Six decades after effectively gaining independence from France, Mali facing political uncertainty, major security woes. Sixty years since independence, Mali, once again, stands at a crossroads. The new military rulers who last month overthrew embattled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita named on Monday former Defence Minister Bah Ndaw president of a transitional government, tasking him with leading the country to elections. Colonel Assimi Goita, head of the group of soldiers behind the August 18 coup, was appointed vice president. The announcement, made on state television on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the proclamation of the independent Republic of Mali, marked the latest twist in a deepening saga with major implications for a fragile country at the heart of the battle against armed groups in the wider Sahel region. It was not immediately clear whether the appointment of the 70-year-old Ndaw would please the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc, which for weeks now has been pushing for a transition to civilian rule. Fearing that the unconstitutional transfer of power may set an example domestically and compromise international efforts to contain the worsening security crisis that has spread beyond Mali’s borders, regional leaders have sought to pressure the military government by cutting off money flows and imposed sanctions. Yvan Guichaoua, a Sahel expert at the University of Kent’s Brussels School of International Studies, said Ndaw’s appointment was “good news” as political heavyweights with electoral ambitions appeared unwilling to step forward due to a ban on transitional leaders that prevents them from running in the next polls. Describing him as “a lesser-known figure with a reputation of decency”, Guichaoua said his profile “looks acceptable by the domestic political forces and the international community. “The ECOWAS wanted a civilian president and Ndaw meets this criterion, even though he is retired military,” he added. “We’re now getting closer to having a functional institutional architecture able to govern Mali, in which the junta will, in any case, remain highly influential.” Andrew Lebovich, a policy fellow with the European Council for Foreign Relations, said that while N’Daw is generally seen as a well-respected figure, it may be too soon to determine if his nomination is a positive development. “Naming the transitional president is just one step in a long process of necessary reforms and government actions that have not yet been taken,” Lebovich said. “We also don’t know yet what his priorities may be as transitional president, and given that the CNSP leader Col. Assimi Goita will be Vice President of the transitional government, it’s clear the junta will maintain an active presence within the transitional government.” France, the former colonial power which has for years spearheaded international military efforts against armed groups in the region, had also called for a swift handover. But it had also had to tread a careful path, condemning the coup while at the same time tempering its criticism of the military officers who removed 75-year-old Keita – a leader who appeared to be on a good footing with Paris but faced growing opposition at home due to the country’s persistent economic malaise and spiralling security crisis. “Having been seen as supporters of Keita, their (France’s) position is weakened in Mali,” said Jean-Yves Haine, a professor at the Sorbonne Nouvelle university and ILERI school in Paris. There was no immediate reaction by France to the announcement about the new government, which is to be inaugurated on September 25. Tumultuous history A French colony since the late 19th century, Mali achieved independence in 1960, first in a federation alongside Senegal on June 20, 1960, and then becoming a country in its own right on September 22 of that year following the secession of its neighbour the month before. Since then, the West African country has retained strong relations with France as it experienced alternate cycles of political stability and instability, punctuated by rebellions, financials woes and military coups -several of them. Its very first president, Modibo Keita, was overthrown in 1968 by Moussa Traore, a young army lieutenant who met the same fate nearly a quarter of a century later. Buoyed by widespread anger at the government, Lieutenant Colonel Amadou Toumani Toure in 1991 led a coup against Traore. But unlike Traore, Toure quickly withdrew from public life – auguring the country’s longest period of democratic governance – only to return some 10 years later to successfully run for the presidency. With a month left to his second term in office, however, Toure himself was toppled in 2012 amid dissatisfaction about the government’s response to a surge in rebel activity in the country’s north. The overthrow and killing of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi the previous year led many Tuareg rebels who had headed to the neighbouring country to fight on the side of its longtime ruler to cross the Sahara and return to Mali, bringing them with an ample stock of weapons and military trucks. Taking advantage of the political turmoil in the capital, Bamako, the battle-hardened separatists from the marginalised Tuareg community, allied with an al-Qaeda offshoot, quickly overran much of the country’s north. But the rebellion was quickly hijacked by armed groups, which seized control of major northern cities. With the fighters advancing towards the south, the alarmed the interim authorities in the capital, Bamako, appealed to France for help. “They (armed groups) are seeking to deal a fatal blow to the very existence of Mali,” then-French President Francis Hollande said in January 2013 as he announced the launch of Operation Serval to beat back the fighters. “France, as is the case with its African partners and all of the international community, cannot accept this,” he added. The French-led military operation helped dislodge the al-Qaeda-linked fighters, paving the way for elections in 2013 which brought Keita – also known by his initials, IBK – to power. Violence, however, severely escalated during Keita’s seven years in office, with large parts of Mali still remaining beyond government control. 'Original sin' Despite a multitude of regional and international forces active in the Sahel – including France’s Operation Barkhane, whose roughly 5,000 troops are mostly based in the north and east of Mali – the armed groups have managed to proliferate and strengthen their foothold across the semi-arid region south of the Sahara. Attacks have jumped fivefold since 2016, with thousands of people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced amid a drastically devolving situation in Mali’s volatile central region. The failure to restore stability after years of military efforts has fed into a growing anti-French sentiment in Mali, with critics denouncing the military presence of the former colonial power in the country and growing suspicious of its role in the wider region. “In Bamako, [anti-French sentiment] emanates from sections of the political landscape most attached to Mali’s sovereignty, which won’t accept French interference in Malian affairs,” said Guichaoua. “They accuse France of having stopped the return of the Malian forces in Kidal in 2013, when France drove out the jihadi coalition that had occupied northern Mali in 2012, in order to let the separatists regain their stronghold.” Describing it as a domestic issue, France did not take on the Tuareg, who remained in control of their bastion of Kidal, a Sahara outpost near Mali’s border with Algeria. Guichaoua said that, while this could be considered the “original sin” of the French in the eyes of some sections of Mali’s population, those in Kidal also contested France’s presence on account of the war and the way it is being waged. Late last year, a series of anti-France protests prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to call on countries in the region to express public support for Paris’s expensive operation, threatening to withdraw its 4,500 troops, before changing tack and committing an additional 600 soldiers. Following last month’s coup, France, as well as the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, have declared they will continue operations in the country during the transitional period. And while Mali’s new kingmakers might still align with the French militarily, it remains to be seen whether Paris will still be able to influence political developments. “The junta is not aligned with the M5-RFP, the anti-IBK coalition which has in its midst some vocal anti-French figures,” said Guichaoua, referring to the opposition alliance that led weeks of relentless street protests calling for the resignation of the former president. “The junta is made of pragmatic leaders, whose stance towards the French is open but might also depend on the ability of the M5-RFP to push its agenda.” For Haine, this is where the crux of the problem lies. He said progress on the political and economic fronts must be made if the military intervention is to produce any positive result. “Military solutions to fight terrorism are only part of a larger strategy. Political stabilisation, public support, institutional strength and above all, socioeconomic conditions are key elements for an external intervention to succeed.” Published by Al Jazeera September 21, 2020. © 2020 Al Jazeera Media Network.

