Lots of Photos from Yemen and Saudi via Carpetblogger
Here are some interesting photos from Yemen.And here are the least interesting photos ever taken in......
Saudi Arabia: Free Political Prisoners via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Many Criminals Granted Amnesty, but Activists Remain in Prison
The Saudi government should free unlawfully detained political activists, including Professor Matrook al-Faleh, one of Saudi Arabia’s leading advocates of reform, Human Rights Watch said today. Although Saudi prison officials said that they had amnestied 1,000 convicted criminals during Ramadan in September, dozens of political activists remain behind bars or are subject to arbitrary travel bans....
Things You Can Buy At Jeddah Duty-Free via Carpetblogger
If you don't live in a place where staples, such as booze, are taxed 100%, you have no idea how important airport Duty Free shops are. As an American, we had never stepped in one before moving overseas and could never understand the appeal. These days, however, we design elborate strategies to maximize our limited access to such rich sources of relatively cheap booze.Instead of focusing on all the things we could not buy at the Jeddah duty free (uh, duh), we prefer to marvel at at all the amazing products we could purchase. It was sort of an airport version of a Tsum (sans vodka) or a JC Penneys, without all the cool clothes. Just like at those two outlets, rewards await shoppers who approach with an open mind.Here are some of the products that tempted us:
An array of your favorite...
Poverty blamed for parents forcing children into work via Poverty News Blog
from Arab News by Badea Abu Al-NajaMAKKAH: The need for money sometimes drive parents to force their children to work in order to help them earn a living, despite a general consensus that child labor is wrong. Still, poverty can lead to the practice of utilizing child labor, including using kids as beggars.Arab News visited a center in Makkah for children found begging on the streets and interviewed some of the kids living in the shelter.Mukhtar Mahrani, a nine-year-old Burmese child, said his father compelled him to work to earn some money in order to help the family. He said he bought a wheelchair to rent for SR50 to the old and disabled who want to circumambulate the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque. While there are wheelchairs freely available, Mahrani says there is an occasional demand at... Saudi Arabia: Shia Minority Treated as Second-Class Citizens via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Wahhabi Authorities Discriminate Against Ismaili Citizens
The Saudi government should end its systematic discrimination against its Ismaili religious minority, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch called upon the government to set up a national institution empowered to recommend remedies for discriminatory policies and responding to individual claims....
A Report from Jeddah via Carpetblogger
The Carpetblog Stamp of Approval Does Not Come Cheaply via Carpetblogger
Saudi Arabia: Lift Travel Ban on Saudi Rights Lawyer via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Human Rights Watch Gives Award to Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim
The Saudi government should immediately lift a travel ban on Saudi human rights lawyer Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim, a winner of the 2008 Human Rights Defender award, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch also announced four other winners of the 2008 award, courageous individuals working for justice and human rights from Uzbekistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Democratic Republic of Congo....
Carpetblog Recommends: The Desert Store via Carpetblogger
Saudi Arabia: Implement Proposed Labor Reforms via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Government Should Immediately Abolish Sponsorship System
Saudi Arabia should immediately implement its proposed reform to the kafala sponsorship system and extend labor protections to domestic workers, Human Rights Watch said today. Responding to the Saudi government's reaction to a recent report, "'As If I Am Not Human’: Abuses Against Asian Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia," author Nisha Varia said, “It’s a real shame when Saudis try to deflect attention from abuses against domestic workers by arguing that employers are the victims or focusing only on those women who have positive experiences.”...
Saudi Arabia: Domestic Workers Face Harsh Abuses via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Key Reforms Stalled, Few Remedies for Slavery-Like Conditions
Saudi Arabia should implement labor, immigration, and criminal justice reforms to protect domestic workers from serious human rights abuses that in some cases amount to slavery, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Employers often face no punishment for committing abuses including months or years of unpaid wages, forced confinement, and physical and sexual violence, while some domestic workers face imprisonment or lashings for spurious charges of theft, adultery, or "witchcraft."...
