Iona Craig on the the Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize winner
Tawakkol Karman: a courageous and controversial campaigner
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CATEGORY: Middle East and North Africa
Syrians want freedom
Dear Anna Politkovskaya, I am well aware that this honor, which bears your name, is not merely awarded to me personally but rather to the sons and daughters of Syria, and the 3,000 whose blood was spilled over the past 7 months by the same criminal...
Human Rights in Bahrain – Rhetoric and reality
International outcry over the sentencing of 20 medics in Bahrain, who treated injured protesters, has led to the announcement of their retrial. Front Line Defenders’
Mary Lawlor explores the stories of others imprisoned in similar circumstances
Egypt: Journalists strike against censorship
Several Egyptian writers and journalists published blank columns in the country's newspapers, in protest against the "military interference" of the press. A number of independent writers, including Belal Fadl, Naglaa Bedir and Tarek...
Tehran’s underground train missionaries
Religious women will be stationed outside of Tehran's underground stations in an effort to enlighten and guide female commuters back on the straight and narrow path. The Chief of Operations of Tehran's Metro system Ali Mohammad Gholiha, told Mehr...
Iran: BBC news chief seeks government action over “intimidation”
The Head of Global News at the BBC has sought government action over the increasing "intimidation" of their staff in Iran. In a BBC blog post Peter Horrocks claimed yesterday that there had been an increase in "anti-BBC rehtoric" following a...
Gaza: New restrictions on foreign journalists
Hamas's interior ministry has adopted new rules restricting the reporting of foreign journalistse. According to the new rules, foreign journalists would have to apply to Gaza's interior ministry in advance, and processing "could take several days"....
Egypt: Columnists protest censorship
Three columnists for the Egyptian independent daily Al-Tahrir will not be publishing their regular columns in protest at what they view as censorship by the current military rulers. Belal Fadl, Omer Taher, and Nagla Bedir have been openly critical...
Bahrain: Protesters sentenced to 15 years in prison
Bahrain's National Safety Court has handed 15 year sentences to protesters in two different cases involving University of Bahrain. In one case, the court gave 15 years in prison to 15 individuals that were participating in protests and vandalism at...
Egyptian blogger passes 40th day of hunger strike
Maikel Nabil Sanad is entering his 42nd day of hunger strike in protest against a three-year sentence imposed by a military court for criticising the army. He spoke
to Shahira Amin