Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

Interpol’s president: alleged torturer rises as symbol of UAE soft power

Posted on by

Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi’s election has raised concerns about human rights and the surveillance state

Maj Gen Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi’s ascent through the ranks of the interior ministry in Abu Dhabi is associated with the United Arab Emirates’ transformation into a hi-tech surveillance state.

His personal achievements include a diploma in police management from the University of Cambridge, a doctorate in policing, security and community safety from London Metropolitan University and a medal of honour from Italy.

Continue reading...

Interpol appoints Emirati general accused of torture as president

Posted on by

Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi of United Arab Emirates elected despite concerns of human rights groups and MEPs

An Emirati general accused of torture has been elected president of Interpol, despite the concerns of human rights organisations and members of the European parliament who fear the global police agency will be at risk of exploitation by repressive regimes.

The appointment follows generous funding by the United Arab Emirates for Interpol, which is based in Lyon, France, and accusations Abu Dhabi has abused its system of “red notices” for wanted suspects to persecute political dissidents.

Continue reading...

Muammar Gaddafi’s son disqualified from standing in Libya election

Posted on by

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was ruled ineligible amid disputes over rules and threats to peace process

Libya’s election commission said on Wednesday that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former ruler and a strong candidate in December’s planned presidential election, was ineligible to run, compounding the turmoil surrounding the vote.

Gaddafi was one of 25 candidates that the commission disqualified in an initial decision pending an appeals process that will ultimately be decided by the judiciary. Ninety-eight Libyans registered as candidates.

Continue reading...

Call to British Airways might have averted 1990 Kuwait hostage crisis

Posted on by

Ambassador warned Foreign Office an Iraqi invasion was under way but this was not passed on to airline

Hundreds of British passengers might have avoided being taken hostage by Saddam Hussein in 1990 if a call by a British ambassador regarding Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait had been relayed to British Airways, the Foreign Office has disclosed.

The revelation of the phone call and the decades long cover-up was made on Tuesday under the 20-year disclosure rule, but was known to ministers and diplomats since 1990. The current foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has apologised for the omission.

Continue reading...

Aid workers say Mediterranean a ‘liquid graveyard’ after 75 feared dead off Libya

Posted on by

People smugglers are putting hundreds to sea this autumn despite stormy weather

More than 75 people are feared dead after their boat capsized in stormy seas off the coast of Libya while attempting to reach Europe in one of the deadliest shipwrecks this year, according to the UN.

Fifteen survivors were rescued by local fishers and brought to the port of Zuwara in north-western Libya. They said there were about 92 people onboard the vessel when the incident took place on 17 November. Most of those who died came from sub-Saharan Africa.

Continue reading...

Improving migrant workers’ lives in Qatar | Letter

Posted on by

Faha Al-Mana responds to a report on allegations of exploitation and abuse by migrant workers in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup

Your report (‘We have fallen into a trap’: Qatar’s World Cup dream is a nightmare for hotel staff, 18 November) fails to acknowledge the progress Qatar has made to improve living and working standards for foreign workers, including those in the hospitality sector.

The impact of Qatar’s reforms is best highlighted through its numbers: over 240,000 workers have successfully changed jobs since barriers were removed in September 2020; more than 400,000 have directly benefited from the new minimum wage; improvements to the wage protection system now protect 96% of eligible workers from wage abuse; and hundreds of thousands of workers have left Qatar and returned without permission from their employer since exit permits were abolished.

Continue reading...

The road to reform: have things improved for Qatar’s World Cup migrant workers?

Posted on by

A year before kick off, workers claim companies are refusing to enforce sweeping new labour laws created to stamp out human rights abuses

When Qatar won the bid to host the World Cup in 2010, the triumphant Gulf state unveiled plans to host the most spectacular of all World Cup tournaments and began an ambitious building plan of state-of-the-art stadiums, luxury hotels and a sparkling new metro.

Yet, over the next decade, the brutal conditions in which hundreds of thousands of migrant workers toiled in searing heat to build Qatar’s World Cup vision has been exposed, with investigations into the forced labour , debt bondage and worker death toll causing international outrage.

Continue reading...

Hamas gunman kills one and injures four in Jerusalem’s Old City

Posted on by

South African immigrant Eliyahu Kay, 26, killed in attack before militant shot dead by Israeli police

A Hamas militant opened fire in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday, killing one and wounding four others before Israeli police fatally shot him.

It was not immediately clear whether Hamas, an Islamic militant group sworn to Israel’s destruction, had ordered the attack or whether one of its members had acted alone.

Continue reading...

Sudan military agrees to reinstate PM and release political detainees

Posted on by

Hopes for end to crisis undermined as protests continue despite deal between military and civilian political parties

Sudan’s military coup leader has announced the release of the detained civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, and other political prisoners, as the country’s pro-democracy movement vowed to continue with protests.

After weeks of lethal turmoil following the country’s October coup, the agreement to release Hamdok and set up a new largely technocratic cabinet was mediated by US and UN officials.

Continue reading...

Sudanese PM’s release is only small step in resolving crisis

Posted on by

Analysis: deal satisfies some international demands but route to democratic transition after fall of Omar al-Bashir remains unclear

The deal to secure the release of the detained Sudanese prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, signed by Hamdok and Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who seized power in a military coup on 25 October, leaves Sudan in a continuing crisis.