Saudi Arabia: Nour Miyati Denied Justice for Torture via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Judge Ignores Evidence in Case of Extreme Abuse against Indonesian Domestic Worker
(New York, May 21, 2008) – An appeals court should overturn a Riyadh court’s decision to drop charges against the Saudi employer who abused Nour Miyati, an Indonesian domestic worker, so severely she required several surgeries, including amputation of her toes and fingers, Human Rights Watch said today. The judge awarded Nour Miyati 2,500 riyals as compensation, or approximately US$670, a small fraction of what such injuries would normally garner in Saudi Arabia....
Saudi Arabia: Release Leading Human Rights Activist via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Secret Police Arrest Professor at University
The Saudi Interior Ministry should immediately and unconditionally release Matrook al-Faleh, one of Saudi Arabia’s leading human rights activists, Human Rights Watch said today....
Saudi Arabia: Investigate Police for Burning Yemenis via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Interior Ministry Protects Officers Implicated in Inhumane Act
The Saudi government should investigate Khamis Mushayit police officers who allegedly set fire to the hiding place of Yemeni migrants, 18 of whom suffered serious burn injuries, Human Rights Watch said today. Victim accounts of the incident contradict Ministry of Interior and Civil Defense denials that the fire was accidentally set by the victims and not ignited by the police....
Saudi Arabia: Stop Trials for ‘Insulting’ Islam via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Charges Violate Precepts of Law, Freedom of Expression
Courts in Jeddah should dismiss cases against a Saudi web critic and a Turkish barber charged with “insulting” Islam, an unequivocal violation of freedom of expression protected under international law, Human Rights Watch said today....
Saudi Arabia: Medical Workers Stranded Without Pay via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Labor Court Fails 55 South Asian Professionals, Prevents Them From Leaving
Saudi Arabia’s Labor Court should act immediately to address workers’ complaints against the Nukhba House of Medical Services company, including unpaid wages and restrictions on returning home, Human Rights Watch said today....
Saudi Arabia: Male Guardianship Policies Harm Women via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Sex Segregation Keeps Women Out of Public Life
Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship of women and policies of sex segregation stop women from enjoying their basic rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Saudi women often must obtain permission from a guardian (a father, husband, or even a son) to work, travel, study, marry, or even access health care...
Saudi Arabia: Heavy Price of Unfair Justice System via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Instead of Protection, Children are Exposed to Danger
Saudi Arabia should urgently enact a penal code to protect all criminal suspects against arbitrary arrest, Human Rights Watch said in two reports released today. Criminal defendants, especially children, need greater protection against gross abuses during interrogation and unfair trials. The new reports are the result of a yearlong examination of the criminal justice system and draw on hundreds of interviews with Saudi officials, current and former detainees, their lawyers, and their families.
The first, 144-page report, “Precarious Justice: Arbitrary Detention and Unfair Trials in a Deficient Criminal Justice System,” documents the arbitrary arrest and detention of individuals for vaguely defined crimes or behavior that is not...
Nobel Laureate Yunus to introduce micro credit in Saudi Arabia via Poverty News Blog
from Indian MuslimsJeddah –(IINA)February 26 – Nobel Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus plans to introduce his Grameen Bank's micro credit concept in Saudi Arabia so as to stimulate business growth at the grassroots. The professor, who is on a visit as speaker of the Ninth Jeddah Economic Forum under way here, made the announcement at a reception hosted by the Consulate General of Bangladesh at Al-Salam Holiday Inn on Sunday evening. Prof. Yunus said that Abdul Latif Jameel Company has already applied the micro credit scheme and more companies would be engaged under his plan. Micro credit is the extension of very small loans to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneurs and to others living in poverty that is not considered bankable. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a... Poverty fuels trafficking of Yemeni children via Poverty News Blog
from the International Herald TribuneSANAA: Ali Abdu, a slim boy of 14, just wants to go home to his family in the Yemeni mountains. His dream of making money in Saudi Arabia ended in a hospital bed."First I worked as a goatherd, then in a car-wash for three months. Then I was hit by a car and spent 29 days in hospital," he mutters. "After that I gave myself up so I could come back."Abdu is one of thousands of children, mostly boys, who U.N. officials say are trafficked from impoverished Yemeni villages to Saudi Arabia and other rich Gulf countries to work illegally as beggars, camel jockeys, domestic servants or labourers.The murky cross-border business is run by gangs who recruit boys directly from their families or from the army of child workers already seeking survival on Yemeni city... Saudi Arabia: Halt Woman’s Execution for ‘Witchcraft’ via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Fawza Falih’s Case Reveals Deep Flaws in Saudi Justice System
King Abdullah should halt the execution of Fawza Falih and void her conviction for “witchcraft,” Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the Saudi king....