IMAGE: (L-R) Professor of practice at Syracuse University College of Law David Crane, United Nations Representative from France Gerard Araud, and forensic pathologist Dr. Stuart Hamilton give a report on allegations of torture in Syria at the United Nations on April 15, 2014 in New York City. About 55,000 pictures were taken of victims during the Syrian civil war, which by that point had claimed the lives of about 150,000 people. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) The Netherlands announced on Sept. 18 that it had notified Syria of its intention to hold that government accountable for torture under the United Nations Convention against Torture. The Syrian government responded by saying the Netherlands had no right to address human rights, and that its action “exceed[s] the UN and international law.” The Dutch correspondence is an important step that could eventually lead to proceedings against Syria at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This effort may prove to be yet another break in the concerted blockage on international accountability for crimes committed in Syria. As the Dutch foreign affairs minister, Stef Blok, explained, “The Assad regime has committed horrific crimes time after time. The evidence is overwhelming.” Among others, the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria and Human Rights Watch, where one of us works, have documented the rampant use of torture in official and makeshift state-run detention facilities. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, more than 12,000 people have died under torture in Syrian prisons, where physical and psychological torture methods range from waterboarding and rape to being set on fire and being thrown into cells with the corpses of deceased detainees. The evidence of systematic and widespread use of torture in at least 27 detention facilities in Syria points to a State policy that could implicate high-ranking members of the Syrian government. Reports indicate that top Syrian security officials have authorized the “harsh” treatment of certain detainees and crackdowns in detention. While the evidence of State-led atrocity crimes has been accumulating, justice for the abuses has been limited. Universal jurisdiction cases addressing individual criminal responsibility in foreign courts have gained traction, but are insufficient on their own to address the scope of the criminality documented in Syria over the last decade. One such landmark trial began in Germany in April against two people alleged to be former Syrian intelligence officials charged with crimes against humanity charges. German prosecutors accuse one of the suspects of overseeing the torture of detainees between 2011 and 2012 at a facility in Damascus. The German case serves as an important reminder that much more is needed to ensure accountability for the Syrian conflict’s horrific atrocities. Other more comprehensive international accountability efforts have been thwarted for years. Russia and China in 2014 vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have given the International Criminal Court (ICC) a mandate in Syria. In 2019, Moscow said it would block the Security Council from referring further situations to the ICC or creating any new criminal tribunals such as those set up for Rwanda or the former Yugoslavia. An ICJ case would mark the first move by another sovereign State to hold Syria accountable on the basis of State responsibility. Syria can be brought before the ICJ under the Convention against Torture because it is a party to the Convention and Article 30(1) provides for the ICJ’s jurisdiction to settle disputes. States can opt out of Article 30 jurisdiction, but Syria has not entered a reservation doing so. States parties to the treaty, including the Netherlands, may bring suit against Syria even when they have not been specially affected by the alleged violations. As the ICJ explicitly recognized in Belgium v. Senegal—the only case brought under the Convention against Torture to date—the convention generates erga omnes obligations. Each State party has obligations to other States parties to comply with the treaty given the “common interest” in meeting the “high purposes which are the raison d’être of the Convention.” But before the Netherlands can formally initiate ICJ proceedings, it must meet the jurisdictional requirements of Article 30(1) of the Convention against Torture: (i) a “dispute” must exist concerning the treaty’s “interpretation or application”; (ii) the dispute “cannot be settled through negotiations”; and (iii) the parties cannot agree on arbitration within six months of a request for arbitration. Under the first prong, for there to be a “dispute” in the parlance of the ICJ, the State party bringing suit must demonstrate that “the claim of one party is positively opposed by the other.” The denial of allegations may be sufficient to establish such opposition. The “negotiations” required under the second prong of Article 30(1) can be triggered by diplomatic notes like the one the Netherlands sent to Syria. The negotiation requirement entails “a genuine attempt by one of the disputing parties to engage in discussions with the other disputing party, with a view to resolving the dispute.” As the ICJ recently stated in Ukraine v. Russia, such a precondition can be met when there has been a “failure of negotiations, or when negotiations have become futile or deadlocked.” In Belgium v. Senegal, the ICJ found that this requirement had been met after “[s]everal exchanges of correspondence and various meetings” in which Belgium explicitly invoked Article 30 and Senegal asserted that it was complying with its obligations. It observed that “[t]here was no change in the respective positions of the Parties” and “[t]he fact that, as results from the pleadings of the Parties, their basic positions have not subsequently evolved confirms that negotiations did not and could not lead to the settlement of the dispute.” If negotiations with Syria prove ineffective, the Netherlands must then satisfy the third prong on arbitration. Dutch authorities can formally refer the dispute to the ICJ only if the disputing parties are unable to agree on a genuine arbitration process within six months of a request. A fulsome analysis of potential claims on the merits under the Convention against Torture goes beyond the scope of this post, but in brief, there may be claims arising from Syria’s failure to prevent and investigate credible torture allegations; prosecute or extradite suspects; and provide adequate redress to victims. For years, the evidence of gross human rights violations in Syria has been mounting, with no sign of the government policy and practice of torture slowing down or reforming. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Since the start of the conflict, Syrian authorities have detained tens of thousands, and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has left detainees even more vulnerable. The Netherlands’ diplomatic note may mark the first step toward urgently needed accountability. Other governments should publicly welcome this principled action, consider joining the Dutch in their effort, and explore similar ways to assert the rule of law. (The views expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of any organizations with which they may be affiliated.) © 2020 Just Security

President Ouattara’s former ally says his candidacy is ‘unchangeable and irrevocable’ despite rejection by top court. Former rebel leader Guillaume Soro has warned that Ivory Coast is teetering on the edge after a court invalidated his candidacy amid rising tensions over incumbent President Alassane Ouattara’s contested bid for re-election next month. Ivory Coast’s top court this week rejected 40 presidential candidates, leaving only four in contention in the highly anticipated October 31 election. The Constitutional Court validated Ouattara’s candidacy bid but sidelined both Soro and former President Laurent Gbagbo on the grounds that they had been handed jail terms in absentia. On Thursday, Soro defiantly declared he would remain a candidate in the polls even as he lashed out against what he called a scheme to enshrine the 78-year-old Ouattara as president. “My candidacy is firm, unchangeable and irrevocable,” Soro told journalists in Paris. He said his country had been driven to “the brink” by Ouattara’s decision to seek a third term in office, which, if successful, would amount to a “coup d’etat”, according to him. Ouattara had said in March that he would not seek a third term but made a U-turn when his preferred successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died of a heart attack in July. The argument behind his bid rests on a change to the constitution in 2016. Supporters say the modified charter has reset the two-term limits to zero, allowing Ouattara to run again. The opposition rejects this. Tensions rising Violent protests against Ouattara’s candidacy killed about 15 people last month and demonstrations broke out in several cities this week including in Bonoua despite a ban on rallies. The increasing political tensions in the world’s top cocoa-producing country have revived traumatic memories of a months-long civil war that erupted after elections in 2010, claiming more than 3,000 lives. Soro’s help during that divisive conflict enabled Ouattara, who had claimed electoral victory over former Gbagbo, to come to power. The 48-year-old served as prime minister from 2007 to 2012 and then as speaker of parliament for seven years before falling out with the president and heading for France, the former colonial power. Soro said the October 31 election “does not make any sense” as it was designed to “endorse the institutional state coup d’etat of Alassane Ouattara”. He urged the public to unite against Ouattara and for opposition leaders to press the Economic Community of West African States regional bloc ECOWAS to secure “transparent elections”. More protests expected Meanwhile, Gbagbo supporters on Wednesday called for mass protests to “block … the dictatorship of Ouattara.” The appeal was made by a coalition called Together for Democracy and Sovereignty (EDS), which includes the Ivorian Popular Front party founded by Gbagbo and his influential wife, Simone. It came a day after the government extended a ban on demonstrations, introduced in August, until September 30. Gbagbo was freed conditionally by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague after he was cleared in January 2019 of crimes against humanity. He is living in Brussels pending the outcome of an appeal against the ICC ruling. On Tuesday, the African Court, a pan-African tribunal on human rights, called on the Ivorian authorities to allow Soro to contest the vote. Its ruling will have a negligible effect, as Ivory Coast in April withdrew its recognition of the court’s jurisdiction. Published by Al Jazeera September 17, 2020. © 2020 Al Jazeera Media Network

The EU has said it does not recognise Alexander Lukashenko as the president of Belarus, a day after he was sworn in for a sixth term at a secret ceremony. The bloc's diplomatic chief said the unannounced inauguration, as well as his disputed re-election last month, lacked "any democratic legitimacy". The opposition says the poll was rigged in Mr Lukashenko's favour. Mass protests continued in the capital, Minsk, after the inauguration. There were reports of violence by police. The country's electoral commission said Mr Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, won more than 80% of the vote, triggering weeks of protests in the former Soviet republic. Several hundred people attended Mr Lukashenko's swearing-in ceremony at the Palace of Independence on Wednesday, with many streets of Minsk sealed off. The guests were mainly loyal officials and apparently no foreign dignitaries had been invited. One opposition member described it as a "thieves' meeting". As well as the 27-member European Union, the US also rejected the results of the election. But Mr Lukashenko continues to be supported by neighbouring Russia, his most important ally. What is the EU saying? "The European Union does not recognise their falsified results. On this basis, the so-called 'inauguration' of 23 September 2020 and the new mandate claimed by Alexander Lukashenko lack any democratic legitimacy," the EU's Josep Borrell said in a statement. • Europe's longest-serving ruler under fire • What's happening in Belarus? • 'Breathing freedom': Belarusians hope for change "This 'inauguration' directly contradicts the will of large parts of the Belarusian population, as expressed in numerous, unprecedented and peaceful protests since the elections, and serves to only further deepen the political crisis in Belarus." He added the EU was reviewing its relations with Belarus "in light of the current situation". What is the background? Mr Lukashenko, 66, insists he won fairly the 9 August election, and has depicted the protests against him as a Western-backed plot. Earlier this month, he secured a $1.5bn (£1.2bn) loan from Russia. Mr Lukashenko's main political rival, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who fled to neighbouring Lithuania amid mass arrests, says she won 60-70% in places where votes were properly counted. Many opposition figures are now in self-imposed exile in neighbouring countries amid a wave of arrests. But despite the current crackdown, anti-government protests have continued. © 2020 BBC News

Since 2012, Genocide Watch has issued Genocide Warnings for Nigeria because of Boko Haram, an Islamist terrorist group bent on genocide. In fact, it has been the deadliest genocidal group in the world, with at least 27,000 murders. Boko Haram has now pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Until 2020, Genocide Watch has said that Fulani jihadists have been carrying out "genocidal massacres." The term indicates killing based on identity, but without centralized organization. "Genocide," like that being committed by Boko Haram, requires some organization. That's because of the Genocide Convention's requirement that the destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group must be "intentional." The questions that have paralyzed the intent requirement are: intentional by whom? And how can you prove "intent?" If a State or an organization, however loose, like Boko Haram orders genocide, it's possible to prove intent two ways: 1. Orders from the leaders; or 2. A pattern of acts that show from their consequences that they are coordinated or connected by deliberate intent. In the nineteenth century, Fulani jihads spread Islam across northern Nigeria, organized by the Sokoto sultanate. Hausas were forced to convert. There are now 25 million Fulani in West Africa, fifteen million in Nigeria. Massacres by Fulani militias have killed over 2000 Christians in Nigeria since 2016. They have selectively killed Christians. That's why Genocide Watch calls them "genocidal massacres." They target members of a religious group. Do Fulani militias have the organization necessary to prove genocidal intent? Genocide deniers explain the massacres by Fulani Muslims against Christians as traditional herder-farmer conflicts. But since 2000, the conflicts have become much deadlier. Fulani militias now use AK47’s and arrive in trucks. They now wipe out whole Christian villages. They only kill Christians. They leave Muslim villages and Muslims alone. Genocide Watch considers "genocidal massacres" to be acts of genocide, and therefore "genocide." But U.S. State Department, U.K. Foreign Office, and U.N. lawyers with narrower concepts of intent require proof of coordination to prove “genocide”. They want both a systematic, widespread pattern of killings and proof of coordination. The U.S. and U.N. need to collect evidence of coordination of Fulani jihadist groups, and evidence of connections with terrorists like Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa. We must get the proof to policy makers. Calling the crime “genocide” makes a difference. The U.S. Congress’s and European Parliament’s resolutions that ISIS was committing genocide mobilized the military defeat of ISIS. Genocide is an action word. There is insufficient evidence that President Buhari and the Nigerian government support the Fulani massacres. But Buhari has been a "bystander" to the genocidal massacres. His government has not done enough to stop them. The poverty in the areas where Boko Haram and Fulani jihadists are active is desperate. But poverty and predatory expansion for grazing land are not excuses for genocide. These genocidal massacres must be stopped. Genocide Watch considers Nigeria to be at Stage 9: Extermination. Genocide Watch recommends: A U.N. Commission of Inquiry should go to Nigeria to investigate the massacres. The Commission should report to the U.N. Human Rights Council and the U.N. Security Council. Churches in Nigeria should create human rights centers to warn and report on massacres. Diplomatic missions should urge the Nigerian government to take concerted action to stop the massacres. Nigerian law enforcement officials should be assisted in tracking and arresting perpetrators. Nigerian police and army should be trained and strictly prohibited from committing human rights violations. A coordinated campaign by Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) states to defeat jihadists should be backed by the African Union, U.S., NATO, Organization for Islamic Cooperation, and the U.N. See the full country report page here.

