Leaked Reports Reveal Severe Abuse of Saudi Political Prisoners

THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: cuts, burns and bruising documented, despite government denials of torture

Political prisoners in Saudi Arabia are said to be suffering from malnutrition, cuts, bruises and burns, according to leaked medical reports that are understood to have been prepared for the country’s ruler, King Salman.

The reports seem to provide the first documented evidence from within the heart of the royal court that political prisoners are facing severe physical abuse, despite the government’s denials that men and women in custody are being tortured.

The Guardian has been told the medical reports will be given to King Salman along with recommendations that are said to include a potential pardon for all the prisoners, or at least early release for those with serious health problems. » | Nick Hopkins, Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Kareem Shaheen | Sunday, March 31, 2019

North Korean Prisoner Escaped After 23 Brutal Years

Egypt Military Trying Political Prisoners
Mohamed Ibrahim Soliman, Egypt's former Housing Minister, has been arrested on corruption allegations, becoming the latest member of the former Mubarak government to be detained over allegations regarding deals worth billions of dollars.



Much less publicised in Egypt, however, are the cases of political activists who have been detained since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. Many have been charged with spreading "false information" and insulting the country's powerful military, which currently controls the state.



Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports on one such case from Cairo.

Political Prisoners in Tunisia's New Era
Tunisia has ousted Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali, its former president, but shaking off the vestigages of authoratirian rule is proving to be an arduous task. One of the relics of the old regime that has received particular criticism from human rights groups is the anti-terrorism law under which so many political opponents were convicted under Ben Ali's rule. In Tunis, Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshri speaks with one former political prisoners, and the family of another young man still serving out his sentence

Son of Leading Scientist Dies in Jail as Fears Grow over Fate of Iran's Political Prisoners
THE GUARDIAN: Two inmates die from meningitis in Evin prison / Former detainees speak of harassment and torture

Fears are mounting over the safety of hundreds of political inmates in Iran's most notorious prison following the deaths of two prisoners detained in the recent post-election unrest.

Mohsen Rouholamini and Amir Javadifar died in Tehran's Evin prison after being arrested at a demonstration this month.

Rouholamini, the son of a prominent Iranian scientist close to the country's political elite, died from meningitis after injuries believed to have been inflicted by his jailers went untreated.

The deaths prompted fears of a meningitis outbreak in Evin and other overcrowded detention centres where opposition figures, journalists and students are kept following last month's disputed election. News of the deaths coincided with reports of injuries to other detainees.

One inmate, Isa Saharkhiz, a prominent reformist journalist and commentator, is reported to have suffered broken ribs after being tortured under interrogation.

Campaigners are also concerned for the safety of Kian Tajbakhsh, an American-Iranian scholar said to be under pressure to confess involvement in an alleged western plot to orchestrate the protests following Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election.

Prisoners recently released from Evin have described enduring countless beatings and being herded into tiny cells without air conditioning, where stifling temperatures regularly soar above 40C. >>> Robert Tait and Saeed Kamali Dehghan in Tehran | Sunday, July 26, 2009

Fidel's Words Cool US-Cuba Hopes
BBC: Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro says President Barack Obama misinterpreted recent comments by his brother Raul about a possible thaw in US-Cuba ties.

Fidel Castro makes frequent comments about current affairs. Photo courtesy of the BBC
President Raul Castro said last week Cuba was ready to discuss "everything".

Mr Obama responded by saying the US sought new ties with Cuba but linked progress to advances in human rights and the freeing of political prisoners.

In an essay on a government website, Fidel Castro suggested it was up to the US not Cuba to change to improve ties.

"Without doubt, President [Obama] misinterpreted Raul's declaration," Fidel Castro wrote in an article on the CubaDebate website.

Raul Castro's offer "to broach any subject", the article said, was meant to show "courage and confidence in the principles of the revolution".

Correspondents say Fidel Castro appears to be trying to dampen expectations of a possible improvement in ties, by suggesting that too much has been read into Raul's offer to discuss everything. >>> | Wednesday, April 22, 2009