Middle East & North Africa

  

CPJ welcomes release of two Egyptian journalists, calls for others to be freed

New York, June 18, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from prison this week of two Egyptian journalists and calls on authorities to release at least 14 journalists still behind bars, including three Al-Jazeera journalists whose trial continues on Monday. Abdullah al-Shami, reporter for Al-Jazeera who was jailed without charge, was released on…

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Iran, Syria, and Somalia top countries that journalists flee

CPJ releases annual report on journalists in exile to mark World Refugee Day New York, June 18, 2014–Over the past five years, the Committee to Protect Journalists has supported 404 journalists who have been forced to flee their home countries because of their work, according to a new CPJ report on exiled journalists. Journalists cite…

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Journalist killed, another injured amid Iraq clashes

New York, June 16, 2014–At least one journalist was killed and another injured Sunday in an attack in northern Diyala province, the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate and Iraqi news outlets reported. The killing comes amid escalating clashes between the Iraqi government and its allies against an insurgency spearheaded by the Al-Qaeda splinter group Islamic State of…

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Sudanese journalist held without charge

New York, June 13, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of Hassan Ishaq, reporter for the privately owned daily Al-Jarida, who has been held without charge by Sudanese security forces since Tuesday.

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Jordanian authorities raid station, arrest staff

New York, June 13, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Jordanian authorities to drop the terrorism charges and release from custody staffers of the Al-Abasiya TV station in Amman who were arrested after a recent raid and shutdown of the outlet.

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The content of this web page has been temporarily removed. For CPJ data and analysis on Iraq, visit our Iraq page.

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Harsh sentence in Egypt daunting for the press

New York, June 11, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the 15-year jail sentence given today to Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd el-Fattah, and at least 24 other defendants, on charges of attacking a police officer and protesting the government’s ban on unsanctioned protests. Dozens of critical voices, including journalists and political and human…

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Thousands of protesters gather in Tehran to protest the result of the presidential election in 2009. (AP/Ben Curtis)

Time to end a five-year crackdown in Iran

This Thursday, CPJ will launch a social media campaign calling for the end of the press crackdown that began on June 12, 2009, the day of Iran’s tumultuous presidential elections.

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G-7 acknowledges post-2015 agenda should include governance, human rights

New York, June 5, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the declaration today by leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations that democratic governance and human rights should be integral to the post-2015 development agenda.  The United Nations is seeking agreement on a broad set of sustainable development objectives to replace the Millennium…

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Press freedom is now el-Sisi’s choice

Egypt’s newly elected leader, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, will have to face many challenges as president, including the real crisis that confronts freedom of the press in the country. Things were never good for the press in Egypt, but they have worsened significantly since former President Mohamed Morsi was ousted last summer. As CPJ wrote in a…

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