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International

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Spotlight: Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights Gender

Soutoudeh receives heavy sentence, Shawkan and Alaa Abd El-Fatah complete theirs, plus Bahrain's Formula One v. human rights

Soutoudeh receives heavy sentence, Shawkan and Alaa Abd El-Fatah complete theirs, plus Bahrain's Formula One v. human rights

30 March 2019
Joey Ayoub for IFEX. Based on IFEX member reports

MENA in March: Iranian lawyer Nasrin Soutoudeh sentenced to 38 years; a campaign against F1 complicity, an index of online incitement against Palestinians, and more.

Middle East & North Africa Highlights
From our Network

Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights Free Expression & the Law

GCHR releases its 2018 survey of human rights activism in the MENA region

The report is dedicated to defenders of freedom of thought and expression who defend human rights from governments' extreme repression.

‎ Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)‎11 March 2019

Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights Free Expression & the Law

Shawkan finally free, Hakeem returns to Australia, and Bedoon activists persecuted

Our MENA Editor Joey Ayoub reviews the latest free expression developments from across the Middle East and North Africa during the month of February.

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX. Based on IFEX member reports ‎ 4 March 2019

Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights Gender

Saudi teenager granted asylum in Canada, Palestinian journalists 'collateral victims' and 26 Bahrainis stripped of citizenship

Egyptian TV presenter's jail sentence for interviewing a gay man; Bahrainis stripped of citizenship; a Saudi activist's death sentence lifted, and a Saudi teenager granted asylum; Iraqi photojournalist killed; and Palestinian journalists 'collateral victims' in Hamas-Fatah rivalry.

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX. Based on IFEX member reports ‎ 1 February 2019

Latest from Middle East & North Africa

Iran goes after lawyers, Bahraini and Emirati activists' sentences upheld, Syrian activists remembered

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX, Based on IFEX member reports

Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights Free Expression & the Law 3 January 2019
CIHRS launches "Rowaq Arabi", a platform for analyses of human rights movements

‎ Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

Middle East & North Africa Attacks 31 December 2018
Women tortured, teachers arrested and brutal 'tests' for LGBTQI+

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX. Based on IFEX member reports

Middle East & North Africa Attacks Free Expression & the Law Gender 6 December 2018
On International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, NGOs call for immediate actions

‎ Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), ARTICLE 19, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), IFEX, Maharat Foundation, Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Impunity Middle East & North Africa Attacks 6 November 2018
Murder in the Saudi consulate, Bahrain's jailed activists, Egypt's contempt for the law, and more

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX, Based on member reports

Impunity Middle East & North Africa Attacks Free Expression & the Law 3 November 2018
Women in the headlines – for all the wrong reasons, plus a round-up of MENA's latest free expression news

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX. Based on IFEX member reports

Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights Attacks Gender 2 October 2018
Activists' relatives targeted, Bahrain advocacy, Israel arrests Palestinian journalists

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX

Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights Attacks 6 September 2018
A snapshot of digital rights coverage in the MENA region

‎ Social Media Exchange (SMEX)

Access to Information Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights 29 August 2018
'Instagram celebrities' arrested; death certificates of Syrian activists released; and a step forward in LGBTQI+ rights: MENA in July

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX

Middle East & North Africa Attacks Free Expression & the Law 1 August 2018
Gender rights hypocrisy, a Youtube ban, and anti-terrorism legislation used to crush dissent: A dark month in the MENA region

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX

Middle East & North Africa Attacks Gender 6 July 2018
Mapping cybercrime laws and digital rights violations in the Gulf and nearby region

‎ Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights 30 June 2018
Journalists and rights defenders under fire, Pride cancelled: MENA in May

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX

Access to Information Middle East & North Africa Attacks 1 June 2018
ZooPark: New spyware campaign targets Android users in the Middle East

‎ Social Media Exchange (SMEX)

Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights 25 May 2018
In a month characterized by repression, a pro-LGBTQI+ campaign lifts some spirits

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX

Middle East & North Africa Attacks Gender 2 May 2018
'No Longer Alone': LGBT Voices from the Middle East, North Africa

‎ Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Middle East & North Africa Attacks Gender 16 April 2018
As UN HRC takes place, governments in the MENA region step up repression

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX

Middle East & North Africa Attacks Freedom of Assembly 4 April 2018
Honouring women's rights defenders on International Women's Day

‎ Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

Middle East & North Africa Attacks Gender 9 March 2018
Revolutionary anniversaries across MENA marked with repression: February round-up

‎ Joey Ayoub for IFEX

Middle East & North Africa Attacks 5 March 2018
MENA governments bent on shutting down political expression

‎ Hiba Zayadin for IFEX

Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights Attacks Censorship 3 February 2018
Life after sentencing for MENA's political detainees

‎ Hiba Zayadin for IFEX

Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights Free Expression & the Law 31 December 2017
How to stay safe while covering protests over Trump's Jerusalem announcement

‎ Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

International Middle East & North Africa Attacks 12 December 2017
ARTICLE 19 partners with Grindr to improve protection of LGBTQ+ users in MENA

‎ ARTICLE 19

Middle East & North Africa Digital Rights Attacks Gender 5 December 2017
Unapologetic crackdowns on dissent as greater instability rocks MENA

‎ Hiba Zayadin for IFEX

Middle East & North Africa Attacks Free Expression & the Law 4 December 2017
Nine women from MENA remembered on International Women Human Rights Defenders Day

‎ Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

Middle East & North Africa Attacks Gender 29 November 2017
How repressive Arab regimes are expanding their reach

‎ Hiba Zayadin for IFEX

Middle East & North Africa Attacks Digital Rights 3 November 2017
Attacks, abuses of power & shrinking civic space: September in the MENA region

‎ Hiba Zayadin for IFEX

Middle East & North Africa Attacks Free Expression & the Law 2 October 2017

At a glance

Middle East & North Africa

members working in this region 15

Most covered free expression issues in this region

More from Middle East & North Africa

Breaking Boundaries: Survey of human rights activism in the Gulf and Neighbouring Countries in 2018

Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) 11 March 2019
Mapping Cybercrime Laws and Violations of Digital Rights in the Gulf and Neighbouring Countries

Digital rights and freedoms have been severely compromised by national cybercrime legislation and prosecution, and now judicially.

Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) 26 June 2018
Audacity in Adversity: LGBT Activism in the Middle East and North Africa

Despite state-sponsored repression and social stigma, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Middle East and North Africa are finding ways to speak out. They are telling their stories, building alliances, networking across borders, developing national and regional movements, and finding creative ways to combat homophobia and transphobia.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) 16 April 2018

Take Action!

Take action to help free prominent human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor, now on hunger strike

Please join us and take action this week to help save the life of imprisoned human rights defender and blogger Ahmed Mansoor, who has been on hunger strike for a month in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He started the hunger strike to protest poor prison conditions and his unfair trial which led to a ten-year prison sentence for his human rights activities. Help spread his message by taking action now!

Latest Tweet:

Urgent Action! #UAE: Ahmed Mansoor @Ahmed_Mansoor remains on hunger strike in poor conditions as eyesight deteriora… https://t.co/BUcF3OyJPT – 2:04 PM, 23 April 2019