Before a crowd of men on a street in the Syrian city of Palmyra, the masked Islamic State group judge read out the sentence against the two men convicted of homosexuality: They would be thrown to their deaths from the roof of the nearby Wael Hotel.

He asked one of the men if he was satisfied with the sentence. Death, the judge told him, would help cleanse him of his sin.

“I’d prefer it if you shoot me in the head,” 32-year-old Hawas Mallah replied helplessly. The second man, 21-year-old Mohammed Salameh, pleaded for a chance to repent, promising never to have sex with a man again, according to a witness among the onlookers that sunny July morning who gave The Associated Press a rare first-hand account.

“Take them and throw them off,” the judge ordered.

Other masked extremists tied the men’s hands behind their backs and blindfolded them.

They led them to the roof of the four-story hotel, according to the witness, who spoke in the Turkish city of Reyhanli on condition he be identified only by his first name, Omar, for fear of reprisals.

Notorious for their gruesome methods of killing, the Islamic State group reserves one of its most brutal for suspected homosexuals.

Videos it has released show masked militants dangling men over the precipices of buildings by their legs to drop them head-first or tossing them over the edge.

At least 36 men in Syria and Iraq have been killed by IS militants on charges of sodomy, according to the New York-based OutRight Action International, though its Middle East and North Africa coordinator, Hossein Alizadeh, said it was not possible to confirm the sexual orientation of the victims.

The fear of a horrific death among gay men under Islamic State rule is further compounded by their isolation in a deeply conservative society that largely shuns them.

Many Muslims consider homosexuality to be sinful.

Gay men are haunted constantly by the possibility that someone, perhaps even a relative, will betray them to the militants – whether to curry favour with IS or simply out of hatred for their sexual orientation.

Islamic State group fighters sometimes torture suspected homosexuals to reveal their friends’ names and search their laptops and mobile phones. Even among IS opponents, gays find little sympathy.

Some in the public who might be shocked by other IS atrocities say killings of gays is justified.

Syrian rebel factions have killed or abused gays as well.

A 26-year-old Syrian gay man told the AP that even two years after fleeing to Turkey, he wakes up shaken by nightmares that he is about to be hurled from a building.

The man spoke on condition that he be identified as Daniel Halaby, the name he now uses in his activism tracking IS atrocities, and that the city in Turkey where he lives not be named for his own safety.

Halaby says a childhood friend who became radicalised and joined IS betrayed him to the militants in 2013, forcing him to flee his home city of Aleppo.

“He knew everything about me, such as being secular and gay… I am sure he is the one who gave my name to Daesh,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

At that time, in mid-2013, IS had just started to spread from neighbouring Iraq into Syria.

It didn’t yet hold the large stretches of territory across both countries that it would capture the next year. Instead, its fighters pushed into rebel-held areas in Syria and tried to dominate other rebels, often clashing with them for control and imposing the group’s strict law wherever they could.

In September 2013, IS fighters besieged the Aleppo neighbourhood where Halaby lived with his family, trying to wrest it from the rebel Free Syrian Army.

The two sides negotiated over an end to the siege and, during the talks, IS gave the rebels a list of people they demanded be handed over to them. Halaby said he learned his name was on that list.

He quickly escaped to Turkey.

There, his bedroom is decorated with a flag of the Syrian opposition and a rainbow banner that covers an entire wall.

His parents, who remain in Aleppo, refuse to talk to him because of his sexual orientation. When he watches videos of gays being killed, he said, “What breaks my heart most is that I feel helpless.”

Life for gays in Aleppo, Syria’s biggest city, was always hidden, Halaby said. When the secular-led peaceful protests erupted against President Bashar Assad in 2011, he said he quickly joined, sure they would lead to a democratic government “that will respect everyone no matter their religion, ethnicity, sect or sexuality.”

“We were very naive,” he said. “What happened was exactly the opposite.”

Subhi Nahas, a 28-year-old gay Syrian who now lives in San Francisco, said he fled because he feared his own father might turn him in to al-Qaeda’s affiliate, the Nusra Front, which also has targeted homosexuals.

When his father learned he was gay, Nahas said he called him a shame to the family and beat him.

Around the same time, in late 2013, Nusra fighters launched a crackdown on suspected gays in Nahas’ hometown of Maaret al-Numan, detaining 25 men and announcing through mosque loudspeakers that they would cleanse the town of homosexuals.

“With the problems between me and my father, I did not rule out that he might (hand me over),” he told the AP.

