By: Ramzy Baroud Writing about and reporting on the Middle East is not an easy task, especially during these years of turmoil and upheaval. But I cannot remember another time in recent history when we have needed journalists to shine in order to challenge conventional wisdom, to think in terms of contexts, motives, alliances, and not ideological, political or financial …
أكمل القراءة »أرشيف الوسم : human rights
Egypt : government refers Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) to investigation
The Egyptian government referred the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) to investigation on the “NGOs foreign funding” case which led previously to the closure of five international organizations operating in Egypt and to jail sentences for some of their staff members. In A new statement, 22 Egyptian NGOs including CIHRS itself condemned the latest measure and consider it …
أكمل القراءة »When Fear Triumphs over Rationality: Harper Anti-Terror Legislation
By Monia Mazigh In the Oxford English Dictionary the definition of the word “fear” reads as follows: “an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain or harm.”Stephen Harper must have learned this definition by heart. The way he uses fear on the Canadian population to pass his proposed new anti-terror legislation is working to perfection, as least so …
أكمل القراءة »The Criminalisation of Islam in The British Media
Dilly Hussain – 5Pillarz Professor Paul Baker of Lancaster University carried out a unique research entitled, ‘The Representation of Islam and Muslims in the UK Press 1998-2009‘. Along with three other academics, Professor Baker embarked on a rigorous study that involved the analysis of more than 200,000 articles, equating to over 147million words of journalism. The use of “corpus linguistic …
أكمل القراءة »UN rights office urges probe into human rights violations in Egypt
The United Nations on Tuesday warned that Egypt must rein in its security forces and look into human rights abuses against protesters, calling the political tension in the country “alarming”. The UN rights office said that it was deeply concerned by “the seriously damaging lack of accountability for human rights violations committed by security forces in the context of demonstrations”. …
أكمل القراءة »US “horrified” by Syrian air raids in Raqa
The United States on Wednesday said that it was “horrified” by Syrian regime airstrikes in Raqa that caused the death of at least 95 people, slamming the regime for its “continued slaughter”. The bombing on Tuesday was the most lethal attack conducted by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s air force since extremist group Islamic State (IS) captured the city last year …
أكمل القراءة »UAE strongly refutes Amnesty report, says it is “committed” to human rights
The UAE on Wednesday said that it was dedicated to improving the protection of human rights, and criticized Amnesty International for its “one sided and inaccurate” accusations. “The UAE will continue its work to strengthen the protection of human rights. There is no freedom here: Silencing dissent in the UAE”, the foreign ministry said, referring to the rights watchdog’s report …
أكمل القراءة »UN criticizes Israel human rights abuses, demands Gaza war investigation
The UN Human Rights Committee advised Israel to respect the rights of the Palestinian people, and demanded that the country investigate violations committed during the attack on Gaza. The committee published its conclusions in a report on Thursday after a month-long review of Israel’s human rights record and amid near-daily clashes in East Jerusalem. The committee bemoaned continued demolitions of …
أكمل القراءة »UN envoy troubled by “surge in executions” in Iran
At least 850 people were executed in Iran in the last 15 months, a UN official stated on Monday, emphasizing the worsening human rights situation in the country under President Hassan Rouhani. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN’s rights rapporteur for Iran, said that the “surge in executions” has resulted in Iran having the world’s highest death penalty rate per capita. “The …
أكمل القراءة »Iran executes psychologist for heresy
A former psychologist was executed in Iran of heresy after spending eight years in prison, a human rights group said on Tuesday. The execution is the most recent example of what activists feel is a troubling rise in the use of the death penalty in Iran. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said that Mohsen Amir Aslani was hanged …
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