Unknown gunmen kill two Iraqi journalists
New York, January 12, 2016–Unknown gunmen shot to death two journalists working for the independent Al-Sharqiya TV station in Iraq today, according to the channel and news reports. The attack marks the first killings of journalists to be documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2016.
Iran arrests journalists, bans newspaper ahead of elections
New York, January 11, 2016–Iranian authorities should immediately release Farzad Pourmoradi, Meysam Mohammadi, and all journalists detained for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities should furthermore lift the ban on the daily newspaper Bahar, CPJ said. The arrests and the ban on the newspaper come ahead of legislative elections scheduled to…
For journalists fleeing Islamic State, Turkey ‘is as dangerous as Syria’
For the past two years, activists and journalists seeking refuge from Islamic State repression in Raqqa would take sanctuary across the border in southern Turkey, setting up safe houses and offices, and darting back to Syria regularly with camera equipment and other vital supplies. But that sanctuary is now under threat.
Bahrain accuses journalist of supporting terrorism
New York, January 6, 2016–Bahraini authorities should immediately release journalist Mahmoud al-Jaziri and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The terrorism charges were announced amid escalating sectarian tensions in Bahrain and other Gulf countries.
Egypt detains two journalists, sentences another already detained
New York, January 5, 2016 – Egyptian authorities should immediately release journalist Mahmoud al-Sakka, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The arrest comes amid a series of repressive measures ahead of the anniversary of the January 25, 2011, uprising that forced former President Hosni Mubarak to resign.
From Charlie Hebdo in Paris to bloggers in Bangladesh, extremists target press
Thursday marks one year since two gunmen burst into the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and opened fire. Over the following year, CPJ documented the deaths of 28 journalists who were killed for their work by Islamic militant groups such as Islamic State and Al-Qaeda. This StoryMap charts the deadly attacks that took…
The militarization of the press in Syria
Ahmed Abu al-Hamza, “Software” as he was known by his friends, stood behind the camera on November 6 as a gunman explained how rebel forces took Tel Sukayk, a strategic hilltop north of Hama, from government forces. Suddenly the camera’s sound recorder picked up the faint thud of a mortar shell firing in the distance.…
Syrian journalist Naji Jerf shot dead in Gaziantep, Turkey
New York, December 27, 2015–Naji Jerf, editor-in-chief of the independent monthly Hentah and the maker of documentary films on the militant group Islamic State, was shot and killed in broad daylight today by unknown assailants with a silenced pistol in front of a building that houses Syrian opposition news outlets in downtown Gaziantep, Turkey, near…
CPJ Newsletter: A year in review
Over the past year, CPJ has documented anti-press violations all over the world, cases of journalists killed, imprisoned, abducted, or threatened in relation to their work. You can see all of our coverage at our website, www.cpj.org. But here at CPJ Impact we also highlight those times when CPJ has stepped in and advocated for…