Libya / Middle East & North Africa

  
Graffiti that reads "Derna is gone" is seen on a damaged shop wall in Derna on September 21, 2023, after a deadly storm hit Libya. (Reuters/Zohra Bensemra)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering Libya’s floods

Days after September floods killed thousands in the coastal Libyan city of Derna, protesters took to the streets to blame local authorities for failing to maintain the local dams. On September 19, Libya’s eastern administration ordered local and foreign journalists to leave the city of Derna by noon that day on the grounds that the…

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Libyan journalist Ali al-Rifawi detained since March after reporting on corruption

New York, April 21, 2022 – Libyan authorities must immediately release journalist Ali al-Rifawi, disclose his location, and ensure that journalists can cover local events without fear of detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On March 26, armed officers from the Internal Security Agency, a coalition of armed groups led by the Libyan…

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Ten years after the Arab Spring, the region’s media faces grave threats. Here are the top press freedom trends

In early February 2011, Alaa Abdelfattah was in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, documenting and participating in the nascent pro-democracy uprising that would topple the government and transform the country and the region. Today, he is in prison on anti-state and false news charges, which his family believes are partly retaliatory for his work. Abdelfattah is one of…

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Libyan radio journalist Sami al-Sharif detained while covering protests

Washington D.C., August 27, 2020 – Libyan authorities should immediately release journalist Sami al-Sharif and ensure that the press can cover protests without fear of attack or harassment from demonstrators or security forces, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 23, men in military uniforms affiliated with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord…

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Libyan National Army ‘sentences’ freelance photojournalist Ismail Abuzreiba al-Zway to 15 years

Washington, D.C., August 4, 2020–The Libyan National Army should immediately release photojournalist Ismail Abuzreiba al-Zway, and stop prosecuting journalists in secret trials and in military courts, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In a secret trial proceeding held in May 2020, a military court in Benghazi, a city in eastern Libya controlled by the…

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Members of the Libyan internationally recognized pro-government forces are seen near Tripoli on April 10, 2019. Journalist Rida Fahil Al-Bom was recently detained in Libya. (Reuters/Hani Amara)

Journalist Rida Fahil Al-Bom detained in Libya

Washington, D.C., December 17, 2019 — Libyan authorities should immediately account for the whereabouts of journalist and press freedom advocate Rida Fahil al-Bom and do their utmost to secure his release, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Fighters loyal to the internationally recognized Libyan Government of National Accord are seen in Tripoli on June 19, 2019. Freelance journalist Hamza Turkia was shot and injured in Tripoli that day. (AFP/Mahmud Turkia)

AFP freelance journalist Hamza Turkia shot while covering clashes in Libya

On June 19, 2019, an unidentified individual shot Hamza Turkia, a freelance photographer and videographer at the time working for French news agency Agence France-Presse, in the hand and leg while the journalist was covering clashes between forces allied with the internationally recognized Government of National Accord and the self-styled Libyan National Army in Tripoli,…

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A photo of fighters taken by Reuters photographer Hani Amara, south of Tripoli, on May 7. Amara was injured while covering clashes in Libya on May 12. (Reuters/Hani Amara)

Reuters photojournalist Hani Amara shot while covering Libya clashes

On May 12, 2019, Hani Amara, a photographer and videographer for Reuters, was shot in the leg while covering clashes in the Libyan capital Tripoli, according to news reports, social media posts and the Libyan Center for Freedom of the Press, a local press freedom group.

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Military vehicles are seen in Salah al-Din, south of Tripoli, Libya, on May 7, 2019. Two Libyan journalists were recently abducted in Tripoli by forces affiliated with the Libyan National Army. (Reuters/Hani Amara)

Libyan journalists Mohamed al-Qurj and Mohamed al-Shibani missing since May 2

New York, May 9, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the safety of Mohamed al-Qurj and Mohamed al-Shibani, Libyan journalists with Qatar-based private television broadcaster Libya Alahrar, who disappeared on May 2.

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A February 2016 photo taken by Mohamed Ben Khalifa shows a member of the Libyan security forces with a document in Arabic describing weaponry found at the site of U.S. airstrikes on an Islamic State camp in Libya. Freelance photojournalist Ben Khalifa was killed during clashes on January 19. (AP/Mohamed Ben Khalifa/File)

Libyan photojournalist killed by shelling during Tripoli clashes

New York, January 23, 2019–The killing of freelancer Mohamed Ben Khalifa in Libya underscores the dangers for photojournalists working in conflict zones, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Ben Khalifa, a photographer who contributed to outlets including The Associated Press, was killed during clashes south of Tripoli on January 19, according to news reports,…

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