Take Action! Watch the third Alternative Human Rights Expo

Update: Watch the event on GCHR’s YouTube here.

On Wednesday, 27 November 2024, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), with the support of over two dozen partners, will hold the third Alternative Human Rights Expo, an online event. The purpose of the Alternative Human Rights Expo III is to call for the release of human rights defenders (HRDs) persecuted in the Middle East and North Africa region by showcasing the work of detained HRDs, WHRDs and activists, as well as artists, poets, writers and musicians from the MENA region with a focus on human rights.

These are difficult times for people across the MENA region, especially for human rights defenders and activists, many of whom have been killed, imprisoned or silenced just at a time when their work is more important than ever.

“We aim to lift their voices and highlight their cases for the international community through a special cultural online human rights event,” says the event’s previous co-host Weaam Youssef, GCHR’s WHRDs Programme Manager. This year’s co-hosts are Khalid Ibrahim, GCHR’s Executive Director, and Marwa Fatafta, Access Now’s MENA Policy and Advocacy Director.

This event will feature HRDs, WHRDs, activists, artists, musicians and poets from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

The event will open with music by women’s drum and vocal ensemble Tabiba and close with music from Tunisian musician Yasser Jradi, who sadly died in August this year. His video will be introduced by his niece Feryel Jradi Charfeddine of HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement.

It will feature art by Palestinian artist Malak Mattar, Fathi Gaben and Mahasen Al-Ktheeb, two of many Palestinian artists who have been killed in Gaza in the past year. Tragically, the work of artists featured in previous Alternative Human Rights Expos, such as Heba Zagout, has been totally destroyed and lives online only now.

Taha Alhajji of the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), will speak about imprisoned HRDs in Saudi Arabia. We will also show campaign materials featuring Salma Al-Shehab, Nourah Al-Qahtani and Manahel Al-Otaibi, as well as the two Wikipedians Osama Khalid and Ziad Al-Sufyani, who are among the many Saudis imprisoned for decades for online activity. The event will provide an opportunity to feature their cases ahead of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) being held in Saudi Arabia in December.

We will show a video of GCHR’s Board member, imprisoned Emirati activist Ahmed Mansoor, made by Manu Luksch, and poetry read by GCHR’s Executive Director Khalid Ibrahim. The event will also feature a video about imprisoned human rights lawyer Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken. Both men were sentenced to additional years in prison in July 2024.

There will also be a reading of the work of imprisoned Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, who should already have been released by his aunt Ahdaf Soueif, an acclaimed writer. Umama Hamido, a Lebanese artist and experimental filmmaker in exile, will read from her work.

Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy will speak about campaigns to free Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace and Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, and reprisals facing Bahraini activists, including himself. We will show a video by Maryam Al-Khawaja, calling for support for her father as he heads towards 5000 days behind bars.

Shiva Nazarahari of Femena, will read poetry by imprisoned Iranian WHRD Mahvash Sabet, whom she was in prison with, and show art and cartoons from WHRD Atena Farghadani, also imprisoned in Iran.

Take Action!

Please Register for the Alternative Human Rights Expo III here: https://bit.ly/HRExpoIII

The event is on 27 November at 1-3pm EST, 7-9pm CET. The languages will be English and Arabic with interpretation and bilingual visuals.

Viewers will be asked to make donations to support the event’s participants and the detained HRDs/WHRDs by donating via GCHR’s paypal at /qurium/www.gc4hr.org/support-us.html

Please join us and spread the news about the event!

If you can’t make it on 27 November, you can still register to get the link and find the video on the website at https://www.alternativehrexpo.org/

Programme

Opening music: Marhaba, by Tabiba women’s drum group

Welcome by Co-host Khalid Ibrahim, GCHR’s Executive Director.

Regional analysis of digital repression by Co-host Marwa Fatafta, Access Now’s MENA Policy and Advocacy Director.

Saudi Arabia: Taha Alhajji, legal director of the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), will talk about the imprisoned Saudi human rights defenders.

Marwa Fatafta will discuss the campaign to free WHRDs Salma Al-Shehab, Nourah Al-Qahtani and Manahel Al-Otaibi as well as Osama Khalid and Ziad Al-Sufyani, the two imprisoned Saudi Wikipedians, ahead of the IGF in Saudi Arabia.

Palestine: Palestinian artist Malak Mattar’s mural “No Words”, as well as artwork including We Are Burning, by artist Mahasen Al-Ktheeb, who was killed on 18 October.

UAE: Introduction about #UAE84 case, and videos of Ahmed Mansoor and Flower at the Door by Ahmed Mansoor by Manu Luksch.
Khalid Ibrahim, Executive Director of GCHR, to read Ahmed Mansoor’s poetry.
Video of Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken, from the Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center campaign.

Egypt: Online activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah (the first blogger to be arrested in the region, who was due for release on 29 Sept, but remains behind bars). His aunt Ahdaf Soueif will read from his work and suggest actions.

Bahrain: Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, advocacy director, Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy will speak about campaigns to free HRDs including Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace, and reprisals facing Bahraini activists. We will show a video by Maryam Al-Khawaja about her father, and Khalid Ibrahim will say a few words.

Iran: WHRD Shiva Nazarahari, researcher and campaign coordinator at Femena, will read poetry by imprisoned WHRD Mahvash Sabet, whom she was in prison with, and show art and cartoons from imprisoned WHRD Atena Farghadani

Lebanon: Umama Hamido, artist and experimental filmmaker in exile, will read from her work “My two little boys” and show visuals

Closing Music: Chbik Nsitini (video) by Yasser Jradi, a Tunisian musician and activist who passed away in August 2024, introduced by Yasser Jradi’s niece Feryel Jradi Charfeddine, Programs Lead, HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement

Thank you to our partners!

Partners: