Two Iranian journalists convicted on false news charges and ordered to pay cash fines
On August 13, 2020, Aman Mohammad Khojmali, a freelance journalist from the ethnic Turkman minority, was convicted of spreading false news and was ordered to pay a cash fine by Branch 102 of the Judiciary in an appeals court hearing in Gonbad-e-Kavus, a city in the northeast of Iran, according to news reports. The fine was 20 million rials (US$476);…
With colleagues sentenced to prison, Algerian journalists fear their new president’s attitude toward the press
Two weeks after the imprisonment of a high-profile Algerian journalist, a former reporter has been sentenced to prison for his online commentary, cementing fears that Algeria’s new president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, is on track to match his predecessor’s record of enacting restrictive policies toward the press even as he has promised democratic reforms. On August 24,…
Iranian journalist Kayvan Samimi begins 3-year jail term over protest coverage
Washington, D.C., August 24, 2020 — Iranian authorities should release journalist Kayvan Samimi from prison immediately and cease arbitrarily jailing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Samimi, 72, editor-in-chief of the center-left Iran-e-Farda magazine, began a three-year sentence today in Tehran’s Evin Prison, after his prior conviction on charges of “colluding against…
Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government files suit against broadcaster NRT for protest coverage
New York, August 24, 2020 — The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government yesterday announced a lawsuit against local broadcaster NRT in response to its coverage of recent protests in the region, according to a statement sent to CPJ via email today by Dindar Zebari, the regional government’s coordinator for international advocacy. “The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s…
Two Egyptian journalists detained and released
On August 11, 2020, Egyptian authorities arrested freelance journalist Rasha Mounir in Cairo while she was covering the Egyptian senate elections, according to news reports. The reports did not specify which outlet Mounir was working for at the time. She was unconditionally released without charges the same day, according to a Facebook post by Amr Badr, a journalist and…
Iraqi Kurdish authorities shutter NRT offices in Erbil and Duhok; 1 journalist still held
Washington, D.C., August 20, 2020 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities should cease harassing broadcaster NRT, release journalist Ahmed Zakhoy without charge, and allow the outlet to report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, agents of the Asayish intelligence agency, affiliated with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party, raided NRT’s office in the western city…
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants abduct US journalist Bilal Abdul-Kareem and driver in Syria
New York, August 17, 2020 — The militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham should immediately release reporter Bilal Abdul-Kareem and his driver and stop detaining journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 13, in the northern Syrian town of Atmeh, masked militants with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Al-Qaeda offshoot formerly known as Al-Nusra…
Iraqi Kurdish security forces raid broadcaster, detain and beat journalists, seize equipment
New York, August 14, 2020 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities must cease harassing local news outlets, return journalists’ equipment they have seized, and let reporters cover protests freely and without fear of assault or detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 12, Iraqi Kurdish Asayish security forces raided the offices of local broadcaster…
Iraqi federal police detain Kurdish broadcasting crews on assignment in Kirkuk
On August 2, 2020, Iraqi federal police officers detained two TV crews with Kurdish broadcasters Kurdistan 24 (K24) and NRT, seized their equipment, and destroyed a camera while the reporters were on assignment near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, according to K24 reporter Soran Kamaran, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app, an account…
Security forces and demonstrators injure journalists covering protests over Beirut port explosion
New York, August 11, 2020 — Lebanese authorities should immediately investigate recent attacks on journalists by demonstrators and security forces, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that journalists can cover protests safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 4, an explosion of stored chemicals in Beirut’s port resulted in more than…