U.S. Must Maintain a Consistent Support for Human Rights in the Middle East

The democracy movements in the Middle East have received strong pushback from their governments, resulting in human rights abuses that have left countless pro-democracy activists detained, injured, or dead. While it is admirable that the U.S. takes into account the different sociopolitical histories of each country, its support for democracy in the region falls short with its inconsistent approach.   The U.S., for example has been silent about Bahrain and, in fact, the State Department announced recently that “the U.S. supports the Bahraini leadership’s own embrace of the principles of reform and the respect for rule of law and coexistence.” Nothing about widespread torture, nothing about the estimated 600 plus people in detention, nothing about athletes and medical and legal professionals being targeted for supporting the pro-democracy activists. Listen to this week’s podcast for analysis on the inconsistencies of U.S. response to human rights abuses in the Middle East and what Human Rights First is doing to support human rights defenders in Bahrain and Egypt, including Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad and former Head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja. Podcast produced by Stephen Brownell.