Middle East & North Africa

We're pleased to announce the launch of CPJ's official Facebook page in Arabic. We hope it will be a valuable tool for those in the Arab world who share our concerns about press freedom.

The severity of the nearly 20-year jail sentence handed down to veteran Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, left, has shocked many exiled Iranian journalists and bloggers with whom I've spoken. It's also reinforced their belief that the best way to help jailed colleagues is not through quiet diplomacy but by making a lot of noise.

New York, October 4, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the killing earlier today of freelance cameraman Tahrir Kadhim Jawad, 27, and expressed concern over the rising trend of fatal attacks on journalists in Iraq.

In the past two years, the Yemeni government has taken legislative and administrative steps to further restrict free expression. Coupled with longstanding tactics of violent repression, President’s Saleh administration is creating the worst press climate in two decades. A CPJ Special Report by Mohamed Abdel Dayem

In our special report, “In Yemen, brutal repression cloaked in law,” CPJ discusses the Yemeni government's escalating censorship tactics. Here, CPJ's Mohamed Abdel Dayem highlights the violent closing of Al-Ayyam, an independent daily, and the charges leveled against its staff. Listen to the mp3 on the player above, or right click here to download. (2:04)

Read CPJ's special report, "In Yemen, brutal repression cloaked in law."

New York, September 28, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the government's ongoing offensive against critical journalists in Iran. A Revolutionary Court today sentenced blogger Hossein Derakhshan, left, to 19 and a half years in prison, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran quoted the Farsi news website Mashreq as saying. And on Monday, Iranian authorities informed the lawyer of Issa Saharkhiz, a prominent columnist and founding member of the Association of Iranian ‎Journalists, that he has been sentenced to three years in prison, a five-year ban on political and journalistic activities, and a one-year travel ban, the reformist news website Jonbesh-e Rah-e Sabz reported.

New York, September 28, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Dubai to allow for due process in the criminal defamation trial of Mark Townsend, a freelance journalist and regular contributor to The Washington Times. The trial is set to begin on Wednesday.

New York, September 26, 2010--On the eve of a high-profile conference on press freedom in Rabat, the Committee to Protect Journalists reiterates its call to King Mohammed VI to use his constitutional prerogatives to bring Moroccan legislation in line with international standards for freedom of expression. CPJ also urged the monarch to end the use of the judiciary and other government agencies to harass critical journalists. 

New York, September 24, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces Algerian authorities' harassment of two Moroccan journalists who were effectively detained for four days in the town of Tindouf in southwestern Algeria.