Prisoner Profile: Salim al-Aradi

Salim al-Aradi is a 46-year-old Libyan-Canadian businessman who runs a home appliance company with his brother in the UAE. On 28 August 2014, Salim was vacationing with his family in Dubai when he received a strange phone call at his hotel from an Emirati security officer. Although it was around 2:00 AM, the officer instructed[…]

Fact Check: The Truth About Sheikh Nimr

Since arresting leading Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr in July 2012, the Government of Saudi Arabia has worked to propagate a series of misperceptions aimed at degrading Sheikh Nimr’s record as a peaceful opposition figure. However, a review of Sheikh Nimr’s speeches and opposition activities demonstrates that government claims do not hold up to scrutiny. اضغط هنا للقراءة[…]

Prisoner Profile: Dr. Mohammed al-Mansoori

Dr. Mohammed Ali Saleh al-Mansoori is an Emirati lawyer and former president of the UAE Jurists’ Association. He is also a human rights activist – one who has long faced government harassment for pushing democratic reforms. As early as October 2007, Emirati authorities imposed an open-ended travel ban on Dr. al-Mansoori in order to prevent[…]

Prisoner Profile: Dr. Ahmed al-Zaabi

On 26 March 2012, Emirati security forces arrested Dr. Ahmed Yousef al-Zaabi, a former judge and law professor in the UAE. Dr. al-Zaabi is also the brother of Obaid al-Zaabi, a human rights defender detained by the authorities in July 2013. Upon his arrest, Dr. al-Zaabi was taken to Abu Dhabi’s al-Razeen Prison, where security[…]

Voices from the Ground: Saudi Women Speak on Elections

\إضغط هنا لنسخة عربية Tomorrow, on 12 December 2015, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will hold its third municipal council elections. In accordance with the 2011 declaration of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (MOMRA) has officially permitted women to vote and run for seats across the kingdom’s[…]