Jul 25, 2005 | News
The ICJ unequivocally condemns the bombings that rocked the city of Sharm al-Sheikh on Friday night, which left at least 64 people dead and hundreds of wounded, according to the latest official estimates.
“Indiscriminate attacks against civilians are totally prohibited under international law and cannot be justified under any circumstances”, said Nicholas Howen, ICJ Secretary-General. “Perpetrators of such killings against civilians have to be brought to justice, in full compliance with international human rights law”, he added.
However, in view of the large number of reportedly arbitrary arrests that took place after previous attacks, such as the bombing in Taba in October 2004 and the bombing in the Cairo Bazaar in April 2005, the ICJ recalls in particular that human rights law forbids arbitrary, secret or incommunicado detention, as well as torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. As the authorities have already started arresting suspects, it is crucial to respect such human rights obligations and to try perpetrators of such attacks in ordinary courts that respect fair trial standards.
The ICJ expresses its condolences to the relatives and families of the victims of the bombings.
Jun 28, 2005 | News
The ICJ and other rights groups welcome the decision of the Syrian Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) on June 26, 2005, to drop all charges against Syrian human rights defender Aktham Naisse (photo).
Jun 23, 2005 | News
On 26 June the trial against Syrian human rights defender Aktham Naisse is scheduled to resume before the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) in Damascus.
Jun 15, 2005 | News
La CIJ et la FIDH expriment leur consternation à l’annonce de la confirmation, par la Cour d’appel de Tunis, de la condamnation de Maître Abbou à 3 ans et demi de prison.
May 12, 2005 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
On 10 May, the ICJ made a submission to the Committee against Torture (CAT) on the recently introduced draft law on counter-terrorism in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
This law – if adopted – would greatly reduce safeguards against torture, cruel or inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment and negatively affect the implementation of the Convention against Torture in Bahrain. The ICJ invited the Committee to assess the impact of this draft law on the implementation of Bahrain’s obligations under the Convention and make recommendations to Bahrain to ensure that the law complies with international human right standards.
Bahrain-impact law counter-terrorism-non-judicial submission-2005 (full text in English, PDF)
Bahrain-impact law counter-terrorism-non-judicial submission-2005 (full text in Arabic, PDF)
