Attacks on the Press 2001: Kuwait
Kuwait’s press remains one of the more open in the Arab world. Newspapers often cover local political affairs aggressively and are not shy about criticizing senior officials. Nevertheless, journalists still practice self-censorship and avoid taking on the emir and other members of the ruling family.
Attacks on the Press 2001: Journalists in Prison
There were 118 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2001 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is up significantly from the previous year, when 81 journalists were in jail, and represents a return to the level of 1998, when 118 were also imprisoned.
Editor murderered
New York, March 21, 2001 — In a letter sent today to Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah, CPJ expressed alarm about the murder of editor Hidaya Sultan al-Salem, owner and editor of the weekly magazine Al-Majales. While a motive for this killing has not yet been established, we fear that al-Salem may have been…
Attacks on the Press 2000: Middle East and North Africa Analysis
ALTHOUGH RIGHTS TO FREE EXPRESSION AND PRESS FREEDOM are enshrined in national constitutions from Algeria to Yemen, governments found many practical ways to restrict these freedoms. State ownership of the media, censorship, legal harassment, intimidation, and imprisonment of journalists were again among the favored tools of repression and control. In Iraq, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria,…
Attacks on the Press 2000: The Gulf States Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Others
PRESS FREEDOM IN THE MEMBER STATES of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-remained constrained by conservative, monarchical regimes. Although private media in these countries enjoy generous budgets and state-of-the-art technology, they face varying constraints on their ability to report news and opinion. Censorship, self-censorship, and…
Attacks on the Press in 2000: Journalists in Prison
EIGHTY-ONE JOURNALISTS WERE IN PRISON AROUND THE WORLD at the end of 2000, jailed for practicing their profession. The number is down slightly from the previous year, when 87 were in jail, and represents a significant decline from 1998, when 118 journalists were imprisoned. While jailing journalists can be an effective means of stifling bad…
CPJ asks amnesty for two journalists serving life sentences
Your Highness: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to reiterate its concern about the plight of two journalists currently serving life sentences in Kuwait for their alleged collaboration with Iraq during its occupation of Kuwait 10 years ago.
Attacks on the Press 1999: Middle East Analysis
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…
Kuwait Government suspends newspaper for publishing Islamist critique
Your Highness: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about Sunday’s decision by the Council of Ministers to suspend the daily Al-Siyassafor a period of five days. Al-Siyassabegan serving its suspension on Monday. The decision came in response to Al-Siyassa’sOctober 16 front-page story quoting Hamed al-Ali, a local Islamist figure who is secretary general of the Salafiyya Movement (haraka salafiyya).