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Sacked for writing against the Egyptian regime
By: Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa, IPS, March 26, 2009
For years, Abdelhalim Kandil has been one of Egypt's most high-profile opposition journalists, known for writing hard-hitting articles critical of the ruling regime of President Hosni Mubarak. Kandil boasts an impressive track record, having worked as editor-in-chief of a number of the country's most widely-read independent and opposition newspapers, including Al-Arabi Al-Nassiri (2000-2006), Al-Karama (2006- 2007) and Sout Al-Umma (2008-2009). Kandil is also general coordinator of Egypt's pro-democracy Kefaya movement.
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'We want a change,' Iran reformist says
By: Ramin Mostaghim, LA Times, March 26, 2009
A moderate held Iran's presidency for eight years before the 2005 election of conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and reformist ideas -- among them a belief in liberty, rule of law and government accountability -- remain lodged deep in the psyche of many Iranians. Now reformists are attempting a comeback, with two from their ranks competing against Ahmadinejad in the June 12 presidential election. One of those candidates is a former speaker of parliament, Mehdi Karroubi, who came in third in 2005. The Times recently spoke with Reza Norouzadeh, a top Karroubi campaign official.
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Parents of imprisoned journalist plan Iran trip
By: Davi Kolpack, Iran Focus, March 26, 2009
The father of imprisoned journalist Roxana Saberi says he and his wife are making plans to go to Iran to see her in a couple of days. "I'm hoping if she sees us, it will lift her spirits," Reza Saberi said told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The Iranian government has said Roxana Saberi was imprisoned for doing reporting work in the country after her press credentials expired. Her parents found out about her arrest in a brief phone call from her Feb. 10.
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Mysterious death of the political prisoners in Iran
By: IHRV, March 25, 2009
Article 3 of the International Human Rights Declaration states: "Every individual is entitled to life, liberty and personal security". The loss of the lives of two political prisoners in Iran in a span of less than two weeks is indicative of the fact that the judiciary apparatus and prison authorities are not committed to preserving and securing the lives of prisoners while they are incarcerated.
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Morocco targets Shiites and homosexuals
By: Pierre Tristam, Pierre's Middle East Issues Blog, March 25, 2009
It's not clear what Shiites and homosexuals have to do with each other. Some Shiites are homosexuals (don't tell Mahmoud Ahmadinejad). Some homosexuals are Shiites. Nothing new, unusual or assailable there. Except in Morocco.
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Egypt: Women turn to the Internet to fight taboos
By: Marwa Rakha, Global Voices, March 23, 2009
Young middle and upper class Egyptian women resort to the internet to fight their battles against taboos. The BBC interviewed some of them and Mohamed Hamdy of Bloggers Times comments on the article.
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Is Egypt on the verge of a cultural revolution?
By: Marwa Rakha, Global Voices, March 23, 2009
Between Bahaa Taher's first Arabic Language Booker Prize, bloggers' books, Youssef Zidan's Azazeel's Booker prize, writing competitions on Facebook, the Sawiris Foundation Competitions, and new creative initiatives to nurture new blood, Egypt's literary scene has been revived over the past few years.
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Iran: Dr. Hesam Firouzi, another jailed blogger
By: Hamid Tehrani, Global Voices, March 23, 2009
It was jailed physician and blogger, Dr. Hesam Firouzi, who recently got the word out through his lawyer about the death of blogger Omid Reza Mir Sayafi in Tehran's Evin Prison. He said he urged prison authorities to send the dying prisoner to a hospital, but they refused. According to Human Rights Watch, Hesam Firouzi has long been a trusted physician to political prisoners including Ahmad Batebi, Akbar Gangi, Ayatollah Burujirdi, AbolFazl Jahandar, the late Akbar Mohammadi, and many others.
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Iran: Will Tehran tango? Obama's historic Norooz greeting
By: Trita Parsi, Huffington Post, March 20, 2009
In an unprecedented - if not historic - New Year's message to the Iranian people and the government of Iran, President Barack Obama used the ancient Iranian New Year - Norooz - holiday to usher in a new beginning for US-Iran relations. The video message, aired around 0800am in the morning in Iran, will be the topic of conversation at every Norooz gathering - in Iran as well as in America. "For nearly three decades relations between our nations have been strained. But at this holiday we are reminded of the common humanity that binds us together," the president said.
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Lebanon: Tunisian dissident says Beirut was pressured to reject his visa request
By: Andrew Wander, Daily Star, March 18, 2009
A Tunisian dissident who was barred from entering Lebanon earlier this month claimed on Tuesday that his government had pressured Lebanese immigration authorities into refusing him a visa. Moncef Marzouki was due to give a lecture on Arab democracy at the Orient Institute in Beirut, but was denied permission to enter the country. Markouzi has been strident critic of the government in Tunis, calling on Tunisians to boycott elections and engage in civil disobedience against the authorities.
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