Middle East & North Africa
2014
First US-Africa summit short on press freedom, other human rights
Top African and U.S. leaders are meeting next week in Washington in a first-of-its-kind summit focused on African development. But critics argue the summit is flawed in design, overlooking human rights such as freedom of expression and barring civil society actors from bilateral discussions.
No press freedom without Internet freedom
Four years ago, when CPJ launched its Internet Advocacy program, we were met with lots of encouragement, but also some skepticism. “Why do you need a program to defend the Internet?” one supporter asked. “You don’t have a special program to defend television, or radio, or newspapers.” But the Internet is different. Increasingly, when it…
Iran must explain journalist arrests
It has now been six days since the Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian, The National’s Yeganeh Salehi and two others were arrested in Iran, but we are no closer to understanding who detained them or why. Even the number of journalists arrested is in dispute. The Washington Post originally said its correspondent Rezaian, his wife Salehi,…
The 2009 Iran crackdown continues today
Five years ago on Monday, CPJ announced that Iran had officially become the world’s leading jailer of journalists in the world. The announcement came on the heels of an unprecedented crackdown on the press that began on June 12, 2009, the day of Iran’s tumultuous presidential election that sparked a mass protest movement.
Egypt’s Shame
This morning a judge in Egypt convicted journalists Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, Peter Greste, and Baher Mohamed of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood and sentenced them to between seven and 10 years in prison. All three were working for Al-Jazeera when they were arrested six months ago, but have a wide range of professional experience, including…
Press freedom is now el-Sisi’s choice
Egypt’s newly elected leader, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, will have to face many challenges as president, including the real crisis that confronts freedom of the press in the country. Things were never good for the press in Egypt, but they have worsened significantly since former President Mohamed Morsi was ousted last summer. As CPJ wrote in a…
Mission Journal: The Kurdish conundrum–more outlets but not more ‘news’
In the stairwell between the newsroom and studios of Nalia Radio and Television (NRT) stand a charred monitor, a burnt vision mixer, and smashed camera lens. They make up a display of equipment damaged when armed men set fire to the station in Sulaymaniyah, a city in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan which is home to much…
Remembering Camille Lepage
“Not sure I can talk about my ‘career’ just yet–I’m still just getting started!” freelance photographer Camille Lepage told the photography site Petapixel in October 2013.Less than a year later, Lepage’s body was found in a car in the Central African Republic, according to news reports citing the French government. She had been traveling with fighters of…
Jordan’s free press record dims with website restrictions
Jordan’s press freedom climate, once a shining light in the Middle East, has quickly deteriorated as journalists grapple with last year’s government ban on nearly 300 news websites. Press freedom groups are documenting a rise in self-censorship and an increase in criminal cases against journalists. Local online news editors and journalists are complaining of economic…