Middle East & North Africa

“Ever since I started working as a journalist nine years ago, I have been under constant pressure from my family, my tribe, and my community to give up journalism. Friends have been asked by security forces to sever ties with me,” said freelance journalist Guhdar Zebari, when he met with CPJ in the empty lobby…

Washington, D.C., September 6, 2019 — Iranian authorities should release journalist Hossein Ghadyani from prison and stop jailing and harassing government critics, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Beirut, September 4, 2019 — Israeli authorities should publicly file charges against Palestinian journalist Abdul Mohsen Shalaldeh or release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Beirut, September 3, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Iraqi Communications and Media Committee to reverse its three-month suspension of the U.S. government-funded Iraqi broadcaster Al-Hurra.

Washington D.C., August 26, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today strongly condemned the Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Branch 28 Court’s sentencing of Shargh Daily economics reporter Marzieh Amiri to 10 and a half years in prison and 148 lashes.

New York, August 23, 2019 — Yemeni authorities should cease arresting journalists and making the dangerous work of Yemen’s press even more difficult, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, August 22, 2019–Israeli officials confirmed that, under a rule change by the Defense Ministry, Israeli surveillance companies are able to obtain exemptions on marketing license for the sale of some products to certain countries, Reuters reported today. It is not clear which companies, and which products, were impacted; however, Reuters reported that the…

On August 12, 2019, intelligence agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps arrested freelance photojournalist Forough Alaei and five women’s rights activists, accusing them of attempting to illegally enter Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, according to a report by the BBC’s Persian service. The six were released on bail on August 17, according to Iranian press freedom…

New York, August 16, 2019—The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the issuing of an arrest warrant and a raid on the home of Hassan Sabah, a reporter for the Iraqi news broadcaster INEWS, in Basra, and called on Iraqi authorities to allow journalists to work freely and without fear of retaliation for their reporting.

New York, August 14, 2019—Access to at least five independent local news websites has been interrupted in Algeria as protesters demand political reform for the fifth consecutive month.