Raif Badawi, a Saudi blogger, creator of the “Free Saudi Liberals” website, and advocate for freedom of expression, continues to languish in the kingdom’s Dhahban Central Prison. Saudi authorities arrested Badawi in 2012 on a charge of insulting Islam through electronic channels and brought him to court on numerous additional charges, including apostasy. He was[…]
04
Aug
Aug
On 30 July 2016, the Bahrain News Agency (BNA), the state news agency of Bahrain, released a statement on behalf of The Labour and Social Development Ministry regarding the activities of its National Child Committee. BNA noted that the Ministry and the Committee will convene to submit a 2017 report to the United Nations Committee[…]
01
Aug
Aug
Since the 2011 Bahraini uprisings, there has been a severe crackdown from the government on the civil liberties of the country’s citizens. Years of mass incarceration, torturing political prisoners, and repressing the freedoms of speech and assembly have finally culminated in some of the largest protests seen since 2011. The June 2016 arrest and detention[…]
28
Jul
Jul
On 23 July 2016, Bahraini authorities arrested Khalil al-Ismael as he was leaving the village of Diraz, where many Bahrainis are protesting the government’s revocation of Sheikh Isa Qassim’s Bahraini citizenship. Bahraini authorities charged Ismael with attending an “illegal demonstration” and reading a “political poem” out loud. Al-Ismael’s lawyer Mohammed al-Tajer, who himself is under[…]
27
Jul
Jul
On 21 July 2016, President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued new legislation further intensifying existing cybercrime laws enacted under Federal Law No. 5 of 2012. The amendment, Federal Law No. 12 of 2016, punishes Internet users who use counterfeited IP addresses with the intent to commit a crime[…]
