Iran acknowledges ‘tens of thousands’ detained in protests

Protesters chant “Political prisoners must be released” during a march in Iran’s southeastern city of Zahedan. (File/AFP)
Protesters chant “Political prisoners must be released” during a march in Iran’s southeastern city of Zahedan. (File/AFP)
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Updated 06 February 2023

Iran acknowledges ‘tens of thousands’ detained in protests

Protesters chant “Political prisoners must be released” during a march in Iran’s southeastern city of Zahedan. (File/AFP)
  • Reports about the decree offered no explanation for the decision by Khamenei
  • Prisons already had faced overcrowding in the country after years of protests over economic and other matters

JEDDAH: Iranian activists on Sunday dismissed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s decree reportedly ordering amnesty or a reduction in prison sentences for “tens of thousands” of people detained amid nationwide anti-government protests shaking the country, acknowledging for the first time the scale of the crackdown.

“Khamenei’s hypocritical pardon doesn’t change anything,” said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights.

“Not only all protesters must be released unconditionally, but also it is a public right that those who ordered the bloody repression and their agents are held accountable.”

The decree by Khamenei, part of a yearly pardoning by the supreme leader before the anniversary of the 1979 revolution, comes as a long-detained opposition leader called for a nationwide referendum on whether to write a new constitution for Iran.

State media also published a list of caveats over the order that would disqualify those with ties abroad or facing spying charges — allegations which have been met with wide international criticism.

Khamenei “agreed to offer amnesty and reduce the sentences of tens of thousands accused and convicted in the recent incidents,” the state-run IRNA news agency said in a Farsi report.

A later IRNA report carried by its English-language service said the pardons and commuted sentences were for “tens of thousands of convicts, including the arrestees of the recent riots in Iran.” Authorities did not immediately acknowledge the discrepancy in the reports.

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The reports about the decree offered no explanation for the decision by Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in Iran. However, prisons and detention facilities already had faced overcrowding in the country after years of protests over economic issues and other matters.

In Mir Hossein Mousavi’s call, posted by the opposition Kaleme website, he said he did not believe that Iran’s current system, which gives the final say to a supreme leader, worked any longer.

He also called for the formation of a constitutional assembly of “real representatives” to write a new constitution.

It remains unlikely that Iran’s theocracy will heed the 80-year-old politician’s call.

He and his wife have been under house arrest for years since his disputed presidential election loss in 2009 led to the widespread Green Movement protests that security forces also repressed.

Mousavi himself, however, had supported and served in Iran’s theocracy for decades.

Separately, former reformist President Mohammad Khatami urged “free and competitive elections” after the release of political prisoners both imprisoned and under house arrest.

“Reformism at least has faced a ... dead end, so people have a right to be (as) frustrated about it as they are about the ruling system,” Khatami said in a statement circulated online.

More than 19,600 people have been arrested during the protests, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been tracking the regime’s crackdown.

At least 527 people have been killed as authorities violently suppressed demonstrations, the group said. Iran has not offered a death toll for months.

On Sunday, state media published a list of caveats that would disqualify those who face spying charges, among others, from receiving a pardon. The list has been met with wide international criticism.

Khamenei “agreed to offer amnesty and reduce the sentences of tens of thousands accused and convicted in the recent incidents,” the IRNA news agency said in a Farsi report.

A later IRNA report carried by its English-language service said the pardons and commuted sentences were for “tens of thousands of convicts, including the arrestees of the recent riots in Iran.”

Authorities did not name any of those who had been pardoned or given shorter sentences.

Authorities also did not name any of those who had been pardoned or seen shorter sentences. Instead, state television continued to refer to the demonstrations as being a “foreign-backed riot,” rather than homegrown anger over the September death of Masha Amini, an Iranian-Kurdish woman detained by the country’s morality police.

Anger also has been spreading over the collapse of the Iranian rial against the US dollar, as well as Tehran arming Russia with bomb-carrying drones in its war on Ukraine.

