Middle East & North Africa Archives - Page 94 of 457 - Committee to Protect Journalists

CPJ, 80 media and rights groups urge African heads of state to release jailed journalists

April 6, 2020 2:14 PM EDT

CPJ and 80 media, press freedom, and human rights organizations write to African heads of state to call on their respective governments to release all jailed journalists amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Police officers are seen in Algiers, Algeria, on March 6, 2020. Three newspaper staffers were recently arrested over a report on the coronavirus pandemic in Algeria. (Reuters/Ramzi Boudina)

Three newspaper staffers charged with ‘attack on national unity’ over COVID-19 report in Algeria

April 6, 2020 1:55 PM EDT

On April 1, 2020, officers of Algeria’s National Gendarmerie arrested three employees of the privately owned Essawt El-Akhar daily newspaper and interrogated them about a story the paper published that day about the COVID-19 pandemic, according to news reports and Abdelrahman Saleh, the employees’ lawyer, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

A police cruiser is seen on the outskirts Manama, Bahrain, on March 13, 2020. CPJ joined a letter calling on Bahrain to release all its imprisoned journalists. (AFP/Mazen Mahdi)

CPJ joins letter calling on Bahrain to release all journalists, citing COVID-19

April 6, 2020 1:25 PM EDT

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined other human rights and free expression organizations in a letter calling on the Bahraini government to release all imprisoned journalists and other political prisoners.

A medical worker is seen at Basra University Hospital, in southern Iraqi, on April 1, 2020. Iraq's media regulator recently suspended Reuters' license for three months over a report on the COVID-19 pandemic. (AFP/Hussein Faleh)

Iraqi regulator suspends Reuters’ license for 3 months over COVID-19 report

April 3, 2020 10:25 AM EDT

New York, April 3, 2020 — Iraqi authorities should immediately reinstate the license of the Reuters news agency, and allow all media outlets to cover the COVID-19 pandemic freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Police are seen in Gaza City on March 31, 2020. Police in Gaza recently arrested Palestinian cartoonist Ismael el-Bozom. (AFP/Mohammed Abed)

Hamas security forces repeatedly detain Palestinian cartoonist Ismael el-Bozom

April 2, 2020 12:20 PM EDT

New York, April 2, 2020 — Hamas-affiliated authorities should stop their campaign of harassment against Palestinian cartoonist Ismael el-Bozom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

The office of Lebanese journalist Shuaib Zakaria is seen after being shot 30 times by unidentified attackers on March 19, 2020. (Shuaib Zakaria)

Unidentified attackers shoot at office of Lebanese journalist Shuaib Zakaria

April 1, 2020 3:55 PM EDT

In the evening of March 29, 2020, unidentified assailants fired dozens of bullets at the house and office of Shuaib Zakaria, a reporter for local broadcaster Radio Delta North and the news website Madinati, in the village of Fnaidek, in the northern Lebanese governorate of Akkar, according Zakaria, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app,…

A man reads newspapers in Tehran, Iran, on January 4, 2020. The country recently banned all newspaper printing and distribution, citing fears of spreading COVID-19. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

Iran bans printing of all newspapers, citing spread of coronavirus

March 31, 2020 4:50 PM EDT

Washington, D.C., March 31, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over Iranian authorities’ decision to suspend all newspaper printing and distribution in the country, where newsgathering and distribution is already tightly restricted.

A police officer is seen in Algiers, Algeria, on March 19, 2020. Algerian authorities recently imprisoned journalist and RSF correspondent Khaled Drareni. (AP/Toufik Doudou)

Journalist and RSF correspondent Khaled Drareni imprisoned in Algeria

March 27, 2020 5:00 PM EDT

New York, March 27, 2020 — Algerian authorities should drop all charges against journalist Khaled Drareni and release him from prison immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Security forces are seen in Sulaimaniya, Iraqi Kurdistan, on March 14. 2020. Unidentified individuals recently tortured and robbed journalist Adnan Rashidi in Iraqi Kurdistan. (Reuters/Ako Rasheed)

Journalist Adnan Rashidi tortured, robbed in Iraqi Kurdistan

March 26, 2020 3:00 PM EDT

New York, March 26, 2020 — Authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the torture and robbery of journalist Adnan Rashidi and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Members of a civil defense team disinfect the homes of people infected with coronavirus in Kirkuk, Iraq, on February 26, 2020. Security officers in Kurkuk recently confiscated the belongings of journalist Azad Shakur for allegedly violating a COVID-19 curfew. (Reuters/Ako Rasheed)

Iraqi security forces seize journalist’s belongings for allegedly violating COVID-19 curfew

March 26, 2020 1:10 PM EDT

On March 24, 2020, Iraqi National Security Forces officers stopped Azad Shakur, a reporter for the Iraqi Kurdish broadcaster Gali Kurdistan, and seized his belongings for allegedly violating a lockdown imposed to restrict the spread of the COVID-19 virus, according to Shakur, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview, and a report by the…