Four editors sentenced to jail
New York, September 13, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Cairo court’s ruling today that sentences four independent editors to one-year jail terms for publishing “false information.” Editors Ibrahim Eissa of the daily Al-Dustour, Wael al-Abrashy of the weekly Sawt al-Umm, Adel Hammouda of the weekly Al-Fajr, and Abdel Halim Kandil, former editor of…
Egyptian editor questioned over reports about Mubarak’s health
New York, September 6, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the case of a leading independent Egyptian editor who is being investigated by a state security prosecutor for reporting about the allegedly declining health of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Ibrahim Eissa, editor of the independent daily Al-Dustour, was questioned for several hours…
Yemeni editor abducted, severely beaten
New York, August 27, 2007–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the abduction and brutal beating of a Yemeni editor by gunmen in Sana’a today. The local journalists CPJ spoke with suspected the gunmen are part of the government’s security forces. A silver Toyota SUV carrying six gunmen wearing civilian clothing descended upon Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani,…
Kuwaiti editors arrested after alleged insult is posted on Web forum
New York, August 22, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the arrest of two Kuwaiti journalists by the state security services in Kuwait City on Saturday. State security officers arrested Bashar al-Sayegh, an editor for the daily newspaper Al-Jarida, by order of the general prosecutor’s office, said Hussein al-Abdallah, the journalist’s attorney.…
Casablanca court hands down prison sentences against two journalists
New York, August 15, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the prison sentences handed down today against two Moroccan journalists who published a secret government document about terrorist threats against Morocco. Abderrahim Ariri, publisher of the Moroccan weekly Al-Watan Al An, and Mustafa Hormatallah, a journalist for the paper, were convicted by a criminal court…
AP journalist abducted in Iraq’s Diyala province
New York, August 8, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the abduction last month of an Associated Press journalist by masked gunmen in Iraq’s eastern province of Diyala. On July 28, gunmen kidnapped Talal Mohammed, 40, a reporter and photographer for The Associated Press, and an unnamed friend near Diyala province’s capital of Baqubah, the AP reported.…
In Iraq, charges dropped against detained media workers
New York, August 7, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Monday’s decision by a criminal court in Baghdad to dismiss the charge of incitement to terror against 11 current and former employees of the independent Iraqi production company Wasan Media. A source at Wasan Media familiar with the case told CPJ that the judge threw…
Iranian journalist sentenced to death in closed trial
New York, August 6, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the death sentence handed down in mid-July by a revolutionary court against Adnan Hassanpour, a journalist and former editor for the now-defunct Kurdish-Persian weekly Aso in Iran’s northwestern province of Kurdistan. Iranian Kurdish environmental activist Abdulvahed Butimar was also convicted and sentenced to death. Hassanpour…
Morocco: Government confiscates newsweeklies, charges publisher
New York, August 6, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Moroccan government’s seizure of the editions of two independent newsweeklies over the weekend. Authorities alleged that the magazines disrespected King Mohammed VI and violated public morality. On Saturday, Moroccan police seized copies of the Arabic-language weekly Nichane from newsstands and other locations around…