Syria

1452 results

Syrian journalist Amer Matar on facing his torturer in court

Syrian journalist Amer Matar was regularly blindfolded, handcuffed, and beaten with cables, whips, and fists during the eight months he was held in a Syrian prison. When a German court sentenced one of his torturers – Syrian army colonel Anwar Raslan – to life in prison earlier this month, Matar finally felt that at least…

Read More ›

Syrian journalist Ibrahim Awad arrested, held in refugee camp in Jordan

New York, November 22, 2021 — Jordanian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Syrian freelance journalist Ibrahim Awad and allow journalists to do their job freely and without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 15, four Jordanian police and intelligence officers raided Awad’s home in the Tla al-Ali neighborhood…

Read More ›

Syrian journalist Majed Shamaa facing deportation from Turkey over satirical video

New York, November 4, 2021 — Turkish authorities should immediately release Syrian journalist Majed Shamaa, end deportation proceedings against him, and allow him to do his job freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At 1:30 a.m. on October 30, police arrested Shamaa, a reporter for the Dubai-based broadcaster Orient TV, at…

Read More ›

Syrian journalists fear for their lives despite the end of the siege of Daraa al-Balad

On September 9, the Syrian Army and its allies lifted their two-and-a half-month siege of the district of Daraa al-Balad in southern Syria under a Russian-brokered ceasefire with local rebels.  The deal is the latest chapter in the long saga of the district, a cradle of the 2011 revolution that was recaptured by Syrian Army…

Read More ›

‘Be patient and prevent despair’: An exiled Syrian journalist’s advice for fleeing Afghan reporters

Syrian journalist Okba Mohammad was 20 years old when he arrived in Spain after fleeing the Syrian civil war with CPJ’s help in May 2019. “I felt that everything around me was strange: the people, the country, religion, culture,” he told CPJ in a recent interview via messaging app. But he also felt a sense…

Read More ›

Journalists attacked throughout northeastern Syria, 2 remain in detention

New York, July 23, 2021 – All parties in northern Syria must do their utmost to ensure that members of the press can work safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since July 16, unidentified attackers and Syrian Kurdish security forces have attacked and detained at least five members of the press throughout areas…

Read More ›

Syrian security forces arrest journalist Bassam Safar at Damascus checkpoint

New York, June 30, 2021 – Syrian authorities should disclose their rationale for arresting journalist Bassam Safar, as well as the location where he is being held, or else release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 24, Syrian government security forces arrested Safar, an editor on cultural topics for the…

Read More ›

Syrian Kurdish security forces detain fixer Kamiran Sadoun overnight in Raqqa

On June 16, 2021, officers with the Syrian Democratic Forces’ General Security agency detained Kamiran Sadoun, a fixer for international journalists, for several hours in a jail in the city of Raqqa, according to the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, and a statement by the local press freedom group the Syrian Kurdish…

Read More ›

Kurdish authorities in Syria revoke Kurdistan 24 license, close offices

New York, June 21, 2021 — Authorities in north and east Syria should reverse their decision to revoke Kurdistan 24’s broadcasting license and should allow it to work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Media Department of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, the Kurdish-led de facto…

Read More ›

Iraqi Kurdish authorities question Assyrian National Broadcasting manager, shutter outlet

In October 2020, a captain with the Iraqi Kurdish Asayish security forces ordered the closure of the Erbil office of Assyrian National Broadcasting (ANB), according to a statement by the Assyrian Policy Institute, a local rights group, and ANB’s Erbil office manager, William Bnyameen Adam Khlapieel, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. ANB, a…

Read More ›