Index’s new CEO Kirsty Hughes calls on the organisers of the Bahrain Grand Prix to cancel the race
Bahrain Grand Prix should not proceed
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CATEGORY: Middle East and North Africa
Tunisia: Index alarmed by attacks targeting media, artists, activists and academics
10 April 2012 (IFEX-TMG) - The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), a coalition of 21 IFEX members which includes Index, is alarmed by ongoing attacks targeting journalists, artists, performers...
Tunisian cabinet lifts ban on protests on Habib Bourguiba Avenue
On 11 April the Tunisian Cabinet lifted a ban on protesting on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis. In a communiqué released on 28 March, the Interior Ministry prohibited all “forms of collective expression” on the avenue, after receiving “complaints”...
Kuwait: Writer imprisoned
Kuwaiti writer Mohamed al-Melify was jailed for seven years on Monday on charges of spreading false statements via Twitter. He was arrested last February, and the Kuwait Criminal Court found him guilty of spreading false news about sectarian...
Turkey: Publisher Ragip Zarakolu released pending trial
Eminent Turkish free expression champion Ragip Zarakolu was freed from prison in Turkey pending trial along with 14 others yesterday. Zarakolu, director of the Belge Publishing House, which has published works on taboo subjects such as the Armenian...
Free Abdulhadi Alkhawaja
Open letter: Bahrain risks instigating a collapse of its civic society if it fails to release activist and hunger striker Abdulhadi Alkhawaja. Index joins rights organisations, politicians and academics in calling on Bahrain’s ruler to release him immediately
Bahrain roundup: Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, heightened tension and Formula 1
Increased anger within Bahrain's opposition over the continued detention of well-known activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja has renewed concerns over whether Formula 1's organising body should allow the controversial race to go ahead on 20-22 April. Over...
Palestinian authorities arrest and detain critics for Facebook posts
Two arrests linked to Facebook posts critical of the Palestinian Authority (PA) have spurred a variety of human rights and media freedom groups to call on the PA to stop harassing their critics. On Wednesday 28 March, Palestinian Preventative...
Tunisia: Journalists and bloggers assaulted on “Martyrs’ Day” protest
Anti-government protesters clashed with police in the streets of Tunis over the weekend as they attempted to defy a ban prohibiting demonstrations on the capital's main avenue. Protesters raising anti-government slogans took to the streets on 9...
Bahraini activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja deteriorating rapidly in prison
Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi AlKhawaja is now entering the 58th day of his hunger strike, having spent his 51st birthday yesterday in a prison clinic. His lawyer has tweeted a picture of him in his weak and critical state, a far cry...