Middle East & North Africa

  
Security officials keep watch during a protest in Ramallah on June 14, 2018. Journalists covering unrest in the West Bank say Palestinian Authority forces attacked and harassed them. (AFP/Abbas Momani)

Palestinian security forces assault journalists at West Bank protest

New York, June 15, 2018–The Palestinian Authority should investigate claims that its security forces assaulted and harassed journalists covering a protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Security forces assaulted at least five journalists and confiscated equipment during the unrest on June 13, according to news reports and the local press freedom organization, the…

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Houthi supporters demonstrate in Sanaa, Yemen, on May 15, 2018. A Yemeni journalist died June 2, soon after being released from Houthi custody. (Reuters/Khaled Abdullah)

Journalist dies soon after release from Houthi detention

New York, June 12, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the UN Security Council to investigate the case of a Yemeni journalist who died from torture while detained by Houthi rebels, according to Nabil Alosaidi, co-chair of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate.

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Palestinian journalist shot while covering Gaza protests

Beirut, June 8, 2018–Mohammed al-Baba, a photographer for Agence France-Presse, was hit by a live round fired by the Israel Defense Forces while covering a protest east of the northern Gazan city of Jabalia, according to news reports, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, reports shared by news outlets on social media, and CPJ interviews with local…

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Sudanese journalists protest against a proposed new press law in the capital Khartoum on November 15, 2017. Sudanese authorities on June 6, 2018, prevented distribution of Al-Jarida newspaper. (AFP/Ebrahim Hamid)

Sudanese authorities prevent distribution of Al-Jarida newspaper

New York, June 7, 2018 — Sudanese authorities should allow the privately owned Al-Jarida newspaper to be distributed freely and cease its ongoing campaign against critical journalists in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Agents from the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) held up distribution of the paper on the morning…

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Palestinians rest near an Israeli checkpoint near Ramallah in the West Bank on June 1, 2018.

Palestinian security forces detain journalist in West Bank

Beirut, June 6, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Palestinian authorities to release Abdul Mohsen Shalaldeh, a reporter for the Hamas-affiliated news website Quds News Network, or disclose charges against him.

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A general view of Halabja Museum, near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq on March 16, 2018. Iraqi authorities on May 29 issued an arrest warrant for Hossam al-Kaabi, an Iraqi correspondent for the Sulaymaniyah-based independent broadcaster NRT Arabic, according to reports. (Reuters/Ako Rasheed)

Iraqi security forces harass local reporter

Beirut, June 1, 2018–Iraqi authorities should stop harassing Hossam al-Kaabi, an Iraqi correspondent for the Sulaymaniyah-based independent broadcaster NRT Arabic, and allow him to work without fear of government retaliation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A Palestinian man reads a book during clashes with Israeli forces along the border with the Gaza strip east of Jabalia on May 18, 2018. An Israeli police officer assaulted a Palestinian journalist covering pro-Gaza protests in Haifa on May 18. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)

Palestinian journalist assaulted while covering pro-Gaza protests in Haifa

An Israeli police officer assaulted Palestinian reporter Nahed Dirbas, a journalist for the London-based news website Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, while she was covering a protest against Israeli actions in Gaza in the Israeli city of Haifa on May 18, 2018, according to news reports, her employer, and the regional press freedom group SKeyes Center for Media…

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A view of downtown Beirut, Lebanon in October 2017. Abdel Hafez al-Houlani, a reporter for the Syrian pro-opposition news website Zaman al-Wasl, was arrested in the Wafa al-Umani refugee camp in the northeastern Lebanese city of Arsal, 77 miles (123 km) northeast of Beirut, on May 24, 2018, according to reports. (Reuters/Jekaterina Saveljeva)

Lebanese intelligence service arrests Syrian reporter near Lebanon-Syria border

Beirut, May 30, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern about the arrest of Abdel Hafez al-Houlani, a reporter for the Syrian pro-opposition news website Zaman al-Wasl.

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Buses arrive in the Syrian town of Azaz on April 5, 2018. A correspondent and cameraperson from Syria TV were detained and assaulted by Members of the General Public Security, a Free Syrian Army (FSA) security force on May 15, 2018, according to reports. (AFP/Nazeer al-Khatib)

Two Syrian journalists detained, assaulted northwest of Aleppo

Members of the General Public Security, a Free Syrian Army (FSA) security force, on May 15, 2018, assaulted and detained Wael Adel and Omar Hafez, a correspondent and cameraperson, respectively, for the Turkey-based, pro-opposition Syria TV, according to their employer, news reports, the Syrian Journalists Association, and the regional press freedom group SKeyes Center for…

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A guard opens the gates of a prison near Béjaïa in 2011. A court in the Algerian city sentenced a blogger to 10 years in prison. (AFP/Farouk Batiche)

Court in Algeria sentences blogger to 10 years in prison

New York, May 24, 2018–In a one-day trial today, a criminal court in Béjaïa sentenced Algerian blogger Marzoug Touati to 10 years in prison and fined him 50,000 Algerian dinar (US$427) for communicating with a foreign entity and inciting civil disobedience, Touati’s lawyer, Salah Dabouz, told CPJ. The conviction is related to Touati’s interview with…

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