Twenty-something Saudi activist,  Hawad Al Akeel, arrested nine days ago, in the city of Buraidah - for participating in protests calling for the release of political prisoners in Saudi, is in very poor health. Saudi authorities have denied treatment to the vocal activist and supporter for reform and freedom in Saudi. Akeel has been previously arrested for his support of wrongfully detained...

The Kuwaiti Court of Appeals handed down a five year sentence with hard labor to blogger Bader Al Rashidi, Thursday, March 21st, for allegedly insulting the Emir on his Twitter account. Lately, the incredible explosion of Twitter in the Gulf region has been overshadowed by a steady stream of cases where outspoken bloggers have been jailed for 140-character comments. Over the past few years, Al...

According to RSS users, the death of google reader eliminates one method used to circumvent internet censorship in closed societies, reports Solmaz Sharif, Iran Program Director. Writing in the International Business Times, Sharif reported that, while states like Belarus or Iran can block direct access to blogs and news websites, Google Reader is integrated with user's email, avoiding the...

Last week, the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran submitted his third report to the Human Rights Council and it was not good news. Dr. Ahmad Shaheed expressed his grave concern about the deteriorating situation for Iran’s Baha'i population since his last report during the 67th session of the U.N. General Assembly in October 2012. Human rights...

Saudi Bahia Sulaiman Al Rashoodi has been sentenced to four months in prison for calling for the release of her father, Sulaiman al Rashoodi, who has been detained since 2011. Former judge and president of the Saudi Association of Civil and Political Rights (ACPRA), the 76-year old Sulaiman, was most recently detained in 2007 and later convicted in 2011 for attempting to establish a human rights...