Middle East & North Africa

  
People hold flags adopted by the new Syrian rulers, to celebrate after the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in Daraa in December 2024.

A year after Assad’s fall, Syrian journalists enjoy freedom but also new risks

One year after the toppling of Bashar al-Assad, whose family ruled Syria through iron and fire for five decades, journalists say they enjoy more freedom than ever but also uncertainty in the face of conflict as they wait for the introduction of new media laws.  CPJ’s interviews with 20 journalists and press groups found conditions…

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An Israeli soldier is photographed during a military escort looking out from an Israeli military outpost within the borders of the 'yellow line' in the Shujaiya neighborhood in the eastern part of Gaza City in the Gaza Strip, November 5, 2025.

‘Not journalism – theater’: Inside Israel’s press tours to Gaza

Nazareth, December 3, 2025 — Foreign correspondents entering Gaza under Israeli military escort describe conditions that prevent independent reporting and reinforce longstanding Committee to Protect Journalist concerns: escorted visits are not meaningful access and cannot satisfy Israel’s obligations under international law to enable independent newsgathering. Since the Israel-Gaza war began in October 2023, Israel has…

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National Resistance Forces (NRF) abducted Yemeni political commentator Adel Al-Nazili in southwestern Yemen.

UAE-backed paramilitary forces abduct political commentator in southwestern Yemen 

Washington, D.C., December 2, 2025 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate release of political commentator Adel al-Nazili, who rights groups and a family member say was abducted on November 18 from his home in Al-Mokha, southwestern Yemen, by the National Resistance Forces (NRF), paramilitary forces loyal to the internationally-recognised government and…

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The RSF advanced into El Fasher in late October after besieging the city for 18 months.

Sudanese journalist Taj al-Sir Ahmed Suleiman killed by RSF paramilitary in El-Fasher

New York, December 2, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an urgent investigation into the killing of journalist Taj al-Sir Ahmed Suleiman, director of the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) office in Sudan’s western city of El-Fasher, after reports that fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces executed him and his brother in their home….

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CPJ has provided more than $500,000 in humanitarian and professional assistance to Gaza’s press corps during the latest war.

CPJ’s lifeline for Palestinian journalists in Gaza

New York, December 2, 2025 — Since what human rights groups and UN experts agree is a genocide in Gaza began in October 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists has worked relentlessly to sustain the journalists documenting the deadliest war for the press ever recorded.  CPJ has spent more than $500,000 to provide both humanitarian…

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Algerian journalist Saad Bouakba is interviewed on Vision TV News. Authorities detained him after a complaint over his remarks.

Algerian authorities arrest journalist Saad Bouakba for comments on independence war

New York, December 1, 2025—Algerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release veteran columnist Saad Bouakba, who was arrested on November 27 on charges of defaming the late President Ahmed Ben Bella,  and drop all charges related to his journalism, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Bouakba was placed in detention in the capital Algiers…

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Sonia Dahmani is seen in a television interview prior to her arrest in May 2024

Tunisia frees prominent commentator Sonia Dahmani 

New York, November 27, 2025 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the Thursday release of Tunisian commentator and lawyer Sonia Dahmani, who had been held since May 2024 over comments made during a television appearance, and calls on authorities to clarify the conditions of her release and ensure she can work and move freely….

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Journalists inside the Press House headquarters in Gaza City during the last war.

Amid the loss of war, this media center stands by Gaza’s free press

For years, Bilal Jadallah was the quiet force defending independent journalism in the Gaza Strip — a mentor, protector, and the architect of rare safe spaces for Palestinian journalists working under constant threat. When he was killed in an Israeli strike on November 19, 2023, early on in the latest Israel-Gaza war, the loss reverberated…

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Soldiers lock a gate from the inside at Sde Teiman detention facility, after Israeli military police arrived at the site as part of an investigation into the suspected abuse of a Palestinian detainee.

Israeli journalist faces threats after reporting alleged sexual abuse of prisoner

Washington, DC, November 17, 2025 – The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores the escalating threats and harassment against Channel 12 Israeli journalist Guy Peleg in apparent retaliation for his reporting on the alleged abuse of a prisoner at an Israeli detention facility. Following his August 2024 exposé, which aired a leaked video allegedly showing Israeli…

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Reuters journalist Raneen Sawafta receives medical care following an Israeli settler9 attack near Nablus on November 8, 2025.

Surging Israeli settler violence hurts West Bank journalists

With settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank spiking, journalists are also facing more frequent and severe attacks.  So far in 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists has documented 11 attack incidents involving at least 23 Palestinian and international journalists by Israeli settlers — some alongside soldiers — compared with one attack on…

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