So he fled, first to Lebanon, then Turkey. But in Turkey, he said, he began getting death threats from a former school friend who joined the Islamic State group. Fearful that he wouldn’t be safe even in Turkey, he legally resettled to the United States in June.

In August, Nahas and a gay Iraqi man spoke about the suffering of homosexuals in their countries at the first-ever UN Security Council session spotlighting violence and discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people.

The stigma surrounding homosexuality makes it difficult to document IS killings and identify victims, rights groups say. Families and friends refuse to talk about victims.

Gays under IS rule are terrified to speak, and most who flee abroad go into hiding.

The Islamic State group’s announcements are the main source of information, but the group often does not name the victims, perhaps in deference to their families, who could lash out in anger at having their names publicly linked to homosexuals.

“Such a barbaric show of murder leaves LGBT individuals in constant state of fear and would deprive them of a normal life that any human being is entitled to,” Alizadeh said.

Widespread public hostility leaves the community even more vulnerable.

“They are violating God’s laws and doing something that is forbidden in Islam, so this is a legitimate punishment,” said Hajji Mohammed, a resident of the IS-held northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

There the group has thrown men suspected of being gay off the Insurance Building, a landmark about 10 stories high.

By employing the grisly method, the Islamic State group aims to show radicals that it is unflinchingly carrying out the most extreme strains in Islam – a sort of “ideological purity” the group boasts distinguishes it even from other militants.

The punishment “will protect the Muslims from treading the same rotten course that the West has chosen to pursue,” IS proclaimed in its online English-language magazine Dabiq.

The Qur’an tells the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom – and sodomy in Arabic is known as “liwat,” based on Lot’s name.

Men having sex with each other should be punished, the Qur’an says, but it doesn’t say how – and it adds that they should be left alone if they repent. The death penalty instead comes from the Hadith, or accounts of the sayings of the prophet Muhammad. The accounts differ on the method of killing, and some accounts give lesser penalties in some circumstances.

The Islamic State group bases its punishment on one account in which Muhammad reportedly says gays “should be thrown from tremendous height then stoned.”

Before IS, the method was rarely used, though other militants have targeted homosexuals for death. During their rule in Afghanistan in the 1990s, the Taliban had their own method: The victim would be put in a pit and a stone wall would be toppled on top of them.

Most moderate Muslim clerics ignore the death penalty provisions, even as they fiercely denounce homosexuality. Across the Arab world, homosexuals have been arrested and sentenced to prison on charges linked to “debauchery” – and sometimes lashed in Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Omar, the man who watched the killings in Palmyra, said he remains shaken.

It began when IS militants blared on loudspeakers for men to gather. Then a black van pulled up outside the Wael Hotel, and Mallah and Salamah were brought out.

The first to be thrown off was Mallah. He was tied to a chair so he couldn’t resist, then pushed over the side.

He landed on his back, broken but still moving. A fighter shot him in the head.

Next was Salameh. He landed on his head and died immediately. Still, fighters stoned his body, Omar said.

The bodies were then hung up in Palmyra’s Freedom Square for two days, each with a placard on his chest: “He received the punishment for practicing the crime of Lot’s people.”

iol.co.za

On Tuesday, at least 15 people were killed and 38 were injured in two blasts in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. One of the explosions took place at a checkpoint located along a route used by pilgrims going to Karbala.

“Today in the morning, fighters of Hezbollah Battalions exchanged fire and succeeded in killing five suicide bombers, who intended to surround pilgrims headed to Karbala,” Al Sumaria TV channel’s source reported.

The source added that pilgrims were not injured in the skirmish.

Hezbollah Battalions and other Shia groups protect pilgrims heading to Karbela to visit the grave of the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson.

The safety of the people of Bahrain is above human rights, MPs stressed from under the House of Representatives’ dome yesterday.

Following a long discussion over its compatibility with human rights, the MPs finally voted for adding new amendments to the existing anti-terror law.

This came as the council’s Foreign Affairs, National Security and Defence Committee submitted before the council its report that endorsed a law decree to toughen punishments and give more powers to policemen in terms of protecting the society from terrorism.

In addition to criminalising a wider variety of activities of Bahrainis and non-Bahrainis in conflicts abroad, the new amendments gave the police the jurisdiction of detaining terror suspects for not more than 28 days, which was the centre of discussion yesterday.

Breach of Human Rights?

MP Khalid Al Shaer, who’s also a member of the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR), said: “The law granted more jurisdictions to the police while dealing with terror crimes (28 days). This is even more than what’s allowed for the Public Prosecution, which is given only three days to interrogate suspects.”

