Middle East & North Africa

2002

  

Israeli authorities release two journalists; one remains in detention

New York, October 10, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release of two Palestinian journalists detained by Israeli authorities for five months and urges the Israeli government to release another journalist still in detention. Youssry al-Jamal, a soundman for Reuters, was released yesterday, October 9, without charge. Israeli forces detained him in the…

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CPJ sends letter to Pentagon about detained journalist

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express concern about the reported detention without charge of Sami Muhieddine Muhammad al-Haj, a 33-year-old assistant cameraman for the Qatar-based satellite television network Al-Jazeera.

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Iran: Two more newspapers closed

New York, September 17, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent decision by Tehran’s Press Court to suspend two more newspapers. The latest ruling brings to 54 the total number of publications suspended since a crackdown began in April 2000. According to a CPJ source in Iran, on Sunday, September 15, the Press…

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9-11: Looking Back, Looking Forward

In the months following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, journalists around the world confronted an unprecedented press freedom crisis.

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CPJ calls for release of three detained journalists

Dear Prime Minister: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to reiterate its deep concern about the ongoing detention of at least three journalists in Israel and the West Bank. Hossam Abu Alan, a veteran photographer for Agence France-Presse; Youssry al-Jamal, a soundman for Reuters news agency; and Kamel Jbeil, a reporter for the Palestinian daily Al-Quds, were detained by Israeli troops in April and remain under administrative detention without charge.

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CPJ mourns death of cameraman

New York, September 9, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) mourns the death of our colleague Larry Greene, a 24-year veteran cameraman for the Los Angeles­based television station KCBS. Greene died Friday, September 6, when a Navy helicopter crashed over the Persian Gulf. According to several news reports, the helicopter, which carried Greene and four…

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Broadcast stations shut down

New York, September 5, 2002—Lebanese security officers yesterday raided the private Lebanese television station Murr TV (MTV) and Mount Lebanon Radio Station, roughed up employees, and forcibly shut down the stations. One MTV employee told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that the Internal Security Forces did not present a judicial order and that they…

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CPJ protests detention of journalist

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to protest the detention of Sudanese journalist Osman Merghani, a columnist for the Khartoum-based daily Al-Rai Al-Aam newspaper.

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Journalist syndicate proposes restrictions on photographers

New York, August 27, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) protests yesterday’s statement by the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, a professional press association based in the Gaza Strip, barring Palestinian and foreign journalists from photographing images of Palestinian children wearing military uniforms or carrying weapons. It is unclear how this ban will be enforced and whether…

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CPJ protests journalist’s prison sentence

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to protest the eight-month prison sentence handed down today against Tunisian journalist Abdullah Zouari, formerly with the banned Islamist weekly Al-Fajr.

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2002