Bahrain / Middle East & North Africa

In 2002, Bahrainis went to the polls for the first time in three decades. Municipal and parliamentary elections, held in May and October, respectively, were the result of King Hamed Bin Issa al-Khalifa’s much anticipated political reforms, which are aimed at bringing limited democracy to this tiny Persian Gulf archipelago. Although the elections represented a…

While the press is largely free within Israel proper, the country’s military assault on the Occupied Territories fueled a sharp deterioration in press freedom in the West Bank and Gaza during much of 2002. Despite vocal international protest, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) committed an assortment of press freedom abuses, ranging from banning press access…

In the autocratic city-states that comprise the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), local media face both the promise of new technology and the burdens of long-standing state restrictions.

Your Majesty: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to protest the Bahraini government’s recent decision to bar the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera from covering your country’s May 9 municipal elections.

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Major political reforms augured well for press freedom in the tiny Persian Gulf country of Bahrain, which was plagued by social tension and political unrest for part of the 1990s. In a mid-February referendum, voters overwhelmingly approved Emir Sheikh Hamed Bin Issa al-Khalifa’s national charter, which seeks to transform the country into a constitutional monarchy…

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about recent criminal charges brought against Bahraini journalist Hafedh ash-Shaikh Saleh, apparently based on his public criticisms of the government.

Syria’s press showed signs of life after Bashar al-Assad succeeded his iron-fisted father last year, but the thaw proved fleeting.

By Joel CampagnaRoyal succession and rubber-stamp elections set the tone for a year in which Middle Eastern and North African governments continued to restrict press freedoms through a combination of censorship, intimidation, and media monopoly. Ballots in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen produced few surprises as longtime rulers stayed in power and maintained formidable obstacles…

Africa For the third consecutive year, Ethiopia held more journalists in jail–31 at year’s end–than any other country in Africa. Most were detained without charges.