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Articles - Middle East

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Syria

Citizen journalist sentenced to death for giving TV interview

A citizen journalist was sentenced to death last week in Syria after giving a series of interviews to Al Jazeera, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). To help protect sources, CPJ lists four precautions international journalists should take.

Bahrain

Retrial announced for al-Khawaja and other activists

Bahrain has announced a retrial for hunger-striking political activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and 20 others accused of plotting against the state in the Arab Spring protests last year, report the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International and Human Rights Watch. The IFEX members are disappointed that the activists remain in custody pending the retrial, and are calling for their immediate release.

Kuwait

Parliament considers death penalty for insulting God, Prophet

Kuwait's parliament has provisionally voted in favour of a legal amendment that could make insulting God and the Prophet Mohammed punishable by death, reports the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI).

Iraq

IFEX members and partners urge Iraq not to pass overbroad, punitive cyber crimes law

A bill on "information-technology crimes" with particularly broad wording and harsh punishments is due to come before Iraq's parliament this month. More than 40 IFEX members and partners have banded together to try to stop it, at the initiative of ARTICLE 19 and Access Now.

Syria

On eve of peace plan, three more journalists killed

Syrian security forces shot and killed two freelance British journalists and wounded a third during an attack on Monday in Darkoush near the Turkish border, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Meanwhile, a Kurdish citizen journalist has been kidnapped and murdered, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Bahrain

At least 31 extrajudicial killings since official commission of inquiry, says Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Since an official commission of inquiry reported last November, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) has documented at least 31 "extrajudicial killings" in Bahrain. Most of the deaths were from teargas inhalation, including three in the past week alone, and three were as a result of torture in custody, says BCHR in a new report. Human Rights Watch also issued its own report following a national commission's assessment that lauded the government's progress.

Syria

A year on, regime maintains free expression onslaught

On 15 March, the one-year anniversary of democracy protests in Syria, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has found the government to blame for at least five of the eight journalists killed. Even with the international spotlight on recent unrest, journalists and bloggers continue to be targeted with arrests and detentions, and the staff of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) are still being held, report CPJ, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Palestine

Violations by Palestinian security forces exceed those by Israeli forces in 2011, says MADA report

For the first time, violations of media freedoms in Palestine at the hands of Palestinian security services outnumbered those committed in 2011 by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), but the IOF violations constituted a "greater threat," says the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) in its annual report.

Syria

Deadly day for journalists in Homs

Two foreign journalists and a Syrian videographer have been killed by mortar shells in the Syrian city of Homs, which has been under siege this past month, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the International Press Institute (IPI), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and other IFEX members.

Bahrain

Activists attacked, arrested on protest anniversary

On Tuesday's one-year anniversary of Bahrain's uprising, security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters trying to retake Pearl Square, the epicentre of last year's protests, and arrested dozens - including several international observers, report the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and news reports.

Saudi Arabia / Malaysia

Blogger faces charges of blasphemy, apostasy after Mohammed tweets

A Saudi blogger whose tweets about the Prophet Mohammed were deemed blasphemous and tantamount to apostasy has been deported from Malaysia back to Saudi Arabia, where he is certain to face trial and possibly the death penalty, report Malaysia's Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Human Rights Watch and other IFEX members.

Bahrain

Protesters, IFEX members mark uprising anniversary

Bahrain spent the week preparing for Tuesday's one-year anniversary of its uprising by deploying thousands of security forces to confront anti-government protesters, rejecting journalists' applications for entry visas, and arresting and deporting two international observers from the U.S. IFEX and its members are calling for support on 14 February to help avoid further violence. Find out what is happening and what you can do here.

Syria

Amid fresh bombing, security forces torture children, says Human Rights Watch

Syria's bloody crackdown on dissent does not discriminate by age: children as young as 13 have been detained and tortured with impunity by Syrian forces fighting opposition protests, documents Human Rights Watch in a new report.

Bahrain

Government's promises of reform unfulfilled, mission announces at Arab Free Press Forum

Bahrain has failed to deliver on promises of reform despite a highly-touted commission of inquiry, says a report from an international mission to the country. "Justice Denied in Bahrain: Freedom of Expression and Assembly Curtailed" finds that rights violations continue daily, and individuals jailed during the government crackdown in February and March 2011 remain in prison.

Iran

Crackdown on dissent extends to "last available sanctuary" for free expression: the web

Earlier this month, web developer Saeed Malekpour and IT professionals Vahid Asghari and Ahmad Reza Hasempour had their death sentences confirmed for allegedly hosting illegal content online, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). They are the newest victims of Iran's latest wave of arrests and convictions - one that has mushroomed into a clampdown against online dissent, just before parliamentary elections on 2 March.

Syria

Watch RSF parody on al-Assad's censorship regime

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released a video that parodies the iPhone voice app Siri, which understands and responds to the user, to condemn Syria's censorship regime. Watch "Siri vs Syrie" here.

Bahrain

Baby's death, arrest of al-Khawaja threaten government's commitment to reform

The arrest of international cause célèbre "Angry Arabiya" and the death of a five-day-old girl as a result of a tear gas attack have become the latest events threatening to overshadow Bahrain's promises of reform following a highly critical report into the pro-democracy protests earlier this year, say the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Index on Censorship and other IFEX members.

Syria

IFEX members sound alarm on worsening situation as cameraman found dead and prominent blogger detained

Following the mutilation and murder of a cameraman in Syria, which comes at a time when arrests and disappearances of free expression advocates are the order of the day, numerous IFEX members have called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to take measures to hold to account those responsible for the mass violations.

Bahrain

International mission calls for freedom of human rights defenders

All human rights defenders and activists should be freed in Bahrain, said an international mission supported by IFEX, which visited the country this past week to investigate the current state of freedom of expression. The call comes in the wake of a much-anticipated report from the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) presented on 23 November, as well as a human rights report issued by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and other local groups.

United Arab Emirates

Online activists known as "UAE 5" freed

The "UAE 5" online activists have finally been released and are recovering from a two week-long hunger strike after protesting the mass due process violations in their imprisonment and trial, report a coalition of seven IFEX members and human rights organisations.

Syria

Disappearances and detentions of journalists reaching "catastrophic" levels

While the Syrian military regime murdered hundreds of citizens protesting against the dictatorship in recent months, the pattern of disappearances and detentions of journalists has also continued, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Israel

Journalists facing harsh sentences and deportations in the name of "security"

Both international and Israeli journalists and free expression advocates attempting to expose the Israeli military's actions in the Palestinian territories and economic blockade of Gaza have been brutally suppressed in recent weeks under the guise of security, IFEX members report.

