Hezbollah supporters beat Lebanese video journalist covering elections
Beirut, May 17, 2022 – Lebanese authorities must conduct a transparent investigation into the assault of video journalist Hussein Bassal by Hezbollah supporters while he was covering Sunday’s elections and allow all journalists to work freely without any fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Sunday, May 15, Bassal, who works…
‘When you stop writing, they win’: Exiled after attacks, Lebanese journalist Mariam Seif Eddine is still reporting
When a teenager’s burned body was discovered in Mariam Seif Eddine’s neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburb in September 2020, the journalist knew she had to report the story, even if it meant crossing Hezbollah. The Shia political party and militant group likes to keep tight control on information coming out of its strongholds, she told CPJ. “Hezbollah…
Attacks on the press: The deadliest countries in 2021
By Jennifer Dunham/CPJ Deputy Editorial Director Published January 19, 2022 At least 28 journalists were killed due to their work in 2021, with India and Mexico topping the list of countries with the most media worker deaths, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ final data for the year. Of the total – which has…
In Middle East and North Africa, a drop in attacks on journalists belies dire state of press freedom
The Middle East and North Africa region has long been especially dangerous for journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists’ research has found that one out of every three reporters killed worldwide in retaliation for their work since 1992 — 477 out of 1,422, or 33.5% – were located in the region. That proportion rose to…
Lebanese journalist Radwan Mortada sentenced to 13 months in prison
New York, November 29, 2021 – Lebanese authorities should drop their prosecution of journalist Radwan Mortada and refrain from imprisoning members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 26, the Permanent Military Court in Beirut sentenced Mortada, a reporter for the local daily Al-Akhbar and the news website The Cradle, to…
Supporters of Lebanese president storm Al-Sharq office in Beirut
New York, October 13, 2021 — Lebanese authorities must identify the people who stormed the Beirut office of daily newspaper and news website Al-Sharq and hold them to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, at least a dozen supporters of Lebanese President Michel Aoun stormed inside the Al-Sharq office and hung pictures…
Lebanese news website The961 briefly blocked amid currency exchange crackdown
On March 10, 2021, the Lebanese state-run internet service provider Ogero blocked the entire English-language news website The961 for nine hours without warning during a government crackdown on black market money changers, according to the site’s director, who communicated with CPJ by email, and the regional press freedom organization SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural…
Lebanese columnist, Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim shot and killed
New York, February 4, 2021 – Lebanese authorities must conduct a thorough investigation into the killing of political commentator Lokman Slim, determine if he was targeted for his journalism, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday evening, at about 8:30 p.m., Slim went missing after leaving the home…
Lebanese security forces assault reporter Ibrahim Fatfat amid protests in Tripoli
New York, January 27, 2021 — Lebanese authorities must conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the recent attack on journalist Ibrahim Fatfat, and ensure that those responsible are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 25, a group of riot police officers with Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces assaulted Fatfat,…
Ten years after the Arab Spring, the region’s media faces grave threats. Here are the top press freedom trends
In early February 2011, Alaa Abdelfattah was in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, documenting and participating in the nascent pro-democracy uprising that would topple the government and transform the country and the region. Today, he is in prison on anti-state and false news charges, which his family believes are partly retaliatory for his work. Abdelfattah is one of…