“Some of the articles of the law decree contradict with human rights. It gives a police officer the jurisdiction to cut off the power, telecommunications and water services from areas on the pretext of combating terrorism. There is a possibility that these powers could be misused,” he opined.

“When the matter comes to human rights, we’re under pressure from various international rights organisations. By passing it, we’ll be stirring them against us,” Al Shaer said.

“Even if it’s passed by the council, we call upon the Interior Ministry personnel to apply it wisely,” he added.

Al Shaer’s statements were rejected by committee member MP Abdulrahman Bumjaid, who insisted that “the Interior Ministry personnel are applying the law wisely and never misused any of their powers”.

Bumjaid said: “Bahrain is targeted by a series of terrorist acts and this law is a must at this point of time as it comes to fulfil a popular demand.”

MP Fatima Al Asfoor shared a similar view with Al Shaer.

She hinted that the law decree might consist of constitutional violations.

“We’re allowing police to arrest any terror suspects for 28 days before referring them to the Public Prosecution. It’s a long period to restrict someone’s freedom. It’s against personal freedom that is ensured by Bahrain’s Constitution and international pacts,” she added.

Tougher Penalties

Alternatively, many MPs defended the law decree, including the council’s First Deputy Speaker Ali Al Aradi.

Al Aradi said: “The introduced procedures might be tough, but terror crimes are also cruel. We’re not discussing regular crimes here, so we could say penalties shouldn’t be as harsh.”

“Globally, combating terrorism has become a priority and many states are constantly seeking tougher penalties on terrorists, therefore, Bahrain isn’t taking an unusual step by introducing this law decree,” he said.

Supporting the same point, MP Jamal Dawood remarked: “The current circumstances push us to pass this proposal and not to deal with it emotionally. The international community silences human rights organisations when it comes to terror cases. We must toughen penalties and procedures against terrorism.”

“The amendments target the masterminds behind terrorist activities in Bahrain. If we observe them since 1995 until today, we should know that we’re facing real dangers and there should be no compromise on protecting the society from the growing threat of terrorism,” Dawood added.

Committee Head MP Abdulla Binhowail demanded to pass the law decree, underlining that “Bahrain is now undergoing exceptional circumstances that are sweeping the entire world and terror crimes caused the loss of many innocent lives. Terrorism couldn’t be eliminated unless we adopt extraordinary procedures.”

MPs Jamal Buhassan and Mohammed Al Ahmad also said that “human rights organisations are concerned about ordinary crimes and felonies, not terror crimes, which have their speciality. Policemen must be given the authorities to protect the society. Legislations should cope up with the developing terror crimes.”

No constitutional or human rights violations

Representing the Interior Minister at the session was Legal Affairs Director Lieutenant Colonel Rashid Bunajma.

Initially, Bunajma commented that “It’s sad to see Bahrainis being involved in terror crimes, but the issue exists.”

“This proposal was issued in accordance with the Constitution. Personal freedom is ensured by the Constitution, as well as the law decree. It clearly mentions that any procedures taken by the police are under the supervision of the judicial authority, which is an independent body,” he explained.

Commenting on the 28-day interrogation period granted by the proposal to the police, the Lt-Gen affirmed that “there are criminals who were referred to the Public Prosecution within seven to 10 days, according to the interrogation and the seriousness of their crimes.”

He insisted that “there won’t be any misuse of powers by the police,” noting that policemen are held accountable by more than eight authorities.”

“We’re aiming to join the world to halt the flow of foreign fighters to conflict areas abroad,” Bunajma stated.

He said “the authority to cut water, electricity or cordon off any area in case of terror crimes is granted to the police for only 12 hours, which could only be extended by the orders of the Public Prosecution.

“Any person who was harmed during such procedures could file a complaint to the judicial authority,” the director clarified.

Human rights not only limited to suspects
On his part, Minister of Parliament and Information Affairs Isa bin Abdulrahman Al Hammadi underlined the importance of “ensuring human rights equally”.

“We must look at human rights from a wider angle. We should be concerned about the society’s rights to be safe and secured and not only the suspects and criminals,” the minister said, reaffirming that “Bahrain is always concerned about human rights”.

The Parliament Affairs Minister explained before the council that “Bahrain isn’t isolated from the world,” affirming that “no one will be allowed to work against Bahrain by exploiting any legislative gaps.”

newsofbahrain.com

The Yemeni army began a large-scale military battle in order to reclaim al-Sharija area in the province of Lahij south of the country with the participation of units of the Sudanese army which reached Aden a month ago.

