Alkarama

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Alkarama (

Finally, Alkarama contributes to the promotion of the culture of human rights, by ensuring that the various groups that make up the civil society in these countries are familiar with the concept of human rights and are mobilising around it, know their rights and claim them, and feel protected by law.

Goals

1. Document and denounce human rights violations in the Arab world

2. Provide moral and judicial assistance to the victims of human rights violations

3. Pursue the perpetrators of human rights violations and fight impunity

4. Encourage, and campaign for governments to respect human rights

5. Spread the culture of human rights in Arab societies

6. Train human rights defenders

7. Support any initiative which reinforces the protection of

8. Be an effective organization

Focus

Alkarama focuses on the most serious human rights violations, meaning violations that relate to the right to life, human dignity, bodily integrity and freedom. The idea behind Alkarama's specific mandate is that only when citizens are free from the most serious human rights abuses that individuals can freely and effectively call for all of their rights and ensure the rule of law in their countries.

(i) Extrajudicial Killings

According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR):

Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions intervenes on cases of executions outside the legal framework or without the proper legal safeguards: capital punishment following an unfair trial, deaths in custody, deaths due to excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, deaths due to attacks by States security forces, violations of the right to life in armed conflict, genocide, and the imminent expulsion of persons to a country where their lives are in danger.

(ii) Enforced Disappearance

According to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED):

disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law

.

Torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

Upon receipt of information about cases of torture from its representatives and civil society contacts in the Arab world, Alkarama writes a communication to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture (SRT) with details of the case.

(iv) Arbitrary Detention

According to the

Deprivation of liberty is arbitrary if the case falls into one of the following three categories:

1. When it is clearly impossible to invoke any legal basis justifying the deprivation of liberty [...] (Category I)

2. When the deprivation of liberty results from the exercise of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, insofar as States parties are concerned, by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Category II)

3. When the total or partial non-observance of the international norms relating to the

Arbitrary Detention in the

Arab governments often arrest and detain political opponents and human rights defenders in order to quiet their criticism of government policies and behaviour. The opinions issued by the WGAD can then be used in local and international advocacy against these detentions, be brought up with the governments and authorities directly, and can lead to enough pressure to have these individuals released in some cases. Many governments are very sensitive to their international image and human rights record.

History

2004: Creation of Alkarama

Alkarama was created as a Swiss association in July 2004 by Qatari and Algerian human rights defenders –

At the time of Alkarama's creation, the

In April 2007, in the face of an ever-increasing workload and in order to undertake the necessary changes in capital and human resources, Alkarama registers as a Foundation under Swiss law. This change in status aimed to ensure greater stability and transparency, by enabling the Swiss authorities to review the organisation's financial records on a yearly basis.

2007: Working with UN Treaty Bodies

As of 2007, Alkarama began working with the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies – in particular the

2011 (During the "Arab Spring" and after): Acting as a major relay of information

As the events of 2011 began to unfold in the

Although founded in 2004 as a society, since 2007 Alkarama has been a registered Swiss Foundation.

Alkarama is a trilingual organisation, publishing material in Arabic, English and French.

Alleged link to terrorist groups

As an NGO working on a daily basis with the United Nations human rights protection mechanisms by submitting to these UN bodies detailed information on serious human rights violations committed by States in the region, Alkarama has often been the victim of defamation campaigns, whilst several members of its staff have been targeted – in their own capacity and not necessarily because of their relation with Alkarama – such as executive director, Mourad Dhina and legal director, Rachid Mesli, both victims of international arrest warrants issued by the Algerian government; as well as founding member and former chairman of the Foundation's Council, Abdulrahman Al Naimi, listed by the U.S. Treasury as an “Al Qaeda financier” although the charges were never substantiated.

