Middle East & North Africa

Washington, D.C., March 9, 2020 — Algerian authorities should immediately release journalist and press freedom advocate Khaled Drareni, a correspondent for global press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) who has been in custody since March 7, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On February 21, 2020, Iraqi riot police in Baghdad’s Al-Kilani Square shot Ahmad al-Rubaye, an Iraqi photographer for the French news agency Agence France-Presse, with rubber pellets that hit his back, legs, and right shoulder, according to news reports, a statement by the local press freedom group Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, and the journalist, who spoke…

In early 2020, a journalist in Iran received a form from Iran’s National E-commerce Union, a nominally independent group that is close to the government, requesting their name, the news website they work for, and their IP address. “With all due respect,” it read, “provide the following information to prevent any potential problem during future…

Beirut, February 28, 2020 — Israeli authorities should release Palestinian journalist Mujahed Muflih and drop any charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On February 22, 2020, intelligence agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested and interrogated freelance economic reporter Mohammad Mosaed for several hours over recent social media posts critical of the government and suspended his social media accounts, according to a brief interview he had with the BBC Persian Service a few hours after…

Beirut, February 26, 2020 — Russian and Syrian military forces must ensure the safety of journalists and other civilians and hold those responsible for journalists’ deaths to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

In the evening of February 12, 2020, three unidentified individuals assaulted Mohammed Zbib, a reporter for the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, in the Beirut neighborhood of Hamra, according to news reports and a report by the journalist’s employer.

Elections are always problematic for journalists in Iran, as the government attempts to threaten the press into silence. The parliamentary elections on February 21 are no exception.

Beirut, February 12, 2020 — Iraqi authorities should conduct a swift and transparent investigation into the killing of Al-Rasheed TV chief executive officer Nizar Thanoun and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020.