On Wednesday, the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a panel discussing the history of the Iraqi police and the U.S. police assistance program in Iraq. The event publicly introduced a new USIP Special Report by Robert Perito on “The Iraq Federal Police: U.S. Police Building Under Fire.”  The panel featured retired U.S. Army General Jim Dubik, former deputy inspector general of the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq ...

On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers raided two Palestinian news stations in the occupied West Bank seizing transmitters the military said were “interfering with air traffic communications.” Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad visited Watan TV, one of the raided TV stations, called the Israeli offensive “oppressive and monstrous” and “violated all international laws.” Spokesman for the Palestinian Authority Ghassan Khatib stated that the Palestinian communications ministry determined that they had complied with ...

Emirati authorities have cancelled dozens of Syrians' residency permits after they partook in a non-sanctioned protest in front of the Syrian consulate on February 10. More than 2,000 people protested against the Syrian regime in front of the consulate located in the emirate of Dubai. The Syrian National Council has been in negotiations with U.A.E. officials in order to have the residency permits of those arrested reinstated. Reportedly, Dubai police had asked the ...

In a report released today, Amnesty International stated, "there were around four times as many public executions in 2011 as in 2010, a practice that Amnesty International said was used by the authorities to strike fear into society." The 71-page report, We Are Ordered to Crush You": Expanding Repression of Dissent in Iran, details the Iranian authorities' increased repression of dissent in the wake of protests called by opposition leaders Mir Hossein ...

18-year-old Jordanian Odai Abu-Issa was sentenced to two years in jail by a military court for burning the picture of King Abdullah II at a protest last week. The court found Abu-Issa guilty of “harming the king’s dignity” and has remained imprisoned since the incident two weeks ago. Additionally, there are reports that he was beaten police while in jail. In a separate occurrence, an “unidentified assailant” stabbed Inas Musallam, ...

Today, Amnesty International released a 71-page report documenting the escalating crackdown occurring in Iran in the run up to this week's parliamentary election entitled"We are ordered to crush you': Expanding Repression of Dissent in Iran. According to the report, regional protests of people demanding their rights and freedoms have not skipped over Iran, but however have continually arose only to face brutal repression at the hand of the Iranian regime. Iran’s ...

This Thursday, March 1st, POMED will host its 4th annual Leaders for Democracy Awards Reception in Washington, D.C from 7 to 9pm at the Touchstone Gallery (located at 901 New York Ave. NW). The POMED annual awards reception is a special gathering that brings together POMED staff, friends, and supporters.  It will be a wonderful opportunity to look back on the exciting events of the past year and look forward to all ...

Today, President Bashar al-Assad’s government announced voters had “overwhelmingly approved” a new constitution that had be criticized internationally as a "sham." As foreign powers met in Tunis to devise a plan to expedite Bashar Al-Assad’s departure and halt the ongoing violence taking place across Syria, the Syrian Interior Ministry announced that the constitutions,, which could keep Assad in power until 2028,  had received an 89.4% approval by more than eight million voters. The ...

The E.U. officially recognized the Syrian National Council (SNC) as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people after meeting in Brussels to discuss the implementation of stricter sanctions on the Assad regime. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe stated that while other opposition groups exist, these groups should be urged "to unite and become more organized. E.U. Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton urged the international community to "stand together" to halt the ongoing violence saying "We ...

Over the weekend former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh officially handed power to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. The power transfer is part of a deal sponsored by Gulf states, and in which Saleh is granted immunity from prosecution.  Speaking at the ceremony, Saleh said, "I hand over the banner of the revolution, of the republic, of freedom, of security and of stability... to safe hands." Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting for Al Jazeera,  described the atmosphere of ...

POMED's Weekly Wire for February 27 is now available. Top stories from this week include the following: On Thursday, March 1, POMED will host the 4th Annual Leaders for Democracy Award Reception, honoring U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, former opposition MP Matar Matar from Bahrain, and Tunisian civil society activist and former National Constituent Assembly candidate Omezzine Khelifa. To get your ticket, click here. From Washington - Executive Director Stephen McInerney and ...