As Col. Muammar Qaddafi, 67, celebrates the 40th anniversary
of his ascent to power this week, it is unlikely that any of the numerous
international guests will venture to ask the Libyan dictator or his aides what
happened to journalist Abdullah Ali
al-Sanussi al-Darrat after his arbitrary arrest 36 years ago. Al-Darrat, a
journalist and writer from
The
government's cruel treatment of Tunisian journalist Abdallah Zouari came to an
end on August 1, a reminder that even the most autocratic regimes will yield to
international pressure for press freedom. Zouari, a former reporter
for the now-defunct Islamic weekly Al-Fajr, had been forced to
live under a form of house arrest since his release from prison in 2002
following an 11-year term. Living under what was called "administrative control," Zouari was subjected to strict
police surveillance and forced to reside in the suburbs of the southern city of
On May 18, Syrian journalist and pro-democracy activist
Michel Kilo was released from prison after serving a three-year sentence for
"weakening national sentiment and encouraging sectarian strife." Kilo, who was
a regular contributor to the leading Lebanese daily, Al-Nahar, and the
London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi among other publications, was
detained in May 2006 after writing articles calling for the
normalization of Lebanese-Syrian relations and an end to a spate of political
assassinations in 
Sudan's execution this week of nine men found guilty of involvement in the 2006 assassination of editor Mohammed Taha Mohammed Ahmed, left, is seen by many there as an outrageous miscarriage of justice, spurred by a thirst on the part of President Omar al-Bashir's regime for settling scores with the rebellious region of Darfur.
Nearly a week after CPJ sent
a letter to Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali urging him to end the
"ongoing cycle of repression of critical journalists and media outlets," Tunisia's
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights told Mohamed Abbou, a prominent human
rights lawyer and writer, in a phone call on Saturday that he was free to
travel abroad.
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
Do you believe the free flow of information must be protected? Sign the #RightToReport petition and demand that President Obama immediately:
1. Issue a presidential policy directive prohibiting the hacking and surveillance of journalists and media organizations.
2. Limit aggressive prosecutions that ensnare journalists and intimidate whistleblowers.
3. Prevent the harassment of journalists at the U.S. border.
Or click here to see the full petition, and join leading journalists like Christiane Amanpour, The Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger, Editor of the AP Kathleen Carroll, and Arianna Huffington in signing on.
