The following appeared on policymic.com. To view the original, click here. While the Iranian standoff continues with European oil sanctions and American vessels crossing the Straits of Hormuz, time is left in Iran to deal with more significant threats. Just last week, Iranian officials sentenced Aria Aramnejad, a singer, to 10 months in prison. His crime was a song, “Ali Barkhiz” (“Rise...

Dorsa Allahverdi, an Iranian student, found over the phone on 23 November that due to an “incomplete file” she had to go to the Education Evaluation Organization. While there she was told she had been expelled from the university due to her belief in the Baha’i Faith. In 2011 alone, over 20 Baha’i students were expelled from different universities. Those universities expelling...

On January 10, 2012, Saudi judge Mutrak Al Bishr called upon the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, commonly known as the Religious Police, to arrest Saudi journalist Nadin Al-Badir for criticizing the Committee in an interview with Egypt’s Dream2 TV. During the interview, Nadin Al-Badir detailed various abuses committed by the Religious Police, including an incident...

The following article was taken from The Huffington Post.  To view the original, click here. The regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has been struggling mightily to portray Syrian Christians as staunch supporters of the government. But facts tell a different story. All Syrians, including Christians, are the victims of widespread repressive and intimidation by the Syrian regime. ...

Egyptian dissident Maikel Nabil held his first press conference on January 28, three days after his release from prison. Undeterred by his imprisonment, Nabil stood by his initial critique of SCAF that led to his arrest, and he recounted his experience behind bars. He stated that he was forced to watch some of his fellow inmates being tortured and related details of his solitary confinement cell...