North Africa

Libya: rights groups accuse UAE of war crimes

At a press conference on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, Libyan human rights groups accused the United Arab Emirates of committing war crimes in the country, including killing hundreds of civilians. The rights groups said that the UAE committed these crimes through direct air-strikes on Libya, and by backing the renegade general Khalifa Haftar.

Greater Middle East
Persian Gulf

Bahrain sentences rights defender to two years

Amnesty International condemned Bahrain's sentencing of human rights defender Nabeel Rajab to two years in prison—for the crime of protesting on his Twitter account the harsh conditions in Bahrain's prisons. Rajab has served time for illegal tweeting before, and still awaits sentencing on other similar charges. Amnesty condemned the conviction as a "flagrant violation of human rights."

Greater Middle East

Qatar crisis places US regional policing in pickle

Qatar's diplomatic isolation by the other Gulf states, accused of supporting terrorism in the region, heightens contradictions for the Pentagon's use of the critical al-Udeid Air Base.

Greater Middle East

UN to Bahrain: investigate protester deaths

The UN Human Rights Commissioner called on Bahrain to investigate the deaths of several protesters during a security operation against supporters of a persecuted Shi'ite cleric.

Greater Middle East

Bahrain: ‘total suppression’ of human rights

A court in Bahrain dissolved the main opposition political party, an act Amnesty International said is a step toward the "total suppression of human rights" in the Persian Gulf monarchy.

Greater Middle East

Emir of Kuwait dissolves parliament

The Emir of Kuwait issued a decree to dissolve the country's parliament after weeks of deadlock over austerity measures imposed due to depressed global oil prices.

Greater Middle East

Yemen: Saudis bomb anti-bombing demonstration

Saudi fighter jets carried out air-strikes on a peaceful rally in Yemen's capital Sanaa that had been called to protest Saudi air-strikes, leaving several dead.

Watching the Shadows

US transfers 15 Guantánamo detainees to UAE

The US Defense Department announced the transfer of 15 Guantánamo detainees to the United Arab Emirates—the largest transfer so far, sparking Republican criticism.

Greater Middle East

Bahrain rights defender Maryam al-Khawaja speaks

Exiled Bahraini human rights defender Maryam al-Khawaja, speaking in New York, says the Arab regimes are exploiting sectarianism to pit revolutions against each other. 

Greater Middle East

Chemical attack against Syrian Kurds: report

Amnesty International notes claims that chemical weapons were used by Syrian rebels against the besieged Kurdish enclave of Sheikh Maqsood in the divided city of Aleppo.