Lebanon / Middle East & North Africa

  

Lebanon should overturn conviction of journalist

New York, December 12, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Lebanese Court of Cassation to overturn the conviction of Rami Aysha, a Lebanese-Palestinian freelance journalist charged with purchasing firearms while he was investigating arms trafficking from Lebanon to Syria.

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Attacks on the Press in 2012: Lebanon

Lebanon’s press climate, while better than its neighbors, suffered in 2012 as the uprising in Syria spiraled into civil war. In April, Syrian security forces shot and killed a Lebanese journalist covering the conflict from the Lebanese side of the border. Within the country, journalists faced significant risk while covering protests for and against the…

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Lebanon must release journalist accused of arms trafficking

New York, February 5, 2013–Authorities in Beirut should drop criminal charges against Rami Aysha, a Lebanese-Palestinian freelance journalist who was arrested by Hezbollah forces last August as he was investigating arms trafficking, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Journalist deaths spike in 2012 due to Syria, Somalia

Syrian violence contributed to a sharp rise in the number of journalists killed for their work in 2012, as did a series of murders in Somalia. The dead include a record proportion of journalists who worked online. A CPJ special report

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Lebanese journalist abducted by rebel group in Syria

New York, October 29, 2012–A rebel group abducted a Lebanese journalist in the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, bringing to at least five the number of international journalists being held captive by various sides of the conflict. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the journalists’ captors to immediately release them and stop targeting…

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Lebanon must free a journalist detained without charge

New York, September 14, 2012–Authorities must immediately release journalist Rami Aysha who has been detained without charge and abused since being seized more than two weeks ago while investigating alleged arms smuggling in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Journalists attacked while covering clashes in Lebanon

Cairo, June 19, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by what it sees as a trend in the attack of Lebanese journalists covering clashes between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime. In the past month, at least nine journalists have been attacked in four separate incidents.

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Lebanese cameraman Ali Shaaban was killed in Syria today. (AFP/Anwar Amro)

In Lebanon, cameraman killed by Syrian gunfire

New York, April 9, 2012–Syrian security forces shot and killed a Lebanese cameraman today as he was working in the northern Lebanese town of Wadi Khaled near the Syrian border, according to the journalist’s employer and news reports citing Lebanese officials. The cross-border death comes on the same day that Syrian security forces fired shots…

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The IFEX conference in Beirut put a focus on impunity in journalist murders. (Lidija Sabados/IFEX)

November 23 becomes International Day to End Impunity

Members from around the world of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange met in Beirut last week. On the second day of our conference, amid discussions of the daily problems journalists face, we received word of the abduction and murder of Pakistani investigative journalist Saleem Shahzad. A day later, the conference buzzed with news of…

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Syrian authorities told Al-Jazeera's Syria-based staff not to communicate with the station's headquarters in Doha, seen here. (Reuters/Fadi Al-Assaad)

Al-Jazeera suspends Syria bureau; attacks on Lebanon crew

New York, April 27, 2011–Responding to restrictions and attacks on its staff, Al-Jazeera has suspended its operations inside Syria indefinitely, the Qatar-based news network told the Committee to Protect Journalists today. 

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