Algeria

New York, December 23, 2008--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the decision by an Algerian court to sentence an editor-in-chief and a journalist at the Algiers-based independent daily El Watan to a three-month jail term each for defamation on Monday.

New York, November 4, 2008--CPJ is deeply concerned by the decisions of the Moroccan, Tunisian, and Algerian‎ governments to ban the new issue of L'Express magazine carrying a series of articles about Islam and Christianity.

New York, October 29, 2008--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that Algerian journalist Noureddine Boukraa has been convicted of disclosing "confidential" information after he reported that security officials may have used their positions for personal gain.

New York, March 5, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the decision on Tuesday by an Algerian court of appeals to uphold two-month jail terms for two journalists at the Algiers-based independent daily El Watan.

The appeal court in Jijel, nearly 224 miles (360 kilometers) east of Algiers, upheld the convictions of Omar Belhouchet, editor of El Watan, and columnist Chawki Amari. Both were convicted of defaming and insulting the governor of Jijel. The court also upheld a 1 million Algerian dinar ($15,000) fine, Zoubeir Soudani, El Watan’s lawyer told CPJ.

CPJ research indicates that the following journalists have disappeared while doing their work. Although some of them are feared dead, no bodies have been found, and they are therefore not classified as "Killed." If a journalist disappeared after being held in government custody, CPJ classifies him or her as "Imprisoned" as a way to hold the government accountable for the journalist's fate.

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 terrorist cell--charges that carry a possible death sentence. The arrest shocked Yemeni journalists, and some wondered aloud whether their colleague, known for his incendiary columns attacking the Yemeni government and its battle with rebels in the northwestern city of Saada, might have been involved in something nefarious. CPJ issued guarded statements of concern, unsure whether the charge had substance.

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 Arabia offered a more pluralistic future. In a number of Arab countries, the media seized the moment. Newspapers in Egypt and Yemen smashed long-held taboos by openly criticizing political leaders, while in Iraq the toppling of Saddam Hussein opened the way for a vibrant news media. Autocrats known for smothering dissent suddenly touted the virtues of democracy, a system of government that U.S. President George W. Bush, buoyed by initial military success in Iraq, vowed to spread across a region of princes and potentates.

Iraq, Somalia drive the 2007 toll to 65