This week, TIMEP Executive Director @maitelsadany.bsky.social joins the 5th edition of the Middle East Strategy Forum, hosted by the Institute for Peace and Democracy in Ottawa, to speak on Syria’s transition.

The Trump administration's decision to end TPS for Syria is not only deeply humane, but is also at odds with US interests for a successful transition in Syria. @timep.bsky.social weighs in on why ⬇️

In no other context would we expect a country to be ready for mass returns less than 10 months since such a significant transition. Premature returns put undue pressure on Syria's transition and threaten to destabilize the transition in a manner that is at odds with US interests.

Syria is only just emerging from 54 years of dictatorship and 14 years of conflict. It needs time to stabilize the security and economic conditions of the country and to rebuild the devastated homes, roads, schools, and hospitals necessary to welcome Syrians home.

TIMEP had joined Syrian and international partners to request an 18-month extension, which would have given Syrians reliant on TPS a meaningful opportunity to assess conditions in Syria and make well-informed, dignified, and voluntary decisions on the possibility of return.

We at TIMEP are deeply concerned by this announcement which provides those dependent on TPS until November 21 to depart the United States or find alternative legal status. Syrians on TPS have families, jobs, and lives in this country, and a rushed process is deeply inhumane.

Last week, the Trump administration announced it would be terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria, through which thousands of Syrians have received temporary respite from return to a country caught in conflict for 14 years and still witnessing outbreaks of violence.

A pleasure to be in Ottawa this week for the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy's 5th Middle East Strategy Forum. Younes Zangiabadi opens the convening with powerful words on how policymaking currently favors "might over right," an approach that has not brought peace to the region or the world.

من ضمن الاخبار الإيجابية اللي طلعت من مصر في الكم يوم اللي فاتو، قرار الرئيس بعدم التصديق علي مشروع قانون الإجراءات الجنائية -- مسودة فعلا كارثية. تحليل زميلي المحامي المصري حليم حنيش عن القانون: timep.org/post-arabic/...

Yesterday marked 8 years since the late Sarah Hegazi raised the rainbow flag at a Mashrou' Leila concert in a moment of uncalculated joy so threatening to Egyptian authorities that they arrested, tortured, prosecuted her, and sent her to exile. Sarah in my heart today. 🌈

“Why are you now building Khartoum and not saving the people of El-Fashir? Instead of building Khartoum, why don’t you first save the people of El-Fashir?” A thought-provoking piece on Sudan and what it looks like when governments invest in the capital at the expense of other areas.

It's been a big few days for Egypt. On Sunday, we learned that President Sisi would not ratify the widely-critiqued draft criminal procedure code. This is a welcome step. In a new statement, @timep.bsky.social, EIPR, and other partners lay out what should come next.

علاء علي الاسفلت!!!! Alaa is HOME and FREE!!!

Alaa is PHYSICALLY FREE!! His sister Sanaa and his mom were still waiting outside of the prison for him when they got a call from Alaa letting them know that he was already home!

احلي خبر طالع من مصر من فترة. يا رب يتمم علي خير وعلاء يكون في بيته قريب. كل الحب والتضامن من فريق @timep.bsky.social مع الدكتورة ليلي، وسناء، ومني، وكل حد عزيز علي علاء.

وفي الوقت الذي نرحّب فيه بخبر اليوم، فإننا نطالب السلطات المصرية بضمان إغلاق جميع القضايا المرفوعة ضد علاء بشكل كامل، بما يشمل رفع حظر السفر وإنهاء تجميد الأصول. كما ندعو السلطات إلى المراجعة الفورية لقضايا جميع من لا يزالون رهن الاحتجاز ظلماً، والإفراج الفوري عنهم.

يعد قرار اليوم بشكل أو بآخر تصحيحاً طال انتظاره. حيث لم يكن ينبغي في المقام الأول أن يتم القبض على علاء، أو محاكمته، أو معاقبته لممارسته حقه الأصيل في حرية الرأي والتعبير. وكذلك الأمر، كان ينبغي الإفراج عن علاء فوراً عقب إنهائه فترة سجنه العام الفائت.

