali Al-Sarraf, author  – Iraq
Amalia Pereira, dirigente de Promepar Irene Celis, dirigenta del Sindicato del Arzobispado de Santiago, 
Amy Bartholomew, professor of law – Canada, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Anna Karamanou, former member of the European Parliament, former chairwomen of the Committee of Women’s Rights of the European Parliament
Carlos Varea, coordinator and Spanish Campaign against Occupation and for the Sovereignty of Iraq, CEOSI – Spain, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Corinne Kumar, Secretary General of El Taller International - Tunesia / India, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Dahlia Wasfi, Anti-war activist, speaker, Global Exchange – Iraq / USA, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Dr Barbara Nimri Aziz, executive producer, “Tahrir”, Pacifica WBAI Radio, NY – USA
Dr Chris Busby, Scientific Secretary to the European Committee on Radiation Risk. Expert and author on DU – UK
Dr Curtis Doebbler, international human rights lawyer, professor of law at An–Najah National University – Palestine, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Dr Esmail Nooriala, Iranian-American writer and Lecturer on Islam University of Denver – USA
Dr Fadhil Bedran, author – Iraq
Dr Herman De Ley, emeritus professor, Department of Philosophy and Moral Science, Ghent University – Belgium, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Dr Jean Bricmont, scientist, specialist in theoretical physics, U.C. Louvain-La-Neuve – Belgium, member of the BRussells Tribunal Executive Committee
Dr Lieven De cauter, initiator of the BRussells Tribunal, philosopher, K.U. Leuven / Rits – Belgium
Dr Paola Manduca, Professor of Genetics, Anti–war movement – Italy, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Dr Suhair Abbas, senior lecturer at the University of Sains, Malaysia – Iraq
Eman Ahmed Khammas, former co-director of Occupation Watch, journalist, translator – Iraq, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Fabio Marcelli, Vice secretary of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers – Italy
Fatma Salah Uthman, Spokeswoman Makhmour Organization for Human Rights and Social Questions, Baghdad, Iraq 
Felicity Arbuthnot, Journalist - UK, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Gilles Munier, secrétaire général des Amitiés franco-irakiennes – France
Graciela Álvarez, Presidenta Rama de la Asociación de Juristas Latinoamericanos 
Hussein Al-Alak, chair of The Iraq Solidarity Campaign – UK / Iraq, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee 
John Catalinotto, International Action Center – USA, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
José Reinaldo Carvalho, Brazilian Center for Solidarity with the Peoples’ in Struggle for Peace – Brazil, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Karen Parker, Attorney, Association of Humanitarian Lawyers – USA, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Khaled Mouammar, National President of the Canadian Arab Federation – Canada
Laith Saud, journalist, college lecturer in social sciences - Iraq / USA, member of the Brussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Ludo Abicht, University of Antwerpen – Belgium
Magdalena Castillo, dirigenta Central Autónoma de Trabajadores, CAT 
Maria Ligia Centurion Prieto, member of La Unión de Mujeres Paraguayas (Paraguay-Sud América) – Paraguay
María Rozas, Vicepresidenta Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Chile, CUT
Michel Chossudovsky (Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa, founder of Centre for Research on Globalisation - Canada), member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Michel Collon, writer, journalist, Belgium
Mireya Baltra, ex Ministra del Gobierno del presidente Salvador Allende, Chile
Mona Baker, professor of translation studies, University of Manchester – UK
Mondher Adhami, research fellow at Kings College London – Iraq / UK, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Nilofer Bhagwat, vice president of Indian Lawyers Association – Mumbai / India, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Paola Pisi, founder of Uruknet, Italy
Patricia Coñoman, Presidenta Confederación de Trabajadores Textiles, CONTEXTIL 
Petros Constantinou, national coordinator, Campaign Genoa 2001 – Greece
Saadallah Al-Fathi, former head of the Energy Studies Department at OPEC – Iraq
Sabah Al Mukhtar, President of the Arab Lawyers Association — UK, member of the Brussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Salah Omar Al Ali, former representative of Iraq at the UN, Al-Wifaq – Iraq
Samia Mehrez, professor of Arabic studies – Egypt
Sara Flounders, International Action Center – USA
Sarah Meyer, independent researcher – UK, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee 
Sigyn Meder, member of the Iraq Solidarity Association – Sweden, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Socorro Gomes, president of the Brazilian Center for Solidarity with the Peoples’ in Struggle for Peace – Brazil, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Sr Anne Montgomery, Christian Peacemakers Team, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee
Wafaa Al-Natheema, founder of the Institute for Near Eastern and African Studies – USA
Yiannis Sifakakis, coordinator, Stop the War Coalition Greece – Greece
Organizations
AFFI-Associazione Federativa Femminista Internazionale
Agir Contre la Guerre (ACG)
Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition - NY
Americans Against War (AAW)
Arab Women's Solidarity Association-Belgique/ AWSA-Belgique
Asian Women’s Human Rights Council, India
associaçaõ de favelas em são josé, Brazil 
Association of Humanitarian Lawyers – USA
Australian Peace Committee (SA Branch) Inc.
Black people Union for Equality - UNEGRO, Brazil
BRussells Tribunal Committee
Campaign Genoa 2001 Greece
Canadian Arab Federation – Canada
Centre for Development Studies, India
Centro Brasileiro de Solidariedade aos Povos e Luta pela Paz Cebrapaz – Brazilian Center for Solidarity with the Peoples’ in Struggle for Peace – Brazil
Coalition de Quebec pour la paix, Canada
Comite de lutte contre la barbarie et l’arbitraire – France
Comité pour l'Annulation de la Dette du Tiers Monde (CADTM)
Comité pour une Paix Juste au Proche Orient, Luxembourg
Communist Party of Brazil 
Conlutas - National Coordination of Struggles, Brazil
Coordination des Groupes de Femmes Egalité, France
Current The Work, from the Workers Party (PT) , Brazil
El Taller International, Tunis
Filastiniyat
Gender Equity Unit, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
Gerald and Maas
Institute of Philosophy, Cuba
International Action Center – USA
International Anti-Occupation Network
International Movement for a Just World (JUST)
Intersindical – Inter Trade Unions Association, Brazil
Iraq Solidarity Association – Stockholm
La Unión de Mujeres Paraguayas Paraguay
le comité de la femme/cnops  (Maroc)
le comité de la femme/redal, (Maroc)
les organisations de femmes de l'umt/rabat (Maroc)
Lola Kompanyera, Phillipines
l'organisation de la femme du secteur agricole, Maroc
l'organisation de la femme ouvriere, Maroc
l'union des femmes fonctionnaires, Maroc
Makhmour Organization for Human Rights and Social Questions Baghdad, Iraq
MIR - IRG
New Jersey Solidarity- Activists for the Liberation of Palestine
Planète Non-Violence
Radical Women, USA
RAND Group of Consultants Nablus — Palestine
Representatives of the PSOL, Socialism and Liberty Party, Brazil
Representatives of the PSTU, Unified Workers Socialist Party, Brazil
Resistance & Alternative
Spanish Campaign against Occupation and for the Sovereignty of Iraq, CEOSI
Stop The War Coalition Greece 
StopWar Coalition, Vancouver, Canada
The CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF AMERICAN BASES - CAAB (website: www.caab.org.uk)
The Women in black of Portland Or
Tunisian Institute of International Relations France
UEE – SP –    São Paulo State Students Union, Brazil
Women in Black - Seattle Washington USA 
Women in black from Caen ( Normandy ) France

