On 16 May 2019, United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan pardoned and released activist Abdul Rahman Bin Sobeih Al-Suwaidi after public interviews where Al-Suwaidi was forced to deny the torture and mistreatment he endured in the prisons and to condemn his reform group. While the freedom of Al-Suwaidi is welcome, concerns[…]
On 23 May 2019, FIFA announced the member associations interested in hosting the Under-20 (U-20) World Cup for 2021. The U-20 World Cup is the international men’s youth football championship for the under-20 national teams. Amongst those interested in hosting are member associations from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which have[…]
On 1 April 2019, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression published an Urgent Appeal addressed to Saudi Arabia regarding the disappearance of Yemeni journalist Marwan Ali Naji Al-Muraisy.[…]
This past month marked one-year since Saudi Arabia launched a wave of arrests targeting women’s rights activists as part of a larger crackdown against social reformers and those critical of the ruling family. The series of arrests specifically went after activists who publicly advocated on behalf of ending the female driving ban, which Saudi Arabia’s[…]
The treatment of domestic and migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is deeply troubling as there appears to be an intrinsic crossover between the UAE’s desired economic superiority and the exploitation of hundreds of thousands of workers. The kafala system, a type of visa sponsorship system, is used in the UAE and contributes[…]