Palestinian journalist held without charge by Israel
Amin Abu Wardeh, director of the privately owned news website Asdaa Press, was arrested in an early morning raid on his home in the West Bank city of Nablus on April 15, 2015, by Israeli security forces, according to news reports and his employer. Abu Wardeh’s wife, Um Omar, told local press freedom group the…
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.
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.
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
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…
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.…
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,…