Update on actions to stop the execution of three Iraqi women

From: "BRussells Tribunal"
To:
Subject: Update on actions to stop the execution of three Iraqi women: END THIS CRIME NOW!
Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 ...

Statement by Hana Albayaty, Ian Douglas, Abdul Ilah Albayaty, Iman Saadoon, Dirk Adriaensens and Ayse Berktay (1 March 2007)

END THIS CRIME NOW!

Update on actions to stop the
execution of three Iraqi women


On 14 February we launched an appeal to halt the summary execution of three Iraqi women. Hundreds signed our statement, including numerous organizations, and demonstrations have taken place in Istanbul, Ankara, Rabat, Berlin and Stockholm, among other cities.

Wassan Talib (31), Zainab Fadhil (25) and Liqa Omar Muhammad (26) were reportedly sentenced to death on charges that amount to supporting the legitimate and legal popular resistance to occupation in Iraq.

We issue this statement now to highlight that the situation in Iraq inaugurated and sustained by a defeated occupation and its local sectarian puppet forces makes the defence of human rights practically impossible.

In Baghdad in particular, some individuals that we are regularly in contact with, and others that were contacted for this specific case, report facing the same situation, one so volatile that they cannot even verify the whereabouts or wellbeing of their own families. Unable to move, or else fleeing for their lives en masse amidst the murderous Bush-Maliki “surge”, Iraqis are enduring waves of military repression and violence.

We tried to reach the families of the three women and their lawyer. We tried to verify their convictions, the charges on which they were convicted, and their wellbeing or status. We tried to verify the date of their prospective executions, and ascertain if an appeals process is underway. Until now, despite efforts along numerous channels (including contacting legal organizations in Iraq directly, along with human rights practitioners) , no information has been forthcoming from within or outside Iraq.

We continue to work on the assumption that our information is credible: that the women may be executed as early as Saturday, 3 March 2007. We ask people of conscience everywhere to continue their mobilization and bring pressure on detaining authorities - both the Iraqi government and the occupation- to release information on the three women and free them. We call for similar pressure to be placed on human rights actors to intervene.

Summary executions and arbitrary detention are high crimes under international law for which the occupation must be held accountable. We should intensify our protests and support all actions against this occupation in order to be millions in the street by 20 March 2007. It is our moral duty to end this crime now!


Hana Albayaty
Ian Douglas
Abdul Ilah Albayaty
Iman Saadoon
Dirk Adriaensens
Ayse Berktay

* Selected statements and actions against the imminent execution of 3 Iraqi women can be found on: http://www.brussels tribunal. org/HangingActio ns.htm



* List of endorsers: http://www.brussels tribunal. org/hangingSigna tories.htm



* Original statement “Hanging the Womb of Iraq” can be found on: http://www.brussels tribunal. org/hanging. htm

NY Times - Chávez Shares Some Airtime With Castro

THE NEW YORK TIMES
February 28, 2007
Chávez Shares Some Airtime With Castro
By SIMON ROMERO

CARACAS, Venezuela, Feb. 27 - "How are you?" President Hugo Chávez
asked Tuesday in his nightly live radio program after a special guest
phoned in from Havana.

"Very well," replied Fidel Castro, speaking in what was believed to
be his first live broadcast since relinquishing power to his brother
last July.

That exchange was in thickly accented but politically pointed
English; then the two switched to Spanish for a chat that touched on
the plunge in the Chinese stock market on Tuesday, their skepticism
about using corn to produce ethanol and mockery of President Bush's
coming visit to several Latin American countries. (Venezuela and Cuba
are not on the itinerary.)

"I feel I have more energy, more strength, more time to study," said
Mr. Castro, whose voice sounded thin and frail on "Hello, President,"
which Venezuela hears five nights a week.

"You don't know the happiness it gives us to hear your voice and to
know you are well," Mr. Chávez said. "We send you a hug; we are
gratefully surprised."

Critics of Mr. Chávez see echoes of Mr. Castro in his efforts to
consolidate his power, ruling by decree and creating a single
socialist party. Mr. Castro expressed only pride in Mr. Chávez,
crediting him with "raising the flag to save the species."

Mr. Chávez, 52, has occasionally been seen on video with Mr. Castro,
80, since the Cuban leader's illness and seclusion began last year.
But some Cuba watchers initially said they believed Mr. Castro's
illness might dilute Venezuela's alliance with Cuba.

However, recent developments have dispelled such speculation.

Venezuela is financing the installation of fiber optic cable to
improve Cuba's Internet and telecommunications systems and is
planning to send 100,000 Venezuelans to Cuba on "revolutionary"
tourism jaunts, in addition to maintaining shipments to Cuba of about
100,000 barrels a day of subsidized oil.

Cuba, meanwhile, has sent thousands of social workers to Venezuela to
install fluorescent light bulbs in homes to help conserve energy.
Thousands of other Cubans are at work in Venezuela, providing
subsidized medical care and advice on mining and sugar cultivation.