PM raises human rights concerns in Saudi crown prince visit

BBC News, PM raises human rights concerns in Saudi crown prince visit, 7 Mar 2018 "The prime minister expressed particular concern about the case of Raif Badawi, a Saudi blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for "insulting Islam" online."

How the Syrian War Changed How War Crimes Are Documented

Cristina Roca, News Deeply, Long Read: How the Syrian War Changed How War Crimes Are Documented "Seven years of war have transformed Syrian monitoring groups into sophisticated investigation centers. But with few options to hold perpetrators of humanitarian law violations accountable, the number of Syrians supplying evidence of human rights violations is dwindling, along with their hope for justice." Recommended.

Bangladesh human rights

Human Rights Watch, Bangladesh "Bangladesh witnessed a spate of violent attacks against secular bloggers, academics, gay rights activists, foreigners, and members of religious minorities in 2016."

Bahrain

CBC, Canadian company helped Bahrain block opposition, anti-Islam websites, says report Allegations: "Canadian technology company Netsweeper helped the Bahraini government block opposition party websites, various news websites and content critical of Islam, according to a new report by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs." Report link here: Citizen Lab, Tender Confirmed, Rights At Risk: Verifying Netsweeper in Bahrain

'Saudi teacher whipping 13 students caught on camera'

alarabiya.net, Saudi teacher whipping 13 students caught on camera "The video footage, aired on Al Arabiya News Channel this week, shows the teacher hitting the boys as they walk past him. In response, the education ministry announced that it had begun an investigation, Okaz newspaper reported."

Saudi rights group identifies father in child abuse video

Saudi rights group identifies father in child abuse video - Al Arabiya News "The nearly 3-minute-long clip shows a man, who appears to be in his 30s, violently flogging five children without any concern for their cries. A woman can be heard in the background pleading with the man to stop beating the children."

Bassel Khartabil

eurekalert.org, Index awards winners 2013 announced  "Palestinian-born Syrian software engineer Bassel Khartabil is a champion of web freedom and a computer engineer, who specialises in the development of open source software. Khartabil has been held in prison in Syria for over a year. Accepting the award on his behalf, his friend Dana Trometer said: 'Bassel is aware of this award and he would like to thank the judges and audience for trusting him with such an honour. He would also like to pay respect to all the victims of the struggle for freedom of speech, and, especially for those non-violent youths who refused to carry arms and deserve all the credit for this award.'"

Freedom House Says Online Repression Increasing, Diversifying

RFE/RL, Freedom House Says Online Repression Increasing, Diversifying "Attacks on Internet freedom are on the rise, and the tools employed by repressive governments are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

"That's according to "Freedom On The Net 2012," a newly released report by U.S.-based rights watchdog Freedom House, that assesses 47 countries' online track records between January 2011 and May 2012."

“Fractured Walls… New Horizons”

The Cairo Institute publishes its fourth annual report under the title “Fractured Walls… New Horizons”: "The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies published its fourth annual report on the state of human rights in the Arab World." Available for pdf download

The internet, human rights and the UPR

Association for Progressive Communications, The internet, human rights and the UPR "Access to the internet is multifaceted issue including access to physical infrastructure and access to content. Affordable, universal access to the internet is far from a reality. While some countries have enacted legislation that guarantees access, others are more hesitant, acknowledging the internet’s importance for development but wary of considering it a new human right."

Syria - “Civilians ‘massacred’ in central Syria”

AP, Activists: Civilians ‘massacred’ in central Syria, 12 Mar 2012 “The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 12 people were killed Sunday night while the Local Coordination Committees said 45 were “murdered.” Both groups said children were among the dead.”

Egypt human rights

alarabiya.net, Amnesty accuses Egypt’s ruling generals of ‘gross’ human rights abuses, 22 Nov 2011

Syria: Amnesty International report

Guardian, Syria crackdown horror catalogued in Amnesty deaths in detention report, 30 Aug 2011 refers to YouTube videos

Amnesty International, Syria: Deadly detention: Deaths in custody amid popular protest in Syria (pdf)

Syria updates

Guardian, Syrian protesters seized at rate of one every hour, say activists, 28 Jul 2011

"The group, Avaaz, claims 2,918 people have been "forcibly disappeared" since anti-government demonstrations began in Syria on 15 March. Most are accused of being involved in the rebellion that continues to undermine a regime long renowned as the Middle East's most formidable police state."

Avaaz, Save Syria's Disappeared

Syria updates

ninemsn.com.au, Syria's cyber war against dissidents "Demonstrators use social networking sites, notably Facebook and YouTube, to whip up support for protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, and also to broadcast footage they say is of the authorities' ensuing crackdown.

