Following reports of a mass grave uncovered in the southern town of Deraa, State Department representative Mark Toner stated that the United States was "looking into the allegations."  When asked what the response would be if the reports were confirmed, Mr. Toner stated that he was not in a position to speculate. Mr. Toner was also pressed to provide more information on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement that nearly ...

On Tuesday, the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs released an overview of U.S. Assistance to  Jordan in Fiscal Year 2010.  The fact sheet states that the aim of U.S. economic assistance, which totaled $463 million,  was to help Jordan maintain economic growth and development initiatives while also supporting the governments political and economic reform agenda.  It also notes that $300 million were designated for Foreign Military Financing and ...

On Monday, during the 3rd hearing of the 21 Bahraini opposition leaders accused of attempting to topple the government, human rights activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja was removed from court following statements made at the beginning of the trial in which he discussed threats of rape made against him after he refused to apologize to the King on tape.  The judge refused to listen to these statements,ordered Al-Khawaja out of the courtroom ...

According to Max Boot, writing at Commentary, the UAE has hired Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, to assemble a mercenary battalion for the government.  Boot argues that while the use of 'soldiers of fortune' is not inherently wrong , there can be no confusion that the UAE intends to use such mercenaries to quell internal dissent by force; with a particular focus on its large "underclass of foreign-born workers ...

On Friday, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hosted a hearing on the human rights situation in Bahrain.  The commission – chaired by James McGovern (D-MA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA) – requested the testimony of the following individuals: Joe Stork, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa programs at Human Rights Watch (HRW); Maryam Al-Khawaja, Head of Foreign Relations Office at the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR); ...

On Tuesday, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) held a panel entitled, “Lebanon and the Arab Spring: A Congressional View of Lebanon’s Roles Amidst Historic Change in the Region.” USIP President Richard Solomon gave introductory remarks.  Mona Yacoubian, Senior Program Officer for the Middle East and Director of the Lebanon Working Group, moderated the panel.  Congressman Charles Boustany (R-LA), the son of Lebanese immigrants, offered his perspective on how ...

On Thursday, the Bahraini government tried 21 detainees for 10 different charges related to a terrorist plot constructed by opposition leaders to overthrow the monarchy.  Despite statements from the government thatthe hearing would be open to international observers, Brian Dooley from Human Rights First was denied access along with a lawyer from Frontline Defenders who was also threatened by security personnel who threatened forcibly remove her, if she did not ...

On Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs held a hearing entitled “Human Rights and Democratic Reform in Iran.”  Senator Robert P. Casey (D-PA) chaired the committee hearing, Senators James Risch (R-ID), Tom Udal (D-NM) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) were also present. Assistant Secretary of State Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Michael H. Posner; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State ...

Protests were held across Syria on Friday, the protests were mainly in the Kurdish towns of Qamishli, Amouda, Ras al-Ain and Derbassieh. Protests were also held in the central cities of Homs and Hama and in the Damascus district of Midan. Demonstrations took place under a heavy security presence including thousands of plain clothes officers and tanks surrounding previous flash points.  President Bashar Al Assad, reportedly ordered troops not to fire on pro-democracy demonstrators ahead of ...