Middle East & North Africa

  
A convoy carrying displaced Syrians arrives at a checkpoint in the western countryside of Idlib province on June 1, 2018. A Syrian militia detained a reporter in western Idlib on June 24. (AFP/George Ourfalian)

Syrian militia detains reporter in western Idlib

Members of the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham on June 24, 2018, detained Syrian journalist Mohammed Fadl al-Janoudi (also known as Mohammad al-Shami), a correspondent for the pro-opposition Qasioun News Agency in western Idlib and northern Lattakia, at his home in a displaced persons camp in the town of Bedama, between the villages of Ayn…

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Rebel fighters stand at a lookout point, west of Manbij city, in the Aleppo Governorate in Syria on March 9, 2017. A group of journalists had planned to film a report in the nearby village of Al-Hoshiriya about a June 4 agreement between the U.S. and Turkey on the full withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) from Mambij, a main hub in the area, when they were detained by an FSA brigade, according to reports. (Reuters/Khalil Ashawi)

Free Syrian Army group detains 3 journalists in northern Syria

Members of the Northern Brigade of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) on June 22, 2018, detained Kaniwar Khalef and Essam al-Abbas, camerapersons for the Dubai-based news agency Arab 24, and Hassan Khalef, their camera assistant, in northeastern Syria near the village of Chath, according to the Syrian Journalists Association, the regional press freedom group…

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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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