Middle East & North Africa

  
CPJ
Gang members at a prison in Izalco shortly after a government-brokered truce. (Reuters/Ulises Rodriguez)

Why journalists need new ways to stay safe

After the Salvadoran online newsmagazine El Faro exposed a secret government deal with criminal gangs last month, its staff faced repercussions that illustrate the new and complicated risks facing journalists worldwide. El Faro’s report, which said the government provided more lenient treatment of imprisoned gangsters in exchange for the groups’ agreement to slow down their…

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Two Egyptian journalists attacked in Alexandria

New York, April 26, 2012–Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood assaulted two Egyptian journalists seeking to cover a public conference held on Tuesday in Alexandria by a presidential candidate of the brotherhood’s political party, according to news reports. 

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CPJ Journalist Security Guide

Covering the News in a Dangerous and Changing World By Frank Smyth/CPJ Senior Adviser for Journalist Security With updates from CPJ’s Emergencies Response Team

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Jordanian journalist arrested over critical article

New York, April 25, 2012–Jordanian journalist Jamal al-Muhtaseb has been detained since Monday on antistate charges after publishing an article alleging misconduct by the Royal Court, according to news reports. Al-Muhtaseb’s sister, the author of the article, was also arrested but was released the same day, news reports said.

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Palestinian TV wants US help retrieving seized transmitter

Wattan TV bills itself as the voice of the voiceless. But since the Israeli army gutted its Ramallah headquarters in a predawn raid two months ago, that voice has been reduced to a whisper.

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The Palestinian Authority has blocked at least eight websites from Internet users in the West Bank. Here, Palestinian youths go online at an Internet cafe. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)

Palestinian Authority blocks critical websites

New York, April 24, 2012–The Palestinian Authority has blocked up to eight critical news websites in the West Bank since February, according to a report released by an independent news agency on Monday.

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Police check journalist IDs outside the Formula One races on Sunday. Authorities have restricted and suppressed journalists in the run-up to the races. (AP/Hassan Ammar)

Bahrain cracks down on news around Formula One races

New York, April 23, 2012–Bahraini authorities, intent on suppressing coverage of the restive political conditions that were a backdrop to the Formula One Grand Prix in Manama on Sunday, arrested at least seven international journalists who were seeking to report on anti-government demonstrations, according to news reports.

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A follow-up: Two killed in Syria

After the publication of CPJ’s March 27, 2012, news alert on the deaths of Naseem Intriri and Walid Bledi during a Syrian military attack near the Turkish border, a human rights defender and diplomatic sources raised questions about the journalistic credentials of the deceased.

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CPJ

Internet giants submit to external free expression scrutiny

Journalists and bloggers in authoritarian countries have their work cut out thwarting governments that try to restrict their writing and reporting. The last thing they need to worry about is the provider of their publication platform helping authorities with censorship or surveillance. Cue the Global Network Initiative (GNI), a voluntary grouping of Internet companies, freedom…

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Police used sound grenades Wednesday to disperse an anti-government rally demanding the release of human rights activists in Manama. (Reuters/Darren Whiteside)

CPJ in joint call for release of bloggers, activists in Bahrain

CPJ is among 50 organizations that have signed a joint letter to Bahrain’s king calling for the release of detained bloggers, activists, and human rights defenders and to drop all charges that violate the right to peaceful expression ahead of the Formula One motor racing event to be held in Manama on April 22.

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