Stories about Middle East & North Africa
3 September 2019
The plight of Kuwait's stateless community: Silenced and deprived of human rights
The security services spare no effort to target and silence the human rights movement of Kuwait's stateless community.
2 September 2019
Once celebrated by Homer, Turkey's Mount Ida is losing trees and going bald
Activists and artists join forces in Turkey to fight deforestation caused by mining companies.
29 August 2019
Winning a literary award won't set you free: An interview with author and asylum-seeker Behrooz Boochani
Australia's detention camps whistleblower describes conditions as hellish
12 August 2019
Withheld in Turkey: How the government exploits removal requests to silence critical and independent voices
For years, Turkey has been exploiting tools offered by social media platforms to restrict illegal content in a particular jurisdiction, to silence critical voices.
9 August 2019
Talking trash: Lebanese citizens continue to mobilize to solve the garbage crisis
A solution for Lebanon’s garbage problem is yet to be made after the government held off on a decision to build incinerators during talks that took place within Beirut.
UAE frees activist Osama al-Najjar after 5 years in detention
Despite serving his three-year sentence in March 2017, al-Najjar remained in arbitrary detention.
6 August 2019
Algeria: A victory on the pitch and in the streets
Algeria's footballers win the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, and inspire protesters calling for political change at home.
Sentencing of Turkish social media influencer sparks debate on free speech
A Turkish Twitter celebrity is being sued for allegedly advocating drug consumption, reigniting the debate about online freedom of expression
1 August 2019
Iran's invisible children
"Given the Islamic Republic’s history of discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, this lack of infrastructure, economic negligence and the depth of poverty appears intentional..."
22 July 2019
How US arms supplies to Saudi Arabia threatens Sudan's hard-won peace
The Saudis supply Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces with money and arms. When the US does arms deals with Saudi Arabia they’re essentially supporting RSF.
5 July 2019
Iran’s Draft Data Protection Act: Too little but not too late
While lawmakers wait to ratify the Draft Act, they must pay heed to international digital rights standards in the new Draft Law for the Personal Data Protection and Safeguarding
4 July 2019
Can Turkish politics be depolarised?
Opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu is Istanbul's new mayor, but his victory could mean so much more than that.
26 June 2019
Turkey’s ‘Academics for Peace’ defend their beliefs from prison cells and exile
Turkish universities are being gutted of critical thinkers while academics serve time for showing solidarity with their fellow citizens.
17 June 2019
As battle for Istanbul reaches fever pitch, Turkey's ruling party regrets its pop culture problem
As the clock ticks down on the rerun Istanbul municipal election, the tension is getting unbearable.
17 May 2019
Netizen Report: Amid WhatsApp attacks, advocates launch legal challenge against Israeli malware maker
Spyware makers exploit a security flaw in WhatsApp, Singapore bans false information and Somalia plans to shut down social media during school exams.
8 May 2019
Mauritanian blogger escaped the death penalty, but remains behind bars
Ould Mkhaitir was prosecuted for writing an article in which he criticised the role of religion in Mauritania’s caste system.
3 May 2019
Running counter: An interview with a French publisher of Turkish literature
"Kontr is a publishing house, and a home where one invites the ones he likes, it is not a factory aimed at producing goods, labels or at making money."
1 May 2019
‘Envision a new war': the Syrian Archive, corporate censorship and the struggle to preserve public history online
Social media companies are censoring images of war. The Syrian Archive is working to preserve them.
30 April 2019
Jailed Emirati activist Ahmed Mansoor's life is at risk, after six weeks on hunger strike
Mansoor was awarded the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2015. He has been jailed multiple times since 2011.
26 April 2019
Netizen Report: Saudi Arabian authorities arrest three bloggers and execute 37 prisoners, several of them protesters
Saudi Arabia's assault on free speech continues, Careem might be sharing your number with drivers, and the internet is still shutdown in Chad.
About our Middle East & North Africa coverage
Afef Abrougui is Advox Editor for the Middle East and North Africa. Email her story ideas related to freedom of expression online.
