Bahrain’s brutal crackdown
As Bahraini soldiers — aided by foreign troops — crush protests, youth activist Mohammed Al-Maskati, whose family have been detained, asks the international community to speak out
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Singapore: British author appeals jail term
The British author Alan Shadrake, 76, has launched an appeal today (11 April) against a six-week jail sentence he received for scandalising Singapore’s judiciary. Shadrake was sentenced and fined last November after the Singapore High Court ruled that his book, Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, broke the city-state’s laws. The Attorney-General’s Chamber in Singapore had argued that the book damaged public perception of the judiciary.
Sudan: “Cyber Jihadists” to crush online opponents
The National Congress Party (NCP), which governs North Sudan, claims that its battalion of “cyber jihadists” are ready to “crush” all online dissidents. The warning came from the party’s vice-president in Khartoum State, Mandur Al-Mahdi, on Tuesday (March 22). He warned youth groups using social networks sites like Twitter and Facebook that they would be targeted by the NCP’s online defence operations.
Syria: Protesters shot by security forces
Security forces opened fire on protesters in the southern city of Daraa on Wednesday, killing at least 25 demonstrators. While activists claimed that many more had been killed, hospital sources reported 25 bodies with bullet wounds. Security forces have come down hard on recent demonstrations, with at least 32 protesters having been killed since Friday 18 March.