POMED's Weekly Wire for July 25 is now available. This week's edition includes coverage of increased violence in Syria, as well as ongoing discussions between NATO, Russia, and others about Libya. Protests in Jordan were met with police violence and a lawsuit by journalists, and there were renewed protests in Tunisia. Gulf countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, and Iran, continued to imprison pro-democracy supporters. Congress hosted several hearings on events ...

In a report released by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that featured interviews with 35 prominent Iranians living within Iran including, activists, human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, and members of the political oppositions regarding the possibility of a military strike against Iran.  The interviewees expressed "grave concern" that the possibility of a military conflict would negatively impact the human rights situation and provide a "pretext for the ...

On Monday, protesters called for action against the government officials who were accused of restraining the peaceful demonstrations. As Bahraini's gathered to rally for reform, Bahrain's king set up an international panel in an effort to investigate the Shi'ite-led protests and the deaths of over 30 people as a result.  Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, the head of the five-member panel, reported on Sunday that the panel would meet with both government officials ...

Women have played a central role in the uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, and now, as some of these countries undergo transitions, women’s rights must be incorporated into broader demands for social, economic, and political reform. In the latest POMED policy brief, Isobel Coleman examines the women’s movements in Tunisia and Egypt in the context of the Arab Spring. A transition to an inclusive, authentic democracy will ...

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is allegedly refusing solid food in a Sharm el-Sheikh hospital. Some believe that Mubarak is intentionally refraining from eating to postpone his trial set for August 3rd. Head of hospital Mohamed Fathallah reports that Mubarak "is completely refusing to eat food but consumes some liquids and juice only. He lost a lot of weight and suffers weakness and severe infirmity." Additionally, MENA reports the medical supervisors ...

Al-Jazeera reports that 23 allies of former Tunisian leader Zine el Abidine Ben Ali "have appeared before a court in the capital Tunis for trying to flee the country last January with illegally obtained foreign currency." On January 14th, 14 men and nine women were captured when trying to escape from Tunisia with a 'large sum of money', the same day Ben Ali and his wife fled to exile in ...

Today, the House Appropriations Committee released the FY12 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which included a total of $39.6 billion in regular discretionary funding, an 18% decrease ($8.6 billion) from last year's level. Global War on Terror funding received $7.6 billion in the bill, $1.1 billion below the President's request. Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers noted that, "the bill provides essential support to secure and stabilize some of the most critical ...

On Monday, the United States Institute of Peace hosted an event entitled "Beyond Tahrir: The Trajectory of Egypt's Transition." The discussion was with Major General Said Elassar, Assistant to Egyptian Defense Minister, Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Tara Sonenshine, Executive Vice President, United States Institute of Peace, provided introductory remarks. William Quandt, Edward R. Stettinius Professor of Politics, University of Virginia, moderated the discussion. For full notes, continue reading. ...

U.S. State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland released a statement condemning the ongoing violence in Syria. The statement said, "the United States condemns the ongoing violence in Syria, particularly the brutality practiced by the Syrian Government against its own citizens – peaceful protesters and bystanders alike...President must understand that he is not indispensible, and we believe he is the cause of Syria’s instability not the key to its stability." The ...

Al-Jazeera reports that the court trials for former President Hosni Mubarak and ex-Interior Minister Habib al-Adly have been merged. The Egyptian cabinet announced the decision today in an effort to further placate protesters who have accused the interim ruling military of retaining the former regime's practices. Additionally, six other high-ranking officials had trial dates set for August 3. Former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif was also charged and ordered detained for 15 days ...

According to a report by Reuters, a U.N. envoy to Libya discussed plans to resolve the civil war, but no definite initiative had taken shape. Despite continued NATO strikes, Gadhafi and his family remain clinging to power in the embattled country. Senior rebel official Mahmoud Jibreel informed Reuters that, "his side would reject any initiative that did not involve the removal of Gadhafi from power..." However, the Libyan government has said that official ...

Yemen's opposition rejected government plans for peace talks on Monday claiming that they "had not heard of any such roadmap for peace" thoughVice President Abd-Rabbu Hadi Mansour claimed that a roadmap toward peace would be launched within a week.  The opposition said that they would not engage in peace talks until President Ali Abdullah Saleh signs a transition plan introduced by the Gulf Arab states, which Saleh has backed out ...

The Syrian government has adopted a draft law permitting the formation of political parties besides the ruling Baath party, although banning those based on religious, tribal, or ethnic affiliation. The bill was approved by the Cabinet late on Sunday, but still requires parliamentary approval. Today, the state news agency SANA announced the passage of the draft law, and noted that "the establishment of any party has to be based on ... a ...

In an interview with The Cable, Rep. Howard Berman discussed the negative implications of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's markup last week of H.R.2583, a State Department and foreign assistance authorization bill. Rep. Berman argued that the bill was a "waste of time" to begin with, and the over 100 amendments added by GOP Congressmen sent a negative signal to the international community. He criticized his GOP counterparts for throwing ...

Nearly two dozen political parties, coalitions and movements released a joint statement that condemned the attacks on the Abbasiya March on July 23, calling it the "Second Battle of the Camel."  The original Battle of the Camel took place on February 2 when "anti-government thugs" rode camels and attacked the protesters in Tahrir Square.  The statement said that the organizations “strongly condemn the attacks on the peaceful march which started from ...

Many activists are concerned that former President Hosni Mubarak's trial will be postponed.  According to activists, "setting the trial date was just an element of political theater, part of the ritual of superficial concessions that the military-led transitional government has made after each big new demonstration in Tahrir Square."  Activists are already planning protests in response to Mubarak's potentially postponed trial. Mubarak's trial is in ten days. “The signs show that ...