More than 19,600 people have been arrested during the protests, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that’s been tracking the crackdown. At least 527 people have been killed as authorities violently suppressed demonstrations, the group said. Iran hasn’t offered a death toll for months. It already has executed at least four people detained amid the protests after internationally criticized trials.

All this comes as Iran’s nuclear deal has collapsed and Tehran has enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build “several” atomic bombs if it chooses, the United Nations’ top nuclear envoy has said. A shadow war between Iran and Israel has risen out of the chaos, with Tehran blaming Israel for a drone attack on a military workshop in Isfahan last week as well.

Meanwhile, a long-detained opposition leader in Iran is calling for a nationwide referendum about whether to write a new constitution for the Islamic Republic.
Mir Hossein Mousavi’s call, posted late Saturday by the opposition Kaleme website, included him saying he didn’t believe Iran’s current system giving final say to a supreme leader worked any longer. He also called for the formation of a constitutional assembly of “real representatives” to write a new constitution.

It remains unlikely Iran’s theocracy will heed the 80-year-old politician’s call. He and his wife have been under house arrest for years after his disputed presidential election loss in 2009 led to the widespread Green Movement protests that security forces also put down. However, he himself had supported and served in Iran’s theocracy for decades.
In 2019, Mousavi compared Khamenei to the former Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whose rule saw troops gun down demonstrators in an event that led to the Islamic Revolution.
Separately, former reformist President Mohammad Khatami urged “free and competitive elections” after the release of political prisoners both imprisoned and under house arrest.
“Reformism at least has faced a ... dead end, so people have a right to be frustrated about it as they are about the ruling system,” Khatami said in a statement circulated online.
Currently, hard-liners control all levers of power in the country. Reformists like Khatami and Mousavi previously sought to change and open up Iran’s Islamic Republic while maintaining its system. But increasingly, protesters have demanded an end to theocratic rule in the country.

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Egypt population reaches 105m

Egypt population reaches 105m
Updated 13 sec ago

Egypt population reaches 105m

Egypt population reaches 105m

Cairo: Egypt’s population reached 105 million on Saturday, according to the population clock linked to the government’s birth and death registration database.

On Oct. 1, 2022, the database put the population at 104 million, meaning that there has been an increase of 1 million in 245 days — eight months and five days.

“The increase of 1 million people in eight months is deeply concerning. This level of population growth presents a formidable challenge and a hindrance for the Egyptian state as it disrupts the path to development,” Fatima Mahmoud, a specialist at the Demographic Center in Cairo, told Arab News.

Mahmoud emphasized the government’s strong intent to manage population growth, highlighting that it significantly strains the state’s resources and budget.

“While the increase is indeed alarming, the situation isn’t entirely bleak. An analysis of the data on the difference in birth and death rates reveals that the recent increase of 1 million was reached in 245 days.

“Comparatively, the prior million increase was achieved in just 221 days, nearly 24 days (fewer). This indicates a noticeable decline in birth rates, a positive trend that should be supported by the government,” she said.

“Aid packages should be granted to families with two children, while community assistance should be withheld for those with more than two children. The government must innovate beyond conventional means to effectively control population growth as it poses a substantial threat to development,” Mahmoud added.

Meanwhile, the latest report from the Maat Foundation, which specializes in community studies, said that Egypt’s population growth “negatively impacts” the country’s ability to achieve sustainable development.

It explained: “The economic consequences of population increase include higher consumption among individuals, increased state expenditures on services, widespread unemployment, reduced wages in both public and private sectors, rising housing prices, urban expansion onto agricultural lands, deterioration of public facilities, and inflated allocations of public spending on essential services such as education, health, transportation, housing, social protection, and security.

“All these effects are unfortunately at the expense of capital expenditure on developmental projects in primary productive sectors like agriculture and the transformative industry.”

However, Dr. Alia Al-Mahdi, a professor at the faculty of economics and political science at Cairo University, argued that population increase “is not necessarily a barrier to economic development.”

She said: “A large population can become a positive factor for achieving growth and economic development if the state effectively utilizes the human resources, as demonstrated in countries like India and China, each with a population exceeding 1 billion.”

