Human Rights

San Francisco (Tomdispatch.com) – A barely noticed anniversary slid by on March 20th. It’s been 15 years since the United States committed the greatest war crime of the twenty-first century: the unprovoked, aggressive invasion of Iraq. The New York Times, which didn’t exactly cover itself in glory in the run-up to that invasion, recently ran […]

censorship

Before phony polls, Egypt arrests, expels Times reporter Bel Trew

contributors

Middle East Monitor | – – Egypt has deported a British journalist working for The Times, the newspaper said on Saturday, describing an “increasingly oppressive environment” for media in the country ahead of next week’s presidential election. The Times said its correspondent, 33-year-old Bel Trew who had been based in Cairo for several years, was […]

Displaced and Refugees

Turkey: Mass Deportations of Syrians to dangerous Areas

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – EU Should Raise Issue, Pledge Aid at Conference (Brussels) – Turkish security forces have routinely intercepted hundreds, and at times thousands, of asylum seekers at the Turkey-Syria border since at least December 2017 and summarily deported them to the war-ravaged Idlib governorate in Syria, Human Rights Watch said today. […]

Chemical Weapons

From Dead Spies to Dead Syrian Villagers, Russian Denialism on Chemical Attacks

contributors

By Brian Whitaker | ( Al-Bab.com) | – – Russia’s RT links the Skripal poisoning to British jealousy over hosting of the World Cup There’s something uncannily familiar about Russia’s propaganda antics over the poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal in Britain. We’ve seen them before in Syria where Russia has steadfastly defended the Assad […]

CIA

CIA Cables detail New Director’s Role in Torture at Thailand Black Site (Redacted)

contributors

Correction: Trump’s Pick to Head CIA Did Oversee torture at Thai black site but Not of Abu Zubaydah On Feb. 22, 2017, ProPublica published a story that inaccurately described Gina Haspel’s role in the treatment of Abu Zubaydah, a suspected al-Qaida leader who was imprisoned by the CIA at a secret “black site” in Thailand […]

Human Rights

Western Man jailed for “insulting” UAE online

contributors

Middle East Monitor | – – A 39-year-old teacher* has been jailed and forced “to sign a fake confession” in the UAE following “an electronic insult” on social media. The teacher was arrested in October 2017 while working as a teacher in Abu Dhabi. His mother says he is being held in filthy conditions and […]

BDS Occupied Territories

ACLU: US Congress ban on Boycotting Israel is Unconstitutional

contributors

TeleSur | – – The bipartisan bill was rewritten after criticism by civil rights advocates but it remains challenged by the ACLU. The legal advocacy group American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced Tuesday their opposition to a revised draft of a legislation targeting the growing pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The ACLU criticized […]

Authoritarianism

The New Censorship: Beware Authoritarian leaders claiming to Fight “Fake News”

contributors

By Courtney C. Radsch | (Project Syndicate) | – – Laws meant to curb “fake news” may be well intentioned, but their implementation has been sloppy, with few mechanisms to ensure accountability, transparency, or reversibility. Governments are outsourcing censorship to the private sector, where maximizing shareholder value, not upholding journalistic freedom, drives decision-making. WASHINGTON, DC […]

Displaced and Refugees

Anger as Israel begins deportation of African Refugees

contributors

By Tanja R. Müller | (The Conversation) | – – Around 20,000 Israelis and African migrants took to the streets in Tel Aviv on February 24, protesting against a government policy of detaining and deporting African asylum seekers who refuse to leave the country. A few days earlier, a group of Eritrean asylum seekers held […]