A Saudi activist was sentenced to 10 years in prison and banned from traveling abroad for an additional 10 years, a human rights lawyer said Oct. 20. Abdel-Karim al-Khadar, a professor of Islamic studies from Qassim arrested in April 2013, was a leading activist against religious extremism and militancy. He was extremely vocal, posting videos online giving lectures on religion, women's rights and coexistence. He was sentenced by the Saudi Specialized Criminal Court, created to try terrorist suspects. He was convicted of disobeying the ruler, founding [an unofficial] human rights organization, supporting protests, violating Internet laws through his posts and accusing Saudi authorities of human rights abuses. Al-Khadar, a founding member of the Saudi Association for Civil and Political Rights, is the third activist to be sentenced to prison time this week. Seven of the group's founders are currently in prison.

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Oct. 6 upheld the death sentence of Mumtaz Qadri, a former police guard respected within Pakistan for killing politician Salmaan Taseer over his support for a woman convicted of blasphemy. Taseer, governor of Punjar at the time of his death, was leaving a restaurant in January 2011 when he was shot and killed. Taseer had drawn ire from religious conservative groups when he took up the cause of a Christian woman sentenced to death for insulting the Prophet Muhammed. The next possible step for Qadri will be an appeal for a presidential pardon, which is unlikely to be granted. 

Ahmad al-Mahdi al-Faqi AKA Abu Tourab, a former member of militant group Ansar Dine, was turned over to the International Criminal Court at The Hague by authorities in Niger Sept. 26, accused of war crimes allegedly committed in Timbuktu, Mali, including destruction of religious and historical monuments. He is charged in the destruction of nine mausoleums and a mosque in the historic city in 2012, when an alliance of jihadist militias including Ansar Dine was in control of northern Mali. The entire city of Timbuktu, known as the "City of 333 Saints," is a UNESCO-listed world heritage site. El-Boukhari Ben Essayouti, head of the Timbuktu Cultural Mission, said that al-Mahdi was but one militant who took part in the destruction, and called for his accomplices to be similarly brought to justice. (AFP, BBC News, AP, ICC press release, Sept. 26)

The latest edition of the English-language ISIS magazine Dabiq, released online Sept. 9, contains the predictable parade of perversions. Two men, Norwegian and Chinese nationals, are offered for sale as slaves. The destruction of ancient temples at the Palmyra archaeological site is trumpeted. Child soldiers are glorified as "lion cubs" of the "caliphate." The 9-11 attacks are hailed as the "blessed operations." But it also features an interview with Abul Mughirah al-Qahtani, identified as the "delegated leader" of the Islamic State's Libyan "province," in which he harshly criticizes several rival jihadist outfits, including Ansar al-Sharia, the Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade (ASMB), the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), and the Libyan Dawn coalition.

Kurdish-American pop singer Helly Luv travelled to northern Iraq where she donned a Peshmerga uniform and visited the frontline against ISIS to gyrate before the cameras in a video for a song dubbed "Revolution," offering encouragement to the Kurdish fighters: "Stand up, we are united; together we can survive it... Brothers and sisters we all come from one; Different religions we share the same blood." This has of course won her death threats from ISIS—we can imagine how upset the jihadists must be by a video combining Luv's unabashed sexuality with glorification of the anti-ISIS fighters. She also issued an appeal to President Obama to directly arm the Peshmerga—something he still hasn't done, although various European leaders have. "If we can give the Peshmerga the weapons, they can destroy the enemy. Even right now, they don't have strong weapons, but they're still winning," Helly said.

At least 500 people have been arrested and the majority sentenced to flogging in Shiraz, southern Iran, for failing to observe the daytime fast during the holy month of Ramadan, authorities announced July 1. At least two sites in the city serving food during daylight hours were shut down by the paramilitary Bassij force. Another 2,699 individuals received verbal warnings and 261 others were given written notices by the Bassij patrols. Anyone in Iran caught eating or drinking in public during daytime in Ramadan may receive 74 lashes in addition to a prison term of up to two months, judicial authorities have threatened. Special patrols are stationed on streets and in public parks to enforce the edict. Public floggings have soared in Iran in recent months, with the actual number of floggings said to be much higher than officially announced. (NCRI, July 1)

The Supreme Court of Bangladesh on June 16 upheld the death sentence of Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed for war crimes committed during the 1971 War of Liberation against Pakistan. Mojaheed, the Secretary-General of Jamaat-e-Islami Party (JI) was originally sentenced by the International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh (ICTB) on charges of kidnapping and murder during the war. Mojaheed could be hanged within months if he does not get presidential clemency or another court review.

For months, Libya has been divided between the Islamist-led Libyan Dawn coalition that controls Tripoli and the west, and the more secular "official" government now exiled to Tobruk in the east. But with ISIS seizing territory, it is now turning into a three-sided war. Heavy fighting is reported as the "official" Libyan National Army's Brigade 309 has launched an offensive to take the port of Mreisa from ISIS fighters. (Libya Herald, June 13) Meanwhile, the Majlis al-Shura militia, aligned with the Libyan Dawn movement, is fighting ISIS for control of Derna. One June 13, a presumed ISIS suicide bomber killed three when he blew himself up on a Derna street. (Reuters, June 13)  The day before, seven Derna residents were shot dead when militants fired on a protest against the ISIS occupation of the city. (Reuters, June 12)