Middle East & North Africa

  
Egyptian fishermen on the Nile River as the sun sets in Cairo, Egypt, in April 2015. Ahead of presidential elections scheduled between March 26 and 28, 2018, the Egyptian government has been keen to silence any critical reporting, CPJ research shows. (AP/Hassan Ammar)

Egyptian public must be able to access all news sites

New York, February 6, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Egyptian authorities to ensure that the public has easy access to a full range of news and information sources in the lead-up to presidential elections scheduled for next month.

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A Sudanese man works at a bakery in the capital Khartoum on January 5, 2018. The Sudanese government's decision to devaluate the local currency in January and rising bread prices sparked ongoing protests across the country. Sudanese authorities have arrested journalists after they report on these protests. (AFP/Ashraf Shazly)

Sudan detains local journalist, confiscates newspapers following reporting on protests

New York, February 2, 2018–Sudanese authorities should immediately release al-Jarida reporter Ahmed Jadein, cease confiscating newspapers, and allow journalists to report on matters of public interest without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Sudan holds local journalist for 12 days, confiscates newspapers

New York, January 29, 2018–Sudanese authorities should immediately release freelance journalist Amal Habbani and cease confiscating newspapers, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A pro-government fighter sits on the back of a military truck during clashes with Houthi fighters in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen on June 2, 2017. Photographer Mohammad al-Quadasi was killed in a missile strike in the Taiz governorate on January 22, 2018. (Reuters/Anees Mahyoub)

Missile strike kills local Yemeni photographer

New York, January 22, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the killing of Yemeni photographer Mohammad al-Qadasi in a missile strike allegedly by the Ansar Allah movement. Al-Qadasi, who worked for the privately owned Belqees TV station, was killed today in the Khayami area of Taiz governorate while on assignment, the channel’s director general Ahmed…

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Sudan arrests journalists, confiscates papers for reporting on inflation protests

New York, January 18, 2017–Sudanese authorities should cease harassing and arresting journalists and confiscating newspapers, and should allow journalists to report on matters of public interest without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A sunset over Amman in 2012. Two Jordanian journalists are facing charges in the city over their reporting. (AP/Mohammad Hannon)

Jordan arrests two journalists over report on finance minister

Beirut, January 17, 2018–Authorities should immediately release two journalists from the independent news website Jfranews who have been charged under Jordan’s Press and Publication Law and Cybercrime Law, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A poster, pictured in Cairo in October 2017, calls for President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to run in elections. Egypt's March vote will be held while the state of emergency is still in place. (Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Ahead of March elections, Egypt extends state of emergency and tightens censorship

The New York Times reported this week that Egypt ordered a criminal investigation into the paper over its report alleging that an intelligence officer told several TV hosts they should persuade viewers to accept President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The investigation comes in the same week that Egypt’s parliament voted…

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Aircrafts perform during an airshow in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 11, 2018. A Kuwaiti national security court on December 25, 2017, found journalist Abdullah al-Saleh guilty in absentia of

Kuwaiti authorities sentence local journalist in absentia to five years hard labor

New York, January 12, 2018–Kuwaiti authorities should allow independent journalist Abdullah al-Saleh to return to Kuwait without fear of imprisonment or reprisal for his work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A Kuwaiti national security court on December 25, 2017, found al-Saleh, a YouTube reporter and former columnist for the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jareeda, guilty…

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Former Gambia President Yahya Jammeh, pictured in November 2016, is among the suspected human rights abusers to be penalized under the U.S. Magnitsky Act. (Reuters/Thierry Gouegnon)

Mixed first year, but Global Magnitsky Act could be strong tool in fight for justice

In December, the U.S. government announced the names of those it will penalize under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights and Accountability Act.

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Civilians and members of the rescue organization, Syrian Civil Defense, run to the scene of an airstrike in Idlib province on January 3, 2018. An airstrike injured two Syrian journalists in the province on January 11. (AFP/Omar Haj Kadour)

Airstrike injures two Syrian reporters in southern Idlib

Abdulkadir al-Bakri, a correspondent for the pro-opposition Qasioun News Agency in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, and Abdulkadir al-Abdo, a reporter for pro-opposition Al-Jisr TV, were injured in a January 11, 2018 airstrike while covering clashes in the south of Idlib province, according to their employers and the Syrian Journalists’ Association.

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