Libya / Middle East & North Africa

  

Two Tunisian journalists held for two weeks in Libya

New York, September 23, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that two Tunisian journalists have been held by a militia in eastern Libya for two weeks and calls for them to be freed immediately. This is the second time that Sofiene Chourabi and Nadhir Guetari have been kidnapped this month, according to…

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Alassema TV’s Tripoli office attacked, journalists abducted or unaccounted for

New York, August 26, 2014–The Tripoli offices of Libya’s privately owned station Alassema TV was raided and set on fire by Islamist groups on Sunday, the station reported. Several journalists are unaccounted for, the station said, and the Libyan Center for Press Freedom and Libya International Channel reported that Alaseema staff members had been abducted.

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James Foley (AP/Steven Senne)

James Foley – a journalist’s journalist

Amid the tributes and war stories that followed the brutal beheading of James Foley this week, one memory from a fellow hostage shone a light on a side of his character that his audience might not have seen: his empathy not only for the people he covered but also for the journalists he encountered.

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Two journalists abducted and two TV channels forced off the air in Libya

New York, August 21, 2014 — Two journalists were abducted in Libya on Tuesday, and the government shut down broadcasts of two state-run television stations after one was taken over by militants and the other took an anti-government line, according to news reports.

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Two journalists and three media workers abducted in Libya

New York, August 8, 2014–At least two journalists and three media workers affiliated with the privately owned Albarqa TV station were abducted at a checkpoint in the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk on Monday, according to the station and news reports. The reports said the five were taken by a militant group affiliated with Islamists…

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A fighter watches as smoke rises after rockets fired by one of Libya's militias struck a fuel tank in Tripoli on August 2. (Reuters/Hani Amara)

Libya’s Alassema TV suffers several attacks; journalists abducted

New York, August 5, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a recent series of attacks on privately owned Alassema TV in Libya, including the abduction on Friday of three journalists who are still missing.

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Prominent journalist killed in Libya

New York, May 27, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder in Benghazi of a prominent Libyan journalist on Monday and calls on authorities to hold the killers to account. Muftah Bu Zeid, the editor-in-chief of Brnieq, a privately owned weekly, was well-known for his criticism of Islamist militias in the country, according to…

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Press under threat on anniversary of Libyan revolution

New York, February 19, 2014–A recent wave of anti-press violations, including repressive legislation, abductions, and physical attacks, threatens to set back the steps Libya has taken toward democracy since the revolution that removed the late Muammar Qaddafi from power, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

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Attacks on the Press in 2013: Libya

As Libya’s growing media sector faced threats from state and non-state actors alike, the country continued to struggle to realize the promise of the 2011 revolution. Several journalists were physically assaulted by security guards outside the General National Congress (GNC) in February. The same month, the government confirmed the appointment of the country’s first minister…

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Mourners carry the coffin of one of the victims of a shootout the previous day at an anti-militia protest in Tripoli, on November 16, 2013. (AFP)

Libyan journalist killed; others injured, detained

New York, November 18, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Libyan authorities to ensure that an investigation is carried out into the death of Saleh Ayyad Hafyana, a photographer for the independent Fassato News Agency, who was shot dead Friday while covering anti-militia protests in Tripoli, according to Fassato. 

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