ConflictBarometer_2015

MIDDLE EAST AND MAGHREB
inspired by the so-called Arab Spring in February 2011,
opposition groups such as the Coalition of February 14 Youth
staged unauthorized protests all over the country demanding
political reforms and Salman's release. They blocked village
roads, while riot police responded with tear gas and sound
bombs on major roads.
On March 10, riots broke out at Jaw Prison, Capital Governorate,
which held a large number of opposition group
members. Police reportedly employed tear gas, batons,
fired at people, and allegedly tortured the jailed protesters
after the crackdown. On June 16, the High Court sentenced
Salman to four years in prison on charges of inciting violence.
Subsequently, rallies against the government were held in
Nuwaidrat, Central Governorate, and Bilad al-Qadim, Capital
Governorate, on June 29.
Clashes reportedly ensued in the northern part of the country
in October, when police took down banners put up for the
Shia festival of Ashura. Security forces used rifles and tear
gas to disperse the people, allegedly leaving several injured.
Throughout the year, the government upheld the suppression
of people critical to the government as well as certain media
outlets. For instance, popular human rights advocate Nabeel
Rajab was sentenced to a six-month imprisonment after he
allegedly insulted public institutions on Twitter, but was
released in June for health reasons after two months. Furthermore,
the publication license of the critical newspaper
al-Wasat was revoked for two days in August. ivo
and arrests of 15 allegedly armed MB members and another
20 MB supporters. The clashes erupted after over 500 MB
supporters had gathered on the occasion of Eid prayers. On
August 18, the government extended police powers of detention
and surveillance, passing counterterrorism legislation. In
connection to the 2013 attack on a police station in Port
Said, a court sentenced 95 MB affiliates, including MB leader
Mohammed Badie, to life in prison on August 22. On August
29, a Cairo court sentenced three Al Jazeera journalists to
three years in prison for allegedly spreading false news. Two
of the journalists were released from prison on 23 September
following a mass pardoning by President al-Sisi. On October
12, a court released former president Hosni Mubarak's sons
Alaa and Gamal Mubarak convicted of embezzling state funds
in 2011.
After the formation of the Supreme Electoral Committee in
mid-August, the first round of parliamentary elections took
place in stages between late October and early December,
being characterized by poor voter turnout and widespread
boycott by the opposition. The coalition ''For the Love of
Egypt'' supporting al-Sisi won all seats reserved for party
lists. The military detained rights activist and journalist
Hossam Bahgat from November 8 to 10, accusing him of
disseminating false news. On December 1, following the
death of a man in police custody, hundreds protested against
police violence in the city of Luxor, Luxor governorate. Subsequently,
al-Sisi announced the punishment of nine police
officers. On December 31, al-Sisi called for the newly elected
parliament to assemble on 01/10/16. sep
EGYPT (OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1954
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Muslim Brotherhood, opposition
groups vs. government
system/ideology, national power
The conflict over national power and the orientation of the
political system between opposition groups, mainly the Muslim
Brotherhood (MB), and the government continued as a
violent crisis.
Over the course of the year, courts issued and confirmed
hundreds of death sentences for MB leaders and supporters.
Former president of Egypt and leader of the Freedom and Justice
Party Mohammed Morsi was sentenced to death, along
with 105 MB members on May 16, with Cairo Criminal Court
confirming the death sentences on June 16. After having
previously banned 1,137 organizations on January 21, the
government dissolved 169 MB-affiliated NGOs in nine governorates
on February 23. On the 4th anniversary of the 2011
uprisings on January 25, at least 19 protesters and one police
officer were killed in clashes between mostly Morsi supporters
and police forces in the capital Cairo and Alexandria.
Police fired live ammunition to disperse the crowd. On March
3, a court suspended upcoming parliamentary elections. The
suspension came after Supreme Constitutional Court ruled
electoral laws unconstitutional. On July 9, President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi signed a new electoral law, allowing for parliamentary
elections at the end of the year. On May 31, activist
and human rights lawyer Mahienour al-Masry and two others
were sentenced to one year and three months in prison for
storming Al-Raml police station in Alexandria in March 2013.
Clashes between MB supporters and police forces in the city
of Giza, Cairo governorate, on July 17 led to the death of six
IRAN (OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1993
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
opposition vs. government
system/ideology, national power
The conflict over the orientation of the political system and
national power between opposition groups and the government
escalated to a violent crisis.
For the fourth year in a row, the leaders of the oppositional
Green Movement, Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hussein Moussavi,
both candidates in the presidential elections of 2009, remained
under house arrest in Tehran without being charged.
Throughout the year, the government targeted opposition
activists, using primarily judicial means. In May, the journalist
Ahmad Zeidabai was sent into exile to Gonabad in northern
Iran one day after he had been released from prison.
On June 2, Atena Daemi, an anti-death penalty activist, was
sentenced to a 14-year prison term based on four different
charges, among them insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei. On June 27, security forces detained the president
of the Iranian Teachers Trade Association, Ismail Abdi,
in Tehran, accusing him of organizing and participating in
illegal gatherings. Furthermore, on October 13, the Islamic
Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced film-maker Keywan
Karimi to six years in prison and 223 lashes for propaganda
against the government.
Ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections in February
2016, the government increased pressure upon journalists.
On October 16, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
cyber unit reportedly arrested 170 people in Qazvin Province,
accusing them of having published obscene content via social
media. However, the Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholam-
Hossein Mohseni Ejei denied those arrests on November 8.
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