Iran / Middle East & North Africa

  

Middle East Bloggers: The Street Leads Online

In the Middle East and North Africa, where political change occurs slowly, blogging has becomes a serious medium for social and political commentary as well as a target of government suppression. By Mohamed Abdel Dayem                        

Read More ›

Audio Report: Middle East Bloggers

In our special report “Middle East Bloggers: The Street Leads Online,” CPJ’s Mohamed Abdel Dayem says blogging has become a crucial front in the region’s struggle for freedom of expression. Here, Abdel Dayem describes how two regional trends–booming Internet audiences and repression of traditional media–have made blogging a vibrant news alternative. Listen to the mp3…

Read More ›

Three newspapers shut down in Iran

New York, October 6, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Iranian authorities’ decisions to revoke the licenses of three reformist newspapers on Sunday and Monday. 

Read More ›

CPJ asks Iran to release imprisoned journalists

Dear Mr. President: While you are in New York this week to attend the United Nations General Assembly, your visit will be covered by the hundreds of journalists from around the world who are in the city for the annual gathering. But as many of these journalists report freely and openly on your speech and meetings they will no doubt be thinking of the dozens of journalists back in your country who are behind bars for trying to report on events in Iran.

Read More ›

CPJ urges Iran to release journalists during Ramadan

New York, September 16, 2009—As Muslims worldwide prepare to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a time of compassion and forgiveness, the Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Iranian authorities to release journalists who are being held behind bars.

Read More ›

Iran: CPJ calls for humanitarian release as Ramadan ends

New York, September 10, 2009—As the end of Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches, Maziar Bahari, a Canadian-Iranian national, continues to be held in an Iranian jail under deplorable conditions. The Newsweek correspondent has been detained for 80 days since he was arrested on June 21 as part of a post-election crackdown. The Committee to…

Read More ›

Iranian journalist arrested, others summoned

New York, September 8, 2009—Iranian authorities arrested one journalist today while security forces summoned at least 15 who were among the signatories of a recent petition demanding the release of detained journalists, local press reported. 

Read More ›

In Iranian prison, journalists’ well-being in question

New York, August 28, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores the conditions in which dozens of Iranian journalists are being held and is concerned about the health of many of them, particularly that of Ahmad Zaid-Abadi. The columnist, who worked for Rooz Online, a Farsi and English-language reformist news Web site, was arrested in mid-June…

Read More ›

Iran charges journalists with ‘lying’

New York, August 25, 2009–The fourth session of the mass trial of more than 100 opposition figures, including journalists, took place in Tehran today. The Committee to Protect Journalists is particularly dismayed by procedural irregularities and the fact that the trial is only open to state-owned media. 

Read More ›

In Iran, newspaper censored and two journalists out on bail

New York, August 18, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the government’s censorship of the daily newspaper Etemad e Melli on Monday.

Read More ›