Al-Sharqiya ordered closed in Baghdad
JANUARY 1, 2007 Posted: January 12, 2007 Al-Sharqiya CENSORED On January 1, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior ordered the closure of the privately owned Al-Sharqiya TV’s Baghdad office for fomenting sectarian violence and reporting false news. The immediate practical effect appeared nominal because Al-Sharqiya had previously closed the Baghdad office due to security concerns.
Facing record damages, Moroccan weeklys survival in doubt
New York, December 28, 2006—The publisher of the independent Moroccan weekly Le Journal Hebdomadaire and a former reporter have been ordered to pay the record damages awarded earlier this year in a controversial defamation suit. Publisher Aboubakr Jamaï said the award could jeopardize the magazine’s survival. Jamaï told CPJ that two court officials visited Le…
Sudanese journalists convicted for column on government perks
New York, December 27, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the criminal convictions on Tuesday of two Sudanese journalists in connection with a column critical of government perks. A criminal court in the capital, Khartoum, ordered Zuhayr al-Sarraj, former columnist for the private daily Al-Sahafa, to pay a fine of 5 million…
Sudanese journalists convicted for column on government perks
New York, December 27, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the criminal convictions on Tuesday of two Sudanese journalists in connection with a column critical of government perks. A criminal court in the capital, Khartoum, ordered Zuhayr al-Sarraj, former columnist for the private daily Al-Sahafa, to pay a fine of 5 million…
Magazine banned over religious jokes
New York, December 22, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the banning in Morocco of an independent magazine and the charges brought against its director and a reporter for publishing an article analyzing popular jokes about religion, sex, and politics. Driss Ksikes, the publisher and director of the weekly magazine Nichane, and reporter…
CPJ condemns murder of APTN cameraman
New York, December 12, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder today of an Associated Press Television News (APTN) cameraman in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Aswan Ahmed Lutfallah, 35, was gunned down by insurgents while filming clashes between Iraqi police and insurgents in the city’s al-Karama neighborhood, The Associated Press reported.
New law still threatens press freedoms
New York, July 12, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by Egypt’s newly amended press law that fails to honor a promise by President Hosni Mubarak to abolish prison for press offenses. The law also sharply increases fines for defamation. The amendments lift some minor restrictions on the media but still mandate…