Middle East & North Africa

  

CPJ protests detention of journalist

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to protest the detention of Sudanese journalist Osman Merghani, a columnist for the Khartoum-based daily Al-Rai Al-Aam newspaper.

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Journalist syndicate proposes restrictions on photographers

New York, August 27, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) protests yesterday’s statement by the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, a professional press association based in the Gaza Strip, barring Palestinian and foreign journalists from photographing images of Palestinian children wearing military uniforms or carrying weapons. It is unclear how this ban will be enforced and whether…

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CPJ protests journalist’s prison sentence

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to protest the eight-month prison sentence handed down today against Tunisian journalist Abdullah Zouari, formerly with the banned Islamist weekly Al-Fajr.

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New York, August 12, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed that an Israeli reporter and his photographer came under Israel Defense Forces (IDF) gunfire yesterday in the West Bank town of Tulkarem. On August 11, Gideon Levy, of the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, his photographer, Miki Kratsman, their driver, and a representative from an…

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Iran: More newspapers closed

New York, August 9, 2002-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns yesterday’s court–ordered closure of two Iranian newspapers. This latest ruling brings to 52 the total number of publications that authorities have banned in Iran since April 2000. Tehran’s conservative Press Court yesterday banned the newly launched daily Ayineh-e-Jonoub (formerly a weekly), citing more than…

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CPJ protests government closure of Al-Jazeera’s Amman bureau

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly protests your government’s closure of the Amman bureau of the Qatar-based satellite television channel Al-Jazeera. On August 7, Information Minister Muhammad Adwan revoked the station’s license to operate in Jordan and barred its staff from working for the station in the country. The move came after a guest on that day’s broadcast of the debate program “Opposite Direction” criticized Jordan’s relationship with Israel.

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TV station under investigation

New York, August 7, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the investigation ordered yesterday by a state prosecutor in Lebanon into accusations that Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI), a private television station, is responsible for “inciting sectarian strife” and “disturbing general peace.” Under investigation are LBCI’s news editor, Jean Feghali, and…

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Publisher convicted

New York, August 2, 2002—On July 31, Abdullah Keskin, a Turkish publisher charged with “separatist propaganda” for publishing a U.S. journalist’s book about Turkey’s Kurdish minority population, was convicted and sentenced to a six-month prison sentence, which the court converted to a fine of about US$500. An Istanbul State Security Court ruled on Wednesday that…

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CPJ calls for investigation of photographer’s death

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by the death of Palestinian free-lance photographer Imad Abu Zahra, who was killed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) gunfire, and the subsequent failure to investigate the incident and safeguard journalists who cover the West Bank and Gaza.

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APPEALS COURT CONFIRMS NEWSPAPER CLOSUREEditor sentenced to six months in prison

New York, July 24, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly condemns the decision announced today by a Tehran appeals court confirming the banning of Norooz, Iran’s main reformist daily, and the six-month jail sentence handed down to the paper’s editor, Mohsen Mirdamadi. According to press reports and CPJ sources in Tehran, an appeals court…

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