The Swiss daily newspaper Le Temps published on 6-7 January 2018 an article penned by Sylvain Besson suggesting that the Alkarama Foundation is investigated by the Swiss intelligence services because of suspicious relations.

(Geneva, October 4, 2018) – On October 4, 2018, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the immediate release of Emirati human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor, who was handed a 10-year prison sentence in March 2018 on charges directly related to his right to freedom of opinion and expression. 

Imad Al Tamimi (L) and Israa Al Dujaili (R)

(Geneva, September 28, 2018) – On September 18, 2018, Alkarama submitted the cases of Imad Al Tamimi and Israa Al Dujaili to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders (SRHRD), requesting that the independent expert call upon the Iraqi authorities to immediately cease all acts of reprisals against them.

Ahmed Al Husseini (L) and Mohammad Al Shahwani (R)

(Geneva, September 26, 2018) – On September 19 and 21, 2018, Alkarama and Al Wissam Humanitarian Assembly submitted two more cases of enforced disappearances in Iraq to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED).

(Geneva, September 24, 2018) – On September 20, 2018, Alkarama submitted the case of prominent Islamic Scholar Salman Al Odah to the UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights (SRCT).

(Geneva, September 20, 2018) – On September 20, 2018, Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour was released from Damoun prison after serving a five-month sentence for “incitement to violence” and “support for terror organisations” in relation to her poetry and social media activity.

Following the examination of the Mauritanian National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) in November 2017, the Subcommittee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) recommended that the CNDH be downgraded from A to B status given its lack of compliance with the

In view of the second periodic review of Mauritania by the Committee against Torture (CAT), Alkarama submitted on 26 June 2017 its contribution to the List of Issues prepared by the Committee’s experts.

On 22 June 2017, and after more than a month of arbitrary detention, Hussam Al Abdallat, a Jordanian journalist charged with “defamation on social media” for criticising corruption within the Jordanian government through a Facebook post, was released on bail. However, he is still at risk of being sentenced to prison terms as the charges against him have not been dropped.