Saudi Arabia: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for Online Free Expression

On Monday, 18 September 2017, Snapchat reportedly restricted content from the Qatari media outlet Al Jazeera for its users in Saudi Arabia. According to Snapchat, the move was made to comply with local laws – something the company tries to do in all countries that it operates within. However, Al Jazeera says this is an[…]

UK continues to sell arms to Saudi Arabia despite allegations of war crimes in Yemen

Since Saudi Arabia entered the conflict in Yemen in March 2015 and began to conduct airstrikes, the British government has sold the kingdom more than £3.6 billion worth of arms. Throughout the duration of its involvement in the conflict, the Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen (formed by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, such as Kuwait,[…]

Appeal Hearing Postponed for Bahraini Prisoner of Conscience Khalil al-Halwachi

On 18 September 2017, a Bahraini court postponed yet another hearing for professor and engineer Khalil al-Halwachi. Al-Halwachi, a former opposition activist, is currently appealing a ten-year sentence for allegedly possessing a weapon, which he maintains was falsely planted by security forces. According to Fatima al-Halwachi, Khalil’s daughter and the Deputy Chairman of the European-Bahraini[…]

Trial of Nabeel Rajab Postponed Yet Again in Bahrain

  After 455 days of arbitrary detention, the Bahraini government has again postponed the trial of leading human rights defender and president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) Nabeel Rajab. Arrested on 13 June 2016, Rajab was sentenced to two years in prison in a separate case in July 2017, and is now[…]

Saudi Arabia finalizes the destruction of al-Mosawara despite the UN’s denunciation

On 16 August, the last residential building in al-Mosawara was demolished by the Saudi authorities, after a process of flattening and relocation that started in mid-May, and which led to conflict between residents and security forces. The al-Mosawara neighborhood was a historic quarter in the Shia-majority town of al-Awamiyah, with a rich history, significant cultural[…]