Middle East & North Africa

  

Iranian journalist Hassan Shanbehzadeh, others imprisoned ahead of presidential election

Washington, D.C., June 11, 2024—Iranian authorities must immediately release blogger and book editor Hassan Shanbehzadeh and drop the espionage charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Officers with the Iranian Cyber Police arrested Shanbehzadeh on espionage charges in the northwestern city of Ardabil, in Ardabil province, on Thursday, June 6. His social…

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A fighter holds up a gun backdropped by the minaret of a mosque and the sun.

Sudanese journalist Makawi Mohamed Ahmed and brother killed during RSF attack

New York, June 6, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is shocked by reports that journalist Makawi Mohamed Ahmed, a reporter at the official state news agency of Sudan (SUNA), and his brother Shamseddine Mohamed Ahmed were killed by the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during its Wednesday attack on the village of…

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Israeli nationalists, including far-right activists, shout and dance at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem on June 5, 2024, during the Jerusalem Day Flag March. (Photo: AFP/Gil Cohen-Magen)

Two journalists harassed, assaulted and detained during Flag March in Jerusalem

New York, June 6, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the harassment and assault of Palestinian journalist Saif Kwasmi and Israeli journalist Nir Hasson during yesterday’s Jerusalem Day Flag March and urged Israeli authorities to identify the attackers and hold them to account. During the annual Jerusalem Day Flag March, which commemorates…

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Palestinian journalist Abu Bakr Bashir covers a Japanese cultural event in Khan Yunis, Gaza, for Japan’s JIJI PRESS. (Photo: Courtesy of Abu Bakr Bashir)

I was a journalist in Gaza. The place I call home is gone now.

I was 13 when my father moved our family from Libya back to my parents’ hometown of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. It was 1994, a time of optimism. Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization had signed the Oslo Accords and Palestinians were heading toward an independent state. Gaza, with its successful businesspeople and its…

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On Tuesday, June 4, soldiers with the Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces raided journalist Abdel Razek’s home in the el-Dorshab neighborhood north of Khartoum and shot him dead along with three of his family members. (Photo: Ezzeldin Arbab)

CPJ urges investigation into killing of Sudanese journalist Muawiya Abdel Razek, 3 family members after RSF raid

New York, June 5, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Sudanese authorities to launch a full investigation into the killing of journalist Muawiya Abdel Razek, hold those responsible to account, and ensure journalists are not treated as targets in the country’s ongoing civil war. On Tuesday, June 4, soldiers with the Sudanese paramilitary…

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CPJ calls for immediate release of Sudanese journalist Tariq Abdallah

New York, June 3, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that the Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) detained journalist Tariq Abdallah almost two weeks ago, and calls for his immediate release. “CPJ strongly denounces the Rapid Support Forces’ detention of Sudanese journalist Tariq Abdallah and finds it unacceptable…

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An image of journalists Borhen Bssais (left) and Mourad Zghidi (right).

Tunis court sentences 2 journalists to 1 year in prison, prevents hearing coverage

New York, May 23, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Tunisian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release radio journalists Borhen Bssais and Mourad Zghidi after a Tunis court convicted them on May 22 of defamation and spreading false news, and sentenced them to one year in prison. “CPJ is deeply concerned that…

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FAQ: How CPJ documents journalist deaths in the war

How many journalists have died since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7? Dozens have died; see an updated list here. How do these numbers compare to prior conflicts? There have been more journalists killed in the first 10 weeks of the Israel-Gaza war than in any other similar period of conflict since CPJ started recording such deaths in…

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Q&A: Journalist Shrouq Al Aila on what cameras can’t show about the war in Gaza

Gaza journalists Shrouq Al Aila and Roshdi Sarraj were on a work trip in Saudi Arabia last fall when their home became a war zone. The married couple quickly returned to Gaza to report and to be with their community. But Sarraj, the founder of local production company Ain Media, would only manage to produce…

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Jordanians protest

Syrian student journalist Atia Abu Salem on hunger strike in Jordanian prison

Istanbul, May 22, 2024—Jordanian authorities must immediately release Syrian student journalist Atia Abu Salem, revoke the deportation order against him, and stop censoring members of the press because of their reporting on the Israel-Gaza war, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On April 9, Jordanian security forces arrested Abu Salem, a Syrian student at…

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