Among others, on 2 September 2014, the Lebanese newspaper, As-Safir published an article entitled The Founder of the Cham Al Islam movement, a prominent activist within Alkarama, which openly accuses Alkarama of "supporting terrorism" and "spreading anarchy". In the following couple of days, these allegations were echoed in the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese information channel, Al Manar, in Syrian governmental news sites, RTV.gov and Al Tawra, as well as in Saudi-run news site on Syria, Al Akhbar Al Youm. On 3 September, Commentary, a magazine founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945, accused Alkarama of being run by an "Al Qaeda financier", in reference to Alkarama's Founder, Mr Abdulrahman Al Naimi.

On 14 October 2014, the Swiss newspaper,

The current president of Alkarama's Board of Trustees, Khalifa al-Rabban, is a Founding Member and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Global Anti-Aggression Campaign (GAAC) alongside Abdulrahman Al Naimi.[1]^[2] An online portal for articles on human-rights matters in the Arab World, the GAAC's founding statement, written by Alkarama founding member Abdulrahman Al Naimi, claims that Islam is under siege and that the organisation seeks to confront the Western “aggressor.”^[3] GAAC has also hosted Hamas leaders.^[4][5]

Alkarama unambiguously and irrevocably denies all these accusations, but the Foundation can only work in a spirit of full transparency. You can find details of its cases below.

2012: Arrest and detention of Mourad Dhina in Paris

In 2012, Alkarama's executive director, Dr

2013: Listing of one of Alkarama's three founding members, Pr. Al Naimi, by the United States Department of the Treasury

On 18 December 2013, the United States Department of Treasury listed one of Alkarama's three founding members, Pr. Abdulrahman Al Naimi as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” for having supposedly “provided money and material support and conveyed communications to Al Qaeda and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen for more than a decade.”[1] In addition, the U.S. Treasury claimed that Naimi had “reportedly oversaw the transfer of over $2 million per month to al-Qa’ida in Iraq for a period of time” and “served as an interlocutor between al-Qaida in Iraq leaders and Qatar-based donors.”^[6] Speaking to the Financial Times from Istanbul, Al Naimi denied the charges leveled against him.[2] Al Naimi is also a secretary general of the Global Anti-Aggression Campaign, an online NGO that has hosted Hamas leaders and released anti-Semitic and anti-Western writings.^[2][4][7][8] Following the listing, Pr. Al Naimi resigned from the Foundation to avoid any misinterpretation. However, the Alkarama Council decided to reject the resignation of Mr. Al Naimi after initially accepting it.^[9] In July 2014, Naimi stepped down as president and Member of the Board of Alkarama.^[10]

It is important to note, however, that the charges brought by the U.S. Treasury against him were made against his own person, and not the Foundation. Besides, the U.S. Treasury has not submitted any evidence or proof of its allegations against Pr Al Naimi, who denies all charges as a whole, and is willing, as he officially notified the American authorities, to appear in person before a court to establish the falsity of the charges pressed against him. Al Naimi has, however, received widespread media coverage for his support to terrorist groups.^{[11][12][13][14]}

2014: Listing of Alkarama as a terrorist organisation by the United Arab Emirates

On 15 November 2014, the Emirates News Agency released a list of 85 organisations^[15] “designated as terrorist organisations and groups in implementation of Federal Law No. 7 for 2014 on combating terrorist crimes” issued by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nayhan with the aim to “raise awareness in society about these organisations.”

The list, which includes internationally recognised terrorist organisations, such as

2015: Arrest of Rachid Mesli in Italy

Me Rachid Mesli, Legal Director at Alkarama, was arrested at the Swiss-Italian border on 19 August 2015 on the basis of an international arrest warrant issued by the Algerian authorities in April 2002, which claims that he had "provided telephone information to terrorist groups movements," and "attempted to supply terrorist groups with cameras and phones,"^[16] twisting his work as a human rights lawyer, in constant contact with victims of human rights abuses and their families.

