Greater Middle East
4

Egypt, Tunisia, Wisconsin

An appeals court in Turkey upheld the convictions of 14 employees of Cumhuriyet, a Turkish news outlet that has been critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. The defendants—including journalists, a cartoonist, executives and accountants—were sentenced in April to prison terms between four and eight years on charges of "acting on behalf of a terrorist group without being members." The Third Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice reviewed and upheld each of these sentences. In Turkey, sentences less than five years cannot be overturned once they are upheld by an appellate court, meaning that eight of the defendants must now serve out their terms. The remaining defendants with longer sentences plan to appeal to Turkey's Supreme Court. (Photo: WikiMedia via Jurist)

Greater Middle East

Egyptian workers support Wisconsin workers

Kamal Abbas, leader of Egypt’s striking CTUWS trade union federation, issued a statement pledging solidarity with the struggles in Libya, Bahrain, Algeria and Wisconsin.

Greater Middle East

Egypt: Suez Canal zone workers go on strike again

Suez Canal Authority workers went on strike, part of a spreading wave of labor unrest that kept most of Egypt’s economy shut down this week—despite warnings from the military regime.

Greater Middle East

Butchery in Bengazi, bravery in Bahrain

Hundreds are believed dead in Libya, where security forces fired on protesters in Benghazi and other eastern cities. In Bahrain, protesters defied deadly repression to re-take Pearl Square.

Greater Middle East

Egypt: thousands of protesters keep up the pressure

Tens of thousands of flag-waving Egyptians filled Cairo’s Tahrir Square to celebrate the fall of Mubarak and pressure the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to deliver on pledges of reform.

Greater Middle East

Bahrain: one dead as toops fire on funeral march

Security forces in Bahrain fired tear gas and bird shot on mourners gathered for a funeral procession for a man killed in the first Egypt-inspired protests to reach the Gulf.

Greater Middle East

Egypt: paranoids see neocon conspiracy (again)

The fact that Egyptian protesters drew inspiration from Serbia’s Otpor and international nonviolence guru Gene Sharp is fueling further conspiranoid speculation about an astroturf revolution.