China appears to be expanding its network of secret detention facilities for Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, despite official claims that all detainees have been released from the camps. New research from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) suggests that China has continued to build new detention centres in Xinjiang, with a focus on what the thinktank said were high-security "prison-style" facilities. Researchers for ASPI's International Cyber Policy Centre have used satellite imagery to locate and analyse a total of 380 suspected detention facilities in Xinjiang. And despite Beijing's claim late last year that all detainees had "graduated" from the facilities, the thinktank said major detention camps were still in operation across Xinjiang. "Our satellite evidence showed … at least 60 camps saw construction, and at least 14 remain under construction as of the latest satellite imagery available," ASPI researcher Nathan Ruser told the ABC. "There's huge facilities, hundreds of them, that seem to be solely dedicated to the removal of people from society." More than 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities are believed to have been detained in Xinjiang's sprawling camp system since the security crackdown there began in 2017. 'A germ of truth' in China's claim Despite denying the existence of the camps for years, Chinese officials later took to describing the detention facilities as "vocational education and training centres", where would-be terrorists were to be reformed and turned into productive members of society. However, survivors, family members and camp whistleblowers have told a very different story, describing a system of arbitrary detention, political indoctrination, human rights abuses and forced labour. In a surprise twist, local officials announced in December 2019 that all detainees had in fact "graduated" from the centres, a claim activists and human rights groups were quick to dispute. "The idea that they've released everyone, and that there's no people currently extrajudicially detained in Xinjiang, is quite ludicrous … there's so many people that still have no news of their families that were detained," Mr Ruser said. However, the "graduation" story has persisted, with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi repeating it last month while visiting France. "All of them have graduated, there is no-one in the education and training centre now," Mr Wang said, adding that "they all have found jobs". But now there may also be satellite evidence contradicting China's claim. In their analysis of the detention system, ASPI divided the 380 facilities it detected via satellite into four tiers based on the level of security at the sites. Tier 1 facilities are the least secure: they're often former school buildings that were converted into detention centres through the construction of internal fencing and perimeter walls. These are the facilities foreign journalists have previously been allowed to visit on guided tours. They appear to be mostly focused on political re-education, as opposed to some of the more prison-like facilities in the higher tiers. But according to ASPI's monitoring of satellite imagery, it seemed many of these facilities have been "desecuritised", and in some cases appeared to be decommissioned altogether. Internal fencing, barbed wire and external perimeter walls had been removed from many Tier 1 and Tier 2 facilities. "So there seems to be a germ of truth perhaps in [China's "graduation" claim"], in that a lot of people in the lower-security camps do appear to have been released, and this is corroborated by victim testimony as well," Mr Ruser said. "However, that's only a small part of the detention regime." 'Prison-style' camps may be on the rise At the same time that some of the lower tier facilities were being wound back, ASPI said "prison-style" Tier 3 and 4 facilities have undergone significant new construction and expansion. Tier 3 and 4 facilities are purely focused on the detention of prisoners, and feature high concrete walls, extensive barbed wire, watch towers and are often arranged in cell blocks. ASPI's research found that most of the 14 facilities still under construction in Xinjiang in 2020 were prisons, and around half of the 61 facilities that received recent construction work have been high-security camps. The thinktank said this may suggest a shift toward "higher-security prison-style facilities", as opposed to the low-security re-education centres. "It does fit in with the broader findings of victim testimony as well, that people are being transferred into higher security camps, or even sentenced to formal prison charges," Mr Ruser said. Chinese officials have consistently defended the country's detention policies in Xinjiang, describing the centres as being a core part of China's fight against terrorism and religious extremism. A Chinese Government White Paper on the camps released last year said the facilities "can effectively eradicate the conditions that enable terrorism and religious extremism to breed and spread". Beijing often attributes criticism of its Xinjiang policies from Western governments and rights groups to "ideological prejudice" and "double standards". The ABC has contacted the Chinese Government and embassy for comment. In addition to the new research, ASPI launched an interactive website to make its data on Xinjiang's detention camps accessible to the public. The Xinjiang Data Project went live Thursday afternoon, and features ASPI's detention camp database, maps and satellite imagery. "Largely it will be an interactive map, that allows you to sort of explore all the datapoints we found for the detention camps and a number of other elements of Xinjiang's crackdown," Mr Ruser said. He said the plan is for the database to continue to grow, and for the Xinjiang Data Project to be "a living site that will keep being updated with analysis and data sets". © 2020 ABC

Attacks on Fleeing Demonstrators, Health Workers, Media Update: The Internal Security Forces (ISF) responded to Human Rights Watch's letter on September 14. They denied that their members used live ammunition, rubber bullets, or metal pellets during the August 8 protest in downtown Beirut, but said that the Parliament Security Force, comprising Parliament Police and an army company, did use these weapons. They army has not yet responded to Human Rights Watch's letter, and the Parliament Police declined to comment. (Beirut) – Lebanese security forces used excessive and at times lethal force against mostly peaceful protesters in downtown Beirut on August 8, 2020, causing hundreds of injuries. Security forces fired live ammunition, metal pellets, and kinetic impact projectiles such as rubber balls, including at health workers, and police deployed excessive quantities of tear gas, including at first aid stations. Several teargas cartridges were fired directly at protesters, striking some in the head and neck. Security forces also threw stones at protesters and beat them. The forces involved included the Parliament Police, the Internal Security Forces (ISF), the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), and unidentified forces in civilian clothing. “Instead of lending a helping hand to fellow Beirutis still digging themselves out of the explosion debris, Lebanon’s security apparatus made a fist and pummeled protesters with shocking amounts of violence,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Such unlawful and excessive force against mostly peaceful protesters shows the callous disregard of the authorities for their own people.” Tens of thousands of protesters had gathered in downtown Beirut on August 8 to express their outrage over the government and political elites’ incompetence and corruption. These political elites are widely blamed for the August 4 blast at Beirut’s port, which killed 180 people, injured more than 6,000, and caused extensive damage across the city. Human Rights Watch researchers monitored the protests and interviewed 25 people in Beirut between August 8 and August 18, including doctors and other health workers, journalists, and lawyers. Human Rights Watch also photographed and collected fired munitions from the protest site and analyzed photographs and videos of security forces using excessive force that were sent directly to researchers or collected from social media platforms. Researchers identified the weapons security forces used and reviewed medical reports of injured protesters. Human Rights Watch submitted questions about security forces’ conduct to the army on August 18 and the ISF on August 19, but as of August 25, has not received a reply. Human Rights Watch contacted Parliament Police on August 19, briefly summarized the findings, and asked for comment. An official, who refused to give his name, said “interview over” and hung up. Some protesters interviewed had been injured by live ammunition, rubber balls, metal pellets fired from shotguns, or direct fire from teargas cartridges. Others were hit by members of the security forces with bare hands, sticks, and other weapons. The Lebanese Red Cross and the Islamic Emergency Relief Corps announced that 728 people were injured during the August 8 protest and at least 153 of them were taken to hospitals for treatment. Security forces should immediately end the use of shotgun-fired metal pellets and other indiscriminate area-fire ammunition, and the public prosecutor should open an independent investigation into the abuses and make the results public, Human Rights Watch said. International donors to Lebanese security forces should investigate whether their support is going to abusive units, and if so, halt it immediately. Most demonstrators were peaceful, but some threw rocks, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails at security forces. Some also looted and burned public and private property. Protesters briefly occupied the Foreign Economy, Environment, and Energy Ministries, and the Association of Banks. The ISF announced that one of its members died while trying to save people trapped at the Le Grey Hotel and said 70 of its members had been injured. The army stated that 105 of its soldiers had been injured, including 2 in critical condition. The use of violence by some protesters does not justify the excessive and at times unprovoked use of force by security forces, Human Rights Watch said. The ISF’s Riot Police and Parliament Police wear the same dark blue camouflage uniforms with anti-riot gear and are impossible to distinguish. Parliament Police claimed that their duties are limited to protecting the parliament building and that parliament’s perimeter is secured by the ISF and Lebanese army. However, high-level government and security officials told Human Rights Watch that Parliament Police were responsible for serious abuses against demonstrators outside the parliament compound in December 2019. Human Rights Watch documented, from multiple sources, the use of live ammunition at or toward protesters on four separate occasions on August 8. In one case, two soldiers fired their assault rifles in the direction of protesters. The identities and affiliations of the shooters in the other three cases are unknown. In one of these three cases, security forces fired live ammunition at protesters attempting to evacuate an injured man. Human Rights Watch spoke with one protester from another incident who said he was injured in his thigh near Le Grey Hotel by a live round and reviewed his medical records, showing bullet fragments in his thigh. In two instances, the shooters were in the parliament compound surrounded by uniformed members of the army and police who did nothing to stop them. Metal pellets fired by shotguns were the main cause of many serious injuries on August 8, including injuries to protesters’ eyes and vital organs. Human Rights Watch had not previously documented the Lebanese security forces’ use of metal pellets. Given their inherently inaccurate nature, indiscriminate impact, and evidence of the serious injuries they have caused, the use of shotguns firing multiple pellets – rubber or metal – against demonstrators at any range should cease immediately, Human Rights Watch said. The use of live ammunition when there is no imminent threat to life or imminent risk of serious injury, and the use of shotguns that scatter multiple projectiles indiscriminately over a wide area with the potential to harm anyone in their path, both violate international human rights standards governing law enforcement officials’ use of force. In a statement on August 9, the Lebanese army said that “none of the soldiers opened fire with live ammunition toward protesters in downtown Beirut.” The ISF denied firing “live ammunition” and rubber bullets at protesters, and Parliament Police denied shooting at protesters. Police dressed in anti-riot gear and members of the army also beat and kicked protesters, doctors, journalists, and a Human Rights Watch researcher, who was hit in the mouth. Ghida Frangieh, president of Legal Agenda, a legal advocacy group, and member of the Lawyers’ Committee for the Defense of Protesters, an ad hoc group of pro bono lawyers, said that security forces arrested at least 20 protesters on suspicion of rioting and drug use. Frangieh said the security forces “illegally subjected” those arrested to drug tests at the ISF’s El-Helou Barracks, violating their rights to privacy and health. Eighteen protesters were released after 24 hours, while 2 remain detained on charges unrelated to the protests, Frangieh said. Frangieh added that the Lawyers’ Committee submitted twelve criminal complaints to the public prosecution on August 24 on behalf of injured protesters against anyone who is found to have ordered the use of or used live ammunition, including civilians and security forces affiliated with the army, ISF, and Parliament Police. Diala Chehade, a lawyer and human rights advocate, filed a criminal complaint against the Parliament Police on August 19 on behalf of a protester who was shot with a rubber bullet and lost his left eye. A group of doctors known as the “White Shirts,” who in October had protested the impact of corruption and the economic crisis on access to quality health care, said on August 13 that the Health Ministry said it would not pay the expenses of hospitals that treated protesters injured in the August 8 protests. After pressure from doctors and hospitals, the Health Ministry apparently rescinded the decision. The Justice Minister had asked the Chief Public Prosecutor to open an investigation into the events of August 8. As of August 25, the prosecutor had not yet publicly announced that he was doing so. Under international human rights law, everyone has the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly as provided under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Lebanon is a party. International donors such as the United States, United Kingdom (UK), and France have sold or given billions of dollars in arms, equipment, and training to Lebanon’s security forces, including the Lebanese army and the ISF. Donors should review these programs and ensure that they are not providing weapons, equipment, or training to any forces involved in serious abuses against protesters, Human Rights Watch said. They should also use their leverage to press for credible investigations into the abuses and for those responsible to be held to account. On August 5, Lebanon's government declared a two-week state of emergency in Beirut, giving sweeping powers to the army and placing all security forces under the army’s command. The state of emergency was twice extended, and is set to expire on September 18. “Lebanese authorities can’t beat the smoldering grievances out of their citizens and think that they will escape accountability,” Page said. “To send a strong message that this type of abuse will no longer be tolerated, those responsible for beating and firing live ammunition and metal pellets on peaceful protesters need to be held to account.” Warning: distressing imagery below. Map of downtown Beirut. Incidents covered in this research and landmarks for orientation are labeled and marked in red. © 2020 Human Rights Watch Excessive and Lethal Force Against Protesters International standards stipulate that security forces should use the minimum necessary force at all times. In dispersing violent assemblies, firearms may only be used when other less-harmful means are not practicable but must still be used to the minimum extent necessary. Law enforcement officers may only intentionally make lethal use of firearms when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life. Live ammunition should not be used unless required to protect life or prevent serious injury. Live Ammunition Human Rights Watch documented the use of live ammunition at or in the direction of protesters on three separate occasions on August 8, and the firing of live ammunition in the direction of protesters, but at a high angle, on another occasion. No protesters or bystanders are known to have died in these incidents, but at least one was injured by a bullet from a pistol. Throughout the afternoon of August 8, Human Rights Watch researchers observed large protests around the Annahar Building in downtown Beirut, with protesters charging the areas around the parliament building, pulling down barricades, setting fire to material, and at one point using a vehicle to block the road. Protesters threw debris at security forces, who responded with a high volume of teargas. As the protests continued, security forces escalated their response to include shotgun-fired metal pellets and live ammunition. One protester, Omar, who like others asked that his last name not be used for his protection, said that at about 7:30 p.m., he was peacefully demonstrating near the Le Grey Building and an adjacent alley on the “front lines” of the protests. He heard gunfire and saw two people firing at protesters. One, dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt, fired a handgun at Omar, who hid behind a wall. During a lull in the gunfire, Omar said, he left his hiding place and the same person shot at him from a distance of less than 10 meters, striking Omar in the upper left thigh. “When he first shot, I didn’t feel it,” he said. “I looked down and saw that my leg was bleeding. I wanted to retreat, but I took two steps and fell over.” Human Rights Watch reviewed Omar’s medical records from August 8, including X-rays, which showed three large bullet fragments and several smaller fragments in his left leg. “Fortunately, it didn’t hit my bone,” he said. “It was close to an artery, but it narrowly missed it.” Security forces fired a bullet at Omar that hit his upper left thigh. The image on the left shows the entrance wound. The X-ray shows three large bullet fragments and several smaller fragments in his left leg, and the image on the right shows the fragments extracted from his leg. © 2020 Courtesy of Omar In another incident, around 6:45 p.m., security forces perched near a wall inside the compound belonging to the Parliament Police, responding to persistent rock-throwing, fired multiple live rounds at protesters in an alleyway, where a Virgin Megastore was previously located. One protester in the alley, “Joe,” another protester whose name is not being used for his protection, said he saw three security force members with shields, helmets, body armor, and dark colored uniforms repeatedly firing un-aimed and aimed shots at protesters with pump-action shotguns. He said he peered around the corner and a shot narrowly missed his head, striking the wall behind him at around head level. A Human Rights Watch researcher later visited the site and identified fragments of a metal-jacketed projectile and spall embedded in the wall about two meters from the ground. The metal fragments in the wall had a bright shine, indicating the impact was recent. Joe said he fled the area, but seconds later, at approximately 6:48 p.m., security forces fired at least 2 additional rounds at 3 men as they tried to carry an injured protester to safety. Human Rights Watch verified a video of the incident that was posted on Facebook on August 8 and spoke with the man who took the video. The video shows three men in the alleyway in the recessed entrance to an underground parking lot hoisting a man up and carrying him towards Martyrs’ Square as gunfire is heard and projectiles hit the wall near them. At the scene, Human Rights Watch found damage consistent with that of live ammunition, including fragmentation of jacketed bullets embedded in the wall. The metal fragments still visible in the wall had a bright shine, indicating the impact was recent, and there have not been any other known incidents of gunfire in this area of Beirut since 2015. On the same day, several photographs and videos circulated on Twitter and Facebook that showed at least four instances of men wearing black T-shirts and blue jeans shooting or aiming to shoot with pump-action shotguns, handguns, and semi-automatic rifles at protesters near the army barracks in downtown Beirut while standing alongside ISF and LAF uniformed personnel. It is unclear what type of ammunition they were firing. In one of the videos posted on Twitter on August 8, a man wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans can be seen standing alongside approximately 30 others, both in and out of uniform, by the Parliamentary Police and army barracks near the Le Gray Hotel. In another video posted on Twitter, the same man is seen running down an incline while firing at least seven rounds from a handgun, consistent with the discharge of live ammunition. The barrel can be seen erratically shifting laterally as the rounds are fired, indicating that he was firing the shots randomly. Montage of photographs and stills from two videos shared on social media platforms of men wearing black t-shirts and blue jeans with pump-action shotguns, semi-automatic rifles and handguns either firing or aiming in the direction of protestors. © 2020 Human Rights Watch Between 4:00 and 8:20 p.m., hundreds of protesters were in the line of fire from where the man was shooting and as close as 45 meters away. In the video, the members of the army and a uniformed member of the security forces who are next to him are doing nothing to stop the shooter. Two soldiers also fired their weapons in the direction of protesters, firing at least eight rounds, either over their heads or at the ground in front of them, based on video and photographs verified by Human Rights Watch and a witness, Hasan Shaaban. Shaaban, who was photographing the soldiers, said the first soldier, who Human Rights Watch identified as an officer wearing the unit insignia from the Airborne Regiment, fired approximately 2 rounds at least once in the ground with protesters 5 to 10 meters away. Human Rights Watch reviewed and verified Shabaan’s photographs that show 2 casings consistent with the size and shape of the 5.56x45 millimeter round fired from the M4 assault rifle carried by the officer at the front of the formation. The casings are tumbling to the officer’s right side, consistent with the direction of ejection of rounds from an M4 fired in the direction of protesters. The ejection port cover on the M4 is also open, consistent with the weapon’s bolt having recently operated. According to data embedded in the photographs, the images were taken at 7:26 and 7:27 p.m. on August 8. This is consistent with the twilight visible in the images and an earlier livestream broadcast by MTV Lebanon from the same location. Two videos recorded the same scene from slightly different angles and were posted on Twitter on August 9 and August 12. They show the officer gesturing in the direction of the main protest area. A soldier to his right can be seen unslinging his rifle while moving