Middle East & North Africa

  
Mohamed Al-Miyahi

Yemen’s Houthis abduct at least 4 journalists, jail another for criticism of leader

Washington, D.C., June 2, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Houthi rebels’ abduction of at least four Yemeni journalists and media workers  in the western port city of Hodeidah, and the sentencing of journalist Mohamed Al-Miyahi to 1½ years in jail for criticizing the group’s leader. Local press freedom groups said those abducted between May…

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Qandeel, a well-known former BBC Arabic presenter, said she has faced increased verbal attacks from pro-regime Egyptian media presenters. (Screenshot: Democracy Now/YouTube)

Egyptian journalist Rasha Qandeel charged with spreading ‘false news’ after political reports 

Washington, D.C., May 29, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to end the prosecution of journalist Rasha Qandeel, who was summoned May 25, interrogated, and charged with “spreading and broadcasting false news inside and outside the country” after her reports on Egypt’s social, political, and economic developments for the independent platform Sotour. The Supreme State…

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Sudanese men perform the morning prayer in front of a mosque in Omdurman, on the first day of the holiday marking the end of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, in June 2024. Blogger Abduljalil Mohamed Abduljalil was arrested on May 25, 2025, in connection with his reporting on the Sudan's pilgrimage authority. (Photo: AFP)

Sudanese blogger Abduljalil Mohamed Abduljalil detained over corruption reporting

New York, May 28, 2025— The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Sudanese authorities to immediately release journalist and blogger Abduljalil Mohamed Abduljalil, who was arrested on Sunday by security forces affiliated with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and to stop arbitrarily arresting journalists for their reporting. “The abduction-like arrest of blogger and veteran journalist Abduljalil Mohamed Abduljalil…

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Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on May 16, 2025.

‘Murder weapon’: Hunger ravages Gaza journalists under Israeli siege

After 19 months of war and Israel’s 11-week total blockade on food, water, fuel, cooking gas, medical supplies, and emergency aid into Gaza, hunger and famine threaten not just lives, but the media’s very ability to bear witness, six journalists told CPJ this month.  Starvation, dizziness, brain fog, and sickness all directly affect the daily…

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Jordan journalists

CPJ, human rights organizations urge Jordanian authorities to reverse decision to block websites

In a joint statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 23 other human rights organizations called on the Jordanian government to immediately reverse the May 14 decision to block 12 websites and lift the ban on all affected platforms unconditionally. The statement urges the government to publicly disclose the legal basis for the actions against…

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Hong Kong Journalists Association chairperson Selina Cheng said the audits contained errors and were “unreasonable.” (Photo: AP Photo/Kanis Leung)

Tax audits target Hong Kong journalists, news outlets as press freedom concerns intensify

New York, May 22, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by multiple reports of “unreasonable” tax audits targeting at least six Hong Kong independent media outlets and around 20 journalists and their families, and calls on the Hong Kong government to end its weaponization of financial and tax measures against the press. The Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP),…

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a statement on Defence spending at Downing Street on February 25, 2025 in London, England. Earlier today Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a commitment to increase the UK's defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, along with the goal of increasing it to 3% during the next parliament. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS

CPJ, others call on UK prime minister to exert diplomatic pressure to secure writer Alaa Abdelfattah’s release

In a joint letter, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 31 other press freedom and human rights organizations urged UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to intensify his diplomatic efforts to secure Egyptian-British writer Alaa Abdelfattah’s release. The letter follows a February call between Starmer and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, which has yet to yield…

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European Council President Antonio Costa, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen attend a press conference at the UK-EU summit at Lancaster House on May 19, 2025 in London, England. Carl Court/Pool via REUTERS

EU decision on Israel must turn into action, CPJ says

New York, May 20, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Tuesday’s decision by European Union foreign ministers to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which sets out the EU’s legal and institutional framework for political dialogue and economic cooperation with Israel. The review could in principle lead to a suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. CPJ has been calling for…

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Unexploded ordnance lie on the ground on a street, after the Sudanese army deepened its control over Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan April 27, 2025. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig

Sudanese photojournalist Al-Shykh Al-Samany Saadaldyn killed in drone strike

New York, May 20, 2025 –The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an investigation into the May 18 killing of Sudanese freelance photojournalist Al-Shykh Al-Samany Saadaldyn Mousa Abdulla, also known as “Sheikho,” who was killed in a suspected paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drone strike on Sunday while covering an event organized by the Sudan Shield Forces, a pro Sudanese…

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(Screenshot: TNN TunisiaNews/YouTube)

Tunisian journalist’s health rapidly deteriorates in prison hunger strike

New York, May 16, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Tunisian authorities to immediately grant medical care to jailed journalist Chadha Hadj Mbarek, who went on hunger strike Wednesday after she was repeatedly denied emergency medical attention for various ailments. “Denying medical care to journalist Chadha Hadj Mbarek, whose health is deteriorating in prison, is inhumane and risks…

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