In recent years, Arab journalists have been taking great risks to report important stories in a region where war and civil unrest remain an ever-present threat. Many are operating without proper equipment or safety training in how to recognize and mitigate the various risks they face.
New York, December 12, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Lebanese Court of Cassation to overturn the conviction of Rami Aysha, a Lebanese-Palestinian freelance journalist charged with purchasing firearms while he was investigating arms trafficking from Lebanon to Syria.
Israeli forces shot Palestinian freelance photographer Mohammed al-Azza, 23, in the face with a rubber-coated bullet on April 8, 2013, in Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, according to local news reports. Al-Azza was taken to a local hospital, where he underwent several surgeries to repair the broken bones in his face.
New York, March 19, 2013–During his trip to the region this week, U.S. President Barack Obama should call on Israeli authorities to return the equipment of an independent broadcaster that was seized more than a year ago, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
A military court in the city of Ashkelon extended the detention of Mohammad Saba’aneh, a Palestinian cartoonist for Al-Hayat al-Jadida, on February 28, 2013, for a second time, according to news reports. His detention was extended for eight days, Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported citing the cartoonist’s lawyer.