Middle East & North Africa

2016

  

How CPJ researches the killing and jailing of journalists

Who is a journalist? In the era of citizen journalism, activist journalism and now “fake” journalism, the question is not academic. The Committee to Protect Journalists has just published its annual census of journalists in prison and next week it will release its survey of killed journalists.

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President François Hollande speaks at the opening of the Open Government Partnership summit in Paris in December, where press freedom was added to the agenda. (Jacky Naegelen/Pool/AFP)

Press freedom on OGP agenda as authoritarianism rises

There was poignancy to the Paris summit of the Open Government Partnership, as leaders from government and civil society took the stage to defend a political ideology under siege: liberal democracy. French President François Hollande, who amid weak public support announced he will not seek re-election in 2017, called democracy “so fragile and so precious.”…

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President el-Sisi, pictured with Portugal's president, right, during a state visit to Lisbon. The Egyptian leader told a broadcaster he supports freedom of expression. (Jose Manuel Ribeiro/AFP)

‘People talk as they please’ Sisi says in comments on Egypt’s press freedom record

In Egypt last week a journalist was barred from travel without official explanation, a reporter was accused of criminal defamation over a 2015 investigation on child prostitution, and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi defended Egypt’s freedom of expression record. An appeal date was also set for the Journalists’ Syndicate leaders who were sentenced this month to…

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In this file photo, an Egyptian protests the government's crackdown on free expression to mark World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2016 (AP/Nariman El-Mofty)

Hunger-striking journalist injured in prison uprising

News of the hospitalization of an imprisoned photojournalist after security forces cracked down on an uprising in Borg al-Arab prison tops the list of attacks on the press last week in Egypt. Also last week: Two leaders of the Journalists’ Syndicate were sentenced to two years in prison each but remain free on bail; a…

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A masked policeman gestures to a photographer in Cairo ahead of planned protests on November 11. At least four journalists were detained covering areas where rallies were due to take place. (AP/Amr Nabil)

Journalists detained during Egypt’s day of protests

Four journalists were detained November 11 amid a heavy deployment of security forces in Egypt’s cities in response to calls for nationwide protests over economic reforms. The protests were fewer and smaller than anticipated, but journalists were still harassed and, in some cases, arrested, according to local and international media. One journalist remains in custody.…

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Posters calling for the release of photojournalists Mohammad al-Batawi, right, and Shawkan, are held up in Cairo. A U.N. working group says that Shawkan's detention is arbitrary. (AP/Amr Nabil)

In Egypt, censorship, an arrest, and court hearings for journalists

Restrictions against the press continue in Egypt, with ongoing trials of journalists, some of whom have been in detention for more than three years, allegations that a TV station was ordered to drop a planned broadcast of an interview with a former official, and a reporter detained while trying to cover a sensitive story. Egypt…

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Number of journalists who covered corruption who were killed in relation to their work since 1992, by country. (Mehdi Rahmati/CPJ research)

Protecting journalists who cover corruption is good for the bottom line

Corruption is one of the most dangerous beats for journalists, and one of the most important for holding those in power to account. There is growing international recognition that corruption is also one of the biggest impediments to poverty reduction and good governance. This is why journalists on this beat must be protected, including by…

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President Hassan Rouhani, pictured at a press conference in March 2016, has submitted a draft bill to parliament that proposes creating a state-regulated organization to oversee the country's press. (AFP/Atta Kenare)

Why proposed bill could mean the end of independent journalism in Iran

The Iranian government will address the United Nation’s General Assembly this month for the last time before President Hassan Rouhani seeks re-election next year. The international appearance would be a good chance for Rouhani’s administration to discuss its record in office.

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Election posters on a street in Amman. CPJ visited Jordan to review the press freedom situation ahead of the September 20 vote. (CPJ/Sherif Mansour)

Mission Journal: Gag orders make Jordan’s journalists skeptical of reform

Sitting uncomfortably in her chair because of a soccer injury, the Jordanian radio host Diala Dabbas said, “I know we are banned from talking about the king, his family, and the divine, but now I am also afraid to talk about anyone else who could be considered a ‘religious symbol’.”

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CPJ joins call for Sultan of Oman to end persecution of Azamn journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders today sent a letter to Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman, to draw his attention to the prosecution of three journalists from the independent daily newspaper, Azamn.

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2016