Arabian Peninsula Media Roundup (January 22)

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on the Arabian Peninsula and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Arabian Peninsula Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to ap@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.] 

Regional and International Relations 

Egypt lawyer Gizawi to get jail and lashes in Saudi Arabia A news report on the sentencing of the Egyptian human rights lawyer on charges of “drug trafficking,” on BBC.

Obama meets new Saudi interior minister at White House A news report on the meeting between Barack Obama and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef at the White House, on Reuters.

Readout of the President’s Meeting with Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Mohammed bin Nayef A statement posted on the website of the White House on the meeting between Obama and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in the Oval Office.

Behind UAE Detentions, Fears of a Transnational Brotherhood Plot Rori Donaghy writes on the treatment of seventy-seven Emirati men arrested in July and the intimidation of their wives, and argues that this treatment reflects the authorities’ fear of the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the region, on Al-Akhbar English.

Saudi Arabia to grant $100m to Palestinians A news report on the financial grant made by Saudi Arabia to the Palestinian government, which is struggling financially after Israel decided to withhold Palestinian tax revenues, on Al Jazeera English.

Reports and Opinions

Executed Sri Lankan maid’s mother refuses Saudi money A news report on the refusal of Rizana Nafeek’s mother to take money from Saudi well-wishers, in The Daily Star. 

Brookings’ Bruce Riedel urges intensified US support for Saudi despots Glenn Greenwald analyzes a memorandum to President Obama written by Bruce Riedel, a thirty-year veteran of the CIA and currently a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, urging the support of “the world’s last absolute monarchy,” in The Guardian. 

Repression in the Gulf: A mirage of rights An article on the political scenes in Gulf states, in The Economist.

Saudi women on Shura Council Rashid Abul-Samh analyzes King Abdullah’s decree to appoint thirty women to the Shura Council, in Al-Ahram Weekly.

Crisis in Yemen

At least 13 militants killed in Yemen in blast and drone attack A news report on the death of ten suspected al-Qaida bomb makers in a house, and of three “militants” in drone strikes, on Reuters.

End of assassinations in Yemen? Nasser Arrabyee speculates whether the arrest of a terrorist cell and the trial of ten al-Qaeda suspects, who are thought to be responsible for the wave of assassinations of soldiers and officers last year in Yemen, will put an end to assassinations, in Al-Ahram Weekly. 

Arabic

خصوصية  "ربيع" السعودية
Fouad Ibrahim writes on the particularity of the Saudi "Spring."

النساء في مجلس الشورى بالسعودية إقرار بالواقع
Nahla al-Shahal analyzes the Saudi King's decree to appoint women in the Shura Council.

جزيرة حويصات: خلاف سعودي إماراتي يتجدد
Samar Nadir writes on the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the Huwaisat Island.

مطالبة السعودية ودول الخليج بالتقرب الى مصر بعد خطبة العريفي.. سلفيون يكفرون المسيحيين بعيد المولد النبوي
Hassanayn Kroom provides a summary of Arab journalists' take on Gulf-Egyptian relations.

تعيينات لأمراء تعزز حضور الجيل الثاني لآل سعود .. حزب معارض يتهم النظام بارتكاب جرائم ضد الإنسانية: السعودية: مئة رجل دين يطالبون بالإفراج عن المعتقلين ويحذرون من ازدياد المظاهرات
A news report on recent developments in Saudi Arabia, including the appointments of second-generation princes to state positions and religious clerics' call to release prisoners, on Al-Quds al-Arabi.

السعودية وأمريكا توقعان اتفاقية "المسافر الموثوق": تسمح للسلطات بالتركيز على المسافرين الذين يمكن أن يشكلوا تهديدات محتملة
A news report on the Saudi-US trusted traveler" program that aims to strengthen the security of the two countries.

عبدالهادي خلف ل"السفير": الطرفان أمام طريق مسدود ولا بديل من الحوار
An interview with the Bahraini opposition figure, Abdulhadi Khalaf, on the political scene in Bahrain.

البحرين: المعارضة تطالب بحكومة منتخبة: النيابة تتهم معتقلين بالتنسيق مع "حزب الله"
A news report on the Bahraini opposition's demand for an elected government and condemnation of the prison sentences against thirteen opposition figures.

اتهامات بالقتل وانتهاك حقوق الإنسان وتدمير دور العبادة: البحرين: نائبان يتقدمان بشكوى ضد وزيرين والنائب العام
A news report on the complaint filed by two Bahraini Members of Parliament against the Attorney General, Minister of Justice, and Minister of Interior for human rights abuses during protests.

السلطات العمانية تحتجز ناشطاً حقوقياً
A news report on the ongoing detention of the Omani activist and blogger, Said Jadad.

محللون: حراك "الاخوان" ابرز تحديات دول الخليج… وحذر بالسعودية ومبالغة بالامارات من نفوذهم… ودعم قطر للجماعة يضعها في مواجهة مع باقي دول المنطقة
A news report on the reactions to the growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf states.

الامير طلال بن عبد العزيز يدعو لإعطاء مجلس الشورى السعودي صلاحيات كاملة
A news report on Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz's call to give the Shura Council comprehensive privileges.

تعديلات في سلك القضاء السعودي ربما تحفز إصلاحات قانونية
A news report on judicial amendments and the possibility of legal reform in Saudi Arabia.  

الاخوان "والورقة الايرانية" في مواجهة الخليج
An editorial on the question of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Gulf countries in light of a possible Egyptian-Iranian rapprochement.  

الرئيس اليمني يعلن عن جلسة استثنائية لمجلس الأمن الدولي في صنعاء دعماً للمبادرة الخليجية
A news report on the Yemeni president's announcement of a visit by the Security Council to Yemen to support the Gulf Initiative for Yemen.

محكمة بحرينية تقرر الإفراج عن ناشط حقوقي بكفالة مالية
A news report on the release of the Bahraini activist Youssef al-Muhaffada on bail.

معتقلون منذ ١٧ سنة يلهمون حراك المنطقة الشرقية: "المنسيون" التسعة في السجون السعودية
A news report on the nine detainees who were accused in the explosions of Khubar of 1996.

في المنطقة الشرقية سجون لا تفرق بين صغير وكبير: مراهقون سعوديون متهمون ب"التظاهر".. من دون محاكمات
A news report on young Saudi men imprisoned for "demonstrating" in the Eastern Province.