Mukasey on Al-Qaeda Detainees
November 21st, 2008 by Tariq
Attorney General Michael Mukasey has an op-ed piece in today’s Wall Street Journal weighing in on the ruling to release five Algerian detainees from Guantanamo Bay. He outlines several guidelines the new administration should follow if it chooses to close the much maligned prison: 1) “Congress must make clear that release from the Guantanamo Bay military base does not mean that a detainee is entitled to enter the United States;” 2) “habeas corpus proceedings must protect the integrity of classified information and prevent disclosing that information to our enemies;” 3) “Congress should establish sensible and uniform procedures that will eliminate the risk of duplicative efforts and inconsistent rulings, and strike a reasonable balance between the detainees’ right to a hearing and our national security needs.”
Posted in Human Rights, Judiciary, Reform, US foreign policy, al-Qaeda | Comment »
Turning to the Rule of Law in Iraq
November 21st, 2008 by Tariq
Unnamed military sources have told Richard Tomkins of the Washington Times that, “at least some units of the 4th Infantry Division in Baghdad would begin obtaining warrants from Iraqi legal authorities next month before making arrests or searching homes for weapons caches and other contraband in noncombat situations.”
Matthew Lee of the Associated Press also reports “[t]housands of contractors, both private Americans and non-Iraqi foreigners working in key roles for the United States in Iraq, will lose immunity and be subject to Iraqi law under new security arrangements…Iraq will have “the primary right to exercise jurisdiction over” such workers, who are employed in various support roles for the U.S. military, including food service, transportation and sanitation…” And Nancy A. Youssef at McClatchy adds, “Private security contractors operating in Iraq could face Iraqi prosecution for acts committed when they supposedly had immunity from Iraqi law, U.S. officials said Thursday.”
The outcome still remains in the air as some Iraqi Parliamentarians seem to be channelling both Barack Obama and 12th-century Imam al-Ghazzali by avoiding ratification of SOFA to instead make pilgrimage to Mecca. Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani is not as amused at their religio-political syncretism as I am.
Posted in Iraq, Judiciary, Legislation, Military, US foreign policy | Comment »
New Role for Women in the UAE
November 14th, 2008 by Tariq
Raed Refai at Babylon and Beyond reports on a breakthrough for both women and the judiciary in the UAE: “judicial authorities in the United Arab Emirates this week appointed a woman to conduct Muslim marriages for the first time in the region, where women are often relegated to a secondary role in society.”
Posted in Judiciary, UAE, Women | Comment »
Egypt’s Landmark Sexual Harassment Case
October 23rd, 2008 by Jason
On Tuesday, a man was sentenced to three years in prison in the first sexual harassment case ever to be taken to court in Egypt. The Daily News Egypt reports that the ruling sets a new precedent that will serve to counter the troubling increased frequency of sexual assault incidents throughout Egypt.
In a statement, the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights applauded the ruling: “This sentence sends a message to all segments of Egyptian society that sexual harassment is a crime and will not be tolerated…the sentence will restore confidence in the legal system’s ability to defend women subjected to such crimes, in every step of the process — from filing police reports, to investigation, to sentencing. Women can now rest assured that their rights will be protected.”
Posted in Egypt, Judiciary, Women | Comment »
POMED Notes: Hill Event on Democracy in Egypt
October 10th, 2008 by Tariq
On Tuesday, the American Islamic Congress held a Capitol Hill lunch event on prospects of Democratic reform in Egypt entitled, “Democracy in Egypt: Can It Wait?” Speakers included Sherif Mansour of Freedom House, Dr. Dwight Bashir of the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom, and Atef Al-Saadawy of the National Endowment for Democracy, moderated by Zahir Janmohamed of Amnesty International.
Speakers called for rescinding the Emergency Status law and highlighted the need for a more independent legislature and judiciary.
For POMED’s notes on the event, click here.
Posted in DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Event Notes, Human Rights, Judiciary, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »
Democratic Reform and Terrorism
October 6th, 2008 by Jason
RAND has published an ambitious, book-length empirical study on the link between democratic reform and terrorism. The report looks at 15 years of liberalization efforts in six case studies: Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Morocco.
Their overarching conclusion is that process matters. The enhanced legitimacy of a system produced by political opening does serve to undermine extremists, yet stability is threatened if reforms are not viewed as genuine or are reversed. The report finds that human rights, rule of law, and judiciary reform are the most critical elements in building the legitimacy of a nascent democratic process. However, merely cosmetic reforms or backtracking can destroy any legitimacy that has been earned.
The report also shows that allowing participation of moderate Islamist opposition in the political process has served to marginalize hard-liners in several MENA states. Though if the process is viewed as corrupt, or if it does not end up producing tangible results, in time it can embolden extremists.
The study calls for sustained non-violent U.S. pressure; an emphasis on rule of law and human rights; and a focus on strengthening democratic institutions and practices. It also recommends engaging moderate Islamist parties and working to expand the political sphere for all opposition elements.
