New York,
February 28, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the ongoing
attempts of governments in the Middle East to censor news coverage of protests.
In Yemen, men stormed the Journalists' Syndicate on Saturday, and in Iraq,
journalists demanded apologies from the military after a crackdown
on the press on Friday, and Baghdad Operations Command
offered the apologies on Sunday.
New York, February 25, 2011--The Committee to protect Journalists documented additional attacks today in Iraq, Yemen, and Libya as journalists tried to cover anti-government protests. Iraqi authorities cracked down on media: Security forces stormed a satellite TV office, detained dozens of journalists, and confiscated equipment, according to local journalists and news reports. In Yemen, at least four journalists were detained today, according to local journalists, and Al-Jazeera reported that its crew was prevented from covering demonstrations in Sana'a. Libyan border patrols confiscated cameras and SIM cards of journalists entering Libya from Tunisia, according to news reports.
New York, February 22, 2011--The Committee to
Protect Journalists is alarmed by the ongoing deterioration of conditions for
the media in the Middle East, including the disappearance of Atef al-Atrash, a
critical Libyan journalist, since anti-Qaddafi
demonstrations began February 17. The Internet has been intermittently down since Saturday
in the country, according to international news reports, and foreign
journalists continue to be denied entry. Al-Jazeera's signal in Libya remains
jammed, according to the network. In Yemen, security forces confiscated the
print run of an independent newspaper and at least one reporter was injured as
demonstrations turned violent. And in Iraq, 50 gunmen reportedly shot up an
independent television station while the staff of a local newspaper was forced to
evacuate their offices.
New York,
February 17, 2011--Authorities in Bahrain and Yemen have escalated their physical attack
on the press in order to censor coverage of spreading anti-government protests,
the Committee to protect Journalists said today. Also, in Iraq, at least two
journalists were attacked by guards for the Kurdistan Democratic Party's
building, local journalists told CPJ.
New York, February 16, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the continued assaults on journalists covering anti-government demonstrations in the Middle East. In recent days, journalists have been obstructed, assaulted, or detained in Libya, Bahrain, Iran, and Yemen. Authorities have also slowed down Internet connection and blocked websites, according to local journalists.
By Mohamed Abdel Dayem
Relying on an extensive network of sources in the military, government, and Islamist groups, Yemeni freelance journalist Abdulelah Shaea had become a frequent and pointed critic of the administration's counterterrorism efforts. By July, President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government had enough, dispatching security agents to seize and roughly interrogate Shaea for several hours about his reporting.
The government pursued a widening array of repressive tactics, prompting many journalists to say that press freedom conditions had reached their lowest point since the unification of the country's north and south in 1990. Authorities continued to use long-standing practices of extrajudicial abduction, intimidation, threats, and crude censorship to control the news media. But as CPJ documented in a September special report, President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government was also erecting an elaborate legal structure to further restrict coverage and provide a veneer of legitimacy for its actions.
New York, February
14, 2011--As protests spread
from Tunisia and Egypt to other countries in the region, journalists have been
targeted by security forces, in Yemen, Iran, and Algeria, the Committee to
Protect Journalists said today.
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