Middle East & North Africa

  
A journalist films a burning building in Gaza's Shijaiyah district on July 20. (AFP/Thomas Coex)

Palestinian cameraman killed during Israeli assault

New York, July 21, 2014–A Palestinian cameraman was killed in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shijaiyah on Sunday, according to news reports and the journalist’s colleague. More than 60 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes between Israeli and Hamas forces in Shijaiyah that day, according to news reports.

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Smoke billows from a Gaza City neighborhood after an Israeli airstrike. (AFP/Mohammed Abed)

At least three journalists injured by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza

New York, July 18, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Israeli airstrikes on buildings housing media outlets in Gaza that injured at least three journalists. The strikes came as Israel engages in a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

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People gather at the site of a bomb attack at a market in Baghdad's Sadr City on Wednesday. (Reuters/Wissm al-Okili)

Journalists injured, arrested amid Iraq violence

New York, July 16, 2014–At least two journalists were wounded, another arrested, and a newspaper office raided in the past week in Iraq amid heightened political uncertainty and violence, according to news reports and local press freedom groups.

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The mother of Hamid Shihab, a Palestinian media worker killed in Wednesday's airstrike, mourns during his funeral.(Reuters/Ashraf Amrah)

Israeli airstrike destroys press car, killing Palestinian media worker

New York, July 10, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Israel Defense Forces’ airstrike on a car clearly marked as a press vehicle in Gaza City on Wednesday. The airstrike killed Hamid Shihab, a driver for the Gaza-based press agency Media 24, according to the agency.

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Morocco jails journalist over coverage of protests

New York, July 8, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Moroccan authorities to drop the charges against Mahmoud Lhaisan, a TV journalist who was arrested on Friday after reporting on police abuse during protests following a World Cup game.

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The 2009 Iran crackdown continues today

Five years ago on Monday, CPJ announced that Iran had officially become the world’s leading jailer of journalists in the world. The announcement came on the heels of an unprecedented crackdown on the press that began on June 12, 2009, the day of Iran’s tumultuous presidential election that sparked a mass protest movement.

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In Iran, series of arrests and prosecutions target journalists

In the first few months of 2014, multiple journalists were arrested, interrogated, and prosecuted in Iran. Authorities pursued a revolving-door policy in imprisoning journalists, freeing some detainees on short-term furloughs even as they make new arrests.

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Egypt convicts another journalist, bans TV channels

New York, June 25, 2014–A Suez court sentenced a journalist to three years in prison on Tuesday on charges of inciting and committing violence during protests in April, according to news reports. The move follows harsh prison sentences given to three Al-Jazeera journalists on Monday.

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Egypt’s Shame

This morning a judge in Egypt convicted journalists Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, Peter Greste, and Baher Mohamed of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood and sentenced them to between seven and 10 years in prison. All three were working for Al-Jazeera when they were arrested six months ago, but have a wide range of professional experience, including…

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CPJ condemns harsh prison sentences for journalists in Egypt

New York, June 23, 2014–A Cairo court today sentenced three Al-Jazeera journalists to lengthy prison terms on terrorism-related charges, according to news reports. Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Peter Greste were given seven-year terms, while Baher Mohamed was given 10 years in prison. Three other international journalists–Sue Turton and Dominic Kane of Al-Jazeera and Rena Netjes,…

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