International Shia day intends to increase awareness about the struggles, rights, and achievements of Shia Muslims. This population is an underrepresented minority, violated against, and marginalized. Global action is needed to accelerate Shia rights.
The terrorist attack on Shia educational center and public high school left more than six Shia students dead and wounded more than 35. The final casualty increases as some of the wounded students are fighting for their lives. Taliban prevents Shia Muslims from protecting themselves and create security measures to stop violence against the Shia community.
#Breaking The terrorist attack on Shia Mosque in Afghanistan’s Mazar-e-Sharif left 35 dead and more than 90 Shia Muslims wounded.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the attack on the Shia Mosque has become normal. A couple of days ago, the attack in Dhashte-e-Barchi in western Kabul killed six students and wounded more than 15 Shia Muslims.
Shia rights watch holds the Taliban responsible for these attacks. Shia Muslims should be able to defend their community as before and create their security to protect their place of worship.
#antishiism
#Hazara #Balkh
#mazarsharifattack
#mazarsharif
This weekend, Saudi authorities executed 41 Shia from the eastern province with a false accusation. The court system has convicted innocent Shia Muslims and sentenced them to death via the sword.
Shia Rights Watch continues monitoring international anti-Shia violence. Events noted in this statement are a collection of violence against Shia Muslims reported by grassroots activists and journalists. Shia Rights Watch highlights that this report samples the true scope of anti-Shiism.
In the month of May, violence from the nations of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria were reported. Shia Muslims are targeted individually and in groups by terror organizations and through lacking due-process enforced by structural anti-Shiism.
On the tenth of May, the detonation of a bus in Pul Matak of the Parwan Province resulted in the death of 11 and the injury of 25 others. Many of those on the bus were women and children.
In a separate incident of violence on the same day, a roadside bomb exploded, resulting in the death of dozens. Two were killed.
Kabul remains a hotbed for violence against Shia Muslims. Early in the month, two gunmen fired machine guns towards two Hazara civilians, killing them instantly. Investigations have found the two assailants to be members of local extremist groups.
In Kabul, a bomb placed inside a mosque in the Shakar Dara area detonated, killing 12 and wounding 15 worshippers.
Late in the month, another incident in which passengers were targeted took place. On the 29th, a roadside bomb detonated in Parwan district, as a bus carrying University professors and students passed. The detonation killed four and 13 others were wounded as a result of the incident.
In Kapisa Province, a missile bombing targeted a wedding party resulting in the death of 10 and the wounding of eight others.
On the sixth of May, authorities arrested Muhammad Hatem and sentenced him to three months in detention of charges of participating in religious congregation.
Sources reveal video and audio evidence of torture used on a resident of al-Malikiyah. Activists have long reported violence against Shia Muslim detainees. Those held in Jaws Prison report the use of violence, threats against family members, and false promises.
In the month of May, a mass grave was discovered in Nasiriyah holding the bodies of more than 700 children, women, and men. Investigations show the causes of death to be by immolation.
Violence against Shia Muslims by the hands of ISIS continues across Iraq. National authorities have thwarted numerous attacks throughout the country. Nonetheless, armed offences targeting the security of the nation continue.
Shia Muslims residing in the nation’s capital face unparalleled violence in the hands of terror groups. On the 13th of May, authorities thwarted a bombing attempt and arrested an assailant with ties to ISIS. The bomb targeted civilian gathering areas during Eid celebrations.
The frequency of targeting of individuals Shia Muslims by gunshots continues to be of concern in cities such as Baghdad. Shia Muslims identified by their faith are targeted by unidentified gunmen, shot and left for authorities to find. Locals have reported five separate instances of individual assassinations. Local inquiry points to higher death counts that go unreported.
In Diyala, ISIS assailants launched coordinated attacks in the Governorate. They targeted villages, power transmission infrastructure and security points. Many civilians were injured and killed. A number of others were kidnapped and their whereabouts remain unknown.
In Tuz Khurmatu, missile bursts caused infrastructural and material damage all across the city.
ISIS attacks have also taken place in Daqaq and Samarra.
Violence against Shia Muslims in Nigeria continues as authorities open fire on peaceful protestors. On the seventh of May, Nigerian security forces opened fire on protestors calling for the release of Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife.
No new developments have been reported in the case of Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife.
Despite promises of protecting Shia Muslims against violence, Shia Rights Watch notes no explicit security or counterterror measures have been announced across Pakistan. Shia Muslims report experience living in fear of being targeted by terrorists which run rampant all over the nation.
In Quetta City, the explosion of a roadside device injured five civilians.
In Karachi, terror groups targeted a funeral ceremony. Sources report that assailants opened fire on participants injuring dozens of people.
