Ministry Of Human Rights Research Articles

Notes from the Field: Silence Kills! Women and the Transitional Justice Process in Post-Revolutionary Tunisia

This article is based on the first collection of testimonies of female former political prisoners in Tunisia. Relying on purposive rather than random sampling, the interviews were aimed at contributing to an authentic Tunisian process of transitional justice that takes cultural, religious and gender-based norms into consideration. To date, the voices of conservative Islamist women detained under the Tunisian dictatorship have been significantly absent from the national discourse on transitional justice. Select voices of women are presented here that can begin to address this gap. The newly elected provisional government, in which the Islamist Ennahda Party enjoys a majority, has established a Ministry of Human Rights and Transitional Justice, the first of its kind in the world. While this augurs well for Tunisia’s future, there is fear that the transitional justice process may nonetheless be captured by political agendas.

Endangered Scholars Worldwide

Endangered Scholars Worldwide Social Research wasfounded by a group ofscholars known as the University in Exile, refugeesfrom Nazi Europe who found a home at the New School. In each issue we publish the names and details ofscholars, researchers, and students who have been threatened or imprisoned, along with ways to offer them support. We see this effort as consistent not only with our own history as ajournal but with the need to call attention to the increasing and often brutal attempts to silence our colleagues around the world. Ifyou are aware of a scholar or student whose case you believe we should investigate, please contact us at socres@newschool.edu. SCHOLARS AND RESEARCHERS: NEW AND CONTINUING CASES BA H R A IN A Bahraini court upheld the life sentence of previously featured scholar d r . a b d u l -ja l il a l-s in g a c e , professor of engineering at the University of Bahrain, at a High Court o f Appeals hearing on September 2, 2012. He was originally sentenced to life im prisonm ent on June 22, 2011, on charges of training and financing a terrorist organization and was reportedly tortured during his pretrial detention. In August 2012, Dr. al-Singace was am ong a group of im prisoned activists who signed an open letter to prison authorities protesting several violations and restrictions placed on prisoners, including limitations on calls to family and lawyers, access to newspapers, and access to exercise in fresh air. The letter states that the protests will include a hunger strike. Information current, to the best of our knowledge, as of September 12, 2012. Additional information and more current information about many of these cases may be available on our website at . Endangered Scholars Worldwide v Other previously featured scholars from Bahrain who rem ain in prison include ja l il a al-s a l m a n and m a h d i ‘is s a m a h d i a b u d h e e b , both board members of the Bahrain Teachers’Association, sentenced to three and ten years, respectively, on charges of “inciting hatred against the regim e” and “calling to overthrow and change the regime by force” following the group’s call for a teacher strike in March 2011; and r u l a a l-s a f f e r , assistant professor at the College of Health Sciences and the head of the Bahrain Nursing Society, sentenced on September 29,2011, to 15 years in prison. Appeals to: His Majesty Sheikh Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa Office of His Majesty the King P.O. Box 555 Rifa’a Palace Kingdom of Bahrain Fax: +973176 64 587 Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al-Khalifa Ministry ofJustice and Islamic Affairs P.O. Box 450 Al-Manama Bahrain Fax: +973175 31 284 CHINA Scholars featured in previous issues who rem ain in prison in China include w riter and editor t a s h i r a b t e n (pen name Te’urang), sentenced to four years’im prisonm ent on June 2,2011, for his critical political w rit­ ings; l iu x ia o b o , a hum an rights activist and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, held in an undisclosed location in Beijing since his arrest in December 2008 for “inciting subversion of state power”; and g u o QUAN, a former literature professor at Nanjing Normal University, sentenced to ten years in prison and three years of deprivation of political rights in October 2009 on charges of “inciting subversion of state power.” Dr. Fatima Al-Balushi Minister of Human Rights and Social Development, Acting Minister of Health Ministry of Human Rights and Development Manama Kingdom of Bahrain vi social research Mr. Wang Shengjun President, Supreme People’s Court No. 27 Dongjiaominxiang Dongcheng District Beijing 100745 People’s Republic of China Fax: +86 10 65292345 (c/o Ministry of Communication) Salutation: Dear President Facebook group in support of Liu Xiaobo: IRAN a r z h a n g d a v o o d i , a cu rren tly im prisoned poet, teacher, and cofounder of the pro-Western...

