Libya / Middle East & North Africa

  
Demonstrators in Tripoli's Martyrs' Square protest what they say is French military intervention in Libya, July 22, 2016. (Reuters/Ismail Zeitouni)

Photographer arrested while covering a protest in Libya

Washington, August 2, 2016–Libyan authorities should immediately charge or release photographer and cameraman Saliem Alshebl, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Alshebl, who works for the Libya satellite channel, which is allied with the National Accord government, was arrested July 29 while covering an anti-government protest at Tripoli’s Martyrs’ Square, according to his employer…

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This June 20, 2011, photo by Abdelqadir Fassouk shows rebel fighters firing a rocket toward pro-Qaddafi forces on the front line in Misrata, Libya. Fassouk was killed on July 22, 2016, while covering clashes between government-allied forces and the militant group Islamic State. (AP/Abdelqadir Fassouk)

Abdelqadir Fassouk second Libyan photojournalist to be killed in a month

Washington, July 22, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the killing of Arraed television correspondent and prominent Libyan photojournalist Abdelqadir Fassouk, who was shot yesterday while covering clashes between government-allied forces and the militant group Islamic State, according to his news outlet.

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Infographic: Islamic State’s assault on the press

When Mosul fell to Islamic State on June, 10, 2014, it sparked one of the biggest attacks on press freedom in recent times. Newspapers were shuttered, TV channels were ransacked, radio stations disappeared from the airwaves, and dozens of journalists vanished. Within days, the militants had a monopoly on information output.

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From High Profile to Exile

Heba Alshibani did not set out to become a journalist. She had expected to become an academic, as many members of her Libyan family had before the February 2011 uprising that led to the overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi. But when the violence did not abate after Qaddafi’s overthrow, Alshibani witnessed events that she felt compelled…

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CPJ concerned for safety of photojournalist missing in Libya

New York, November 17–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned for the safety of Mohamed Neili, a Libyan photojournalist missing since October 29. Neili, who works for the Chinese state-run Xinhuanews agency, disappeared after leaving his house in southern Tripoli, according to media outlets and a local press freedom center.

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Journalists and international humanitarian law

One of the most important protections that journalists operating in a conflict zone are afforded is their status as civilians. This means they cannot be deliberately targeted, and cannot be taken prisoner by the warring factions. Under the Geneva Conventions journalists are only entitled to this protection “provided that they take no action adversely affecting…

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A female reporter runs with a rebel fighter while evading snipers near Aleppo, Syria, October 10, 2014. (Reuters/Jalal Al-Mamo)

Going it alone: More freelancers means less support, greater danger

Matthieu Aikins probably wouldn’t saunter into Afghanistan again in the way he did six years ago.

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The mother, right, of photographer Nadhir Ktari, who disappeared with fellow journalist Sofiane Chourabi in Libya in September 2014, attends a demonstration held in solidarity with the missing pair, in Tunis on January 9, 2015. (Reuters/Anis Mili)

Lack of media coverage compounds violence in Libya

Near the end of August 2014, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates launched airstrikes against what were characterized as Islamist-allied militias fighting near Tripoli, Libya. Or maybe they didn’t. The New York Times broke the story on August 25, 2014; Egypt denied it, the UAE didn’t comment, and U.S. officials made seemingly conflicting statements.

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Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi shout slogans against the military and government during a protest in Cairo on November 28, 2014. (Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

Treating the Internet as the enemy in the Middle East

The snow and freezing temperatures that struck Saudi Arabia unexpectedly in December 2013 were newsworthy in a desert kingdom better known for its extreme heat. But the fact that the ensuing power outages at a regional prison left prisoners without power or heat for nearly a week was apparently off-limits to reporters.

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Libyan journalist shot dead in Benghazi TV office

New York April 23, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of a Libyan television journalist in the eastern city of Benghazi on Wednesday. Muftah al-Qatrani, 33, was shot dead in his office at Al-Anwar, the privately owned television production company he was director of, according to news reports. He had been covering the…

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