Morocco Intensifies Crackdown on Freedom of Expression
By Afef Abrougui The Moroccan government has intensified its crackdown on freedom of expression, arresting several people in recent months for merely expressing their opinions,…
Afef Abrougui
UAE Frees Activist After 5 years in Detention For Tweeting Against Torture
By Afef Abrougui Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have freed activist and political prisoner Osama al-Najjar after detaining him for more than five…
Post-election Crackdown in Mauritania: Internet Shutdown Lifted, Journalist Remains in Detention
By Afef Abrougui Mauritanian authorities restored access to the Internet after disrupting it for 10 days following the disputed presidential elections of June 23. However,…
Morocco’s Hirak Movement Has Gone Quiet, But The Crackdown On Independent Media Continues
By Afef Abrougui and Emna Sayadi (Activist Post Editor’s Note: Please don’t ignore this article because it is happening “over there.” This article is a…
Mauritanian Bloggers Face Defamation Charges for Reporting on Corruption
By Afef Abrougui Mauritanian authorities arrested two bloggers, Abderrahmane Weddady and Cheikh Ould Jiddou, for reporting on corruption. Weddady and Jiddou were arrested on March…
Activists Speak Out Against Iraq’s Cybercrime Bill
By Afef Abrougui Human rights groups and activists are urging the Iraqi parliament to withdraw a controversial cybercrime bill that would greatly restrict freedom of…
Photojournalist Walks Free, After More Than Five Years in Prison
By Afef Abrougui After more than five years in jail, Mahmoud Abu Zeid, also know as Shawkan, was released from prison in Egypt on March…
EU Proposal Pushes Tech Companies to Tackle “Terrorist Content” with AI, Despite Implications for War Crimes Evidence
Op-Ed by Afef Abrougui A new video on Orient News’ YouTube channel shows a scene that is all too familiar to its regular viewers. Staff…
Meet the Women’s Rights Activists Behind Bars in Saudi Arabia
By Afef Abrougui The October 2018 murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi — who US and Turkish officials say was killed at the order of…
Israa Al-Ghomgham, a Saudi Woman Facing the Death Penalty for Peaceful Protest
By Afef Abrougui Human rights advocate Israa Al-Ghomgham is facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, for her non-violent human rights related activities. Al-Ghomgham was…