Sun - (28 Sep 2014)
Mwatana Organization for Human Rights calls on the Yemeni government to initiate an immediate and impartial investigation into the attack on the protesters’ camp in Al-Jeraf Neighborhood in Sana’a on Sunday, September 8, 2014, which resulted in the death of two protesters and the wounding of five others, and to hold accountable those responsible for it irrespective of their ranks and positions.
In a statement, COHR indicated that the Anti-Riot Unit of the Special Security Forces (of Yemen’s Ministry of Interior) attacked a gathering of hundreds of protesters – most of whom were peaceful – in Al-Jeraf Neighborhood, near the Interior Ministry Headquarters, and used live bullets (in addition to water cannons, tear gas, and bulldozers) to disperse the protesters without being compelled to do so. This action stands in violation of the fundamental principles of the United Nations concerning the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials.
Abdul Rashid Al-Faqih, Mwatana Executive Director, said that the attack by Anti-Riot Police on the sit-in square is a flagrant violation of the right to life and freedom of assembly as well as civil and political rights, and should not pass without holding accountable those responsible for it.
Witnesses from among the protesters told COHR that Anti-Riot Police troops intensified their presence, bringing with them four water cannons, two bulldozers, a crane, and two armored vehicles, into the southern side of the sit-in square after the Sit-In Organizing Committee announced the commencement of a new phase of escalation by setting up tents in front of the Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Electricity and also near the Ministry of Interior.
Khaled al-Madani, the sit-in supervisor, told COHR that new tents were set up in front of the Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Electricity without problems. The management of the sit-in square then decided to allow protestors to expand into a limited space toward the Interior Ministry, provided that their expansion did not cause any friction with the Ministry’s personnel. The protesters identified a limit point 300 meters away from the Interior Ministry Headquarters, and a committee from the sit-in square applied strict procedures to ensure that no one trespassed that point.
Witnesses told COHR that, between 4:30 and 5 pm, while the protesters were sitting (chewing qat), the Anti-Riot Police initiated their attack with water cannons and tear gas. As dozens of protesters were scrambling toward the northern side of the camp, those forces continued to advance toward the tents, reinforced by bulldozers, water carts, and cranes. They continued to fire tear gas so intensively that dozens of demonstrators suffered from suffocation and spasms.
Witnesses reported that a few minutes after the attack was launched, the demonstrators responded by throwing stones at the Anti-Riot Police, and the crowds started to advance toward the headquarters of the Interior Ministry. The Ministry’s guards immediately fired live bullets in the air and toward the demonstrators, which resulted in the death of a demonstrator (who was shot in the back of the head, according to witnesses and a doctor) and the injury of five others, two of whom sustained serious wounds.
The demonstrators managed to reach the gate of the Interior Ministry, forcing anti-riot forces and vehicles to withdraw, and burned one of the bulldozers before they withdrew and returned to the sit-in square.
A field doctor at Al-Muayyad Hospital told COHR that the hospital received six injury cases: 4 of those cases were injured by bullets, including 2 in critical condition. The dead, Jibril Mohammed Yahya Al-Ghorbani (17 years), was shot in the back of the head, which led to his death on the spot. His body was taken to the Republican Hospital. The wounded include Adil Al-Jalal (who was shot in the neck and is currently in ICU) and Yahya Al-Qateni (shot in the shoulder). Two other people were wounded by shots in their legs, and a third one had a broken leg: they left the hospital after having received necessary medical care. The field doctor also said that a protester named Ali Tamesh (50 years) died in hospital due to extreme exposure to tear gas, which caused narrowing of his arteries and led to his death. According to the doctor, dozens of people arrived at the hospital complaining of respiratory problems (cramps and suffocation/breathing difficulty).
Basically, Ansar Allah (Al-Houthi) Group had called for an open-ended sit-in in Al-Jeraf Area, in a street leading to the airport and close to three ministries (Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Electricity, and Ministry of Interior) as well as in some other areas, starting from Friday, August 22, 2014, until the implementation of their three demands: overthrow the government, drop the late price hike (the dose, or ‘liberation of prices of oil derivatives,” i.e., lifting government aid in support of prices of oil derivatives), and implement the outputs of the National Dialogue Conference. The group escalated its protests at several stages in conjunction with the gradual intensification of infiltration of its armed militants into the vicinity of the capital Sana’a.
Based on the fundamental principles of the United Nations concerning the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials, "Law enforcement officials shall not use firearms against persons except in self-defense or defense of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury, to prevent the perpetration of a particularly serious crime involving grave threat to life, to arrest a person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to prevent his or her escape, and only when less extreme means are insufficient to achieve these objectives. In any event, intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life." According to Principle 6, "Where injury or death is caused by the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials, they shall report the incident promptly to their superiors …” Besides, “Governments shall ensure that arbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials is punished as a criminal offence under their law” (7). According to Principle 23, “Persons affected by the use of force and firearms or their legal representatives shall have access to an independent process, including a judicial process. In the event of the death of such persons, this provision shall apply to their dependents accordingly.” In addition to actual perpetrators, Principle 24 provides that: “Governments and law enforcement agencies shall ensure that superior officers are held responsible if they know, or should have known, that law enforcement officials under their command are resorting, or have resorted, to the unlawful use of force and firearms, and they did not take all measures in their power to prevent, suppress, or report such use.”
According to the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions in the United Nations, “In principle shooting indiscriminately into a crowd is not allowed and may only be targeted at the person or persons constituting the threat of death or serious injury. The use of firearms cannot be justified merely because a particular gathering is illegal and has to be dispersed, or to protect property. This is often not reflected in domestic laws.” Moreover, “The guiding principle in respect of the lethal use of force or firearms is defense of one’s own life or that of others. The only circumstances warranting the use of firearms, including during demonstrations, is the imminent threat of death or serious injury, and such use shall be subject to the requirements of necessity and proportionality.” Furthermore, “Spontaneous demonstrations occur where there is no opportunity for prior notice or to apply for a permit. If there is indeed no such opportunity, the assembly should be regarded as legal and should therefore be protected.” Article 20(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that “everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly…” Based on the Principles of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, “Only ‘peaceful assembly’ is protected by this provision. However, the individual does not lose the protection of the right when sporadic or isolated violence occurs in the crowd” (42).
In this regard, COHR paid a field visit to the scene of the attack, the sit-in square, the medical tent, and Al-Muayyad Hospital on Monday, September 8, 2014. Photo of a wounded protester in ICU of Al-Muayyad Hospital in Sana’a during a visit by COHR’s team – September 18, 2014 – Mwatana Organization for Human Rights.
