Middle East & North Africa

The Iraqi government is keeping photographers away from scenes of suicide attacks, according to a piece published today by Stephen Farrell on The New York Times’ “At War” blog. CPJ has objected to government regulations promulgated in May 2007 barring photographers from the scene of such bombings for an hour after they take place.

The government of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has made it clear there is little room for a critical press in Tunisia. Taking a cue from the government’s recent anti-press actions, CPJ cartoonist Mick Stern imagines the president’s “ideal” press conference.

See more Mick Stern cartoons.

New York, April 6, 2010—More than 3,500 concerned people from around the world—including prominent international journalists, writers, and press freedom leaders—are petitioning Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, to immediately release dozens of journalists, writers, and bloggers currently imprisoned in the country. Among those who have signed the petition are Martin Amis, Jon Lee Anderson, Margaret Atwood, E.L. Doctorow, Jonathan Franzen, Thomas L. Friedman, Nadine Gordimer, Gwen Ifill, Ahmed Rashid, Jon Stewart, and Mario Vargas Llosa.

New York, April 6, 2010—At least 35 journalists were imprisoned in Iran as of April 1 as authorities continued their nearly year-long crackdown on the news media, according to CPJ’s latest monthly census. Another 18 journalists were free on short-term furloughs granted for the Iranian New Year and were expected to report back to prison.

The Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement today after reviewing a classified U.S. military video showing the killing of an unspecified number of individuals, including Reuters photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and camera assistant Saeed Chmagh, outside Baghdad. The footage was shot in July 2007 and the video was posted on WikiLeaks.

New York, April 2, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kuwaiti authorities to end the judicial harassment of opposition journalist Mohammed Abdulqader al-Jassem.

New York, April 1, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that several Iranian journalists continue to be held in inhumane conditions at the notorious Evin Prison. At least one journalist is reported in deteriorating health, and two are under severe duress to “confess” to charges that could bring execution.

New York, March 30, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the health and well-being of Emadeddin Baghi, a prominent Iranian journalist, author, and human rights activist who has been detained without charges in Tehran's notorious Evin prison since December 2009.

A group of Palestinian journalists were assaulted on January 28, 2010, while reporting on olive tree planting in Burin village, south of Nablus in the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), Israeli forces assaulted Rami Swidan, a photographer for Ma’an News Agency; Ashraf Abu Shawish, a cameraman for Palmedia, and Reuters photographers Abdel Rahim al-Qusini and Hassan Titi.