TheArabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI;Egyptian Arabic:الشبكه العربيه لمعلومات حقوق الانسان) was a non-governmental organization devoted to promoting freedom of expression across theMiddle East andNorth Africa.[1] It was founded in the year 2004.[2] Based inCairo, Egypt, the organization was founded by prominent Egyptian attorney and human rights activistGamal Eid, who also served as the ANHRI's executive director.[3] The ANHRI collected publications, campaigns, reports, and statements from almost 140 Arab human rights organizations across the region and republished them in a daily digest on its website.[4][5] The group focused on supporting free expression, especially via the internet and mass media, and worked on behalf of persons regarded as having been detained on political grounds.[6][7][8][9][10][11]It also advocated againstcensorship by Arab governments.[12][13]
The ANHRI described its mission as follows:
Today, there are countless millions of internet users in the Middle East, but it remains difficult for users to find information about human rights. ANHRI provides a central site where Arabic readers can easily find links to and information about all human rights groups and their work in the region. The Network also focuses on and seeks the expansion of freedom of expression on the internet in the Middle East.
Above all, there are critical areas that are not only taboo intellectually in the Islamic world and culture, but for which there are also no groups in the region today to even work on, such as, the death penalty, and rights of Christian minorities. Our objective is to create a space where these issues and other vital information about human rights can be discussed freely, and where people who share an interest in these areas can create a community.[14]
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information was a member of theInternational Freedom of Expression Exchange.[15]
In February 2008, the network openedKatib Blogs, which made it possible for those in the Arab world to obtain an Arabic-languageblog that was uncensored.[16][17]
In March 2008, a legal service website,Qadaya,[18] was launched to provide a resource for journalists, researchers, and activists. The website provided information on court verdicts, important judicial cases, constitutions from various nations, and legal acts pertinent to theArab world.[19]
In April 2008, a website devoted to providing information onDarfur for Arab journalists and decision-makers was launched, calledIfhamdarfur. The website provides a twice-weekly newsletter and gathers Arab news reports about the Darfur crisis.[20][citation needed]
Currently, its website and reports are blocked inSaudi Arabia.[21]
In November 2011, the ANHRI was awarded with the2011 Human Dignity Award of the GermanRoland Berger Foundation [nl].[22]
TheAssociated Press reported that in January 2022, the ANHRI announced that it was closing down, blaming perceived intimidation from the Egyptian government.[2]
Rights groups and press freedom advocacy organizations across the region have said the restrictions are based on "empty claims & irrational reasons," a statement from the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said.
There has been no answer to the letter which Reporters Without Borders and the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) sent to King Abdallah ben Abdel Aziz Ibn Saud on 10 January asking why Farhan was being held.
A new Arab "charter" for satellite TV will restrict independent news and information for people across the Middle East and North Africa, say the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), ARTICLE 19 and other IFEX members and partners.
A new opportunity for Arabic bloggers has been developed by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) as a means for uncensored content to be published in Arabic. The freedom of speech advocacy organization hopes the Katib blog space will give young Arabs an opportunity to write about their experiences in a mode that has often been cracked down upon by governments in the region.
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