Greater Middle East

UN Security Council urged to refer Syria to ICC

More than 50 countries asked the UN Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court, saying atrocities against the population are now “almost the norm.”

Greater Middle East

Saudi court convicts Egyptian rights lawyer

A Saudi Arabian court convicted Egyptian human rights lawyer Ahmed el-Gezawi of smuggling drugs, sentencing him to five years imprisonment and 300 lashes.

Greater Middle East

Qatar: imprisoned poet appeals life sentence

Muhammad al-Ajami, a Qatari poet who was sentenced to life in prison for “insulting” the Emir in a poem extolling the Arab Spring, has been granted an appeal.

Greater Middle East

Saudi Arabia: blogger faces death penalty

Human Rights Watch has urged Saudi Arabia to dismiss a criminal case against a website editor who may face the death penalty on apostasy charges for abandoning Islam. 

Greater Middle East

Egypt: opposition to appeal constitution vote

Egypt’s opposition will appeal the referendum that appears to have voted in a new constitution backed by ruling Islamic parties, asserting the vote was marred by fraud.

Greater Middle East

Syria: Nusra Front makes ‘terrorist’ list

The US government added Syria's al-Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant to the "foreign terrorist organizations" list, placing sanctions on two of its senior leaders.

Greater Middle East

UAE arrests 18-year-old blogger: report

The Emirates Centre for Human Rights reports that the United Arab Emirates has arrested an 18-year-old blogger as part of a wider effort to crack down on government opposition. 

Greater Middle East

Syria chemical weapons threat: how real?

Is a "false flag" attack in preparation to faciliate military intervention that would install the rebels in power? Or is Washington more afraid of WMD falling into jihadist hands?