"But the regime is also using the Internet to strike back, and the government has deployed a special unit — the Syrian Electronic Army — to post pro-Assad comments on anti-regime websites."

alarabiya.net, Syrian protesters, backed by US, hunker down for long battle to oust Assad, 10 Jul 2011 "The United States and Europe, unable to convince China and Russia to join them in taking a firm stand against Mr. Assad’s brutality, have so far confined themselves to imposing economic sanctions, condemning regime brutality, calling on the president to create space for dialogue and protests, and enhancing the capability of Syrians to communicate with the outside world through the Internet."


Amnesty International, Risky Business: Getting information out of Syria, 10 Jul 2011 "Using a growing army of plain-clothed intelligence officers, the Mukhabarat, and internet and phone hackers, the Syrian government has sought to monitor all who disseminate information that might be deemed anti-government.

"“When I leave my house to go out, I never know if I’ll make it to where I’m going,” Noor, a Syrian journalist and human rights activist,told me at her cramped Damascene apartment in early June."

The U.N. Declares Internet Access a Human Right

Adam Clark Estes, theatlanticwire.com, The U.N. Declares Internet Access a Human Right "The United Nations counts internet access as a basic human right in a report that bears implications both to on-going events in the Arab Spring and to the Obama administration's war on whistleblowers."

You'll find a copy of the report on the LA Times' website, United Nations report: Internet access is a human right

Syria

alarabiya.net, 150 killed, dozens injured by Syrian security forces, activists say, 6 Jun 2011

"The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had said on Sunday that at least 35 civilians and 10 soldiers and police have been killed since Saturday in a military operation in and around a northwestern Syrian town, according to Reuters."

More information: المرصد السوري and the related YouTube channel and Facebook page

Egypt blogger trial: Maikel Nabil

Al-Masry Al-Youm, Verdict postponed in Egypt blogger trial, 6 Apr 2011 "A verdict in the trial of a blogger accused of insulting Egypt's armed forces has been postponed on Wednesday, a day after Human Rights Watch called for the case to be dropped, the defendant's lawyer has told AFP.

"Gamal Eid, head of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and a lawyer representing Maikel Nabil, told AFP the military tribunal would now hand down the verdict on Sunday."

maikelnabil.com

KSA arrest: Mohammed Abdallah Al-Abdulkarim

bikyamasr.com, Saudi professor held over Internet article about royal family, 8 Dec 2010 "Reporters Without Borders condemns law professor Mohammed Abdallah Al-Abdulkarim’s detention in Riyad since 5 December for writing an article for a website about splits within the Saudi royal family."

middle-east-online.com, No country for criticism: Saudi professor arrested after writing about conflict within royal family, 8 Dec 2010 "Abdulkarim, 40, teaches jurisprudence at Imam Mohammed bin Saud University, the country's leading Islamic university, according to HRFS [Human Rights First Society of Saudi Arabia] and a Facebook page set up to defend him.

""His arrest was illegal on two counts," said HRFS head Ibrahim Mugaiteeb."

Ahmed Al-Omran, mideastposts.com, Twitter is Big in Saudi. The Professor Detention Debate Shows Why "As usual, the local media in Saudi Arabia has ignored the story, but the social web was quick to pick it up. Not too long after the arrest, the news was flying all over Twitter and Facebook. Users on Twitter used the hashtag #FreeDrAbdulkarim to denote their reactions. Most of them expressed anger and frustration at the arrest. “I, and many others, believe in every word Dr. al-Abdulkarim said in his article. Are you going to arrest us too?” Abdulrahman Alnasri said.

"However, the most intense exchange of the day on Twitter was between Abdulrahman al-Enad, member of the Shoura Council, and Waleed Abulkhair, the lawyer of Mohammed al-Abdulkarim. Al-Enad said al-Abdulkarim has made a mistake and should be punished. Some of what al-Enad said did not set well with Abulkhair, who demanded the Shoura Council to apologize for what he considered impoliteness."

Ahmed Al-Omran is, of course, best known for his work on Saudi Jeans (where you can also track this story)

Azerbaijan: Blogger freed

Bikya Masr, Azerbaijan: Blogger freed, but two reporters remain jailed, 19 Nov 2010: "The November 18, 2010 release of the blogger Adnan Hajizade was a positive step, but the Azerbaijani government should also immediately free the imprisoned journalist Eynulla Fatullayev and another blogger, Emin Milli, Human Rights Watch said today."