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Judiciary, Terrorism, US foreign policy | Comment »
Al-Jazeera on Political Reform in Egypt
September 30th, 2008 by Jason
The Arabist links to a great al-Jazeera English special(video) on political reform in Egypt. The report talks about the political apathy pervading much of Egyptian society, as the regime has successfully “resharpened its tools as a police state.” It also includes a panel discussion on the failure of reform in the judiciary and the security apparatus, the succession of Gamal, and also on America’s role, or lack thereof, in supporting democratization.
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Human Rights, Judiciary, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »
Last Gasps of Press Freedom in Egypt
September 29th, 2008 by Jason
Babylon and Beyond reports that Ibrahim Issa, the outspoken editor of the Egyptian independent newspaper Al Dustour, was sentenced to two months in prison for publishing rumors in 2007 that President Hosni Mubarak was ill and near death. “The verdict opens the door of hell,” said Issa. “It deals a blow to all illusions of a free press.”
Issa has been a constant critic of Mubarak’s regime, and that he is only now sentenced means “that the degree of freedom the independent press had enjoyed in recent years may be over.” The post mentions the increasing number of red-lines imposed by the regime on the press in recent months. Mubarak’s health, the regime, corruption, or the suffering economy are all no-go areas. Also, recently a gag order was put on the case of a Hisham Talaat Mustafa, the billionaire MP accused of ordering the slaying of a Lebanese pop star.
Posted in Egypt, Human Rights, Journalism, Judiciary | Comment »
Saudi Arabia’s Ongoing War on Fun
September 19th, 2008 by Jason
The Economist reports on a dust-up in the Wahhabist kingdom. On live radio, the country’s chief justice said it would be lawful to kill the owners of satellite television stations who broadcast “lewd” programming during Ramadan. This incitement to extra-judicial murder was roundly condemned by both Saudi liberals and rival clerics. In response, the authorities took the chief justice’s radio show off the air.
Before we celebrate this poking-through of the rule of law, it should be noted that the “owners of most of the channels that Saudis watch are, in fact, fellow Saudis, some of them with close ties to the ruling family.”
(Bonus article trivia: The Grand Mufti recently declared the celebration of birthdays “sinfully unIslamic”)
Posted in Human Rights, Judiciary, Saudi Arabia | Comment »
The Never-ending Quest to “Forbid Evil” in Egypt
September 4th, 2008 by Jason
Daanish Faruqi has an insightful piece in the Middle East Times on the evolution and increased frequency of “hisba” lawsuits in Egypt, whereby individual Muslims can bring suit against those deemed to have violated God’s law, and by osmosis, undermined state interests. Once designed to encourage civilian political participation, they are now used almost exclusively to stifle dissent, as well as to enforce the reactionary agenda of the ulema.
Posted in Egypt, Human Rights, Judiciary | Comment »
Women’s Rights in Iran and Egypt
September 3rd, 2008 by Jason
One step forward in Iran; Standing still in Egypt.
Iran’s parliament has indefinitely tabled a series of proposed changes to the country’s civil law. The action was the result of an unusual and welcome coalition between Iranian women’s rights activists and the Iranian judiciary. The changes would have undermined women’s financial independence as well as loosened barriers to polygamy.
As for Egypt, Fatma Khafagy at the Daily Star writes about the recent push by Egyptian women to speak out against the constraints of traditional marriage rites and the prevalence of sexual harassment in the country. Khafagy notes that while there have been advances in women’s civil rights in the past decade, the family law has remained untouched since 1920, in large part due to the extraordinary power of the religious community.
Posted in Egypt, Human Rights, Iran, Judiciary | Comment »
Kuwait’s Royal Court Case
August 12th, 2008 by Adam
The Los Angeles Times reports on an interesting court case in Kuwait in which, Talal Nasser al Sabah, a member of Kuwait’s royal family was sentenced to death for drug trafficking. The case is “….viewed as a test of sorts, to see whether the country’s rampant nepotism can trump the independence of the judiciary.” Kuwait’s emir can commute the sentence, but in the past Kuwait has held its royal family responsible for wrongdoings, including jailing members for corruption.
Posted in Judiciary, Kuwait | Comment »
The Future of Turkey’s Political Landscape
July 17th, 2008 by Sarah
Bitter Lemons hosts a debate on Turkey’s political future.
Soli Ozel examines the highly-explosive AKP and Ergenekon cases and argues that“the old authoritarian republican order and mindset are incapable of rejuvenation.” However, Ozel also suggests that the AKP “lacks the imagination and the commitment needed to forge a new consensus [to] propel Turkey forward in a liberal-democratic direction.”
Ersin Kalaycioglu describes Turkey’s divided political backdrop as a “kulturkampf of secularists” versus a “kulturkampf of traditional religious conservatives.” Ultimately, Kalaycioglu argues that the conflict undermines the legitimacy of Turkey’s government, makes democratization more difficult, and turns the rule of law into merely a tool in a power struggle.
Yet Fadi Hakura seems optimistic, arguing that “Islamic and secular values are apparently converging among the Turkish people.” This, combined with plummeting popular support for all major political parties and the “unprecedented silence of the military,” leads Hakura to believe that “Turkey could be on the cusp of a novel style of politics.”
