Palestinian security forces arrest five journalists in West Bank
Beirut, August 10, 2017–Palestinian security forces should immediately release five journalists arrested in the West Bank yesterday and should cease arresting journalists on spurious charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Israel should abandon plans to close, censor Al-Jazeera
Washington, D.C., August 6, 2017–Israeli authorities should abandon efforts to close Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera’s offices, revoke its journalists’ credentials, and censor its transmissions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Communications Minister Ayoub Kara today repeated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allegations that the station supports terrorism, and said the government wanted satellite and cable companies…
Calls to shutter Qatari media show contempt for press freedom
The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt to drop demands that Qatari-funded media be closed as a condition for the lifting of the partial blockade they have imposed on Qatar.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of June 25, 2017
BBC reporter refused entry Police at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport yesterday detained BBC reporter Jiyar Gol for five hours before putting him on a plane out of the country, the journalist wrote on Twitter. The journalist tweeted that he believes he was not allowed in the country because of his reporting for the BBC. [June 30,…
Gulf countries order Qatar to close Al-Jazeera and other outlets
New York, June 23, 2017–A group of Arab countries today issued Qatar a list of demands, including that the Gulf nation close media outlets that it funds, among them the broadcasters Al-Jazeera and Arabi 21, and the websites Al-Araby Al-Jadeed and Middle East Eye. The demands are a prerequisite for lifting diplomatic and economic sanctions…
Amid Gulf tensions, press is used as a political pawn
Today Bahrain became the latest Gulf nation to put pressure on news outlets amid political tension, when its Interior Ministry announced that anyone publishing support or sympathy for Qatar faces up to five years in prison. The announcement came the day after the United Arab Emirates used the threat of prison to demarcate how journalists…
Saudi Arabia orders Al-Jazeera bureau closed
New York, June 7, 2017–The Saudi Ministry of Media should immediately reverse its order to close the office of Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera and allow the satellite channel and all news media to operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Saudi government on June 5 revoked the broadcaster’s license to operate in Saudi…
Jordan revokes Al-Jazeera license amid Qatar tensions
New York, June 6, 2017–Jordan’s Ministry of Information today revoked the license for Qatar broadcaster Al-Jazeera and said it will close the broadcaster’s Jordanian office. In an announcement reported by the state-run Petra News Agency, the ministry said its actions came after “reviewing the crisis” between Qatar and neighboring Gulf states Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and…