British politcians’ fear of upsetting “allies” has meant oppression in the tiny gulf nation is ignored, says Rohan Jayasekera
Britain should not put Saudi oil before Bahraini blood
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CATEGORY: Middle East and North Africa
Four arrested in Bahrain for “social media abuse”
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...
Saudis warn UK over human rights probe
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...
How Egypt is stifling its film industry
It's been nearly two years since the mass uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, but Egypt's film makers are still plagued by censorship they say is stifling their creativity. Religion and sex remain high on the censors' list of "taboo...
Tunisia builds blasphemy law
In Tunisia, politicians and the people are abandoning freedom of expression. In a conservative society, Islamists’ obsession with blasphemy and the opposition’s passivity in defying an illiberal constitutional clause are placing free speech and...
Iran court finds Reuters bureau chief guilty of “spreading lies”
An Iranian court on Sunday convicted the Tehran bureau chief of the Thomson Reuters news agency of "propaganda-related offences" for a video that briefly described a group of women involved in martial arts training as killers. Parisa Hafezi was...
Bahrain medics arrested in dawn raids
Bahraini police arrested five medics in a set of dawn raids this morning, one day after the nation's highest court upheld their prison sentences in a case international rights groups have condemned as politically motivated. Doctor Ali al-Ekry,...
For Egypt’s women, the revolution has only begun
The women of Egypt played a huge role in the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak. They were on the frontlines, standing shoulder to shoulder with men in Cairo's Tahrir Square, demanding "Bread, Freedom and Social Justice." Their...
Bahrain medics to remain in jail after appeal refused
In a case that has drawn international condemnation, Bahrain's highest court today upheld prison sentences handed down to nine medics for weapons possession, incitement and taking part in illegal demonstrations last year. One of the doctors was...
Bahrain activist jailed for tearing up picture of king
Bahraini human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja has been sentenced to two months in prison after she allegedly tore up a picture of the ruler of the Gulf kingdom. Al-Khawaja is the daughter of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, the head of the Bahrain Center...