Human rights

Former senior commander of the Sudanese Janjaweed militia Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman.

In a first, ICC convicts Sudanese militia leader of Darfur war crimes

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman was found guilty of 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur between 2003 and 2004.

Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, addresses members of parliament in Tehran on March 2, 2025.

Analysis

Reeling from Israel war, Iran expands espionage law, bans Starlink use

Iran has officially enacted a sweeping new espionage law imposing harsher measures — including the death penalty — for collaboration with Israel, as rights activists decry what they say is a new campaign of arbitrary arrests and deeper repression.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

comedy fest

Culture

Saudi comedy festival draws A-list performers, backlash: What to know

The star-studded festival highlights Riyadh’s push to brand itself as a cultural hub even as critics accuse Saudi Arabia of whitewashing its repressive reputation.

Egyptian activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah looks on from behind the defendant's cage during his trial for insulting the judiciary alongside 25 other defendants including ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, who was recently sentenced to death, in Cairo on May 23, 2015.

Who is Alaa Abd el-Fattah, iconic Arab Spring activist pardoned in Egypt?

Abd el-Fattah is one of numerous activists to be imprisoned in Egypt and his case has drawn condemnation from the UN and the British government.

Latest News

Turkey’s spy chief in Damascus as Israel, Syria weigh new security map

Turkish Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin gives a press conference following talks with Sweden and Finland over their bids to join NATO at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on May 25, 2022.

Three years after Mahsa Amini's death, Iran faces movement it can't crush

Iranian women walk on the streets, disregarding compulsory hijab law, as Iranians prepare for the Persian New Year that starts with the moment of spring equinox, on March 19, 2025, in Tajrish Square, Iran.

Israel lays siege to West Bank's Tulkarm after military vehicle hit by explosive device

JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

Iran executions hit 913 this year as postwar crackdown deepens: What to know

Protesters hold placard against executions in Iran during a rally against the Iranian regime in Rome on July 30, 2025.

Workers package human remains recovered from the mass grave in Damascus, Syria, on Dec. 17, 2024.

Nine bodies unearthed in Latakia mass grave, one of dozens found in post-Assad Syria

As part of the efforts by new Syrian authorities to bring justice to victims of the Assad regime, dozens of mass graves containing thousands of bodies — believed to be victims of former regime forces — have been discovered across Syria.

Protesters hold up placards and rainbow flags as they take part in the LGBTQ Pride March in Istanbul, June 25, 2023.

Turkey blocks Instagram account of leading LGBTQ+ group Kaos GL

The ban targeting the group, a leading LGBTQ+ organization, follows earlier bans affecting its website and X account.

An undated image of Enes Hocaogullari.

Turkey arrests youth delegate over Council of Europe address: What to know

The youth activist’s arrest adds to Ankara’s growing isolation as Turkey faces suspension from Europe’s top human rights body.

Turkmen Alabai

Fears mount over fate of missing Turkmen dissidents in Turkey

The pair vanished after being released from a Turkish deportation center, prompting concerns they were abducted or secretly returned to Turkmenistan.

Iranians cross a street by a billboard with a portrait of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Enqelab Square, Tehran, July, 9, 2025.

Iran executions double to 625 as parliament mulls harsher espionage penalties

The United Nations said executions so far this year stand at 625, at the least, more than double the number for the same period last year.

Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah exits the police headquarters in Cairo following his release on December 25, 2011.

What to make of Egypt's removal of Alaa Abdel-Fattah from terror list

An Egyptian court has removed a prominent jailed activist from the country's terrorism list amid scrutiny over Egypt’s human rights record under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Roumieh

Sharaa reportedly mulls action against Lebanon over Syrian prisoners

Reports that Syria's interim president is threatening action over thousands of Syrians still held in Lebanese prisons have revived the long-standing issue.

RICCARDO MILANI/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Rebuking 5-year sentence, France urges Algeria to pardon Sansal: What to know

France-Algeria relations have deteriorated recently, marked by expulsions of diplomats and tensions over Moroccan control of Western Sahara, migration and more.

Palestinians wait in a queue to receive food outside a distribution center south of Khan Younis, on Dec. 6, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Over 170 global NGOs call for end of US-backed GHF operations in Gaza

More than 170 major nongovernmental organizations called for the immediate end to the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, amid the rising death toll near its distribution centers in Gaza.

Smoke rises as fire burns, in an alleged site of IRGC's missile launch targeted by Israel on the mountains of Shiraz, Iran, June 21, 2025.

From Qom to Gilan, over 500 arrested in Iran as war with Israel continues

Iranian authorities have launched a wave of arrests against individuals suspected of working for Israeli intelligence, with dozens detained across Iran since the Iran-Israel war broke out on June 13.

Travelers from the Middle East arrive at the International Arrivals section at Los Angeles International Airport on June 29, 2017.

Trump travel ban 2.0: Assessing the impact on Mideast nations

Trump’s new decision excludes Syria and Iraq, both of which were part of his previous ban issued during his first term in 2017.

The pilgrims' convoy departs from the city of Al-Dana, Syria, to Damascus Airport in order to set off to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj rituals on May 21, 2025.

Saudi Arabia releases Iranian cleric who criticized Hajj: What to know

Iran-Saudi Arabia relations have improved in recent years, including in Hajj-related cooperation, though tensions remain over Iran’s regional policies.