لسنوات طويلة، وبقيادة عائلته، تكاتف المجتمع المدني والمدافعون والمدافعات عن حقوق الإنسان وصناع السياسات داخل مصر وخارجها في نضالهم لتأمين إطلاق سراح علاء. وقد حظي معهد التحرير لسياسات الشرق الأوسط ​​بشرف أن يكون جزءًا من هذا المجتمع، الذي ندرك اليوم جدوى مناصرته وتضامنه.

كنتيجة للعفو الرئاسي الصادر اليوم، سيكون بإمكان علاء أخيراً الرجوع إلى بيته. سيكون بجانب ابنه خالد وهو يكبر، وسيلتقي مجدداً بأختيه سناء ومنى، وسيعيد الفرحة لقلب أمه التي أمضت قرابة 300 يوم مضربة عن الطعام لينال حريته. نحن نحتفل اليوم بهذا الخبر.

يرحب معهد التحرير لسياسات الشرق الأوسط بخبر إصدار الرئيس المصري عبد الفتاح السيسي عفواً رئاسياً عن الناشط والمدون علاء عبد الفتاح بعد سنوات من الدعوات واسعة النطاق للإفراج عنه من داخل مصر وخارجها. اليوم، يشارك فريق عمل معهد التحرير عائلة علاء هذه الفرحة العارمة.

Today, the @timep.bsky.social team shares in joy with Alaa's family. We hope Alaa is physically free and in the arms of his loved ones shortly. And we hope that this positive step invites more case closures and more releases. Today, we celebrate and tomorrow, we keep up the fight.

As we welcome today's news, we call on Egyptian authorities to ensure all cases against Alaa are closed in their entirety, including the lifting of all travel bans and asset freezes; and to promptly review the cases of and order the release of others who remain unjustly detained.

Today's decision is, in many ways, a long-awaited course correction. Alaa should have never been arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced for his free expression in the first place. And when he completed his most recent prison term last year, he should have been promptly released.

For years, and with his family at the helm, civil society, advocates, and decision-makers inside and outside of Egypt have worked to secure Alaa's release. TIMEP has been privileged to be a part of this community and today, we recognize the power of this solidarity and advocacy.

As a result of today's pardon, Alaa will finally be able to go home. He will be able to watch his son Khaled grow, reunite with his sisters Sanaa and Mona, and heal the heart of his mother who spent nearly 300 days on hunger strike to secure his release. For that, we celebrate.

Following widespread calls for his release from inside and outside of Egypt, TIMEP welcomes the news that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has issued a presidential pardon for activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah. Today, the TIMEP team shares in joy with Alaa's family.

HUGE HUGE NEWS FROM EGYPT!! Egyptian President Sisi has issued a presidential pardon for activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah.

"Four of the killed, the three children as well as their father, held U.S. citizenship." Israel continues to kill US citizens with impunity, this time in southern Lebanon and in violation of a standing ceasefire agreement. What will the US Department of State do about it? apnews.com/article/leba...

The proposed code was indeed pretty awful. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/egyp...

Very welcome news from Egypt, where the spokesman for President Sisi has announced that he will NOT be ratifying the draft Criminal Procedure Code, widely critiqued by lawyers and civil society in Egypt and globally, as well as leading UN experts. It will be sent back to parliament.

تحدثت مع العربي الجديد عن قرار إدارة ترامب بإلغاء الحماية المؤقتة للسوريين: "هذا قرار مؤسف ومثير للقلق بشكل كبير. سورية الآن خرجت من 54 عاماً من الديكتاتورية و14 عاماً من الحرب، ومن الطبيعي أن تحتاج إلى مزيد من الوقت لتحسن الأوضاع." www.alaraby.co.uk/society/%D8%...

When the news came out yesterday, I was thinking how this egregious fee is a big fu*k you to the tech companies that have cozied up to Trump. Turns out if Trump likes you, you may not have to pay the fee at all. Blatant introduction of corruption into our immigration rules.

Yesterday, as Syrians gathered to celebrate the raising of the free Syrian flag, the Trump admin stole from that joy by announcing an end to Temporary Protected Status for Syria, which has been a lifeline for thousands. A deeply cruel decision with deeply cruel timing.

