Middle East & North Africa
2018
Missile strike kills local Yemeni photographer
New York, January 22, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the killing of Yemeni photographer Mohammad al-Qadasi in a missile strike allegedly by the Ansar Allah movement. Al-Qadasi, who worked for the privately owned Belqees TV station, was killed today in the Khayami area of Taiz governorate while on assignment, the channel’s director general Ahmed…
Sudan arrests journalists, confiscates papers for reporting on inflation protests
New York, January 18, 2017–Sudanese authorities should cease harassing and arresting journalists and confiscating newspapers, and should allow journalists to report on matters of public interest without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Jordan arrests two journalists over report on finance minister
Beirut, January 17, 2018–Authorities should immediately release two journalists from the independent news website Jfranews who have been charged under Jordan’s Press and Publication Law and Cybercrime Law, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Ahead of March elections, Egypt extends state of emergency and tightens censorship
The New York Times reported this week that Egypt ordered a criminal investigation into the paper over its report alleging that an intelligence officer told several TV hosts they should persuade viewers to accept President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The investigation comes in the same week that Egypt’s parliament voted…
Kuwaiti authorities sentence local journalist in absentia to five years hard labor
New York, January 12, 2018–Kuwaiti authorities should allow independent journalist Abdullah al-Saleh to return to Kuwait without fear of imprisonment or reprisal for his work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A Kuwaiti national security court on December 25, 2017, found al-Saleh, a YouTube reporter and former columnist for the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jareeda, guilty…
Airstrike injures two Syrian reporters in southern Idlib
Abdulkadir al-Bakri, a correspondent for the pro-opposition Qasioun News Agency in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, and Abdulkadir al-Abdo, a reporter for pro-opposition Al-Jisr TV, were injured in a January 11, 2018 airstrike while covering clashes in the south of Idlib province, according to their employers and the Syrian Journalists’ Association.
Syrian militia hold two media activists in Idlib
The Syrian militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took captive two media activists, Hossam Mahmoud and Amjed al-Maleh, in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib in December 2017, according to news reports, the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, and the Syrian Journalists’ Association.
Yemeni authorities force local Al Jazeera station to close
New York, January 10, 2018–The Yemeni government should allow the Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera to immediately reopen its Taiz office, and permit journalists in Yemen to do their jobs unencumbered, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Soldiers acting on orders from the Taiz Governorate Security Committee closed the office yesterday, according to Saeed Thabit Saeed,…
Dijlah TV: Unknown assailants set fire to Baghdad bureau
The satellite news channel Dijlah TV said in a report that unknown assailants set fire to its Baghdad bureau, located in the Al-Rusafa neighborhood, on the afternoon of January 2, 2018. No one was injured in the blaze, according to the report.