Algeria
Bahrain
Djibouti
Egypt
Iraq
Palestine/Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Libya
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Morocco
Oman
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Saudi Arabia
Sudan
Syria
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United Arab Emirates
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Reprisals Continue Unabated in the Arab World, Alkarama Tells the UN Secretary General
On 24 May 2016, Alkarama has provided the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) Ban Ki-moon with a report detailing reprisals taken by Arab States against human rights defenders (HRDs). Once again this past year, HRDs have suffered from harassment and intimidation for their cooperation with the United Nations (UN), especially in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco and Oman. Despite repeated calls to end reprisals, Arab States continue to relentlessly attack all human rights defenders and systematically seek to undermine the work of UN experts and Special Rapporteurs, leaving a shrinking civil society space behind them.
Sudan: Another Khartoum University Student Victim of Arrest and Incommunicado Detention
On 5 May 2016, several students, amongst which 25-year-old Wifag Mohamed Gourashi Al Tayib, were abducted by officers of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), as they were meeting a lawyer after they were expelled from Khartoum University in reprisals for their participation to peaceful demonstrations. Contacted by her family who had not heard from her since, on 25 May, Alkarama and the Arab Coalition for Sudan (ACS) wrote to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) in the hope that it will help shed light on her whereabouts.
UAE: Acquittal of Libyan Canadian Salim Alaradi and his co-accused after 642 days in detention
On 30 May 2016, the State Security Chamber of the Supreme Court of the United Arab Emirates has acquitted Salim Alaradi and two co-accused after 642 days in detention. While the Security Chamber of the Supreme Court confirmed Alaradi's innocence, he was not allowed to leave the Court free, but was taken back to prison by the State Security forces.
Yemen: Pediatrician Released After 10 Months of Enforced Disappearance at the Hands of the Houthi-Saleh Coalition
After 10 months of enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment, Dr Abdelkader Al Guneid, a pediatrician and professor at Taiz University, was finally released the by Houthi-Saleh Coalition on 21 May 2016.
Syria: Secret Detention of University Student Walid Issa by 'Islamic State' since March 2015
On 25 March 2015, Walid Issa, a 27-year-old student from Al-Yaarubiyah in the al-Hasakah Governorate, was travelling home from Turkey when, passing in the city of Al Raqqah, he was stopped at Point 11, an area hosting the headquarters of the 'Islamic State' (IS) security offices near the soccer stadium known as "the black stadium." The officers, wearing black uniforms and identifying themselves as IS members, immediately arrested him.
Palestine: Reporter Mohammad Al-Qeeq Released after Six Months in Administrative Detention
On 19 May 2016, 34-year-old Palestinian journalist at Al Majd TV Mohammad Al-Qeeq was released after six months spent in administrative detention. Concerned over the fact that Al-Qeeq was detained on the sole basis of his work as a reporter, Alkarama seized on 15 January 2016 the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression (SR FRDX), David Kaye, asking him to urgently intervene with the Israeli authorities to request his immediate release.
