Middle East & North Africa

  
Demonstrators urge Saudi authorities to release jailed women's rights blogger Eman Al Nafjan and activists Loujain al-Hathloul and Aziza al-Yousef outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Paris on March 8, 2019. Today, Al Nafjan and two activists were released from prison. (Benoit Tessier/Reuters)

CPJ welcomes release of Saudi blogger after 10 months, calls for charges to be dropped

New York, March 28, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the release of Saudiwoman’s Weblog founder Eman Al Nafjan, and called on Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all other journalists in custody.

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Soldiers of the Mauritanian Army are pictured on an off-road vehicle on November 19, 2018. Two bloggers have been detained in the country on false news charges. (Thomas Samson/AFP)

Mauritania jails bloggers Abderrahmane Weddady and Cheikh Ould Jiddou on false news charges

New York, March 28, 2019 — Mauritanian authorities should immediately release bloggers Abderrahmane Weddady and Cheikh Ould Jiddou and stop detaining journalists on false news charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A cafe in the old city of Erbil, in September 2018. Journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan say they are under pressure from authorities. (Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani)

In Iraqi Kurdistan, journalists are victim of political tension

Mission journal: Journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan are under pressure from authorities in the autonomous northern Iraqi region, with news outlets shuttered and critical reporters arrested. With government formation talks underway, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado travels to Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Duhok to hear from local journalists on how the partisan…

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Palestinian members of the Hamas security forces patrol in the town of Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, on March 22, 2018. Hamas detained at least 3 Palestinian journalists after Gaza cost-of-living protests in mid-March 2019. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Hamas detains at least 3 Palestinian journalists after Gaza cost-of-living protests

Beirut, March 19, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the detention of at least three Gazan journalists and called on authorities in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to release them immediately.

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A Saudi flag flies in front of the country's consulate in Istanbul, where columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered, in October 2018. In Saudi Arabia, two female journalists who criticized the kingdom's driving ban are on trial. (AFP/Yasin Akgul)

Saudi Arabia jails another journalist, tries women who criticized driving ban

New York, March 13, 2019–Saudi authorities must immediately release all journalists from jail and end its censorship of those critical of the kingdom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Al-Tayar Editor-in-Chief Osman Mirghani is seen in Khartoum, Sudan, on July 23, 2014. In late February 2019, he was taken by Sudanese authorities, who have not released his location or announced any charges against him. (Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters)

Sudanese journalist detained in undisclosed location for weeks without charges

New York, March 8, 2019 — Sudanese authorities must immediately release journalist Osman Mirghani from detention or clarify his whereabouts and the charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Soldiers guard an Israeli border crossing in the town of Metulla on December 4, 2018. A photojournalist living in East Jerusalem is currently sentenced to deportation to Jordan, a country he has no ties to. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)

Photographer detained, sentenced to deportation by Israeli authorities

Beirut, March 8, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern about the prolonged detention of Mustafa al-Kharouf, a photographer for the Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency, and called for Israeli authorities to either clarify the reasons for his detention and deportation order or release him immediately.

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On International Women’s Day, CPJ highlights jailed female journalists

On International Women’s Day, CPJ has highlighted the cases of female journalists jailed around the world in retaliation for their work. At least 33 of the 251 journalists in jail at the time of CPJ’s prison census are women. At least one of those–Turkish reporter and artist Zehra Dogan–was released in February after serving a…

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Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid, also known as Shawkan, center, is hugged by his parents at his home in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, March 4, 2019. Shawkan was released after five years in prison. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Egyptian photojournalist Shawkan finally free after over 5 years in jail

Washington, D.C., March 4, 2019–Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid, also known as Shawkan, was today released from prison after spending over five years in detention on anti-state charges, according to a post from his Twitter account. According to news reports, Shawkan said he was officially approved for release on Sunday night but held by police…

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Palestinians hold portraits of reporter Yasser Murtaja on April 13, 2018. A UN commission recently stated that Murtaja and fellow Palestinian journalist Ahmed Abu Hussein were 'intentionally shot' by Israeli snipers. (Thomas Coex/AFP)

UN commission: Israeli snipers ‘intentionally shot’ Palestinian journalists in 2018, killing 2

New York, February 28, 2019 — The Israeli government must hold to account everyone responsible for killing Palestinian journalists Yaser Murtaja and Ahmed Abu Hussein in April 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 25, 2019, a U.N. independent commission of inquiry said it “found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers…

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