Middle East & North Africa
2012
Sudan’s press under siege
Press freedom in Sudan is rapidly deteriorating, with confiscation of newspapers by the security agency becoming a norm. The scope of violations committed against publications and journalists by the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) is widening by the day.
Don’t get your sources in Syria killed
Because foreign journalists have been virtually banned from Syria during the uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime, news coverage has relied heavily on citizen journalists and international reporters working with sources inside the country. Syrians who communicate with foreign news media run the risk of being threatened, detained, tortured, or even killed.
Egyptian police shutter Al-Alam’s Cairo office
New York, May 16, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Sunday’s raid on the Cairo offices of Al-Alam, an Iranian Arabic-language satellite broadcaster, which effectively shut down the station’s news gathering in Egypt. CPJ calls on authorities to immediately return the station’s confiscated equipment and allow staff members to resume their work.
In Yemen, two journalists face trial for covering uprisings
New York, May 15, 2012–Yemen’s Press and Publications Court must drop charges against two Al-Jazeera journalists for their coverage of last year’s uprising, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ also urged the Cabinet not to revive a restrictive Audio-Visual and Electronic Media bill that has been pending in Parliament since 2010.
Syria detains journalists, releases others
New York, May 14, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Syria’s release of several journalists and press freedom activists over the weekend, but condemns the continued detention of at least nine journalists–and likely several more–including two journalists arrested without charge in the past month.
Should J-School grads just get up and go overseas?
The guidance is hardly clear. At a Columbia University event last week pegged to the release of the new CPJ Journalist Security Guide, one journalism student said he and his classmates are getting contradictory advice. Many J-school professors, he said, have encouraged him and others to just get up, go overseas, and try to make…
Attacks on Iraqi journalists should be investigated
New York, May 9, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns two official attacks on journalists working in Iraqi Kurdistan, including the assault on a television news crew and the arrest of an editor whose articles alleged corruption. CPJ also calls for an investigation into a car bombing that wounded a journalist in Baghdad.