HRW slams Gulf crackdown on dissent

BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch on Tuesday slammed a “well-funded” clampdown on Gulf Arab rights activists and urged the six monarchies to implement “much-needed reforms” instead of jailing peaceful critics.

Apart from Bahrain and Oman, where authorities cracked down on pro-reform protests in 2011, Gulf Cooperation Council states have been spared much of the unrest brought in by the Arab Spring uprisings that rocked the Middle East.