Full Coverage: Middle East

30.10.2007 A human rights court has ruled that Turkey must allow students to opt out of religious education, citing that students from a small Turkish religious group should not be forced to take Sunni Islamic lessons.

29.10.2007 NEW YORK, Oct 29 (OneWorld) - Donald Rumsfeld, the former U.S. secretary of defense, is facing criminal charges in France for ordering the torture of prisoners in Iraq and at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

28.10.2007 Recent violence between Hamas and Fatah has compromised the safety of hundreds of civilians, who have no protection from indiscriminate attacks and detentions, said an international human rights group.

27.10.2007 NEW YORK, Oct 26 (OneWorld) - Preparation for nationwide protests against the Bush administration's war plans against Iran and the continued occupation of Iraq are in full swing.

25.10.2007 Viitisentuhatta ihmistä on viime päivien aikana paennut Irakin–Turkin raja-alueelta, missä väkivallan uhka tiivistyy entisestään. Kurdien aluehallinnon edustaja ennakoi, että kytevästä konfliktista syttyy humanitaarinen kriisi.

25.10.2007 Ibstisam Mara'ana was destined to be married off in a deal along with her brother because she was "too old and dark, and too ugly," but she refused. Then she made this documentary exposing the process of "badal" marriages, agreements aimed to secure a husband for daughters believed to be "less marriageable."

24.10.2007 Nearly 5,000 people, many of whom are already poor, have been forced to flee their homes along the Iraq-Turkey border as tension rises between Turkish-Kurdish rebels and the Turkish army. "It will be a [humanitarian] disaster," said Kalif Dirar, a senior official in the Kurdistan regional government.

24.10.2007 After eight years of military service, Camilo Mejía became the first Iraq soldier to be prosecuted for refusing to fight, citing his moral objections to the war and occupation. Mejía is now a zealous antiwar activist and was recently featured, with several colleagues, in a roundtable discussion to educate the public on the situation in Iraq.

23.10.2007 Israel is arbitrarily refusing passage to medical evacuees who need to leave the Gaza Strip for urgent medical care, reports a leading human rights watchdog. At least three patients that were denied exit permits have died since June.
From: Human Rights Watch

23.10.2007 Some expressed outrage and others jubilation -- a diverse group of Americans, Armenians, and Turks recorded online their reactions to the U.S. Congressional resolution to consider the mass killings of Armenians in early 20th century Ottoman Turkey as genocide.

16.10.2007 YK:n raportin (pdf, engl.) mukaan ihmisoikeusrikkomukset jatkuvat Irakissa yhä. Aseistautuneiden ryhmien väkivaltaisuudet kohdistuvat etenkin siviileihin, eikä maan hallitus ole tehnyt tarpeeksi ihmisoikeustilanteen parantamiseksi.

16.10.2007 Efforts at opening up a dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian Americans have been welcomed by plenty of Israelis, but Palestinians should settle differences and participate more, comments columnist Jalal Ghazi.
From: New America Media

16.10.2007 Although Turkey has vastly improved its democratic institutions, it remains heavily divided and problems linger in areas like human rights and freedom of expression, comments researcher Didem Cakmakli.

12.10.2007 An activist campaign aims to secure Arab women equal access to laws that grant them nationality and allow them to confer it to their children and husbands. The "Claiming Equal Citizenship" site offers more information, personal testimonies of those denied citizenship, and resources for action.

11.10.2007 Israel has ordered the confiscation of 110 hectares of land belonging to five Palestinian villages located between East Jerusalem and the West Bank even though leaders from both camps are currently collaborating on a document to be presented at a November peace conference.

09.10.2007 The United Arab Emirates, a tiny oil-rich country on the Persian Gulf, currently leaves the highest ecological footprint per capita in the world. But several environmental initiatives could make it a leader in environmental sustainability.

08.10.2007 Iraqi "security" forces being created with $20 billion of U.S. funds may be stoking civil unrest as they accompany American troops on raids, says Pratap Chatterjee.
From: CorpWatch

05.10.2007 Andrew Lam, a Vietnamese refugee who migrated to the United States decades ago, advises an Iraqi refugee about seeking asylum in a country waging war on his homeland and how to share his story with those around him.
From: New America Media