Middle East & North Africa

2001

  

Who Shot Riad Ben Fadhel? On anniversary of assassination attempt against Tunisian journalist, CPJ calls for justice

New York, May 22, 2001 — CPJ today called on the Tunisian government to bring to justice the perpetrators of last year’s assassination attempt against Tunisian journalist Riad Ben Fadhel, who was wounded in a drive-by shooting outside his home in the capital, Tunis. Ben Fadhel was shot on May 23, 2000, just days after…

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Deputies Pass Harsh Criminal Defamation Law

New York, May 18, 2001 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed deep concern about the Algerian Parliament’s recent approval of new legislation that stiffens criminal penalties for defamation. On May 16, according to local news reports, the lower house of Parliament—the National People’s Assembly—approved new amendments to the Algerian Penal Code that prescribe…

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CPJ welcomes release from jail, urges full freedom of movement for ailing journalist

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has welcomed news of the release of Syrian journalist and human rights activist Nizar Nayyouf, who was taken from prison to his parents’ home on the night of May 6 after serving nine years of a 10-year sentence. This action is a very positive step, although it is long overdue, particularly since Nayyouf has suffered severe health problems in prison.

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Out of jail, journalist maintains hunger strike to protest house arrest

New York, May 7, 2001 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the release of Syrian journalist and human rights activist Nizar Nayyouf, who was taken by police from prison to his parents’ home Sunday night after serving nine years of a 10-year sentence for his conviction of membership in an unauthorized organization and…

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CPJ Hears from Imprisoned Iranian Journalist on World Press Freedom DayMessage From Jail Cell Says Press Enemies “Can Never Kill The Thought of Freedom”

New York, May 3, 2001 ƒ The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) received a message from imprisoned Iranian journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin to his “colleagues all over the world” on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, the same day that CPJ placed the man responsible for Shamsolvaezin’s imprisonment, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the top…

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Enemies of the Press 2001

CPJ Names 10 Enemies of the Press on World Press Freedom Day

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Parliament to vote on strengthening criminal defamation penalties

Honorable Members of Parliament: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-governmental organization of journalists devoted to upholding press freedom worldwide, is concerned about draft Penal Code amendments, now under discussion in Parliament, that would substantially increase criminal penalties for defamation.

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TV journalist shot by Israeli forces in Gaza

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to protest the wounding of journalist Layla Odeh by IDF gunfire last Friday in the Gaza Strip. At about 1 p.m. on April 20, Odeh, a correspondent for the United Arab Emirates-based Abu Dhabi TV, was shot by Israeli troops while she and two colleagues were on assignment in the town of Rafah. At the time of the shooting, the journalists told CPJ, they were interviewing and filming local residents whose homes had been destroyed by Israeli forces.

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Columnist on trial for “inciting hatred” Fehmi Koru Faces Up to Four Years in Prison for 1999 Commentary Aired on Turkish TV Station

Good evening respected viewers, The placard carried by a girl from Marmara University and bearing the words “Wasn’t 7.4 convincing enough?” caused many tempers to fray. A leaflet distributed at Ankara’s Kocatepe Mosque during a service to commemorate the death of Bediuzzaman Sait Nursi added further fuel to the flames. And when one of the…

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Reporter loses passport after criticizing security forces

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about your government’s ongoing harassment of Samir Qassir, a journalist who writes for the Beirut daily Al-Nahar.

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2001