2003

Operating from the tiny, gas-rich Persian Gulf monarchy of Qatar, the 24-hour satellite news channel Al-Jazeera continued to break news and spark controversy in 2002. During the last six years, the station has helped transform television news in the Arab world through bold, uncensored programming and raucous political debates that reach millions in the Middle…

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the most politically closed societies in the world. The country’s ruling al-Saud family tolerates no internal dissent, prohibits political parties and democratic elections, and closely supervises the media.

The Sudanese public has access to several high-profile independent newspapers that criticize government authorities and policies. But that criticism comes at a price, especially when it relates to the Muslim government’s nearly 20-year-old civil war with Christian and animist rebels in the south of the country.

An ongoing state crackdown against pro-democracy activists continued to stunt what were once promising media reforms introduced in 2000 by Syria’s young president, Bashar al-Assad. For a short time, it appeared that Bashar, who replaced his authoritarian father, the late Hafez al-Assad, in 2000, would inspire a more liberal media and greater government transparency. After…

In May, President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali won 99.52 percent approval for constitutional changes that allow him to run for a fourth term in 2004. The poll–condemned by human rights groups inside and outside the country as rigged–did not surprise those familiar with Ben Ali’s 15-year, strongman rule of Tunisia.

In November, the Islamist-oriented Justice and Development Party won parliamentary elections in Turkey. The new prime minister, Abdullah Gul, and influential party head Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed that joining the European Union would be a top government priority. To that end, they promised greater democratic reform, including an easing of long-standing restrictions on freedom of…

In the autocratic city-states that comprise the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), local media face both the promise of new technology and the burdens of long-standing state restrictions.

The U.S. government took aggressive measures in 2002 to shield some of its activities from press scrutiny. These steps not only reduced access for U.S. reporters but had a global ripple effect, with autocratic leaders citing U.S. government actions to justify repressive policies.

In a region where oil-rich monarchies abhor dissent, Yemen’s press is relatively open and diverse, with numerous opposition and independent publications and journalists who do not avoid criticizing government officials or policies. However, the Yemeni press still faces criminal prosecutions, newspaper closures, arbitrary detentions, and threats from security forces.

New York, March 30, 2003—Newsday correspondent Matthew McAllester and photographer Moises Saman may have been detained by Iraqi authorities, said editors at the U.S.-based daily. McAllester and Saman were last seen in Baghdad on March 24. Meanwhile, four other journalists remain missing. Johan Rydeng Spanner, a free-lance photographer with the Danish daily Jyllands Posten, and…