Middle East & North Africa

  

Israeli forces kill at least 4 Gaza journalists in the past week

Beirut, December 16, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly denounces the killings of four Palestinian journalists in Gaza during the past week and calls for the international community to hold Israel accountable for its attacks against the media. “At least 95 journalists and media workers have been killed worldwide in 2024,” CPJ’s CEO…

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Sudanese army soldiers patrol an area in the city of Khartoum North on November 3, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Amaury Falt-Brown)

Rapid Support Forces kill Sudanese journalist Hanan Adam and brother

New York, December 12, 2024—On Monday, December 8, soldiers with the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed journalist Hanan Adam, a correspondent for local Sudanese Communist Party-affiliated newspaper al-Midan, and her brother, Youssef Adam, at their home in the village of Wad Al-Asha in the east-central al-Gezira state, according to statements by the Sudanese…

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People celebrate with the Syrian opposition flag in Damascus on December 10, 2024, after Bashar al-Assad's oppressive regime was toppled and the former president fled to Russia. (Photo: AFP/Omar Haj Kadour)

CPJ calls on new Syrian leaders to protect journalist safety, hold Assad’s media persecutors to account 

As Syria transitions to a new government following the December 8 toppling of Bashar al-Assad, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to take decisive action to ensure the safety of all journalists and hold accountable those responsible for the killing, imprisonment, and silencing of members of the media during the country’s 13-year civil…

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Sayed Saber

Egypt jails journalist Sayed Saber after recent social media posts

Washington, D.C., December 9, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to immediately release journalist Sayed Saber, who was arrested on November 26 and ordered by the Supreme State Security Prosecution the following day to serve 15 days in detention pending investigation.   “The arrest of journalist Sayed Saber is the latest example…

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Mourners gather at the funeral of Syrian photojournalist Anas Alkharboutli in Syria's northern city of Idlib on December 4, 2024. Alkharboutli was killed in an air strike near the Syrian city of Hama on December 3, his employer said. (Photo: AFP/Omar Haj Kadour)

Award-winning Syrian photojournalist Anas Alkharboutli killed in Hama

Sulaymaniyah, December 4, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is saddened and alarmed by the killing of award-winning Syrian journalist Anas Alkharboutli in a western Syria conflict zone and calls for an investigation into whether he was targeted for his work. Alkharboutli, 32, who worked as a photographer for the German agency dpa, was killed in…

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A damaged car marked with 'Press' at the site of an Israeli strike that killed a few journalists and wounded several others as they slept in guesthouses used by media in Hasbaya in southern Lebanon on October 25, 2024

CPJ calls for international probe after evidence indicates Israel targeted journalists in deadly Lebanon strike 

New York, November 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an immediate international investigation into a deadly Israeli strike in Lebanon that legal experts believe could be a war crime as it likely deliberately targeted civilians, killing three members of the media. “Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted,” said CPJ CEO Jodie…

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CPJ calls on Israel to lift government boycott of Haaretz newspaper

New York, November 25, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Israel to end its sanctions against Israel’s Haaretz newspaper — the latest in the government’s efforts to stifle independent reporting of its war in Gaza.  “We deplore the Israeli government’s attempt to silence a respected Israeli outlet like Haaretz by hurting their advertising and…

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Global coalition of NGOs calls for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon

The Committee to Protect Journalists and 51 other non-governmental organizations issued a joint statement on Thursday, November 14, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon. The statement said Israel had attacked protected persons, including journalists, health workers, peacekeepers, and emergency responders, and called on the international community to “condemn and demand an immediate end to…

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EU must act decisively to halt Israel’s silencing of journalists

New York, November 13, 2024—Ahead of their November 18 meeting, CPJ calls on European Union foreign ministers to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement in light of Israel’s unprecedented attack on press freedom and ongoing abuses of international law. The agreement sets out the EU’s legal and institutional framework for political dialogue and economic cooperation with…

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Egypt sentences detained journalist to 25 years; accused of threatening 2nd journalist

Washington, D.C., November 13, 2024—Egyptian authorities sentenced in absentia journalist Yasser Abu Al-Ela to 25 years in prison on Sunday, November 10, on charges of joining a terrorist organization and spreading false news. Separately, press freedom advocate Rasha Azab accused the Interior Minister and the head of the National Security Agency of orchestrating recent threats against her and surveilling her movements, which culminated…

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