New Saudi push toward industrialization via CIPE Development Blog
The NYT reports that Saudi Arabia is pushing forward with a $500 billion investment to construct six futuristic cities meant to become the country’s 21st century industrial hubs. According to the plan championed by King Abdullah, these steel-and-glass cities currently under construction will emerge as leading manufacturers and exporters of products ranging from plastics to cell phones. The stated purpose is to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil and to combat youth unemployment propelled by the rapid population growth.
Indeed, the Saudi population, now at about 24.5 million, is predicted to reach nearly 40 million by 2025. Creating enough jobs to incorporate all of the new entrants into the labor force is an urgent necessity. But is building new industrial cities really the...
France/Saudi Arabia: Sarkozy Should Raise Human Rights Issues in Saudi Arabia via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Saudi Government Denies Fundamental Freedoms
French President Nicolas Sarkozy should use his January 13-14 visit to Saudi Arabia to raise human rights concerns with Saudi’s King Abdullah, Human Rights Watch said today. The Saudi government denies its citizens basic rights to free speech, assembly and association, commits abuses with impunity, and systematically discriminates against migrant workers, women and religious minorities....
Saudi Arabia: Ministry of Justice should Stop Targeting Rape Victim via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Appeals Court Judge Should be Barred from Case
The Saudi Ministry of Justice should immediately stop publishing statements aimed at damaging the reputation of a young Saudi rape victim who spoke out publicly about her ordeal and her efforts to find justice, Human Rights Watch said today....
Saudi Arabia: Rape Victim Punished for Speaking Out via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Court Doubles Sentence for Victim, Bans Her Lawyer From the Case
A court in Saudi Arabia doubled its sentence of lashings for a rape victim who had spoken out in public about her case and her efforts to seek justice, Human Rights Watch said today. The court also harassed her lawyer, banning him from the case and confiscating his professional license....
Saudi Arabia: Release Peaceful Reformers via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Verdict Asserts Illegality of Public Criticism
King Abdullah should immediately pardon two leading reformers sentenced by a Saudi court on Wednesday for encouraging a peaceful demonstration, Human Rights Watch said today....
Saudi Arabia: Migrant Domestics Killed by Employers via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Brutal Beatings and Killings Symptomatic of Wider Abuse
The killing of two Indonesian domestic workers by their employers in Saudi Arabia highlights the Saudi government’s ongoing failure to hold employers accountable for serious abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. The brutal beatings by these employers also left two other Indonesian domestic workers critically injured....
Saudi Arabia: Fair Appeal for Domestic Worker on Death Row via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Sri Lankan Under 18 at Time of Alleged Killing
The Saudi Court of Appeals should recognize that a foreign worker on death row was a child at the time of her alleged crime, when a baby died in her care, Human Rights Watch said today. The court should also review the fairness of the original investigation into Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan domestic worker, and her trial....
Saudi Arabia: Hold Religious Police Accountable for Killing via Human Rights Watch News Releases
Man Beaten to Death in Custody
Saudi authorities should hold religious police accountable for their fatal beating of a 28-year-old man in Riyadh on May 23, 2007, Human Rights Watch said today....