Syria opens trial of Wassim al-Assad, cousin of ousted president: What we know The trial follows another session in the case against Atef Najib, also a cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad, as Syrian authorities continue prosecuting figures linked to the former regime and its remnants. Syria
Turkey detains 233 ahead of NATO summit, including LGBTQ+ activist Yildiz Tar The operation included alleged militant suspects as well as LGBTQ+ and leftist activists, raising concerns over the scope of the crackdown. Turkey
Culture In Syria, detention of Hassan Akkad raises alarm about free expression under Sharaa Akkad, a British-Syrian filmmaker, was detained Wednesday night after his campaign questioning the whereabouts of funds allegedly pledged for relief, reconstruction and community initiatives across Syria. Syria
Amnesty International accuses Israel of state-led ethnic cleansing in West Bank In a new report, Amnesty International said that the escalating forced displacement and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank is part of a state-led campaign to control the Palestinian territory. Palestine
Interview As Sudan war drags on, US-Iran conflict compounds humanitarian crisis in Darfur Janti Soeripto President and CEO of Save the Children US
Yemen’s warring parties urged to reveal whereabouts of detainees A group of eight human rights organizations called on Yemen's rival factions to urgently release all of their arbitrarily detained prisoners. Yemen
Amnesty International accuses Iran of using torture to extract confessions after 2019 protests Some 7,000 people were arrested by Iranian authorities, including children as young as 10, the rights group reported. Iran
Can an American activist sue Egypt’s ex-PM? Torture suit a test of diplomatic immunity Mohamed Soltan’s lawsuit against the former interim prime minister of Egypt has thrust the longstanding practice of diplomatic immunity into the spotlight. Egypt
Mother of Iranian sons sentenced claims they were tortured In today's Iran media review, the mother of three brothers who received sentences in an Iranian prison says they were tortured. And Iranian media outlets react to Lebanon's new prime minister. Iran
Turkish human rights lawyer dies after hunger strike Ebru Timtik died on the 238th day of her strike, which she launched to draw attention to what rights groups have described as an unfair trial. Turkey
Suspicion mars death of Egyptian activist in custody An activist has died while in pre-trial detention at a prison in Cairo, shedding light on the state of human rights in Egypt and the fate of thousands of political prisoners. Egypt
Trump, Kadhimi launch new chapter in US-Iraq relations US offers Iraqi prime minister aid, energy deals and continued cooperation against Islamic State. Iraq
Activists continue to be killed in Basra The killing of an Iraqi activist in Bara took place even as Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was visiting Washington; it was just the latest in a series of violent attacks against protesters and others in the southern city. Iraq
Islamist parties challenge Iraqi domestic violence draft law The potential enactment of a domestic violence bill into law has engendered a major struggle between civil society activists and Shiite Islamist parties that believe the law will split families. Iraq
Residents of this Egyptian village forced to leave their homes Forced evacuation and a security campaign targeted the residents of Sayadeen village in Alexandria governorate in northern Egypt. Egypt
In dramatic move, Iraqi PM visits prisons in response to protester appeals The Iraqi government is under pressure to reveal the fate of persons unaccounted for and those detained in secret prisons. Iraq
State Department remains concerned by Turkey’s proxy fighters in northern Syria Turkey-allied fighters have faced widespread accusations of arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings and other abuses in northern Syria. Syria
