Middle East & North Africa Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Committee to Protect Journalists

Egyptian photojournalist Shawkan plays with his niece at his home in Cairo after being freed from prison on March 4. As a condition of his release , Shawkan must return to custody every day at 6 p.m. (AFP/Khaled Desouk)

In Egypt, ‘freedom’ ends daily at 6pm for Shawkan and Abdelfattah

April 2, 2019 4:27 PM EDT

Relief over the release of Egyptian journalists Mahmoud Abou Zeid, known as Shawkan, and Alaa Abdelfattah from prison last month has been clouded by the conditions of their freedom. “I am happy to see your joy over my release, but I am unfortunately not free,” Abdelfattah wrote to his large following on social media yesterday.…

A poster of Saudi Arabia's King and Crown Prince, in Jeddah in November 2017. Medical assessments leaked to The Guardian reveal the abuse of detainees, including at least four journalists, in Saudi prisons. (Reuters/Reem Baeshen)

Infographic: Journalists named in Guardian report on torture in Saudi jails

April 1, 2019 3:14 PM EDT

Individuals detained under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s crackdown on dissent, including at least four journalists, are being abused and tortured in Saudi prisons, according to medical assessments prepared for King Salman and leaked to The Guardian.

A woman carries a flag in front of police during a protest in Algiers on March 29. Amid weeks of unrest, Algerian journalists are staging their own demonstrations over censorship. (Reuters/Ramzi Boudina)

Barred from covering unrest, Algerian journalists hold own protests

March 29, 2019 12:16 PM EDT

In a Q&A with CPJ, Algerian journalist Lynda Abbou explains why protests that have swept the country in recent weeks were a pivotal moment for journalists frustrated at censorship.

A cafe in the old city of Erbil, in September 2018. Journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan say they are under pressure from authorities. (Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani)

In Iraqi Kurdistan, journalists are victim of political tension

March 21, 2019 4:30 PM EDT

Mission journal: Journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan are under pressure from authorities in the autonomous northern Iraqi region, with news outlets shuttered and critical reporters arrested. With government formation talks underway, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado travels to Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Duhok to hear from local journalists on how the partisan…

On International Women’s Day, CPJ highlights jailed female journalists

March 7, 2019 6:15 PM EST

On International Women’s Day, CPJ has highlighted the cases of female journalists jailed around the world in retaliation for their work. At least 33 of the 251 journalists in jail at the time of CPJ’s prison census are women. At least one of those–Turkish reporter and artist Zehra Dogan–was released in February after serving a…

A protester uses his cell phone to film at a demonstration in Basra in January. Militias and Iraqi security forces are attacking and detaining journalists who cover protests in the city. (AFP/Hussein Faleh)

Iraqi militias use threats, violence to keep Basra press in line

February 19, 2019 1:43 PM EST

“You work against us. In your work, you criticize militias. We watched your videos and you talk against us. You will pay the price for it,” an anonymous voice said on the other end of the line to freelance reporter Azhar Al-Rubaie.

An anti-government rally in Khartoum on January 13. Several journalists are detained and Sudanese authorities are censoring newspapers to try to limit coverage of the unrest. (AP)

Sudan responds to anti-Bashir coverage with censorship and arrests

January 17, 2019 3:37 PM EST

“We were all journalists, so we went to work. We wrote about what happened to us that day,” Ashraf Abdelaziz, editor-in-chief of the privately owned al-Jarida daily told me over the phone this week, while recounting how he and his colleagues reported on their own arrest while still in detention.