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Sheet of paper Report

Human rights in the Middle East and North Africa: A review of 2018

The international community’s chilling complacency towards wide-scale human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has emboldened…

February 26, 2019

Nawal Benaissa, 36 yeards-old, is a mother of 4 who joined Hirak early on and became one of its main female leading voices. She took part to several protests with her husband and children and has been very active on social media. Her Facebook profile gained more than 80 000 followers, before authorities asked her to shut down during one of her detention in custody. She was arrested and held in custody for few hours four times between June and September 2017. This last time she was sued and on mid-February 2018, she was sentenced to 10 months suspended sentence and a fine of 500 hundred dirhams for inciting to commit an offence (by speech, cries or threats made in the places where public meetings, either through posters exposed to the public or by any means fulfilling the condition, advertising, including electronically, on paper and by audio-visual channel, if the provocation has not been followed by effect. Article 299 of the penal code). Her lawyer has appealed the sentence, the Court of Appeal has yet to rule. Benaissa responded to the court's decision on her Facebook page by expressing her continued support for the Rif protests. "I am proud to take part in the protests in the region and I denounce the imprisonment of Hirak activists. I demand their immediate release," she wrote. Few weeks ago, she moved from the northern city of Al Hoceima to another Moroccan city in order to flee harassment from authorities.

Press Release

Amnesty International launches world’s biggest human rights campaign

Women human rights defenders around the world are facing unprecedented levels of abuse, intimidation and violence, said Amnesty International as…

November 28, 2018

Sheet of paper Report

Egypt: The use of indefinite solitary confinement against prisoners amounts to torture

“The first time I saw Hisham after his arrest was in hospital. He described his solitary cell to me. He…

May 6, 2018

Press Release

Egypt: Use of banned cluster bombs in North Sinai confirmed by Amnesty International

Analysis of a Video released by the Egyptian Armed Forces proves beyond doubt that banned cluster munitions have been used…

February 28, 2018

Press Release

Egypt: Cluster bomb video highlights human rights concerns in North Sinai

The Egyptian military’s use of cluster bombs must cease immediately, Amnesty international said today, following the military’s release of an…

February 14, 2018

©keeyoungsong.com

Press Release

Egypt: 16 men jailed amidst unprecedented homophobic crackdown

Responding to the news that a Cairo court convicted 16 men of “debauchery” and sentenced them to three years prison…

November 28, 2017

Press Release

Amnesty International Reacts to U.S. Withholding Military Aid to Egypt

Following the announcement that the U.S. will withhold military aid to Egypt until it addresses human rights concerns, Adotei Akwei,…

August 23, 2017

WEST PALM BEACH, FL - APRIL 06: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks with the media after he greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping at Palm Beach International Airport on April 6, 2017 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Mr. Tilleson spoke about several topics including the upcoming meetings with China and the ongoing conflict in Syria. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Press Release

Secretary Tillerson Visit to Gulf Must Not Greenlight More Abuses Against Human Rights Defenders

Today, Secretary Tillerson is meeting with senior foreign officials in Saudi Arabia. This is the latest leg of a week-long…

July 12, 2017

Press Release

Dozens of news sites blocked as Egypt ramps up digital censorship

The Egyptian authorities have shifted their onslaught against media freedom to the digital sphere, blocking access to more than 40…

June 13, 2017

Press Release

Egypt: NGO law threatens to annihilate human rights groups

A new law signed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, imposing unprecedentedly harsh restrictions on NGOs, could be a death…

May 30, 2017

Press Release

Egypt: 10-year prison term for insulting President an outrageous assault on freedom of expression

The sentencing of a lawyer to 10 years in prison for a Facebook post exposes the abuse of Egypt’s new…

April 13, 2017

Press Release

Egypt: Authorities must address sectarian violence, not abuse emergency powers to further curtail rights  

Emergency measures included in a declaration of a state of emergency by President Abdelfattah al-Sissi in the aftermath of three…

April 10, 2017