Category Archives: Human Rights

13May/08

Iran: Children and Nukes

Nov. 2, 2004 22:51  | Updated Nov. 3, 2004 16:52

By NIR BOMS AND REZA BULORCHI

While the world is busy contemplating the appropriate response to the looming Iranian nuclear threat – be it a European grand bargain, a covert operation, or a sophisticated military assault – life in Teheran appears to be running its normal course: celebrating uranium enrichment, developing a longer-range Shihab-3 missile and, of course, promoting the rule of law.

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12May/08

Syria’s Gulag

 

By Farid N. Ghadry and Nir T. Boms
FrontPageMagazine.com | April 9, 2004

Close to a hundred Kurds were killed during a series of riots that started in the soccer game in the city of Qamoshli last month. Over 1,200 Kurds were arrested for treason, espionage, incitement and the disruption of the public order. This is the story of one of them, a 14 year old boy we will call Ahmed, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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12May/08

Hell and Back

A firsthand account of Syrian atrocities.

By Nir T. Boms & Farid N. Ghadry

According to estimates, almost 100 Kurds were killed in the riots that followed a soccer match in the city of Qamoshli, Syria last month. Over 1,300 Kurds are believed to have been arrested for treason, espionage, incitement, and disrupting the public order in the cities of Qamoshli, Ifrin, Dar-a Zhur, Aleppo, and Damascus.

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11May/08

A Syrian’s Struggle

 

May 26, 2004

On May 11, in accordance with the Syria Accountability Act, President Bush imposed new political and economic sanctions on Syria. The Syrian government, not surprisingly, was quick to condemn this move, calling the sanctions “unjust and unjustified,” and portraying Syria as a “democratic country that fights terrorism.”

While this sort of pro-democracy rhetoric has been a staple of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s four-year tenure, the story of Aktham Naeesah – a lawyer, activist, and the recent recipient of the prestigious Ludovic-Trarieux award for his human-rights work – provides a glimpse into the Syrian “democratic” reality.

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