Middle East & North Africa

  

Egyptian journalist alleges torture, whereabouts unknown

New York, March 3, 2016 – Egyptian authorities should immediately charge or release journalist Sabry Anwar and order an independent and thorough investigation into claims he has been tortured, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security forces arrested Anwar, a correspondent for the independent newspaper El Badil, from his home in the Mediterranean city…

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Issa Saharkhiz, in an undated family photo. The freelance journalist was sentenced to one year in prison the day after being freed. (Mehdi Saharkhiz)

‘Prison is the equivalent of a death sentence for him,’ son of journalist jailed in Iran says

The son of imprisoned Iranian journalist Issa Saharkhiz says his father’s health has deteriorated and he has lost a worrying amount of weight since being sent to Evin prison last November. In an interview with CPJ, Mehdi Saharkhiz said his father, who is due in court this week, has been treated poorly.

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CPJ Newsletter: March edition

Landmark conviction in 2000 attack on Colombian journalist A Colombian court on February 26 convicted a former paramilitary fighter in the kidnapping and torture of Colombian journalist Jineth Bedoya and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. The fighter, Alejandro Cárdenas Orozco, was also ordered to pay a fine of around US$17,500.

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Hossam Bahgat sits at his desk in a December 7, 2011, file photo (AP/Sarah Rafea)

Egypt prevents investigative journalist from leaving the country

New York, February 23, 2016- Egyptian authorities prevented journalist Hossam Bahgat from traveling from Cairo International Airport today. No reason was given for the ban.

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Syrian journalist killed while covering fighting in Daraya

New York, February 22, 2016 — Syrian freelance journalist Majid Dirani was killed on February 19 by Syrian military tank shells while covering fighting in a suburb of Damascus, one of his employers, Anadolu Agency, and other news outlets reported.

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At least one Yemeni journalist taken captive by Houthi forces

New York, February 19, 2016 – Pro-Houthi forces took journalist Abdallah al-Minefi from his home in the city of Dhamar, roughly 50 miles south of Sanaa, late on Thursday, his employer reported. His current location is unknown.

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Yemeni journalist killed in Taiz

Embed from Getty Images Heavily damaged buildings are shown in the Yemeni city of Taiz on February 12, 2016. New York, February 17, 2016–Armed men in the central Yemeni city of Taiz fatally shot Ahmed al-Shaibani on Tuesday, according to his colleagues and employers.

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Four American journalists arrested in Bahrain

New York, February 15, 2016 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate release of four American journalists arrested in Bahrain yesterday while reporting on the anniversary of the launch of mass opposition protests on February 14, 2011.

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Jordanian journalist held incommunicado in Abu Dhabi for two months

New York, February 12, 2016 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that Abu Dhabi has detained Jordanian journalist Tayseer al-Najjar for two months without disclosing any charges against him or allowing him contact with the outside world.

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A photojournalist runs from tear gas at an anti-government protest in Bahrain, March 24, 2012. (Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)

Bahrain upholds prison sentence against photographer

Washington, February 9, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned Bahrain’s imprisonment of photographer Ahmed al-Fardan. A Bahraini appeals court on February 3 upheld the photojournalist’s three-month prison sentence on charges of participating in an unlicensed protest, according to his lawyer and news reports.

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