A military court in Bahrain sentenced a group of medical staff to up to 15 years in prison Sept. 29 for treating anti-government protesters. The doctors and nurses were convicted on charges including incitement to overthrow the government, stealing medicine and occupying a hospital. Dr. Fatima Hadji told the BBC she was beaten in custody and threatened with rape before being released on bail. At least 30 people were killed and hundreds injured when the regime, supported by troops rushed in from neighboring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, cracked down on pro-democracy protesters in March. (Radio Australia, Sept. 30)

The sentencing of a Saudi Arabian woman to 10 lashes after she drove a car demonstrates the scale of discrimination against women in the kingdom, Amnesty International said Sept. 27. "Flogging is a cruel punishment in all circumstances but it beggars belief that the authorities in Saudi Arabia have imposed lashes on a woman apparently for merely driving a car," said Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa deputy director Philip Luther, noting the irony that the sentence was handed down days after the Saudi monarchy had announced that women would be granted the vote in municipal council elections.

Five days of armed clashes in the Yemeni capital Sanaa have left over 100 dead and hundreds more injured. Gunmen loyal to tribal chief Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar and defected soldiers under Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar are using shells and rifle fire against a camp that has been set up in the city by the Republican Guards, the country's elite troops led by President Ali Abdullah Saleh's elder son Ahmed Ali. Numerous civilians have been killed in the crossfire. Student protesters continue to occupy University Square—which they have dubbed "Change Square"—and have also come under mortar and sniper fire. (The Economist, Sept. 24; Xinhua, Sept. 23; AFP, Sept. 22; Yemen Post, Sept. 20)

At least 24 were killed in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Sept. 18 as security forces opened fire on protesters calling for the ouster of longtime president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The violence, Yemen's worst in months, began two days earlier, when tens of thousands gathered for Friday protests, to be met with gunfire from uniformed troops and plainclothes snipers as they marched toward government buildings. Following the initial fire, a sustained confrontation ensued. The Organizing Committee of the Popular Youth Revolution then called for sustained protests to remove the "remains of the regime."

Clashes between police and Shi'ite protesters continue in Bahrain, fueled by the killing of a 14-year-old boy by riot police Aug. 31. The government of the Persian Gulf island state said it would "await a full investigation" by the Interior Ministry before drawing any conclusions about the death. Media reports said the youth was hit with a tear-gas canister in the oil hub area of Sitra. The new protests erupted on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr festival. The death of another protester, the first since early July, comes days after King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa said he would pardon some imprisoned protesters as "reconciliatory gestures" after a Saudi-backed crackdown began in March. Street fighting centers around districts near the Pearl Roundabout, the center of anti-government protests that began in February. Bahrain demolished the landmark Pearl Monument at the center of the plaza in March after it became a symbol of the protests. (CNN, Sept. 1; FT, AlJazeera, Aug. 31)

Syrian government forces cracking down on the opposition may be committing crimes against humanity, according to a report published Aug. 18 by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The 22-page report, prepared by the the Fact-finding Mission on Syria, contains allegations of summary executions, killing of unarmed protesters and torture of detainees. According to the report, "[t]he Mission found a pattern of human rights violations that constitutes widespread or systematic attacks against the civilian population, which may amount to crimes against humanity as provided for in article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court." The Fact-finding Mission recommended that the Security Council refer Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for further investigation. The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) is to hold a special session on Syria next week.

From Amnesty International, Aug. 15:

The Egyptian authorities must immediately drop charges against a woman blogger and activist accused of defaming the military on Twitter, Amnesty International said today. Asmaa Mahfouz, 26, was summoned by military prosecutors on Sunday and later released on bail of 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($3,356) after posting messages on the social media network expressing concerns about the Egyptian justice system and the actions of the military government, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).

Some 5,000 Palestinian refugees have been forced to flee a camp in the Syrian port of Latakia amid shelling by government forces, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The agency says more than half of the Ramel camp's 10,000 residents are on the move, and at least four have died, among some 30 reportedly killed in repression against a popular uprising Latakia over the past three days. "We have no idea where these people are, we have no idea how many of them are wounded, are dying, are elderly, are women, are children," said UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness. The government's offensive has included tank assaults and the shelling of the port from gunboats. The Palestinian authorities called on the Syrian government to safeguard the lives of refugees in its territory. Palestine Liberation Organization secretary general Yasser Abed Rabbo said the attack on the Ramel camp is "part of the crimes against humanity" targeting Palestinians and Syrians alike.