The British-Iranian journalist and author of the award-winning City of Lies speaks about the growing protests in her homeland
Ramita Navai: No turning back from Iran’s women-led uprising
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CATEGORY: Middle East and North Africa
A year in freedom of expression
Our CEO Ruth Anderson reflects on the events of the past 12 months, yet another year of challenges to human rights around the world
The Saudi problem: can human rights ever trump trade?
As we mark 23 months since University of Leeds dental student Salma al-Shehab was arrested after returning home on holiday, we ask whether the UK Foreign Secretary has the courage to demand her release
Who is 2022’s Tyrant of the Year?
Choose from our shortlist of 12 despots and vote on who you think has done most to crack down on freedom of expression this year
Tyrant of the year 2022: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar
The atrocious worker conditions and contempt for basic human rights in Qatar have certainly been on our minds over the last year. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the man pulling the strings. “Al Thani holds a relatively lower...
Tyrant of the year 2022: Mohammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia
“Mohammed bin Salman should be awarded the title of ‘tyrant of the year’ not only because of his track record of censorship and suppression, but also because of the potential for violent tyranny to come” says Emma Sandvik Ling, partnerships and...
Tyrant of the year 2022: Ali Khamenei, Iran
If you were in the Iranian capital Tehran on Friday 23 September, you would be forgiven for thinking that Ali Khamenei was a popular and misunderstood leader. That day, thousands of Iranians marched through the city waving Iranian flags and holding...
Tyrant of the year 2022: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt
While world leaders met in Sharm el-Sheikh for COP27, British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist and writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah began a full hunger strike. He is imprisoned for “spreading false news” and has been denied access to diplomatic and legal...
Questions that Sunak should have asked Mohammad bin Salman at G20…(but probably didn’t)
As we continue to mark the ongoing detention of University of Leeds PhD student Salma al-Shehab, we look at what could have been discussed at this morning’s meeting
“We deserve more on freedom of expression”
Freedom of expression has dominated the news agenda this week but not in a good way, says Ruth Smeeth