Endangered Scholars Worldwide

Endangered Scholars Worldwide Social Research wasfounded by a group ofscholars known as the University in Exile, refugeesfrom Nazi Europe whofound a home at the New School In each issue we publish the names and details ofscholars, researchers, and students who have been threatened or imprisoned, along with ways to offer them support. We see this effort as consistent not only with our own history as ajournal but with the need to call attention to the increasing and often brutal attempts to silence our colleagues around the world. Ifyou are aware of a scholar or student whose case you believe we should investigate, please contact us at socres@newschool.edu. SCHOLARS AND RESEARCHERS: NEW AND CONTINUING CASES BAHRAIN Prison sentences have been handed to j a l i l a a l -s a l m a n and m a h d i ‘i s s a m a h d i a b u d h e e b , both board members of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association, arrested on charges of “inciting hatred against the regime” and “calling to overthrow and change the regime by force” following the group’s call for a teacher strike in March 2011. They have been sentenced to three and ten years, respectively. Amnesty International has expressed serious concerns about Mahdi’s health and fears that he may die in prison. During a hearing in December 2011, Mahdi showed clear signs of having been beaten while in detention. Previously featured scholars from Bahrain who remain in prison include d r . a b d u i -j a l i i a l -s i n g a c e , a professor of engineering at Information current, to the best of our knowledge, as of March 7, 2012. Additional information and more current information about many of these cases may be avail­ able on our website at . social research Vol. 79 : No. 1 : Spring 2012 v the University of Bahrain, sentenced to life imprisonment on June 22, 2011, on charges of training and financing a terrorist organization, and reportedly tortured during his pre-trial detention; and r u l a a l s a f f e r , an assistant professor at the College of Health Sciences and the head of the Bahrain Nursing Society, sentenced on September 29, 2011, to 15 years in prison. The threats to scholars in Bahrain extend beyond the individual cases reported here. According to a report from Scholars at Risk, in the year since pro-democracy protests began in February 2011, at least 100 faculty and staff have been dismissed from the University of Bahrain for participating in the protests, and over 500 students have been suspended or expelled. Appeals to: His Majesty Sheikh Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa Office of His Majesty the King P.O. Box 555 Rifa’a Palace Kingdom of Bahrain Fax: +973 176 64 587 Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al-Khalifa Ministry ofJustice and Islamic Affairs P.O. Box 450 Al-Manama Bahrain Fax: +973 175 31 284 CHINA Scholars featured in previous issues wno remain m prison m cm na include writer and editor t a s h i r a b t e n (pen name t e ’u r a n g ), sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on June 2, 2011, for his critical political writings; l i u x i a o b o , a human rights activist and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, held in an undisclosed location in Beijing since his arrest in December 2008 for “inciting subversion of state power”; and g u o q . u a n , a former literature professor at Nanjing Normal University, sentenced to 10 years in prison and 3 years of deprivation of politiDr . Fatima Al-Balushi Minister of Human Rights and Social Development, Acting Minister of Health Ministry of Human Rights and Development Manama Kingdom of Bahrain vi social research cal rights in October 2009 on charges of “inciting subversion of state power.” Appeals to: His Excellency HuJintao President ofthe People’s Republic of China Zhong Naihai Beijing 100032 People’s Republic of China Salutation: Your Excellency Mr. Wang Shengjun President, Supreme People’s Court No. 27 Dongjiaominxiang Dongcheng District Beijing...

Qat consumption in Yemen – knowledge and practice of mental health policy makers and other stakeholders

PurposeThis paper seeks to report the findings of a half‐day workshop on the impact and control of Qat, held in Yemen in February 2010. Senior mental health policy makers, professionals and leaders of mental health non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), were present as part of a wider five‐day national stakeholder conference to develop national mental health strategy for Yemen, at the request of the Social Development Fund for Yemen and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. The purpose of the half‐day workshop was to examine the knowledge and practice of senior Yemeni mental health policy makers and other stakeholders in relation to Qat.Design/methodology/approachThe stakeholders were purposively selected by the Yemen Social Development Fund to provide representation from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Human Rights, Ministry of Religious Affairs and Department of Prison Administration, which is linked to the Ministry of the Interior, United Nations Childrens Fund, various mental health NGOs and psychiatrists and psychologists from the main universities in the country. The stakeholders were divided into four workgroups, and each group was given a specified theme to discuss for an hour, namely the impact of Qat on the Yemen economy, health and society and measures to control the use of Qat. All participants were also asked if they habitually chewed Qat.FindingsThe stakeholders (professionals, policy makers and leaders of NGOs) were very knowledgeable about the physical, psychological and social effects of habitual Qat consumption, and yet all except one were habitual chewers.Originality/valueEfforts to discourage the chronic use of Qat will need to be strenuous, consistent and coordinated across sectors. Knowledge of health and social risks alone is unlikely be sufficient to bring about change.