Courts and the law

People shop in a market on June 17, 2025 in Damascus, Syria.

Senate vote paves way for Trump to repeal Syria’s Caesar sanctions

President Trump is poised to sign bipartisan legislation scrapping the sanctions that are seen as a major obstacle to Syria's economic recovery.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with US special envoy Tom Barrack, Jerusalem, Dec. 15 2

Analysis

Trump's Syria envoy Barrack tests Israel's patience as Netanyahu pushes back

The struggle between the Israeli prime minister and the envoy is an acknowledgment by Israeli leaders that "what will happen is what Trump wants to happen."

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Jasmine

Culture

Turkey launches probe into HBO series citing ‘moral’ values: What to know

The probe into the TV series has fueled debate over censorship and artistic freedom in the country.

Security personnel from the Syrian Ministry of Interior stand outside the Justice Palace ahead of the first trial of more than a dozen suspects linked to massacres that left hundreds dead in Syria's Alawite coastal heartland earlier this year, in Aleppo on November 18, 2025. The first trial of more than a dozen suspects linked to massacres that left hundreds dead in Syria's Alawite coastal heartland earlier this year began on November 18, an AFP journalist in the courtroom said. The massacres in March, whic

Feature

A year since Assad’s fall, Aleppo trial tests Syria’s transitional justice

Syria recently launched its first open trial on the deadly sectarian violence in March, but questions about judicial independence and political influence make the upcoming hearings a major test of accountability in post-Assad Syria as the first anniversary of Assad’s fall approaches.

Alessandra Bajec

By Alessandra Bajec

Latest News

Analysis

Why Netanyahu seeks to remove Israel’s military chief Eyal Zamir

In this handout by the Israeli Government Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) looks on as military chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz (R) adjusts the epaulettes of Brig. Gen. Eyal Zamir for his swearing in as military secretary, Tel Aviv, Nov. 26, 2012.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Turkey sentences journalist over 4 years in jail for threatening Erdogan

Prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli is pictured in this undated image.

Analysis

Lebanon's Jamaa Islamiya in spotlight as US moves to designate Muslim Brotherhood

Bassam Hammoud the vice president of the Jamaa Islamiya in Lebanon, brandishes a rifle as he delivers a speech during a demonstration in Sidon in southern Lebanon on July 19, 2024, a day after an Israeli strike in the Bekaa region killed Mohammed Hamed Jabara, the commander of the Hamas-allied group in Lebanon. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Interview

Can protests in Israel halt Netanyahu's second attempt at judicial overhaul?

Shikma Bressler, an Israeli physicist and one of the leaders of the protest against the government's judicial overhaul.

MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

US says Saudi Arabia's MBS has immunity in Khashoggi lawsuit

The Biden administration says Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should be immune from a US lawsuit holding him responsible for Jamal Khashoggi's murder.

This picture taken on March 7, 2021, shows a view of Egypt's new parliament headquarters, some 45 kilometers east of Cairo.

More prisoners released in Egypt ahead of national dialogue

A number of political detainees have been released in preparation for the start of a comprehensive dialogue between the government and the opposition.

An exhibition calling for an end to executions in Iran on Trafalgar Square on October 10, 2020, in London, England.

Iran revokes death penalties handed to three protesters

The executions were reduced to jail terms in a controversial case that had drawn a furious public backlash.

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Egyptian court wants killer executed on live TV

An Egyptian court has asked that the execution of a man who stabbed a student to death be broadcast on television.

A view of the mural before it was removed.

Culture

Russian painter claims paintings illegally used in Cairo metro mural

A Russian artist revealed his paintings have been displayed in the national metro project in Egypt without his consent and without mentioning his name, threatening to take legal action.

Divorce decree.

Culture

New Egyptian group seeks to defend men's rights in divorce

The first association defending men’s rights was recently established in Egypt, in light of the growing calls of women’s movements and organizations to grant women wider rights in the personal status law, which is currently under the amendment.

Tunisian citizens and lawyers leave the court of the governorate of Ariana after the announcement of a strike by judges, following the dissolution of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary by President Kais Saied, Feb. 9, 2022.

Tunisian president targets judiciary, dismisses dozens of judges

Tunisian President Kais Saied has dismissed 57 judges, accusing them of obstructing investigations into terrorism cases and committing financial and moral corruption.

Palestinian cadets of al-Rebat College for Law and Police Science take part in morning exercises in Gaza city on Feb. 21, 2022.

Can community policing in Gaza replace tribal judiciary?

The Gaza-based interior minister has formed the community police unit to solve disputes among individuals and families in a bid to ease the process in regular courts.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech.

Has Ukraine war given Erdogan free hand at home?

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan might be aiming to tighten his grip on the domestic front, taking advantage of Ankara’s rising profile amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A man places a copy of the Tunisian Constitution atop a Tunisian national flag.

Tunisian president grants himself power to appoint election authority

The presidential decree to revise the law of the Independent High Authority for Elections in Tunisia and change its composition is facing widespread criticism from opposition parties and organizations that accuse Tunisian President Kais Saied of granting himself wide powers that may affect the course of democracy.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s Kavala conviction earns sharp rebuke from US

The State Department expressed concern over Turkey's "continued judicial harassment" after a court in Istanbul sentenced philanthropist Osman Kavala to life in prison.

Michael White Iran

Analysis

US Navy veteran detained by Iran sues over alleged torture

Michael White, who was imprisoned by Iran for nearly two years, spoke to Al-Monitor about his newly filed federal lawsuit against Tehran.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights