Bahrain: Hunger strike activist collapses

16 Feb 12 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost

Bahraini activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja collapsed last night while on hunger strike. Alkhawaja, who went on hunger strike ahead of the February 14 anniversary of mass protests in Bahrain, was taken to the hospital where he was given IV treatment without his consent. The activist’s lawyer reported Alkhawaja showed serious signs of fatigue and had difficulty moving and walking. His daughter, Zainab, continues to be detained and his younger brother, Salah Alkhawaja, who is also imprisoned has joined the hunger strike.

Syria: Protesters’ text messages blocked using Irish equipment

16 Feb 12 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost

The Syrian government has ordered text messages containing politically sensitive words to be blocked. Sources familiar with the country’s filtering system say that Irish technology is being used to prevent the delivery of text messages including  words such as ” revolution” or “demonstration”. The country’s largest mobile phone company Syriatel Mobile Telecom SA have allegedly used blocking equipment from Cellusys Ltd, a privately-held company based in Dublin. Since public unrest in Syria erupted last year, text messages have been a crucial tool for protesters.

Bahrain: Human rights activist Nabeel Rajab detained at protests

14 Feb 12 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa

Prominent human rights activist and president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), Nabeel Rajab, was reportedly detained today while attempting to reach Pearl Roundabout in the capital Manama. Jihan Kazerooni of BCHR told Index that Rajab is currently being held at Hoora police station. Kazerooni said that two other activists, Naji Fateel of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights and Hassan Jaber were also detained by authorities.