Al-Mahdi added: “Economic decline, deterioration, and sluggish growth rates are usually the catalysts for increased population growth. Conversely, population growth rates decrease when the economy is performing well and incomes are rising. This is reflected in citizens’ growing desire to enhance their quality of life, consequently reducing the birth rate.”


Tunisian FM hails Italy’s support over IMF loan

Tunisian FM hails Italy’s support over IMF loan
Updated 03 June 2023

Tunisian FM hails Italy’s support over IMF loan

Tunisian FM hails Italy’s support over IMF loan
  • International Monetary Fund seeks govt reforms but Rome backs disbursement ‘without preconditions’
  • Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to pay official visit to North African country next week

ROME: Tunisia’s foreign minister has hailed “Italy’s clear understanding of the … need to support the … economic recovery underway” in his country.

Nabil Ammar was speaking on Friday night at a ceremony in the residence of Italy’s ambassador in Tunis on the occasion of Italy’s National Day. The event was attended by representatives of Tunisia’s government and business community.

Ammar thanked Italy for all its efforts to explain Tunisia’s viewpoint to other countries regarding negotiations for a loan of nearly $1.9 billion from the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF requires Tunisia’s government to carry out a series of reforms before giving the loan. However, Tunisia is asking for a first tranche of funding to be released immediately by the IMF, while the rest of the loan can be paid in line with the progress of reforms.

Ammar described Italy’s backing of Tunisia on this point as “intelligent and constructive.” He recalled that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged the IMF at last month’s G7 Summit to adopt a “practical” approach to disbursing funds to Tunisia “without preconditions.”

Ammar stressed that the challenges facing all Mediterranean countries and others worldwide on migration “go beyond the capacities of individual states and require all of us to raise solidarity to the level of a fundamental value more quickly than ever before.”

He expressed his hope that the proposal by Tunisian President Kais Saied to organize a regional conference on migration will be accepted “so that this phenomenon can be effectively tackled in a way that takes account of the humanitarian dimension.”

Saied made the proposal during his meeting in Tunis with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi on May 15.

Meloni and Saied on Friday night discussed bilateral relations during a phone call. According to a press release by Meloni’s office, she accepted Saied’s invitation to pay an official visit to Tunisia next week.


180 dead from Sudan fighting buried unidentified: Red Crescent

180 dead from Sudan fighting buried unidentified: Red Crescent
Updated 03 June 2023

180 dead from Sudan fighting buried unidentified: Red Crescent

180 dead from Sudan fighting buried unidentified: Red Crescent
  • Volunteers have buried 102 unidentified bodies in the capital’s Al-Shegilab cemetery and 78 more in cemeteries in Darfur

KHARTOUM: Persistent fighting in Sudan’s twin flashpoints of Khartoum and Darfur has forced volunteers to bury 180 bodies recovered from combat zones without identification, the Sudanese Red Crescent said.
Since fighting between Sudan’s warring generals erupted on April 15, volunteers have buried 102 unidentified bodies in the capital’s Al-Shegilab cemetery and 78 more in cemeteries in Darfur, the Red Crescent said in a statement Friday.
Both regular army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, have issued repeated pledges to protect civilians and secure humanitarian corridors.
But Red Crescent volunteers — supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross — have found it difficult to move through the streets to pick up the dead, “due to security constraints,” the Red Crescent said.
In cease-fire talks in Saudi Arabia last month, the warring parties had agreed to “enable responsible humanitarian actors, such as the Sudanese Red Crescent and/or the International Committee of the Red Cross to collect, register and bury the deceased in coordination with competent authorities.”
But amid repeated and flagrant violations by both sides, the US- and Saudi-brokered truce agreement collapsed.
Entire districts of the capital no longer have running water, electricity is only available for a few hours a week and three quarters of hospitals in combat zones are not functioning.
The situation is particularly dire in the western region of Darfur, which is home to around a quarter of Sudan’s population and has never recovered from a devastating two-decade war that left hundreds of thousands dead and more than two million displaced.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed, villages and markets torched and aid facilities looted, prompting tens of thousands to seek refuge in neighboring Chad.
More than 1,800 people have been killed in the fighting, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.
Medics and aid agencies have said repeatedly that the real death toll is likely to be much higher, because of the number of bodies abandoned in areas that are unreachable.


