How surveillance, trolls, and fear of arrest affect Egypt’s journalists
As Egypt’s crackdown on the press extends to social media and other communication platforms, many journalists say phishing attempts, trolling, software to monitor social media posts, and a draft law that would require registration for social media users are making them think twice before covering sensitive issues.
Amid Gulf tensions, press is used as a political pawn
Today Bahrain became the latest Gulf nation to put pressure on news outlets amid political tension, when its Interior Ministry announced that anyone publishing support or sympathy for Qatar faces up to five years in prison. The announcement came the day after the United Arab Emirates used the threat of prison to demarcate how journalists…
UAE threatens 15 years in prison for expressions of ‘sympathy’ with Qatar
New York, June 7, 2017–Authorities in the United Arab Emirates should clearly and immediately repudiate Emirati Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi’s threats to imprison and fine anyone who criticizes the United Arab Emirates’ stance toward Qatar or who expresses any “sympathy” for Qatar, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Saudi Arabia orders Al-Jazeera bureau closed
New York, June 7, 2017–The Saudi Ministry of Media should immediately reverse its order to close the office of Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera and allow the satellite channel and all news media to operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Saudi government on June 5 revoked the broadcaster’s license to operate in Saudi…
Jordan revokes Al-Jazeera license amid Qatar tensions
New York, June 6, 2017–Jordan’s Ministry of Information today revoked the license for Qatar broadcaster Al-Jazeera and said it will close the broadcaster’s Jordanian office. In an announcement reported by the state-run Petra News Agency, the ministry said its actions came after “reviewing the crisis” between Qatar and neighboring Gulf states Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and…
Bahrain orders independent outlet Al-Wasat to cease publication
New York, June 5, 2017–Bahraini authorities should revoke an order barring the independent news outlet Al-Wasat from publishing and stop harassing the newspaper and its journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Ministry of Information Affairs yesterday ordered Al-Wasat to cease publishing in print and online indefinitely, the outlet’s editor-in-chief Mansoor al-Jamri, told…
For Mosul journalists, no work or safety in post-Islamic State Iraq
For nearly three years, Mosul journalist Mohammad Talal al-Nuaimi lived in constant fear of being discovered and killed. The seizure of Mosul by the militant group Islamic State, or IS, in early June 2014 and the subsequent targeting of local journalists had forced him into hiding. He was unable to do any media-related work under…
Morocco deports Algerian journalist
New York, June 1, 2017–Moroccan authorities should lift any restrictions on Algerian journalist Djamel Alilat’s ability to enter Morocco following his May 30 deportation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police arrested Alilat as he left a protest he was covering in northern Morocco two days prior, according to the journalist and other news…
Iraqi journalist killed in suicide bombing
Beirut, June 1, 2017–Suhaib al-Heeti, a reporter for the independent Asia Satellite Channel in Iraq’s western Anbar province, was killed on May 30 in a suicide attack in the northern Anbar city of Heet, according to news reports, his employer, and the Iraq Observatory for Press Freedoms. He was at least the second journalist to…
Two journalists killed, two injured in Yemeni city of Taiz
New York, May 30, 2017–The deaths of two journalists and the serious injury of two others in the Yemeni city of Taiz late last week are a grim reminder of the risks journalists face reporting on the two-year-old conflict, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.