January, 21 2009, 02:31pm EDT
Gaza Crisis: Regimes React with Routine Repression
Arab Governments, Iran, and Israel Ban Gaza Demonstrations; Protesters Beaten and Arrested
AMMAN, Jordan
Middle Eastern governments have banned demonstrations against Israeli actions in Gaza, and their security forces have beaten and arrested demonstrators as they tried to voice their opposition, Human Rights Watch said today. Arab and Iranian leaders have condemned Israeli military operations while denying their citizens the right to do the same. Israeli authorities have also banned some peaceful protests.
"Peaceful demonstrations are an essential element of democratic societies and the basic right of every citizen," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Middle Eastern regimes are throwing one symbolic shoe at Israel while using the other shoe to strike at domestic dissent."
The rights to peaceful assembly and free expression are severely curtailed in much of the Middle East:
- Egypt has for 27 years been under emergency law, which allows the authorities to prohibit demonstrations;
- Saudi Arabia has no law regulating assembly and bans any political demonstrations by executive orders;
- Jordan routinely denies permission for demonstrations critical of Jordanian foreign policy; and
- Other governments deny these rights to political opponents while organizing official demonstrations.
"It is as absurd as it is illegal to officially oppose death and destruction in Gaza, but to beat, ban, and arrest persons who try to peacefully protest it," said Whitson.
According to news reports, the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank banned pro-Hamas demonstrations shortly after Israel started its attacks on Gaza. Al Jazeera reported that on January 2, PA officials arrested demonstrators in Ramallah for waving Hamas flags, and clashed with student protesters in Bir Zeit on January 6. After the midday prayer on January 9, PA police in Ramallah fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of some 4,000 people, according to Al Jazeera.
According to media reports, Israeli security forces in the West Bank have seriously injured protesters in violent clashes and banned other peaceful demonstrations, and there is one report of a possible killing of a demonstrator by the Israeli army. The Jerusalem Post, an Israeli newspaper, reported that, on January 9, one Palestinian was seriously injured by a rubber bullet and several were treated for gas inhalation when Israeli soldiers broke up a protest of around 5,000 Palestinians in Hebron. Reuters on January 16 said the Israeli army spokesperson confirmed that an investigation was being held into allegations that soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian demonstrator in Hebron that day during a protest in which demonstrators threw rocks and petrol bombs at the soldiers. Physicians for Human Rights-Israel reported on January 16 that Israeli police chief of Sderot in Israel cited a "military order against any demonstration" in the area in preventing 300 persons from accompanying a medical aid convoy to Gaza.
In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on January 15 called on King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, which was hosting an emergency summit on Gaza convened by the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, to break the silence of some regional states over the war in Gaza. On January 11, however, Iranian plainclothes security agents had forcibly broken up a gathering organized in front of the Palestinian embassy in Tehran by the Iranian nongovernmental group Mothers for Peace, to protest ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip, an eyewitness told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
On January 1, Saudi authorities arrested Khalid al-'Umair and Muhammad al-'Utaibi, two human rights activists, in Riyadh's Malaz district, where they had arrived to demonstrate against Israeli actions in Gaza, relatives told Human Rights Watch. Earlier, a group of Saudi activists on December 30 announced on the internet site Facebook that they had sent a letter to the Ministry of Interior requesting permission to demonstrate in Riyadh. The assistant minister for security affairs refused their request, and they had to call off the demonstration. In the Eastern Province, Saudi Shia organized an impromptu demonstration on December 19 against the blockade of Gaza, and again on December 29 against the attack on Gaza. Saudi security forces arrested at least 23 persons at those two demonstrations, including a man reportedly in his seventies, relatives of the detainees and a Saudi human rights group said. One of the demonstrators, Kamil al-Ahmad, remains in detention for refusing to sign a pledge not to demonstrate again, while officials released 22 other demonstrators on January 17.