United Arab Emirates

Trial of five activists a complete sham, says coalition of rights groups

As a verdict draws near for five activists charged with "publicly insulting" United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) officials in an Internet forum, IFEX members and partners have joined forces to raise indignation about the unfair trial and once again call for the activists' release. The coalition of seven groups, including IFEX members the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Human Rights Watch and Index on Censorship, is also deeply concerned by reports of threats against the activists, their families and lawyers.

Yemen

"Mother of the Revolution" wins peace prize; two journalists killed

Freedom of expression organisations around the world are cheering the news that Yemeni press freedom advocate Tawakkul Karman was among three women awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week. But the celebration is also marked with sadness and frustration due to the murders of two more Yemeni journalists, say IFEX members.

Bahrain

Teachers, doctors and rights activists sentenced, some to life in prison

Bahrain's widely boycotted by-elections on 24 September and 1 October were the background setting for multiple military court hearings that condemned dozens of journalists, activists, teachers and doctors to long prison terms. They were targeted for speaking out in favour of reforms during demonstrations in February or simply for doing their jobs, report the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and other IFEX members. Among those arrested during the elections were 45 female protesters, some of whom have been reportedly tortured.

Iran

New spate of arrests, including of a film crew, on bogus "conspiracy" charges

The wheels of injustice sped up again in Iran in the last few weeks with a new round of arrests of journalists and filmmakers and the handing down of an 11-year sentence to an ailing human rights defender.

Yemen

Dozens of protesters and a cameraman killed in Sanaa massacre

The camera of Hassan al-Wadhaf captured some of the bloody protest that killed dozens of protesters in Yemen in mid-September. It also captured the attack that lead to his death. After taking sniper fire to the head while filming the protests, al-Wadhaf died in hospital on 24 September, report Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The killer has not been identified.

Iraq

Al-Mahdi's death big loss for media and activist community; new law fails to protect journalists' rights

Iraqi journalist, filmmaker and playwright Hadi al-Mahdi was well known for his missives to the government, his demands for peace, and more recently, as a leading organiser of Iraq's recent pro-democracy protests. But for his actions he has paid with his life. On 8 September, he was shot dead in his home in Baghdad in an apparently targeted attack to silence him, report Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI).

Bahrain / Egypt / Kuwait

Governments attack Twitter activists

The governments of at least three Arab countries - Egypt, Bahrain and Kuwait - have launched investigations into or prosecuted Twitter activists, provoking other countries in the region to follow suit, reports the Arabic Network of Human Rights Information (ANHRI).

Syria

Arab League breaks its silence and condemns Assad's massacre of protesters; journalists disappear

As both the United Nations Security Council and the Arab League demand that the Syrian regime end its bloody crackdown on protesters, security forces are continuing their brutal assault, report Human Rights Watch and the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). In defiance of international demands, President Bashar al-Assad's aggressive military push to annihilate protests during the holy month of Ramadan has killed 40 people in the Syrian port city of Latakia in the past week. The regime is also abducting dissident journalists and bloggers as it continues its war on information, reports Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Bahrain / Awards

Bahraini rights activist Nabeel Rajab honoured with Ion Ratiu Democracy Award

As president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) and one of the country's leading rights activists, Nabeel Rajab has been closely monitored by the government, barred from leaving the country, beaten and harassed. His family home has been attacked with tear gas and armed invasions. One night, while he slept, dozens of masked gunmen stormed his house and abducted him, then drove him around in a vehicle all night and assaulted him - before returning him home. The Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington is honouring Rajab with this year's Ion Ratiu Democracy Award (IRDA) to give international recognition to his courageous fight for democracy in Bahrain.

Israel

Anti-boycott law curbs free expression, say MADA and Human Rights Watch

Israel has violated the right to free expression by approving a law that penalises individuals and organisations that call for boycotting Israel, say IFEX members the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) and Human Rights Watch.

Bahrain

National dialogue doomed as Al-Wefaq pulls out and crackdown continues

The prospects for peace in Bahrain are not looking as bright now that the main opposition party, Al-Wefaq, has pulled out of the national dialogue, and the government continues to crack down on its critics, report the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and other IFEX members.

Syria

Revolutionary singer killed in regime's propaganda war

Over the past few weeks in the northern city of Hama, Syria, up to 200,000 residents would gather nightly in al-Aqsi Square to do their part in the Arab uprisings. Most nights, Ibrahim Kashoush, popularly known as "the singer of the revolution", would perform political songs that expressed the defiance of the people. That ended abruptly on 5 July, when his throat was slit by security forces amid a series of deadly raids, reports the Arabic Network of Human Rights Information (ANHRI).

Bahrain

Military court sentences rights activists to life

Eight Bahraini human rights and political activists - including former head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) Adbulhadi al-Khawaja and renowned blogger Abduljalil al-Singace - were given life sentences today by a military court, which found them guilty of plotting a coup against the government during two months of unrest earlier this year, report BCHR, Human Rights Watch, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and the "Guardian".

Iran

Authorities responsible for death of dissident Hoda Saber, says RSF

The Iranian authorities are responsible for the death of jailed journalist and dissident Hoda Saber, who died of a heart attack on 10 June after going on hunger strike, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

International / Bahrain

Bahrain testimony a highlight of "best ever" IFEX conference

Security forces prevented IFEX member Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), from attending the IFEX General Meeting and Strategy Conference in person in Beirut last week. But they couldn't prevent him from talking about recent human rights abuses in Bahrain via Skype, nor IFEX members and partners who were listening from initiating an international mission to Bahrain in the coming days. This was just one of the many highlights of the IFEX 2011 conference.

Yemen

Protesters killed, hundreds wounded and arrested; media under fire in clashes

At least 20 Yemenis were killed as hundreds of soldiers descended on a protest camp in the southern city of Taiz on 29 May, firing at demonstrators, indiscriminately torching tents and detaining hundreds of people, reports the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). And in the midst of rising violence, both military forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and opposition and tribal gunmen are targeting media outlets in exchanges of gunfire, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the International Press Institute (IPI).

Lebanon

Follow IFEX in Beirut

Next week, IFEX members will be converging in Beirut, Lebanon, for the IFEX Strategy Conference, the biennial meeting of the world's largest network of free expression organisations. Registration is closed, but for those of you who can't be there, follow us on Twitter: @IFEXGM2011 and through our blog: http://www.ifexgm2011.wordpress.com

Bahrain

IFEX members appeal to world leaders to take action against rights abuses

Even as the King of Bahrain promises to end the state of emergency he imposed in mid-March to quell anti-government demonstrations, journalists, rights activists and opposition leaders continue to be arrested, with dozens of them hastily tried. Forty-two IFEX members and 15 partners are appealing to the international community to end their silence and demand that the Bahraini government take action against the rights abuses.

