Shia News Wire_#5

August 25, 2014

ISIS Attacks Tribes in Syria

700 members of a tribe in Syria were killed and 1800 kidnapped by ISIS. Members of the Al Shaieetat tribe in Deir ez-Zor who have been under siege by terrorist groups for last two years were attacked by ISIS on Sunday. According to human rights NGOs as many as 700 were beheaded and 1800 were kidnapped by the same group of ISIS terrorists.

Deir ez-Zor is a Shia populated area and the 6th largest city in Syria. It is Located to the northeast of the capital Damascus. Residents are trapped in this city with very limited access to water and food.

Child Rights Violations in Bahrain

On 13 August, 14 Shia were sentenced to life imprisonment by Shaikh Mohamed bin Ali Al-Khalifa the head of the first high criminal court of Bahrain. The prisoners were sentenced under a counter-terrorism law according to Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

Two children, Nedhal Ali Hussain Al-Abood and Dhaif Abdulnabi Dhaif, were among the prisoners given life sentences.

Bahrain has a terrible history of child’s rights violations, imprisonment, and life sentences and NGOs have been powerless to protect Bahraini children from the regime’s child rights abuses.

Explosion in Iraq

On August 19th, Six Iraqi civilians were killed and five injured as an Adhesive Explosive Device exploded in Husseiniya neighborhood north of Baghdad.

Shia Scholars Threatened in Egypt

An anti-Shia group called “Sahabe and Al Bayt” threatened Shia leaders in Egypt. The group told Shia leaders to stop their activities in Egyot or they would be treated as Hassan Shehata was treated.

Hassan Shehata was a well-known Shia scholar whose home was attacked by a mob in June 2013. He was killed and his body was dragged through the streets. Although local police appeared at the scene they did nothing to stop the attack.

Now, after 14 month, anti-Shia groups are threatening other Shia scholars forcing them to give up their freedom of religion in order to live. Egypt has become an unsafe for the thousands of Shia Muslims who call the country their home.

Another Success: Shafi Sultan Mohammed al-Ajmi Under US Sanctions

SRW is grateful to all Shia rights activists who helped this organization and others in pressuring governments and agencies to recognize Shafi Sultan Mohammed al-Ajmi, a Kuwaiti cleric, as a Shia rights violator who passports and funds terrorist groups. The U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on him and two other key terrorist financiers under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 as of August 6th/2014. Treasury.gov stated “Al-Ajmi operates regular social media campaigns seeking donations for Syrian fighters and is one of the most active Kuwaiti fundraisers for ANF. In July 2014, he publicly admitted that he collected money under the auspices of charity and delivered the funds in person to ANF. Al-Ajmi also acknowledged purchasing and smuggling arms on behalf of ANF”. Al-Ajmi is responsible for slaughter of many Shia families in Syria by founding and encouraging Anti-Shiism. Defenddemocracy.org also reported” The latter al-Ajmi has implied that he supports slaughtering captured Shi’ite fighters, women, and children in Syria and had his preacher’s license suspended in August for radical invective on Syria and Egypt”.

SRW appreciates The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s action to pressure and punish human rights violation enablers. As this organization repeatedly reported al-Ajmi has encouraged hatred toward Shia Muslims in Middle East and such preachers must be recognized and stopped in order to see peace in that region.

Furthermore SRW hopes to see International Human Rights Court hold al-Ajmi and others responsible for their Shia killings.

Attack inside a Jail in Bahrain

In an attack inside a prison, guards insulted Shia practices.

Shia inmates who had been arrested during a peaceful, pro-democracy protest were searched in Hawdh al-Jaff prison for their prayer stones and holy books, which were demolished by guards upon finding. They were also beaten and punished by withholding their suhoor during the month of Ramadan.
According to the activists, the health condition of the prisoners is poor and they are not receiving medical assistance to recover. Bahraini authorities have violated the rights of the Shia population, and this ill mannered treatment has only escalated since the Arab Spring.

Bahraini Shia Show Solidarity with Jailed Shia Scholar

On Sunday August 10, 2014, a large number of Bahraini Shia took to the streets on the island of

Sitra to show solidarity with Sheikh Nimr al Nimr who has been in Saudi Prison for two years. Sheikh Nimr was attacked and arrested while en route to his home in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Qatif region on July 8, 2012. The Sheikh was charged with disturbing the country’s security, giving anti-government speeches, and defending political prisoners.

These charges have earned the sheik a death sentence which has sparked outrage among the international community.

Amnesty International censured Saudi Arabia repeatedly over a host of human rights violations, including the oppression of the Shia minority. Shia Rights Watch has been a vocal critic of the Saudi government, citing article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which prohibits the arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile, to condemn the arrest and sentencing of two Shia protestors earlier this year.

Update: The finer sentence that was supposed to be handed down on August 12, 2014 has been postponed.

Closure of Shia Satellite Chanel Offices in Iran

SRW condemns the closure of the Shia satellite channel offices in Iran and arbitrary arrest of their employees.

As Iranian secret services has increased arrests, attacks, prosecutions, intimidations and government-backed raids against media professional and media organizations under the supervision of a popular Shia scholar, Ayatollah Sadiq Shirazi, status of Hamid Taqi-Poor is still unknown.

