The ideological battle for Egypt's soul has intensified in recent weeks. Rising tensions threaten to polarise a country wracked by deep divisions over the role Islam will play in the “new” Egypt. Many of the revolutionary activists who participated...
Maher El Gohary is a broken and defeated man who has grown tired of life on the run. After a four-year battle to have the Egyptian state recognise his Christian faith, he is seriously contemplating reverting to Islam. "I am seen as an outcast and...
Iranian blogger Sattar Beheshti was allegedly tortured to death in a prison in Tehran on Thursday (8 November). Beheshti, 35 was arrested on 28 October by Iranian police on charges of "actions against national security on social networks and...
Bahrain is preparing for the first anniversary of the Bahrain Independent Commission for Inquiry (BICI) by placing even greater restrictions on free expression. As violence escalates in the Gulf kingdom, the country's government has taken new...
From 1 to 23 November, The International Free Expression Exchange's (IFEX) International Day to End Impunity campaign is highlighting cases where "an individual who has been threatened, attacked or worse for expressing themselves." In all the case...
Bahrain has a funny definition of free speech. After jailing human rights activists and social media users critical of the government and even going as far as banning protests, the country’s government still insists that it protects its citizens’...
Bahrain has banned all demonstrations following clashes between police and anti-government protestors on Monday (29 October). Interior minister Sheikh Rashid Al Khalifah said that the clampdown was a result of the "repeated abuses" of freedom of...
British politcians’ fear of upsetting “allies” has meant oppression in the tiny gulf nation is ignored, says Rohan Jayasekera
The Bahrain Interior Ministry announced the arrest of four people for defaming public figures on social media today (17 October), with authorities still searching for a fifth. The Acting General Director of Anti-Corruption, Electronic and Economic...
Saudi Arabia has said it is "insulted" by the announcement of a UK Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry into the UK's relationship with the Gulf states, in particular Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. In a veiled threat to key trade deals, the...