While the agreement satisfies some of the immediate demands of the international community and mediators from the US and UN – not least securing the release of Hamdok and other political detainees – it leaves many of the country’s most serious issues in its political transition unresolved.

Continue reading...

‘He is responsible for torture’: nominee for Interpol chief accused by detained Britons

Posted on by

An academic and a football fan who were held in the United Arab Emirates claim Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi oversaw physical abuse

Two British men formerly detained in United Arab Emirates are campaigning to prevent a senior Emirati official from becoming the next president of Interpol, accusing him of personal involvement in their arrests and torture.

Academic Matthew Hedges, who was imprisoned in the UAE for seven months, and football fan Ali Issa Ahmad, detained while on holiday in Dubai for wearing a Qatar football shirt, accuse Major General Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi of overseeing their detention and physical abuse.

Continue reading...

Iran says it has seized foreign ship smuggling diesel

Posted on by

Spokesman says ship’s 11 crew were detained for interrogation after ship was seized in Gulf

Iranian Revolutionary Guards have seized a foreign ship in Gulf waters for allegedly smuggling diesel, a Guards commander said.

“A foreign ship carrying smuggled diesel was seized,” Iran’s state broadcaster quoted Col Ahmad Hajian, commander of the Naval Type 412 Zulfaqar, as saying.

Continue reading...

Migrant caravan and Qatar’s tarnished World Cup: human rights this fortnight – in pictures

Posted on by

A roundup of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Pakistan to Poland

Continue reading...

Omar Souleyman: singer held by Turkey over alleged militant links is freed

Posted on by

Syrian questioned by police after reports he has ties to banned Kurdish People’s Protection Units

Celebrated Syrian singer Omar Souleyman, who has performed at festivals around the world, has been released after being detained over alleged links to Kurdish militants.

Souleyman was freed at 10.30pm (19.30 GMT) after a confusing day during which he was released in the morning before being taken back to a detention centre.

Continue reading...

Israel defence minister’s housekeeper charged with spying

Posted on by

Benny Gantz’s cleaner contacted Iran-linked hackers and offered to infect minister’s computer with malware

Israel has charged the housekeeper for the country’s defence minister with espionage for offering to spy for hackers reportedly linked to Iran.

The man, identified as Omri Goren, reportedly has a criminal record but worked at Benny Gantz’s home as a cleaner and caretaker.

Continue reading...

One-year-old Syrian child dies in forest on Poland-Belarus border

Posted on by

Boy is youngest known victim of crisis as medical workers say family was living in forest for a month

A one-year-old child from Syria has died in a forest in Poland near the border with Belarus, according to Polish medical workers, becoming the youngest known victim of the crisis on the eastern edge of the European Union.

Thousands of people attempting to reach the EU are still stranded in freezing conditions, amid a standoff between the bloc and Belarus, which has been accused of deliberately creating the crisis by flying in people from the Middle East and facilitating their travel to the border.

Continue reading...

Sudan pro-democracy activists call for escalation after lethal crackdown

Posted on by

Demonstrations against military coup expected to continue after 15 protesters reportedly killed in a day

Pro-democracy protesters and Sudan’s military appeared set for a cycle of escalation on both sides after a day in which at least 15 demonstrators were killed by security forces.

Despite a heavy-handed crackdown by the military in the capital, Khartoum, and other cities, activists called on Thursday for an escalation of protests against last month’s military coup, a day after the deadliest security clampdown to date on demonstrators demanding the restoration of a civilian government.

Continue reading...

‘We have fallen into a trap’: for hotel staff Qatar’s World Cup dream is a nightmare

Posted on by

Exclusive: Seduced by salary promises, workers at Fifa-endorsed hotels allege they have been exploited and abused

When Fifa executives step on to the asphalt in Doha next November for the start of the 2022 World Cup finals, their next stop is likely to be the check-in at one of Qatar’s glittering array of opulent hotels, built to provide the most luxurious possible backdrop to the biggest sporting event on earth.

Now, with a year to go before the first match, fans who want to emulate the lifestyle of the sporting elite can head to Fifa’s hospitality website to plan their stay in the host nation. There they can scroll through a catalogue of exclusive, Fifa-endorsed accommodation, from boutique hotels to five-star resorts.

Continue reading...

Pride and poverty: Qatar’s World Cup fever tempered by legacy of labour abuses

Posted on by

With a year to go, the new stadiums, hotels and roads are finished and locals are excited, but the low-paid workers who built them are ambivalent

When asked if he’s looking forward to the World Cup, Mohamed, an Indian salesman, grins as he casts his fishing line off the promenade in the heart of Qatar’s capital, Doha. “Very much,” he says. “I love cricket!”

With a year to go until the football World Cup kicks off, Mohamed’s response may have the event’s organisers worried. After all, about 70% of Qatar’s population are from the cricket-loving subcontinent.

Continue reading...

‘Horrific’: 10 people suffocate in overcrowded migrant boat off Libya

Posted on by

MSF rescue 99 survivors who spent 13 hours on vessel trying to reach Europe as authorities accused of ignoring distress call

Ten people were found dead in the lower deck of a severely overcrowded wooden boat off the coast of Libya, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has reported.

According to survivors, those who died on Tuesday suffocated after 13 hours on the cramped lower deck, where there had been a strong smell of fuel.

Continue reading...