Hussein Hoballah, Montreal
As soon as news broke concerning the death or ‘killing’ of Iranian citizen Mahsa Amini, a global aggressive campaign was launched by ‘defenders’ of human rights. Though this is just one of a series of campaigns launched in similar situations, it’s been the fiercest, and it’s about destabilising the Iranian government. After all, the US has been blockading Iran for long years, trying to subdue it.
Global mainstream media have worked day and night to focus on protests held by thousands in several Iranian cities, but they overlooked demonstrations held by millions in many Iranian cities to support the Iranian government and hijab and refuse strife and riots.
Apart from international stances and what exactly has happened to Amini (may she rest in peace), a hasty stance has been made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who couldn’t wait for the inquiry into Amini’s death to end. Announcing that Canada would “implement sanctions on dozens of individuals and entities, including Iran's so-called morality police,” Trudeau added, “We've seen Iran disregarding human rights time and time again, now we see it with the death of Mahsa Amini and the crackdown on protests.”
Our argument now isn’t in defence of Iran against this internationally coordinated attack. We simply wish to make our Right Honourable PM aware of the fact that human rights isn’t a matter driven by personal choices and interests; it’s rather an integrated and serious matter. Balance needs to be struck between all parties, and strict stances mustn’t be made on one hand while other humans and rights are completely ignored on the other hand.
We can start examining Canada: In provincial prisons, a lot is happening. Prisoners might get killed, yet none will blink an eye. Citing reasons as judiciary’s independence and freedom to investigate such cases, officials have been avoiding intervention despite the grave violations brought before public attention.
During an earlier interview by Sada al-Mashrek, Yusuf Faqiri, whose brother Soleiman was killed while in detention in Ontario in 2016, recounted that Chief Forensic Pathologist of Ontario Michael Pollanen confirmed in his report last year that Soleiman’s death had been a result of the prison guards’ practices. Yusuf Faqiri as well pointed out that a prisoner had witnessed the assaults Soleiman had been subjected to. Yusuf, thus, remarked that despite Pollanen’s report, the inmate’s testimony and other evidence, Ontario Provincial Police’s answer hasn’t changed, and they’re still claiming that “there remains insufficient evidence to form the requisite grounds to believe a criminal offence has been committed by an individual or a group.” Therefore, the OPP won’t be charging the guards linked to Soleiman Faqiri’s death.
“Transparency lacked in all three investigations. We have no idea what was said or done during the police investigations,” Yusuf told Sada al-Mashrek.
This isn’t the only case; similar ones have been reported in other provinces, which might entitle us to say that officials have been discriminating against Canadian citizens of a particular faith or race. Anyhow, Canada’s judiciary need to look into such cases so that every party can offer their evidence, which eventually prove or refute allegations. In parallel, there would be no need for protests that destroy shops and other properties or call for overthrowing the ruling system in Ontario, for example. Nor would there be need for media campaigns led by major countries and funded by millions of dollars to defame the government.
Besides, it would be better for us to tackle such local cases before we lecture foreign states on human rights, especially when those cases are still being investigated in their countries.
Away from Canada, about the same time Amini died, an Iraqi girl named Zainab Essam Majed al-Khazali was killed during live-fire drills at a US-held military base in the vicinity of the Abu Ghraib prison and Baghdad International Airport. Yet none uttered any condemnation or asked for an investigation or for bringing those who killed the Iraqi citizen to justice.
And for decades, Israeli forces have been besieging Palestinians, placing thousands – including children, women and elderly – in a big prison, recurrently killing hundreds of Palestinians and inhumanely starving them and blocking them from supplies and electricity… The toll of those practices can’t be briefed in this article; we would need dozens of pages to address what’s been befalling Palestinians since their land was occupied in 1948. Yet neither our PM nor his earlier counterparts have called for “implementing sanctions on dozens of individuals and entities” or questioning those linked to grave violations of human-rights.
Unsurprisingly, Canadian arms are still being used to kill Yemeni civilians in their homeland… And what has the Government of Canada done to defend French women in hijab now that they’ve been banned from wearing hijab in primary and secondary schools and all public-service institutions? Even further, Canada’s stance concerning Quebec’s infamous Law 21 obviously can’t be appreciated.
What happened to Amini in Iran might have been done mistakenly or intentionally. If it turns out to have been done deliberately, those in charge must be rightfully brought to justice. None should follow Canada’s and other countries’ example as to defending violators or justifying their actions or remaining silent concerning much more heinous practices and crimes committed.
Human rights everywhere are human rights. Instead of rushed judgements and irresponsible stances in time of particular events, we’re supposed to reconsider stances carefully so that we justly protect the human rights of every single human.