2013

In two separate sessions on June 6, 2013, the Specialized Press and Publications Court found a Yemeni daily guilty of defamation charges in one case and innocent in another, according to news reports.

Lohini Rathimohan, a former television journalist from Sri Lanka, faces an unclear future. The 28-year-old is among 15 Tamil refugees still sheltered in a single room of an aluminum factory at Dubai’s Jebel Ali port whose official statuses remain uncertain.

New York, June 4, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by today’s conviction of 43 individuals affiliated with international nonprofit organizations on charges of working illegally in Egypt. CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour was sentenced to two years in prison based on the work he did with Freedom House,…

New York, June 3, 2013–The Jordanian government announced plans on Sunday to block more than 300 websites for failing to register under the Press and Publications Law, news sources reported. Access to several of the sites has already been blocked within the country, the reports said.

The Al-Dokki Criminal Court on May 28, 2013, sentenced Islam Afifi, former editor-in-chief of Al-Dustour newspaper, to a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (US$1,431) after convicting him of libel against Essam al-Eryan, a leader in the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Eryan filed a complaint against Afifi after the journalist published a report in June 2012 that alleged…

Dear Prime Minister Hamad: We are writing to express our concern about the cybercrime bill approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, which would restrict online expression on news websites and social media. We ask you to postpone its submission to the Shura Council and consult with media, legal, and human rights representatives to ensure that its provisions do not infringe on freedom of expression.

Algeria’s Ministry of Communications on May 18, 2013, ordered two newspapers, the daily Mon Journal and its Arabic counterpart Djaridati, to remove two pages from their next day’s editions that focused on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s health, according to news reports.