 

Click here for more complete list of endorsers.


Statement by Abdul Ilah Albayaty 

(11 February 2007) 
 
Wassan Talib, 31 years old, Zainab Fadhil, 25 years old, and Liqa Omar Mohammed, 26 years old, accused of belonging to and participating in the Iraqi resistance, summarily judged in a simulacra of a trial, in the absence of lawyers, will be executed 3 March 2007 in Baghdad.
 
Lawyers, persuaded that your very presence is the guarantee of justice
Syndicates and workers who celebrate the international feast of 1 May in memory of the American workers judged on false accusations
Religious of all religions who carry in you the suffering of Christ, crucified after a false trial
Marxists revolted by the false trials fabricated by powers like the one of Rosa Luxembourg
Militants conscious that this could happen to you whatever is your cause
Defenders of human rights, in particular the right to fair trial
Women who give life and of whom the flesh shakes in front of the atrocity of such executions
Arabs, proud and in solidarity with the sacrifices of the Iraqi people against the barbarity of the occupation and its puppet government
Civilised beings, human beings who refuse the so-called “legal” murders perpetrated by states
 
ALL, let’s unite ourselves, raise our voices to scream our indignation, refuse the horrors and the regression of our civilisation, and prevent the assassinations of Wassan, Zainab and Liqa.
 
Abdul Ilah Albayaty

 
We hope all endorse, distribute widely, organize and act. Please reply to [email protected]
 
! إعدام لرحم العراق!
 
أوقفوا هذه الإعدامات 

 
وسن طالب، 31 سنة؛ زينب فاضل ، 25 سنة؛ و لقاء عمر محمد، 26 سنة 
يواجهن الموت شنقا في العراق. فجميعهن متهمات بـ "جرائم ضد الصالح العام" من قبل حكومة غير قادرة حتى على توفير الكهرباءوإن كانت قادرة على ملء الشوارع بالجثث. ان الثلاثة محتجزات في سجن الكاظمية في بغداد. اثنتان منهن محتجزات مع أطفالهن: فلقاء أنجبت ابنتها ذات العام الواحد في السجن. والثلاثة ينفين قيامهن بالجرائم التي سوف يشنقن من أجلها
الفقرة الـ 156 من القانون الجنائي العراقي، والتي حوكمن بناء عليها، تنص على أن "أي شخص يؤتي فعلا عمدا بنية انتهاك استقلال البلاد أو وحدته أو أمن أراضيه يؤدي هذا الفعل، بحكم طبيعته ، إلى انتهاك يعاقب عليه بالموت".  والآن تقوم الحكومة العراقية التابعة  للإحتلال  باتهام هؤلاء النساء بما ترتكبه هي من جرائم
ان النساء الثلاثة لم يسمح لأي منهن بتوكيل محامي، كما ان المحاكمة التي حوكمن بها هي محاكمة غير شرعية حسب القانون الدولي. فالنساء الثلاثة هم في واقع الأمر أسيرات حرب لهن حقوق، نصت عليها اتفافية جنيف الثالثة. إن إعدام هؤلاء النساء الثلاث ليس فقط غير قانوني وإنما هو ايضا غير أخلاقي. ففي الوقت الذي تتجه فيه البشرية المتحضرة في كل مكان في العالم إلى نبذ عقوبة الاعدام، نجد ان القيادات الاقطاعية في العراق تحتفل بالاعدامات العلنية
في بلد يفتقد بوضوح إلى وجود الدولة و وجود نظام قضائي،  يستخدم الاحتلال وحكومته التابعة، كأي نظام قمعي على مدى التاريخ،  يستخدم المحاكمات  الصورية للقضاء على كل معارضة
لا يجوز النطق بأي حكم قانوني في غياب  الشروط الحضارية المتعارف عليها للمحاكمة، والتي يتمثل ابسطها في وجود والحق في تعيين المحامين.
إن نساء العراق هم الشهود على الحياة في العراق. على العكس من ذلك، نجد ان الحكومة الرجعية والمعينة من قبل الاحتلال الأمريكي لا تقدم  سوى ثقافة الموت. فبينما ان العراق كان اكثر بلدان المنطقة تقدما فيما يخص حقوق النساء، نجد أن الاحتلال الأمريكي قد أدى إلى إلغاء كافة التشريعات الحامية للنساء.  
لقد تسببت الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية في ترمل مئات الآلاف من النساء وحولت الحياة في العراق إلى صراع من أجل البقاء، ووضعت نساء العراق في مفترق طرق الموت، والآن أيضا، على المشانق.
النساء هن دائما أول وآخر ضحايا الحرب. إننا نتضامن مع كل أشكال المقاومة اللانهائية للنساء العراقيات، سواء كان ذلك المتمثل في مقاومتهن لثقافة الاغتصاب والتعذيب والقتل بواسطة الولايات المتحدة والقوى العراقية، أو في قدراتهن الهائلة على الاستمرار في الحياة في وسط الإبادة العرقية التي تقودها الدولة، أو في الحفاض كرامتهن وتحملهن وهن يحاولن أن يحافظن على ما يشبه الحياة الطبيعية بالنسبة لأطفالهن وأسرهن، أو في شجاعتهن في دفن أزواجهن وأبناءهن وبناتهن أو إخوتهن أو من خلال مقاومتهن المباشرة للاحتلال العسكري غير الشرعي والمهزوم
إننا نطالب بالإفراج عن وسن و زينب و لقاء وكافة السجناء السياسيين في العراق. إننا نناشد كافة الأفراد والمنظمات والبرلمانات والعمال والنقابيين والدول أن تسحب اعترافها بالحكومة الطائفية العراقية المتحالفة مع الاحتلال كما إننا نطالب بتنظيم الاحتجاجاتأمام كافة السفارات العراقية في كل مكان في العالم.

