It’s no surprise that the Western media was a little slow to catch up to the unrest in Tunisia. The tiny country sandwiched between Libya and...
Tunisian unrest plays out in cyberspace
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Ashraf Khalil
Ashraf Khalil
Egypt keeps journalists and monitors out of parliamentary polling stations
For months in advance of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, Egyptian officials waged a rather strident campaign to fend off calls to allow...
Middle East: This week’s free expression news
Parliamentary elections are Sunday in Egypt, so here’s a heavily Egypt-centric collection of related links, plus some other happenings around the...
Press freedom and Egypt’s state security
It started out as a routine night on the Egyptian parliamentary campaign trail, and ended as a clear lesson in the methods that a police state uses...
Egyptian blogger released after four years in jail
Kareem Amer freed after serving a prison term for insulting Islam and defaming Egypt’s president. Ashraf Khalil reports
Egyptian blogger released after four years in jail
Online free expression activists around the world are rejoicing at the news that jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer has been freed and had returned...
Palestine's 'Atheist blogger' behind bars
Ashraf Khalil: Palestine’s ‘Atheist blogger’ behind bars
Palestine’s ‘Atheist blogger’ behind bars
Waleed Al-Husseini has been making waves and offending religious sensibilities in the Middle East for years. A committed atheist, the 26 year-old...
Middle East media round up
Ashraf Khalil: Middle East media round up
Middle East media round up
Morocco’s on-again off-again ban on the Al Jazeera satellite news channel is apparently on again. The kingdom is famously touchy about certain...
Bahraini blogger on trial in sweeping Shia crackdown
Ali Abdulemam’s trial is an important test case for free speech in the Middle East. Ashraf Khalil explains why
Bahraini blogger on trial in sweeping Shia crackdown
The tight-knit world of Middle East bloggers and electronic activists is rallying forcefully around the case of Ali Abdulemam, a prominent Bahraini...