The free Syrian flag is now raised outside of the Syrian Embassy in Washington, DC -- an imagery that so few thought could be possible in their lifetimes. 💚🤍❤️🖤

As the Trump admin announces an end to TPS for Syria, I describe the decision as "deeply premature" and tell @washingtonpost.com "the reality is that a country that underwent 14 years of harrowing conflict and 54 years of dictatorship needs time to stabilize." www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

So let me get this straight, between the egregious and illegal fees on H1-Bs and the new gold card program, we're going to lose a ton of incredible talent and experience high levels of brain drain (costing the economy), but we're going to allow rich people to buy US residency.

We haven’t seen the text of this yet, but to be clear, the president has literally zero legal authority to impose a $100,000 fee on visas. None. Zip. Zilch. The only authority Congress has ever given the executive branch here is to charge fees to recover the cost of processing the application.

We just witnessed Trump signing two executive orders. One to clear the path to the US for the ultra wealthy who can pay $1M. Another to obliterate the path to the US for working class immigrants, demanding a $100,000 application fee. Annually.

Yet the US State Department has a Level 4 (Highest Level) Travel Advisory that says: “Do not travel to Syria due to the risk of terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, hostage taking, and armed conflict. Read entire travel advisory.” travel.state.gov/content/trav...

Deeply upsetting news here from the United States, where Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria will be allowed to expire on September 30. There are ~3,865 Syrian TPS holders in the country. Those without an alternate status will no longer be protected after November 21.

🚨 It's the last day to submit your proposal for @rightscon.org, one of my favorite convenings and an awesome chance to talk rights in the digital era. Proposals accepted through 11:59 pm PST ⬇️

In Ottawa? Next week, I'm looking forward to joining the 5th edition of the Middle East Strategy Forum hosted by the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy. I'll be speaking on Syria's transition. If you haven't already registered, you can request an invite by Sept 22 peacediplomacy.org/2025/09/25/m...

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met with 12 offices on the Hill yesterday: Representatives Joe Wilson, Abe Hamadeh; and Senators Chris Van Hollen, Jeanne Shaheen, Markwayne Mullin, Chris Coons, Mike Rounds, Lindsey Graham, James Risch, Joni Ernst, Jacky Rosen, Richard Blumenthal.

You cannot disentangle the vitriol coming out of political leaders toward Mamdani from the very real death threats now targeting him. It's a through line, and it's filled with hatred, racism, and Islamophobia.

After a Louisiana immigration judge ordered that Mahmoud Khalil be deported to either Syria or Algeria, Mahmoud's lawyers have asked the federal judge reviewing the constitutional issues in a separate case to intercede www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/n...

"قصتي هي قصة امرأة خرجت من منزلها لزيارة الطبيب، وطلبت من زوجها أن يرافقها، لكنها عادت إلى أطفالها وحيدة. ثمة صور محفورة في ذاكرتي إلى الأبد: رأيته ينزف بغزارة وكنت عاجزة تماماً عن إنقاذه، لقد امتزج دمي بدمه."

I feel similarly about commentary on "international law is dead" or "international law is useless." International law is great. The problem is with the politicization of international law and once we realize that, it opens up and clarifies where the fight is.

I know it's frustrating when lawyers point out when something the administration is doing is not legal. But responding with "the law doesn't matter anymore" is really unhelpful and defeatist. Clarifying the law is important because it reminds us not to comply in advance and to resist and take action

بعد خمس سنوات من تفجير مرفأ بيروت، لا تزال عائلات الضحايا تناضل في سبيل العدالة وتخليد الذكرى. في مقابلة مع معهد التحرير، تخبرنا تانيا ضو علم قصة نضالها في سبيل تحقيق العدالة والمساءلة عن التفجير الذي نجت منه و فقدت فيه شريك حياتها. لقراءة القصة: timep.org/post-arabic/...

When the EU goes across the Mediterranean to MENA governments and says: " 'please stop all migrants from coming, we will give you whatever you want,' the EU surrenders its leverage and allows dictators to become extortion rackets," explains @tmegrisi.bsky.social.