 
ليس هناك شرف في قتل النساء
الاحتلال هو أعلى أشكال الديكتاتورية.
ليس هؤلاء النساء الثلاث اللاتي يجب ان يقدمن إلى المحاكمة، وإنما هذه الحكومة وأسيادها الأجانب

 
هناء البياتي
يان دوجلاس
عبدالإله البياتي
إيمان السعدون
ديرك ادريائنسون
عايشة بركتي
 

 

Soutenez ce texte en diffusant et en y ajoutant votre signature. Veuillez répondre à l’adresse suivante: [email protected]   
 
Déclaration de Hana Albayaty, Ian Douglas, Abdul Ilah Albayaty, Iman Saadoon, Dirk Adriaensens et Ayse Berktay 
(14 février 2007)
 
Pendre les entrailles de l’Irak  
 
Arrêtez les exécutions! 
 
Wassan Talib, 31 ans, Zainab Fadhil, 25 ans, et Liqa Omar Muhammad, 26 ans, font face à une exécution imminente en Irak, toutes accusées d' “offenses envers le bien-être public” par un gouvernement qui ne peut même pas fournir l'électricité mais qui remplit les rues de cadavres. Toutes sont dans la prison de Al-Kadhimiya à Bagdad. Deux ont de jeunes enfants à leurs côtés. La fillette de 1 ans de Liqa est née en prison. Les trois femmes nient les accusations portées contre elles pour lesquelles elles risquent la pendaison.   
 
Le paragraphe 156 du Code pénal irakien, en vertu duquel elles ont été jugées, dit: “Toute personne qui commet volontairement un acte avec l'intention de violer l'indépendance du pays ou son unité ou la sécurité de son territoire et dont l’acte par sa nature, mène à cette violation est passible de la peine de mort”. Le gouvernement “fantoche” irakien accuse ces femmes de ses propres crimes.   
 
Aucune des trois femmes n'a eu la permission de voir un avocat. Elles ont subi des procès qui sont illégaux en vertu du droit international. Toutes trois sont des prisonnières de guerre dont les droits sont protégés en vertu de la Troisième Convention de Genève. Leur exécution ne serait pas seulement illégale et sommaire, elle serait totalement immorale. A travers le monde, la civilisation méprise la peine de mort pendant que les dirigeants féodaux de l'Irak présentent les exécutions comme un spectacle public.  
 
Dans un pays où il n'y a de toute évidence ni Etat ni système judiciaire, l'occupation et son gouvernement fantoche utilisent, comme tous les régimes répressifs à travers l'histoire, de faux tribunaux pour exterminer leurs opposants. Aucun jugement légal ne peut être émis alors que les conditions civilisées pour une procédure équitable ne sont pas en place, la moindre étant la présence et la sécurité des avocats.   
 
Les femmes irakiennes témoignent de la vie de la nation irakienne. Par contre, le gouvernement installé par les Etats-Unis, par ses tendances rétrogrades, n'impose qu'une culture de mort. Alors que l’Irak était l’état le plus progressiste de la région concernant les droits de la femme, avec l’invasion étatsunienne, toute cette législation de protection a été annulée. Les États-Unis et leurs conspirateurs locaux, en créant des centaines de milliers de veuves et en réduisant la vie en Irak à une lutte pour la simple survie, ont placé les femmes en ligne de mire, et maintenant sur la potence.  
 
Les femmes sont toujours les premières et les dernières victimes de la guerre. Nous célébrons les innombrables actes de résistance des femmes irakiennes, que ce soit leur résilience face à une culture de viol, de torture et de meurtre par les forces étasuniennes et irakiennes, leur courage de continuer à donner la vie au cœur d’un génocide sponsorisé par l’État, leur dignité alors qu’elles essaient de maintenir un semblant de normalité pour leurs enfants et leur famille, leur courage alors qu’elles enterrent leur mari, leurs fils, leurs filles ou leurs frères, ou en action directe contre une occupation militaire illégale et dont l’échec est patent.  
 
Nous réclamons la libération de Wassan, Zainab et Liqa et de tous les prisonniers politiques en Irak. Nous demandons à toute personne, organisation, parlement, travailleur, syndicat et État de cesser de reconnaître ce gouvernement irakien pro-occupation  et sectaire. Nous appelons à des protestations immédiates devant toutes les ambassades irakiennes à travers le monde. Il n’y a pas d’honneur à assassiner les femmes. L’occupation est la plus haute forme de dictature. Ce ne sont pas ces trois femmes qui devraient être poursuivies : c’est ce gouvernement et ses maîtres et bailleurs étrangers.  
 
Hana Albayaty 
Ian Douglas 
Abdul Ilah Albayaty 
Iman Saadoon 
Dirk Adriaensens 
Ayse Berktay 
 
Déclaration de Abdul Ilah Albayaty 
(11 février 2007) 
 
Wassan Talib, 31 ans, Zainab Fadhil, 25 ans, et Liqa Omar Mohammed, 26 ans, accusées d’appartenir et de participer à la résistance irakienne, jugées sommairement dans un simulacre de procès, en l’absence d’avocats, seront exécutées le 3 mars 2007 à Bagdad.
 
