#political-imprisonment

#political-imprisonment

Fouad Naal spent 21 years in prison under the regime of Bashar al-Assad. He remained in the notorious Sednaya and Adra prisons until December 8, 2024, which was not only his liberation but also the liberation of Syria from al-Assad's rule, he told Al Jazeera a day before the anniversary. Tall and slim with a long salt and pepper beard, Naal, 52, speaks with enthusiasm and moves fluidly despite his years in confinement.

Most of the high-profile cultural signatories were already active in efforts to bring an end to Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, but the new letter is part of an international Free Marwan campaign launched by Barghouti's family earlier this week. Barghouti, a senior leader of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group, who is viewed by many as Palestine's Nelson Mandela, is serving five life sentences in Israeli prisons on alleged charges related to attacks during the second Intifada, which lasted from 2000 to 2005.

Watching " It Was Just an Accident" feels like watching director Jafar Panahi 's tortured yet graceful inner monologue around the merits of forgiveness. The Iranian filmmaker's Palme d'Or-winning film, like his other works, was filmed without official permission from the Iranian government-a tactic that enables him to critique the authoritarian regime creatively and without censorship. It hasn't been without consequences; Panahi was first arrested in 2010, then released, and subsequently placed under house arrest.

Before his arrest Khalid had emerged as one of the faces of an anti-government protest movement after the Modi government passed a citizenship law in late 2019 that was seen as discriminatory to Muslims. The protests that erupted were the first widespread challenge to the Modi regime and were met with brute force by the state. Dozens were killed by police fire and activists were detained and tortured.

Laila Soueif has declared she is willing to die on hunger strike to secure the release of her son, Alaa Abd El-Fattah, imprisoned in Egypt.