Social Media Exchange (SMEX)

As the saga of Saudi’s hunted elites commanded attention across the Middle East and North Africa this November, news of the region’s less powerful prey fell by the wayside. Authorities in Kuwait, Bahrain, Libya, Morocco, and Egypt went after protesters, journalists, and human rights defenders critical of their regimes.

The Facebook page “Where is the state?” regularly posts high-quality videos or pictures documenting alleged crimes in Lebanon. Sharing this information breaches these alleged criminals’ right to privacy and endangers their access to justice in the process.

On the one-year anniversary of the death of popular Cambodian activist Kem Ley, civil society organisations from around the world reiterated their call for an independent inquiry.

NGOs around the world ask authorities to stop campaigns of repression against HRDs and civil society organisations in the Middle East and North Africa region

That’s the question 33 NGOs are asking Eritrea this World Press Freedom Day, after the Cano prize-winning journalist remains unheard from since 2005.

91 NGOs call on UAE to immediately and unconditionally release award-winning human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor

The 160,000 residents of the Lebanese town of Arsal have been denied access to 3G and 4G mobile networks for over two years. The reason? Nebulous “security reasons” cited by the state.

Members of IFEX wrote an open letter on behalf of Kazakh Editor Zhanbolat Mamay, calling for a fair and impartial handling of charges against him and full investigation into his mistreatment in prison and threats made to his family.