Background The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy in which executive and legislative authority is primarily vested in the king, who is supported by a bicameral parliament.1 Although Jordanian law mandates freedom of speech...

Background Since its founding as a state in 1948, Israel has contended with the proper limits of security forces as a democracy under military threat. The Israeli Defense Forces’ Military Censor decides what information should not be published, and both domestic journalists and...

Background Egypt has taken several steps toward greater political freedom since the beginning of President Hosni Mubarak’s administration in 1981, including amending its constitution to allow multiple candidates to run in presidential elections.1 However, an emergency law in...

Background The king of Bahrain undertook important reforms in 2001-2002, but freedom of expression, assembly, and association are still subject to arbitrary restrictions.1 The long-running tensions between Bahrain's Sunnis and the Shia Muslim majority result in occasional...

Background After years of isolation, Libya began to open to the international community and to improve its relationship with the West in 2003 by taking responsibility for the 1988 bombing of a PanAm plane above the Scotland and formally renouncing weapons of mass...

Background Press freedom in Algeria remains fragile, especially after a February 27, 2006 decree that provides for fines and prison terms of up to five years for those who speak or write to “exploit the wounds of the national tragedy, tarnish the country's...

Background Speech in the Islamic Republic of Iran is heavily regulated. The limits to freedom of expression in Iran are grounded in the constitution and speech restrictions extend over a broad range of topics, including religion, immorality, social harmony and politics. In comparison...

On July 29th, Reporters Sans Frontiers reported that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) arrested one BlackBerry user, detained another, and are pursuing five activists. The activists were planning a protest via BlackBerry Messenger against the increasing price of gasoline, and, unable...

Outrage and concern finally boiled over in Istanbul on Saturday as thousands took to the streets in protest of Turkey’s Internet Censorship policy. Physical protests of Internet policy are really a never-before-seen occurance, even with all the twists and turns of cyberspace regulation...

On June 28th, The Guardian, Menassat, L'Orient Le Jour, and the AFP reported that Lebanon arrested 3 individuals (Naim George Hanna, Antoine Youssef Ramia, Shebel Rajeh Qasab), and Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza issued an arrest warrant for a...