Middle East & North Africa
2009
CPJ urges Israel to examine Gaza limits, military strikes
Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu: The Committee to Protect Journalists urges your government to examine the deeply disturbing press restrictions and military strikes on media facilities that occurred during the prior government’s Gaza offensive in late 2008 and early 2009, and to take corrective action that brings official policies and practices in line with international standards.
Saberi’s parents go to Iran; State Department intervenes
On Monday, the parents of detained Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi left their home in Fargo, North Dakota, to go see their daughter in Iran. Saberi has been held in Tehran’s Evin prison since January 31. Reza and Akiko Saberi are scheduled to arrive in Iran on Wednesday. Since Saberi was picked up at the end…
After CPJ letter, Tunis grants journalist freedom to travel
Nearly a week after CPJ sent a letter to Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali urging him to end the “ongoing cycle of repression of critical journalists and media outlets,” Tunisia’s Ministry of Justice and Human Rights told Mohamed Abbou, a prominent human rights lawyer and writer, in a phone call on Saturday that…
Tunisian president calls criticism “unbecoming”
During his address to the nation on the anniversary of Tunisia’s independence on March 20, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali did not hesitate to reject critical journalism and the right of journalists to cover corruption or mistakes by the government. As customary, local groups concerned with press freedom, including the Tunisian Observatory for Press Freedom…
Report says Iran may hold Saberi for prolonged period
New York, March 25, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a news report indicating that Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi might remain in a Tehran prison for a prolonged period. In a telephone conversation with her father, Saberi said a prosecutor told her she would remain in detention for “months or even years,” The…
Getting Away With Murder 2009
CPJ’s Impunity Index spotlights countrieswhere journalists are slain and killers go free New York, March 23, 2009 — The already murderous conditions for the press in Sri Lanka and Pakistan deteriorated further in the past year, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found in its newly updated Impunity Index, a list of countries where journalists…
CPJ presses Tunisia on poor press freedom record
Dear Mr. President: The Committee to Protect Journalists urges you on the eve of the 53rd anniversary of Tunisia’s independence from France to end an ongoing cycle of repression of critical journalists and media outlets. We ask that you abide by the commitment you have made repeatedly since coming to power in 1987 to promote freedom of expression. The last time you reiterated this commitment was in November 2008 at a rally in Tunis marking the 21st anniversary of your ascent to power.