Hiba Zayadin

In defiance of security threats, thousands of Iraqis have gathered in the streets to protest against excessive benefits and privileges enjoyed by members of parliament.

Peaceful demonstrations took place across Bahrain on 14 August, despite attempts by the authorities to suppress them by blocking roads, setting up checkpoints and surrounding villages with barbed wire.

As Egyptians battle over conflicting visions for the future of their country, both journalists and the right to free expression are at risk.

The Jordanian government began, on 2 June 2013, to block over 200 news websites for failing to register and obtain licenses under a recently amended and controversial Press and Publications Law.

On 4 June 2013, 43 NGO workers were sentenced to prison in Egypt on charges of operating unlawfully in the country and receiving foreign funding without permission. Some of the workers have taken to Twitter to voice their opinions, fears, and concerns.

As a global campaign to release journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye from prison picks up speed, other Yemeni journalists are finding it increasingly hard to do their jobs amid death threats and attempted attacks orchestrated at the hands of a variety of Yemeni factions with different agendas.

A composite image that compared Abbas to a character from a Syrian TV show landed Palestinian journalist Mamdouh Hamamrah in jail. He was later pardoned by President Mahmoud Abbas.

As local and international rights organisations held events and activities surrounding the second anniversary of Bahrain’s pro-democracy uprising, protests across the country were met with violence from the authorities resulting in the death of a teenage boy.

President Mohamed Morsi’s first 200 days in office alone have witnessed more defamation lawsuits than under all Egyptian rulers combined since 1892, states ANHRI in its latest report, issued to mark the second anniversary of the Egyptian revolution.

Polarized reactions within Egypt to Morsi’s recent decree and the proposed Constitution indicate a deepening divide between seculars and liberals on one side and Islamist supporters of Morsi on the other.

Fatal attacks on three journalists followed a series of Israeli air strikes earlier in the week that injured at least 11 journalists and damaged news outlets in Gaza.

At least six journalists were injured in Israeli airstrikes targeting two buildings that house media offices in the Gaza Strip.