Avocats, convaincus que votre seule présence est une garantie de justice
Syndicalistes et travailleurs qui célébrez la fête internationale du 1er mai en mémoire des travailleurs étasuniens jugés sur de fausses accusations
Adeptes de toutes les religions qui portez en vous la souffrance du Christ, crucifié suite à un faux procès
Marxistes révoltés par les faux procès fabriqués par les puissants tel que celui de Rosa Luxembourg
Militants conscients que ça pourrait vous arriver peu importe votre cause
Défenseurs des droits de la personne, en particulier le droit à un procès juste
Femmes qui donnez la vie et dont la chair tremble devant l’atrocité de telles exécutions
Arabes, fiers et en solidarité avec les sacrifices du peuple irakien contre la barbarie de l’occupation et de son gouvernement fantoche
Êtres civilisés, êtres humains qui refusez les meurtres soit disant « légaux » commis par les États
 
TOUS ET TOUTES, unissons-nous, levons nos voix pour crier notre indignation, refuser les horreurs et les régressions de notre civilisation et prévenir l’assassinat de Wassan, Zainab et Liqa.
 
 
Abdul Ilah Albayaty

Tres mujeres iraquíes se enfrentan a la horca tras un juicio sin garantía legal alguna 

No a las ejecuciones 

Declaración Internacional * 

Tribunal BRussells (www.brusselstribunal.org), 14 de febrero, 2007

IraqSolidaridad (www.iraqsolidaridad.org), 18 de febrero, 2007

Traducido del inglés por Paloma Valverde 

 

“A ninguna de estas tres mujeres se le ha permitido el derecho a un abogado. Los juicios a los que las sometieron eran ilegales de acuerdo con la legalidad internacional. Las tres son prisioneras de guerra con estatuto protegido según la Tercera Convención de Ginebra. Su ejecución sería no sólo ilegal y sumaria, sino completamente inmoral. La civilización del mundo repudia la pena de muerte al tiempo que los dirigentes feudales en Iraq hacen un espectáculo público de las ejecuciones.” 

Wassan Talib, de 31 años, Zeynab Fadil, de 25 y Liqa Omar Muhammad de 26, todas ellas acusadas de “delitos contra la sociedad” por un gobierno que ni siquiera es capaz de suministrar electricidad a la población pero que llena las calles de cadáveres, se enfrentan a una ejecución inminente en Iraq [1]. Todas ellas están en la prisión de Kadimiya de Bagdad. Dos de ellas tienen hijos pequeños. La hija de Liqa, de un año, nació en la cárcel. Todas las mujeres niegan las acusaciones por las que se enfrentan a la horca.  

El párrafo 156 del Código Penal iraquí, según el cual se las juzgó, señala que “[…] cualquier persona que cometa intencionadamente un acto con la pretensión de violar la independencia de su país o su unidad, o la seguridad de su territorio y que ese acto, por su naturaleza, implique tal violación es punible con la pena de muerte”. El gobierno títere acusa a esas mujeres de sus mismos crímenes.  

Falsos tribunales 

A ninguna de estas tres mujeres se le ha permitido el derecho a un abogado. Los juicios a los que las sometieron eran ilegales de acuerdo con la legalidad internacional. Las tres son prisioneras de guerra con estatuto protegido según la Tercera Convención de Ginebra. Su ejecución sería no sólo ilegal y sumaria, sino completamente inmoral. La civilización del mundo repudia la pena de muerte al tiempo que los dirigentes feudales en Iraq hacen un espectáculo público de las ejecuciones.  

En un país en el que es evidente que no hay un sistema estatal o judicial, la ocupación y su gobierno marioneta utiliza, como en todos los regímenes represivos de la Historia, tribunales falsos para exterminar a quienes se le oponen. No se puede celebrar ningún juicio legal mientras no se den las condiciones para un proceso debido, al menos la presencia y la seguridad de los abogados.  

Las mujeres iraquíes son la memoria de la vida de la nación de Iraq. Por el contrario, el gobierno nombrado por EEUU impone en su atraso únicamente una cultura de muerte. Mientras Iraq era el Estado más progresista de la región respecto a los derechos de la mujer, con la invasión estadounidense se abolió la legislación protectora [de la mujer]. EEUU y sus conspiradores locales, al provocar cientos de miles de viudas y reducir la vida en Iraq a la lucha por la mera supervivencia, colocaron a la mujer en el punto de mira y ahora en la horca.  

Resistencia de las mujeres 

Las mujeres son siempre las primeras y las últimas víctimas de la guerra. Aplaudimos los incontables actos de resistencia de la mujer iraquí, ya sea su resistencia frente a la cultura de la violación, de la tortura y del asesinato por parte de las fuerzas estadounidenses e iraquíes, su fortaleza en seguir dando vida en medio de un genocidio patrocinado por el estado, su dignidad al enterrar a sus maridos, hijos, hijas o hermanos, o sus acciones directas contra una ocupación militar, ilegal y fracasada.  

Exigimos la puesta en libertad de Wassan, Zeynab y Liqa y de todos los presos y presas políticos en Iraq. Apelamos a todas las personas, organizaciones, parlamentos, trabajadores, sindicatos y Estados a retirar el reconocimiento a este gobierno iraquí pro-ocupación y sectario. Llamamos a realizar protestas de forma inmediata frente a cada embajada iraquí en el mundo. No hay honor alguno en asesinar a mujeres. La ocupación es la mayor dictadura.  No son estas tres mujeres a las que se debe juzgar; sino a este gobierno y a sus pagadores extranjeros.  

* Esta declaración ha sido promovida por Hana Albayaty, Ian Douglas, Abdul Ilah Albayaty, Iman Saadoon, Dirk Adriaensens y Ayse Berktay.

