Middle East & North Africa

Washington, D.C., February 3, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Yemen’s internationally recognized government to immediately launch a swift and transparent investigation into the Sunday attack on the headquarters of independent Yemen-based media outlet Aden Al-Ghad, and to hold those responsible accountable. According to a statement by Aden Al-Ghad, the attack was…

New York, February 2, 2026— The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release journalists Mehdi Mahmoudian and Vida Rabbani and to end the ongoing crackdown on journalists. Mahmoudian and Rabbani were arrested after signing a statement, alongside other Iranian journalists and activists, expressing their support of the recent mass…

Washington, D.C., January 29, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Saudi authorities to disclose the reasons for the detention of Saudi television and YouTube program host Mohamed El-Sayed. According to the U.K.-based Arab Organization for Human Rights in the U.K. (AOHR) and the U.S.-based independent media outlet Watan, El-Sayed was taken into…

New York, January 27, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately release journalists Hassan Abbasi, Artin Ghazanfari, and Hamed Araghi, as news of their detention emerged weeks after a nationwide internet shutdown began on January 8.  CPJ was unable to confirm the charges against the journalists or their current whereabouts. “The…

New York, January 26, 2026—As Israel’s Supreme Court considers petitions on Monday challenging the ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza, the Israeli government has simultaneously doubled down on restrictions against foreign media operating inside Israel. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Israeli authorities to immediately allow foreign journalists to freely enter and report…

New York, January 26, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the three-and-a-half year prison sentences handed down to prominent Tunisian journalists Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaies for tax evasion, which are widely seen as in retaliation for their reporting.  Zghidi and Baaies, who work for the local independent radio station IFM, have been behind bars…

Amman, January 21, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for a transparent investigation after three journalists were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in central Gaza during an ongoing ceasefire.  According to news reports, the three were killed while on assignment for the Egyptian Committee, which oversees Egypt’s humanitarian work…

For the fifth year in a row, more than 300 journalists were imprisoned worldwide as of the end of 2025, according to CPJ’s annual prison census. These record-setting numbers reflect growing authoritarianism and escalating numbers of armed conflicts worldwide. Often, journalists are held under cruel and life-threatening conditions – “a cemetery of the living,” as one freed Palestinian prisoner described it.

China, Myanmar, and Israel lead jailers of journalists in 2025 New York, January 21, 2026 — For the fifth consecutive year, more than 300 journalists were behind bars at year-end, according to a new report released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). China, Myanmar, and Israel were the leading jailers of journalists on the…

On January 14, the Committee to Protect Journalists, along with more than 30 press freedom and human rights organizations, called for urgent protections for journalists, human rights defenders, and others jailed for their writing, expression of opinion, or peaceful assembly amid nationwide protests and internet shutdown. The signatory organizations called on Iranian authorities to immediately…