ahead of the officer, angling his weapon upward and firing in the direction of protesters, many of whom are fleeing toward Al Amin Mosque and the parking lot near Azarieh Street. Immediately after he fired, the officer grabbed the second shooter and appeared to reprimand him, sending him to the rear of the formation. The uniforms worn by the soldiers, a multi-colored tan and brown digitized camouflage pattern, are consistent with those worn by the Lebanese army’s Airborne regiment. The officer, as well as at least one other soldier, can be seen in photographs taken around the time the video was recorded, wearing the unit insignia of the Airborne regiment on their upper right arms. Shotgun-fired Metal Pellets For the first time in Lebanon, Human Rights Watch documented several instances of Lebanese security forces using shotgun-fired metal pellets that wounded people. In some cases, security forces fired toward people’s upper bodies, including the head and face. Human Rights Watch reviewed medical records and X-rays, spoke to 3 victims and 4 doctors who treated them, and analyzed a pellet recovered from one person’s body, as well as a photograph of another. Additionally, the “White Shirts” doctors shared anonymized medical records of 13 patients seriously injured by the metal pellets. Typical shotgun cartridges consisting of small-diameter metal pellets – of the kind documented and analyzed by Human Rights Watch – are sometimes referred to as “birdshot” or “dove shot.” While initially concentrated in a tight pattern as they are fired, the pellets in the cartridges continuously spread out to create a constellation that can reach several decimeters in radius within a few meters of being fired. The United Nations guidance on “less-lethal” weapons in law enforcement states: “Multiple projectiles fired at the same time are inaccurate and, in general, their use cannot comply with the principles of necessity and proportionality. Metal pellets, such as those fired from shotguns, should never be used.” Some of the injured people interviewed were wounded by scores of pellets, suggesting they were shot from close range. Firing a shotgun shell loaded with hundreds of metal pellets at close range presents a serious risk of death. The “White Shirts” doctors said that they treated many serious injuries from the pellets to the face and neck. They condemned the use of these pellets due to their potentially lethal impact and ability to cause or contribute to serious injuries, scarring, and other lifelong health consequences, including chronic pain and fatigue, nerve damage, and, in some cases, elevated risk of strokes and heart attacks. Scores of pellets embedded in a protesters’ leg. © 2020 Courtesy of the “White Shirts” doctors Elie Saliba, a doctor who attended the protest, said that at around 5:15 p.m., security forces fired metal pellets from a pump-action weapon at him when he was between the former Virgin Megastore and the UFA Assurances Building near Martyrs’ Square. A metal pellet hit his shoulder. He then went to the roof of the Virgin Megastore building to film the security forces, including men in civilian clothes and soldiers, but he was shot at with metal pellets again, from a distance of about 20 meters. Although he was wearing a helmet, three metal pellets embedded in his head. He removed two on the spot. The next day, doctors removed the third one. Elie Saliba was hit with metal pellets. On the right, an x-ray shows a metal pellet that had embedded in his head. © 2020 Courtesy of Elie Saliba Karl Freiha, a nurse who was volunteering with the Secours Populaire Libanais to provide first aid to protesters, said a security member wearing a green camouflage Lebanese army uniform shot metal pellets at him from a distance of less than 10 meters while he was tending to an injured protester in the alley next to Dunkin’ Donuts, where the Virgin Megastore was formerly located. Karl Freiha, a health worker, was shot with multiple metal pellets while tending to an injured protester, despite wearing a recognizable uniform. © 2020 Courtesy of Karl Freiha “I was wearing a helmet, our vest, our pants, our medical backpacks,” Freiha said. “We were moving together, in a group, all in uniform. It was clear that we were medics.” Several metal pellets embedded in his skin, including in his buttocks and behind his knees. One pellet punctured his skin and lodged near his right rib, and another embedded in his scalp, next to his ear. “I felt like I couldn’t breathe anymore,” he said. Dr. Fred Bteich, a resident at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Beirut, said that he saw many eye injuries from pellets and rubber balls, and some protesters permanently lost their eyesight. According to initial data gathered by the Lebanese Ophthalmological Society, at least 20 protesters had eye injuries caused by metal pellets and rubber balls during protests on August 8 and 9. Dr. Nada Jabbour, president of the Lebanese Ophthalmological Society, said that 8 protesters had to undergo serious surgeries, and 3 lost their vision in 1 eye. The others, who did not require surgery, lost some vision due to their injuries, she said. Another doctor shared the anonymized X-rays of a patient who was wounded by dozens of pellets. The doctor said that the number of pellets and the fact that they punctured the patient’s scalp indicate that security forces shot at the person’s face from a very short distance. The pellets embedded under the sinus in the skull and in the protester’s eye, the doctor said. Dozens of pellets wounded this protester, puncturing their scalp and embedding under their sinus and in their eye. © 2020 Private The same doctor treated another protester who was shot with a metal pellet in the neck. The doctor said that the pellet tore an artery in the neck, punctured the lung, and finally lodged in the protester’s spinal cord. The doctor said that, had the pellet been one millimeter closer to his spinal cord, the protester would have been permanently paralyzed. Other Metal Pellet Injuries Firas Hamdan, 33, a lawyer with the Committee for the Defense of Protesters, was filming a live Facebook video near the former Virgin Megastore Building when an explosive device detonated within 10 meters where he stood and immediately next to dozens of other protesters. A metal pellet struck Hamdan and punctured his heart, embedding in the middle of his heart muscle, said a doctor who observed Hamdan’s surgery. The doctor said that the injury caused cardiac tamponade, a life-threatening condition that occurs when fluid accumulates around the heart. Doctors performed emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. They could not, however, remove the pellet. Improper Use of Kinetic Impact Projectiles Security forces firing kinetic impact projectiles, particularly rubber balls, applied disproportionate force and in some cases fired apparently randomly at protesters, including at their heads and faces, causing permanent injuries. Rubber balls should not be aimed at the face, head, or neck due to their capacity to cause serious injuries or death. Security forces should also refrain from firing these weapons at close range due to the high chance of serious injury from impact or penetration of the body. Security forces fired a rubber ball at Raby Zenno’s chest and at his face at close range, causing the casing and the ball to embed in his cheek. © 2020 Courtesy of Raby Zenno Raby Zenno, 26, said he was behind the former Virgin Megastore Building overlooking a parking lot between 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. when he saw soldiers, Parliament Police, and armed men in civilian clothing pointing rifles at him and others who had gathered there. Protesters were throwing rocks toward the parking lot and advancing, and security forces were firing tear gas and rubber balls at and in the direction of protesters, he said. As Zenno bent down to pick up a rock, he said, a member of the security forces wearing the army’s green camouflage uniform aimed directly at his face and shot at him from less than two meters away. Zeno turned away, and the rubber bullet embedded in his cheek. Security forces also fired rubber balls at Raby’s chest and his buttocks. X-ray showing a fracture to a protesters’ maxillary bone after she was shot with a rubber ball. © 2020 Private In another incident, a rubber ball fired from the direction where security forces were deployed around St. George Greek Orthodox Church struck a woman in the face. She was standing in the plaza to the north of the Al-Amin Mosque and was shot while giving a live interview on Al-Hurra Television. A doctor who reviewed her case file said the rubber bullet broke her teeth and jawbone and dislocated her maxillary bone, permanently damaging her facial bone structure. He said the injury could leave her with lifelong pain, as the nerves to her teeth were ripped apart. Makram Halabi, 34, a videographer, was filming clashes between protesters and security forces near the al-Omari Grand Mosque in downtown Beirut. He said security forces wearing anti-riot gear were using a large volume of tear gas on a group of about 10 stone-throwing protesters. Halabi was filming the clashes alongside 6 or 7 other journalists at around 5:30 p.m. when he felt a rubber bullet go through his leg. He said security forces fired at him from a distance of about 15 to 20 meters. He was rushed to the Clemenceau Medical Center, where he received 4 stitches. A kinetic impact projectile hit a protester in the neck. © 2020 Courtesy of the “White Shirts” doctors Tear Gas While the use of tear gas in response to a small number of protesters who hurled rocks, other debris, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at security forces may have been proportionate, the harmful effects also reached peaceful protesters in Martyrs’ Square. Human Rights Watch observed security forces fire teargas cartridges directly at and into peaceful protesters and at ambulances and medical teams, including in the Azaria Parking Lot. Dr. Mouin Jammal, a specialist in internal medicine who was wearing his white coat and performing first aid on protesters next to the Red Cross ambulance in the middle of Martyrs’ Square, said that security forces fired tear gas right next to the ambulance. “I was treating someone who was bleeding from his forehead.