Iran

Authorities responsible for Siamak Pourzand's death

The Iranian authorities are responsible for Iranian journalist Siamak Pourzand's suicide, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Detained and under house arrest for the past 10 years, banned from leaving the country and separated from his family, Pourzand, 80, committed suicide on 29 April in Tehran, report RSF and PEN American Center.

United Arab Emirates

Activists arrested for opposing government

Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates followed in the footsteps of its neighbours and arrested at least five rights activists who have been demanding political reforms over the Internet. Egypt-based rights organisations, including IFEX members Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), have banded together to demand the release of the activists, while Human Rights Watch is appealing to international organisations to pull out of UAE.

Palestine / Italy

Italian journalist kidnapped and killed in Gaza

Hamas officials have found the body of an Italian journalist and activist who was kidnapped last week in Gaza, report the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) and the International Press Institute (IPI). Vittorio Arrigoni was affiliated with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a pro-Palestinian rights group, and reported on Palestinian issues for the Italian newspaper "Il Manifesto" and online paper Peacereporter, and also wrote a blog.

Bahrain

IFEX defends member BCHR in light of free expression abuses

Last week, the president of Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Nabeel Rajab, made history as the first person prosecuted in the Arab world for a tweet, reports the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). He was accused of alerting readers through Twitter to "fabricated" pictures of the tortured body of Ali Isa Saqer, who Rajab alleged died at the hands of security forces in a Bahraini prison. While Bahrain is quickly turning into a police state, IFEX has expressed concern for Rajab and the sudden escalation of arrests and threats against other free expression advocates in Bahrain.

Iran / Awards

Jailed Iranian journalist wins World Press Freedom Prize

In 2009, well-known Iranian journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi was one of dozens of journalists arrested following the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and charged with plotting to overthrow the government with a "soft revolution". He was sentenced to six years in jail, five years of exile and a lifetime ban from practising journalism. In 2011, he has been awarded the UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

Yemen

Thirty IFEX members appeal to Saleh to stop free expression abuses

Thirty IFEX members have come together to condemn the attacks on journalists and free expression in Yemen, where one journalist has been killed and dozens of others have been attacked since political unrest broke out in January.

Syria

Despite concessions, crackdown continues

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has released 260 political prisoners and promised security forces would stop shooting demonstrators, but the fate of Syrian journalists and protesters is no less secure. The death toll from protests in the southern city of Daraa is 61, some journalists have been detained, and the news blackout is being enforced with violence, report Human Rights Watch and other IFEX members. Plus, journalists and dissidents detained before the uprising have not been released and laws remain which criminalise speech.

Bahrain

Security forces resort to night-time raids of terror to quell dissent

Nabeel Rajab, the head of IFEX member Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), was briefly held and beaten by security forces on 20 March, days after Bahraini security forces killed at least four protesters and arrested opposition figures. The arrest appears part of a broader government offensive involving pre-dawn raids of terror on the homes of those viewed as supporting pro-democracy protesters, according to BCHR, Human Rights Watch and other IFEX members. Rajab says he is the only human rights defender in Bahrain currently not in hiding or detention.

Yemen

Foreign witnesses removed; local reporters and activists attacked, abducted

Yemeni authorities have arrested and deported at least six foreign journalists after coverage of government attacks that killed seven protesters in Sana'a over the weekend. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Press Institute (IPI) fear the deportations are setting the stage for further repression of local journalists and greater violence against protesters. And as thousands continue to march the streets demanding that President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down immediately, snipers are taking aim at unarmed demonstrators while security forces are arresting wounded demonstrators in hospitals, reports Human Rights Watch.

Palestine

MADA launches video honouring Palestinian photographers

The death of Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana in April 2008 in the Gaza Strip shocked the world. The Palestinian Centre for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) has produced a short film in honour of Shana and the many other Palestinian photographers "who have paid the high price of continued Israeli attacks." It's just one of MADA's many creative ways to engage the public in media freedom issues.

Bahrain

Authorities free political prisoners in gesture to protesters

In a major concession to protesters, 23 high-profile activists and bloggers who had been accused of plotting to overthrow the government have been released, along with dozens of other political prisoners, report the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and news reports.

Iraq

Journalist killed; security forces attack media, protesters

A freelance journalist was gunned down outside his home in Mosul on 17 February, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the International Press Institute (IPI) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Elsewhere in Iraq, security forces raided media groups and have been using live ammunition on protesters in some of the most blatant violations of free expression and free assembly, say RSF and Human Rights Watch.

Syria

Teenage woman blogger sentenced to five years

A 20-year-old woman blogger has been sentenced to five years in jail on state security charges, report the Arabic Network of Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), PEN International's Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Bahrain / Algeria / Iran / Yemen

Journalists, peaceful protesters violently suppressed

The ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has reinvigorated protests across the Arab region, resulting in clashes between security forces and protesters in Algeria, Bahrain, Iran and Yemen, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Human Rights Watch and IFEX members in the region.

Yemen

Authorities release journalists for fear of Tunisia-style unrest

In the face of angry protesters and the potential for a Tunisia-style uprising, the Yemeni authorities suddenly released a number of journalists and human rights activists arrested over the weekend, report the Arabic Network for Human Right Information (ANHRI), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Saudi Arabia

New regulation curbs free expression online

Saudi Arabia continues to live up to its position as one of the world's worst countries to be a blogger by passing a draconian "electronic publication" regulation that further restricts free expression online, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Iran

Seven journalists arrested in less than one week

As Iran began a round of discussions with the international community on its nuclear programme in recent months, it has stepped up attacks on the media, living up to its reputation as the world's leading jailer of journalists. Police raided the office of Iran's flagship reformist paper, "Shargh", twice on 7 December and beat and arrested four of its journalists, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), ARTICLE 19 and Index on Censorship. Three more journalists have been arrested since then, on top of more news of abusive treatment endured by Iranian prisoners.

Bahrain

Lawyers boycott trial, protesting torture of activists

While riot police surrounded a Bahraini court in the capital Manama, and helicopters flew overhead to derail demonstrations in support of 25 Bahraini human rights activists, bloggers and clerics on trial last week, furious defense lawyers walked out of the courtroom in protest over the torture of detainees, report the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Bahraini authorities continue to harass and arrest anyone expressing support for the detainees.

Awards / Lebanon / Morocco

Moroccan journalist wins WAN-IFRA's 2010 Gebran Tueni prize

It has been five years since the assassination of Lebanese editor Gebran Tueni, killed by a car bomb on his way to work. In honour of Tueni's courage and commitment to freedom of the press, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) continues to give out a prize in his name to an editor or publisher from the Arab region. This year's recipient is Aboubakr Jamaï, the co-founder and former managing director of the weekly newspaper "Le Journal Hebdomadaire".

