Middle East & North Africa

  
A Palestinian youth swings a sling shot during clashes after a demonstration near the border with Israel, east of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip on April 1, 2018. (AFP/Said Khatib)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering Gaza protests

Unrest continues in the Gaza Strip as Palestinians take part in weekly protests along the Gaza-Israel border. Violence has erupted repeatedly and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has fired on demonstrators and used tear gas and rubber bullets during clashes, according to news reports and the IDF. More than a dozen journalists covering the protests…

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Supporters of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Tahrir square in Cairo on April 2, 2018. Egyptian authorities have shuttered independent newspaper Masr al-Arabia, though its staff is still working remotely, according to news reports. (Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

Egypt raids independent website, arrests editor over election coverage

Washington D.C, April 4, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the retaliatory measures taken by Egyptian authorities against the independent news website Masr al-Arabia for its coverage of last week’s presidential elections and calls on the authorities to release the website’s editor.

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Demonstrators gather outside the Kurdistan Parliament building in Erbil, Iraq, on October 29, 2017. (Reuters/Azad Lashkari)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Security in Iraqi Kurdistan (KRG)

At least 15 journalists were assaulted and seven detained while covering widespread protests across Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq between March 25 and March 27, according to CPJ research and local press freedom and human rights groups. The wave of detentions and assaults has sparked fear among local journalists and press freedom groups that Kurdish authorities will…

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Palestinian protesters cover from teargas fired by Israeli soldiers during clashes with Israeli troops along the Gaza Strip border with Israel, east of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on March 30, 2018. (AP/Adel Hana)

Palestinian journalists injured covering mass protest in Gaza Strip

Beirut, April 2, 2018 — Israeli authorities should independently and credibly investigate reports that Israeli security forces injured journalists covering protests in the Gaza Strip on March 30, 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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People walk near a billboard showing a picture of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the presidential election in Cairo, Egypt, March 28, 2018. During the election, Egyptian authorities blocked news sites and threatened journalists with retaliatory measures, according to reports. (Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Egyptian authorities lash out against media over election coverage

New York, March 30, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the actions taken by Egyptian authorities against media outlets and journalists reporting on the country’s presidential election, which took place March 26-28.

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Students carry Sudan's national flag during celebrations to mark Sudan's 59th Independence Day, in Khartoum January 1, 2015. Sudanese authorities sentenced two journalists to prison on "false news" charges on March 22, 2018, according to reports. (Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Sudan sentences 2 journalists for “false news,” 2 others for defamation

New York, March 28, 2018–Sudanese authorities should stop harassing journalists and allow them to report on matters of public interest without fear of government reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A Participant runs past the Israeli barrier during the annual Palestine Marathon in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, March 23, 2018. Israeli troops on March 23 detained Bakr Abdel Haq, a correspondent for the Palestinian Authority's broadcaster Palestine TV, at the al-Karama border crossing between Israel and Jordan.(Reuters/Mussa Qawasma)

Israeli troops detain Palestinian reporter at border crossing

Beirut, March 27, 2018–Israeli security forces should immediately release Bakr Abdel Haq, a correspondent for the Palestinian Authority’s broadcaster Palestine TV, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A Syrian Kurd waves the Kurdish flag in Erbil in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. Kurdish security forces have attacked and detained journalists covering protests against austerity measures taken by the Kurdistan Regional Government, according to news reports. (AFP/Safin Hamed)

TV crews assaulted, detained covering protests in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq

Beirut, March 26, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Kurdistan Regional Government to investigate immediately attacks against local journalists covering regional protests.

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A street in the port city of Aden, Yemen in January 2018. Armed attackers on March 23 broke into the al-Shomou Foundation's Aden offices, where the daily Akhbar al-youm and the weekly al-Shomou are printed, and abducted at least seven people, according to reports. (Reuters/Fawaz Salman)

Gunmen abduct at least seven from Yemen media foundation

New York, March 26, 2018 -Yemeni authorities should investigate an attack on a media foundation’s offices and the abduction of at least seven people from the building, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Armed attackers on March 23 broke into the media foundation’s Aden offices, where the daily Akhbar al-youm and the weekly al-Shomou…

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Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army members ride on a motorbike near a Turkish military vehicle in Afrin, Syria on March 19, 2018. Turkish forces and FSA factions seized Afrin from the Kurdish People's Protection Union (YPG) on March 18 after a two-month offensive, news reports stated. (Reuters/Khalil Ashawi)

Landmine kills Syrian photographer in northwestern Syria

Beirut, March 20, 2018–Kamel abu al-Walid, a photographer for the Turkish-backed pro-opposition Jarabulus Media Office, died from injuries sustained in a March 19 landmine explosion in the northern Syrian city of Afrin, according to his employer, the Syrian Journalist Association, and the Syrian Network for Human Rights.

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