14 Killed in Hospital Bombing

On Wednesday June 4th, a car bomb exploded at a busy coffee shop right outside the main gates of the Hilla General Hospital killing 14 and wounding another 58. Many homes and shops were also damaged by the explosion. The coffee shop is known to be a place where patients and their visitors eat and rest.

Although no one has come forward to claim the bombing, one security official believes that it was the Sunni militant organizationIslamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Shia community has been under continuous attack by extremists, and now attacking hospital patients and their visitors adds another layer to the human rights violations.

SRW condemns the vicious attacks on two mosques in Sana’a

Shia Rights Watch vehemently condemns the vicious attacks on two mosques in Sana’a, Yemen on Friday March 20, 2015. The suicide bombings at the Badr and Hashoush which killed over 130 are some of the worst attacks against Shia in Yemen in years. The previously unknown branch of ISIS in Yemen claimed responsibility for this attack which is worrisome due to their vast record of anti-Shiism in Iraq and Syria. The Yemeni government, with assistance from the international community needs to do all in its power to secure places of worship from future attack. The latest attacks are pushing the nation closer to civil war and those involved in the conflict should heed the words of the UN Envoy to Yemen and de-escalate rhetoric and “exercise maximum restraint, and refrain from provocation”.

Bahraini Government Sentencing Shia Clerics

A Bahraini court sentenced a Shia cleric, Sayid Kamil Al Hashimi, to 3 years of imprisonment. Al Hashimi, who has advocated for the freedom of expression and religion, is accused of insulting the king by the court.

Al Wefaq National Islamic Society said the court’s ruling represents a “collapse of justice” and shows the judiciary’s lack of integrity.

Bahraini courts and judges are not qualified based on international standards and cannot sentence activists behind closed doors, says SRW. During the past three years hundreds of civilians and human rights activists have been sentences or fined in Bahraini courts, most of which could not have lawyers. The judicial system of Bahrain has violated many rights of prisoners and inmates by denying their rights to fair trial, therefore questioning the courts credibility. Violations of Shia rights as lawful citizen of Bahrain has been a concern and the government must be held responsible.

SRW condemns the violations in Bahrian and demand immediate release of Al Hashimi and others like him.

Al Azhar University Joins Anti-Shia Groups

Al Azhar University, the most important institute of Egypt, expelled one of its well-known Quran Reciters. Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the head of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University expelled Farajol Lah Shadhli” فرج الله الشاذلی” from this university because he has recited Call to Prayer in Iraq according to Shia Islam. El-Tayeb claimed “Al Azhar represents Sunni school of though and does not allow any other sect to intervene in their affairs.”

The video of the Call to Prayer recitation is uploaded on YouTube and many anti-Shia people degraded Shadhli for his decision.

SRW condemns the discriminatory decision of the leaders of Al Azhar University and believes this university has lost its credibility in educational fields. “Education embraces openness, diversity and respect and clearly Al Azhar University does not support such concepts”, says director of SRW, Mustafa Akhwand.

Same university has expelled students in past because of their Shia faith. Al Azhar University and leaders of Egypt must realize Egyptian Shia share their language, ethnicity and values and the must enjoy the same citizen ship rights as non-Shia. Discriminations and hatreds is a sign of incompetency of leaders.

Data on People Killed in Bahrain

Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) has published a list of people killed in Bahrain since February 2011. The data that was posted on the organization’s web site on February 2014 specifies as many as 100 deaths of civilians and activist who were killed by government forces.

The anti-Shia government of Bahrain has used direct shots, teargas, torture, and denial of medical attention in order to suppress the peaceful pro-democracy protest in this country.

Shia Muslims, that make the majority of the population in Bahrain, have been denied equality and have been treated as second class citizens who have no access to higher education and employment. In fact, since the peaceful protest, many of the civilians’ citizenships have been evoked, many were arrested and as the list details, many lost their lives.

SRW condemns the violence that the Bahraini government is using against its Shia population. SRW, along with other human rights organizations, has been advocating for the rights of Shia Muslims. It is unfortunate that the government and some NGOs ignore the situation of Shia Muslims and accuse this population of dependency on Iranian government. SRW declares that Shia are of different nationalities and are loyal to their countries. Such accusation is faulty and must not be a reason to violate Shia rights.

SRW believes nonviolence is the best method to advocate for rights and urges the Bahraini government to treat all its citizens equally in order to ease the unrest in this country. Although the king promised reform, no actual action was taken to bring freedom and peace to Bahrain.

The list can be accessed through the BCHR website.

Explosion in Hillah Claimed 30 lives

A suicide car bomb killed at least 30 people in the Shia dominated city of Hallah.

A car exploded near the entrance of the Hillah during morning rush hour killing 30 and wounding 150 people.

According to UN about 1,400 people have been killed in Iraq in January and February of 2014. The ongoing violation against Shia Muslims of Iraq has claimed many lives and has created a highly unsafe environment for vulnerable populations, such as children and elderly who cannot go to school, have access to healthy water, food and medication and even lost their caregivers.

SRW condemns the violations, especially when all bombings target civilians.

