Middle East & North Africa

Content warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of physical, psychological, and sexual violence. Palestinian journalist Ahmed Abdel Aal remembers the moment the ear-splitting music started. For five days, he said, he was held blindfolded in a room in an Israeli detention site, stripped and beaten, while loud Hebrew and English songs played at an unrelenting…

In a joint letter, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 10 rights organizations, along with independent news platforms, expressed serious concern over AppLogic Networks’ (formerly Sandvine) continued failure to provide full transparency about its withdrawal from Egypt and to offer meaningful remedies to those affected by its past business activities in the country. The groups…

New York, February 10, 2026 — Algerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release freelance journalist Abdelali Mezghiche and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. On Thursday, February 5 , state security officers arrested Mezghiche in the capital Algiers over posts on his Facebook page, which has more than…

New York, February 9, 2026 —The Committee to Protect Journalists demands that Iranian authorities halt their ongoing attacks and harassment of journalists and media workers and roll back punitive measures used to silence reporting, including raids, equipment seizures, financial pressure, and restrictions on communications. Azadeh Mokhtari, a social affairs editor at the Rokna news website,…

New York, February 9, 2026 — Algerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Omar Ferhat, director of the local independent news website Algerie Scoop, and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday. On Thursday, February 5, Algerian state security officers arrested Ferhat, also known as ‘Karim Kaki’, from…

Washington, D.C., February 3, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Yemen’s internationally recognized government to immediately launch a swift and transparent investigation into the Sunday attack on the headquarters of independent Yemen-based media outlet Aden Al-Ghad, and to hold those responsible accountable. According to a statement by Aden Al-Ghad, the attack was…

New York, February 2, 2026— The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release journalists Mehdi Mahmoudian and Vida Rabbani and to end the ongoing crackdown on journalists. Mahmoudian and Rabbani were arrested after signing a statement, alongside other Iranian journalists and activists, expressing their support of the recent mass…

Washington, D.C., January 29, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Saudi authorities to disclose the reasons for the detention of Saudi television and YouTube program host Mohamed El-Sayed. According to the U.K.-based Arab Organization for Human Rights in the U.K. (AOHR) and the U.S.-based independent media outlet Watan, El-Sayed was taken into…

New York, January 27, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately release journalists Hassan Abbasi, Artin Ghazanfari, and Hamed Araghi, as news of their detention emerged weeks after a nationwide internet shutdown began on January 8.  CPJ was unable to confirm the charges against the journalists or their current whereabouts. “The…

New York, January 26, 2026—As Israel’s Supreme Court considers petitions on Monday challenging the ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza, the Israeli government has simultaneously doubled down on restrictions against foreign media operating inside Israel. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Israeli authorities to immediately allow foreign journalists to freely enter and report…