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Senior legal figures from Arab and African countries are gathering in Rabat today for the annual Middle East Law Conference. The three-day event is held under the patronage of Morocco's king. Justice ministers, public prosecutors and members of supreme courts from countries in the region are… Read more
A British organisation linked to the Trump-Russia affair is working with Saudi partners and the Moroccan justice ministry to hold a law conference in Rabat this week. Besides helping to host and publicise the event, the London Centre of International Law and Practice (LCILP) will be… Read more
The Egyptian parliament's committee on religion has announced plans to make disbelief in God a crime. Under the current law against "contempt of religions" atheists can be prosecuted for expressing their disbelief in public but the committee's proposal would go further and criminalise… Read more
When Yemen held parliamentary elections in 1997 Ahmed Ali Saleh, then aged 24, was a first-time candidate. Though new to politics, he won by a handsome margin – a victory that was no doubt helped by having his father, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and many of the ruling party's elite as voters in… Read more
Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been killed aged 75, held power in Yemen for almost 34 years – an extraordinary feat in one of the world’s most fractious countries. He likened his survival technique to “dancing on the heads of snakes” and his political career ended much as it had begun, in… Read more
A second human rights organisation run by Loai Deeb – founder of the Emirati-linked Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) which went bankrupt last year – has run into financial trouble. The International Institute of Peace Justice and Human Rights (IIPJHR) has vanished from… Read more
Reports from Saudi Arabia say Prince Miteb – one of the royals held as involuntary guests at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh – has agreed to hand over $1 billion to the authorities after admitting to corruption charges.
An unknown number of princes, ex-ministers and businessmen are detained… Read more
An anonymously-written book produced by a seemingly fictitious organisation and promoted by a group of French-language websites appears to be the latest weapon in the Saudi-Emirati propaganda war with Qatar.
"Qatar: Le Livre Noir" (Qatar: The Black Book) is said to have been compiled by… Read more
Egyptian morality police are systematically using fake social media accounts to target LGBT people, according to a report published yesterday.
Out of 232 prosecutions for "non-normative" sexual behaviour over the last four years, 129 – more than half – were the result of entrapment through dating… Read more
In case you are wondering about the lack of blog posts here during the last couple of weeks it's because I have been investigating some British angles in the Trump/Russia affair.
Since it's not very relevant to the Middle East I decided to post it on Medium rather than al-bab.
Readers who are… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