Kuwait

Popular journalist sentenced to a year in jail

A Kuwaiti journalist and blogger has been slapped with a one-year prison sentence for defamation - one of 18 charges the government has filed against him in the past year, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Iraq

Fourth journalist killed since U.S. announced troop withdrawal in September

A young TV reporter was shot dead at his home in the northern city of Mosul this week, the fourth journalist to be killed since the U.S. announced its military withdrawal from Iraq, report Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the International Press institute (IPI), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Awards and other opportunities / Syria

Nominations wanted for Martin Ennals award

The Martin Ennals Foundation is seeking nominations for its 2011 award for human rights defenders. The deadline is 9 December. This year's award went to Syrian lawyer Muhannad al-Hassani, who is serving a three-year jail sentence for "weakening national sentiment" and "spreading false news".

Bahrain

Elections go off amid unprecedented crackdown

Thousands of Bahraini voters went to the polls last weekend in parliamentary and municipal elections amid concerns about voting irregularities and an ongoing security crackdown on Shiite opposition figures and bloggers, report the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and Human Rights Watch. Trials for the detained activists are set to begin this week.

Palestine / Israel

Hamas shuts down journalist union

Hamas security services descended on the Gaza headquarters of the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate (PJS) and shut it down indefinitely last week, report the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). It is just the latest in a series of military attacks from all sides on the Palestinian press in the volatile region.

International / Awards / Iran

Jailed Iranian journalist receives WAN-IFRA Golden Pen of Freedom

Ahmad Zeid-Abadi, an Iranian journalist who was thrown in jail following Iran's disputed presidential election last year, has been awarded the 2010 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

Iraq

Cameraman killed in targeted bomb explosion

An Iraqi cameraman was killed on Monday - the latest in a series of targeted attacks on journalists over the past few weeks, report Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Tahrir Kadhim Jawad, a cameraman for the Arabic-language service of the U.S. TV channel Al-Hurra, was on his way to work near Jasr al-Korma when a bomb placed under his car exploded in Garma, 50 miles west of Baghdad.

Iran

The "Blogfather" gets 19 years in regime's war on opinion

One blogger has just been sentenced to 19.5 years in prison, another faces the death penalty and three journalists have been handed multi-year prison terms in Iran, report IFEX members. Take action now to support "The Blogfather," as Hossein Derakhshan is known, by signing the petition at: http://www.freetheblogfather.org/

Bahrain

Brutal repression of human rights defenders in historic crackdown

Hundreds of Bahraini political activists, human rights defenders and Shiite religious figures have been arrested in recent months - many of them tortured in detention - in the worst crackdown on free expression the country has ever seen, report the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and Human Rights Watch. Authorities have blocked numerous websites, shut down independent rights groups and threatened rights defenders who have criticised the torture of prominent activists.

Syria

Young blogger detained for nine months; IFEX members report on President's abysmal rights record

A 19-year-old high school student and blogger has been detained incommunicado by Syrian intelligence services for nine months, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). This year, both the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Human Rights Watch commented that after a decade of rule by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, conditions for free expression have not improved, with the government imprisoning critical reporters and carrying out Internet filtering.

Iraq

Two targeted killings of journalists in two days; 230 journalists killed during Iraq War

Violence against journalists continues after the formal withdrawal of United States combat troops from Iraq in August. An Iraqi journalist was shot dead this week on his way to Karbala in southern Iraq when gunmen travelling in another car fired at him, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The next day, a television journalist was gunned down outside his home in Mosul. RSF has released a survey of media deaths during the US Army's presence in Iraq, "The Iraq War: A Heavy Death Toll for the Media".

Yemen

A surge in military assault prompts crackdown on journalists

As the Yemeni government escalates its military offensive against militants in the southern part of the country, arbitrary arrests of journalists on security grounds have become commonplace throughout Yemen, report the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and other IFEX members. At least 25 journalists were held by the army as they tried to attend a peace conference in the north around 21 August. Days earlier, security forces detained both a cartoonist who is also a human rights activist as well as a journalist who writes about Al-Qaeda.

Iraq

Journalist kidnapped and killed

An Iraqi journalist was found dead on 24 August, six days after he was kidnapped, reports Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Press Institute (IPI). Journalist Kamal Qassim Mohamed had been shot. In a separate incident in Baghdad, police stormed the home of a journalist, injuring his family members.

Bahrain

Crackdown on rights defenders speaking out about torture and discrimination

Four Bahraini human rights defenders are among those recently jailed incommunicado, charged with inciting violence and terrorism, report the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and other IFEX members. Twenty-six human rights groups, including the Cairo Institute for Human Rights (CIHRS), the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and BCHR, say the counter-terrorism law is being deployed to criminalise free expression and to crush dissent in the lead up to elections on 23 October.

Jordan

Cyber crime law attacks free expression; Internet cafés monitored

Jordanian authorities are attacking Internet freedom on all fronts. On 3 August they decreed a provisional cyber crime law, setting up a legislative arsenal to regulate the Internet and punish those critical of the state, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The law gives authorities sweeping powers to limit the flow of information and control debate prior to presidential elections in November. The government also recently blocked dozens of independent news sites and ordered Internet café owners to install surveillance cameras, reports the Arabic Network for Human Rights (ANHRI).

United Arab Emirates / Saudi Arabia

Regimes worldwide attempt to control information on BlackBerry devices

The decision by the United Arab Emirates to suspend BlackBerry services for email, instant messaging and browsing the web as of 11 October was only the beginning. Several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Indonesia and India, are also considering similar bans and demanding access to BlackBerry's encryption technology in an effort to control the flow of information, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Freedom House. UAE authorities say BlackBerry phones are a threat to national security if they can't be monitored.

Lebanon

Journalist killed after years of relative calm on the Israel border

One Lebanese journalist was killed and another wounded in border clashes between the Lebanese Army and Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) last week, report Maharat Foundation, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and other IFEX members.

Iraq

Media outlet repeatedly attacked; suicide bomb kills four

A suicide bomber blew up a vehicle in front of the Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya in Baghdad on 26 July, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The blast killed four of the news channel's support staff and injured several others, leaving a massive crater.

Palestine

Newspapers trapped in political quagmire; sound bombs hurled at journalists

Three pro-Fatah Palestinian newspapers published in the West Bank have been barred from distribution in the Gaza Strip, and told not to criticise the Hamas government in order to be permitted into the country, report the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Index on Censorship. MADA has also condemned the use of tear gas and sound bombs by Israeli forces on Palestinian journalists covering protests last week.

Syria

Journalist and human rights lawyer remain behind bars

Syrian authorities continue to ignore protests about the detention of critics of the regime under spurious charges. Despite finishing a 30-month sentence, a Syrian journalist and activist is being kept in jail in reprisal for an article smuggled out of prison which criticises the Iranian regime and Syria's relations with Iran, report Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). As well, a human rights lawyer who has repeatedly called attention to the abysmal treatment and torture of political prisoners was sentenced on 23 June to three years in prison, report the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and Freedom House.

