Middle East & North Africa

  

Moroccan editor, source convicted in defamation case

New York, June 30–Moroccan journalist Hamid al-Mahdaoui was handed a four-month suspended prison sentence by a Casablanca court on Monday and ordered, along with a co-defendant named in the case, to pay a combined 100,000 Moroccan dirhams ($10,290) in damages for criminal defamation, according to the journalist’s website and other news outlets.

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Al-Jazeera cameraman killed in shelling in Syria

Beirut, June 26, 2015–An Al-Jazeera cameraman was killed today while covering clashes between regime forces and rebels in the southern Syrian province of Daraa, the pan-Arab broadcaster reported. Mohammed al-Asfar is the second Al-Jazeera journalist to be killed in the province since December.

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News website convicted of defamation in Morocco

New York, June 25, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the excessive damages imposed on Monday by a Moroccan court on a news website convicted of defamation and call on authorities to reverse the conviction on appeal.

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Egypt’s imprisonment of journalists is at an all-time high

Egyptian authorities continue to imprison critical journalists while openly pledging media freedom. Egypt has the highest number of journalists behind bars since CPJ began keeping records, most of them accused of affiliation with a banned group. A special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists

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Record number of journalists in Egyptian jails

Most accused of belonging to Muslim Brotherhood; more than half worked online New York, June 25, 2015–The number of journalists in Egyptian jails is the highest since the Committee to Protect Journalists began recording data on imprisoned journalists in 1990, according to a new census of imprisoned journalists in Egypt released today. Of the 18…

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Al-Jazeera journalist detained while headed to Qatar

New York, June 21, 2015–An Al-Jazeera journalist was detained on Saturday in Berlin while headed to Qatar, according to news reports. Ahmad Mansour, a British-Egyptian TV host for the Qatar-based broadcaster, was detained in connection with an Egyptian arrest warrant dating back to a 2014 conviction in Egypt on politically motivated charges, news reports said.…

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Ensaf Haidar, center, takes part in a demonstration calling for the release of her husband, Raif Badawi, in Ottawa January 29, 2015. (Reuters/Chris Wattie)

In censored Saudi Arabia, Raif Badawi filled a journalistic void

On the third anniversary of the arrest of liberal activist and writer Raif Badawi in Saudi Arabia, his supporters all over the world are working hard to prevent what may lay ahead: the completion of a 10-year, thousand-lash sentence. To be effective in changing Badawi’s future, it is important to take inspiration from his past,…

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CPJ to release census of journalists jailed in Egypt

New York, June 17, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists will release a census of journalists imprisoned in Egypt on June 25, 2015.

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Exiled: When the most dangerous place for journalists is your country

Syrian journalists have been harassed or imprisoned by the Assad regime as well as threatened or attacked by militant groups such as Islamic State. Ultimately, dozens have been forced to flee into exile. These are four of their stories. A Committee to Protect Journalists special report by Nicole Schilit

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Syria tops survey of journalists fleeing into exile

CPJ releases annual report on exiled journalists to commemorate World Refugee Day New York, June 17, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists has helped more journalists fleeing into exile from Syria than any other country in the past five years, according to a report released today. Over that period, Syria and Ethiopia surpassed Iran as the…

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