Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which formally ended a decades-long civil war between north and south, officially protects press freedom. However, Sudanese officials ignored these guarantees in practice. In February, the government reinstated formal censorship of the print news media, instructing local editors to submit each issue for pre-approval. Throughout the year, authorities confiscated newspapers and…
The September abduction of writer Slim Boukhdhir was a chilling reminder of the insecurity that critical journalists face in this North African nation. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in power since 1987, continued to operate a virtual police state, despite the moderate image his government vigorously promoted to the rest of the world.
Journalists worked in precarious conditions in which they were subjected to politicized criminal charges and censorship from government officials. A harsh press law set restrictions on coverage of the presidency, state security, and religion. Authorities kept particularly tight control on coverage of an insurgency led by tribal and religious figures in the northwestern Saada region.
New York, February 6, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Israel to return confiscated news footage of its navy allegedly firing on and boarding a ship on Thursday. Journalists who were on board say they filmed Israeli soldiers assaulting a passenger, and that they were later beaten after their equipment had been confiscated, a…
While covering a demonstration in Amman, Jordan, on January 9, 2009, against Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, riot police attacked an Al-Jazeera crew, the network reported. Bureau Chief Yassir Abu Hilala, and cameramen Malik al-Laham, Muhammad al-Huwaiti, and Safwan al-Awawida were all treated at a local hospital.
New York, February 2, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Cairo appeals court decision to strike down a one-year jail term against four editors, but condemns that the conviction stands for criticizing President Hosni Mubarak and his top aides.
New York, January 29, 2009–Journalists in at least three Iraqi cities were harassed on Wednesday as police, soldiers, prisoners, some government employees, and displaced persons kicked off the early voting phase of Iraq’s provincial councils elections, according to local and international news reports and journalists who spoke to CPJ.