Iran

Violence against critical voices continues one year after disputed elections

One year after the disputed 12 June elections in Iran, the regime continues to tighten its grip and methodically crush dissent. IFEX members are calling on the Iranian government to release all imprisoned journalists and writers and end its repression of press freedom and free expression in the country.

Israel / Palestine / Turkey

Journalists on raided flotilla speak out; one journalist killed in attack

In the aftermath of Israel's raid on the flotilla delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza on 31 May, journalists released from custody are providing first-hand accounts of abuse, interrogation and confiscation of equipment by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). One journalist was killed in the deadly attack. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have edited and distributed portions of video footage taken from foreign journalists.

Israel

Israeli Defence Forces assault flotilla of activists and journalists, impose media blackout

At least nine people were killed and dozens wounded when an Israeli warship intercepted and raided a flotilla of activists attempting to deliver 10,000 tons of aid to Gaza on 31 May. Around 60 journalists were reportedly on board. More than 600 people from 42 countries, including journalists, activists and artists, have been arrested since the raid unfolded in international waters. Shortly after the assault, Israeli authorities launched an information blackout, blocking cellphones and barring journalists from covering the attack, report the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), ARTICLE 19, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and other IFEX members.

Yemen

Presidential pardon not absolute as journalists still facing jail

The Yemeni President's supposed pardon of journalists convicted or being tried of press offences is baffling the free expression community as journalists and media continue to have sentences slapped on them, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Iraq

Young journalist slain; politicians gag journalists in Kurdistan

An independent journalist in Iraqi Kurdistan, who had written critically of a government official, was abducted and killed last week, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Press Institute (IPI). Journalists are regularly harassed and threatened as security forces controlled by Kurdish political parties do not hesitate to use violence to stop reporters from covering incidents in the region.

International / Awards / Syria

Syrian activist and lawyer wins 2010 Martin Ennals Award

Muhannad Al-Hassani, a Syrian lawyer who has challenged the oppressive legal framework imposed by the Syrian government, has been honoured with this year's Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders. He is currently in prison in poor health.

Iran

IFEX members deliver petition demanding the release of imprisoned journalists

A coalition of 16 free expression organisations, including many IFEX members, delivered a petition with 3,500 signatures to Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York City on 6 April, calling for the release of imprisoned journalists, writers and bloggers.

Iraq

US military whistleblowers share video of Reuters staff being killed

Chilling video footage of the US military killing a dozen Iraqis, including two Reuters staff, was released on 5 April by WikiLeaks, a website that publishes leaked information, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The disturbing video was taken from a US Apache helicopter, and includes heartless commentary from soldiers as they fire on civilians in a Baghdad neighbourhood.

Oman

Books banned; writers and journalists blacklisted

The Omani government confiscated several banned books from a book fair this month and continues to cultivate a blacklist of writers and journalists who are being denied media exposure, reports the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI).

Bahrain

Human rights defenders and independent journalists harassed and threatened

Dozens of human rights groups, including 31 IFEX members, have written to the United Nations to put a spotlight on the Bahrain government's relentless attacks on human rights defenders, journalists and bloggers. Independent journalists have been taken to court for critical writings, rights defenders have been imprisoned, and websites censored. Those under threat include members of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR).

Palestine

Journalists assaulted and censored

Palestinian journalists are under attack from Israeli forces and are also subjected to raids and arrests as a result of political rivalry between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, report the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedom (MADA) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Meanwhile, Israel continues to target and detain scores of Palestinians involved in protests against the separation barrier in the West Bank with freedom of movement and expression violations, reports Human Rights Watch.

Iraq

Election violence harrowing; scores of journalists assaulted

As Iraqis went to the polls on 7 March to select 325 members of parliament, Human Rights Watch urged all political groups to make freedom of expression central to their platform to be sure the next government respects press freedom and minority rights. Meanwhile, countless journalists in Iraq Kurdistan faced brutal attacks leading up to and on election-day, because of political rivalry, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Iraq

Journalist kidnapped

An Iraqi reporter was abducted by gunmen in Kirkuk last week, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Press Institute (IPI).

Iran

IFEX members spearhead campaign to release imprisoned Iranian journalists

A coalition of IFEX members launched a campaign last week on the 31st anniversary of the Iranian revolution, to pressure the government of Iran to release journalists and activists imprisoned for exercising their right to free expression. The "Our Society Will Be a Free Society" campaign is named for a pledge that Ayatollah Khomenei made during the 1979 Iranian Revolution to protect freedom of expression and the press.

Yemen

Journalist slain

A Yemeni journalist, who wrote for several news media, including an opposition newspaper, was shot dead in his home on 13 February, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Press freedom violations have escalated in 2009 but this is the first time a journalist has been murdered in violence against independent media since North and South Yemen merged in 1990, says RSF.

Yemen

President uses military offensives as cover for attacks on dissidents

Yemeni authorities are taking brutal retaliatory actions against human rights defenders, journalists and critics of the regime's policies, according to IFEX members. In response, 25 Arab rights organisations, including the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and three other IFEX members, have released a joint statement calling on the government to end kidnappings, forced disappearances, torture and arbitrary arrests.

Iran

Systematic suppression of dissent continues

Iranian authorities are carrying out a lethal campaign to silence independent journalists and critics, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Two Iranian netizens and human rights activists are possibly facing the death penalty. RSF has accused the Iranian regime of crimes against humanity.

Palestine

MADA film Freedoms Invasion shows threats to Palestinian journalists

The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) produced a short documentary film last year about attacks on Palestinian journalists in the occupied Palestinian territories, called "Freedoms Invasion." The film also shows how the conflict between Hamas and Fatah has damaged the Palestinian media environment. Directed by Waja Jamil, the 10-minute film is now on YouTube in Arabic, with English subtitles.

Yemen

Clampdown on militants used as excuse to stifle free expression

An independent newspaper critical of the Yemeni government's policies was under military siege last week and its editors were arrested, report IFEX members. Yemen's intense clampdown on militants is being used as an excuse to stifle media freedom, say the International Press Institute (IPI) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Iran

Journalists and opposition critics rounded up; 42 imprisoned

Iranian authorities have been on the hunt for prominent independent journalists and opposition figures in a new wave of arrests that began a day after opposition demonstrations took place countrywide on 27 December 2009, report IFEX members. Iran is now the world's biggest prison for media with 42 journalists behind bars as of this week, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Iraq

Journalistic Freedoms Observatory honours Iraqis covering corruption

The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO) has honoured four Iraqi journalists with its Press Courage Award in order to support freedom of expression.

