Middle East & North Africa
2014
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, August 2014
US-Africa Leaders Summit President Barack Obama hosted the first US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington D.C. this month. The discussion focused on trade and investment, but CPJ helped put press freedom on the agenda. At a time of unprecedented growth and change in Africa, journalists are under increasing pressure, with spikes in repression from Ethiopia to…
Solidarity in wake of Foley’s murder inspires jailed Al-Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy
Al-Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy has been languishing in an Egyptian prison since December. He is waiting for an appeal hearing on his seven-year sentence for “conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood,” but it is the murder of American freelancer James Foley, rather than his own unjust sentence, that has made the Cairo bureau chief furious.…
Public outcry can make big difference for Washington Post journalist jailed in Iran
I met Jason Rezaian in 2003, at Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. We were among the handful of Iranian-American journalists then freelancing in the country, and we were both motivated by the desire to help improve the understanding between Iran and the U.S. Over the years, I have followed Rezaian’s reports. His work…
Alassema TV’s Tripoli office attacked, journalists abducted or unaccounted for
New York, August 26, 2014–The Tripoli offices of Libya’s privately owned station Alassema TV was raided and set on fire by Islamist groups on Sunday, the station reported. Several journalists are unaccounted for, the station said, and the Libyan Center for Press Freedom and Libya International Channel reported that Alaseema staff members had been abducted.
CPJ welcomes release of US freelance journalist Peter Theo Curtis
New York, August 24, 2014 – The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of American freelance journalist Peter Theo Curtis, who was held captive by the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra since October 2012, according to U.S officials and news reports. U.N. Secretary General spokesman Stephane Dujarric told CPJ Curtis was handed over to U.N.…
Bahrain court should overturn Ahmed Humaidan’s conviction
New York, August 22, 2014 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Bahrain High Court of Appeals to overturn the baseless conviction of freelance photojournalist Ahmed Humaidan. The court is expected to rule on Humaidan’s appeal on August 25, according to news reports.
James Foley – a journalist’s journalist
Amid the tributes and war stories that followed the brutal beheading of James Foley this week, one memory from a fellow hostage shone a light on a side of his character that his audience might not have seen: his empathy not only for the people he covered but also for the journalists he encountered.
Two journalists abducted and two TV channels forced off the air in Libya
New York, August 21, 2014 — Two journalists were abducted in Libya on Tuesday, and the government shut down broadcasts of two state-run television stations after one was taken over by militants and the other took an anti-government line, according to news reports.
James Foley’s killers pose many threats to local, international journalists
New York, August 20, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is extremely concerned for all journalists, most of them Syrians, still held captive by the Al-Qaeda splinter group Islamic State, which has repeatedly kidnapped, killed, and threatened journalists in the territories over which it holds sway. President Barack Obama confirmed today that the group is responsible…
CPJ condemns killing of American journalist James Foley
New York, August 19, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of James Foley, a U.S. freelance journalist, who was abducted in Syria in November 2012. In a video posted online, the Al-Qaeda splinter group Islamic State claimed to have executed Foley, saying the act was retribution for U.S. military intervention in Iraq.