Iona Craig shared her story of working as a journalist in one of the world’s worst countries for press freedom
CATEGORY: Middle East and North Africa
Meltem Arikan: Creating life with the tools of death
Creating life with the tools of death, in the middle of a war, in a place where everyday children, women and men of all ages are being killed mercilessly.
Revealed: The British exports that crush free expression
The Arab Spring has not stopped Britain from helping crush free expression by selling crowd control ammunition to authoritarian states including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Alex Stevenson reports
Shahira Amin: Remembering Bassem Sabry
The shocking news of the death of democracy advocate and widely acclaimed Egyptian blogger, Bassem Sabry on April 29, hit me like a lightning bolt, Shahira Amin writes
Naming and shaming: 8 countries egregiously violating religious freedom
The U.S. State Department names and shames eight “Countries of Particular Concern” that severely violate religious freedom rights within their borders. Now an independent watchdog is naming and shaming the State Department, saying its list should be doubled. Brian Pellot reports
Gay rights in Lebanon: The good, the bad and the ugly
Despite recent wins, being gay in Lebanon is still a taboo. In a country drenched in sectarianism, debates about homosexuality are easily dismissed in the name of religion and homosexuals are accused of promoting debauchery, Farah Wael writes
Egyptian journalist’s death still impacting press freedoms, solidarity
While Egypt’s hugely controversial Al-Jazeera trial has been grabbing international attention, the recent death of 22-year-old reporter Mayada Ashraf – allegedly at the hands of the police – appears to have left more of a lasting impact on Egyptian journalists working amid the ongoing violence, Tom Rollins reports
Egypt: Prime minister suspends controversial film
Rights activists and groups say the removal of Halawet Rooh (Beauty of the Soul) from theatres is part of a wider clampdown on artistic expression. Shahira Amin reports
Academia in Egypt: Security forces and self-censorship
Activist academics played a pivotal role in the country’s 2011 uprising, but today the corrosion of academic freedom of expression continues, writes Heather McRobie
Egypt: Law will “severely erode civil liberties”
Country is expected to put into effect a new counter-terrorism law that rights groups warn could “reinstate the old police state that existed under deposed president Hosni Mubarak”, writes Shahira Amin