In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood has reported that 860 of its members have been arrested in recent days in connection with demonstrations protesting Israeli actions in Gaza. A January 16 demonstration in Tanta, north of Cairo, reportedly drew 15,000 participants. Police arrested eight journalists and beat some of them on December 31 while they were covering a demonstration in support of Gaza in Cairo's Tahrir Square. They were later released. Also in Cairo, police on January 16 prevented a planned demonstration near the US embassy and arrested some activists gathering near the embassy. In the Sinai, police arrested Ashraf al-Hifni and Ashraf Quwaidir, local leaders of the opposition Taggamu' Party, after a demonstration in al-Arish at which security forces say demonstrators started throwing stones at them. They were reportedly charged with participation in an illegal demonstration, injuring three police officers and handing out flyers. The Muslim Brotherhood says 160 of the 860 persons arrested have been formally charged with participation in an illegal demonstration.
In Tunisia, authorities have tolerated several pro-Palestinian demonstrations while repressing others. They refused an application by the opposition Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) to demonstrate in downtown Tunis on December 30 and then dispersed a group of demonstrators who gathered that day in front of PDP headquarters. Security forces assaulted two journalists on the scene, Mohamed Hamrouni of the PDP organ Al-Mawkif and Al Jazeera's Lotfi Hajji. At a large Tunis rally on January 1 co-sponsored by the ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Assembly, police dispersed and beat two union members who tried to march outside of the officially sanctioned route, the Tunisian General Trade Union reported.
On January 9, demonstrators gathered in front of the Israeli embassy in Jordan, where riot police arrived and beat demonstrators, including Al Jazeera satellite television bureau chief Yasir Abu Hilala. King Abdullah personally apologized to Abu Hilala, but prosecutors have not taken the statements of other demonstrators who police beat with truncheons at the demonstration, eyewitnesses told Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch calls on Arab governments, Iran, and Israel to ensure their citizens can peacefully assemble to express their views on the situation in Gaza.
Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.
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Tennessee GOP Shuts Down Debate, Passes Bill Allowing Handguns for Teachers
"Instead of protecting kids," said one Democratic lawmaker, "they've protected guns again."
Apr 24, 2024
A Democratic leader in the Tennessee House on Tuesday warned that a bill pushed through by Republicans to permit teachers to carry concealed handguns was "nothing but a bad disaster and tragedy waiting to happen," after the GOP cut off a debate and refused to include amendments that aimed to add safety measures to the legislation.
House Bill 1202 passed in a 68-28 vote, and Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who has never vetoed legislation, is expected to sign it, clearing the way for the state to require school districts to allow teachers to carry firearms without notifying students' parents.
According toThe Tennessean, the legislation does not allow schools or school districts to opt out of the program and requires administrators "to consider every individual who wants to carry."
The legislation was passed just over a year after a shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville killed six people, including three children.
"Our children's lives are at stake," said House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons (D-55).
After last year's shooting, the Tennessee Legislature garnered national attention when Republicans voted to expel expel state Reps. Justin Jones (D-52) and Justin Pearson (D-86) for joining outraged students in a chant for gun control during a protest. Jones and Pearson were soon reinstated.
Following Tuesday's vote on arming teachers, Republicans voted to bar Jones from speaking in House proceedings for two days after he was accused of committing three rules violations, including recording on the chamber's floor—something a GOP member was also accused of doing.
Jones applauded Tennessee residents for speaking out against H.B. 1202 in the House chamber.
"Despite my Republican colleagues' best effort, the power of the people cannot and will not be stopped," said the lawmaker.
The GOP ended the debate over the legislation after one teacher, Lauren Shipman-Dorrance, cried out from the viewing section. Shipman-Dorrance was removed by state troopers on orders from House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-25).
After the bill passed overwhelmingly—despite four Republicans who joined the Democrats and three who abstained—the remaining protesters chanted, "Blood on your hands!" before the GOP ordered state troopers to remove them.
Sarah Shoop Neumann, whose children attend Covenant Day School, delivered a letter with more than 5,300 signatures to the House on Monday demanding that lawmakers defeat the bill and warning that the legislation "ignores research that shows the presence of a gun increases the risks posed to children."
