British couple detained in Iran still lacking regular family contact, family says
A British couple detained in Iran for more than 20 months have still not had regular contact restored with their family, according to relatives who say earlier assurances have not been followed through. Lindsay and Craig Foreman, who are from East Sussex, were sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges they deny. Their family says the lack of consistent calls remains a serious concern after months of uncertainty.The family says the couple were promised renewed contact after ending hunger strikes earlier this year, but regular calls have not resumed. The hunger strikes lasted 93 days and 84 days... [Continue Reading]
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Syria's Roj camp detainees report worsening raids, extortion and violence
Women and children held at Roj camp in northeastern Syria say conditions have deteriorated sharply, with reports of night raids, gunfire, extortion and assaults by camp security. The camp holds more than 2,300 women and children, many detained over alleged links to ISIL. Detainees and rights groups describe the site as a place of open-ended detention behind guarded fences and barbed wire.According to accounts gathered from detainees, the violence has intensified in recent months. One woman said bullets could pass through her family's tent when shooting starts, while others described guards throwing stones and a boy suffering a serious head... [Continue Reading]
Trial opens in Baghdad for six French Islamic State suspects
A trial has opened in Baghdad for six French nationals accused of belonging to Islamic State, with the next hearing set for 5 October. The men are being tried in Iraq after being transferred from Syria last year, and prosecutors say they could face the death penalty if convicted of crimes against Iraq and the Iraqi people. Their lawyers are seeking their return to France, arguing that the case is moving too quickly and does not allow enough time to prepare a defence.The six are part of a larger group of 47 French nationals moved from Syria to Iraq last... [Continue Reading]
Israeli raid in Biddu leaves at least 53 Palestinians detained as town is locked down
Israeli forces have carried out a raid in Biddu, northwest of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, detaining at least 53 Palestinians and placing the town under lockdown. Schools, shops and educational institutions were shut as troops searched homes and moved through the area. The operation began early on Monday and is the third incursion into Biddu since a Palestinian man from the town, suspected of killing an Israeli settler, was arrested.The Jerusalem Governorate said at least 53 young men were being held in an interrogation centre set up inside one of the houses seized during the raid. Biddu Mayor... [Continue Reading]
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BBC investigation says Assad regime planned Austin Tice kidnapping for weeks
US journalist Austin Tice's disappearance in Syria in 2012 was the result of a planned kidnapping operation that had been in preparation for more than a month, according to a new investigation. The findings, published on 17 September, say the abduction was not an opportunistic detention at a checkpoint, as many had long assumed. The report also says a member of the group that detained Tice has claimed the operation was sanctioned by Syria's then-leader, Bashar al-Assad.Tice, who had been reporting on the Syrian civil war, was seen getting into a car with a driver he knew and trusted before... [Continue Reading]
Fear the Shia, Arm the Sunnis: The Uncomfortable Numbers Behind America’s War Narrative
“When fear is managed carefully enough, a nation can be taught to look away from the blood on the floor and stare instead at the shadow on the wall.” A friend of mine, whose name I will not reveal because he asked me not to, sat across from me over dinner and placed a question on the table that would not leave me alone. He was born into a Muslim Shia background, and for the angle of this article, that detail matters, not because I wish to reduce a man to a sect, but because sect has become one of... [Continue Reading]