Iranian Government Arrested Seyed Hussian Fali

Iranian government arrested one of the influential clerics yesterday, March 9^th. Seyed Hussein Fali was arrested at the Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport while heading to Kuwait as he usually does.

At the airport he was informed that he cannot exit the country then and was taken to detention while handcuffed. There is not update on his statues as of yesterday or the reason of his arrest. His children and family are prevented from visiting him.

Seyed Fali is one of the well-known peaceful clerics in both Iran and Kuwait. His arrest violates his rights to freedom of movement, and must be explained by the government, says SRW.

Arbitrary arrest of Shia Muslim clerics in Iran has been a concern to many human rights organizations. The government has continuously pressured influential clerics and violated their rights to freedom of expression, movement, and religion.

SRW is following up with the US Department of States to investigate the case. This organization condemns the Iranian government’s illegal pressure on Shia clerics and demands immediate release of the Seyed Fali.

50 More Shia Dead in Sadr City

A parked motorcycle exploded in Shia Muslims neighborhood of Baghdad’s Sadr City. Number of Shia killed is not clear yet but according to different sources to people were killed.

Another bomb attacked minibus full of people: it killed 5 and wounded 14 of the passengers. As the sources report blood was all over the place and people were looking for their relatives after the explosions.

Shia killings in Iraq resulted in death of about 9000 people in the year 2013 and killed hundreds since beginning of 2014. Death of caregivers and insecurity resulted in major financial problem and many Iraqis are living under the poverty line despite the fact that Iraq is a very resourceful country.

SRW condemns the violent that is taking place in this country and hold the government responsible for not doing enough to clean the country from terrorist groups and protect all citizens.

Bahraini Government Executing Protestors

Shia Rights Watch was informed of the recent decision of Bahraini court to execute one and jail several civilians because of their involvement in the pro-democracy and reform peaceful protects.

The organization expresses strong opposition to the decision and believes Bahrain courts do not follow international standards and do not meet qualification criteria. This sectarian and violent decision must be prevented from implementation and the court has to provide enough evidence in order to prove the guiltiness of the detainees.

The government abuses laws, tortures and kills innocent people because they demand reform and equality. Although the king claimed reform, his actions, and the government’s decisions to arrest and execute peaceful protestors proves that the government is not interested in any political, social and economic reform. The act of the government is resulting in an increase of sectarian conflicts, and distrust between followers of different sects in this country.

SRW believes the Bahraini government has committed all possible crimes against its citizen and must be held responsible in international human rights courts.

The Role of Education in Implementing Social Justice

Washington DC- First Ever Shia Rights Conference Was a Success

Shia Rights Watch would like to thank speakers, guests, panelists and all who supported the first formal human rights seminar that analyzed the violations toward Shia Muslims worldwide in Washington DC. This one of a kind seminar received many attentions from university professors, activists and policy makers as the event was broadcasted live on internet. The organization specially thanks following speakers,

Dr. Said, the professor and the founder of Center for Global Peace at the American University,
Dr. Sachedina, experienced human rights activist and researcher, professor and IIIT Chair in Islamic Studies at George Mason University,
Mr. Kugelman, foreign policy scholar at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,
Mr. T. Kumar, Director of International Advocacy for Amnesty International USA,
Mrs. Curtis, Pakistan specialist at Heritage Foundation,
And Dr. Diwan, professor and Bahrain specialist at American University,

The audiences were touched by important remarks, reports and suggestions of mentioned well known human rights activists and policy makers.

Watch Panel ONE

Watch Panel TWO

Q & A

The seminar, Role of Education in Implementing Social Justice: The Case of Shia Muslims addressed the following points:

The ongoing violations in Bahrain,
Massive Shia killings in Pakistan and how change in educational system is needed to increase human rights awareness, respect and acceptance in this country,
Role of Saudi Arabia in founding the terrorist activities,
Situation of Shia minority in Malaysia and Indonesia,

Importance of educating women, as mothers, and their role in rising generations of non-violent activists,
Importance of including respect to diversity in educational text books in different countries.
Role of empathy and financial stability in preventing youth from joining terrorists’ groups,
Role of Muslim communities in making peace within Islamic countries.
And Value of human dignity.

This timely seminar that honored the World Day of Social Justice aimed to increase awareness about Shia targeted killings and encourage policy makers, educators, activists, and victims to take upon themselves to stand up for the rights of Shia community. As Mr. Kumar, Director of International Advocacy for Amnesty International USA, stated this even was the very first time that a Shia Muslim human rights NGO invited influential activists to address the much needed human rights violations toward Shia Muslims.

As all speaker noted, this conference brought up a crucial issue that needs to be addressed to reach peace in the world, especially countries with increasing Shia rights violations.

Shia Rights Watch is delighted to be the first to give voice to voiceless Shia Muslims and hopes to have more of such informative seminars in order to end Shia rights violations worldwide.

An article about the seminar will be published in the America Journal of Islamic Social Science special issue soon.

Journalists and human rights activists can contact our organization to take part in future seminars and campaigns.