Syria / Middle East & North Africa

  
People are seen in Tal Abyad, Syria, on October 17, 2019. Authorities in the region recently suspended reporter Vivian Fatah’s press credentials for two months. (Reuters/Khalil Ashawi)

Regional authorities in northeast Syria suspend Rudaw TV reporter’s credentials for 2 months

New York, May 11, 2020 — Authorities in northeastern Syria should reverse their suspension of reporter Vivian Fatah’s press credentials and allow all journalists to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Syrian journalist Abdul Nasser Haj Hamdan was killed in Ma’arat al-Naasan on February 20. (Media Office in Binnish)

Syrian photographer Abdul Nasser Haj Hamdan killed in Russian airstrike

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.

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Syrian army soldiers are seen in Maarat al-Numan on January 30, 2020. At least five Syrian journalists were recently injured while embedded with Syrian government forces. (Reuters/Omar Sanadiki)

Five Syrian journalists injured while covering clashes in Aleppo and Idlib

Five Syrian journalists embedded with forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad were injured in two incidents, on January 29 and February 2, 2020, in the northwestern Syrian governorates of Idlib and Aleppo, according to news reports and reports by their employers.

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Flowers cover the coffin of Mexican journalist Jorge Celestino Ruiz Vazquez, who was killed in Veracruz in August. Ruiz is one of at least five journalists murdered in retaliation for their work in Mexico in 2019. (Reuters/Oscar Martinez)

Number of journalists killed falls sharply as reprisal murders hit record low

As wars subsided and a record low number of journalists were murdered in reprisal for reporting, the total number of journalists killed because of their work fell sharply in 2019. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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Travelers are seen at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia on February 15, 2016. Syrian Kurdish journalist Himbervan Kousa was recently arrested at the airport. (Reuters/Lai Seng Sin)

Syrian Kurdish journalist Himbervan Kousa arrested at Kuala Lumpur airport

Beirut, December 10, 2019 — Malaysian authorities should disclose their reasons for holding Syrian Kurdish journalist Himbervan Kousa or release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter stands in a street in the border town of Tal Abyad, in Syria, on October 27, 2019. Military action in Syria has increased risks for journalists. (Reuters/Khalil Ashawi)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering Rojava and northern Syria

Following Turkey’s military incursion into northern Syria in October, dozens of local and international journalists have reported on developments from the region. The military action has increased risks for journalists, with at least three killed during Turkish airstrikes last month, according to CPJ research.

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Residents and a rescue worker carry the body of a man killed in an airstrike in Kfar Rumah, in Syria's Idlib province, on November 10, 2019. A journalist for the Kafr Rumah Media Office was killed during shelling in the town. (AFP/Abdulaziz Ketaz)

Syrian photojournalist al-Yousef killed as forces shell southern Idlib

Beirut, November 11, 2019—The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the killing of Syrian journalist Abdul Hameed al-Yousef and urged all sides in the Syrian conflict to guarantee the safety of civilians, including journalists.

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Getting Away with Murder

CPJ’s 2019 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and their killers go free Published October 29, 2019 Somalia is the world’s worst country for the fifth year in a row when it comes to prosecuting murderers of journalists, CPJ’s 2019 Global Impunity Index found. War and political instability have fostered a deadly…

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An explosion is seen over the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain on October 12, 2019. Turkish airstrikes near Ras al-Ain recently killed two journalists. (Reuters/Stoyan Nenov)

Second Syrian Kurdish journalist dies of wounds sustained in Turkish air strike

Beirut, October 15, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today strongly condemned the Turkish air strike on a civilian convoy, as reports emerged that a second journalist died yesterday as a result of the attack.

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Smoke is seen billowing from the sites of air strikes in Ras al-Ayn, Syria, on October 13, 2019. Syrian Kurdish journalist Saad Ahmed was killed in an airstrike in the town. (AP/Emrah Gurel)

Syrian Kurdish journalist killed in Turkish airstrike on civilian convoy

Beirut, October 13, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the Turkish air strike on a civilian convoy that killed journalist Saad Ahmed and injured at least four other reporters.

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