… While doing that, the teargas canister fell right next to us and exploded,” Dr. Jammal said. “I couldn’t see my patient … I inhaled the tear gas and fainted, so the guys had to carry me away. It took me five minutes to be able to breathe normally." Human Rights Watch researchers documented the repeated use of French-made CS gas cartridges in the areas around Martyrs’ Square, including the G1 CS grenade manufactured by ALSETEX designed to be fired 200 meters and capable of dispersing tear gas over 800 to 1,000 square meters. Teargas canisters collected by Human Rights Watch during and immediately following protests on August 8, 2020. Left is a 56mm G1 CS grenade manufactured by the French company ALSETEX in 2011 capable of being launched 200 m and creating a teargas cloud over an area of ​​800 to 1000 m² and 3 to 5 meters high. Top right is a CM6 CS and smoke canister which contains 6 capsules which emit CS gas and smoke covering an area of ​​800 m² by 3 to 5 m high, also made by ALSETEX in 2015. The bottom right is a MP7 CS canister which contains and disperses 7 CS pucks. It was manufactured by the French company NOBEL SECURITE in 2020. © 2020 Human Rights Watch Long-lasting or heavy exposure to tear gas can have long-term consequences on vision and respiratory health. Low-Angle and Direct Fire of Teargas Projectiles Human Rights Watch observed security forces firing teargas cartridges directly at protesters’ torsos and heads and spoke with four protesters who were seriously injured as a result. First responders said that they had treated several blunt force traumas to the head caused by projected teargas cartridges. International norms on the use of teargas projectiles say that tear gas should only be used to disperse unlawful assemblies where necessary and proportionate and that they should be fired at a high angle. Human Rights Watch opposes its use to disperse non-violent assemblies. Projectiles should not in general be fired directly at individuals and should not be fired at the head or face. Skip-firing projectiles off the ground carries an unacceptable risk of indiscriminate injury. Human Rights Watch researchers saw security forces fire a teargas cartridge that struck Rabie Barakat’s head above his right eye at 6:45 p.m. in the Azaria Parking Lot next to an ambulance. He was approximately 70 meters from where protesters were throwing rocks and debris at security forces “I was walking without taking any precautions because I didn’t expect any danger,” he said. Suddenly, I felt something smash into my face like a train hit me. It was so powerful that I tasted blood in my mouth even though it hit me just over my eye.” Barakat had a fracture around his right eye, internal bleeding in the eye, and some bleeding in his brain. He said doctors told him that if the canister had hit his head one centimeter closer to his eye, he would have lost his eyesight. Rabie Barakat was struck in the head with a teargas cartridge, causing a fracture around his right eye, internal bleeding in the eye, and some bleeding in his brain. © 2020 Courtesy of Rabie Barakat Three other protesters said that security forces fired teargas canisters directly at them. Yves, 26, said that security forces fired a canister directly at his chest from closer than 10 meters behind the Azaria Parking Lot. Yves raised his hand to protect his chest, so it hit and sprained his wrist. Security forces also hit Roubina, 36, with a teargas canister on her neck in Riad al-Solh. “There was no way we could have gotten to them [security forces],” she said. “They were not in immediate danger. We didn’t have arms or ammunition. What were we going to attack them with? Our backpacks? We didn’t have anything.” Police wearing anti-riot gear also fired a canister at a young adult protester who was at the corner of the Azaria Parking Lot, facing the Alfa store, seriously damaging her shoulder. “From the trauma at the time, I wasn’t aware of what was happening,” she said. “I just didn’t feel my arm. Then after I went to the ambulance and they seated me, I felt indescribable pain. I was screaming the entire time." Three protesters injured by teargas cartridges fired directly at the torsos and heads. © 2020 Private Beatings and Improper Use of Batons, Sticks, Rocks, and Other Debris The army and ISF Riot Police beat protesters with sticks, rocks, and other debris. In one incident, soldiers and at least one member of military intelligence beat protesters, doctors, media workers, and a Human Rights Watch researcher on the “Ring” intersection between 8:45 and 9:30 p.m. and tried to prevent them from filming. At 8:40 p.m., Human Rights Watch saw over a dozen soldiers and at least one military intelligence official form a line on the George Haddad Highway near the Ring intersection, blocking protesters who were trying to leave Martyrs’ Square. While most protesters were peaceful, a few of them yelled at the army, and some threw plastic water bottles at them, demanding to pass. At 8:50 p.m., without warning, the army charged at the protesters, beating them with their hands, sticks, and rifle butts. A soldier assaulted a Human Rights Watch researcher who was filming the incident, and an apparent military intelligence officer grabbed her phone and threw it 10 meters away. At 9:05 p.m., a soldier hit an Al Jazeera journalist, Timour Azhari, on the head with a stick, even though he yelled that he was a journalist. A soldier hit journalist Timour Azhari on the head with a stick. © 2020 Courtesy of Timour Azhari Rita Kabalan, a videographer, filmed the army’s attack on mostly peaceful protesters on the Ring intersection. The video, shared with Human Rights Watch, shows four soldiers kicking a young protester on the ground repeatedly. As Kabalan was filming, a soldier assaulted her with his rifle butt, breaking her collarbone. “I stood up and passed out,” she said. “Next thing I remember is a young guy carrying me across the bridge to the ambulance. [The soldier] was targeting me because I had a camera." In the same incident, soldiers beat and kicked Elie Saliba, who introduced himself to the commanding officer as a doctor. A soldier also punched another protester in the face. “I was not yelling or engaging,” said the protester who did not want to be named for security reasons. “I was just filming.” Human Rights Watch verified two videos posted on Twitter on August 8 that show soldiers throwing stones at protesters. In one video, at least five soldiers are throwing stones from inside the Parliamentary Police and army barracks at protesters gathered in the alley by the former Virgin Megastore. The other video, posted on Twitter at 9:09 p.m., filmed after dark, shows five soldiers standing at the Ring intersection on General Foaad Chehab Road throwing stones down toward protesters on George Haddad Road. A policeman strikes a protester during anti-government demonstrations on August 8, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. © 2020 Marwan Tahtah/Getty Images Witnesses said that security forces in anti-riot gear threw stones and rocks at protesters. Monther Yahya, 45, said that police officers were shooting tear gas and throwing rocks, stones, and debris at protesters between 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on El Amir Bachir Street. “Some protesters were throwing stones, but the amount of stones from the security forces was excessive,” Yahya said. A large rock thrown by a police officer from around 20 meters away hit Yahya’s face, fracturing his skull and eye socket. Doctors had to put 17 screws and 4 pieces of metal in his face, Yahya said. Command and Control of Security Forces The ISF, including the Riot Police Unit, are under the command of the Interior Ministry, then-Interior Minister Raya el-Hassan told Human Rights Watch on December 17, 2019. During a meeting with Human Rights Watch on February 13, the ISF commander, Major General Imad Othman, who still holds the post, said that his units abide by the United Nations Guidelines on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and that they escalate the use of force gradually. Major General Othman said that only he can issue orders to the units under his command to use tear gas and rubber bullets after less-violent alternatives, such as verbal warnings and water cannons, have been exhausted. He said only four or five officers in each unit have rubber bullet guns with them, and that only trained officers can operate teargas launchers. Othman said that he decides when that is necessary based on his perception of the situation on the ground and on the danger that members of his forces face. He said that riot police units do not have “live ammunition” with them but other ISF units do, including the units that surround the cabinet, for example. Those units do not need an order to use live ammunition, as they have the legal right, he said, to do so in certain circumstances laid out in Article 221 of the ISF code of conduct, including if security of public buildings they are guarding is breached, Othman said. They have a perimeter around the building and, based on a plan, they take different actions against people who breach these “invisible lines.” The riot police, by keeping people away from those invisible lines, are “protecting people” from the other ISF units who have the right to use live ammunition, he said. Othman said that an investigation is conducted any time force is used. The ISF draw up a timeline of events, which includes who gave orders to escalate the use of force and when. Othman said that any member of the ISF found to have acted improperly is disciplined by the disciplinary board. He declined to make these investigations and their results public, as he said it would weaken the morale and prestige of the security forces. Then-interior minister, el-Hassan, said that Parliament Police are under the command of the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri. Both el-Hassan and Othman said that the ISF Riot Police and Parliament Police wear the same uniforms, and they are impossible to distinguish on the basis of their uniforms alone. Very little is known about the command structures of the Parliament Police, and they have repeatedly refused to provide comment to Human Rights Watch, including in response to questions about the August 8 events. According to LBC, a local television channel, Parliament Police have 412 members, 112 of them from the ISF ranks. The rest are appointed directly by Berri, most of them from his party, the Amal Movement. Parliament Police claimed that their duties are limited to protecting the parliament building and that parliament’s perimeter is secured by the ISF and Lebanese army. However, high-level government and security officials told Human Rights Watch that Parliament Police were responsible for serious abuses against demonstrators outside the parliament compound in December 2019. LBC reported that the Parliament Police are not bound by the same code of conduct, training, or command structures as other security forces, and the decision to promote members rests solely with the parliament speaker. They added that the Parliament Police budget is allocated from parliament’s budget. Othman said that he considers Parliament Police members to be civilians. The army is under the command of General Joseph Aoun. During a meeting with Human Rights Watch on June 23, the deputy chief of staff, Brigadier General Khalil Yahya, said that the army is officially charged with maintaining internal security, and that it has a guidebook for dispersing protests. Only the commanding officer of the army, General Joseph Aoun, can order dispersal of protests. First, Yahya said, soldiers have to give a verbal warning to protesters. After that, they can use less-lethal weapons, like tear gas and rubber bullets. He said soldiers can use their weapons in self-defense, but they must first shoot in the air. Yahya said the military judicial system investigates soldiers’ conduct. Exhausting Working Conditions for Security Forces The nationwide protests that began on October 17, 2019, have forced security forces to work much longer shifts than usual without overtime pay and with very few days off, Othman told Human Rights Watch in February. He said ISF members were working between 96 to 105 hours a week, instead of the usual 72 hours, without adequate compensation. Brigadier General Yahya said that their members were operating under extreme pressure and have been attacked by violent protesters. As with most Lebanese, members of the security forces have been hard hit by the economic crisis. The value of their salaries has decreased by almost 80 percent as the Lebanese lira depreciates. The army also announced on June 30 that it would stop serving meat to on-duty soldiers. Recommended Reforms Commanding officers of all security forces should issue clear guidelines on when and how tear gas and other riot control equipment may be used, Human Rights Watch said. The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials require police to use nonviolent means, such as demands to vacate an area, before resorting to force and firearms. Police should adhere to a principle of measured escalation of force. When using force, law enforcement officials should exercise restraint and act proportionately to the threat posed and seek to minimize damage and injury. The ISF code of conduct, adopted in 2011, says that “Police members will not resort to the use of force unless it is necessary, proportionate and after exhausting all possible non-violent means, within the minimum extent needed to accomplish the mission.” Security forces should suspend the use of pellet shotguns indefinitely and in all circumstances, and they should study the use of alternative less-lethal equipment that minimizes injuries. Security forces should strengthen training on less-lethal equipment and crowd control. The chains of command of all security forces should ensure that law enforcement officials who used unlawful force face criminal prosecution. The Office of the Public Prosecutor should urgently open an independent investigation into the events that took place on August 8 and make the results public. To advance accountability efforts, members of different security forces should have clearly distinguishable uniforms. The various units and law enforcement officers should be identifiable, including through name tags or identification numbers on their uniforms. The LAF, ISF, and Parliament Police should take steps to ensure that anyone authorized to carry firearms and use force receives proper and continuous training, that their fitness for such duties is continuously evaluated, that they are equipped with adequate protection, and that where possible, security forces should be given adequate time to rest. International donors to Lebanese security forces should investigate whether their support is going to abusive units, and if so, halt that support immediately. © 2020 Human Rights Watch

