Middle East & North Africa

Contact CPJ Middle East & North Africa

Twitter: @CPJMena
Facebook: لجنة حماية الصحفيين بالعربية
Interim Program Coordinator:
Yeganeh Rezaian

Tel: +1 212-300-9018, +1 212-300-9017
Fax: +1 212-214-0640

Knight Foundation Press Freedom Center
P.O. Box 2675
New York, NY 10108 USA

  

CPJ calls for urgent international investigation into Israel’s killing of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil

New York, April 23, 2026—Israel’s failure to allow medical crews access to injured Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil in time to save her may constitute a war crime, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday. Khalil, a reporter for the privately owned local daily newspaper Al-Akhbar, was on assignment documenting the aftermath of attacks in…

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Ahmed Shihab-Eldin

US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin acquitted of all charges

Washington, D.C., April 23, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Kuwaiti court’s acquittal of US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin on all charges following nearly two months of detention.  “We are relieved that Ahmed Shihab-Eldin has been found innocent after 52 days in detention,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “Ahmed’s freedom and safety remain…

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Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil found dead after being trapped in rubble following Israeli strike, obstruction of rescue

UPDATE: This alert has been updated throughout after the Red Cross reported that they had found the body of Amal Khalil under the rubble. Beirut, April 22, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) apparently targeted Lebanese journalists Amal Khalil and Zeinab Faraj in Al Tayri, southern Lebanon, on Wednesday….

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Ahmed Shihab-Eldin

CPJ shares statement from international legal counsel acting in case of US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin

On April 22, the international legal counsel acting for the sisters of U.S.-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin issued an urgent statement, saying they were “extremely concerned for Ahmed’s safety and wellbeing” in Kuwaiti detention, and demanding his release.  The international legal team has filed urgent appeals with United Nations experts, and they are engaging with U.S.,…

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Hassan Bouras

Algeria re-arrests freelance journalist Hassan Bouras ahead of Pope’s visit

New York, April 16, 2026—Algerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release freelance journalist and human rights defender Hassan Bouras and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Monday, an investigating judge at the court of El-Bayadh, in northwestern Algeria, ordered Bouras’ detention pending investigation into four accusations — two…

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Civilians and members of the press

CPJ, partners file emergency motion to Israeli Supreme Court seeking independent media access to Gaza

On Monday, April 13, 2026, the Committee to Protect Journalists, together with its amicus partners the Foreign Press Association in Israel, the Union of Journalists in Israel (UJI) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), filed an emergency motion to the Israeli Supreme Court asking the justices to expedite a decision on allowing the international media to…

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Sudanese army soldiers patrol an area in the city of Khartoum North on November 3, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Amaury Falt-Brown)

CPJ, partners urge decisive U.S. action to end Sudan war on third anniversary

New York, April 15, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 28 other civil society organizations in a joint letter urging the United States to take decisive action to help end the war in Sudan, as it marks its third anniversary. The letter highlights escalating atrocities by both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese…

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AFP journalist Abdelmoneim Abu Idris Ali holds his wedding picture as he searches through documents at his home in Khartoum North's Bahri neighbourhood on March 17, 2025, as he returns to visit for the first time since being displaced.

Sudan’s 3 years of war, impunity, and the silencing of the press

New York, April 15 — As Sudan’s war marks its third anniversary, on April 15, 2026, fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has turned the country into one of the world’s most dangerous and deadliest environments for the press, where reporting the truth comes with the constant risk…

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Ahmed Shihab-Eldin

CPJ calls on Kuwait to release US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin

Washington, D.C., April 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kuwaiti authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Kuwaiti-American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. Shihab-Eldin, an award-winning journalist who posts prolifically on social media, has not posted online or been seen in public in Kuwait – where he was visiting family – since March 2. It is…

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Ihab Diab and Marwan Harzallah

CPJ demands answers after deaths of journalist, media worker in Israeli custody

Amman, April 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Israeli authorities to provide immediate and transparent explanations for the deaths in Israeli custody of Palestinian journalist Ihab Diab and media worker Marwan Harzallah, return their bodies to their families without delay, and ensure an independent, impartial investigation that leads to accountability.  “The deaths of…

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