Go »
  Go »

Saudi Arabia


10 Worst Countries to be a Blogger

Reuters
Burma leads the dishonor roll as CPJ names the worst online oppressors. CPJ's "10 Worst Countries to be a Blogger" spotlights nations from Cuba to Turkmenistan, left, where soldiers guard an Internet café. Our report marks World Press Freedom Day, May 3.
Audio: CPJ's Robert Mahoney
العربية Français Español
Bloggers React: Posts on China, Burma, Tunisia, Cuba, Turkmenistan, Vietnam

CPJ names the worst online oppressors. Booming online cultures in many Asian and Middle Eastern nations have led to aggressive government repression. Burma leads the dishonor roll.




In our special report, “10 Worst Countries to be a Blogger,” CPJ names the world’s leading online oppressors. Here, Deputy Director Robert Mahoney explains why CPJ undertook this report and how it arrived at its conclusions. Listen to the mp3 on the player above, or right click here to download. (5:34)  
Uneasy about satellite television coverage of civil strife and economic hardship, Arab governments are trying to reassert control over the medium. Will a new regional agreement halt the satellite revolution? By Joel Campagna

Saudi prince threatens sports commentators

Saudi Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz made an unexpected phone call last week to a live talk show on a Saudi sports channel. The prince made the angry call to Al-Riyadiyya from Mascat, Oman, on January 17 after he'd watched Oman's national soccer team defeat Saudi Arabia in the Gulf Cup. He picked up the phone to interrupt sports commentators who were criticizing both the team and the management of the Saudi Soccer Federation.

Defending al-Zaidi, but not journalists at home

The now infamous incident of Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi throwing his shoes at President George Bush became primetime news throughout the world. In the Middle East it has been shown on television almost endlessly. 

New York, September 22, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about an edict issued Saturday by a top Saudi Muslim cleric, who said that writers who challenge or criticize religious sheikhs should be fired from their jobs, flogged, and jailed.

Sheikh Abdallah Ben Jabreen, a former member of the Saudi Arabia’s Establishment of Fatwas, told Al-Majd TV, a privately owned channel in Saudi Arabia, that journalists who criticize religious figures should be punished, according to multiple news reports.

New York, September 18, 2008--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the religious edict issued on September 9 by a top Saudi cleric calling for the death of owners of satellite TV stations that air "immoral" soap operas.
 
Sheikh Saleh al-Lihedan's fatwa came in response to a question asked ‎on Radio Quran, a state-run station in Riyadh, about TV channels that air "bad" soap ‎operas.

“Anyone who claims this has refuted Islam and should be tried in order to take it back. If not, he should be killed as an apostate from the religion of Islam,” Sheikh Barrak was quoted by Reuters as saying in his March 14 religious edict.

“We are extremely worried about the safety of our colleagues and ask the Saudi government to ensure their safety,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. “It is ironic that writers advocating tolerance and reform are subject to incitement and death threats.”

Under the Radar, a New Kind of Repression
By Joel Campagna 

On a Wednesday afternoon last June, Yemeni security agents stormed the home of outspoken editor Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani and dragged him before a State Security Court in the capital, Sana'a. A prosecutor questioned al-Khaiwani and later rang him up on charges of belonging to a secret terrorist cell--charges that carry a possible death sentence. The arrest shocked Yemeni journalists, and some wondered aloud whether their colleague, known for his incendiary columns attacking the Yemeni government and its battle with rebels in the northwestern city of Saada, might have been involved in something nefarious. CPJ issued guarded statements of concern, unsure whether the charge had substance. 

  Go »
Text Size
A   A   A
Contact

Middle East and North Africa

Program Coordinator:
Mohamed Abdel Dayem

Research Associate:
Mariwan Hama-Saeed

m.abdel.dayem@cpj.org
mariwan@cpj.org

Tel: 212-465-1004
ext. 103, 104
Fax: 212-465-9568

330 7th Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, NY, 10001 USA

 

Follow CPJ
on Twitter

Track press freedom development around the world. Tell us what’s happening in your region. Learn how you can help.

An Iraqi Journalist
in America

Follow Mudhafar
al-Husseini’s online diary on the CPJ Blog