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Tunisian Rights Activist Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

Tunisian rights activist Sihem Bensedrine. (Getty Images)
Tunisian rights activist Sihem Bensedrine. (Getty Images)
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Tunisian Rights Activist Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

Tunisian rights activist Sihem Bensedrine. (Getty Images)
Tunisian rights activist Sihem Bensedrine. (Getty Images)

Prominent Tunisian rights activist Sihem Bensedrine told AFP on Friday that she had been sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges including falsifying part of a transitional justice commission's final report.

"Of course, this is a decision that has nothing to do with justice. It has to do with a totalitarian regime that wants to erase the legacy of the IVD," Bensedrine said, referring to the Truth and Dignity Commission of which she was president.

Bensedrine, 75, said she would lodge an appeal. She had been placed in pre-trial detention for over six months following her arrest in August 2024.

Prosecutors accused Bensedrine of falsifying the commission's final report, among other charges.

Bensedrine said she had been targeted by "officials who are holding the state hostage" in order to "settle scores" and "discredit our work".

Human Rights Watch said in a statement "Bensedrine has for decades been harassed, jailed, and pushed into exile for her human rights work. Her sentence would keep her in prison until she's 100 years old."

The Paris-headquartered International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has said the charges against Bensedrine were "groundless".

The commission's final report, published in 2020, called for "dismantling a system of corruption, repression and dictatorship" within state institutions.

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Arab World

Iraq Sentences Kidnapper of US Journalist to 15 Years in Prison

American freelancer Shelly Kittleson. (Facebook)
American freelancer Shelly Kittleson. (Facebook)
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Iraq Sentences Kidnapper of US Journalist to 15 Years in Prison

American freelancer Shelly Kittleson. (Facebook)
American freelancer Shelly Kittleson. (Facebook)

Iraq's judiciary has sentenced a man to 15 years in prison for the kidnapping of an American journalist who was abducted earlier this year by a powerful Iran-backed group, a judicial source said Monday.

At the height of the Middle East war, on March 31, Kataeb Hezbollah kidnapped journalist Shelly Kittleson in Baghdad, holding her for several days before setting her free just hours before the United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire.

Iraqi authorities arrested one member of the group at the time.

According to a document shared by local media, a criminal court on Sunday sentenced Amir Rahim Jabbar to 15 years in prison under an "anti-terrorism law... for the crime of kidnapping" Kittleson.

A judicial source verified to AFP the document's authenticity, and a Kataeb Hezbollah source confirmed the ruling against one of its members.

Kittleson, who shared a copy of the ruling on X, said she was "grateful to the Iraqi judiciary".

Kataeb Hezbollah is among several pro-Iran armed groups that intervened in support of Tehran during the Middle East war, claiming attacks on US facilities in Iraq and across the region.

Under mounting US pressure to curb Tehran's influence, the new Iraqi government of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi says it is committed to ensuring that pro-Iran armed groups, which Washington designates as terrorist organisations, hand over their weapons to the state.

The issue has fuelled tensions in Iraq, with several groups, including Kataeb Hezbollah, refusing to disarm.

Earlier this month, Kataeb Hezbollah accused Zaidi of engaging in "provocative and irresponsible actions".

Baghdad was once notorious for kidnappings and attempted abductions, but they have decreased as the security situation in Iraq improved in recent years.

Arab World

Israeli Fire Kills Two People in Gaza, Medics Say

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike at the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip on August 24, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike at the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip on August 24, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Fire Kills Two People in Gaza, Medics Say

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike at the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip on August 24, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike at the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip on August 24, 2026. (AFP)

An Israeli strike killed at least two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday, health officials said.

Medics said two people were killed and several others wounded when an Israeli airstrike hit a crowd of people near the municipal public ‌park in ‌Gaza City, an ‌area ⁠densely populated with displaced ⁠families.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident.

An October 2025 US-backed ceasefire halted major fighting in the shattered territory, but it ⁠failed to end strikes ‌by ‌the Israeli military, which says such actions ‌are aimed at thwarting attacks ‌by Hamas and other Gaza fighters.

Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire and undermining efforts to ‌implement a broader plan by US President Donald Trump ⁠to ⁠end the Gaza conflict, which also includes Israeli withdrawals and Hamas disarmament.

More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect last October, according to Gazan health officials, while the Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed.

Arab World

Lebanese President Rejects Turning the South into Bargaining Card

FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: FILE PHOTO - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: FILE PHOTO - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
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Lebanese President Rejects Turning the South into Bargaining Card

FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: FILE PHOTO - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: FILE PHOTO - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa

President Joseph Aoun renewed on Sunday his full commitment to ensuring that weapons remain exclusively in the hands of the Lebanese state and that the Lebanese army extends its authority across the entire country.

He rejected any attempt to use southern Lebanon as a “bargaining chip,” as Hezbollah continues to challenge the state’s approach to the issue of weapons and the south. Hezbollah maintains that steadfastness, despite losses and sacrifices, constitutes a victory in its confrontation with Israel.

Weapons Must Remain in State Hands

President Joseph Aoun said on the 48th anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr and his two companions that the case remains an “open national and humanitarian issue,” stressing that the state would continue to seek the truth about their fate and pursue the matter at both the bilateral and international levels.

Aoun recalled al-Sadr’s positions on southern Lebanon, saying he had “rejected allowing the south to remain a forgotten area or a bargaining chip”. He also called for the state to assume full responsibility for the south and emphasized that weapons and security should remain under state authority.

The President said Lebanon, amid continued Israeli attacks and violations of the cessation of hostilities, “reaffirms its full commitment to ensuring that legitimate weapons remain exclusively in the hands of the Lebanese state and to extending the authority of the Lebanese army across all Lebanese territory,” in implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and to safeguard Lebanon’s full sovereignty.

Ministerial Sources: Qassem’s Rhetoric is Part of Hezbollah’s Approach

Meanwhile, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem reiterated the group’s commitment to confronting Israel through steadfastness, saying that heavy sacrifices and significant loss of life did not amount to defeat.

Ministerial sources close to the presidency said Qassem’s remarks were not new but rather part of the approach Hezbollah has been pursuing.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that while Qassem’s remarks on Monday were “not related to the president’s statements,” they reflected “the narrative adopted by Hezbollah officials” and represented a practical rejection of the dialogue proposed by Aoun, as well as initiatives launched by several parties.