Además de las adhesiones individuales, la declaración cuenta con los primeros apoyos de Iraq Solidarity Association (Estocolmo), Centro Brasileiro de Solidariedade aos Povos e Luta pela Paz Cebrapaz,  BRussells Tribunal Committee, International Action Center (EEUU), International Movement for a Just World (JUST), Gerald and Maas, Canadian Arab Federation, Tunisian Institute of International Relations (Paris), además de la CEOSI 

Texto original en inglés en: http://www.brusselstribunal.org/hanging.htm 

Nota de IraqSolidaridad: 

1.       Véase en IraqSolidaridad: http://www.nodo50.org/iraq/2007/docs/represion_13-02-07.html .


Irak'ın Rahmini Asmak

İdamları Durdurun!


Irak'ta, 31 yaşındaki Wassan Talip, 25 yaşındaki Zeynep Fadıl, ve 26 yaşındaki Liqa Ömer Muhammed, yakın tarihte infazı beklenen ölüm cezasıyla karşı karşıyalar. Üçü de, elektrik hizmeti vermeyi bile başaramayan, ancak sokakları ölülerle dolduran bir hükümet tarafından "kamu refahına karşı suç" işlemekle suçlanıyorlar. Üçü de Bağdat'taki Al-Kadimiye Hapishanesi'ndeler. İkisinin yanında küçük çocukları da var. Liqa'nin 1 yaşındaki kızı hapishanede doğdu. Üç kadın da idam cezası yemelerine yol açan suçlamaları reddediyor.

Yargılandıkları Irak Ceza Kanunu'nun 156. Maddesine göre "ülkenin bağımsızlığına, birliğine veya ülke topraklarının güvenliğine halel getirmek kastıyla kendi iradesiyle eylemde bulunan herkes, bu eylem doğası gereği böyle bir ihlale yol açtığında, ölümle cezalandırılır." Irak'taki "kukla" hükümet bu kadınları kendi işlediği suçla suçlamaktadır.

Üç kadının da avukatla bağlantı kurmasına izin verilmemiştir. Yapılan duruşmalar, uluslararası hukuka göre, yasa dışıdır. Üç kadın da, Cenevre Sözleşmesi kapsamında korunan haklara sahip savaş esirleridir. İdam edilmeleri yasa dışı ve yargısız infaz olmakla kalmayıp, aynı zamanda ahlak dışı olacaktır. Tüm dünyada uygarlık ölüm cezasını lanetlerken Irak'ın feodal liderleri idamları teşhir gösterileri haline getirmektedirler.

Bir devletin ya da yargı sisteminin olmadığı aşikar olan bir ülkede işgal yönetimi ve onun kukla hükümeti, tarih boyunca bütün baskıcı rejimlerin yaptığı gibi, muhalifleri ortadan kaldırmak için sahte mahkemeleri kullanmaktadır. Uygar adil yargılama koşullarının olmadığı, en azından avukatların bulunmadığı ve avukat güvencesinin olmadığı koşullarda yasal karara varılamaz.

Iraklı kadınlar Irak ulusunun yaşama bağlılığının canlı kanıtıdır. Oysa ABD tarafindan kurulan hükümetin, tüm geriliğiyle dayattığı sadece ölüm kültürüdür. Bir zamanlar, bölgede, kadın hakları açısından en ileri ülke olan Irak’ta, ABD işgaliyle birlikte koruyucu yasalar kaldırılmıştır. Ülkede yüzbinlerce dul yaratan ve Irak'ta yaşamı salt bir ölüm kalım mücadelesine indirgeyen Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ve onun yerel suç ortakları önce hedef tahtasına koydukları kadınları, şimdi de darağacına çıkartmaktadırlar.

Kadınlar her zaman savaşların ilk ve son kurbanlarıdırlar. Iraklı kadınların, ABD ve Irak güçleri tarafindan maruz bırakıldıkları tecavüz, işkence ve cinayetler karşısında yıkılmayarak, devlet destekli soykırım ortasında yaşam vermeye devam etmek metanetini göstererek, çocukları ve aileleri için, görünüşte de olsa, normal yaşamı onurlu bir şekilde devam ettirmeye çalışarak, kocalarını, oğullarını, kızlarını ve erkek kardeşlerini cesaretle gömerek ya da yasa dışı ve başarısız bir askeri işgale karşı cesaretle doğrudan eyleme geçerek gerçekleştirdikleri sayısız direniş eylemini selamlıyoruz.

Wassan, Zainab ve Liqa ve Irak'taki bütün siyasi mahkumların salıverilmesini talep ediyoruz. Bütün bireyleri, örgütleri,
parlamentoları, işçileri, sendikaları ve devletleri mevcut, işgal yanlısı ve mezhepçi Irak hükümetini tanımaktan vaz geçmeye çağırıyoruz. Herkesi dünya genelinde, bütün Irak elçilikleri önünde acilen protesto eylemleri düzenlemeye çağırıyoruz. Kadınları öldürmenin onurlu bir yanı yoktur. İşgal, diktatörlüğün en üst biçimidir. Yargılanması gereken bu üç kadın değil mevcut hükümet ve eline baktığı dışarıdaki patronudur..

Hana Albayaty
Ian Douglas
Abdul Ilah Albayaty
Iman Saadoon
Dirk Adriaensens
Ayşe Berktay



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 [email protected] and [email protected]

 
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

 Statement by Hana Albayaty, Ian Douglas, Abdul Ilah Albayaty, Iman Saadoon, Dirk Adriaensens and Ayse Berktay (1 March 2007)

 

END THIS CRIME NOW! 

Update on actions to stop the execution of three Iraqi women

On 14 February we launched an appeal to halt the summary execution of three Iraqi women. Hundreds signed our statement, including numerous organizations, and demonstrations have taken place in Istanbul, Ankara, Rabat, Berlin and Stockholm, among other cities.

 

Wassan Talib (31), Zainab Fadhil (25) and Liqa Omar Muhammad (26) were reportedly sentenced to death on charges that amount to supporting the legitimate and legal popular resistance to occupation in Iraq.

 

We issue this statement now to highlight that the situation in Iraq inaugurated and sustained by a defeated occupation and its local sectarian puppet forces makes the defence of human rights practically impossible.