Implement National Action Plan; Hold Attackers Responsible A resident of Johannesburg’s Katlehong township runs while smoke arises from the shackles on September 5, 2019 as South Africa’s financial capital is hit by a new wave of anti-foreigner violence. © 2019 Michele Spatari/AFP via Getty Images (Johannesburg) – Xenophobic harassment and violence against African and Asian foreigners living in South Africa are routine and sometimes lethal, Human Rights Watch said in a report, video, and Witness article released today. Despite the March 2019 adoption of a government action plan to combat xenophobia, the government has done very little to ensure that attacks by members of the public, the police, and government officials are investigated and that those responsible are held accountable. The 64-page report, “‘They Have Robbed Me of My Life’: Xenophobic Violence Against Non-Nationals in South Africa,” details xenophobic incidents in the year after the government adopted the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. Human Rights Watch documented killings, serious injuries, forced displacement, discrimination, and barriers to justice and basic services. The problems include indifference, denial and tacit approval of xenophobic actions by government and law enforcement authorities, barriers to legal representation, and difficulty in acquiring and renewing documents to maintain legal status and to access services including education and health care. “Non-South African nationals have suffered wave after wave of xenophobic violence and live in constant fear of being targeted solely for not being South African,” said Kristi Ueda, Africa division fellow at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “The South African government should hold those responsible accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Impunity only emboldens others and perpetuates xenophobia.” Human Rights Watch interviewed 51 people – including 2 children, ages 10 and 11 – who live in Western Cape, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces and reviewed media reports and South African laws, regulations, and decisions. Human Rights Watch has long documented xenophobic harassment and attacks. Foreigners are scapegoated and blamed for economic insecurity, crimes, and government failures to deliver services and have been targets of nationwide protests and shutdowns characterized by mob violence, looting, and torching of their businesses. In early September 2019, mobs wielding weapons and chanting anti-foreigner slogans attacked and forcibly displaced non-nationals, destroying thousands of their business and homes. None of those interviewed has yet to recover financially or achieve justice. Although the government stated that 10 of the 12 killed in the violence were South Africans, Human Rights Watch has found that at least 18 foreigners were killed during the violence. South African government and law enforcement authorities have repeatedly claimed that these waves of violence were purely criminal and not motivated by xenophobia. A refugee from Democratic Republic of Congo told Human Rights Watch: “I was selling clothes on the street when nine South Africans carrying sjamboks and sticks came. They were beating people, shouting ‘You foreigners, go home! We don’t need you here! You are taking our jobs and money!’ I started to run away, but I was beaten, and my two bags of clothes were taken.” Law enforcement officials have operated in discriminatory and abusive ways against non-nationals, Human Rights Watch found. Raids to crack down on counterfeit goods have targeted foreign-run businesses. During the raids, police have shot rubber bullets into crowds of people then ransacked and destroyed foreigners’ shops. In coordination with the Department of Home Affairs, the police have conducted abusive documentation raids in areas known to have many non-nationals. The police have detained people arrested for allegedly lacking documentation in police station cells and deportation centers, in some cases denying them court hearings or not bringing them before a judge in the required time period. Officials have frequently claimed to have lost or misplaced the arrested people’s documents or other possessions. All those interviewed expressed frustrations with acquiring and renewing adequate documentation to maintain legal status in South Africa. Holders of the Section 22 asylum seeker permit must renew their permit every 6 months, which requires arriving at the Department of Home Affairs office by 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. to ensure a good spot in line. Some said they have painstakingly renewed this permit twice a year for years even though banks or hospitals often reject the permits and the police harass them anyway. The National Action Plan provides a framework to address many of the problems non-nationals face, but it seems to have had very little impact on the lives of Asian and African foreigners living in the country, Human Rights Watch found. “Launching the National Action Plan was a positive step, but clearly more urgent, concrete measures are needed, particularly to end violence, police harassment, and impunity,” Ueda said. “Protecting non-nationals from further attacks and ending impunity for xenophobic violence requires a long-term strategy and not just words on paper.” © 2020 Human Rights Watch

CAMBODIA TOWN FILM FESTIVAL presents The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor Produced and directed by ARTHUR DONG Free virtual screenings worldwide: September 16-20, 2020 The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor returns for encore screenings at the Cambodia Town Film Festival. Showcasing the best in Cambodian cinema from around the world, this year's festival is a free virtual forum, including films and special events. Filmmaker Arthur Dong will be a featured panelist for Stories We Didn't Learn in School, steaming September 20, 6:30pm PST. ORDER FILM TICKETS The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor chronicles the life, times and murder of Dr. Ngor, who remains the only Asian male to have won an Academy Award® for best supporting actor. When the Chinese-Cambodian doctor was forced into labor camps by the Khmer Rouge, little did he know he would escape four years of torture and be called upon to recreate his experiences in a film that propelled him into the glamorous world of Hollywood. And little did anyone know that some twenty years later, Dr. Ngor would be gunned down in a Los Angeles Chinatown alley. How could it be that he would survive the tyranny of the Khmer Rouge, only to be murdered by gang-bangers in America? BUY THE DVD: 2-disc collectors edition includes Khmer version Arthur DongStories We Didn't Learn in School

State-backed sectarian violence is on the rise in Pakistan as authorities cosset and back hellbent Islamic Sunni radicals [Supporters of hardline Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan carry shout slogans during a protest against the reprinting cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad by French magazine Charlie Hebdo, in Karachi on September 4, 2020. - Photo: AFP/Asif Hassan] PESHAWAR- Pakistan is reeling under a new surge of sectarian violence targeting Shiite and other religious minorities across the country, threatening new rounds of instability in the Muslim majority nation. The rising trend is being fueled in part by state organs and authorities who cosset and align with radicals bent on violence instead of upholding their duty to protect marginalized communities. Over 96% of Pakistanis practice Islam, of which anywhere between 75-95% of adherents are Sunni. Shiites comprise somewhere between 5-15% of all Muslims while Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis combined make up around 3% of the population. Over the last month, four people including two Shiite Muslims, one Ahmadi sect member and a US citizen who renounced the Ahmadi sect have been brutally gunned down for apparent religious reasons. Over the same period, around 50 people mostly belonging to the Shiite sect were booked under draconian sections – namely 295-A and 298 – of the blasphemy law as defined under the Pakistan penal code for allegedly “insulting the companions of Prophet Muhammad.” Penalties for insulting Islam under the law range from fines to death. Encouraged by the mass filing of blasphemy cases against Shiite orators by the local administration, thousands of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) Islamic group activists took to the streets last week in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi against the minority. Both extremist outfits had clear backing and support of security agencies and authorities. The rally pelted an imambargah (Shiite religious place) with stones as unruly radical Sunni mobs went berserk in the Imamia Lines Area. [A Pakistani Shia Muslim girl holds a placard during a protest against sectarian violence in Karachi, Pakistan in a file photo. Photo: AFP] The participants shouted “Shia kafir”, or “Shiite unbelievers”, and demanded the government impose a new ban on Shiite religious processions in the city. In June, Nadeem Joseph, a Christian who bought a house in a Muslim locality in Peshawar, saw his home stormed by an Islamic radical mob. Radicals fired indiscriminately into his residence killing Nadeem and critically injuring his Christian mother-in-law Elizabeth Masih. Mehdi Hasan, chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), told Asia Times that both state and society must be true to national founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision, in which religion or belief is a personal matter and not a basis for differences among citizens. “Seventy-three years on, the historic speech of Jinnah has sunk into oblivion and Pakistan’s religious minorities consigned to the status of second-class citizens, vulnerable to inherent discriminatory practices, forced conversions and faith-based violence,” he said. The draconian Blasphemy Law was made tougher by former dictator Zia Ul Haq through the insertion of sections 295-B and 295-C in the relevant law through an act of parliament in 1986 which declared derogatory remarks against the Prophet Muhammad as an offense punishable by death. Worryingly, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) government is inciting, not suppressing, religious violence by exhorting people to kill those who negate the finality of the prophet Muhammad. PTI Minister Ali Muhammad Khan