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oberliner

(58,724 posts)

85. UN rights experts call for release of Qatari poet jailed for writing and reciting poem

Wed Oct 21, 2015, 11:40 AM

Oct 2015

20 October 2015 – United Nations human rights experts today urged the Government of Qatar to release Mohammed al-Ajami, a poet who is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for writing and reciting a poem at his home.

“The arrest, detention and sentencing of Mohammed al-Ajami in October 2013 seem to be solely related to the peaceful exercise of his fundamental human rights,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye.

Mr. al-Ajami was arrested in 2010 for reciting one of his poems in his house, which criticized the Crown Prince of Qatar while praising the Tunisian revolution and denouncing corruption and oppression by Arab rulers. He was initially sentenced to life imprisonment, which was reduced to 15 years after an appeal made in 2013.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52325#.Vie_u-mprzI

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‘Clock kid’ Ahmed Mohamed and his family will move to Qatar [View all] IDemo Oct 2015 OP

This message was self-deleted by its author 1000words Oct 2015 #1

His sisters may not find it so "nurturing". n/t PoliticAverse Oct 2015 #8

Concise and well-said. K&R, +1. (eom) StevieM Oct 2015 #10

This message was self-deleted by its author 1000words Oct 2015 #15

Poor girls. Welcome to hell. smirkymonkey Oct 2015 #22

Oh shit! romanic Oct 2015 #45

Guntoting racist and terrorist bigots who label YOU a terrorst for being smart and innovative versus The Stranger Oct 2015 #48

Message auto-removed Name removed Oct 2015 #91

Yep I agree!!!!nt newfie11 Oct 2015 #16

Ask those foreign workers dropping dead Codeine Oct 2015 #18

This message was self-deleted by its author 1000words Oct 2015 #19

Are you kidding me? Slavery still exists in Qatar puzzledeagle Oct 2015 #20

Good for the family yeoman6987 Oct 2015 #88

The father certainly is an extraordinary man, fully capable of survival in new surroundings Judi Lynn Oct 2015 #100

Leaving for the land of freedom and justice nt geek tragedy Oct 2015 #2

Certainly, the land of less random gun violence. closeupready Oct 2015 #56

he'll be part of the protected/privileged caste there, so I guess geek tragedy Oct 2015 #60

Yeah. You can't pull a trigger when your hand has been removed for petty theft. razorman Oct 2015 #133

interesting tomm2thumbs Oct 2015 #3

no, Irving's city officials remain in place MisterP Oct 2015 #43

Seems a loss for the USA. Wonder if US made an offer. mahannah Oct 2015 #4

I hope you are being sarcastic. Boudica the Lyoness Oct 2015 #29

Wondering DustyJoe Oct 2015 #31

He was a sad made-by-media moment. mahannah Oct 2015 #39

A clock is a clock unless it's in a suitcase from Amazon.com electronlove Oct 2015 #42

"reports state". . reports by whom??? niyad Oct 2015 #68

Yep, that's the racist talking points that went around. The Stranger Oct 2015 #49

So if you "see something" - don't say something? Got it...nt jonno99 Oct 2015 #87

What they mean is that if you see a non-White person ("something"), you better say "something." The Stranger Oct 2015 #94

I agree. The school overreacted to the incident, but the backlash in his favor smirkymonkey Oct 2015 #102

My favorite part of the saga... Jesus Malverde Oct 2015 #123

he had offer from MIT and Harvard? but not an offer like this- link Sunlei Oct 2015 #116

This message was self-deleted by its author sarge43 Oct 2015 #5

Qatar, where you get 15 years in prison for poetry... PoliticAverse Oct 2015 #6

kid met Omar Al-Bashir as some sort of honor. ericson00 Oct 2015 #130

All the money in the world couldn't get me to move to Qatar/GCC/Saudi MowCowWhoHow III Oct 2015 #7

Probably decided to leave before someone started investigating them for fraud puzzledeagle Oct 2015 #9

