News

Following its fourth Universal Periodic Review, Lebanon chose to accept 218 out of the 286 recommendations it had received. While the authorities accepted the majority of recommendations, they notably rejected calls to abolish the statute of limitations on torture and failed to receive any recommendation specifically addressing their role in transnational repression.

During Lebanon’s Universal Periodic Review on January 19, 2026, MENA Rights Group submitted an alternative report documenting torture, refoulement, and transnational repression. On the same day, MENA Rights Group and partners held a side event in Geneva to discuss these findings. The issues raised were reflected in several recommendations made to Lebanon by UN Member States.

Al-Qaradawi Arbitrarily Detained in Near-Incommunicado Conditions

MENA Rights Group’s new report, “Algeria: Travel bans, a tool of mass repression in the hands of the authorities,” exposes how Algerian authorities misuse travel bans (ISTN) to silence dissent and restrict freedom of movement. Drawing on nearly thirty individual cases, the report details how these measures, often imposed without due process or notification, create a climate of fear and self-censorship.

Face à une grave atteinte aux droits fondamentaux d’une citoyenne algérienne engagée pour la vérité et la justice, nous, membres du Collectif Solidarité Algérie, avec le soutien d’organisations internationales, dénonçons une dérive autoritaire inacceptable et rendons public ce qui suit : Nassera Dutour, présidente du Collectif des Familles de Disparus en Algérie (CFDA) et mère […]

We, the undersigned organizations, call on the Egyptian government to immediately end its campaign of transnational repression targeting exiled Egyptian journalists. We specifically urge the government to respond to the UN report detailing the harassment and surveillance of Egyptian investigative journalist Basma Mostafa, currently residing in Germany. We further urge German authorities to ensure her safety […]

MENA Rights Group and Safeguard Defenders welcome the recent release of Uyghur activist Yidiresi Aishan, who faced extradition from Morocco to China following his arrest in 2021.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is sponsoring an investment conference in Miami and further whitewashing the country’s egregious human rights record, five human rights groups including MENA Rights Group said today. The PIF’s Future Investment Initiative Institute (FII Institute) Priority Summit is to be held in Miami from February 19 to 21, 2025.

MENA Rights Group leads a coalition of 15 civil society organisations in urging the Arab Interior Ministers' Council to cease its facilitation of arbitrary extraditions of peaceful dissidents and human rights defenders across Arab League countries and to align its legal framework and systems with international human rights law.

Following the announcement made by the Kuwaiti government to amend its Nationality Law and effectively strip thousands of individuals of their citizenship, MENA Rights Group joins 8 other organisations in calling on Kuwaiti authorities to immediately suspend the revocation of nationality of these individuals.

After the announcement of a new agreement between Saudi Arabia and INTERPOL to open a Regional Bureau for the Middle East and North Africa in Riyadh, MENA Rights Group and ALQST for Human Rights address an open letter to INTERPOL inviting the organisation to reconsider their decision.

Algerian authorities have increasingly used arbitrary travel bans to retaliate against perceived critics, Human Rights Watch and MENA Rights Group said. The authorities should lift the arbitrary bans and stop using them as a tool to repress dissent.