Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Ala’a Shehabi

Dr. Alaa Shehabi works at University College London and is a British-Bahraini researcher and a co-founder of Bahrain Watch.

MER Article

Uncovering Protection Rackets through Leaktivism

The small Gulf Arab state of Bahrain is using digital-era tools of surveillance, deception and repression to quell popular dissent. But a group of well-meaning tech-savvy geeks are mobilizing new digitally enhanced methods to expose who is behind this repression and how it operates today.

Ala’a Shehabi • 17 min read