Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

A controversial court decision has dissolved Jordan’s Teachers’ Syndicate – the country’s largest independent trade union – and its board members have been imprisoned.

The Free Saudi Activists Coalition condemns the sentencing of Saudi women’s rights defender Loujain Al-Hathloul, and calls on governments around the world, including the incoming US Administration, to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for their continued human rights violations.

Rights groups say sale of surveillance technology to oppressive MENA governments has put activists, journalists, and human rights defenders at risk of harassment, imprisonment, or killing.

Since the start of anti-government protests in October 2019, dozens of Iraqi activists, journalists, and civil society members have been killed or forcibly disappeared, while their perpetrators roam free. To mark this year’s International Human Rights Day, rights groups call for an end to impunity, and the release of those arbitrarily held for their free speech or peaceful assembly.

A new report by the Gulf Centre for Human Rights to mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists highlights the perilous violations and dangers journalists continue to face in the MENA region.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights calls for the urgent release of imprisoned renowned Iranian lawyer and human rights defender, Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has been on a hunger strike to protest the detention of prisoners of conscience in Iran’s overcrowded prisons.

Lebanese protesters that have taken to the streets since the Beirut port blast have been met with excessive violence and systematic targeting by security forces, says the Gulf Centre for Human Rights.

Saudi woman human rights defender Loujain Al-Hathloul has been incommunicado in prison for the sixth week amidst an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. The Gulf Centre for Human Rights calls for her immediate release, as well as many other imprisoned human rights defenders facing dire circumstances.