Masood Behnam and Hamid Taqi-Poor who had been arrested on August 3rd because of their Shia news coverage for a number of Shia media outlets.

Masood Behnam who was arrested from the hospital while he was receiving medical treatment for respiratory illness and diabetes, was released after 10 day of unknown status on August 12th. However Hamid Taqi-Poor who was arrested from a Shrine in Mashhad, Iran, is still in prison with no charges. His family is concerned about him since they are not allowed to see him or get any update from his situation and location.

SRW invites Iranian authorities to respect freedom of expression and religion and release Shia prisoners

who are arrested because of their religious activities such as Taqi-Poor. Also, this NGO hopes Iranian authority reopens the closed offices as they are not involved in any political matter and their mission is solely religious teachings that are free of violence and discrimination.

According to International Bill of Human Article 9: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile”; Article 10: “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him”; And Article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

All mentioned articles are also supported under Islamic Law that Iran is running based on.

Wahhabis Defend Israel against Shia

While Israelis and Palestinians have been fighting in Gaza since the Israeli occupation began in 1967 and Gaza has been under military siege since 2006, lack of interest from Wahabbi funded neighboring governments left Palestinians without active diplomatic and political support resulting in the deaths of thousands Gazan’s and hundreds of Israelis so far. Arab States, much to the chagrin of the people they supposedly represent, have formed an unspoken alliance with Israel. This has allowed Israel to intentionally create a humanitarian crisis and keep the Gaza situation unresolved.

After decades of conflict, Wahhabi clerics are coming out and freely stating their hidden beliefs. A Wahhabi Egyptian cleric, Tala’at Zahran, calls on Egyptians not to support Palestinians against Israel. He claims “most Gazans are Shias and communists.” Zahran, who is also the representative of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), in response to the question “should we help the people of Gaza against Israeli military strikes or not?” said: They are Shia and using missiles against the innocent people of Israel, so Israel is forced to retaliate by bombing Gaza.

Although Zahran and others are factually incorrect about Palestinians being Shia and about who instigated the latest round of fighting in Gaza, he has made his point clear that Wahhabism prefers to defend Israel over Shia. Palestinians are Sunni Muslims, mostly Wahhabi favored, and there is some evidence that they were responsible for many Shia killings in Iraq. ShiaWave reported that Hamas is claimed to be sending fighters and weapons to ISIS in Iraq. Palestinians in general and Hamas in particular, are clearly not Shia and have no interest in Shiism.

Wahhabis imply that if Israel converted to Shiism, they would be defeated in no time, but for now, defending Israel is from Sunnis who they incomprehensively claim are Shias, is more beneficial than defeating it. This is just another example of how the spread of anti-Shiism by Wahhabis is claiming more lives.

SRW Renewed its Calls for the United States to Add Pakistan to its List of “Countries of Particular Concern”

Shia Rights Watch has renewed its calls for the United States to add Pakistan to its list of “Countries of Particular Concern” after the murder of two Shia Muslims in a barbershop in Karachi on August 5, 2014. These two men were shot by gunmen on a motorcycle who are believed to be members of the Taliban-affiliated group Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat (ASWJ).

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom wrote in their annual report “The previous and current Pakistani government failed to intervene effectively against a spike in violence targeting the Shia minority community”. This has been manifested in this latest attack and violates religious freedoms outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Shia Rights Watch condemns the actions taken by these assailants, as well as the inaction of the Pakistani government. Shia Rights Watch calls on the Pakistani government to put a stop to the murder of Shia civilians

Four Shia Killed in Karachi, Pakistan

More Shia Muslims killed as Shia targeted killings continue in Pakistan. On Wednesday, July 23^rd, four Shia were killed in Karachi. Mubarak Raza Kazmi, a Shia lawyer, was shot and killed. Also Huma Hussain, a Shia woman, was killed. The attackers also injured her husband Bilal Hussain. According to some sources, their young children were also injured. Ghulam Sakhi, a tailor and shop owner, was shot in the Manghopir area of Karachi and Syed Akhtar Abbas Kazmi Shah was reported dead in this city.

Baghdad suicide bombing kills at least 26

26 were killed and 33 were wounded in a car bomb at a Kadhimiyah entrance checkpoint. A car exploded overnight in the Shia populated area of Kadhimiyah, the site of shrine of Imam Kazim. The car explosion was said to be carried out by one named Abu Abdul-Rahman al Tunisi at a police checkpoint on early hours of Wednesday, July 23.

Iraq: 50,000 Residence of Amerli Lack Access to Water and Food

Shia population of Amerli town in Tuz Khormotu, Iraq have requested aid from the UN as they have been surrounded for a total of 33 days. Adil Sahkur al-Bayati, the spokesperson of this town announced the towns lack of access to water, food and other necessities as ISIS has closed all access around this town. The town of Amerli is said to be home to 34 villages and 50,000 citizens. Until now, Amerli has been protected by soldiers as well as volunteer forces from the town itself. A number of people have been killed by ISIS groups. ISIS has ordered the people of Amerli to leave their home or be killed.

Welcome to Shia Rights Watch

ISIS Attacks Tribes in Syria

Child Rights Violations in Bahrain

Explosion in Iraq

Shia Scholars Threatened in Egypt