Editor’s Note: Rights & Wrongs is a weekly column covering the world’s major human rights-related happenings. It is written by regular WPR contributor Juliette Terzieff. DETAINED IRANIAN-AMERICAN LOOKS TO HEAD HOME — A spokesman for Iran’s judiciary confirmed detained Iranian-American consultant Kian Tajbakhsh likely will soon be free to return home after months in Iran’s Evin prison. The statement from Ali Reza Jamshidi came during a state-organized visit for journalists to view conditions at the much-maligned facility, where brief interaction with a reportedly well-looking Tajbakhsh was allowed. Authorities have not filed official charges against Tajbakhsh, an urban planning consultant for [...]
JERUSALEM — In Israel, a country where everyone has an opinion and every home has at least one senior military expert, the events that (may or may not have) transpired in Syria last Thursday have fueled a frantic round of nervous speculation and analysis. Last week, Syrian authorities announced they had fired anti-aircraft weapons at Israeli planes illegally flying over their territory. At the time, Israeli officials refused to comment. Since then, the entire government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has maintained complete silence on the issue, displaying a level of discipline that has left Israelis utterly amazed. The government [...]
The strict morality of life in Ramallah, where honor killings might be performed when pregnancies occur outside of marriage, means navigating the issue of sex is extremely fraught. Young people must balance the images they receive from the outside world and their continual anxiety about committing sin if they should follow their natural urges before marriage. RAMALLAH, West Bank — On first glance, the city of Ramallah in the West Bank appears boring: conservative and chaste. Most women wear headscarves and quickly avert their eyes when men are watching. There is nothing flirtatious about the gesture. In the course of [...]
