A Tripoli-based militia from Misrata should immediately transfer to the Libyan government two illegally detained British journalists and the three Libyans who were traveling with them. The men are among thousands of people held illegally by militias in Libya.

There is an escalating pattern of physical attacks by Egyptian military and police officers against women and male protesters, journalists, and activists in Cairo, some of which are sexual in nature. News reports and images of protesters in Cairo being stripped, beaten, and dragged through the street in the past several days are just the latest incidents.

Syrian security forces have intensified their campaign of mass arrests in cities across the country that have had anti-government protests. The targeted cities include including Hama, Homs, and various suburbs around Damascus.

Since mid-April, the government of Bahrain has urged its citizens to sign pledges of allegiance to the country’s "wise leadership," saying the signatures would be inscribed on a golden sword whose existence would then be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records, in the category of… well, "sword bearing the largest number of signatures," according to the official Bahrain News Agency.

This briefing note looks at the threat posed to civilians, including deminers, from landmines used in the current conflict between forces of Muammar Gaddafi and opposition rebels.

The Bahraini government should immediately end its campaign of arrests of medical professionals and attacks on injured patients linked to recent anti-government protests, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch called on authorities to investigate the violations against medical personnel and patients who exercised their rights to freedom of expression and assembly, hold those responsible to account, and allow unhindered access to medical treatment for all.    

UAE authorities should drop charges against five activists arrested after they called for democratic reforms.

The international Contact Group on Libya, meeting in Istanbul on July 15, 2011, to discuss the conflict, should press Libya’s opposition authority to ensure that civilians are protected in areas where rebels have assumed control.

The Bahrain government should investigate and remedy the summary dismissals of more than 2,000 workers since late March, apparently as punishment for having participated in or otherwise supported pro-democracy demonstrations.

Rebel forces in Libya should protect civilians and civilian property in areas they control. The rebel forces should hold accountable anyone from their ranks responsible for looting, arson, and abuse of civilians in recently captured towns in western Libya.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany should consider the political signals her government is sending to Saudi Arabia before approving a deal to sell 200 German-made tanks to the kingdom. Saudi Arabia has a dismal human rights record and has deployed forces to Bahrain to help suppress pro-democracy protests there.

The clashes in Cairo on June 28 and 29, 2011, between police and protesters in which more than 1,000 people were injured highlight the urgent need to reform security forces. The government should promptly formulate an interim code of conduct for policing demonstrations and order a thorough investigation into any improper use of firearms and riot control weapons by the riot police during the protests.

The International Criminal Court (ICC), by issuing an arrest warrant for Muammar Gaddafi, signaled that the law can reach even those long thought to be immune to accountability. The ICC judges granted warrants on June 27, 2011, for Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, his son Seif al-Islam, and Libya’s intelligence chief, Abdullah Sanussi. They are wanted on charges of crimes against humanity for their roles in attacks on civilians, including peaceful demonstrators, in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata, and other Libyan cities and towns.