JURIST - Paper Chase: Thursday, November 24, 2011

[JURIST] Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) [NYT backgrounder] on Thursday called for an end to violence against protesters and reiterated that demonstrations were a protected right, as long as they were done peacefully. The SCAF also assured citizens that arrested demonstrators would be released [Al Jazeera report], possibly by Saturday. Protesters have been clashing with Egyptian security forces for 6 days [JURIST report] over concerns with actions taken by the military ruling council. The SCAF assured Egyptians that elections would begin on Monday as scheduled, despite the continuing protests.

The November 28 election is considered the first free election following the overthrow [JURIST report] of Mubarak in February. Earlier this week, the Egypt Supreme Administrative Court suspended a verdict [JURIST report] handed down last week by the Mansoura Administrative Court that prohibited former officials of the National Democratic Party (NDP) to participate in the upcoming election. As a result, most of the officials who joined other parties or plan to run independently are now allowed to continue their campaigns for the election. This month, Egypt stated that it will amend its constitution [JURIST report] based on a court ruling from a week before in order to allow citizens living abroad to vote in the parliamentary election. In addition, the SCAF announced that it will create a law that will ban [JURIST report] anyone found guilty of corruption from the election process. Mubarak himself is faced with charges of complicity in the deaths of more than 800 protesters [JURIST report] during the pro-democracy demonstrations in Egypt [JURIST news archive]. His trial was adjourned [JURIST report] last month and will not resume until December 28. Also last month, an Egyptian court overturned [JURIST report] a ban prohibiting formation of religious-based political parties. Some restrictions, however, still exist in the election process such as prohibition of using religious slogans [JURIST report] during campaigns.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of British Columbia [official website] ruled [judgment] on Wednesday that a law banning polygamy [Criminal Code §293 text] was constitutional. The law was under challenge by two bishops of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) who claimed that the law infringed on their religious freedom and was not consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [text]. The court held, however, that:

[T]he salutary effects of the prohibition far outweigh the deleterious. The law seeks to advance the institution of monogamous marriage, a fundamental value in Western society from the earliest of times. It seeks to protect against the many harms which are reasonably apprehended to arise out of the practice of polygamy. Finally, and not insignificantly, the prohibition is consistent with, and furthers, Canada’s international human rights obligations. In my view, this adds very significant weight to the salutary effects side of the balance.

The court found that there were "a consistent set of harms associated with polygamy," including a higher rate of sexual and physical abuse of women and higher rates of abuse, neglect and emotional problems for children. These harms, the court said, outweighed the "minimal" impact on religious freedom. The bishops' sect of the FLDS has been linked to the Texas-based Yearning for Zion Ranch [NYT report] from which authorities seized 468 children [NYT report] in 2008. The court stated that the law should not apply to minors however.

Polygamy has been an issue throughout the world. In July a polygamous family brought suit challenging Utah's ban on bigamy [JURIST report] as an unconstitutional violation of their civil rights. Polygamy is currently legal and recognized in much of Africa and the Middle East, while it is widely illegal in North and South America, Europe and China. Polygamy—called bigamy when illegal— is criminalized in every state in the US. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women [official website] in 2008 urged Saudi Arabia [JURIST news archive] to outlaw polygamy [JURIST report], which it said is by its very nature counter to gender equality. The year before Indonesia upheld marriage laws limiting polygamy [JURIST report], despite teachings in the predominantly Islamic country's largest religion allowing men to take up to four wives. However, in 2006, a Canadian study urged the Canadian federal government to legalize polygamy [JURIST report] to help protect women and children in those relationships.

[JURIST] Bahrain authorities used excessive force and tortured detainees involved in the pro-democracy demonstrations earlier this year, according to a report [text, PDF] released Tuesday by an independent Bahraini government commission. The report, published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) [official website], concluded that the security forces "violated the principles of necessity and proportionality" in their choice of weapons and in their disregard for the safety of bystanders during the protests. The report further concludes that detained protesters were subject to physical torture, both as a punishment and as a means to coerce confessions. BICI maintains that the government is accountable for the conduct of its security:

The Government believed that the domestic situation reached a point that was threatening the complete breakdown of law and order...A State of National Safety was declared in Bahrain [to restore] public order...The security forces carried out [arrests] without presenting an arrest warrant or informing the arrested individual of the reasons for arrest. In many cases, the security services of the [government of Bahrain] resorted to the use of unnecessary and excessive force, terror-inspiring behaviour and unnecessary damage to property. The fact that a systematic pattern of behaviour existed indicates that this is how these security forces were trained and were expected to behave.

The commission stated that the security forces acted with an expectation of impunity for their actions. On Monday, the Bahrain government admitted the use of excessive force [JURIST report] in the protests. This admission, which was made in anticipation of the independent report, was a reversal of the government's previous defense of its actions [CNN report].

Bahrain continues to deal with the fallout from the pro-democracy protests earlier this year. Last month, a Bahrain court began hearing the appeals of 20 medical staff members [JURIST report] who were convicted in September of participating in the protests against the ruling regime. Earlier in October, Bahrain granted retrials for the medics who were convicted and sentenced [JURIST reports] by the National Safety Court of Appeal to terms ranging from five to 10 years imprisonment. In June, Khalifa announced that an independent commission will investigate human rights violations [JURIST report] related to the country's pro-democracy protests. Earlier that month, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official websites] announced that Bahrain agreed to permit a UN commission [JURIST report] to investigate human rights violations related to protests. In April, human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Doctors Without Borders (DWB) [advocacy websites] criticized Bahrain for rampant human rights abuses [JURIST report] related to anti-government protests.