has reportedly motivated people to execute those who commit blasphemy as broadly defined under the local law. In an Urdu language tweet from his handle in May, he wrote, “Beheading is the only punishment for those who mock Prophet Muhammad.” He made the comment in response to a report that Ahmadis were given representation on a newly established National Minorities Council. Ahmadis, declared as “non-Muslim” by the Pakistani parliament in 1974, are denied most of their constitutional rights and are frequently persecuted by mainstream Muslim sects. [PTI Minister Ali Muhammad Khan in a 2018 file photo. Image: Facebook] Another PTI leader, Qamar Riaz, attempted to file a blasphemy case against former foreign minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif because he said in parliament that all religions including Islam were equal. Islam is Pakistan’s official state religion but other faiths are protected under the constitution. Last month, Amnesty International earned the government’s ire by condemning the alarming rise in blasphemy accusations across the country. The rights watchdog underlined the need for repealing the draconian law, which put the lives of minorities at risk, it said. “The broad, vague and coercive nature of the blasphemy laws violate the rights to freedom of religion and belief and opinion and expression. They have been used to target some of the most marginalized people in society, including children, individuals with mental disabilities, members of religious minorities, and poorer people,” the Amnesty report said. Last week, HRCP also raised concerns about the recent surge in blasphemy cases registered against minorities, including namely the Shiite community, and the potential for a dangerous swell of sectarian violence. The rights group believes that the state has abdicated its responsibilities under international human rights law and left those arbitrarily accused of blasphemy to the mercy of mobs. Last year, dozens of people were killed in sectarian violence, but the state failed to apprehend any of the zealots involved in the attacks on minorities. [Ahamdi sector members worship at a mosque in Pakistan. Image: Twitter] Pakistani think tank Center for Research and Security Studies’ Annual Security Report 2019 shows that 28 Shiite and two Ahmadis were killed in targeted attacks, while 58 others were injured in related violence. The report claims that there have been at least five attacks on Ahmadi places of worship since August 2018 – two at Hindu temples and one at a Christian church. There have also been 13 blasphemy cases filed against Ahmadis, nine against Christians, two against Hindus, and one against a Shiite over the period. In all the cases, nobody has been brought to justice. See article here. © 2020 Asia Times

The Greek Genocide (or Ottoman Greek Genocide) refers to the systematic extermination of the native Greek subjects of the Ottoman Empire before, during and after World War I (1914-1923). It was instigated by two successive governments of the Ottoman Empire; i.e. the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) party, and the Turkish Nationalist Movement of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. It included massacres, forced deportations and death marches, summary expulsions, boycotts, rape, forced conversion to Islam, conscription into labor battalions, arbitrary executions, and destruction of Christian Orthodox cultural, historical and religious monuments. According to various sources, approximately 1 million Ottoman Greeks perished during this period. The first phase of the Greek Genocide commenced in 1914 in Eastern Thrace where entire Greek communities were forcibly and often violently expelled or deported to the interior of Asia Minor. Other measures used to persecute Greeks in this region were the boycotting of Greek businesses, killings, heavy taxation, seizure of property and prevention from working on their lands. In the Spring and Summer 1914, the ethnic cleansing of Greeks along the western shoreline of Asia Minor was carried out. These operations, including those in Eastern Thrace, were planned and executed by the CUP using regular and irregular forces including members of the CUP’s paramilitary unit, the Special Organization (Teşkilat-i Mahsusa). With the outbreak of the Great War, all Ottoman Greek males aged between 21-45 were forcibly conscripted into labor battalions (Amele Taburlari). Most of them perished under appalling conditions being forced to work around the clock with little food or water. In 1915, under the advice of German military personnel, the CUP deported Greek communities from the Dardanelles and Gallipolli regions under the pretext of military necessity. These Greeks were not permitted to take anything with them. Goods in their shops were later sold by Ottoman authorities. They were deported to the interior and to Muslim villages where they were forced to choose between Islam or death. In most cases, before deportations took place Ottoman gendarmes (police) and chetes (armed irregulars) seized money and valuables from communities, committed massacres and burnt churches and schools. In December 1916, the persecution of Greeks in the Pontus region commences. By 1917, it was reported that over 700,000 Greeks had fallen victim to a preconceived and well-orchestrated plan of annihilation. According to figures compiled by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, by 1918, 774,235 Greeks had been deported from their homes, many of them to the interior of Turkey, never to be seen again. Following the Ottoman Empire’s defeat in WW1, prominent leaders of the CUP were given death sentences in Ottoman Courts-Martial for their role in organizing the massacre of Greeks during the war. But the post-war formation of the Turkish Nationalist movement under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk interrupted proceedings to bring the perpetrators to justice. The Kemalist Nationalists continued the CUP policy of persecuting Greeks which culminated in the burning of the cosmopolitan city of Smyrna (today Izmir) to the ground and the expulsion of all remaining Greeks from Turkey. All able-bodied Greek males were refused exit from Turkey and instead were sent to the interior where most perished in slave labor camps or were massacred. By 1923, various sources state that around 1 million Greeks perished in the genocide. Source: Greek Genocide Resource Center © Hellenic News 2020

Rights groups in Pakistan say they are alarmed over rising blasphemy cases in the past months. Many of these cases have been registered against Shiites, who have come under pressure from fundamentalist Sunni outfits. Pakistani police registered at least 40 blasphemy cases in August, according to the country's human rights groups. The South Asian country's independent Human Rights Commission said most of these cases were filed against Shiite Muslims in relation to speeches made at religious processions. On Friday, hardline Sunni groups organized a large-scale rally against Shiites in the country's financial hub, Karachi. Thousands of people participated in the demonstration and chanted anti-Shiite slogans, including "Shia kafir" (Shiites are infidel). Read more: Why are Pakistani Shiites 'disappearing'? Although, the Sunni-Shiite conflict in Islam is centuries old, it intensified in Pakistan in the 1980s, after the 1979 Iranian revolution and the subsequent Saudi-Iranian rivalry. Sunni groups accuse Shiites of "disrespecting" some of the Prophet Muhammad's companions, who they hold in high esteem. In the past decade, pro-Saudi Sunni militant extremists have intensified their attacks on Shiites, who have a religious affiliation to Iran. Fear of violence The rise in blasphemy accusations and street protests against Shiites has raised concern about a possible violent confrontation between the two groups. "It is an unprecedented rise, and we are worried it can flare up sectarian violence," Mehdi Hasan, chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), told Dpa news agency last week Rights groups criticize the government for not taking action against hardline sectarian outfits, some of which are banned in the country. Asad Iqbal Butt, a senior official of the HRCP, says the authorities are not doing anything to rein in extremist groups. "The situation is alarming not only for Shiites but also for the members of other minority groups. The government has turned a blind eye to sectarian organizations that are spreading hatred against Shiites and other religious minorities," Butt told DW. Protection of Islam In July, lawmakers of the provincial Punjab assembly passed a bill that imposed punishments for vilifying holy Sunni figures. Shiite activist Rashid Rizvi told DW that most of the blasphemy cases against Shiites have been filed after the passage of the bill. "More than 40 cases have been registered in the month of August only and more people are being booked. One Shiite cleric fled the country due to death threats against him and some were arrested by police," Rizvi said. Senator Akram Baloch is also of the view that the bill has led to a spike in blasphemy cases. "The Punjab government should immediately scrap the law because it is fueling sectarian tensions in the country. The law is being misused," Baloch told DW. Sunni groups, however, say the law is necessary to protect Islam. Hafiz Ihtesham Ahmed, an Islamabad-based Sunni cleric, alleges that members of the Shiite community regularly commit blasphemy. "The Punjab assembly bill has exposed Shiites who blaspheme against holy figures that are revered by Sunni Muslims. So, I think the cases [against them] are genuine, and the government should arrest all those who have been booked," Ahmed told DW. Muhammad Jalal Uddin, a member of the Jamiat Ulema Islam, says his party would oppose any attempt to amend or repeal the Punjab assembly law. "We will go to any extreme to protect this law. Pakistan is an Islamic country and we should have Islamic laws," he told DW. An alarming situation Blasphemy is a sensitive topic in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, where 97 percent of its 180 million inhabitants are Muslims. According to Pew Research Center, adherents of Shiite Islam in Pakistan make up between 15-20% of the country's total population. Pakistan's blasphemy laws have come under hefty criticism, as they have often been used to target minorities, activists, and to settle personal vendettas. Although no one has yet been executed under the laws, dozens of people are currently sitting on death row due to blasphemy convictions. Read more: Pakistan: Lahore court sentences Christian to death on blasphemy charges According to rights groups, around 1,549 blasphemy cases were registered in Pakistan between 1987 and 2017. More than 75 people have so far been killed extra-judicially after blasphemy allegations. Some of them were even targeted after being acquitted in blasphemy cases by courts. In 2018, Asia Bibi, a Christian woman, was acquitted on appeal and left the country, provoking violent protests across Pakistan. Peter Jacob, a rights activist, said he was concerned at the recent spike in blasphemy cases, which also involved other minority groups. "In recent weeks, three members of the minority Ahmaddiya community have been killed – one over alleged blasphemy and other for unknown reasons. Some Christians have also been booked in blaspheme cases. Now even Shiite Muslims are being targeted, with extremist groups openly spreading hatred against them," Jacob told DW. Ishaq Khakwani, a former federal minister and member of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, admits that the situation is worrisome. "I am concerned over an increase in blasphemy cases. People are afraid of supporting the accused. Even if the person who is accused of blasphemy is released, his life continues to be in danger," he told DW. See full article here. © 2020 Deutsch Welle