On 22 August, the Italian justice decided to put him under house arrest instead of keeping him in Aosta prison, following several calls from various NGOs, institutions and personalities, as well as an important media coverage of his case.^[17]

On 15 September 2015, recognizing Me Mesli's important work in the promotion and protection of human rights in the Arab World, as well as the strong risks of torture that he would incur if he was extradited to Algeria, the Turin Court decided to release him without waiting for the end of the 40-day period by which the Algerian authorities can submit their formal request for extradition.^[18]

Eventually, on 16 December 2015, the Italian court rejected the extradition request after noting all the inconsistencies in the international arrest warrant. The court considered the charges against Me Mesli were the result of "political persecution" and asserted that "his human rights activities have nothing to do with terrorism."^[19]

And on 13 May 2016, the Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files decided, after a long legal battle, to drop the international arrest warrant issued in 2003 by the Algerian authorities against Me Mesli, for their lack of cooperation as well as their failure to provide any form of clarification on his case.^[19]

Advocacy on behalf of terrorism supporters

In April 2004, Alkarama issued a report condemning the arrest by Qatari authorities of a number of individuals with ties to terrorism.^[20] The Alkarama Foundation report did not mention their activities in support of terrorism but called on Qatar to release the arbitrarily detained individuals. The report listed Ibrahim Issa al-Bakr, Salim Hasan al-Kuwari, Abd al-Latif Bin Abdullah Salih Muhammad al-Kawari, Khalid Saeed al-Bounein and others as the detainees which Alkarama demanded be released.^[20]

The U.S. Treasury claimed that in the early 2000s, when Alkarama released its advocacy report, Ibrahim Issa al-Bakr was “working to raise money to support terrorism” and was involved in a jihadist network.^[21] In 2014, the U.S. government designated Ibrahim Issa al-Bakr as an al-Qaeda supporter and Specially Designated Global Terrorist who worked with a Lebanon-based network to procure and transport weapons to Syria with the help of an al-Qaeda associate in Syria.^[21] In January 2015, al-Bakr was added by the United Nations to the al-Qaeda Sanctions List of individuals subject to an assets freeze and travel ban.^[22]

Salim Hasan al-Kuwari is a Qatari national and US-designated financier and facilitator of al-Qaeda.^[23] The U.S. Treasury claimed that Kuwari supports al-Qaeda through Iran-based al-Qaeda associates and has provided “hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial support to al-Qaeda.^[23] In 2009, Alkarama submitted Kuwari’s case to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD).^[24]

Abd al-Latif Bin Abdullah Salih Muhammad al-Kawari, a Qatar-based al-Qaeda facilitator who worked alongside Hassan Ghul and Ibrahim Isa Muhammad al-Bakr to transfer money to al-Qaeda in Pakistan.^[25] Al-Kawari was also a coordinator of Madid Ahl al-Sham, an online fundraising campaign used to fund al-Nusra Front militants in Syria and transfer weapons and supplies to the terrorist group.^[26][27][28] Khalid Saeed al-Bounein was a coordinator for Madid Ahl al-Sham alongside SDGTs Abd al-Latif Bin Abdullah Salih Muhammad al-Kawari and Sa’d bin Sa’d Muhammad Shariyan al-Ka’bi.^[25] Al-Bounein is listed as a point of contact for donations to the campaign that was cited by a Nusra Front member as the “preferred conduit” for donations.^[29] Al-Bounein was also listed as a point of contact in a partner charity fundraiser led by Eid Charity and Madid Ahl al-Sham.^[29]

References

Notes

• "About us". Alkarama Foundation. 2007-04-26. Archived from the original (About us) on 2014-03-26. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
• "Alkarama Foundation" (Home page). Alkarama Foundation. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
• "Annual Reports". Alkarama Foundation. 2008-12-10. Archived from the original on 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
• gayoubi (2008-01-22). "Alkarama Foundation". Machrek Civil Society Portal. e-Joussour. Archived from the original (Web directory) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-06-19.

External links

• Alkarama Foundation