TV station staff who produce satirical news shows arrested in Algeria
New York, June 27, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the arrest of two senior staff at a privately owned television station in Algeria on June 24. Mahdi bin Issa, the manager of KBC, and Riyadh Hartouf, a producer, face charges of falsifying permits and complicity in abuse of position, and were ordered…
Fresh threats to journalists from Islamic State group
New York, June 27, 2016 – Threats made against journalists in a video purportedly showing militants from the Islamic State group murdering five Syrians accused of working with media and nongovernmental organizations underscore the need to protect Syrian and Iraqi journalists fleeing the conflict, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Syrian journalists critically injured in bomb attack on home
New York, June 17, 2016 – Independent Syrian journalist Hadi Abdullah and cameraman Khaled Eissa were wounded by an improvised explosive device (IED) that destroyed their house in the Syrian city of Aleppo late Thursday night, according to media reports. Eissa is reported to be in critical condition.
Syrian journalist in Turkey survives second assassination attempt
Beirut, June 13, 2016 — The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the attempted assassination of Syrian journalist Ahmed Abd al-Qader in the southeastern Turkish town of Urfa. Sunday’s attack on the journalist was the second in three months.
Infographic: Islamic State’s assault on the press
When Mosul fell to Islamic State on June, 10, 2014, it sparked one of the biggest attacks on press freedom in recent times. Newspapers were shuttered, TV channels were ransacked, radio stations disappeared from the airwaves, and dozens of journalists vanished. Within days, the militants had a monopoly on information output.
Leaders of Egypt’s Journalists’ Syndicate referred to trial
Washington, May 31, 2016 — Egyptian prosecutors should drop all charges against leaders of the country’s Journalists’ Syndicate and cease harassing them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police detained syndicate chair Yehia Qallash and board members Khaled al-Balshy and Gamal Abdel Rahim for more than 12 hours for interrogation on Sunday, freeing them…
Why Telegram’s security flaws may put Iran’s journalists at risk
The mobile messaging app Telegram is popular in Iran, where citizens who have limited access to uncensored news and mainstream social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, use it to share and access information. But the app’s estimated 20 million users in Iran, including those who use Telegram to report and communicate with sources,…
Global Magnitsky Act could be powerful weapon against impunity in journalist murders
Last week, the proposed Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act emerged from the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee with approval. The bill was passed by the Senate last year. If passed by the full House of Representatives and signed into law by the president, it has the potential to offer partial redress to one of…