Press freedom on ‘brink of extinction’ in Iraqi Kurdistan, journalists say
“Ever since I started working as a journalist nine years ago, I have been under constant pressure from my family, my tribe, and my community to give up journalism. Friends have been asked by security forces to sever ties with me,” said freelance journalist Guhdar Zebari, when he met with CPJ in the empty lobby…
CPJ joins letter urging MTN Group to end participation in internet shutdowns in Sudan
The Committee to Protect Journalists yesterday joined 22 other organizations in signing a joint letter to executives at South African telecommunications company MTN Group, calling on them to end their roles in Sudan’s internet shutdowns.
Moroccan independent journalists describe climate of pervasive surveillance, harassment
In March 2015, Hicham Mansouri emailed an anti-malware company, suspicious of possible signs that someone was able to access his device remotely, without permission. He remembers exchanging a few messages with the software company, but the correspondence was interrupted after a few days, when around 10 police officers in civilian clothes arrived at his home…
Upcoming elections could make or break Tunisia’s fledgling free press
Tunisia’s progression to a freer society took center stage this month, as journalists, digital rights activists, and tech companies gathered in Tunis for RightsCon and the IFJ congress. Tunisia has secured greater press freedom than many of the Arab Spring countries, but local journalists told CPJ that with elections slated for this year, challenges including…
Egypt tests new censorship law with handling of al-Mashhad website block
Magdy Shandi, editor-in-chief of the Cairo-based independent newspaper al-Mashhad, planned to send 30 journalists to report from polling stations while votes were being cast in Egypt’s constitutional referendum between April 20 and April 22. He ended up ordering them to stay away, he told CPJ in a telephone interview in May. The state’s media regulator…
In Egypt, ‘freedom’ ends daily at 6pm for Shawkan and Abdelfattah
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.…
Infographic: Journalists named in Guardian report on torture in Saudi jails
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.
In Iraqi Kurdistan, journalists are victim of political tension
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…