Middle East & North Africa

  
A man gestures at a protest in support of protests in northern Morocco's Rif region, Rabat, May 28, 2017. (AP/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

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…

Read More ›

Police tape cordons off the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad, May 30, 2017. (Reuters/Khalid Al-Mousily)

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…

Read More ›

Mohammed al-Hudhaifi, the father of Takieddin al-Hudhaifi, looks at the body of his son, who was killed covering fighting in the Yemeni city of Taiz, May 26, 2016. (Reuters/Anes Mahyoub)

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.

Read More ›

CPJ joins call for Egypt to stop blocking access to news websites

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 20 human rights and press freedom organizations in calling on Egyptian authorities to stop blocking access to Mada Masr and the 22 other news websites. The letter, sent May 26, says the blocking of the sites violates international standards.

Read More ›

A screen shot shows an error message internet users receive when trying to access the news website Mada Masr. (Mada Masr)

Egypt blocks access to 21 news websites

New York, May 26, 2017–Egyptian authorities should immediately stop blocking access to news websites, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Egyptian government on May 24 ordered internet service providers to block access to 21 news websites, alleging that they supported terrorism or reported “false news,” the government’s official Middle East News Agency reported.

Read More ›

In this 2009 file photo, Palestinian journalists work in the Ramallah office of Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain blocked access to Al-Jazeera's websites on May 24, 2017. (Reuters/Fadi Arouri)

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain block Qatari news websites

New York, May 25, 2017– Authorities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain should cease blocking access to news websites, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities in the allied kingdoms yesterday blocked access to at least eight Qatari-funded news websites, including those of regional broadcaster Al-Jazeera, according to Al-Jazeera, government statements,…

Read More ›

Staff and neighbors of the NRT satellite channel gather outside the station's damaged office in Sulaymaniyah, February 20, 2011. Gunmen raided and set fire to the television station in northern Iraq. (Reuters)

Kurdish authorities detain journalist who reported on theft verdict

New York, May 24, 2017–Authorities in northern Iraq should immediately release Aram Bakhtiar, a journalist for the independent broadcaster NRT, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Kurdish security forces arrested Bakhtiar on May 22 on accusations of defaming a judge, NRT deputy newsroom manager Soran Rashid told CPJ. The channel’s director, Awat Ali, today…

Read More ›

Egyptian journalist sentenced to 15 years in prison for role in Al-Jazeera documentary

Egyptian police arrested Khaled Abdel Wahab Radwan from his home on March 7, 2014, according to the Arab Network for Human Rights Information and news reports.

Read More ›

A screen shot of a video Ma'an News Agency published to YouTube shows AP photographer Majdi Mohammed after he was shot in the hand covering a protest in the West Bank, May 18, 2017.

AP photographer shot covering West Bank protest

New York, May 18, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Israeli authorities to apprehend and try the man who shot Associated Press photographer Majdi Mohammed in the hand and killed a Palestinian protester near the northern West Bank city of Nablus today.

Read More ›

A screenshot of a Dijlah TV report alleging local government officials in Iraq's Al-Anbar Province smuggled oil and fighters to the Islamic State group (YouTube).

Iraqi authorities shutter TV channel’s Ramadi bureau

Washington D.C., May 18, 2017–Authorities in Iraq’s western Al-Anbar Province should rescind their order closing the Ramadi office of satellite news channel Dijlah TV, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Council of Al-Anbar Province on May 16 ordered the bureau closed, days after the Jordan-based channel aired a report alleging local government officials…

Read More ›