Friday, 22nd May, 2020
Press statement
The Forum for Development and Human Rights Dialogue calls the High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate the broadcasting of media materials that support terrorism and incite violence by Al Jazeera Qatari Channel
The Forum for Development and Human Rights Dialogue launched today a call to Ms. Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to investigate the usage of Al Jazeera Channel by Qatar to broadcast and disseminate media materials that disseminate discourse of violence and hatred in addition to glorifying terrorism and its symbols who participated in implementing systematic killing operations against civilians. The Forum also calls the High Commissioner for Human Rights to call the special rapporteurs for terrorism and freedom of expression to review the broadcasted material about the terrorist Hisham Ashmawy who committed 14 terroristic crimes, the most prominent of which was targeting the former minister of interior the major general Mohamed Ibrahim on 5th September2013 and was the leader of Ansar Byt Al Maqdas organization after the death of the terrorist Abu Abeda.
In addition, he implemented the terroristic attack against Haras Al Hodod point (Al Farâfra) resulted in the killing of all police officer and exploding the store of weapons and supplies on 19th July 2014. He also penetrated the Libyan lands after targeting a civilian police trap in Abo Swir in Ismailia along with some other terroristic members. He stayed in Ajdabiya city under the legitimacy of Ansar Al Sharia Organization with the intellectual reference of Al Qaeda organization. Besides, he established and founded Al Morabtoon movement affiliated to the terroristic Al Qa’da organization. In preparing this report, Al Jazeera used one of the terroristic trends called Mostafa Al Badry who is an Egyptian escaped from Istanbul after being accused of exporting fighters to Syria and Libya and broadcasted it on Al Jazeera website then it withdrew after pressure by the public opinion which refused the attempt of beautifying terrorism and for fear of accusing it of supporting terrorism. In its call to the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Forum for Development and Human Rights Dialogue assures that Al Jazeera Qatari Channel, owned by the Qatari royal family, is insisted on broadcasting supportive materials for terrorism and inciting violence and hatred. The process of publishing and editing in this channel is controlled by members affiliated to Muslim Brotherhood Group which is classified as a terroristic group in a number of countries; the matter which contradicts with the rules of international law which criminalize the incitement calls for hatred and violence. Moreover, the broadcasted material in Al Jazeera violates article no. 5 of the Declaration of Tolerance Principles approved by the UNESCO conference on tolerance and combating violence in its 28th session, Paris, 16 November 1995 which states that state members should enhance tolerance and non-violence through programs and institutions concerned with upbringing, education, culture and communication fields. It also represent a severe violation against morals of media means and clear threat to human rights system which protect media against harmful uses of freedom of expressions mentioned by UNHRC entitled allowed limits regarding freedom of expression which states that state members should protect people against inaccurate and offensive statements and declarations and protect privacy within certain circumstances. UNHRC allows states to protect their security and ban hatred press especially this which encourages racism or racial or religious hatred and prevents promoting war.
Al Jazeera also violates the material of UNSECO in regard to regulating media broadcasting which bans using media in hatred incitement and criminalizes the attempts done by these channels to push youth to fight state bodies which is a criminalized matter according to the texts of International Law. The article 20 of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights bans any promotion for war and any call for national, racial and religious hatred as it represents an incitement for discrimination, hostility or violence. Moreover, the decision no. 1624 of Security Council which states that the United Nations and state members will take all necessary and suitable measures – according to International Law – on national and international levels to protect the right to life and criminalize violence incitements and calls for terrorism.
Finally, the Forum for Development and Human Rights Dialogue calls for including this incident along with other incidents related to disseminated topics on Al Jazeera website glorifying the symbols of terroristic groups, the matter which represents danger especially among youth since these materials are used to recruit them in extremist organizations. It also calls the High Commissioner for Human Rights to take its procedures and measures towards Qatar, the channel owner.