Qa’id Nasr, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Front that is loyal to President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency that the battle has began to lift the siege on Ta’iz province.

“In this battle, units of the Sudanese army are participating [for the first time] with members of the Popular Resistance with an air cover from the [Arab] alliance against Houthi militias and the forces of [former President Ali Abdullah] Saleh,” he said.

850 Sudanese soldiers arrived in the southern city of Aden more than a month ago with the understanding that they will be part of the Arab coalition forces seeking to recapture Ta’iz which is Yemen’s third largest city.

Yemeni security officials at the time told Associated Press (AP) that Sudan plans to send a total of 10,000 soldiers.

The Houthis, based in the north of the country, took over the Yemeni capital of Sana’a in September of last year, eventually driving President Hadi south.

They advanced to take over large swaths of the country, backed by army units loyal to former-President Saleh. In March, Houthis seized government buildings inside Ta’iz and encircled the city.

Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of Arab nations seeking to flush out Houthi rebels, who they believe are backed by their regional foe of Iran, from towns they overran.

Sudan is the only non-Gulf state with ground troops in Yemen. Saudi Arabia’s closest allies namely Egypt and Pakistan have declined requests by Riyadh to send ground troops to Yemen.

sudantribune.com

Al Qaeda have retaken the two major southern Yemeni towns of Zinjibar and Jaar that had fallen briefly to militants four years ago, residents and local fighters said today.

Residents said the militants launched a surprise attack and clashed with the local forces, known as popular committees. The militants then set up checkpoints at the entries to the towns and announced over loudspeakers after dawn prayers their takeover of both towns.

Jaar and Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, are about 50 km (30 miles) east of the main port city of Aden. They had fallen previously to militants from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in 2011.

At the time, the militants were emboldened by waning government control over the impoverished country during Arab Spring protests that eventually ousted former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Yemeni army drove the militants out just over a year later.

This time, the country is convulsed in a protracted conflict that pits Shi’ite Houthi fighters and forces loyal to Saleh against a Saudi-led coalition and fighters loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Abdullatif al-Sayed, the head of Popular Committee fighters in Abyan province, said that he tried to repel the attacks and had informed officials what al Qaeda had been planning, but to no avail.

“The entrance of al Qaeda this time happened in the absence of any state institutions, which al Qaeda exploited,” said Zinjibar resident Fadl Mohammed Mubarak.

ndtv.com

Islamic State [Daesh] militants publicly executed 18 accused government collaborators in Tadmur, Syria, near the ancient ruins of Palmyra, activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the incident Monday, saying the victims were suspected of either cooperating with the Syrian military or serving in its ranks.

In mid-May, IS forces seized Tadmur and the adjacent Palmyra ruins, located in Homs province, executing more than 200 civilians and regime troops later in the month.

In early July, IS released a video showing teenagers armed with pistols executing 25 Syrian soldiers in Palmyra’s amphitheater.

Khalid al-Asaad, 82, a renowned scholar and the director general of the Palmyra Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, was publicly beheaded by the militants amid the ruins in August.

Much as they have in Mosul and other captured cities in Iraq, IS militants — citing the charge of “idolatry” — have systematically demolished several ancient temples, arches and other antiquities in Palmyra that date back thousands of years.

In June, IS was reported to have planted several explosive devices amid the archaeological site, and in late October, activists said the group detonated explosives on three prisoners strapped to columns in Palmyra — the first time such a method had been utilized by the militants.

Monday’s executions came as IS forces face off with the Syrian military in western Homs province, specifically around the town of Maheen, which the militants seized from pro-government forces early last month.

albawaba.com

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday confirmed for the first time that Israel occasionally conducts military activities in Syria to prevent threats on its borders, in the most explicit acknowledgement yet of Israeli airstrikes that have been long reported by the Arab press.

Israel “is active from time to time in Syria,” Netanyahu said at the Eighth Galilee Conference held in Akko (Acre), which was attended by various leading coalition and opposition MKs.

Explaining the action, he said it is intended “to prevent a military front against us, and also in order to prevent the transfer of lethal weapons from Syria to Lebanon.”

Regarding action in Syria, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon (Likud) confirmed on Sunday that Israel is in full contact with Russia that is conducting its own airstrike campaign, and that Israel resolved a recent breach of Israeli airspace without incident.

Netanyahu’s comments on weapon transfers would seem to refer to Israel’s long standing policy of working to block advanced missiles from being transferred by Iran to its Lebanese Shi’ite terror proxy Hezbollah.

