Saudi Domestic Violence Cases Linked to Inadequate Legal Protections

The Saudi Ministry of Justice has received nearly 1,500 domestic violence cases in the last Islamic calendar year, with 480 of these cases occurring the kingdom’s Makkah region. The Riyadh region saw the second most cases, followed by Jazan and the Eastern Province. According to the Omani newspaper, al-Watan, most of the recorded incidents involved[…]

UAE Convicts Omani National for Alleged Social Media Insults

An Emirati court has sentenced Saleh al-Owaissi, a 29-year-old Omani man, to three years in prison and a fine of Dh50,000, for allegedly “disseminating information with a view to ridicule and damage the reputation of the state symbols” on WhatsApp. The authorities also claim that al-Owaissi “ridiculed Emirati martyrs in Yemen” by referring to them[…]

Oman Increases its Restriction on Freedom of Expression

Oman jailed two social media users this month for posts they made on Facebook and Twitter. First, an Omani court sentenced Hassan al-Basham, a former diplomat, to three months in prison on charges of “insulting God and the country’s leader,” Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said. The charges are related to a series of posts on[…]

ADHRB and other NGOs petition for release of Qatari poet Mohammed al-Ajami

Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), Freedom Now, Amnesty International, English PEN, PEN International, and Split this Rock held demonstrations on Thursday, 25 February, in London and Washington to call for the release of Mohammed al-Ajami, a Qatari poet who has been imprisoned since 2011. Qatari authorities arrested al-Ajami in November of[…]

Saudi Credit Ratings Lowered due to Poor Economic Prospects

As Saudi Arabia continues to deal with the effects of declining oil prices, Standard and Poor’s lowered the country’s credit rating last week for the second time in several months, placing it at A-. Standard and Poor’s made this decision because it believes the decline in oil prices will have a “marked and lasting impact”[…]