Shoop Neumann toldThe Tennessean that the bill's passage was "disgraceful."
"We worked with the Senate and representative sponsors of this bill to make it even a little bit safer—anything, really—and I'm utterly disappointed that that was not taken into consideration," she told the outlet.
Kris Brown, president of gun violence prevention group Brady, pointed out that "multiple teachers were armed at [the Covenant School], yet that was not enough to stop six children and school employees from being murdered."
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Democrats proposed amendments to require that teachers lock up their handguns and only remove them during a security breach, that teachers be held civilly liable for using their guns, and that schools inform parents if guns are on campus, but the GOP rejected all of the proposals.
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"At its core, this Supreme Court decision will reflect who we are becoming as a society."
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Less than a month after a key abortion pill hearing, the right-wing U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments for another major reproductive rights case—one out of Idaho that could impact healthcare for pregnant women and people across the country.
Idaho is among the over 20 states that have tightened restrictions on abortion since the high court's right-wing majority reversedRoe v. Wade nearly two years ago with Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Since August 2022, abortions have been banned in the state except for reported cases of rape or incest or when "necessary to prevent the death" of the pregnant person.
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Before Idaho's near-total ban on abortion took effect, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill barred enforcement of it to the extent that it conflicts with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a 1986 federal law requiring emergency departments that accept Medicare to provide "necessary stabilizing treatment" to any patient with an emergency medical condition.
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In a lively argument, questions by the justices suggested a divide along ideological lines, as well as a possible split by gender on the court. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative, appeared skeptical that Idaho's law, which bars doctors from providing abortions unless a woman's life is in danger or in specific nonviable pregnancies, superseded the federal law.
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Also noting Barrett's apparent alignment with the three liberal women on the court, Law Dork's Chris Geidner predicted "it comes down to" Chief Justice John Roberts and fellow right-winger Brett Kavanaugh.
"Already, we see women miscarrying and giving birth to stillborn infants in restrooms and in their cars after hospitals have turned them away, and medical professionals put in impossible positions by extremist lawmakers," said MomsRising executive director and CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, citing Associated Pressreporting from last week.
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Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, similarly stressed that under a decision that favors the Idaho GOP, "pregnant people will suffer severe, life-altering health consequences, and even death."
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The has also been an exodus of healthcare providers. Pointing out that those who violate Idaho's ban face five years in prison, The Guardianreported Wednesday that "between 2022, when Roe was overturned, and 2023, about 50 OB-GYNs moved out of the state."
As Republican lawmakers in various states have ramped up attacks on reproductive freedom since Dobbs, states that still allow abortions have seen an influx of "healthcare refugees." A Planned Parenthood spokesperson confirmed in January that about 30% of its abortion patients in Nevada—which borders Idaho—are from other states.
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If the high court rules in favor of Idaho's Republican lawmakers, she warned, "all states will be impacted, even in places like Nevada with more than 4 in 5 voters supporting reproductive freedom."
Destiny Lopez, acting co-CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, declared that "at its core, this Supreme Court decision will reflect who we are becoming as a society: Are we okay with requiring pregnant individuals who face severe complications to suffer life-threatening health consequences rather than granting them access to abortion? Are we okay with forcing doctors to choose between violating federal law by not providing emergency abortion care or violating state law if they do?"
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Arguments in the case have sparked multiple demonstrations, from a weekend rally in Boise, Idaho to a Wednesday gathering outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., where Women's March organized a die-in to highlight the potential consequences of the forthcoming ruling.
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One critic said that "the bill doesn't touch the homegrown spyware U.S. companies churn out" and "also strikes at the First Amendment right to receive information."
Apr 24, 2024
Digital rights defenders on Wednesday slammed the passage of a U.S. foreign aid package containing a possible nationwide TikTok ban as unconstitutional, xenophobic, and ill-advised during an election year in which President Joe Biden desperately needs as many young votes as possible.
