Syrian journalist detained without explanation, held by Turkish intelligence
Editor’s note: Bakr al-Kassem was released without charge on September 2, according to media reports. Beirut, August 27, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Monday’s detention of freelance journalist Bakr al-Kassem in northern Syria and his transfer to Turkish intelligence custody, and calls for his immediate release. “We are deeply concerned that Syrian opposition…
CPJ, others urge EU to act against Israel’s unprecedented journalist killings, press freedom violations
The Committee to Protect Journalists and 59 partners on Monday, August 26, wrote to EU High Representative Josep Borrell, European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, and EU member state foreign ministries asking that the EU “take action against the Israeli authorities’ unprecedented killing of journalists and other violations of media freedom.” The letter condemns widespread and…
2 journalists killed, 1 injured in drone strike in Iraqi Kurdistan
Sulaymaniyah, August 23, 2024—A suspected Turkish drone strike killed two journalists and injured another in the Said Sadiq district of Sulaymaniyah province on Friday. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic August 23 drone strike that killed two journalists and injured a third in Iraqi Kurdistan,” said Yeganeh Rezaian, CPJ’s interim MENA program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Turkish authorities should swiftly…
Iraqi security forces assault 2 news crews covering protests
Sulaymaniyah, August 20, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iraqi security forces to explain the assault of two TV crews while they were covering protests in separate parts of the country. “CPJ is deeply concerned by the attacks on the Zoom News TV crew in Sulaymaniyah and the Alsumaria TV crew in Baghdad,” said…
CPJ denounces Israel’s smearing of killed Palestinian journalists with unsubstantiated ‘terrorist’ labels
The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Israel to stop making unproven claims that journalists slain by its forces are terrorists or engaging in militant activity, and demands international, swift, and independent investigations into these killings. “Even before the start of the Israel-Gaza war, CPJ had documented Israel’s pattern of accusing journalists of being terrorists…
CPJ concerned about safety of Al Jazeera Gaza reporter Anas al-Sharif after IDF comments
The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the safety of Al Jazeera Arabic northern Gaza correspondent Anas al-Sharif after an Israel Defense Forces’ spokesperson accused him of “presenting a lie” in his coverage of Israel’s August 10 airstrike that killed dozens of Gazans in a school building housing Palestinians displaced by the war. …
Al Jazeera journalists Ismail Al Ghoul and Rami Al Refee killed in Gaza
The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Israel to explain the killing of Al Jazeera Gaza correspondent Ismail Al Ghoul and camera operator Rami Al Refee in an Israeli airstrike west of Gaza City on Wednesday. “CPJ is dismayed by the news that Al Jazeera TV reporter Ismail Al Ghoul and cameraman Rami Al Refee…
Cyberattackers use easily available tools to target media sites, threaten press freedom
When exiled Russian news website Meduza was hit with a flood of internet traffic in mid-April, it set off alarm bells among the staff as the deluge blocked publishing for more than four hours and briefly rendered the site inaccessible for some readers. It was the largest distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) attack in…
Iraqi Kurdistan court sentences Syrian journalist to 3 years
Update: Since publication of this alert, the Kurdistan Region Court of Appeals overturned Ahmed’s conviction on January 6, 2025, and ordered his immediate release. Following his release on January 20, Ahmed crossed the Iraqi Kurdistan border into Syria to see his family, according to his lawyers and family. In October 2024, United Nations experts sent…
Sudanese military arrests journalist after he criticized governor on water crisis, sources say
New York, July 24, 2024—Sudanese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release freelance journalist Omar Mohamed Omar, who was arrested on July 17 by the General Intelligence Service of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and allow members of the press to work safely and freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. “We are alarmed by…