 

In Baghdad in particular, some individuals that we are regularly in contact with, and others that were contacted for this specific case, report facing the same situation, one so volatile that they cannot even verify the whereabouts or wellbeing of their own families. Unable to move, or else fleeing for their lives en masse amidst the murderous Bush-Maliki surge, Iraqis are enduring waves of military repression and violence.

 

We tried to reach the families of the three women and their lawyer. We tried to verify their convictions, the charges on which they were convicted, and their wellbeing or status. We tried to verify the date of their prospective executions, and ascertain if an appeals process is underway. Until now, despite efforts along numerous channels (including contacting legal organizations in Iraq directly, along with human rights practitioners), no information has been forthcoming from within or outside Iraq.

 

We continue to work on the assumption that our information is credible: that the women may be executed as early as Saturday, 3 March 2007. We ask people of conscience everywhere to continue their mobilization and bring pressure on detaining authorities - both the Iraqi government and the occupation- to release information on the three women and free them. We call for similar pressure to be placed on human rights actors to intervene.

 

Summary executions and arbitrary detention are high crimes under international law for which the occupation must be held accountable. We should intensify our protests and support all actions against this occupation in order to be millions in the street by 20 March 2007. It is our moral duty to end this crime now! 

 

Hana Albayaty

Ian Douglas

Abdul Ilah Albayaty

Iman Saadoon

Dirk Adriaensens

Ayse Berktay

 

Statement by Hana Al Bayaty, Ian Douglas, Abdul Ilah Albayaty, Iman Saadoon, Dirk Adriaensens and Ayse Berktay (2 March 2007)

 

CALL FOR WORLDWIDE

INTENSIFYING MOBILIZATION

 

Second update on efforts to stop the

summary execution of three Iraqi women

 

 

Twenty-four hours ago we issued an urgent alert, stating that the defence of human rights in Iraq, as a result of US occupation and its sectarian puppet forces, is practically impossible. But the awareness by thousands of this fact explains the overwhelming mobilization we are witnessing in defence of three Iraqi women facing the gallows.

 

Individuals, intellectuals, women’s organizations, lawyers’ associations, human rights groups, trade unions and political movements effectively networked and took initiative worldwide. The popular pressure that has been built from everywhere, via numerous routes, impelled, among others:

 

 

Today we received information via the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that the three Iraqi women will not be executed until an appeals court has ruled on their cases. This assurance came from Iraqi authorities. It is not enough. We demand to know the charges on which these three Iraqi women stand convicted. We demand to know the date of their appeal hearings. We demand that a public statement is made. We demand that they be afforded all due protections under international human rights and humanitarian law. If charged with resisting foreign occupation and aggression, we declare this charge illegal.

 

While Wassan, Zainab and Liqa are no longer anonymous, 20 million other Iraqis face imminent threats in towns and cities where occupation-sponsored death squads continue to operate with impunity and where rape and torture by US and Iraqi puppet forces is endemic. Over one million have been arbitrarily deprived of the right to life and tens of thousands more arbitrarily detained. Backward and sectarian forces have been installed in power and the achievements of the Iraqi people over the past 100 years have been reduced to ashes.

 

The end of oppression, of summary executions and assassinations, of arbitrary detentions, rape and torture, of mass murder, civil strife and genocide, and the destruction of civilization, culture and history, comes with the end of the occupation.

 

The occupation of Iraq is no less than the concrete implementation of the ideology driving the so-called war on terror; permanent war, the denial of civil liberties and the exclusion of international law from international relations that prevents the peaceful coexistence and reciprocal advancement of peoples and cultures. The depth of solidarity and defence of human dignity, justice and most basic human rights expressed in the case of these three Iraqi women is proof that humanity refuses this regression.

 

From Berlin to Baghdad, we salute all those that through public demonstrations, personal moral conviction, or resistance in their given situation, have linked the lives of three Iraqi women — indeed, all Iraqi women — to the dignity and resilience of the nation of Iraq under the hammer of a defeated occupation.

 

As 20 March 2007 — the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq — approaches, we hope all stay mobilized to secure the wellbeing of Wassan, Zeinab and Liqa. We demand the liberation of all political prisoners in Iraq.

 

We also call for worldwide, intensifying mobilization to stop this illegal blood-soaked occupation, struggle to uphold international law by retrieving recognition from the criminal sectarian puppet Iraqi government, recognizing the Iraqi Resistance as the sole representative of the will of the Iraqi people, and demanding the unconditional and immediate withdrawal of all occupation forces.

 

The only solution in Iraq is the sovereignty of the Iraqi people.

 

We stand with millions in defence of justice. We stand with millions in defence of Iraq. Our hearts are Iraqi.

 

 

Hana Al Bayaty

Ian Douglas

Abdul Ilah Albayaty

Iman Saadoon

Dirk Adriaensens

Ayse Berktay


Third update (9 March 2007)

Dear all,

 

A short update on the status of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad, the three Iraqi women who face imminent execution:

 

1. This week we received from Iraq an account of a prison visit to the three women one person was able to make. We believe there is credibility to this account. The account corroborates initial information that these women were subject to unfair trials. We are trying to get precise detail on their trials in order to formally petition the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has expressed willingness to take up the case, and indeed did some checking of its own. If we gain a more detailed account, we can push the Working Group to go further. An accomplished international human rights lawyer is willing to work with us on behalf of the three women.

 

2. The account of the prison visit leads us to believe that the women are still alive. Another mail came to us from another source relaying that the executions have been postponed. However, we can not confirm either detail. Despite the immense response to our appeal, and all the letters and emails sent to the holding authorities, no official statement has reached us that addresses the case of these three women. We continue to seek further information.

 

3. The trial of Wassan and Zeinab allegedly lasted 25 minutes with no evidence or witnesses presented. Wassan, Zeinab and Liqa deny the charges brought against them.

 

4. The account of the prison visit confirms that the three women are held in an unsafe location, Al-Kadhimiya Prison.

 

5. The account of the prison visit also mentions that 16 children are in Al-Kadhimiya Prison, some of which are the children of Zainab and Liqa.