Iran

ARTICLE 19 launches Iranian blog, Azad Tribune

The Iranian regime views any expression of dissent as opposition that must be controlled, with tighter controls on mass communication, bans on foreign press and deadly responses to peaceful protest, says ARTICLE 19. Opposition publications are routinely muzzled

Iran

Protesters ferociously attacked; dissidents hunted down

Iranian authorities have meticulously carried out total control of news and information in the last week, gearing up for National Students' Day on 7 December, reports Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Recently, two prominent journalists were sentenced to lengthy prison terms, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Others are being summoned for interrogation or simply arrested.

Syria

Journalist detained for government critiques; Kurds' free expression systematically targeted

In a recent wave of arbitrary arrests of dissidents, a journalist who wrote articles on government corruption and defended other journalists harassed by authorities was arrested on 22 November, reports Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The Kurdish community has also been singled out for violations of free expression by Syrian authorities, reports Human Rights Watch.

Bahrain

Smear campaign against free expression

A large number of fake human rights and civil society organisations have sprung to life in Bahrain, when in reality they are fronts for greater government control, says a new report by the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR).

Iran

Torture of opposition critics and journalists continues; free speech monitored online

A UN human rights committee accused the Iranian government on 20 November of ramping up its use of torture, flogging and amputation of dissidents, reports Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The government has also launched a new Web Crime Unit, policing one of the last spaces for free expression in Iran as it attempts to tighten its control over information, ideas and opinions, reports ARTICLE 19.

Lebanon

Political actors control media

Many of Lebanon's media outlets are influenced by powerful political figures to whom they are financially and politically in debt, the International Press Institute (IPI) reports after completing a four-day press mission in October. Also, the Maharat Foundation recently released a report that scrutinises the relationship between Lebanese politics and media.

Iraq

Young cameraman killed in bomb blast

An Iraqi cameraman was killed in an explosion in front of his home in Kirkuk on 21 October, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Iran

Journalist freed on bail; repression continues

Journalist Maziar Bahari was freed on bail on 17 October after spending 120 days in Tehran's Evin prison, report Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE).

Yemen

Free expression activists assaulted during protests

A demonstration demanding freedom of expression in Yemen, organised by the NGO Women Journalists without Chains, was brutally dismantled by police on 6 October, reports Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Kuwait

Journalist beaten; state monitors blogosphere

A Kuwaiti journalist known for his reporting and activism on corruption was assaulted and left bloodied and bruised on 4 October, reports ARTICLE 19. Freedom of expression is also being diminished with the monitoring of blogs and websites by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Transportation, according to the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI).

Iran

Journalists forced to confess in show trials; detainees tortured

The media was excoriated in Iran last week in the farcical mass trial of opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, reports Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Authorities continue to detain journalists employed by foreign media and target bloggers.

Iraq

Journalists stage unprecedented protest against free expression restrictions

In an unprecedented action, hundreds of Iraqi journalists, academics, rights activists and parliamentarians took to Baghdad's streets last week to protest moves by the government to stifle free expression, say Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and the Journalistic Freedom Observatory (JFO), which organised the demonstration.

International / Yemen

Al-Jazeera under attack in Yemen and elsewhere

Al-Jazeera has been confronting one challenge to its operations after another, report IFEX members. In Yemen and the West Bank in Palestine, the news network has come under fire for its critical reporting. In Canada, Al-Jazeera representatives are petitioning the country's licensing board to approve the network without conditions.

Iran

Now world's worst jailer of journalists

With approximately 40 journalists now in prison, Iran has surpassed China as the world's worst jailer of media workers, report Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Syria

Journalists and political opponents speak from prison

Political prisoners in Syria are suffering greatly, says the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), which released a letter signed by prisoners of conscience in Central Damascus Prison in late June. Ahead of the high profile visit of the French Foreign Minister to Syria this past week, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also reported on poor conditions in prison.

Iran

Media repression continues into second week

As daily street demonstrations gripped the nation following Iran's disputed presidential elections, Iran's crackdown on the media continued into its second week, report IFEX members. An unknown number of journalists have been arrested, expelled or confined to their offices, while newspapers are being censored and communications disrupted.

Qatar

Ménard calls it quits at Doha Centre

Former head of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Robert Ménard and his team have left the Doha Centre for Media Freedom, a relatively new international press freedom organisation based in Qatar, reports RSF.

Iran

IFEX members call for end to government crackdown on media following election

Iranian authorities have censored independent media sources, both local and foreign, as anti-government protests have raged in the country following last Friday's presidential elections, report ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and other IFEX members.

Awards / Palestine

MADA, one of IFEX's newest members, wins PEC award

On 4 June, the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) and the Mexican Ambassador to the UN, Luis Alfonso De Alba, were jointly honoured in Geneva with the first Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) Award for the Protection of Journalists.

Iraq

Sports journalist killed by car bomb

A reporter with TV station Al-Baghdadia was killed by a car bomb in Mosul, northern Iraq, on 31 May, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Border (RSF).

Iran

RSF urges presidential candidates to defend free expression

Last week Iran temporarily blocked access to Facebook, prompting government critics to condemn the move as an attempt to silence the opposition before next month's presidential election.

Syria

Michel Kilo released

Journalist Michel Kilo was released from prison last week after completing a three-year prison sentence, but was immediately detained for five days, reports Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Yemen

Police raid paper, wound three

This morning (13 May) police surrounded and opened fire on the office of Yemen's leading independent daily, the latest target of the government's crackdown on the media, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and other IFEX members.

Iran / United States

Roxana Saberi freed

IFEX members welcomed the release of U.S. Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, whose eight-year jail term for spying for the U.S. was this week reduced to a suspended two-year sentence and a five-year ban on reporting from Iran.

Iran / United States

Freelancer Roxana Saberi convicted of spying

Iran convicted an American-Iranian journalist of spying for the United States and sentenced her to eight years in prison, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Press Institute (IPI).

Bahrain

King pardons hundreds of activists following international outcry

Bahrain's king has pardoned 178 people charged with breaching state security, including 35 Shi'ite activists whose arrests sparked violent protests and whose case drew international scrutiny, reports the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR).

Iran

"BLOGUERO" MUERE MIENTRAS ESTÁ EN CUSTODIA

Yemen

VUELVEN A INDULTAR A AL-KHAIWANI

Iran

UN BLOGUEUR MEURT EN DÉTENTION

Yemen

AL-KHAIWANI BÉNÉFICIE D'UNE NOUVELLE GRÂCE

Iran

BLOGGER DIES WHILE IN CUSTODY

An Iranian blogger sent to prison last month for insulting the country's religious leaders and making propaganda against the state has died under questionable circumstances, report ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Yemen

AL-KHAIWANI PARDONED AGAIN

IFEX members the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have expressed relief that the Yemeni President has again pardoned outspoken journalist Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani.

