BAHRAIN: Government criticised for blocking websites
MANAMA, (IRIN) - Bahrain’s government has blocked a number of websites in the kingdom, including those posting critical articles on Bahrain’s ruling family, those writing about the alleged marginalisation of the country’s Shi’ite majority, as well as those belonging to independent rights groups.
Rights organisations said the website of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights has remained blocked and its chairman, Abdel Hadi al-Khawaja, was arrested along with other rights activists, including Abdel Raouf al-Shayeb and Ali al-Imam.
EGYPT: Sadat’s nephew jailed and more Muslim Brothers arrested
CAIRO, (IRIN) - Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticised the Egyptian government for the arrest of 33 Muslim Brotherhood members on 18 October under the country’s Emergency Law which allows for indefinite detention without trial in security cases.
“Once again, the Egyptian authorities are relying on illegitimate laws to imprison members of the political opposition,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW, said.
The Brotherhood published a statement on Monday on what MP Mohammed Yusuf called the “weird and abnormal” arrest in the southern city of Sohag of six Brotherhood activists on charges of “hanging signs which ruin the environment”. The men had apparently been putting up posters celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.
Meanwhile, North Sinai Youth for Change activist Hassan Abdallah was released from prison on Wednesday, following a seven-week detention. He had been detained without charge and went on a hunger strike in prison to protest against his treatment.
IRAQ: TV presenter of programmes on minorities killed
BAGHDAD, (IRIN) - Sherin Hamid, a television presenter for the state-run al-Iraqiya satellite channel, and her driver were found dead in central Baghdad on 29 October, a day after they were kidnapped by unknown gunmen, police and al-Iraqiya said.
She had hosted special programmes on the satellite channel aimed at the country's Kurdish and Christian minorities, said Aziz Rahim, a spokesman for al-Iraqiya.
Media sources said that her association with such programming could have made her a target of either Sunni insurgents or their Shi’ite militia rivals who have been blamed for most of the capital's spiralling sectarian violence.
SYRIA: Kilo’s trial adjourned as he and others go on hunger strike
DAMASCUS, (IRIN) - The trial of Michel Kilo - writer, rights activist and a key figure in the Syrian opposition who was jailed in May for calling on Damascus to improve its relations with Lebanon - was adjourned on a technicality on 31 October.
Kilo was tried alongside Mahmoud Issa, who also signed the Damascus-Beirut declaration that called on Syria to respect Lebanese sovereignty, on charges related to inciting sectarian division and engaging with foreign organisations - charges which carry a maximum jail term of three years.
"We love Syria, we love our country," cried out Issa from behind the bars of the criminal court in Damascus' Justice Palace as diplomats and journalists who attended the hearing filed out.
A day earlier, Kilo, who appeared pale and wizened in the court room, had begun a three-day hunger strike to protest his continued incarceration. He was joined by Kamal Labwani, who was arrested last November after returning to Damascus from a meeting in Washington with the US deputy national security adviser.
Leading human rights lawyer Anwar Bunni, also arrested in May over signing the Damascus-Beirut Declaration, announced a week-long hunger strike.
On Monday, Sham satellite channel, the country’s only private TV station, was shut down on the orders of Information Minister Muhsin Bilal, barely eight months after it first went on air. No reason was given.
YEMEN: Al-Dailami’s arrest raises international concern
SANAA, (IRIN) - On 30 October, the Paris-based Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders - a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) - said it was concerned about the arrest of human rights activist Ali Hussein al-Dailami, who is being held incommunicado.
In its annual report on press freedom for 2006, the Paris-based Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) - Reporters without Borders - ranked Yemen 149 out of 168 countries. The organisation said this year Yemen slipped four places, mainly because of the arrest of several journalists and closure of newspapers that reprinted the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
However, except for Yemen and Saudi Arabia (16), all the Gulf countries considerably improved their ranks. Kuwait (73) kept its place at the top of the group, just ahead of the United Arab Emirates (77) and Qatar (80), the report added.
JORDAN: Government accused of 'intellectual terrorism'
AMMAN, (IRIN) – The former top adviser of Jordan's King Abdullah was summoned before an Amman prosecutor on Thursday on charges of "stirring sectarianism and disturbing national unity". This followed remarks he made an interview with the pan-Arab satellite television station al-Jazeerah.
Adnan Abu Odeh said during the interview that the Jordanian government was discriminating against Jordanians of Palestinian origin by preventing them from occupying high and sensitive posts. He warned of the future repercussions of such a policy on the kingdom.
While the case against Abu Odeh was brought by a group of citizens, political analysts believe the government is behind the case, though it denies any involvement.
Human rights activists decried the move to prosecute Abu Odeh.
"This is wrong and a form of intellectual terrorism. The government wants to silence everybody and stop all sorts of criticism and freedom of opinion," Hani Daheleh, head of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights, said.
