Recently, Lebanon has experienced something of a symbolic coup when it comes to civil marriage. The Ministry of Justice approved the country’s first civil marriage for couple Kholoud Sukkarieh and Nidal Darwish, issuing them a “family record" which is considered to be an official document that proves they’re married.

Saudi Arabian blogger, activist, and creator of the website for social and political debate “Saudi Arabian Liberals,” Raif Badawi is still languishing behind bars despite being found “not guilty” of apostasy. Badawi has been in detention since June  2012 on charges including “setting up a website that undermines general security” and insulting Islamic religious leaders. Later...

Cyberdissidents.org Founder David Keyes was recently published on The New York Times' Opinion Pages. Below is an excerpt; the original article can be found here. "LAST week, a 26-year-old Palestinian activist, Anas Awwad, was sentenced in absentia by a court in Nablus, the West Bank, to one year in prison for “extending his tongue” against the Palestinian Authority’s...

 The Daily Beast recently featured Cyberdissidents blogger Maikel Nabil as one of six best Egypt bloggers to follow. They said: “While he’s not actually on the ground in Egypt anymore, Maikel Nabil remains an influential" and highly controversial"figure in Egypt. “A lot of Egyptians don’t see eye to eye with his policies, since he’s pro-normalization with Israel,”...

Throngs of anti-government protesters and riot police were locked in a bitter skirmish, Friday, in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, after authorities denied a request for an opposition rally. Friday’s protests was the most recent flare-up in a two-year long conflict between the Sunni-led government and the country’s majority Shiites that are seeking more of a political voice. Nearly...