Detained

Istanbul, May 20, 2026—Turkish authorities must release journalist Yelis Ayaz without delay and stop punishing journalists for doing their jobs, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Ayaz, publisher and editor-in-chief for the local newspaper Aydınpost in the western province of Aydın, was arrested pending trial by a court on May 15 on suspicion of…

Beirut, May 19, 2026 —The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Israeli authorities to immediately release all journalists and media workers detained after Israeli forces intercepted vessels from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, and to disclose the location and legal status of those being held. According to organizers, on May 18, Israeli forces began intercepting…

Since the Iran war started late February, CPJ has documented a crackdown on the press across the Gulf and tracked unpublicized cases of arrests, intimidation, and legal and financial actions against journalists and their media outlets. The escalation represents a significant and underreported threat to press freedom in Gulf countries, where free speech was already…

For years, Tunisia was viewed as one of the few post-Arab Spring success stories for press freedom in the region. In the decade following the 2011 revolution, journalists gained greater space to investigate corruption, criticize authorities, and report more openly than anywhere else in North Africa. Those gains, while incomplete, marked a significant break from…

New York, May 12, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Taliban authorities in Afghanistan to immediately and unconditionally release two journalists from TOLOnews and end the harassment of media workers following a raid on the broadcaster and its parent company, Moby Group. Taliban intelligence agents detained TOLOnews presenter Mansoor Niazi on May 7 in…

New York, May 7, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan to immediately release journalist Adam Issac Minan, who was kidnapped by the paramilitary group on April 5, 2026, in the city of Kutum in North Darfur state, according to two local journalists, who spoke with CPJ on…

New York, April 28, 2026—Tunisian authorities must immediately release journalist Zied el-Heni, who has been placed in pretrial detention over a social media post last week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.  El-Heni, editor-in-chief of independent news site Tunisian Press, was arrested on April 24, 2026, after complying with a summons to appear before…

Sulaymaniyah, April 27, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calls on Syrian authorities to provide immediate and transparent information on the detention of German journalist Eva Maria Michelmann and the continued enforced disappearance of Kurdish-Turkish journalist Ahmed Polad, who sources say is being held in a Syrian detention facility. Despite confirmation from Michelmann’s…

New York, April 25, 2026—Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin has been reunited with his family and is in a place of safety, a legal team acting for his sisters said on Saturday. The award-winning U.S.-Kuwaiti journalist was detained on March 3 in Kuwait, where he was visiting family. “We are delighted that Ahmed Shihab-Eldin has been released…

Update: In an April 29, 2026, statement, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin’s attorneys clarified that the journalist was acquitted on only one of three charges. Washington, D.C., April 23, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Kuwaiti court’s acquittal of U.S.-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin on all charges following nearly two months of detention.  “We are relieved…