Libya detains 4 more international journalists
New York, April 7, 2011–Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi have detained four international journalists on the outskirts of the city of Brega, news reports said today, continuing the government’s pattern of arbitrary detentions and other restrictions. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities to stop detaining, expelling, and obstructing journalists reporting on…
Journalists to be expelled from Libya; Bahrain deports 2
New York, April 6, 2011–More than 20 foreign journalists were told that they would have to leave Libya within 24 hours, National Public Radio said today. NPR reported that Libyan authorities asked journalists from different international news outlets to leave the country. The media outlets include Britain’s Channel 4, CNN, Fox News, The Independent, Italian…
Bahrain manipulates daily; attacks in Libya, Iraq, Yemen
New York, April 4, 2011–The Bahraini government continued its attempts at muzzling critical media with the Ministry of Information ordering the country’s premier independent daily temporarily shut down on Sunday. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Bahraini government’s strong-arm tactics, which effectively forced a change in a prominent paper’s editorial management. In Libya, Iraq, and Yemen, independent and critical…
Q&A: NYT’s Lynsey Addario on Libya sexual assault
New York Times photographer Lynsey Addario is speaking publicly about sexual aggression she experienced while detained in Libya last month by forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi. Addario was held for six days with Times colleagues Anthony Shadid, Stephen Farrell, and Tyler Hicks, all of whom were subjected to physical abuse. In this interview with CPJ,…
Journalists detained in Libya, Syria, Yemen; 1 dead in Iraq
New York, April 1, 2011–Al-Jazeera said today that Libyan authorities re-arrested four of its journalists just hours after they had been released. A Syrian journalist who spoke critically of Libyan government policies was also reported in state custody. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ongoing attacks on the press in Libya, and calls on…
Taking risks to tell the story: NYT journalists discuss Libya
On March 15, four New York Times journalists were detained in Libya while crossing a checkpoint after they entered the country without visas. They were released six days later. The four–photojournalists Lynsey Addario and Tyler Hicks, and reporters Anthony Shadid and Stephen Farrell–came to Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism on Thursday for what will…
Reuters journalists under attack in Syria, Libya
New York, March 30, 2011–Reuters said today it was urgently seeking the safe return of two of its veteran journalists in Syria, one of whom was said to be in state custody while the other was reported missing. In Libya, meanwhile, a Reuters correspondent was expelled today without explanation.
Journalists detained in Bahrain, Egypt
New York, March 30, 2011–A CNN crew was detained today in Manama while interviewing a prominent Bahraini human rights defender, according to a Twitter posting by the network and a CPJ interview. The detentions come amid a recent series of repressive actions by the Bahraini government, which included today’s arrest of a well-known blogger. Anti-press…
Syria cracks down on press; attacks in Libya, elsewhere
New York, March 28, 2011–Facing the nationwide spread of political unrest, Syrian authorities barred three Reuters journalists from reporting, blocked journalistic access to a hotbed of political dissent, censored a critical satellite station, and detained a political blogger. The widespread repression in Syria came on the same weekend that Libyan security agents forcibly barred a…
Al-Jazeera raided in Sana’a; attacks in Libya, Syria, Bahrain
New York, March 22, 2011–Plainclothes gunmen raided Al-Jazeera’s Sana’a bureau early this morning, confiscating equipment and obstructing operations, the Qatar-based news channel reported today as a drumbeat of anti-press attacks continued in the region. Arrests, attacks, and harassment were also reported in Libya, Syria and Bahrain in recent days.