Middle East & North Africa

Beirut, August 25, 2023 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Islam Kashani, disclose the reasons for his arrest and the raid on his home, and ensure the press can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Thursday, August 24, Asayish intelligence agents arrested Kashani, a host on the…

New York, August 23, 2023 – Egyptian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Gamal Abdelhamid Ziada and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Tuesday, August 22, plainclothes state security forces arrested Ziada, the father of Belgium-based freelance Egyptian journalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada, on a street in Giza, according…

New York, August 23, 2023 – The Committee to Protect Journalists called for Algerian authorities to immediately release journalist Mustapha Bendjama on Wednesday, after a prosecutor requested that he be sentenced to three years in prison. “By requesting a three-year prison sentence for journalist Mustapha Bendjama, the Algerian government is demonstrating its brutal intolerance for…

Washington, D.C., August 21, 2023—Iranian authorities must immediately release documentary filmmaker Mojgan Ilanlou and cease jailing members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.  On Sunday, August 20, Illanlou responded to a summons from Tehran’s intelligence police. When she arrived at the police headquarters, authorities arrested her and transferred…

New York, August 20, 2023 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to immediately release journalist Karim Asaad following his arrest on Saturday, August 19. “By arresting Karim Asaad, the Egyptian government has once again demonstrated its shameful dedication to cracking down on independent journalism and press freedom in the country,” said…

Washington, D.C., August 16, 2023—Iranian authorities must release journalist Ali Moslehi from prison immediately and cease jailing members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.  On July 20, intelligence agents arrested Moslehi, a political columnist for the local news website KashanNews, at his home in the central city of…

Beirut, August 15, 2023—In response to Jordanian authorities passing a new cybercrime law that threatens press freedom online, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “The new cybercrime law approved by Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein is alarming, and could see journalists facing harsh prison terms and huge fines over…

Washington, D.C., July 24, 2023 –  The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the continuation of the closed-door trials of journalists Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, who were among the first journalists to report on the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. “CPJ stands in solidarity with Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe…

Washington, D.C., July 24, 2023 — Iranian authorities must release journalist Seyed Mostafa Jaffari from prison immediately and stop jailing members of the press for reporting on issues of public interest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.  On Monday, July 24, security forces arrested Jaffari in the central city of Qazvin on charges filed…

Beirut, July 21, 2023 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities should immediately disclose the whereabouts of journalist Omed Baroshky and ensure journalists are not arrested for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On the evening of Thursday, July 20, Asayish security forces raided Baroshky’s home in the northwest city of Duhok and arrested him,…