Wow newfie11 Oct 2015 #17

sweet are you to 100 yet! snooper2 Oct 2015 #52

"decided to leave before someone started investigating them for fraud." Amazing. Judi Lynn Oct 2015 #96

Is it clear Ahmed is "going for good"? Or just going to take advantage of a scholarship? Fred Sanders Oct 2015 #11

There goes our clock industry 6chars Oct 2015 #12

Taking the innards of an already designed clock and passing it as your own probably does well there. StrongBad Oct 2015 #13

Goes well here too. I've seen articles caliming he invented the clock. LisaL Oct 2015 #21

Yes - so have I. Good for a laugh. 840high Oct 2015 #25

He made a video claiming it to be his invention. Boudica the Lyoness Oct 2015 #30

I know. LisaL Oct 2015 #44

LOL OMGZ n/t kcr Oct 2015 #46

He and his family are now moving to Qatar, where razorman Oct 2015 #132

He'll likely return for University but I can't blame his family Blasphemer Oct 2015 #14

This message was self-deleted by its author Leontius Oct 2015 #23

Post removed Post removed Oct 2015 #24

Jury Results 1StrongBlackMan Oct 2015 #26

I had thought of replying to him: IDemo Oct 2015 #28

My first explanation included ... 1StrongBlackMan Oct 2015 #32

Yes the kid did do something wrong. Boudica the Lyoness Oct 2015 #33

Okay. n/t 1StrongBlackMan Oct 2015 #34

We were had. 840high Oct 2015 #35

Nice to ryan_cats Oct 2015 #37

No one believes he invented THE clock. You know good and well that isn't the issue. The Stranger Oct 2015 #50

If nobody believes it, why was it reported that way? LisaL Oct 2015 #55

Who reported it what way? The Stranger Oct 2015 #63

Google is your friend. LisaL Oct 2015 #65

Like YOU were never 14 years old and stupid. closeupready Oct 2015 #54

What exactly is brilliant about this "homemade" clock device? LisaL Oct 2015 #57

and for this, he was hauled off in handcuffs as a terrorist. people cannot have it both ways- niyad Oct 2015 #70

He put parts into a pencil box. LisaL Oct 2015 #72

nice deflection. keep trying to twist this pretzel. I need the laughs. niyad Oct 2015 #74

wish him luck dembotoz Oct 2015 #27

He lost his support because he turned out to be a liar. cleanhippie Oct 2015 #36

Link and documentation please. SoapBox Oct 2015 #40

Check here Mr.Squirreleo Oct 2015 #97

When you say he claimed to invent a clock, are you talking about time measurement? The Stranger Oct 2015 #51

I have no clue what he meant by "inventing" this clock. LisaL Oct 2015 #59

If you don't have a clue, then maybe you shouldn't be commenting as if you did. The Stranger Oct 2015 #62

What did he invent or innovate? LisaL Oct 2015 #64

The clock, right? The Stranger Oct 2015 #95

lol yup. closeupready Oct 2015 #67

Children use hyperbole. christx30 Oct 2015 #89

women's rights in qatar (the official line, anyway) niyad Oct 2015 #38

Amnesty vehemently disagrees with Wikipedia riderinthestorm Oct 2015 #47

thank you. as I said, that was the official line. the official line in this country is quite niyad Oct 2015 #69

I'm not gonna lie, I had to look up that country Reter Oct 2015 #41

I recently started researching Qatar because my daughter wants to go to grad school there. woodsprite Oct 2015 #77

Good for them. I don't blame them. Little gun violence there, and closeupready Oct 2015 #53

Qatar is where stuff is exciting and dynamic? oberliner Oct 2015 #58

Asia. closeupready Oct 2015 #61

Things are much more exciting and dynamic in the US than in Qatar oberliner Oct 2015 #66

and the US is? rape culture, gun violence, racism, class warfare, extreme poverty, extreme niyad Oct 2015 #71