Late in the month, peaceful demonstrations in the city of Chaman were the target of a bomb. Assailants placed an explosive device in the location of the demonstration. The device was detonated while participants gathered resulting in the death of six. Many were wounded.
Detainee Zuhair Ali al-Mohammed was found deceased while in detention. Sources report the cause of death to be a function of torture followed by neglect.
Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia make up a minority, largely populating the Eastern Province. Many Shia Muslims report practicing their faith in private in fear of facing discrimination.
Families of those prosecuted have expressed concern for their loved ones and report lacking un-biased due-process.
Shia Muslims in Syria face heightened risk of targeting by terror organizations amidst national and political turmoil.
Toxic substance ends the life of a Shiite preacher in Aleppo countryside: Medical and human rights reports revealed the assassination of religious preacher Ahmed al-Jumaili with a toxic substance in the city of Maskana.
Perpetrators of the act of violence have yet to be identified.
Shia Rights Watch expresses its deepest concern for the lives of the Hazara population in Afghanistan following the recent bombings in Kabul. For far too long have the Hazara people lived with targets on their back while the world turns a blind eye to the violence that plague their lives.
On Saturday, May 8, a bomb detonated outside Kabul’s Syed Al-Shahda school for girls in Dasht-e-Barchi, killing 80 and injuring 147 others. The school was filled with students of the 11th and 12th grade.
The majority of those killed were students between the ages of 13-18.
Dasht-e-Barchi is largely populated by Shia Muslim.
Violence against Hazara Shia Muslims
The targeted nature of the bomb points to motivations based in extremism against Shia Muslims. The Hazara people are a population long identified as members of the Shia Muslim identity.
Hazara have faced very harsh and inhumane treatment throughout history. Once the largest ethnic group in the country, only make up 9 percent of the Afghan population today.
An estimated 60% of their population was exterminated during the 1890’s genocide of Hazaras in Afghanistan. During and after the genocide, Hazaras lands were confiscated and distributed , and tens of thousands of Hazaras men, women, and children were sold as slave. It is also reported that tens of thousands of Hazara captives were sold.
Labeled as ‘heretics.’ extremist groups including but not limited to the Taliban and ISIS, continue to dehumanize the Hazara and justify their brutal killings.
Local and National Responses
Afghan president Ashraf Ghani tweeted his condemnation after the attack, by casting responsibility on the Taliban. He noted the group’s unwillingness to support peace agreements.
No acknowledgement of the Hazara populations endangerment and failure to protect the population have been made by any of the country’s officials.
The Constitution of Afghanistan has several clauses which provide protection to minorities, including the Shia Hazara. The citizens of Afghanistan, man and woman, have equal rights and duties before the law. The Afghan government is responsible for protection and safety for all of the nations populace regardless of race or creed.
None-the-less, Shia populated areas of the country face the highest rates of violence and are supported with disproportionately less resources aimed at violence prevention.
President Ashraf Ghani along with all other national and local officials in Afghanistan are responsible for every life lost as a result of extremism in the country.
Call for Change
While the Taliban has denied involvement on Twitter through the group’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, sources report an increase in violence across the country following the announcement of withdrawal of NATO and U.S. forces on May 1. Taliban perpetrators have attacked cities and towns they identified as most vulnerable.
And given the vulnerability of Shia populated areas of the country, Shia Rights Watch expresses concern for the future of the Hazara population.
Shia Rights Watch calls on the international community to hold the Afghan government responsible for failing to protect members of the Hazara community.
It’s time for Afghan officials to do more than tweet condemnation to violence against the Shia minority.
It’s time for real change that protects innocent children against violence.
Anti-Shiism in the forms of arrests, sentencing, lack of due process, injury, and killing reported to Shia Rights Watch spanned the international community in the month of April.
Reports of violence listed in this report have been verified through collaboration with grassroot advocates and confirmed by local investigations.
Shia Rights Watch notes incidents of violence on the basis of identity are often unreported by victims in fear of further violence and alienation. Trends listed in this report represent a fraction of Anti-Shiism faced by the international Shia Muslim community.
More information in regards to individual incidents can be found at ShiaRightsWatch.org.
Anti-Shiism across Afghanistan spanned Jalalabad, Herat, and Kabul.
On April 15, a car bomb detonated in Jalalabad, resulting in the death and injury of many Shia Muslims. Locals reported extensive property damage.
In Herat, 24 incidents of violent attacks were instigated by extremism. Much of the attacks targeted the local government, and as Herat is rich in the presence of Shia Muslims, many individuals of this minority groups were killed and injured. On the 8th of April, shootings at the Second Police District resulted in the death of one civilian and the injury of another. Later in the month, the bodies of two civilians, one of which was female, were found in the Injil district. Officials have announced ill-will but not the identity of the responsible assailants. On the same day, in Darb-e-Iraq, gunmen shot and killed a civilian and in the Golran district, and the detonation of a car bomb killed four.
