Egypt / Middle East & North Africa

  

Video: Egyptian soldiers storm Al-Hurra studio

When Egyptian security forces stormed the Cairo offices of U.S. government-funded Al-Hurra television station Sunday night, the studio was live on the air, covering clashes just outside its building between the military and civilians that left dozens dead (including Al-Tareeq cameraman Wael Mikhael). During the raid, Al-Hurra anchor Amr Khalil continued to broadcast as he…

Read More ›

Noha Atef

Blogging in Egypt: Virtual network, virtual oppression

I have been blogging in various platforms since 2006, focusing on human rights conditions and police abuses in Egypt. During this time, the Egyptian regime was widely described as one of the most “liberal-moderate” and sometimes “semi-democratic” regimes in the region, but meanwhile, hundreds of young people were hijacked, jailed, fined, and intimidated. Egypt has…

Read More ›

Al-Jazeera has taken an enormous hit as Middle East protests continue. Correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin tells CPJ what's its like working for the broadcaster. (Sheryl Mendez/CPJ)

Q&A: Ayman Mohyeldin, Al-Jazeera English correspondent

For the millions of non-Arabic speakers around the world who followed Egypt’s revolution live one journalist stood out–Ayman Mohyeldin of Al-Jazeera English. Mohyeldin, 32, used his knowledge of the region and of the West to make sense of the events unfolding in Cairo’s Tahrir Square for an international audience. He also witnessed the unprecedented wave…

Read More ›

CPJ

At SXSW Interactive, theory and reality converge

I’ve just returned from a hectic week at SXSW Interactive, the annual gathering of digital technologists and creators in Austin, Texas. Conferences like this are often moments of isolation from the rest of the world, where attendees become consumed with the trivia of the event itself. But because many of those attending SXSWi are prolific…

Read More ›

Men and women arrested for watching footage of the unrest in Egypt wait outside a Harare courthouse. (Reuters)

Zimbabwe charges 45 with treason for viewing Egypt footage

The right to receive and impart information is a fundamental human right enshrined in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but in Zimbabwe, watching news of North African and Middle East protests apparently amounts to treason. 

Read More ›

Libya’s disordered Internet

Craig Labowitz at Arbor has been sifting through the evidence of how countries in the Middle East have been blocking and throttling the Internet in the last week. His analysis indicates that while both Bahrain and Yemen had periods of slowed or impaired access, only Libya seems to have taken the drastic step of shutting off the…

Read More ›

Jineth Bedoya takes notes in December 2000 under the watch of a bodyguard in Bogotá in an armored car after she was kidnapped, beaten, and raped in April that year. (AP/Ariana Cubillos)

Documenting sexual violence against journalists

The news of the sexual assault against CPJ board member and CBS correspondent Lara Logan hit us hard on Tuesday. At CPJ, we work daily to advocate on behalf of journalists under attack in all kinds of horrific situations around the world. Because of Lara’s untiring work with our Journalist Assistance program, she’s well known…

Read More ›

Soldiers and children celebrate in Tahrir Square. (AP/Ben Curtis)

Courage in documenting Egypt’s revolution

Today, on its 18th day, the Egyptian revolution has finally achieved its goal, deposing Hosni Mubarak and his regime. Egyptian journalists who have courageously found ways to work under the yoke of Mubarak’s censorship and repression are releasing a sigh of relief that they’ve held in for three long decades. 

Read More ›

Reporter goes inside Egypt’s Mukhabarat torture regime

When Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporter Robert Tait was taken into custody by Egyptian authorities at a police checkpoint near central Cairo on February 4, he didn’t know he’d become witness to torture. But, cuffed and blindfolded for 28 hours, Tait heard and saw beatings and electrocutions. “My experience, while highly personal, wasn’t really about…

Read More ›

CPJ’s Simon on Huffington Post: What is at stake in Egypt

CPJ’s executive director lays out “What Is at Stake With Egypt’s Media Crackdown” in a February 3 piece on the Huffington Post. Joel Simon writes: “With no witnesses, those undertaking the violence in Egypt will have a free hand to carry out their brutal campaign without restraint. Standing up for the rights of journalists at this…

Read More ›