Syria opens trial of Wassim al-Assad, cousin of ousted president: What we know The trial follows another session in the case against Atef Najib, also a cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad, as Syrian authorities continue prosecuting figures linked to the former regime and its remnants. Syria
Turkey detains 233 ahead of NATO summit, including LGBTQ+ activist Yildiz Tar The operation included alleged militant suspects as well as LGBTQ+ and leftist activists, raising concerns over the scope of the crackdown. Turkey
Culture In Syria, detention of Hassan Akkad raises alarm about free expression under Sharaa Akkad, a British-Syrian filmmaker, was detained Wednesday night after his campaign questioning the whereabouts of funds allegedly pledged for relief, reconstruction and community initiatives across Syria. Syria
Amnesty International accuses Israel of state-led ethnic cleansing in West Bank In a new report, Amnesty International said that the escalating forced displacement and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank is part of a state-led campaign to control the Palestinian territory. Palestine
Interview As Sudan war drags on, US-Iran conflict compounds humanitarian crisis in Darfur Janti Soeripto President and CEO of Save the Children US
Iran executes man it says spied for US and Israel Mahmoud Mousavi Majd was found guilty of reporting the whereabouts of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian military commander killed in a US drone strike. Iran
Intel: Trump joins chorus of Iranians urging halt to imminent political executions President Donald Trump today joined the online chorus of Iranians warning the government against the imminent execution of three young men sentenced to death after participating in last year’s mass protests against rising gasoline prices. Iran
Iran executes three political prisoners, upholds more death verdicts Iran’s judiciary said death penalties against three political prisoners have been upheld while confirming that three other prisoners had been sent to the gallows. Iran
Bahrain upholds death sentences despite torture claims Pro-democracy activists Mohammed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa face imminent execution. Bahrain
UN report blames civilian deaths in northwest Syria on government and rebel groups The report by the United Nations' Syria commission details numerous possible war crimes in recent months by both pro-government forces and the rebel group HTS. Syria
Complaints of torture on rise in Turkey's Kurdish southeast The Turkish government no longer sees the need to conceal torture, especially of Kurdish women in the southeast of the country. Turkey
Cairo marks anniversary of revolution by jailing journalists Egypt has been passing the days leading up to the anniversary of the military coup that toppled President Mohammed Morsi with a clampdown reminiscent of 2013. Egypt
British PM Johnson writes op-ed in opposition to West Bank annexation Boris Johnson wrote the article in Israel's Ynet news outlet as a "friend" of Israel, saying annexation of the Palestinian territory is not in Israel's best interests. Israel
Intel: Working Group on Egypt urges Pompeo to get tough on Sisi As Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi widens his crackdown on government critics, a bipartisan group of foreign policy experts urged US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to call out America's longtime ally for human rights abuses. Egypt
Horrific patterns of torture catalogued in Yemen’s unofficial prisons More than 1,000 people have been arbitrarily detained and hundreds tortured by Yemen's warring parties, finds a new report. Yemen
Turkey cries 'LGBT propaganda' after official faces backlash for pedophilia tweet Activists saw the tweet from the head of Turkish Red Crescent as targeting the LGBTI community and say such rhetoric puts it at greater risk. Turkey
Netherlands isn’t required to repatriate Islamic State families in Syria, court rules The Netherlands isn't required to bring home from northern Syria a group of 23 Dutch women suspected of joining the Islamic State or their 56 children. Syria