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MANAMA, (IRIN) - Bahrain’s government has blocked a number of websites in the kingdom, including those posting critical articles on Bahrain’s ruling family, those writing about the alleged marginalisation of the country’s Shi’ite majority, as well as those belonging to independent rights groups.
Rights organisations said the website of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights has remained blocked and its chairman, Abdel Hadi al-Khawaja, was arrested along with other rights activists, including Abdel Raouf al-Shayeb and Ali al-Imam.
EGYPT: Sadat’s nephew jailed and more Muslim Brothers arrested
CAIRO, (IRIN) - Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticised the Egyptian government for the arrest of 33 Muslim Brotherhood members on 18 October under the country’s Emergency Law which allows for indefinite detention without trial in security cases.
“Once again, the Egyptian authorities are relying on illegitimate laws to imprison members of the political opposition,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW, said.
The Brotherhood published a statement on Monday on what MP Mohammed Yusuf called the “weird and abnormal” arrest in the southern city of Sohag of six Brotherhood activists on charges of “hanging signs which ruin the environment”. The men had apparently been putting up posters celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.
Meanwhile, North Sinai Youth for Change activist Hassan Abdallah was released from prison on Wednesday, following a seven-week detention. He had been detained without charge and went on a hunger strike in prison to protest against his treatment.
IRAQ: TV presenter of programmes on minorities killed
BAGHDAD, (IRIN) - Sherin Hamid, a television presenter for the state-run al-Iraqiya satellite channel, and her driver were found dead in central Baghdad on 29 October, a day after they were kidnapped by unknown gunmen, police and al-Iraqiya said.
She had hosted special programmes on the satellite channel aimed at the country's Kurdish and Christian minorities, said Aziz Rahim, a spokesman for al-Iraqiya.
Media sources said that her association with such programming could have made her a target of either Sunni insurgents or their Shi’ite militia rivals who have been blamed for most of the capital's spiralling sectarian violence.
SYRIA: Kilo’s trial adjourned as he and others go on hunger strike
DAMASCUS, (IRIN) - The trial of Michel Kilo - writer, rights activist and a key figure in the Syrian opposition who was jailed in May for calling on Damascus to improve its relations with Lebanon - was adjourned on a technicality on 31 October.
Kilo was tried alongside Mahmoud Issa, who also signed the Damascus-Beirut declaration that called on Syria to respect Lebanese sovereignty, on charges related to inciting sectarian division and engaging with foreign organisations - charges which carry a maximum jail term of three years.
"We love Syria, we love our country," cried out Issa from behind the bars of the criminal court in Damascus' Justice Palace as diplomats and journalists who attended the hearing filed out.
A day earlier, Kilo, who appeared pale and wizened in the court room, had begun a three-day hunger strike to protest his continued incarceration. He was joined by Kamal Labwani, who was arrested last November after returning to Damascus from a meeting in Washington with the US deputy national security adviser.
Leading human rights lawyer Anwar Bunni, also arrested in May over signing the Damascus-Beirut Declaration, announced a week-long hunger strike.
On Monday, Sham satellite channel, the country’s only private TV station, was shut down on the orders of Information Minister Muhsin Bilal, barely eight months after it first went on air. No reason was given.
YEMEN: Al-Dailami’s arrest raises international concern
SANAA, (IRIN) - On 30 October, the Paris-based Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders - a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) - said it was concerned about the arrest of human rights activist Ali Hussein al-Dailami, who is being held incommunicado.
In its annual report on press freedom for 2006, the Paris-based Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) - Reporters without Borders - ranked Yemen 149 out of 168 countries. The organisation said this year Yemen slipped four places, mainly because of the arrest of several journalists and closure of newspapers that reprinted the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
However, except for Yemen and Saudi Arabia (16), all the Gulf countries considerably improved their ranks. Kuwait (73) kept its place at the top of the group, just ahead of the United Arab Emirates (77) and Qatar (80), the report added.
JORDAN: Government accused of 'intellectual terrorism'
AMMAN, (IRIN) – The former top adviser of Jordan's King Abdullah was summoned before an Amman prosecutor on Thursday on charges of "stirring sectarianism and disturbing national unity". This followed remarks he made an interview with the pan-Arab satellite television station al-Jazeerah.
Adnan Abu Odeh said during the interview that the Jordanian government was discriminating against Jordanians of Palestinian origin by preventing them from occupying high and sensitive posts. He warned of the future repercussions of such a policy on the kingdom.
While the case against Abu Odeh was brought by a group of citizens, political analysts believe the government is behind the case, though it denies any involvement.
Human rights activists decried the move to prosecute Abu Odeh.
"This is wrong and a form of intellectual terrorism. The government wants to silence everybody and stop all sorts of criticism and freedom of opinion," Hani Daheleh, head of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights, said.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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