16 March 2016 – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) welcomes the announcement that Qatar’s emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has issued a royal pardon for imprisoned poet Mohammed al-Ajami. The detention of Mr. al-Ajami on charges related solely to the contents of his poetry was a glaring example of Qatar’s failure[…]
25
Feb
Feb
Qatar: Release unfairly imprisoned poet Mohammed al-‘Ajami 25 February 2016 London and Washington, DC – On the third anniversary of the unfair 15 year prison sentence handed down to the Qatari poet, Mohammed al-‘Ajami, the human rights bodies Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), Amnesty International, English PEN, Freedom Now, PEN[…]
24
Feb
Feb
On 8 February 2016, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it would be forming new ministries of “happiness” and “tolerance.” While the UAE is not the first country to establish such positions—commentators note that the move is reminiscent of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index, installed in 1972, as well as other more recent trends—it remains[…]
26
Jan
Jan
Earlier this month, Kuwait’s parliament passed two new laws increasing the government’s power to censor online media and restrict free expression. On 11 January 2016, lawmakers prescribed a jail term of up to ten years for any online “criticism of the government, religious figureheads or foreign leaders.” The next day, the parliament passed an additional law regulating[…]
20
Jan
Jan
20 January 2016 – After holding them for more than 500 days without charge, an Emirati court charged Libyan-American citizens Kamal and Mohammed al-Darat with providing material support to Libyan organizations allegedly linked to the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday. The court charged the al-Darats along with two other Libyan nationals, including Libyan-Canadian citizen Salim al-Aradi.[…]
