June 22, 2015: The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson, says people in areas controlled by the Islamic State group live in daily fear for their lives.
He cited mounting evidence the group was guilty of "systematic violations of international law that could amount to genocide, crimes against humanity, (and) war crimes", and criticised Russia and China for vetoing UN Security Council resolutions to refer the war in Syria to the International Criminal Court.
Mr Emmerson said IS was breaking international law on "an industrial scale", attacking ethnic minorities, academics, journalists and homosexuals and imposing a reign of terror in the areas it controls.
He also added that the US-led bombing coalition, which includes Australia, should do more to investigate mounting reports of civilian casualties and publish the results.
The Islamic State group hanged two youths Monday (June 21) after accusing them of eating during daylight hours in the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said.
“Residents of the village of Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province reported that IS hanged (see story below) from a crossbar two boys aged under 18 near the HQ of the Hissba,” the jihadist police, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
“The children have been suspended by ropes from a pole since noon, and they were still there in the late evening,” he said.
“Apparently, they were caught eating.”
A placard was attached to the bodies reading “They broke the fast with no religious justification”.
Throughout the month of Ramadan, which began on June 18, believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn until sunset.
Sources: AFP-JIJI-abc.net.au, HOC, June 22, 2015
Isis suspends two boys from pole in Syria for eating during Ramadan – report
“Residents of the village of Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province reported that Isis suspended from a crossbar two boys aged under 18 near the headquarters of the Hissba [jihadi police]”, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
“The children have been suspended by ropes from a pole since noon, and they were still there in the late evening,” he said.
“Apparently, they were caught eating.”
A placard was attached to them: “They broke the fast with no religious justification.”
Throughout the month of Ramadan, which began on Thursday, believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn until sunset.
Isis, which controls swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq where it has created a self-proclaimed caliphate, advocates an extreme view of the application of Islamic law.
This article was amended on Tuesday 23 June 2015 following a correction issued by Agence France-Presse. The original article stated that the two boys had been hanged.
Source: The Guardian, June 22/23, 2015
ISIS drowns, decapitates ‘spies’ in brutal new video
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| ISIS militants murdered 5 men by drowning them in a cage |
Baghdad— Daesh group video released on Tuesday showed the militants murdering 16 men by drowning them in a cage, decapitating them with explosives and firing a rocket-propelled grenade into a car.
The video, apparently shot in Iraq’s Nineveh province, was one of the most brutal yet in a series released by the militants of killings of opponents in areas under Daesh control.
Daesh has executed hundreds of people by gunfire, dozens by beheading, stoned some to death, thrown others from buildings and burned a captured Jordanian pilot alive.
Videos of the killings are a key propaganda tool of the militants, used to shock and terrify their enemies as well as to draw in new recruits seeking the most brutal and active militant group.
The men killed in the latest video are said to be “spies”, with some of them making recorded “confessions”.
First, the militants lead four men to a car and close the doors, after which one fires a rocket-propelled grenade under the vehicle, setting it alight.
A militant is later shown locking five men inside a metal cage, which is then lifted by a crane and submerged in what appears to be a dirty swimming pool.
Two cameras affixed to the outside of the cage show the men’s deaths in the murky water.
The last killings show a militant looping blue detonating cord around the necks of seven kneeling men, after which the explosives are set off and some of the men are decapitated.
Daesh spearheaded an offensive last June that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad, and also holds significant territory in neighbouring Syria.
Its military gains and atrocities drew a US-led coalition of countries to launch an air campaign against it last year, as well as to provide training and arms to Iraqi forces.
Source: Agence France-Presse, June 24, 2015
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