Middle East & North Africa

  

Hezbollah supporters beat Lebanese video journalist covering elections

Beirut, May 17, 2022 – Lebanese authorities must conduct a transparent investigation into the assault of video journalist Hussein Bassal by Hezbollah supporters while he was covering Sunday’s elections and allow all journalists to work freely without any fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Sunday, May 15, Bassal, who works…

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Iran detains female photojournalist, four female documentary filmmakers

Washington, D.C., May 16, 2022 — Iranian authorities must stop imprisoning and harassing female journalists and should allow all members of the press to cover the news freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Since May, Iranian authorities have arrested at least one female photojournalist and four female documentary filmmakers, according to news reports and two…

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Inspired by Shireen Abu Akleh, journalist Shatha Hanaysha was an eyewitness to her killing  

Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, whose body was laid to rest in Jerusalem Friday, was an inspiration to a generation of female Palestinian reporters – including one who witnessed Abu Akleh’s killing on May 11.  Shatha Hanaysha, a 29-year-old correspondent for news website Ultra Palestine and contributor to regional news website Middle East Eye, was next to Abu Akleh in the Israeli-occupied West…

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CPJ calls for international probe into Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing in West Bank

Beirut, May 12, 2022 –  Israeli and Palestinian authorities should ensure that the investigation into the killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is swift and transparent, that all evidence is shared with international investigators, and that those responsible are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Abu Akleh, a reporter…

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CPJ calls for swift, transparent investigation into shooting death of Al-Jazeera’s Shireen Abu Akleh while reporting in West Bank

Beirut, May 11, 2022 – Israeli and Palestinian authorities must conduct a swift, immediate, and transparent investigation into the killing of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank today, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Wednesday, May 11, Abu Akleh, a prominent Palestinian-American correspondent for Al-Jazeera Arabic, was fatally shot in…

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Omani journalist Mukhtar al-Hanai charged over corruption coverage

New York, May 6, 2022 – Oman authorities should drop all charges against journalist Mukhtar al-Hanai and allow the press to work freely and without fear of legal harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. The public prosecutor’s office in Muscat, the capital, informed al-Hanai, a reporter for the news website Atheer, on March…

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Sudanese military holding at least 3 journalists since early April

New York, May 4, 2022 – Sudanese military authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all journalists in custody and ensure that members of the press can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On April 5, military intelligence officers arrested reporter Mohamed Sulaiman al-Obied and photographers Mutaz al-Naeem Adam and Mohamed al-Fatih at…

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Imprisoned Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah’s sister Sanaa Seif: ‘Since the book is out, his voice is out too’

When Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah was re-arrested in September 2019 for sharing a tweet with allegations of wrongdoing by a state security officer, he ended up back in prison under the same watchful gaze of authorities who had warned him a few months prior to stop reporting, or he would “regret it.” However, Abdelfattah did…

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Iraqi Asayish forces obstruct 2 media crews covering Erbil protest

On April 26, 2022, forces with the Asayish intelligence agency harassed and obstructed two news crews covering a protest at a U.N. office in the northern Iraqi-Kurdish city of Erbil, according to news reports and journalists who spoke with CPJ. Protesters gathered at the U.N. building to demonstrate against Turkish military operations in the region,…

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Slovenian reporter Matej Kavčič arrested by Iraqi military

Beirut, April 27, 2022 – Iraqi authorities must immediately release journalist Matej Kavčič and ensure the foreign press can cover the country freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On April 20, soldiers with the Iraqi 20th Infantry Division arrested Kavčič, a Slovenian freelance reporter, at an army checkpoint in the northern city of…

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