The U.S. State Department has called last week's arrest of April 6 co-founder Ahmed Maher a "step backward" for Egypt's democratic transition. The U.S. has expressed concern about what it sees as a growing trend of arrests against political ...

Bahraini lawmakers are urging their government to stop the U.S. ambassador from "interfering in domestic affairs," and attending "repeated meetings with those who inspire sedition." The government has agreed to the proposal and said they would take diplomatic measures, but ...

Freedom House released its annual report on freedom of the press around the world in 2012. The report identified a global decline, asserting that "the percentage of people worldwide who enjoy a free media environment fell to its ...

The Iraqi government suspended the broadcasting licenses of ten satellite television channels, including Al Jazeera. Iraq's Communication and Media Commission is imposing a ban on the operations of Al Sharqiyah, Al Sharqiyah News, Babylonian, Baghdad, Salah al-Din, Anwar ...

The State Department's 2012 Human Rights Report on Syria noted a number of human rights problems, the most significant of which were "the regime’s massive, countrywide attacks and strategic use of citizen killings to intimidate and control; specific ...

The State Department's annual report on human rights in Lebanon described the country's most significant human rights abuses as "torture and abuse by government and other security forces, harsh prison and detention center conditions, and limitations on freedom of ...

In the State Department's newest human rights report on Morocco, the analysis identifies "little or no progress by year’s end in passing necessary to implement the advances, such as gender equality and parity, provided for in the ...

The State Department's 2012 report on human rights practices in Egypt notes a host of concerns resulting from the country's 2011 revolution and transition to democracy. Among the most problematic were the increased vulnerability of women and minorities ...

The annual State Department country report on human rights practices in Bahrain detailed heavy-handed repression in 2012 and reports that the government maintains a system of extra-judicial detention facilities where torture routinely occurs. The most serious human rights problems ...

In its annual report on the status of human rights in Iran, the State Department determined that the country's most egregious rights violations were "the government’s severe limitations on citizens’ right to peacefully change their government through free ...

The State Department released the 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. These reports provide detailed assessments of the status of human rights around the world. Uzra Zeya, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,

Former Formula One world champion Damon Hill argued that the Grand Prix, which will be held in Manama later this month, should not go ahead. "I would not want to go to Bahrain if people are going to be ...

The Guardian released Wednesday portions of a report drafted by a presidential committee in Egypt cataloging the military's crimes against civilians during the 2011 uprising. Still unpublished after being submitted to President Mohamed Morsi and Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah in ...

A group of NGOs sent a letter regarding human rights abuses in Bahrain to racers participating in the upcoming Formula One Grand Prix in the country. The letter outlines the protest movement in Bahrain and the government's response to the protests. ...

In an effort to tamp down on unwieldy militias that often take the law into their own hands, Libya's General National Congress (GNC) approved a law criminalizing torture and abductions on Tuesday. Many of the former revolutionary militias continue to ...