Journalists Omar Radi and Imad Stitou detained overnight in Morocco
On July 5, 2020, police in Casablanca arrested Omar Radi and Imad Stitou, investigative journalists at the Moroccan Le Desk news website, for alleged “public intoxication and violence,” and detained them overnight, according to Le Desk and news reports. The journalists were held in police custody and then released on July 6 pending an investigation…
CPJ calls on Moroccan authorities to stop harassing Omar Radi
New York, July 2, 2020–Moroccan authorities must immediately stop harassing Omar Radi, investigative journalist at the news website Le Desk, and allow him to work and travel freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the National Brigade of Judicial Police in Casablanca summoned Radi to appear today in connection to an investigation into…
Majid Motalebzadeh arrested, charged with cybercrimes for economic reporting
Washington, D.C., June 29, 2020 – Iranian authorities should immediately drop charges against Majid Motalebzadeh, editor and reporter at the state-run Sedaye Eslahat newspaper, and release him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 20, Motalebzadeh appeared before the Cyber Crimes Court in Tehran after being summoned by the country’s Cyber Police Unit,…
At least 4 Egyptian journalists remain in detention since arrests in March and April
As of June 29, 2020, at least four Egyptian journalists who covered the COVID-19 pandemic remain in prison following their arrests in March and April, according to news reports and local journalists and lawyers who spoke to CPJ. On March 15, state security officers arrested Atef Hassaballah el-Sayed, editor-in-chief of local newspaper al-Qarar al-Dawly, at…
At least 5 journalists sentenced to jail in Iran since early June
Since the beginning of June, Iranian authorities have sentenced at least five journalists to prison sentences for their work, according to news reports and social media posts by the journalists. On June 1, Branch 46 of Tehran’s Court of Appeals sentenced Majid Motalebzadeh, editor of the state-run Sedaye Eslahat newspaper, and Hadi Kasaeizadeh, the former…
Algerian journalist Ali Djamel Toubal sentenced to 2 years in prison over Facebook posts
New York, June 22, 2020 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed dismay at the one-day trial and sentencing of Algerian journalist Ali Djamel Toubal and called for his immediate release. On June 17, a state prosecutor summoned Toubal, a reporter for the independent daily newspaper Ennahar, to the Mohammadia Court in the city…
Militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham assaults at least 12 Syrian journalists covering joint Russian-Turkish military patrol in Idlib
On June 10, 2020, several members of the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Al-Qaeda offshoot previously known as Al-Nusra Front, hit and kicked at least 12 Syrian journalists while they were covering a joint Turkish-Russian military patrol on the M4 Highway, which links Latakia and Aleppo, according to four of the journalists who…
Iraqi Kurdistan attorney general calls for closure of NRT broadcaster
New York, June 22, 2020 — Authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan should allow the NRT broadcaster to cover the news freely and without official harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 15, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s attorney general’s office sent a letter to the Iraqi Culture Ministry calling for the closure of NRT’s…
Family of imprisoned journalist Alaa Abdelfattah assaulted in Egypt
New York, June 22, 2020—In response to news reports that unidentified women assaulted the family of imprisoned journalist Alaa Abdelfattah outside Tora prison in Cairo today, as prison authorities watched, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Egyptian authorities must hold accountable those who beat, robbed, and forcibly removed Alaa Abdelfattah’s family from…
Iraqi security forces harass 3 journalists in Kirkuk; Kurdish Iraqi police detain 1 over defamation lawsuit in Erbil
On June 9, 2020, Iraqi security forces in the northeastern Iraqi city of Kirkuk prevented Azad Shakur, a reporter for the Kurdish Iraqi broadcaster Gali Kurdistan, and Diyar Mohammed, a reporter for the Kurdish Iraqi broadcaster NRT, from reaching their workplaces and threatened to break the camera of Hazhar Rasheed, a reporter for Shafaq News…