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☆ Saudi women’s rights activist sentenced to 11 years in jail, rights groups say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Radina Gigova | Hande Atay Alam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Human rights groups are calling for the release of a Saudi woman, who they say has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for supporting women’s rights and for the way she dressed. Manahel al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old fitness instructor and women’s rights activist, was sentenced during a “secret hearing” before the kingdom’s Specialized Criminal Court on January 9, 2024, Amnesty International and the London-based Saudi rights organization ALQST said in a joint statement Tuesday. Saudi Arabia’s authorities “must immediately and unconditionally” release Manahel al-Otaibi, as the decision to imprison her “directly contradicts the authorities’ narrative of reform and women’s empowerment,” Amnesty and ALQST said. “Manahel’s conviction and 11-year sentence is an appalling and cruel injustice,” said Bissan Fakih, Amnesty International’s Campaigner on Saudi Arabia. Al-Otaibi’s sentencing comes “amid an intensified crackdown on free speech in Saudi Arabia, including online expression,” the groups said.

Persons: Manahel, ”, ALQST, Otaibi “, Al, Fawzia, “, Bissan Fakih, Otaibi, Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Organizations: CNN, Amnesty International, Saudi, United Nations, UN, Amnesty, Human Rights Locations: Saudi, London, Geneva, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh

This was a secret school, set up to teach girls despite the bans on female education imposed by the Taliban since they retook control of Afghanistan two years ago. Girls, faces partially covered, attend class at a hidden school in Afghanistan. CNN‘I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t’Inspired, in part, by a 1996 Christiane Amanpour documentary titled “Battle for Afghanistan,” Hakim decided to create secret schools for a new generation of Afghan girls. After the militant group imposed the bans on girls’ education, Maryam says she was trapped at home and felt like a “zombie,” with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Hope stronger than fearBack at the secret school, Maryam learns the Taliban are checking neighborhoods for illegal activities and fears they risk being caught.

Persons: CNN — Parasto Hakim, Hakim, “, ” Hakim, –, CNN Hakim, ”, CNN ‘, Christiane Amanpour, Maryam, ” Maryam, Fatima, ” Fatima, Yalda, ” Yalda, Koofi, Hakim –, ” Koofi, ” Fawzia, Justin Tallis Organizations: CNN, Girls, United Nations, UN, ” CNN, ”, Taliban, Getty Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, States, United, London

☆ After Saudi Arabia, Iran may be patching up with its oldest Arab foe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The feud became the longest between Iran and an Arab country in modern times. Khamenei’s recent comments come as Saudi Arabia normalizes ties with Iran after nearly eight years of a diplomatic freeze. Apart from Saudi Arabia and Iran, Egypt has reconciled with both Turkey and Qatar, and the Arab League last month welcomed Syria back as a member after more than a decade of isolation. Weight of historical symbolismAs the years passed by, Egypt and Iran only grew apart, with little desire to reconcile from either party. Most Arab states continue to reject recognition of Israel.

Persons: Princess Fawzia, Iran’s Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Fawzia, King Farouk I –, –, Pahlavi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran “, ”, Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq, Trita Parsi, ” Parsi, “, Abdel Fattah al, Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Shah, Anwar Sadat, King Farouk, Sadat, Khaled Islambouli, Hosni Mubarak, chargé d’affaires, Mubarak, Mohamed Mursi, Parsi, “ Israel, Abraham, Israel, won’t Organizations: CNN, Iran’s Crown, Iran’s, Media, Tehran, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Arab League, Quincy Institute, Oman News Agency, Reuters Analysts, Cairo Citadel, West, Israel, Abraham Accords Locations: Egypt, Iran, Tehran, Saudi Arabia, United States, ”, London, Cairo, Turkey, Qatar, Syria, West, Washington ,, Al, Rifa’I, Israel, Republic, Ater

☆ Libya court sentences 23 to death for Islamic State campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MISRATA, Libya, May 29 (Reuters) - A Libyan court sentenced 23 people to death and another 14 to life in prison on Monday for their role in a deadly Islamic State militant campaign that included beheading a group of Egyptian Christians and seizing the city of Sirte in 2015. [1/4] Suspects sit behind bars during a judgment sentence against 56 defendants accused of joining Islamic State group (ISIS) in the court in Misrata, Libya, May 29, 2023. "My son is missing and my relative, my brother-in-law, was murdered in Sirte Square," he said. Speaking in court on Monday, Fawzia Arhuma said she welcomed the death sentences after her son was killed by the group at a power station near Sirte. Reporting by Ayman al-Sahily, writing by Angus McDowall, editing by Andrew Heavens and Giles ElgoodOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Afghan Women, Banned From Working, Can’t Provide for Their Children
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Margherita Stancati | Sune Engel Rasmussen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fawzia Anwari , an Afghan widow, used to earn enough from her job at a foreign nongovernmental organization in Kabul to support her five children, the eldest of whom enrolled at university to study economics. But in December, the family lost their sole livelihood when the Taliban banned women from working at NGOs, one of the few places where the Taliban had still allowed Afghan women to work.

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