Posted in Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Judiciary, Political Islam, Political Parties, Turkey | Comment »
A Case Study in Democracy: Turkey and Lebanon
July 15th, 2008 by Adam
An editorial in the Daily Star examines the contrasts in the commitment to democracy displayed by Turkish generals and Lebanese politicians in each nation’s respective political crisis. The outward behavior of Turkey’s generals are seen as an encouraging sign that the military is forgoing its traditionally active political role and is willing to accept the supremacy of civilian authority and be bound by the rule of law. It concludes that Lebanon’s politicans would be wise to learn this lesson, as their failure to establish a independent judiciary has prevented them from being held to the scrutiny necessary for Lebanon to become a true democracy.
Posted in Judiciary, Lebanon, Military, Reform, Turkey | Comment »
In a Turkish War of Wills
July 11th, 2008 by Amanda
A Christian Science Monitor commentary suggests that” if Turkey’s leaders fail not only to respect the democracy they have but to improve it through eventual constitutional and judicial reform, they will simply drag their country down in a war of wills.” As the Secularists continue to fear the Islamists’ encroachment upon the separation of mosque and state, they are clinging to their power in the courts to place a ban on the religiously oriented AKP. The article posits that “the onus is on the governing party to take every possible step to reassure Turks that it indeed supports a secular, rule-based democracy.”
Foreign Policy Magazine documents Turkey’s Year of Turbulence in pictures, including its rocky relationship with neighboring Iraq. Additionally, The New York Times reports on Prime Minister Recap Erdogan’s recent visit to the nation - the first by a Turkish leader in 18 years.
Posted in Judiciary, Political Parties, Secularism, Turkey | Comment »
The E.U. On Turkey
July 8th, 2008 by Sarah
As Turkey’s highest court weighs whether to ban the AKP party as unconstitutional, debates resume on whether Turkey is fit to become a member of the European Union. Some, including E.U. Commissioner Olli Rehn suggest that banning the AKP “would not be in line with European norms,” while others criticize Rehn for overstepping his powers, and caution that the E.U. should not be so actively involved with Turkey’s internal affairs.
Posted in EU, Judiciary, Political Islam, Political Parties, Secularism, Turkey | Comment »
The Legally Bizarre
June 20th, 2008 by Amanda
A Newsweek article covers the AKP’s constitutional amendments, the constitutional court’s logic, and the ramifications for Turkish democracy. It defends the constitutionality of the AKP-majority National Assembly’s actions and deems “the court’s recent action is legally bizarre and arguably unconstitutional itself.”
Posted in Judiciary, Sectarianism, Turkey | Comment »
Court Likely to Shut Down Turkey’s Ruling Party
June 8th, 2008 by Stephen
Note: this article by POMED Policy Associate Alex Taurel originally appeared in the May 2008 POMED Newsletter.
Though it has received little international press coverage, the big story out of Turkey these days is the fact that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is embroiled in a legal case that could see the party closed down and its leading figures, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gül, banned from politics for five years. What’s more, in what some are calling a “judicial coup d’etat,” the legal case against the party is actually expected to succeed.
The indictment accuses the AKP of being a “focal point of anti-secular activities.” Turkey has been an avowedly secular country since its founding in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. His disciples-who continue to wield substantial behind-the-scenes power from their perches in the military, judiciary, and civil service-are fierce defenders of his rigidly secularist principles and have distrusted the Islamist-rooted AKP since it came to power in 2002. The party apparently crossed a red line in February 2008, when it passed constitutional amendments aiming to lift the ban on headscarves in universities. In March, the Chief Public Prosecutor used the power afforded his office by the Constitution to bring an indictment before the Constitutional Court accusing the AKP of undermining secularism. Turkey’s secularist guardians have closed down a string of Islamist parties from which the AKP is descended, but never have they attempted to legally dissolve a party in power-least of all one with the popularity of the AKP, which won re-election by capturing a staggering 47% of the vote in the July 2007 multiparty parliamentary elections. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Human Rights, Judiciary, Political Islam, Political Parties, Turkey | Comment »
Advice for Lebanon’s President
June 5th, 2008 by Adam
An interesting Daily Star editorial suggests steps that Lebanese President Michel Sleiman can take to steer Lebanon through this period of discord and achieve substantial political reform. The primary recommendation is the establishment of an independent judiciary, which could be a key step in instilling a sense of legitimacy of the Lebanese state in its population. “The best effects of an independent judiciary, though, lie in its capacity to make democracy more than a word to be pronounced or a ballot to be cast.”
Posted in Judiciary, Lebanon | Comment »
Re-establishing the Courts in Pakistan - a Step Backwards?
May 20th, 2008 by Pasha
Ali Eteraz reviles the development of a Qazi court system in Pakistan, with dubious implications for human rights. Eteraz argues that the institutionalization of Sharia law in the new courts is “game-set-match” in the battle between moderates and conservatives.
Posted in Judiciary, Pakistan, Political Islam | Comment »
