Stories about Middle East & North Africa from February, 2016
Saudi Arabia Sentences Twitter User to 10 Years in Prison and 2,000 Lashes for Apostasy
Saudi Arabia has sentenced a Twitter user to 10 years in prison in addition to 2,000 lashes for publishing 600 tweets "which spread atheism" online.
Netizen Report: Clown Meme Rocks Malaysia, Mocks Prime Minister
Clown memes mocking Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak are spreading after Malaysian police threatened graphic artist Fahmi Reza for uploading an image of Razak as a clown.
Egyptian Writer Ahmed Naji Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for his “Sexually Explicit” Novel
A Cairo appeals court sentenced Egyptian novelist and journalist Ahmed Naji for two years in prison for publishing a chapter containing “sexually explicit” scenes from his novel The Guide of Using Life in a magazine. Naji, accused of violating public decency, was acquitted in the first trial in December, which...
Netizen Report: From Egypt to Kenya to Venezuela, Online Political Speech Feels Riskier Than Ever
Social media activists face legal threats in Africa and Latin America, Malaysia blocks Medium over corruption coverage, and Saudi pulls back death sentence for Palestinian artist Ashraf Fayadh.
Saudi Arabia Reduces Ashraf Fayadh's Death Sentence to Eight Years in Prison and 800 Lashes
Saudi Arabia overturned the death sentence of Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh, accused of apostasy and other blasphemy-related offenses which he denies, to eight years imprisonment and 800 lashes.
Egyptians Call for the Release of Political Prisoners on the Fifth Anniversary of the Jan 25 Revolution
Some 41,000 political prisoners remain in jail in Egypt on the fifth anniversary of the Egyptian revolution. Mira G looks at how they are being remembered.
Russia and Chile Join the Global Campaign to Save a Saudi Poet From Execution
Poets and activists in Moscow and St Petersburg expressed their solidarity with Ashraf Fayadh, who's been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia. Similar events were held in Chile and Mexico.