Bahrain

LES DÉFENSEURS DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE RISQUENT DE LOURDES PEINES DE PRISON EN PÉRIODE DE RÉPRESSION DE LA LIBRE EXPRESSION

Bahrain

ACTIVISTAS DE DERECHOS HUMANOS SE ENFRENTAN A PROLONGADAS PENAS DE CÁRCEL EN MEDIO DE OFENSIVA CONTRA LIBRE EXPRESIÓN

Bahrain

HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS FACING LENGTHY JAIL TIME AMID CRACKDOWN ON FREE EXPRESSION

In the Bahraini government's ongoing crackdown on free expression, blogs and social networking websites have been censored, union leaders have been slapped with defamation suits and human rights activists are facing up to 10 years or even life in prison, report the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19.

Iraq

DOS PERIODISTAS MUERTOS EN ATAQUE SUICIDA CON BOMBAS

Iraq

DEUX JOURNALISTES TUÉS DANS UN ATTENTAT SUICIDE

Iraq

TWO JOURNALISTS KILLED IN SUICIDE BOMBING

Two Iraqi journalists were killed and another four media workers were seriously injured by a suicide bomber in the town of Abu Ghraib, near Baghdad, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Bahrain

20 MEMBRES DE L’IFEX DEMANDENT LA FIN DU HARCÈLEMENT DES DÉFENSEURS DES DROITS

Bahrain

VEINTE MIEMBROS DE IFEX PIDEN PONER FIN A ACOSO DE ACTIVISTAS DE DERECHOS

Bahrain

20 IFEX MEMBERS CALL FOR END TO HARASSMENT OF RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

The Bahraini authorities continue to silence human rights activists by using draconian articles in the country's penal code and anti-terrorism laws. Led by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), 20 IFEX members are calling for the activists' immediate release, and the amendment of Bahrain's laws so that they conform to international human rights conventions.

Yemen

LE TRIBUNAL MAINTIENT LA PEINE DE PRISON PRONONCÉE CONTRE LE JOURNALISTE AL-KHAIWANI, QUI AVAIT ÉTÉ « PARDONNÉ »

Yemen

TRIBUNAL CONFIRMA SENTENCIA DE CÁRCEL CONTRA PERIODISTA "INDULTADO"AL-KHAIWANI

Yemen

COURT UPHOLDS JAIL SENTENCE AGAINST "PARDONED" JOURNALIST AL-KHAIWANI

In a shocking development last week, Yemen's Special Terrorism Court upheld a six-year jail sentence against journalist Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). The journalist had been pardoned by the President in September 2008.

Palestine

ISRAËL LÈVE L’INTERDIT D’ENTRÉE DES JOURNALISTES ÉTRANGERS DANS GAZA

Palestine

ISRAEL LEVANTA PROHIBICIÓN A PERIODISTAS EXTRANJEROS EN GAZA

Palestine

ISRAEL LIFTS BAN ON FOREIGN JOURNALISTS INTO GAZA

Foreign journalists are now being let into war-ravaged Gaza, only after Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire, IFEX members report.

Palestine

PERIODISTAS MUERTOS EN GAZA; REPORTEROS EXTRANJEROS SIGUEN PROSCRITOS

Palestine

DES JOURNALISTES SONT TUÉS À GAZA; LES REPORTERS ÉTRANGERS SONT TOUJOURS INTERDITS

Palestine

JOURNALISTS KILLED IN GAZA; FOREIGN REPORTERS STILL BANNED

Journalists and media houses continue to be in the firing line of Israel Defense Forces (IDF), say IFEX members ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and others, who count at least five journalists and media professionals killed in the recent Gaza conflict.

Palestine

MIEMBROS DE IFEX CRITICAN A ISRAEL POR AGRESIONES A LOS MEDIOS

Iran

ESCALADA DE ATAQUES CONTRA PROMINENTE DEFENSOR DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS

Israel

LES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX CRITIQUENT VERTEMENT ISRAËL À CAUSE DE SES VIOLATIONS DES MÉDIAS

Iran

LES ATTAQUES S'AMPLIFIENT CONTRE UNE CHAMPIONNE ÉMINENTE DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE

Palestine

IFEX MEMBERS SLAM ISRAEL OVER MEDIA VIOLATIONS

Israel should stop targeting Palestinian news agencies and journalists, and immediately allow foreign correspondents access to the Gaza Strip in line with a high court ruling last week, say IFEX members.

Iran

ATTACKS ESCALATE ON PROMINENT HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

Attacks on Iran's most prominent human rights defender by the authorities raise concerns of a broader attempt to silence Iran's human rights community, say Human Rights Watch and other rights groups, as well as the United Nations.

Palestine

LES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX PROTESTENT CONTRE L'INTERDICTION, PAR ISRAËL, DES MÉDIAS ÉTRANGERS À GAZA

Palestine

MIEMBROS DE IFEX PROTESTAN CONTRA LA PROHIBICIÓN DE ISRAEL A LOS MEDIOS EXTRANJEROS EN GAZA

Palestine

IFEX MEMBERS PROTEST ISRAEL'S BAN OF FOREIGN MEDIA FROM GAZA

Israel's Ministry of Defence has reinstated a ban on foreign journalists entering the Gaza Strip, despite protests from IFEX members and the heads of major news organisations, and an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Saudi Arabia

L'ARABIE SAOUDITE INTERDIT À UN AVOCAT DE RECEVOIR UNE RÉCOMPENSE

Saudi Arabia

ARABIA SAUDITA PROHÍBE A ABOGADO RECIBIR PREMIO

Saudi Arabia

SAUDI ARABIA BANS LAWYER FROM RECEIVING AWARD

The Saudi authorities have banned a crusading defence attorney from travelling abroad to receive Human Rights Watch's 2008 Human Rights Defenders Award.

Bahrain

LES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX CONDAMNENT LE HARCÈLEMENT DES DÉFENSEURS DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE

Bahrain

MIEMBROS DE IFEX CONDENAN ACOSO A DEFENSORES DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS

Bahrain

IFEX MEMBERS CONDEMN HARASSMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

At a human rights event in Washington, D.C. last month, the head of IFEX member Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab and two other human rights defenders discussed how Shia citizens of Bahrain are continually shut out - of government jobs, the best education opportunities, the media, places to worship.

Syria

MIEMBROS DE IFEX REPUDIAN SENTENCIA DE 30 MESES DE CÁRCEL PARA ACTIVISTAS

Syria

LES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX CONDAMNENT LA PEINE DE 30 MOIS DE PRISON IMPOSÉE À DES MILITANTS

Syria

IFEX MEMBERS CONDEMN 30-MONTH PRISON SENTENCE FOR ACTIVISTS

IFEX members are outraged at the sentencing of a dozen pro-democracy activists to more than two years in prison, saying that it is the latest sign of the Syrian government's crackdown on opposition groups.

