SANA’A, Yemen — Newspaper editor Jamal Amer arrived home just before dawn last August 23 after closing the latest edition of his independent weekly, Al-Wasat. A shout pierced the morning calm as Amer got out of his car, and, within moments, a man in a military jacket and traditional head scarf bundled the editor into…
SAUDI ARABIA Responding to international critics who linked Saudi terrorism to the lack of basic liberties in the kingdom, the government has loosened its shackles on the domestic press since the September 11, 2001, attacks, with local journalists seizing the initiative to produce more daring reports. Saudi newspapers now publish news accounts that would have…
OverviewBy Joel Campagna The conflict in Iraq led to a harrowing number of press attacks in 2004, with local journalists and media support workers primarily in the line of fire. Twenty-three journalists and 16 support staff—drivers, interpreters, fixers, and guards—were killed while on the job in Iraq in 2004. In all, 36 journalists and 18…
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia’s press is among the most heavily censored in the Arab world, but it has shown occasional signs of life since September 11, 2001. Some Saudi newspapers have demonstrated unusual boldness, publishing tough critiques of religious militancy and low-level government mismanagement and calling for reform.
JANUARY 8, 2005 Posted: January 27, 2005 Mohamed al-Oshen, Al-Mohayed IMPRISONED Al-Oshen, editor-in-chief of the Riyadh-based Islamist weekly Al-Mohayed, was detained on January 8 by Saudi security forces. A local source told CPJ that Al-Mohayed had recently published material that harshly attacked the Saudi government, as well as articles that criticized it for not taking…