 

6. We cannot yet confirm what exact article of the Iraqi Penal Code the three Iraqi women were convicted under. However, the fourth woman mentioned in Amnesty International's appeal, allegedly convicted on criminal charges and facing imminent execution, is mentioned in the prison visit account as being in Al-Kadhimiya Prison and having also been subject to an unfair trial.

 

We believe it very necessary for all to continue in their mobilization in solidarity with Iraqi women and the struggle of the Iraqi people for independence, freedom, justice and the right to life.

 

The theme of this year's International Women's Day -- "Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls" -- allows us to recall what is happening without censure every day in occupied Iraq: sexual abuse, humiliation, rape and torture, as well as murder. Our mobilization stands to expose the abyss between the occupation and its puppet government and the directive of the United Nations, which reads: "States have an obligation to protect women and girls from violence, to hold perpetrators accountable and to provide justice and remedies to victims. The failure to meet these obligations is unacceptable."

 

There is no national jurisdiction under occupation. This puppet government is in no situation to pass sentences and is unwilling and incompetent to protect these women. We call for the end of this criminal occupation and the release of Wassan, Zeinab and Liqa along with all political prisoners held illegally.

 

We congratulate the protests and campaigns thus far initiated against these imminent executions. We salute our Moroccan sisters and activists who staged on 5 March a 24-hour hunger strike and a sit-in outside the UN office in Rabat. It is time for us all, in our actions, to push mandated authorities, including the UN, to end their hypocrisy and complicity in the horrendous crime that is the occupation of Iraq.

 

We remind holding authorities that it is prohibited under international law to hold prisoners in an unsafe place, and that an international movement of solidarity is awaiting confirmation of the well being of Wassan Zeinab and Liqa.

 

We will update all endorsers as and when we have additional significant information. The situation in Iraq is extremely volatile and we are conscious at all times of the security and safety of those on the ground in Iraq who are assisting in our efforts.

 

Please keep us informed of all actions and progress you are making.

 

 

Ian Douglas

Hana Al Bayaty

Abdul Ilah Albayaty

Dirk Adriaensens

Iman Saadoon

Ayse Berktay

 

 

Amnesty International appeal: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE140052007


İdam Cezası verilen Üç Iraklı Kadının Durumu Hakkında Son Bilgiler

 

Sayın çağrı imzacıları,

İdam tehdidiyle karşı karşıya olan üç Iraklı kadının, Wassan Talib, Zeynep Fadıl ve Liqa
Ömer Muhammed’in durumlarıyla ilgili son bilgileri kısaca iletmek istedik.


1. Bu hafta Irak’tan, üç kadını hapishanede ziyaret etme olanağı bulan  bir kişiden haber aldık. Bilginin inanılır olduğu kanaatindeyiz. Haber üç kadının adil olmayan bir şekilde yargılandığı bilgisini doğruluyor. BM Keyfi Yargılamalar Çalışma Grubuna (UNWGAD) resmi başvuru yapmak için yargılanmalarıyla ilgili kesin ayrıntılara ulaşmaya çalışıyoruz. UNWAGD konuyu ele almaya hazır olduğunu ifade etmiş ve kendisi de duruma ilişkin tetkikler yapmaya başlamıştır. Daha ayrıntılı bilgiler alırsak, UNWGAD’nu daha ileri adımlar atmaya zorlamamız mümkün olacak. Tanınmış bir uluslararası insan hakları hukukçusu üç kadın adına çalışmaya hazır olduğunu bildirdi.

2. Hapisane ziyaretine ilişkin bilgilere göre , üç kadının da hayatta. Bir başka kaynaktan idamların ertelendiğine ilişkin bir mektup aldık. Ancak her iki bilgiyi de teyid edemiyoruz. Çağrımıza gelen büyük desteğe ve sorumlu makamlara gönderilen elimize bu üç kadının durumuyla ilgili resmi bir açıklama ulaşmadı. Daha fazla bilgi edinmek için çalışmaya devam ediyoruz.

3. Wassan, Zeynep ve Liqa’nın duruşmasının 25 dakika sürdüğü, duruşmada hiç bir kanıt veya tanık sunulmadığı söyleniyor. Wassan, Zeynep ve Liqa kendilerine yöneltilen suçlamaları reddediyorlar.

4. Hapisahane ziyaretiyle ilgili bilgi üç kadının güvenli olmayan koşullar altında, Al Kazimiye Hapishanesinde tutulmakta olduğunu doğruluyor.

5. Hapishane ziyaretiyle ilgili bilgide Al Kazimiye’de Zeynep ve Liqa’nın çocuklarıyla birlikte 16 çocuk bulunduğundan söz ediliyor.

6. Üç kadının Irak Ceza Kanununun tam olarak hangi maddesinden hüküm giydiğini henüz teyid edemedik. Ancak hapishane ziyaretinden gelen bilgide, Uluslararası Af Örgütü’nün çağrısında cinayetle suçlandığı söylenen ve her an idam edilebileceği bildirilen dördüncü kadının da Al Kazimiye Hapishanesinde olduğunu ve onun da adil olmayan bir şekilde yargılandığı belirtiliyor.

 Iraklı kadınlarla ve Irak halkının bağımsızlık, özgürlük, adalet ve yaşama hakkı için verdiği mücadeleyle dayanışmak için girişilen bütün çaba ve eylemliliklerin sürdürülmesinin çok gerekli olduğuna inanıyoruz.

Bu yıl için belirlenen  Uluslararası Kadınlar Günü’nün teması  --  “Kadına ve kız çocuklarına karşı şiddetin cezasız kalmasına son” – bize işgal altındaki Irak’ta her gün hiç engellenmeden nelerin meydana gelmekte olduğunu bir kez daha hatırlamamıza neden oluyor: cinsel taciz, aşağılanma, tecavüz ve işkence ve cinayet. Giriştiğimiz çabalar işgal ve kukla hükümeti ile Birleşmiş Milletler talimatı arasındaki uçurumu ortaya koyuyor. BM talimatı şöyle diyor: “(Üye) Devletler kadınları ve kız çocuklarını şiddete karşı korumak, bu suçu işleyenleri yargılamak, mağdurlara adalet ve tazminat sağlamakla yükümlüdür. Bu yükümlülüklerin yerine getirilmemesi, hiç bir gerekçeyle kabul edilemez.”

