IRAQ Iraq was an assignment of unending danger for the hundreds of journalists covering the world’s biggest news story. Journalist murders, deaths in crossfire, abductions, and detentions continued apace, reinforcing Iraq’s distinction as the most dangerous place in the world to work as a journalist and as one of the deadliest conflicts for media in…
ISRAEL and the OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY In August, Israel facilitated access to hundreds of foreign journalists to witness its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, even providing shuttle buses to the Jewish settlements that were being dismantled. Such cooperation with the press by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was rare the rest of the year. Journalists…
LEBANON n the popular uproar that followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri in February 2005, Lebanon’s press, already among the most vibrant in the Arab world, hoped for greater freedom. But a series of bomb attacks on journalists who dared criticize Syria and its Lebanese allies quickly demonstrated that the old order…
MOROCCO Morocco’s independent press has grown bigger and bolder in recent years, challenging taboos against criticizing the monarchy and questioning Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara. In March, journalists welcomed a promise by Minister of Communications Nabil Benabdallah to end imprisonment as a punishment for offenses under the kingdom’s stringent press laws. The minister’s pledge, however,…
SAUDI ARABIA Responding to international critics who linked Saudi terrorism to the lack of basic liberties in the kingdom, the government has loosened its shackles on the domestic press since the September 11, 2001, attacks, with local journalists seizing the initiative to produce more daring reports. Saudi newspapers now publish news accounts that would have…
TUNISIA Some Tunisian journalists had hoped that an influx of world business, media, and human rights figures attending a United Nations conference in Tunis in November might prompt the government to relax its grip on the local media. Instead, President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali’s 18-year-old administration ran true to form, stifling the critical press and…
UNITED STATES An investigation into the leak of a CIA officer’s identity erupted, with one reporter compelled to testify about his confidential source, another jailed for 85 days before she testified, and a high-level White House aide indicted on federal charges of perjury, false statements, and obstruction of justice. Confidentiality of sources was under attack…
YEMEN Yemen’s press found itself on the defensive as a string of chilling attacks occurred against a backdrop of armed conflict, economic upheaval, and public protests. The release of imprisoned editor Abdel Kareem al-Khawaini was a bright spot in an otherwise troubled year that saw harassment and violent attacks against journalists on the rise. President…
New York, February 15, 2006—The weekly Le Journal Hebdomadaire has accused Moroccan authorities of orchestrating protests against it for publishing a photograph of a French newspaper showing a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. The Casablanca-based newspaper said in a statement that for two days this week protesters have demonstrated against it and that two state-run…