Civilians were killed in Obeh district both on April 27 and 28 in cross fire between police and the Taliban.
In Kabul, one was killed and nine others were wounded in a bombing that targeted security personnel.
Despite the existence of targeted violence in the country of Afghanistan, authorities have not announced any direct efforts to protect those most vulnerable to terror attacks.
In Bahrain, the authorities announced the intention to release 199 prisoners under the Alternative Penal Code.
Among those released is Mohammed Jawad Parwiz, the uncle of prominent activist Nabeel Rajab. Parwiz was arrested in 2011 for his activism. Others released include, but is not limited to the followin: Sayed Kamel Al-Hashemi, arrested in 2016 and detained in 2018 for “insulting the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, in a Friday sermon at a mosque in Barbar and Ma’atam in Bani Jamra,” and “inciting hatred against a sect”; Maytham Zuhair, arrested in 2020; and Ali Jassem Al-Ghanimi, one of 124 police officers who sympathized with protestors.
For those who remain in detention, violent repression continues. The United Nations Human Rights Office announced concern for the “unnecessary and disproportionate” force used against detainees. In a press conference, spokesperson Marta Hurtado called for immediate and thorough investigation into violence in the hands of police officers at Jaws Prison.
Police officers at Jaws Prison injured detainees by throwing “stun grenades and beat detainees on their heads.” Sources reported that 33 protesters were taken to a secondary location and kept “incommunicado and unable to make contact with family and lawyers.”
The violence came after detainees organized sit-ins in protest to the lacking conditions they faced, including the authorities failure to meet medical needs which resulted in the death of multiple detainees such as Abbas Malallah.
Hurtado stated, “The spread of the pandemic in Bahrain’s prisons has sparked protests across the country. In response, the authorities have detained dozens of protesters for breaching COVID-19 restrictions…In particular, those being detained for expression of critical or dissenting views, protected by international human rights law, should be released immediately.”
Medical negligence on the part of prison authorities took mainstream spotlight with the death of Abbas Ali Hassan Malallah. On April 6, Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior Prisons Directorate announced Malallah’s death, citing he “died a natural death early this morning, after suffering a heart attack, per the coroner’s report.”
Prisoners with Malallah report that he had asked for medical attention the day before his death, complaining of severe pain in his chest and abdomen. The prison administration denied his request.
Advocates counter the claims made within the statement that Malallah did not have a chronic illness. Malallah suffered from colon and stomach ulcers, as well as physical ailments as a result of torture, all of which were denied treatment while in Jaws Prison.
In the month of April, new arrests of protestors and activists were also made. The arrests included vocalist Hussein Sahwan, brothers of Muhammad al-Daqqaq, brother of Mohammad Ramadan, Hassan Khaled, Ahmen Yusef al-Sami, Ahmed Ali kazem, Ali Hussein al-Sami, and Hussein Ali Khalil.
Maytham Zuhair who was recently released under the alternative penal code was rearrested shortly after his release.
Family members of those detained report torture and mistreatment as means of obtaining false confessions and expressed concern for the safety of their loved ones.
Gunmen in Baghdad target Shia Muslims across the city. Individuals identified as Shia Muslim have been targeted by assailants yet to be identified with silencers.
In addition to individual assassination’s, bombings in prominent Shia Muslim areas maximize death counts. On the 15th of April, a bomb detonation in the Habibiya area, east of Baghdad led to the death of 12 civilians. Later in the month, a roadside bomb north of Baghdad killed four.
Despite efforts to counter ISIS activity in the country, violence against Shia Muslims in Iraq’s capital continues to claim lives of innocent civilians, many being women and children undergoing everyday tasks.
Anti-Shia violence also took place in Diyala, Khanaqin, Tikrit, Karbala, and Kirkuk. All locations in which Shia Muslims live in non-Shia majority areas rich in targeted ISIS activity.
In Diyala, bombing associated with ISIS rocked the city on the 21st, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 28th, and 30th.
Frequent bombings across the country have enforced lack of security for Shia Muslim residents. While the country is one of few with high number of Shia Muslim residents, it remains an unsafe nation with frequent anti-Shia violence.
A hotel bombing in Balochistan resulted in the death of four and injury of 10 others. Officials reported the hosting of the Chinese ambassador at the hotel as the possible motivation of the bombing.
Early in the month, residents of Qatif reported harassment by security forces.
While many congregated on the occasion of 15th of Sha’ban, a day of religious expression, security forces cracked down on participants, limiting their expressions and calling for disbursement.
Those who protest conditions face harsh retaliation.
Protests continue across Bahrain,
