Geneva, 23 September 2014

Prominent lawyer in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Shireen Issawi will receive the 2014 Alkarama Award for Human Rights Defenders. Shireen will be recognised for her courageous work in monitoring and documenting human rights violations committed by the Israeli authorities against Palestinian prisoners and advocating for their rights. The Alkarama Foundation will present its 2014 Award at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on Thursday 11 December, to mark Human Rights Day (10 December).

In his last report to the Human Rights Council, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon raised cases of retaliation against persons who have cooperated with the United Nations, ranging from threats, travel bans, arbitrary detention and torture, which he says are only the "tip of the iceberg".

On 15 September 2014, Alkarama and Al Wissam Humanitarian Assembly sent a joint urgent appeal to the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances concerning the abduction of Riad Abdel Majeed Al Obeidi, a former Air Force Brigade pilot, in Al A'amiriya on 1 June 2014. Having not been seen since, his family fears that he be tortured or ill-treated, particularly after he managed to contact them, from his detention place, in mid-June.

In this article, Alkarama responds to the recent false accusations of supporting terrorism on behalf of Qatar, allegations peddled by Lebanese daily, As-Safir and echoed in other "news" sites in the region.

On 16 July 2014, the Secretary of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), Miguel de la Lama informed Alkarama that, during its 69th session on 24 April 2014, the WGAD had recognised the arbitrary nature of the detention of 12 Egyptian citizens arrested in July and August 2013 during peaceful demonstrations, and consequently tried before military courts.

Nominations for the 2014 Alkarama Award for human rights defenders are now closed. Thank you for having been so many to send in your candidates from 16 different Arabic countries.

On 14 July 2014, the police arrested 15 individuals during a violent dispersal of a peaceful demonstration in Al Fayoum. Detained in Badar Al Fayoum's police station since their arrest, they also report having been subjected to torture and ill-treatment.

On 27 August 2014, Alkarama referred the cases of 52 children subjected to torture and sexual abuses in Alexandria's Koum El Dekka prison to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. Aged between 15 and 18, they were arrested for demonstrating peacefully against the regime; most have now been detained arbitrarily for over eight months.

Alkarama referred the cases of three Libyan citizens to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture on 2 September 2014. Messrs Adarsi, Shamsah and Azarqani have been abducted and tortured to death in areas under militias' control, in Eastern Libya.