Two Israeli soldiers killed in earlier security incident at Egypt border

Two Israeli soldiers killed in earlier security incident at Egypt border
Updated 57 min 56 sec ago

Two Israeli soldiers killed in earlier security incident at Egypt border

Two Israeli soldiers killed in earlier security incident at Egypt border

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said two of its soldiers were killed in a security incident that occurred at the southern border with Egypt earlier on Saturday.
“This morning, a security incident occurred in the area of the Paran Regional Brigade. Two IDF soldiers, a man and a woman, were killed by live fire adjacent to the border. The incident is under review. The IDF is conducting searches in the area,”the military said in a statement.

Separately, the army said troops had shot dead an “assailant in Israeli territory” near the border.
It said the assailant was in Israeli territory when he opened fire at troops. The soldiers returned fire, killing the gunman. 
Israel and Egypt signed a peace agreement in 1979 and maintain close security ties. Fighting along their shared border is rare.
The exchange of fire reportedly took place around the Nitzana border crossing between Israel and Egypt. The crossing is located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the point where Israel’s border with Egypt and the Gaza Strip converge. It’s used to import goods from Egypt destined for Israel or the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Israel built a fence along the porous border a decade ago to halt the entry of African migrants and Islamic militants who are active in Egypt’s Sinai desert.


UN agency for Palestinian refugees raises just a third of $300m needed to help millions

UN agency for Palestinian refugees raises just a third of $300m needed to help millions
Updated 03 June 2023

UN agency for Palestinian refugees raises just a third of $300m needed to help millions

UN agency for Palestinian refugees raises just a third of $300m needed to help millions
  • UNRWA chief grateful for the new pledges but they are below the funds needed to keep over 700 schools and 140 clinics open from September through December

UNITED NATIONS: Despite a dire warning from the UN chief that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees “is on the verge of financial collapse,” donors at a pledging conference on Friday provided just $107 million in new funds — significantly less than the $300 million it needs to keep helping millions of people.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the agency known as UNRWA, said he was grateful for the new pledges but they are below the funds needed to keep over 700 schools and 140 clinics open from September through December.
“We will continue to work tirelessly with our partners, including host countries — the refugees’ top supporters — to raise the funds needed,” he said in a statement.
At the beginning of the year, UNRWA appealed for $1.6 billion for its programs, operations and emergency response across Syria, Lebanon, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and Jordan. That includes nearly $850 million for its core budget, which includes running schools and health clinics.
According to UNRWA, donors on Friday announced $812.3 million in pledges, but just $107.2 million were new contributions. The countries pledging new funds were not announced.
Lazzarini told a press conference Thursday that UNRWA needs $150 million to keep all services running until the end of the year, and an additional $50 million to start 2024 without liabilities. In addition, he said, the agency needs $75 million to keep the food pipeline in Gaza operating and about $30 million for its cash distribution program in Syria and Lebanon.
UNRWA was founded in the wake of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 to provide hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes with education, health care, social services and in some cases jobs. Today, their numbers — with descendants — have grown to some 5.9 million people, most in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, as well as neighboring countries in the Middle East.
UNRWA has faced a financial crisis for 10 years, but Lazzarini said the current crisis is “massive,” calling it “our main existential threat.”
“It is deepening, and our ability to muddle through is slowly but surely coming to an end,” he said. “The situation is even more critical now that some of our committed donors have indicated that the will substantially decrease their contribution to the agency.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a speech read by his chief of staff at the start of the pledging conference that “when UNRWA’s future hangs in the balance so do the lives of millions of Palestine refugees relying on essential services.”
Those services include education for over half a million girls and boys, health care for around 2 million people, job opportunities for young people in Gaza and elsewhere, psycho-social support for hundreds of thousands of children, and a social safety net for nearly half a million of the poorest Palestinians, he said. More than 1.2 million Palestinians also receive humanitarian assistance.