Biden signed the $95 billion bill late Wednesday morning after senators voted 79-18 the previous evening to approve the package, which includes tens of billions of dollars in U.S. military assistance for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel—which is waging a genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.
One of the bill's provisions would force ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to sell the app to a non-Chinese company within a year or face a federal ban. Approximately 170 million Americans use TikTok, which is especially popular among members of Gen-Z and small-to-medium-sized businesses, and contributes tens of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy annually.
"Whether it's dressed up as a ban or a forced sale, the bill targeting TikTok is one of the stupidest and most authoritarian pieces of tech legislation we've seen in years," Fight for the Future director Evan Greer said in a statement.
Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the ACLU, called the provision "nothing more than an unconstitutional ban in disguise."
"Banning a social media platform that hundreds of millions of Americans use to express themselves would have devastating consequences for all of our First Amendment rights, and will almost certainly be struck down in court," she added.
Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said:
The First Amendment means that the government can't restrict Americans' access to ideas, information, or media from abroad without a very good reason for it—and no such reason exists here. Repackaging the government's reasons for the ban in the language of "national security" does not change the analysis. There's no national security exception to the First Amendment, and creating such an exception would make the First Amendment a dead letter.
Proponents of the possible ban attempted to spin it as something else and pointed to precedents including the 2020 forced sale of the popular LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr, formerly owned by a Chinese company.
"I want to be very clear: This is not a 'TikTok ban,'" Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who voted to approve the bill, said in a statement. "I have no interest in banning TikTok. This bill will simply make TikTok safer by separating it from the Chinese Communist Party so that the data of 170 million Americans—many of whom are children—is protected."
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said before Tuesday's vote that "Congress is acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance, maligned operations, harming vulnerable Americans, our servicemen and women, and our U.S. government personnel."
"Banning TikTok without passing real tech regulation will just further entrench monopolies like Meta and Google, without doing anything to protect Americans from data harvesting or government propaganda."
However, Kate Ruane, who directs the Center for Democracy & Technology's Free Expression Project, asserted that "Congress shouldn't be in the business of banning platforms. They should be working to enact comprehensive privacy legislation that protects our private data no matter where we choose to engage online."
Greer said that "not only is this bill laughably unconstitutional and a blatant assault on free expression and human rights, it's also a perfect way to derail momentum toward more meaningful policies like privacy and antitrust legislation that would actually address the harms of Big Tech and surveillance capitalism."
Greer continued:
Banning TikTok without passing real tech regulation will just further entrench monopolies like Meta and Google, without doing anything to protect Americans from data harvesting or government propaganda.
We could be months away from another Trump administration, and top Democrats are busy expanding mass surveillance authority and setting the precedent that the government can ban an entire social media app based on vague 'national security' concerns that haven't been explained to the public.
Some critics questioned the wisdom of Biden signing off on a potential ban of the most popular social media app among many young users during an election year in which many younger voters are disappointed in the president's record on climate, student debt relief, the Gaza genocide, and more.
One user of X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, said earlier this year that signing the bill would demonstrate a "comical level of political malpractice, the equivalent of seeing the rake on the ground and purposefully stepping on it."
Moments after Biden signed the bill, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew
vowed, "We aren't going anywhere."
"The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again," he said, referring to the three times when federal judges blocked efforts to ban TikTok.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew responds to the bill that could ban the app: “Make no mistake, this is a ban, a ban of TikTok and a ban on you and your voice.”
“Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere.”
pic.twitter.com/qElI8JvY0D
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 24, 2024
In the most recent case, U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy ruled last December that a Montana law that would have banned the app "violates the Constitution in more ways than one" and had a "pervasive undertone of anti-Chinese sentiment."
It is unclear who would buy TikTok. Analysts estimate the platform is worth upward of $100 billion, placing it out of reach for all but the biggest U.S. tech titans and, ironically, setting up possible antitrust challenges from the very administration that ultimately forced the sale.
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