Palestinian photojournalist jailed in 2015 dies in Syrian government custody
Beirut, July 16, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Syrian authorities to conduct an immediate and transparent investigation into the death of Niraz Saeed, a Palestinian-Syrian photojournalist who died in state custody. The news of his death comes as dozens of journalists trapped in southwest Syria have appealed for help to escape the…
Lebanon charges journalists with defamation, false news
Beirut’s Publication Court, headed by Judge Raffoul Bustani, on July 5, 2018, convicted and fined five Lebanese journalists for offenses including criminal defamation and spreading false news, according to news reports and the regional press freedom group Skeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom. The court, which deals with media regulation, issued the fines in…
Houthis detain at least three more journalists in late June and early July
The Ansar Allah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, detained at least three current and former Yemeni journalists–Iyad al-Wasmani, Abdulsalam al-Doaiss, and Abed al-Jaradi–between June 27 and July 7, 2018, according to news reports and the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate.
CPJ calls on Egyptian authorities to release journalists held on false news charges
Washington, D.C., July 10, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Egyptian authorities to drop the charges against a group of journalists held in pretrial detention for false news and release the journalists immediately.
Syrian militia detains reporter in western Idlib
Members of the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham on June 24, 2018, detained Syrian journalist Mohammed Fadl al-Janoudi (also known as Mohammad al-Shami), a correspondent for the pro-opposition Qasioun News Agency in western Idlib and northern Lattakia, at his home in a displaced persons camp in the town of Bedama, between the villages of Ayn…
Free Syrian Army group detains 3 journalists in northern Syria
Members of the Northern Brigade of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) on June 22, 2018, detained Kaniwar Khalef and Essam al-Abbas, camerapersons for the Dubai-based news agency Arab 24, and Hassan Khalef, their camera assistant, in northeastern Syria near the village of Chath, according to the Syrian Journalists Association, the regional press freedom group…
Moroccan court sentences two journalists to several years in prison
New York, July 3, 2018–Moroccan authorities should immediately release journalists Mohamed al-Asrihi and Hamid al-Mahdaoui and drop all charges against them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Casablanca Court of Appeals sentenced al-Asrihi on June 26 to five years in prison and a fine of 2,000 Moroccan dirhams (US$210), according to news reports;…
Israeli forces arrest Palestinian freelance photojournalist in the West Bank
Beirut, June 19, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Israeli authorities to release Palestinian freelance photojournalist Bilal Hamid al-Taweel or disclose charges against him. Israeli security forces arrested al-Taweel at his home in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on June 11, according to news reports and the regional press freedom group…