The Government of Kuwait executed seven prisoners by hanging on 25 January 2017. Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah authorized the executions, which took place at the country’s central prison. Kuwait’s hangings come on the heels of recent executions in Bahrain and signal another disappointing move away from death penalty moratoria in the region. Those[…]
13
Jan
Jan
Last month, King Salman approved Saudi Arabia’s 2017 national budget, the first passed since the unveiling of the kingdom’s economic reform plan, Vision 2030. In keeping with Vision 2030’s objectives, the budget increases government spending amidst economic indicators of a decrease in the country’s deficit. However, Saudi Arabia is far from out of the woods. Experts[…]
12
Jan
Jan
Update: After this post was published, Bahrain’s Ministry of Information Affairs has partially suspended on 16 January 2017 Alwasat, the country’s only independent newspaper. See here for more details. On 16 January 2017, Bahrain’s prosecution will try the case of journalist Nazeeha Saeed, whom the Public Prosecution Office charged with working for international media without a[…]
10
Jan
Jan
Following yet another postponement in the final days of 2016, the trial of Bahraini scholar and activist Khalil al-Halwachi is now set to enter its twenty-third session on 22 January 2017. He is being tried along with 16 others and has been detained by Bahraini authorities for over two years without being sentenced, in clear[…]
28
Dec
Dec
On Tuesday, 13 December, U.S. officials announced they would block the $350 million sale of air munitions to Saudi Arabia, citing the high civilian death toll from the kingdom’s intervention in Yemen. Media outlets were quick to cover the announcement, which followed months of increased tension between the two allies over the war. However, the[…]
