Middle East & North Africa

  
Protesters chant during a demonstration in the northern Moroccan town of Imzouren on June 11, 2017. A Moroccan court sentenced two journalists to prison in late June 2018. (AFP/Fadel Senna)

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;…

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Children play outside a closed store in Hebron in March 2018. Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian photojournalist in the city on June 11. (AFP/Hazem Bader)

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…

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Sudan's President Omar Al-Bashir speaks to parliament in the capital, Khartoum, in April. Sudanese authorities are harassing the critical press by censoring news outlets and questioning journalists. (AFP/Ashraf Shazly)

Sudanese authorities prevent papers from distributing, question reporters

Washington D.C., June 18, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Sudanese authorities to stop harassing the press by censoring news outlets, questioning journalists, and revoking reporters’ accreditation.

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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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