Egyptian government clash with Journalists Syndicate marks turning point in censorship fight
A standoff this week between Egyptian authorities and the country’s influential Journalists Syndicate could mark a turning point in the fight for media control that has raged since before President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi took office.
Egypt police raid Journalists’ Syndicate, arrest two journalists
New York, May 2, 2016–Egyptian authorities should immediately release Amr Badr, Mahmoud al-Sakka, and all journalists jailed for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police on Sunday raided the Journalists’ Syndicate in Cairo, where the two were staging a sit-in protest, and arrested them, according to their employer and news reports. Today…
CPJ highlights challenges to female journalists, reporter released from prison, CPJ hosts book talk
CPJ Newsletter: May edition CPJ publishes annual edition of Attacks on the Press On April 27, CPJ launched its annual publication of Attacks on the Press. This edition, which focuses on gender and media freedom worldwide, highlights the challenges faced by female journalists who fight to report the news against all odds. The book–and the…
Iraq withdraws Al-Jazeera’s license
New York, April 28, 2016 – Iraqi authorities should immediately restore Al-Jazeera’s operating license, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Qatari broadcaster reported that Iraqi authorities informed it Wednesday that its license to operate had been withdrawn.
From High Profile to Exile
Heba Alshibani did not set out to become a journalist. She had expected to become an academic, as many members of her Libyan family had before the February 2011 uprising that led to the overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi. But when the violence did not abate after Qaddafi’s overthrow, Alshibani witnessed events that she felt compelled…
The Struggle for Candid Interviews
Inside a four-room apartment in Antakya, Turkey, a town on the border with Syria, more than a dozen men sat on mattresses on the floor. It was just past 10 p.m. and the soldiers, all men in the Free Syrian Army, the rebel opposition group in Syria, were busy coordinating their next trip into the…
My Islamic State Social Network
My first conversation with Islamic State was about my reporting. I had just shared an article I’d written about the terrorist group recruiting Western fighters on my Twitter when I saw that someone using the Twitter handle Abu Omar had also posted a link to the piece on his own account. His profile photo unabashedly…
CPJ condemns Iran’s jailing of journalists
New York, April 26, 2016 — The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns an Iranian court’s sentencing of three reformist journalists. Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced the three to between five and 10 years in prison on charges of “acting against national security,” according to press reports.
Scores of journalists harassed, detained amid Egypt protests
New York, April 25, 2016–Egyptian authorities should immediately cease detaining and harassing journalists, and allow them to do their jobs, including allowing them to cover street protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
CPJ concerned by reports of Egyptian accusations against Reuters
New York, April 22, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports in the Egyptian media that authorities have accused Reuters of “spreading false news” in a report on the death of an Italian student. The press reports could not be verified and Reuters said it had not received notification of legal action.