Middle East & North Africa documents by Year:
Italian photojournalist severely injured covering clashes in eastern Syria
February 13, 2019 12:24 PM ET
Gabriele Micalizzi, an Italian freelance photojournalist, was severely injured by shrapnel while covering clashes between the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and the Islamic State militant group in the eastern Syrian village of Baghuz on February 11, 2019, according to news reports, the pro-opposition Rojava Information Center, and CNN photographer...
Syrian journalist injured in shelling in Idlib province
February 13, 2019 9:26 AM ET
Ahmed al-Khatib, a reporter for the pro-opposition Edlib Media Center, was injured by shrapnel in Idlib province while covering a town's shelling by the Syrian army on February 9, 2019, according to his employer, news reports, the local press freedom group Syrian Journalists' Association, and the journalist, who spoke...
Algerian journalist handed six-month suspended prison sentence
February 6, 2019 3:55 PM ET
On December 25, 2018, the Bab al-Oued court in Algiers sentenced Adlène Mellah, founder of online news outlets Dzair Presse and Algerie-Direct, to one year in prison on charges of "incitement of armed assembly" in response to his coverage of a gathering, according to news reports and his lawyer,...
Unknown assailants attack Lebanese TV station with hand grenade
February 4, 2019 12:28 PM ET
Beirut, February 4, 2019 -- Lebanese authorities should do their utmost to identify and punish those responsible for the February 2 hand grenade attack on independent broadcaster Al-Jadeed TV and ensure the safety of journalists operating in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today....
US court: Syria 'planned, executed extrajudicial killing' of Marie Colvin
January 31, 2019 1:18 PM ET
New York, January 31, 2019--A U.S. federal court in Washington, D.C., late yesterday found the Syrian government culpable in the 2012 killing of Marie Colvin, a correspondent for the U.K. newspaper Sunday Times, and ordered the government to pay US$302.5 million to her family, AFP reported today. According to...
CPJ concerned by report that UAE 'Project Raven' surveilled journalists
January 30, 2019 3:49 PM ET
New York, January 30, 2019--At least four journalists were surveilled under Project Raven, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) cybersurveillance and hacking operation, Reuters reported today. The UAE hired former U.S. National Security Agency employees to assist in deploying a surveillance tool called Karma that exploited a vulnerability in the...
Sudan arrests six critical journalists as protests continue
January 28, 2019 5:40 PM ET
Washington, D.C., January 28, 2019--The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Sudanese authorities to release at least six journalists who have been detained in recent days after covering widespread antigovernment protests calling on President Omar al-Bashir to resign....
Security forces detain TV crews and shut down broadcaster's office in Iraqi Kurdistan
January 28, 2019 11:21 AM ET
Beirut, January 28, 2019--The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the closure by Kurdish security forces of the Iraqi independent broadcaster NRT's office in Dohuk, Iraqi Kurdistan, and urged the Kurdish regional government to immediately allow NRT to resume its work....
Iran sentences journalist to five years over corruption report
January 25, 2019 3:05 PM ET
Washington D.C., January 25, 2019--The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the five-year jail sentence imposed on January 23 by Tehran's Revolutionary Court on journalist Yashar Soltani, who reported on corruption in Tehran land deals, and called on Iran to stop persecuting journalists for doing their job....
Four Iraqi journalists detained in Mosul and Erbil
January 25, 2019 2:17 PM ET
Between January 16 and 22, 2019, at least four Iraqi journalists were detained in connection with their work in Mosul and Irbil, according to news reports, the journalists' employers, and the local press freedom groups Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq and the Iraqi Center for Supporting Freedom of...