Cleric issues fatwa against TV station owners
New York, September 18, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the religious edict issued on September 9 by a top Saudi cleric calling for the death of owners of satellite TV stations that air “immoral” soap operas. Sheikh Saleh al-Lihedan’s fatwa came in response to a question asked on Radio Quran, a…
Saudi cleric issues fatwa against two journalists
“Anyone who claims this has refuted Islam and should be tried in order to take it back. If not, he should be killed as an apostate from the religion of Islam,” Sheikh Barrak was quoted by Reuters as saying in his March 14 religious edict. “We are extremely worried about the safety of our colleagues…
Attacks on the Press 2007: Middle East Analysis
Under the Radar, a New Kind of RepressionBy Joel Campagna On a Wednesday afternoon last June, Yemeni security agents stormed the home of outspoken editor Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani and dragged him before a State Security Court in the capital, Sana’a. A prosecutor questioned al-Khaiwani and later rang him up on charges of belonging to a secret…
Saudi blogger detained for more than two weeks
New York, December 26, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the ongoing detention of a leading pro-reform Saudi blogger who has been held without charge since early this month. On December 10, Fouad Ahmed al-Farhan, a 32-year-old blogger who runs the site Alfarhan, was detained by Saudi security agents at the Jeddah office…
Attacks on the Press 2006: Middle East Analysis
As democracy falters, Arab press still pushes for freedom By Joel Campagna Across the Middle East, political reform gained momentum in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Egyptians and Lebanese clamored for democracy; elections in Iraq, Palestine, Yemen, and Saudi…
Attacks on the Press 2006: Analysis: As Democracy Falters, Arab Press Still Pushes for Freedom
Across the Middle East, political reform gained momentum in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Egyptiansand Lebanese clamored for democracy; elections in Iraq, Palestine, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia offered a more pluralistic future. In a number of Arab countries, the…
Attacks on the Press 2006: Saudi Arabia
SAUDI ARABIA Prompted by post-9/11 criticism that Saudi Arabia’s closed society had bred violent religious extremism, the government has eased constraints on the country’s heavily censored domestic press, and local journalists have seized the initiative to produce more daring reports on crime, drug trafficking, unemployment, and religious extremism. But progress has been uneven and limited,…
