Al-Jazeera reported that the government argues that it has fulfilled the obligations of the BICI report released in November, but rights groups argue the opposite: the government has largely ignored “critical recommendations” and has yet to deal with “accountability for torture and relief for those unjustly imprisoned during the uprising.” On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch released a report documenting dozens of cases of citizens imprisoned simply for speaking out and demanding ...

In the Karm al-Zaytoun neighbourhood of Homs, the bodies of at least 45 dead women and children, some with their throats slit, were found. The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, said news of the killings had prompted hundreds of families to flee the city for fear of a new massacre. "Hundreds of families fled Homs overnight, notably from the Karm el-Zaytoun neighbourhood, for fear of new massacres by ...

On Thursday, the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) and the Middle Eastand North Africa Program at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) hosted a roundtable discussion on the recent legislation adopted by the Iraqi government on the media restricting the freedom of expression after years of experiencing media freedom after the fall of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.  The panel featured Oday Hatem Iraqi journalist and president of the ...

On Tuesday, the Jordanian National Movement and the Jordan National Council hosted a press conference outlining the most recent issues and concerns regarding the “Arab Spring” developments in the Arab world and Jordan. The press conference dealt with King Abdullah II regime’s corruption, human rights records, and the systematic harassment of opposition leaders, journalist and activist in Jordan. The panel featured Stephen McInerney, executive director of Project on Middle East Democracy, ...

After intercepting communication between Syrian Army Officers, Lebanese intelligence staff has determined that "direct orders were issued to target the makeshift press centre in which Colvin had been broadcasting." This news comes as a shock after the recent death of the 55 year old Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin and 28 year old photographer Remi Ochlik. Lebanese intelligence reported that if journalists were successfully killed, their deaths were to be made out to ...

The above video includes graphic images. Two Western journalists died during the continued bombardment of Homs; which has been besieged by the military forces since February. American reporter, Marie Colvin who worked for Sunday Times, and French photographer Remi Ochlik perished when a shell struck their makeshift media centre in the Baba Amr district. During the strike, 2 other foreign journalists were injured, British photograph Paul Conroy and French journalist, for the newspaper Le Figaro, Edith Bouvier. The strikes on Wednesday left 20 dead, while ...

In less than a month after U.S. troops exited the country Iraq's government appears in turmoil. Barham Salih, Prime Minister of the autonomous northern Kurdish region, said the internal conflicts are "tearing the country apart," with the new motto being, "I'll have him for lunch before they have me for dinner." Over the past several months, the security services, under Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, have incarcerated more than 1,000 members ...

In December, 2011, IREX, in partnership with the Centre for Law and Democracy, published the report Freedoms in Iraq: an Increasingly Repressive Legal Net, detailing five pieces of legislation affecting the freedoms of assembly and expression in Iraq. The Journalists Rights Law is the only one passed into law as of August 2011, while the other four – the Commission of Media and Communication Law, Informatics Crimes Law, Political Parties Law and ...

On Tuesday, November 15th, the Helsinki Commission held a hearing entitled “From Arab Spring to Coptic Winter: Sectarian Violence and the Struggle for Democratic Transition in Egypt.” Testimonies were provided by Michael H. Posner, assistant secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Dina Guirguis, attorney at Egyptian American Rule of Law Association (EARLA), Samuel Tadros, research fellow at the Hudson Institute, and Dr. Michele Dunne, ...