Libya / Middle East & North Africa

  
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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Libyan journalist allowed medical treatment abroad

A judge in Tripoli on August 21, 2013, lifted the travel ban placed on Amara al-Khatabi, editor of the daily Al-Ummah, and ordered the return of the journalist’s passport, al-Khatabi’s lawyer, Ramadan Farag Salem, told CPJ and human rights organizations. 

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Three journalists briefly abducted in Libya

Three television journalists were briefly abducted in Libya in April 2013, according to news reports.

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Libya must let journalist travel for medical care

New York, April 26, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the health of editor Amara al-Khatabi and calls on Libyan authorities to allow him to travel in order to receive urgent medical assistance abroad. 

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Tim Hetherington, center, is the subject of a new documentary. (HBO)

Two years after his death, Hetherington studied, celebrated

Two years ago this week, on the central boulevard of the Western Libyan city of Misurata, freelance photographers Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros were killed by mortar rounds from government forces. Hondros lost consciousness almost immediately. Hetherington bled out in the back of a pick-up truck as he clutched the hand of a Spanish photographer. 

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Guards stand outside Alassema TV station in Tripoli. (AFP/Mahmud Turkia)

Gunmen attack Libyan TV station, abduct journalists

New York, March 8, 2013–Gunmen stormed the offices of a television station in the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Thursday amid a protest outside the station’s studios, according to news reports. The gunmen abducted at least five journalists and media workers, the reports said, although all were released within 24 hours.

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Attacks on the Press in 2012: Libya

The press began to blossom amid the political transition that followed the 2011 uprising that ended Muammar Qaddafi’s repressive rule. A burgeoning private media sector emerged with the launch of dozens of independent newspapers and other news outlets. Despite these notable improvements, journalists continued to face attacks, mostly from local militias and other armed groups…

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Winners of this year's Bayeux-Calvados prizes, which largely recognized reporting in Libya and Syria, are honored in Bayeux, France. (Anne-Marie Impe)

At Bayeux, war correspondents stress duty to report

Syria and Libya were the main themes at the 19th edition of the Bayeux-Calvados Prize for War Correspondents, which took place this weekend in the historical city of Bayeux, a few miles away from the Normandy beaches where Allied forces landed in June 1944 to liberate Europe from the Nazi yoke.

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Abdala Fassouk, the father of Abdelqadir Fassouk, holds a picture of the two cameramen. (AP/Manu Brabo)

Libyan journalists released after nine days

New York, July 17, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of two Libyan television journalists who were kidnapped on July 7 after covering the country’s first elections in decades. Abdelqadir Fassouk, a reporter and cameraman for the private Misurata-based Tobacts TV station, and Yusuf Badi, a cameraman for the same station, were released…

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Libyan journalists kidnapped after covering elections

New York, July 10, 2012–Libyan authorities must establish the whereabouts of two journalists kidnapped on Saturday and do all in their power to secure their safe release, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The journalists were abducted on their way to the city of Misurata after covering the country’s first elections in decades, according…

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