Middle East & North Africa

  

Judiciary bans another newspaper

New York, June 28, 2000 — A clerical court in Tehran has ordered the indefinite closure of one of the country’s last remaining pro-reform newspapers, bringing to 20 the number of papers closed by Iranian courts over the past two months. On Sunday, June 25, Iran’s Special Court for Clergy, a conservative tribunal that operates…

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Israel: Killing of BBC driver in south Lebanon either deliberate or reckless, finds CPJ

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its deep concern about the recent death of Abed Takkoush, a driver for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Takkoush was killed by Israeli shellfire in southern Lebanon on May 23 during Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

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Palestine: Police detain journalist

Dear Gen. Jebali: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its profound concern about the ongoing detention of Maher al-Alami, a Palestinian free-lance journalist who writes frequently for the weekly Al-Istiqlal.

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King amnesties convicted journalists

Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in MOROCCO New York, June 2, 2000 — Morocco’s King Muhammad VI issued a royal pardon last Sunday annulling the prison sentences and other penalties recently imposed on two journalists for allegedly libeling Foreign Minister Muhammad Benaissa, the Committee to Protect Journalists has learned.

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Palestine: Open season on broadcast media

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to protest recent attempts by the Palestinian National Authority to silence private broadcast media in the West Bank.

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Tunisia: London-based journalist on hunger strike to protest government travel ban against his family

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its deep concern for Noureddine Aouididi, a London-based Tunisian journalist whose family has been denied the right to travel outside Tunisia. We fear that these restrictions have been imposed in reprisal for Aouididi’s journalistic work.

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CPJ Condemns Assassination Attempt on Tunisian Journalist Riad Ben Fadhel Seriously Wounded in Drive-by Shooting Outside His Home

Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in TUNISIA New York, May 26, 2000–The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today condemned Tuesday’s assassination attempt against Tunisian journalist Riad Ben Fadhel, which occurred only days after the journalist published an article criticizing Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

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Local journalist freed as Israeli forces withdraw from South Lebanon; BBC driver killed by shellfire

Read an account of the shelling incident in The Financial Times and in the BBC New York, May 23, 2000 — A Lebanese free-lance reporter was freed today after nine months in detention, as Israeli troops pushed ahead with their accelerated withdrawal from occupied southern Lebanon, Lebanese sources told CPJ today.

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Morocco: Censorship, criminal prosecution of journalists on the rise

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about government restrictions on press freedom in Morocco this year. During the past four months, Moroccan authorities have taken several punitive measures against the press, including the censorship of newspapers and the criminal prosecution of journalists.

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TAOUFIK BEN BRIK ENDS 43-DAY HUNGER STRIKE

New York, May 16, 2000 —Tunisian journalist Taoufik Ben Brik, who went 43 days without food to protest government harassment, ended his hunger strike yesterday in Paris, where he has been staying since leaving Tunisia on May 4. Ben Brik had vowed to continue his strike until Tunisian authorities released his brother Jalal Zoughlami, who…

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