Middle East & North Africa

Contact CPJ Middle East & North Africa

Twitter: @CPJMena
Facebook: لجنة حماية الصحفيين بالعربية
Interim Program Coordinator:
Yeganeh Rezaian

Tel: +1 212-300-9018, +1 212-300-9017
Fax: +1 212-214-0640

Knight Foundation Press Freedom Center
P.O. Box 2675
New York, NY 10108 USA

  
Hassan Bouras

Algeria re-arrests freelance journalist Hassan Bouras ahead of Pope’s visit

New York, April 16, 2026—Algerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release freelance journalist and human rights defender Hassan Bouras and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Monday, an investigating judge at the court of El-Bayadh, in northwestern Algeria, ordered Bouras’ detention pending investigation into four accusations — two…

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Civilians and members of the press

CPJ, partners file emergency motion to Israeli Supreme Court seeking independent media access to Gaza

On Monday, April 13, 2026, the Committee to Protect Journalists, together with its amicus partners the Foreign Press Association in Israel, the Union of Journalists in Israel (UJI) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), filed an emergency motion to the Israeli Supreme Court asking the justices to expedite a decision on allowing the international media to…

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Sudanese army soldiers patrol an area in the city of Khartoum North on November 3, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Amaury Falt-Brown)

CPJ, partners urge decisive U.S. action to end Sudan war on third anniversary

New York, April 15, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 28 other civil society organizations in a joint letter urging the United States to take decisive action to help end the war in Sudan, as it marks its third anniversary. The letter highlights escalating atrocities by both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese…

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AFP journalist Abdelmoneim Abu Idris Ali holds his wedding picture as he searches through documents at his home in Khartoum North's Bahri neighbourhood on March 17, 2025, as he returns to visit for the first time since being displaced.

Sudan’s 3 years of war, impunity, and the silencing of the press

New York, April 15 — As Sudan’s war marks its third anniversary, on April 15, 2026, fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has turned the country into one of the world’s most dangerous and deadliest environments for the press, where reporting the truth comes with the constant risk…

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Ahmed Shihab-Eldin

CPJ calls on Kuwait to release US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin

Washington, D.C., April 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kuwaiti authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Kuwaiti-American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. Shihab-Eldin, an award-winning journalist who posts prolifically on social media, has not posted online or been seen in public in Kuwait – where he was visiting family – since March 2. It is…

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Ihab Diab and Marwan Harzallah

CPJ demands answers after deaths of journalist, media worker in Israeli custody

Amman, April 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Israeli authorities to provide immediate and transparent explanations for the deaths in Israeli custody of Palestinian journalist Ihab Diab and media worker Marwan Harzallah, return their bodies to their families without delay, and ensure an independent, impartial investigation that leads to accountability.  “The deaths of…

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Sonia Dahmani, a lawyer, writer, and prominent commentator in Tunisia, a law that has become the government main weapon against political commentary and independent journalism.

CPJ condemns 18-month sentence against Tunisian commentator Sonia Dahmani

New York, April 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Tunisian authorities to repeal the April 13 appeals court decision to uphold the conviction of Tunisian political commentator and lawyer Sonia Dahmani while reducing her sentence to 18 months in prison. Dahmani is currently free, but she risks being arrested at any moment, her…

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Mohammed Samir Washah's vehicle

Israel kills 3 journalists in Gaza and Lebanon in one day; CPJ calls for international action

New York, April 8, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns in the strongest terms the killing of at least three journalists in Lebanon and Gaza by Israel in one day, at least one of which was in a targeted attack. This pattern of attacks underscores a worsening climate of impunity and a blatant disregard for…

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Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted an area in the Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on April 8, 2026.

Lebanese radio presenter killed in Israeli strike on her home

Amman, April 8, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the killing of Lebanese journalist Ghada Dayekh in an Israeli airstrike on her home in the southern city of Tyre on Tuesday. Dayekh, a presenter and reporter at the privately-owned Sawt Al-Farah radio station, was killed when an Israeli strike hit her apartment building, completely…

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Egyptian, Lebanese journalists targeted in cyber attacks 

Washington, D.C., April 8, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by new reports about spear-phishing attacks against several Egyptian and Lebanese journalists aimed at compromising their Apple, Microsoft, and Google accounts.  According to reports by digital rights organizations Access Now and SMEX, unidentified entities likely hired a South Asia-focused cyber espionage group…

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