Arab media has long reported on Israeli Air Force (IAF) strikes in Syria, with a number of the reports cropping up in recent weeks alone, but Israel has remained tight-lipped regarding the reported strikes.

Just last week it was reported by a Saudi news site that the IAF last Monday hit advanced Russian anti-tank missiles capable of piercing the armor of the Merkava Mark IV, Israel’s most advanced tank. The missiles were stored just outside of Damascus adjacent to an elite unit of the Syrian army, and apparently were en route to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Syrian media for its part last week alleged that the IAF struck a Hezbollah base in the mountainous Qalamoun border region between Syria and Lebanon.

Three weeks ago Arab media reported that the IAF struck near Damascus International Airport, in a bombing apparently targeting a weapons transfer to Hezbollah, and earlier in November it was reported that the IAF struck an advanced missile transfer, including long-range Scud missiles, as they made their way through Qalamoun en route to Hezbollah.

Concerns over missile shipments to Hezbollah are well-founded, as shown by an updated Israeli assessment released earlier last month which revealed Hezbollah has no fewer than 150,000 missiles pointing at Israel.

inn.com

Iran’s capital Tehran has seen an unprecedented security tightening amid concerns that a country that has taken an active roll in the fight against Daesh could become a target for the terrorist group.

Police have flooded the city in recent days, with armed officers wearing bulletproof vests stationed on main streets and standing guard outside major underground stations.

Hussain Sajedinia, Tehran’s police commander, acknowledged this weekend that police numbers had been beefed up to ward off “any possible threat” and to make the citizens “feel secure”.

“These anti-terrorist measures will continue as long as needed,” he said, adding this did not mean an attack was imminent. “Tehran enjoys complete security,” Sajedinia added.

But a wave of attacks claimed by Daesh, culminating in last month’s terrorist rampage in Paris, has heightened concerns that the militant group could be planning an attack in Iran. Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt have been the targets of Daesh terrorist attacks this year.

Tehran insists it has not sent troops to Iraq or Syria, although it has admitted that to the presence of military advisers in both countries. However, the increasing number of Iranian deaths raises questions about a deeper military involvement.

Frustrated with Syria’s weak and corrupt military, Iran has also been recruiting militia forces in an effort to keep Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in power.

Iran’s strategy has for many years been that fighting its enemies outside its borders lessens the risks of an attack at home.

“We strengthen our defensive strongholds outside our borders because if Iran did not go to fight Daesh there, we should welcome them on our soil,” Ali Akbar Velayati, senior foreign policy adviser to Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, said this week in Syria.

The heightened security situation comes as at least 1.5 million Iranian pilgrims travel to Iraq to take part in religious rituals on Wednesday to commemorate the 40th day of the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussain, grandson of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the third Shiite Imam. Contrary to previous years, Iran has banned pilgrims from crossing the Iran-Iraq border without passports and proper visas.

Rumours have also been circulating on social media that some airports could be targeted, as well as the shrine of Imam Reza in the city of Mashhad, Iran’s most important Shiite holy site.

Iranian officials say that despite the threat, their security measures have prevented Daesh from mounting attacks.

“They [Daesh] have always threatened attacks but they have never had the power to resort to any measure against Iran,” Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli, Iran’s interior minister, said last week.

gulfnews.com

A deal was completed on Tuesday to free 16 Lebanese security personnel held captive by the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front since 2014, Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV reported, as other live footage suggested their release was imminent.

The deal negotiated with the help of officials from Qatar is expected to include the release of 13 Islamists held in Lebanese jails, including Saja al-Dulaimi, an ex-wife of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, security sources say.

The Lebanese captives were driven to the place where the exchange was due to take place in vehicles accompanied by masked men armed with assault rifles who were chanting “God is great”, footage broadcast by al-Jazeera TV showed.

A convoy of vehicles including Red Cross cars were also shown approaching the area. Three women including one in a full face veil who was carrying a baby were shown getting out of a vehicle. Dulaimi gave birth in prison.

The Nusra Front seized the Lebanese during an attack on the border town of Arsal mounted together with ISIS in August 2014. ISIS is believed to be holding nine soldiers not included in the deal.

Earlier, the body of a Lebanese soldier killed in captivity by the Nusra Front was handed over to the Red Cross and the Lebanese security agency, General Security, the state news agency reported, A security source said the return of the body of Mohamed Hamieh was the first step in the deal. The National News Agency said Hamieh’s body was handed over as a result of the negotiations.

He was one of four soldiers the Nusra Front has killed after capturing them in the Arsal raid.

cbc.ca