Publication Jun 18, 2018 Who Really Put Saudi Women Behind the Wheel? Feminism terrifies authoritarians. Why else would the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman — the heir-apparent of an absolute monarchy that has ruled since 1932 over a country named after…
Press Release Jun 14, 2018 Jordan’s Authoritarian Rulers Must Hand Power to the People NEW YORK (June 14, 2018) — Last week, Jordan’s newly-appointed prime minister, Omar al-Razzaz, announced that the government would repeal a tax law that had prompted widespread protests and dissent…
Media Jun 6, 2018 Another win for Erdogan is no longer a foregone conclusion (The Washington Post) –With his growing authoritarianism, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seemed unassailable a few months ago when he decided to advance presidential and parliamentary elections by more than…
Media Jun 6, 2018 Iran’s renowned rights lawyer Sotoudeh arrested (France 24) – Iran’s award-winning human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested on Wednesday, her husband said in a Facebook post. “A few hours ago Nasrin was arrested at home…
Media Jun 5, 2018 Young Jordanians taste political protest for the first time (Reuters)–Jordanian accountant Leen Samer has never attended a protest in Amman before. But since last week, she and her friends have flocked to rallies near the cabinet office every night…
Media May 11, 2018 What to expect from Iraq’s election on Saturday Tomorrow, Iraqis will be voting for the first time since their territory was liberated from the Islamic State’s rule. Given the current security-related, sectarian and economic challenges facing the country…
Publication May 7, 2018 Turkey’s main opposition candidate demands more media coverage (Reuters)–The presidential candidate for Turkey’s main opposition has hit out at a lack of mainstream media coverage for opposition parties and candidates before elections in June. Muharrem Ince, the main…
Media Apr 26, 2018 Turkish court sentences journalists to years in prison for ‘terrorism’ charges (CNN) – A Turkish court has sentenced 14 employees of a newspaper that has been critical of President Tayyip Recep Erdogan’s government to prison, convicting them on ‘terrorism’ charges. The…
Media Apr 25, 2018 Egyptian Military Court Sentences Sisi Critic to 5 Years in Prison (The New York Times) – A military court on Tuesday sentenced a former government anticorruption czar to five years in prison over incendiary claims about documents said to incriminate Egypt’s…
Blog Post Apr 23, 2018 HRF Congratulates Shawkan For Winning UNESCO’s Press Freedom Prize HRF congratulates Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid, commonly known as Shawkan, for winning UNESCO’s Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize for his fearless reporting during anti-regime protests, and in recognition of…
Publication Apr 23, 2018 New electronic system to speed up Iraqi election results: elections chief (Reuters) – A new electronic system will deliver the results of Iraq’s upcoming national election within hours of polls closing, the country’s chief electoral officer said, a marked improvement from…
Media Apr 18, 2018 Turkey to hold snap elections on 24 June, says Erdoğan (The Guardian) – The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has announced snap elections on 24 June, more than a year earlier than planned, saying the country urgently needed to make…
Media Apr 16, 2018 How did voters register their protest in Egypt’s presidential election? (The Washington Post) – During the last week of March, Egyptians headed to the polls to award incumbent President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi a second term. The event was an election…
Media Apr 11, 2018 Waleed Abulkhair sits in a Saudi jail for speaking out Waleed Abulkhair sits in a Saudi jail for speaking out By Javier El-Hage and Celine Assaf Boustani July 12, 2016 Javier El-Hage and Celine Assaf Boustani are lawyers at the…
Press Release Apr 10, 2018 Syria: Assad Gasses Innocent Civilians, Again NEW YORK (April 10, 2018) — The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) condemns Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons against the civilian population of the last rebel-held city, Douma,…
Media Apr 9, 2018 Let grieving wife of dead environmentalist leave Iran, son pleads The son of an Iranian-Canadian environmentalist who died in a Tehran prison under mysterious circumstances has called on Iran to allow his grieving mother to leave the country. Maryam Mombeini,…
Media Apr 9, 2018 UN Security Council to meet over chemical attack in Syria (CBS News) – The U.N. Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting Monday on Syria following a deadly apparent chemical weapons attack on Saturday. Rival meetings were originally…
Media Apr 4, 2018 Egyptian website editor arrested for republishing article on election fraud (The Guardian) – Egyptian police raided the office of a news website late on Tuesday and arrested its editor-in-chief, according to three of its journalists, including its managing editor. The…
Publication Apr 2, 2018 Egypt’s Sisi wins 97 percent in election with no real opposition (Reuters)–Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been re-elected with 97 percent of votes, the same proportion that the former military commander secured four years ago for his first term but…