Unlawful Imprisonment

“Lethal Disregard:” UN report on Deaths of Migrants in Mediterranean goes too Light on Libyan, Italian Navies

Mt. Berry, Ga. (Special to Informed Comment) – The diplomatic language used in official human rights reports often fails to express the horrors that they reference. So it is with the May 2021 report issued by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet: “Lethal Disregard: Search and Rescue and the Protection of Migrants […]

Apartheid

From Myanmar to Israel, what are the Offenses of ‘Apartheid’ and ‘Crimes Against Humanity?’ and How can we Make sure they are Prosecuted?

Human Rights Watch

By Clive Baldwin | Senior Legal Adviser | – ( Human Rights Watch) – The use of the word ‘apartheid’ in its legal meaning can sometimes, but not always, generate considerable power and attention. The related crime against humanity of persecution never seems to attract the same interest. Our finding in 2020 that the Myanmar […]

Human Rights

The Saudi Lobby is Coming for You, Small Town America

Juan Cole

By Ben Freeman, Brian Steiner and Leila Riazi | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S., was on the hot seat. In early March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic swept the world, oil prices collapsed and a price war broke out between Saudi Arabia and Russia, leaving […]

censorship

Reporters without Borders Files German ‘Crimes against Humanity’ Case against Saudi’s Bin Salman for Khashoggi Murder

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The France-based Reporters without Borders (RSF) has filed a criminal complaint with the Prosecutor-General of the Federal Court of Justices in Karlsruhe, Germany, against crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman and other Saudi officials for the murder of Washington Post columnist and US resident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The filing alleges […]

censorship

Will the Khashoggi Killing stand in the way of Bin Salman acceding to the Throne of Saudi Arabia?

Middle East Monitor

By Amira Abo el-Fetouh | – ( Middle East Monitor) – The Biden administration has finally authorised the Director of National Intelligence in Washington to release a report about the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Donald Trump blocked its release, challenged Congress and failed to implement the law proposed in this regard. In doing […]

censorship

Saudi Arabia: Proposed Reforms Neglect Basic Rights: Ongoing Repression, Absence of Civil Society Impede Progress

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch) – (Beirut) – Saudi Arabia recently announced a series of important and necessary reforms, but ongoing repression and a lack of respect for basic rights are major barriers to progress, Human Rights Watch said today. The repression of independent civil society and critical voices that can provide objective feedback decreases the […]

CIA

Biden’s New Mideast: In Nadir of US-Saudi Relations, release planned of CIA report Accusing Crown prince of Murder

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Biden administration will release a Central Intelligence Agency report concluding that crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, 35, of Saudi Arabia, masterminded the assassination on October 2, 2018, of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. I’m not sure even an old foreign policy hand like President Biden understands how explosive this […]

censorship

Why Google’s Plans for a Saudi-Based Cloud are So Dangerous: Riyadh may demand Private Customer Data

Global Voices

By Dahlia Kholaif | – ( Global Voices ) – Tech giant Google plans to establish a new Google Cloud region in Saudi Arabia. Access Now, a nongovernmental digital rights organization, has raised alarm and requested the immediate halting of the plan, referring to the country’s “appalling human rights record.” The organization issued a statement […]

Featured

Biden’s Saudi Game of Thrones: Is he trying to Sideline crown prince Bin Salman?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – BBC Arabic reports that Saudi Twitter has gone wild with responses to the apparent sidelining by President Biden of Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, with many Saudis considering it a humiliation. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said this week that Biden wishes to “recalibrate” the U.S. relationship with Saudi […]