Maybe all of us should move to Qatar. LisaL Oct 2015 #73

truth hurts? niyad Oct 2015 #75

Or you can concede that Ahmed is better off in Qatar. The Islamophobic West closeupready Oct 2015 #76

Then it's a good thing he is moving there. LisaL Oct 2015 #80

Agreed. closeupready Oct 2015 #83

Yes oberliner Oct 2015 #78

your definition of "progressive" is disturbing, to say the least. niyad Oct 2015 #81

UN rights experts call for release of Qatari poet jailed for writing and reciting poem oberliner Oct 2015 #85

e. e. cummings niyad Oct 2015 #103

Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves' oberliner Oct 2015 #105

keep trying, we need the laughs. let's see--no universal health care, a police force out of control niyad Oct 2015 #106

I am not defending the US as progressive - just more progressive than Qatar oberliner Oct 2015 #107

and ALL hallmarks of the US. as I said, keep trying, we need the laughs. niyad Oct 2015 #108

I'm obviously not in on whatever the joke is oberliner Oct 2015 #110

and here: niyad Oct 2015 #109

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE are set to continue with massive military spending. oberliner Oct 2015 #111

keep trying. niyad Oct 2015 #112

Am I making any headway in convincing you that Qatar is not a progressive country? oberliner Oct 2015 #113

Unsubstantiated opinions, all your claims. closeupready Oct 2015 #114

OK oberliner Oct 2015 #117

Damnnnnnn GummyBearz Oct 2015 #135

Thanks oberliner Oct 2015 #137

You do realize Qatar is a modern day slave state? Ace Rothstein Oct 2015 #92

A see a lot of parroting the right-wing hatchet job on this kid. alarimer Oct 2015 #79

but it is so much easier to focus on the clock--that way, we don't have to look at the ugly stuff niyad Oct 2015 #82

+1 to you both - goes on daily here on DU, too, closeupready Oct 2015 #84

because "illegitimati non carburundum" niyad Oct 2015 #86

I'm surprised to see Qatar defended as a progressive wonderland on this thread! CJCRANE Oct 2015 #90

It's an opportunity to bash Texas, so Qatar now gets a pass. Throd Oct 2015 #93

Texas A & M University has a Qatar school as member of that Foundation. Sunlei Oct 2015 #120

It is so bizarre oberliner Oct 2015 #122

The family could benefit from a change of scenery for a while. Judi Lynn Oct 2015 #98

sadly, you are quite correct. niyad Oct 2015 #104

This thread lowers my esteem for DU. Too many yahoos. Comrade Grumpy Oct 2015 #99

No kidding. How many of them can stuff themselves into a thread, anyway?Going for a record, here.n/t Judi Lynn Oct 2015 #101

What an opportunity. Many excellent universities are associated with that Qatar Foundation Sunlei Oct 2015 #115

And no fears of being distracted by girls in his classes oberliner Oct 2015 #118

so what. America is left in the dust with the quality of education. Sunlei Oct 2015 #119

Report: Qatar ranks in bottom 10 of education index, but shows potential oberliner Oct 2015 #121

good report, can't believe how low America is, & how fast Qatar improves the inequity Sunlei Oct 2015 #124

The US is far ahead of Qatar according to that report oberliner Oct 2015 #125

I think their low end (where a third of the teachers have no training at all) Sunlei Oct 2015 #127

By every standard of measurement the US has a much better educational system than Qatar oberliner Oct 2015 #128

Why the hell are there so many posters here with a Qatar fetish? Ace Rothstein Oct 2015 #134

Let's hope he doesn't realize one day christx30 Oct 2015 #136

Because you just don't understand their culture of.... ProudToBeBlueInRhody Oct 2015 #138

so women's rights don't matter? treestar Oct 2015 #131

Women have the right to cover up and shut up ProudToBeBlueInRhody Oct 2015 #139

Why We Invited ‘Clock Kid’ Ahmed Mohamed to Maker Faire Judi Lynn Oct 2015 #126

Happy trails. TwilightGardener Oct 2015 #129