Middle East & North Africa

  
European Union high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, shown here speaking to journalists in Brussels in 2023, told the European Parliament on April 23, 2024, that the European External Action Service was ‘appalled’ by the ‘unprecedented’ number of journalists and media workers killed in six months of the Israel-Gaza war. (Photo by John THYS / AFP)

CPJ welcomes call by EU’s Borrell on protecting journalists in Israel-Gaza war; urges further action by EU states

Brussels, April 23, 2024— The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Tuesday’s remarks by the European Union’s Josep Borrell about the need to protect journalists in the Israel-Gaza war and calls on all EU member states also to make or renew calls that both sides should respect international law during the conflict, take all measures to…

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Iran police

Iran arrests Kurdish editor-in-chief, Iranian cartoonist, sues several newspapers

Washington, D.C., April 19, 2024—Iranian authorities must immediately release Kurdish-Iranian journalist Rasoul Galehban and drop any charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Galehban, the publisher and the editor-in-chief of Urmiye24 Kurdish News, was arrested by the Iran’s Cyber Police Unit in the city of Urmia, in West Azerbaijan province, on April…

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Palestinian intelligence arrests journalist Khalil Dweeb in Bethlehem

New York, April 19, 2024—Palestinian authorities in the West Bank must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Khalil Dweeb, who has been detained since Tuesday, April 16, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Two Palestinian General Intelligence Service agents arrested Dweeb, a freelance camera operator who contributes to the Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera, on Tuesday after…

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Tunisian journalist Mohamed Boughaleb sentenced to 6 months in prison for defamation

New York, April 18, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Tunisian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release journalist Mohamed Boughaleb after he was convicted by a Tunis court of defamation and sentenced to six months in prison on Wednesday. “The sentencing of journalist Mohamed Boughaleb to six months in prison over social media posts…

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CPJ, others request update on Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah from UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 26 press freedom and human rights organizations in an April 17 letter to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) seeking updates regarding the urgent appeal filed on November 14, 2023, about the case of jailed Egyptian blogger Alaa Abdelfattah. The appeal was submitted by 34 organizations, including…

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Jeune Afrique journalist Farid Alilat is seen in an interview.

CPJ condemns expulsion of journalist Farid Alilat on arrival at Algiers airport

New York, April 15, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Algerian authorities to allow Farid Alilat, a journalist and Algerian citizen, to enter the country without fear of arrest, after he was denied entry at Algiers International Airport on Friday. Algerian police detained Alilat on arrival from Paris and questioned him for 11 hours about…

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CPJ seeks probe of Israeli attack on TV journalists wearing press insignia

Washington, D.C., April 12, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an independent investigation into the Israeli attack on journalists in Gaza working for the national public broadcaster of Turkey, Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). The attack critically injured TRT Arabi camera operator Sami Shehadeh, whose leg was later amputated. On Friday, four Palestinian…

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One year into Sudan’s civil war, its media faces grave threats

When fighting erupted in Sudan on April 15 of last year, local journalists quickly ran into difficulties reporting on the conflict roiling their country. As the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – former allies who jointly seized power in a 2021 coup – engaged in street battles, journalists were assaulted,…

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CPJ calls for probe of attack injuring 8 journalists at Gaza hospital

Washington, D.C., April 11, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an independent investigation into the Israeli attack on Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital that injured at least eight journalists on assignment. On Sunday, March 31, around 11:30 a.m., an Israeli strike hit a tent encampment outside of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza….

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CPJ calls on Jordan to free photojournalist Ahmad Mohsen

Beirut, April 10, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Jordanian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release freelance photojournalist Ahmad Mohsen, professionally known as Sherbel Dissi, from administrative detention and ensure journalists are allowed to freely cover events of public interest. On March 30, security forces arrested Mohsen alongside dozens of protesters while he was…

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