Egypt
2011
Libya: foreign reporters ‘outlaws’; Mideast attacks continue
New York, February 23, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the ongoing attack on journalists and bloggers in the Middle East. Today the Libyan deputy foreign minister warned foreign journalists crossing the eastern border that they will be treated as “outlaws,” according to news reports. In Iraq, gunmen raided the office of a…
Libya’s disordered Internet
Craig Labowitz at Arbor has been sifting through the evidence of how countries in the Middle East have been blocking and throttling the Internet in the last week. His analysis indicates that while both Bahrain and Yemen had periods of slowed or impaired access, only Libya seems to have taken the drastic step of shutting off the…
Documenting sexual violence against journalists
The news of the sexual assault against CPJ board member and CBS correspondent Lara Logan hit us hard on Tuesday. At CPJ, we work daily to advocate on behalf of journalists under attack in all kinds of horrific situations around the world. Because of Lara’s untiring work with our Journalist Assistance program, she’s well known…
CPJ alarmed by attack on Lara Logan of CBS News
New York, February 15, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by news that CBS correspondent and CPJ board member Lara Logan was sexually assaulted and beaten in Cairo on Friday while covering rallies marking the resignation of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. “We have seen Lara’s compassion at work while helping journalists who have faced…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Middle East and North Africa Analysis
Suppression Under the Cover of National Security By Mohamed Abdel Dayem Relying on an extensive network of sources in the military, government, and Islamist groups, Yemeni freelance journalist Abdulelah Shaea had become a frequent and pointed critic of the administration’s counterterrorism efforts. By July, President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government had enough, dispatching security agents to…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Egypt
Top Developments • Government blocks satellite TV, news texting ahead of parliamentary vote. • Political maneuvering seen as critical editor sacked, another jailed. Key Statistic 12: Satellite television stations taken off the air one month before the election. Back in 2005, reporters exposed widespread ballot fraud and voter intimidation during the country’s first multi-party presidential…
Courage in documenting Egypt’s revolution
Today, on its 18th day, the Egyptian revolution has finally achieved its goal, deposing Hosni Mubarak and his regime. Egyptian journalists who have courageously found ways to work under the yoke of Mubarak’s censorship and repression are releasing a sigh of relief that they’ve held in for three long decades.
Reporter goes inside Egypt’s Mukhabarat torture regime
When Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporter Robert Tait was taken into custody by Egyptian authorities at a police checkpoint near central Cairo on February 4, he didn’t know he’d become witness to torture. But, cuffed and blindfolded for 28 hours, Tait heard and saw beatings and electrocutions. “My experience, while highly personal, wasn’t really about…
Government obstruction, intimidation continues in Cairo
New York, February 9, 2011–Egyptian authorities are obstructing international news coverage of the country’s political crisis by withholding press credentials and, in one instance, invading the home of a foreign journalist, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A well-known Egyptian blogger also remains unaccounted for after being seized by suspected government agents earlier this…
CPJ’s Simon on Huffington Post: What is at stake in Egypt
CPJ’s executive director lays out “What Is at Stake With Egypt’s Media Crackdown” in a February 3 piece on the Huffington Post. Joel Simon writes: “With no witnesses, those undertaking the violence in Egypt will have a free hand to carry out their brutal campaign without restraint. Standing up for the rights of journalists at this…