Human Rights

8 Mar 2023; MEMO: Amnesty International called on the Tunisian authorities yesterday to stop using its "legal arsenal" against activists who "exercise their basic human rights, specifically their right to express their opinions freely and peacefully," Anadolu has reported.

"We are concerned about the use of the legal arsenal to silence critical voices, especially Decree No. 54 which represents a threat to freedom of expression and the right to privacy," said Amnesty.

8 Mar 2023; MEMO: South Africa's parliament voted yesterday to downgrade the country's embassy in Israel due to the ongoing Israeli occupation and abuses of international human rights law in occupied Palestine.

8 Mar 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has announced a set of rules and restrictions on the practice of the holy month of Ramadan in the Kingdom this year, including a number of controversial ones such as the reduction in mosque loudspeakers, the surveillance of worshippers wishing to seclude themselves during the month's last ten days, limitations on donations and the banning of filming or broadcasting of prayers within mosques.

8 Mar 2023; MEMO: A prominent Saudi cleric who was feared to have been detained has apparently left the Kingdom for a "safe" country, after criticising the government's radical reforms in the entertainment sphere.

Emad Al-Moubayed – a preacher and former imam at the King Abdulaziz Mosque in Dammam – posted a video on his unverified Twitter account last week, in which he warned against drastic social reforms in Saudi Arabia enacted over recent years.

8 Mar 2023; MEMO: A US Senate Committee backed legislation on Wednesday to repeal two authorisations for past wars in Iraq, paving the way for a possible vote in the full Senate before the 20th anniversary of the last invasion by American troops, Reuters reports.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: Egypt's security agents have tortured Mohammad Al-Sayyed Al-Morsi to death in the Damietta detention centre. The Arabic language teacher, 52, was detained on 21 February and subjected to systematic torture in the centre run by the National Security Agency, said his family.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: One hundred and thirty-eight American Jewish leaders and pro-Israel lobbyists have issued a joint statement opposing the upcoming visit of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, stating that he should not be given a platform within the US Jewish community.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: At least four Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded by the Israeli army's bullets after occupation forces stormed the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank today.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a brief statement that there were "3 injured people, including one with a serious injury to the chest, arrived at the Jenin Governmental Hospital. Two of those injuries were in the thigh and shoulder.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: Greek authorities have stolen more than €2 million ($2.1 million) in cash or valuables from irregular migrants or refugees whom they had returned to Turkiye between 2017 to 2022, according to an investigation by Spanish daily El Pais.

6 Mar 2023; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticised the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, after he said that any attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would be illegal, Sama news agency reported on Sunday.

"Rafael Grossi is a worthy person who made an unworthy remark," Netanyahu told his cabinet yesterday.