Middle East & North Africa

  

Security forces in Aden detain Yemeni journalist Ahmed Maher 

Update: On May 28, 2024, the Aden-based Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) sentenced journalist Ahmad Maher to four years in prison on charges of spreading false information, misleading news, and forging identity documents. Maher spent almost two years in detention before his sentencing.  New York, August 16, 2022 – Yemeni forces affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council should immediately release freelance…

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Journalist Salah Attia detained in Tunisia since June arrest

New York, August 12, 2022 – Tunisian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Salah Attia and ensure that journalists in the country can work without the threat of imprisonment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On June 11, plainclothes security officers arrested Attia, founder and editor-in-chief of local independent news website Al-Ray al-Jadid, from…

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Iraqi Kurdish authorities detain, raid, harass journalists and media outlets covering protests 

Beirut, August 9, 2022 – Iraqi Kurdistan authorities should immediately cease detaining and harassing journalists and media workers and allow them to report on political unrest freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On August 5 and August 6, Asayish security forces in several locations in Iraqi Kurdistan interfered with the work…

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CPJ joins call for Biden administration to withhold $300 million in military aid to Egypt

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 19 other civil society organizations on Monday, August 8, in an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, urging the Biden administration not to provide its full proposed military aid to Egypt due to the country’s treatment of journalists and…

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Israeli authorities order 4-month detention of Palestinian journalist Amer Abu Arafa, block TRT reporter Majdoleen Hassouna from leaving West Bank

New York, August 5, 2022 – Israeli authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Amer Abu Arafa and allow reporters to travel freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On August 1, the Ofer Israeli Military Court ordered Abu Arafa, a correspondent for the London-based Quds Press News Agency, to be held in administrative…

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Lebanese photojournalist Hasan Shaaban beaten, threatened with death

Beirut, August 4, 2022 – Lebanese authorities should immediately investigate the assault of journalist Hasan Shaaban and threats made against him, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On the evening of Wednesday, August 3, a group of men in the village of Beit Yahoun, in southern Lebanon, attacked…

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Rudaw reporter Barzan Ferman detained in northern Syria

Washington, D.C., August 3, 2022 – Authorities in northern Syria should immediately release journalist Barzan Ferman and reverse their suspension of the Rudaw Media Network’s license, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. At about noon on Tuesday, August 2, forces affiliated with the Democratic Union Party, the political party in power in the Autonomous Administration…

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Iraqi journalists injured by security forces while covering Baghdad protests

Beirut, August 2, 2022 — Iraqi authorities should allow journalists to cover protests freely and safely, and should ensure that security forces do not attack members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Saturday, July 30, three journalists with the privately owned Al-Mayadeen news broadcaster were injured while they covered protests…

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Yemeni journalist Tawfiq al-Mansouri health critical in Houthi detention

New York, August 1, 2022 – Members of Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement should release journalist Tawfiq al-Mansouri immediately and ensure he receives proper medical treatment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Forces affiliated with the Ansar Allah movement, known as the Houthis, detained al-Mansouri, a graphic designer for the Al-Masdar newspaper and other outlets,…

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Iraqi Kurdish authorities arrest NRT TV crew in Sulaymaniyah

Washington, D.C., August 1, 2022 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalists Karzan Tariq and Chenar Ahmed and cease harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On the morning of Monday, August 1, members of the Asayish intelligence agency detained Tariq, a reporter for the local broadcaster…

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