 
İşgal altında ulusal yargı sistemi yoktur. Bu kukla hükümet cezaya hükmedecek konumda değildir, bu kadınları korumak konusunda isteksiz ve acizdir. Çağrımız bu işgalin sona ermesi, Wassan, Zeynep ve Liqa ve hukuk dışı bir şekilde tutulmakta olan bütün siyasi tutukluların serbest bırakılması çağrısıdır.


Bu idamlara karşı şu ana kadar yapılmış protesto ve kampanyaları selamlıyoruz. 5 Mart’ta Rabat’taki Birleşmiş Milletler temsilciliği önünde 24 saatlik bir oturma eylemi ve açlık grevi yapan Faslı kızkardeşlerimizi selamlıyoruz. Şimdi hepimizin, her türlü çaba ve eylemlerimizle, Birleşmiş Milletler de dahil tüm yetkili otoriteleri, ikiyüzlü davranışlarına son vermeye, korkunç bir suç olan Irak’ın işgaline suç ortaklığı yapmaya son vermeye zorlamalıyız.

Tutukluları elinde tutan makamlara, tutukluları güvenli olmayan yerlerde tutmanın uluslararası hukukça yasaklanmış olduğunu ve uluslararası bir dayanışma hareketinin Wassan, Zeynep ve LiQa’nın iyi olduğunun teyit edilmesini beklediğini hatırlatırız.

Elimize anlamlı yeni bilgiler ulaştıkça, çağrı imzacılarını bilgilendireceğiz. Irak’ta insanların güvenlikten yoksun olduğu ve her an her şeyin olabildiği bir ortam egemen. Çabalarımıza Irak’tan destek olanların güvenliğini ve emniyetini hep hesaba katmak durumundayız.


Lütfen giriştiğiniz çabalar, eylemler ve kaydettiğiniz ilerleme konusunda bizleri haberdar edin.

Ian Douglas
Hana Al Bayaty
Abdul Ilah Albayaty
Dirk Adriaensens
Iman Saadoon

Ayşe Berktay

Uluslararası Af Örgütü’nün Çağrısı (İngilizce): http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE140052007


CALL FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION 

July 28, 2009

STOP THE EXECUTIONS OF THE IRAQI WOMEN! 

      According to Amnesty International. at least nine Iraqi women risk being executed at any moment. Three other women have been executed since the beginning of June. The women, whose execution may be immanent, have been moved to a special section of the Khadimya  women´s prison. One of the women, Samar Sa´ad, maintains that she was forced to ”confess” to the murder of relatives after torture by electric chock in the Hay-al-Khadra police station in Baghdad. Her testimony resulted in two hearings, but no investigation was carried out. For more details see Amnesty International´s information about the women: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=18348 

     The women are: Samar Sa´ad Abdullah, Shuruq Hassun, Sabrine Nasser, Samira Abdullah, Um Hussain (mor Hussein, her name unknown), Hanan (her real name unknown), Dhikra Fakhry, Wassan Talib and Lamya Adnan. 

     During the first half of 2007 there was a broad international campaign against the execution of 4 women, three of whom were accused of “offences against the public welfare”. It was pointed out that none of the women had been able to consult with lawyers and that none of them admitted to having committed the crimes they were accused of at sham trials. The campaign was successful in stopping the executions. Two of the women, Wassan Talib and Samar Sa ád Abdullah, are now again facing execution. 

    More than 1000 executions are estimated to have been carried out in Iraq since 2004.  There is no recognized national judicial jurisdiction under occupation. Furthermore, on May 6, 2009 the UN organs OHCHR and UNAMI brought attention to a number of points where the Iraqi government fails to meet minimal demands for a fair trial as stipulated in article 14 of the International Convention on Civilian and Political Rights. The United Nations encouraged Iraq to introduce a moratorium on executions. The women of Iraq have suffered greatly under the occupation; in the prisons they are systematically raped and tortured. This has been confirmed by the former minister for Womens Affairs,  Nawal al Sammaraie, when she resigned.
 

     We are deeply shaken and angered about the absence of rights in Iraq under the occupation, an absence of rights that the occupation power bears ultimate responsibility for.

Stop the executions of the Iraqi women!   Make public all information about the women!
Recognize all the legal rights of the women!  Guarantee a stop for the rapes and torture!
Stop all executions in Iraq!

    We encourage political parties, parliamentarians, organisations and individuals to protest.

immediately to the Presidential Council in Iraq (consisting of President Jalal Talabai, Vice-Presidents Tariq al-Hashimi and  Vice-President Adil 'Abdul Mahd), the Prime Minister  Nuri al-Malaki as well as the US President Barrack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The Iraq Solidarity Association in Stockholm (IrakSolidaritet)
contact:
[email protected]   -   Web site: www.iraksolidaritet.se

(Written For the International Anti-Occupation Network)

Sigyn Meder

Translation: Mike Powers

 

* Read also the "Urgent appeal on the pending execution of nine Iraqi women"

On July 29 and 30, a delegation organized by the group "Woman Solidarity for an Independent and Unified Iraq" delivered an urgent appeal to a number of Arab League countries through their embassies in London. They were received by diplomats in Syrian and Qatari embassies and by officials in the Egyptian, and Saudi Arabian embassies. Copies of the appeal were sent to members of the British and European parliaments and to American human rights organisations. The appeal is for an urgent intervention to stop the imminent execution of nine Iraqi women.

Nidhal al-Tabatabai (Engineer), Maha al-Shakarchi (Researcher), Dr. Nawal al-Obeidi (Geologist), Dr. Beatrice Boctor (Doctor), Intisar Ubaydi (Pharmacist), Rana Al-Shabibi (Lawyer), Henriette Khoury (Pharmacist), Malak Hamdan (Engineer), Tahrir Numan (activist), Thuraya Mohamed (Teacher), Sawsan Assaf ( Academic), Lamees Ibrahim ( Microbiologist), Haifa Zangana (writer)