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Entries in Zainab Alkhawaja (66)

Thursday
May232013

Middle East Today: Bahrain --- Amid Raids & Detentions, Opposition Suspends Participation in "National Dialogue"

Bahrain leading opposition society Al Wefaq has suspended its participation in the Kingdom's "national dialogue" after a wave of raids and detentions by security forces.

The Dialogue began in February, with the involvement of pro-regime and opposition groups, as well as Government ministers and MPs, in an attempt to resolve the issues of reform and justice highlighted by mass protests from February 2011.

However, other opposition factions have denounced the Dialogue as little more than a token gesture, and the discussions have made little progress.

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Monday
Mar252013

Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Activist Zainab AlKhawaja Writes from Prison

See also EA Video Special: Intelligence, the Iraq War, and What's Next --- Key Questions and Some Answers
Saudi Arabia Feature: Regime's Historic Decision "To Ban Everything"
Syria Live Coverage: Who Represents the Opposition?
Sunday's Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: US Restarting Negotiations?


1950 GMT: Libya. Oman has granted the late leader Muammar Gaddafi’s widow and her family asylum on humanitarian grounds, an official at the Foreign Ministry has said.

The move was co-ordinated with Libya and Algeria, where the Qaddafis had lived after the fall of the Libyan ruler, following a pledge by the family that they will not use Oman as a base for political or media activity.

The group --- Qaddafi’s widow Safiyyah Farkash, daughter Aisha and sons Mohammad and Hannibal, as well as their children --- has been living in Oman since October 2012, and their expenses are being covered entirely by the Omani Government.

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Sunday
Mar172013

Iraq (and Beyond) Coverage: At Least 10 Killed in Basra Bomb

1555 GMT: Egypt. The Pope of Egypt’s Coptic Church has received the Libyan Ambassador in Cairo to discuss the fate of three Egyptian Coptic-Christians and an Egyptian evangelical, detained in Libya on charges of "promoting Christianity".

Yesterday the Libyan Embassy temporarily suspended operations in Egypt amid concerns over the safety of its staff.

One Egyptian national was released earlier this mohth in the case.

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Friday
Mar012013

Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Activist Zainab AlKhawaja Given 3-Month Sentence

See also Syria Live Coverage: Foreign Governments Pledge Support for Opposition --- But How Much?
Thursday's Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Two Detainees in Israel Prisons End Long-Term Hunger Strikes


Zainab AlKhawaja1720 GMT: Egypt. Employees of nongovernmental organizations say the Government is refusing to approve most of their outside grants, forcing some to lay off staff or cut salaries while preventing them from completing projects.

“It's worse, and it gets worse and worse and worse,” said Magdy Abdel Hamid, head of the Egyptian Association for Community Participation and Enhancement. “Under [former President Hosni] Mubarak there were problems, and sometimes they refused [to approve foreign-funded grants], but in general, under the Mubarak regime we were in better condition.”

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Wednesday
Jan162013

Bahrain Opinion: A Nobel Peace Prize for the AlKhawaja Family? (Weschler)

Maryam & Abdulhadi AlKhawajaFor all its seeming intractability, the situation in Bahrain is not entirely without hope. The regime is hardly monolithic in its hard line, there are reformist elements who could themselves be heartened, their own positions strengthened, by the award of the Peace Prize to a family of nonviolent oppositionist activists. In this context, the situation in Bahrain is not unlike that in Myanmar/Burma a few years back, and the introduction of a Nobel into the Bahraini environment might prove as salutary.

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Friday
Jan112013

Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Activist Tries to Re-Enter the Kingdom

See also Syria Live Coverage: The End of the Brahimi Mission?
Thursday's Turkey (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Three Kurdish Officials Killed in Paris Attack


1748 GMT:Tunisia. Hundreds of protesters demanding jobs and the reopening of a border crossing with Libya set fire to a police station and cars, as security forces used tear gas and fired shots into the air to disperse them.

Demonstrators in Ben Guerdane want the Ras Jedir crossing reopened so that trade with Libya, on which most of the population depend, can resume.

Tunisian and Libyan authorities opened the crossing briefly on Thursday but shut it when four days of protests in Ben Guerdane turned violent.

1818 GMT: Bahrain. Zainab AlKhawaja's reaction:

Maryam and Zainab Alkhawaja:

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Thursday
Dec272012

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Assad Regime Negotiating a Deal in Moscow?

See also Syria 1st-Hand: Aleppo --- Hunger, Disease, & Little Hope
Wednesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgents Take Another Town in the North


2315 GMT: Bahrain. Claims are circulating that leading human rights activist Zainab AlKhwaja was released from prison on bail today.

Zainab's husband said he was collecting her from prison. He described her as the "apple of the eyes of the people of Bahrain".

Yesterday, the New York Times published an article written by Zainab behind bars. Her trial verdict was also postponed until 20 January.

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Wednesday
Dec262012

Bahrain Opinion: "A Regime Trampling Human Rights" --- Detained Zainab AlKhawaja in The New York Times

Zainab AlKhawaja, 17 October 2012At present, the Bahraini government believes it has international immunity. It commits widespread human rights violations, and business continues as usual: the government continues to buy arms and negotiate lucrative deals, without having to face any real consequences. This is why the most prominent Bahraini human-rights defenders are languishing in prison. Until the United States starts to put real pressure on its ally, Bahrain’s government has no incentive to change.

No matter the price, Bahrainis will keep demanding the very values — human rights and democracy — that the United States claims to stand for. It is an outrage that America continues to back a regime that tramples them.

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Monday
Dec102012

Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Opposition Rejects Morsi's Referendum

See also US War on Terror Feature: Preparing for Military Operations in Africa
Syria Live Coverage: "A Political Process to End the Crisis is Still Possible"
Sunday's Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Morsi Gives Back His Expanded Powers


2047 GMT: Libya. The trial of Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, the last Prime Minister in the Qaddafi regime, opened today, with charges including "abusing public funds" and "committing acts aiming to unjustly kill people".

Al-Mahmoudi sat in a caged section of the courtroom and spoke only once during the one-hour hearing, saying "yes" when asked to confirm his presence.

The next hearing was set for 14 January.

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Thursday
Nov292012

Palestine, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The UN Votes on Palestinian Statehood

2232 GMT: Bahrain British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt has met this week with opposition political society AlWefaq and the loyalist National Unity Assembly. In a statement, Burt offers little more than the normal UK line, although he specifically notes the recent stripping of citizenship. This is likely to become an increasing issue for the British government as it has not only impacted Bahrainis resident in London but also left two former AlWefaq MP's who were visiting the UK, stranded as stateless

We discussed the current situation in Bahrain one year on from the Independent Commission of Inquiry’s report and our shared concern at the recent bombings. I reiterated the UK’s support for the Declaration of Non-Violence that was launched earlier this month by Al Wefaq and five other political societies. It is an important confidence-building measure and I encourage other leaders in Bahrain to declare publicly their support for this initiative. Violent protests are unacceptable and we condemn them unequivocally.

We also discussed recent actions taken by the authorities, such as the ban on protests and the withdrawal of citizenship from 31 individuals. I made clear that the UK is concerned about such steps which undermine potential reconciliation and that the UK is urging the Government of Bahrain to do more to create the right environment for meaningful political dialogue. I therefore welcome the Government’s acceptance of a needs assessment team from the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights next week to discuss this alongside follow-up to the recent Universal Periodic Review of Bahrain by the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The British Under-Secretary of State for Defence Lord Astor will visit Bahrain next week for talks with leaders.

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