Middle East

Syrian cameraman found dead with eyes gouged out

Topics: 
Freedom of the press, Middle East, Arab spring
Rating: 
2

Joel Gunter – November 22, 2011

A Syrian cameraman who was arrested on Saturday while filming anti-government protests has been found dead with his eyes gouged out, according to the New York-based charity the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Citing local news reports, the CPJ says Ferzat Jarban was arrested by government authorities while covering the protests and local residents found his "severely mutilated" body the next morning on the main road of the town.

Egypt to ratify anti- corruption law in days

Topics: 
Legislation, Middle East, Anti-corruption efforts
Rating: 
0

Marwa Awad – November 1, 2011

Egypt's ruling generals will ratify within days a law barring anyone found guilty of corruption from political life, a senior minister said on Monday, a move to curb the influence of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's former allies.

Wealthy people in Egypt were often members of Mubarak's now defunct National Democratic Party who used their political connections to advance family and business interests.

Israel bars nuclear whistle-blower from emigrating

Topics: 
Nuclear industry, Middle East, Defence industry
Rating: 
0

AFP – October 6, 2011

Israel's supreme court on Thursday barred nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu from emigrating on the grounds he still poses a threat to state security, Israeli media reported.

Vanunu, under orders to stay in Tel Aviv and not to speak to journalists, "has proved several times he can not be trusted and does not respect the letter of the law," supreme court judges said in turning down his appeal.

Iraqi corruption 'an octopus'

Topics: 
Corruption, Organized crime, Middle East
Rating: 
2

AFP – October 11, 2011

Corruption has spread through the Iraqi government "like an octopus" and is hampering electricity provision, parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi said on Tuesday. Nujaifi said that corrupt "mafias" were an impediment to political reform and progress in the country, and noted that the electricity sector in Iraq was "rife with corruption."

"There are also the corruption mafias that seem to spread through the establishment like an octopus," Nujaifi said at a conference at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, according to an English translation of his Arabic remarks provided by the think tank.

Canadian Company Involved in Massive Iraqi Power Sector Fraud

Topics: 
Corruption, Middle East, Procurement process
Rating: 
4

Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli – August 12, 2011

Background

For years, the energy sector in Iraq has suffered from failure to supply electricity to the Iraqi population: UN sanctions that crippled Iraqi finances also stunted the capacity to acquire and repair power generating equipment; the problem was compounded during the invasion in 2003 when air strikes damaged power plants; and since the invasion, terrorist groups have made many attempts, some successful, to sabotage power stations and power lines.

The consequence of all this is that power is available, at best, for no more than six hours a day, and even that limited supply reaches the consumers only intermittently. It appears also, according to the Inspector General of the Ministry of Electricity 'Alaa Muhiddin, that natural gas shipped by truck destined for power stations is stolen in collusion with some officials of the ministry. The theft of gas reduces power production by about 300-400 megawatts daily.[1]

Canadian firm named in Iraqi electricity contract scandal

Topics: 
Corruption, Middle East
Rating: 
4

Hayder Najm – August 11, 2011

The latest scandal at Iraq’s ministry of electricity involves multi-billion dollar “phantom deals” with a German and Canadian company. The minister of energy has been asked to resign. But the real story is not as simple as it first appears.

As a long, hot summer continues to overheat the citizens of Baghdad, one of the government ministries that could alleviate some of their pain is in the spotlight once again. With the latest scandal at the Ministry of Electricity, which will most likely result in the dismissal of the current minister, it seems that this government department deserves to sit atop the list of most corrupt government institutions in Iraq.

On the trail of Mubarak’s money

Topics: 
Corruption, Middle East, Wealthy elites, Political misconduct
Rating: 
1

Olivia Ward – February 15, 2011

Emad Barsoum learned how corruption works in Egypt first hand. “If somebody wants to open a small bakery to make cheap bread, he goes to the National Democratic Party, pays a bribe and gets a bakery licence,” says the former member of Hosni Mubarak’s ruling party.

“Then he gets a quota of government-subsidized flour and sells it. It’s easy if you have the connections.”

Corruption blew the lid off North Africa

Topics: 
Corruption, Transparency International, Middle East, Arab spring
Rating: 
2

Huguette Labelle – February 8, 2011

When people take to the streets to protest against their governments, the list of grievances is usually long and complex, but corruption is always at the top.

We see this now in the wave of protests spreading across Tunisia and Egypt. We saw it in Ivory Coast where stolen elections threaten a return to civil war. We saw it in Haiti where years of corruption have taken their toll. And the list can go on around the world.

Seize Mubarak's money: watchdog

Topics: 
Corruption, Transparency International, Middle East, Arab spring
Rating: 
0

February 11, 2011

Governments and international banks should seize Hosni Mubarak's assets and hold them in escrow to be returned to the people of Egypt, an international corruption watchdog said Friday.

"What is happening in Egypt today shows there is a major problem with a lack of transparency," said Huguette Labelle, the chair of Transparency International, an influential international corruption watchdog with ties to the UN.

WikiLeaks: Egyptian 'torturers' trained by FBI

Topics: 
Wikileaks, Torture, Middle East, Arab spring
Rating: 
1

Steven Swinford – February 9, 2011

The US provided officers from the Egyptian secret police with training at the FBI, despite allegations that they routinely tortured detainees and suppressed political opposition.

According to leaked diplomatic cables, the head of the Egyptian state security and investigative service (SSIS) thanked the US for “training opportunities” at the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia. The SSIS has been repeatedly accused of using violence and brutality to help prop up the regime of President Hosni Mubarak.

Pages

Subscribe to Middle East