CPJ urges Qatar to reconsider cybercrime bill
Dear Prime Minister Hamad: We are writing to express our concern about the cybercrime bill approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, which would restrict online expression on news websites and social media. We ask you to postpone its submission to the Shura Council and consult with media, legal, and human rights representatives to ensure that its provisions do not infringe on freedom of expression.
Algeria blocks two newspapers from publishing
Algeria’s Ministry of Communications on May 18, 2013, ordered two newspapers, the daily Mon Journal and its Arabic counterpart Djaridati, to remove two pages from their next day’s editions that focused on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s health, according to news reports.
Medill digital security guide helps fill journalism void
One day, every journalism school in the United States and beyond will offer a full three-credit, 15-week course in digital safety, along with more advanced classes. But that day has not yet come. Only a year ago, Alysia Santo reported in the Columbia Journalism Review that no American journalism school offered formal digital safety training.…
Facebook joins Global Network Initiative
With more than a billion users, Facebook is not only the biggest global social network but also an increasingly important forum for journalists. In some repressive countries it has even served as a publishing platform for journalists whose newspapers or news websites have been closed down. That is why journalists and bloggers should note today’s…
In Iran, news coverage stifled amid election controversy
New York, May 21, 2013–Internet access has slowed, critical websites have been blocked, and several journalists have been summoned back to prison in Iran as the country’s Guardian Council made a key decision today barring two leading candidates from the presidential election. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the broad efforts to deny Iranian citizens…
Iraqi journalist threatened for reporting on corruption
New York, May 21, 2013–Iraqi authorities must launch an investigation into a May 14 episode in which a group of armed men raided the home of a journalist and briefly abducted his brother. The journalist, Azhar Shallal, had recently written about alleged corruption.
Bahrain’s “Blogfather” emerges from hiding
For two years, Bahrainis have been asking “Where is Ali Abdel Imam?” And now finally, they have an answer. The prominent opposition blogger suddenly emerged from hiding last week, announcing he had been granted asylum in the United Kingdom, news sources reported. He had not been heard from since March 17, 2011, when he cryptically…