Yemen / Middle East & North Africa

  
Libyan uprising activists set up a media center headquarters in Benghazi that provides technical support to journalists, documents collected media material, and communicates with foreign media. (AP/Nasser Nasser)

CPJ condemns attacks on press in Libya, Yemen, and Egypt

New York, March 9, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by an attack on the Ouzo Hotel in the rebel-held city of Benghazi in eastern Libya on Tuesday. Unknown assailants threw an explosive device into the hotel, which has been the primary residence for journalists in the city, in the early morning hours, according…

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Atta (Reuters)

Yemeni Journalists Syndicate stormed; Baghdad apologizes

New York, February 28, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the ongoing attempts of governments in the Middle East to censor news coverage of protests. In Yemen, men stormed the Journalists’ Syndicate on Saturday, and in Iraq, journalists demanded apologies from the military after a crackdown on the press on Friday, and Baghdad…

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Military forces rounded up journalists in Baghdad's Tahrir Square, seen here today. (AP/Karim Kadim)

Iraq cracks down on media; violations in Yemen, Libya

New York, February 25, 2011–The Committee to protect Journalists documented additional attacks today in Iraq, Yemen, and Libya as journalists tried to cover anti-government protests. Iraqi authorities cracked down on media: Security forces stormed a satellite TV office, detained dozens of journalists, and confiscated equipment, according to local journalists and news reports. In Yemen, at…

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Protesters chant anti-government slogans in the main square of Tobruk, Libya, today. (Reuters/Asmaa Waguih)

Reporter missing in Libya; attacks continue in Yemen, Iraq

New York, February 22, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the ongoing deterioration of conditions for the media in the Middle East, including the disappearance of Atef al-Atrash, a critical Libyan journalist, since anti-Qaddafi demonstrations began February 17. The Internet has been intermittently down since Saturday in the country, according to international news…

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Journalists targeted in Bahrain, Yemen, and Libya

New York, February 18, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities today in Bahrain, Yemen, Libya to cease their attempts to prevent media from reporting on anti-government demonstrations. Bahraini authorities used live ammunition–including fire from a helicopter–against peaceful protesters and journalists, according to news reports. Pro-government thugs attacked at least two journalists in Yemen, and…

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Bahraini anti-government protesters take a rest from demonstrations in central Manama, Bahrain. (Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed)

Attacks on media continue in Bahrain, Yemen, and Iraq

New York, February 17, 2011–Authorities in Bahrain and Yemen have escalated their physical attack on the press in order to censor coverage of spreading anti-government protests, the Committee to protect Journalists said today. Also, in Iraq, at least two journalists were attacked by guards for the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s building, local journalists told CPJ. 

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Libyan pro-government supporters hold posters of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi during a demonstration in Tripoli. (Reuters/Ismail Zitouny)

Attacks on media continue across Middle East

New York, February 16, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the continued assaults on journalists covering anti-government demonstrations in the Middle East. In recent days, journalists have been obstructed, assaulted, or detained in Libya, Bahrain, Iran, and Yemen. Authorities have also slowed down Internet connection and blocked websites, according to local journalists.

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Attacks on the Press 2010: Middle East and North Africa Analysis

Suppression Under the Cover of National Security By Mohamed Abdel Dayem Relying on an extensive network of sources in the military, government, and Islamist groups, Yemeni freelance journalist Abdulelah Shaea had become a frequent and pointed critic of the administration’s counterterrorism efforts. By July, President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government had enough, dispatching security agents to…

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Attacks on the Press 2010: Yemen

Top Developments • Special press and security courts are used to silence probing journalists. • Redlines bar critical coverage of civil unrest, terrorism, corruption. Key Statistic 29: Days that reporter Abulelah Shaea was held incommunicado after being seized by security agents. The government pursued a widening array of repressive tactics, prompting many journalists to say…

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A woman walks past riot police standing guard during a demonstration in Algiers on Saturday. (Reuters/Louafi Larbi )

Journalists in the Middle East face multiple attacks

New York, February 14, 2011–As protests spread from Tunisia and Egypt to other countries in the region, journalists have been targeted by security forces, in Yemen, Iran, and Algeria, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

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