Iraq

UN REPORTER EST ABATTU

Iraq

REPORTERO BALEADO

Iraq

REPORTER GUNNED DOWN

A young Iraqi reporter was shot dead in Kirkuk, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Yemen

LE PRÉSIDENT ACCORDE SON PARDON À UN CRITIQUE ACERBE DU GOUVERNEMENT

Yemen

PRESIDENTE INDULTA A CRÍTICO ABIERTO DEL GOBIERNO

Yemen

PRESIDENT PARDONS OUTSPOKEN GOVERNMENT CRITIC

IFEX members and local activists welcomed the release of Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, an outspoken Yemeni editor who has been jailed since June on terrorist charges.

Iraq

CUATRO MIEMBROS DE UN EQUIPO DE TV SECUESTRADOS Y ASESINADOS EN MOSUL

Iraq

QUATRE MEMBRES D'UNE ÉQUIPE DE TÉLÉVISION SONT ENLEVÉS ET ASSASSINÉS À MOSSOUL

Iraq

FOUR TV CREW MEMBERS ABDUCTED AND SLAIN IN MOSUL

There's a popular reality TV show in Iraq right now that airs only during the month of Ramadan, when devout Muslims fast from dawn until sundown. On "Your Iftar Is On Us", a television crew surprises a poor Iraqi family with food and household goods each night when they break the fast (iftar) during the holy month.

Iran

PERIODISTA Y ACTIVISTA DE BALUCHISTÁN EJECUTADO, OTROS ESTÁN EN RIESGO

Palestine

EJÉRCITO CONDONA BOMBARDEO QUE MATÓ A CAMARÓGRAFO

Iran

UN JOURNALISTE ET MILITANT BALOUTCHI EST EXÉCUTÉ, D'AUTRES COURENT DES RISQUES

Palestine

L'ARMÉE FERME LES YEUX SUR LE BOMBARDEMENT QUI A TUÉ UN CAMERAMAN

Iran

BALUCHI JOURNALIST AND ACTIVIST EXECUTED, OTHERS AT RISK

Iran is using the death penalty against several journalists and activists for their work, say rights groups. On 4 August 2008, Yaghoub Mehrnehad, a social activist and journalist for the "Mardomsalari" ("Democracy") newspaper in Baluchistan, was executed, report the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). He was also executive director of Voice of Justice Youth Association, a local NGO registered with the authorities since 2002, and an advocate for the Baluchi minority.

Palestine

ARMY CONDONES SHELLING THAT KILLED CAMERAMAN

"In the Gaza Strip, anyone with a camera is fair game. That's the inescapable conclusion from the Israeli army's investigation into why one of its tank crews fired at least two shells at a Reuters television journalist openly filming them from a mile away."

Yemen

27 MIEMBROS DE IFEX APELAN POR LA LIBERTAD DE PERIODISTAS, CONDENAN LA REPRESIÓN

Yemen

27 MEMBRES DE L'IFEX DEMANDENT LA REMISE EN LIBERTÉ DES JOURNALISTES ET DÉNONCENT LA RÉPRESSION

Yemen

27 IFEX MEMBERS APPEAL FOR FREEDOM OF JOURNALISTS, CONDEMN REPRESSION

On 7 August 2008, 27 IFEX members sent a letter to the President of Yemen condemning the deteriorating state of freedom of expression in his country, including recent jailings of journalists.

Iraq

UN JOURNALISTE EST ASSASSINÉ À KIRKOUK

Bahrain

LES DÉFENSEURS DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE SE VOIENT INFLIGER DE LOURDES PEINES DE PRISON

Iraq

PERIODISTA ASESINADO EN KIRKUK

Bahrain

IMPONEN SEVERAS SENTENCIAS DE CÁRCEL A DEFENSORES DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS

Iraq

JOURNALIST SLAIN IN KIRKUK

A journalist who had received threats for his investigative reporting was gunned down outside of his home in Kirkuk in Iraqi Kurdistan, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Bahrain

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS GIVEN HARSH JAIL SENTENCES

Eleven human rights activists and demonstrators who were "unjustly" detained following protests in December have been given jail sentences of one to seven years, reports the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR).

Syria

MIEMBROS DE IFEX INSTAN A LÍDERES DEL MEDITERRÁNEO A CONSIDERAR VIOLACIONES A LOS DERECHOS

Syria

LES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX PRESSENT LES DIRIGEANTS DE LA MÉDITERRANÉE DE SE PENCHER SUR LES VIOLATIONS DES DROITS

Bahrain

GOBIERNO ALIMENTA TENSIONES SECTARIAS PARA JUSTIFICAR OFENSIVA CONTRA PRENSA

Bahrain

LE GOUVERNEMENT RAVIVE LES TENSIONS SECTAIRES AFIN DE JUSTIFIER LA RÉPRESSION DE LA PRESSE

Bahrain

GOVERNMENT STOKES SECTARIAN TENSIONS TO JUSTIFY CRACKDOWN ON PRESS

Just over a month after the Bahrain government said it would eliminate prison sentences for journalists and lift some bans on censored publications, it has done a massive U-turn. Authorities in the country are cracking down on opposition journalists, websites and even mosque leaders for apparently stirring up sectarian tensions and threatening national security, reports the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR).

Palestine

PALESTINO GANA PREMIO AL VALOR EN CARICATURA EDITORIAL DE CRNI

Palestine

UN PALESTINIEN REMPORTE LE PRIX ANNUEL DU COURAGE EN CARICATURE POLITIQUE, DÉCERNÉ PAR LE CRNI

Palestine

PALESTINIAN WINS CRNI'S COURAGE IN EDITORIAL CARTOONING AWARD

Bahaa Boukhari, a Palestinian cartoonist who has faced jail terms for his work, has won the 2008 Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award from IFEX member Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI).

Iraq

NUEVO MONUMENTO HOMENAJEA A PERIODISTAS ASESINADOS

Iraq

UN NOUVEAU MONUMENT HONORE LES JOURNALISTES ASSASSINÉS

Iraq

NEW MONUMENT HONOURS SLAIN JOURNALISTS

A new monument unveiled last week in the heart of London, U.K., pays tribute to journalists and media workers killed in the course of their jobs. The 10-metre-high glass sculpture "Breathing" atop the BBC's headquarters in London was unveiled by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 16 June.

Yemen

IMPONEN A PERIODISTA ABIERTO SENTENCIA DE CÁRCEL DE SEIS AÑOS

Yemen

UN JOURNALISTE AU FRANC PARLER EST CONDAMNÉ À SIX ANS DE PRISON

Yemen

OUTSPOKEN JOURNALIST GETS SIX-YEAR JAIL SENTENCE

Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, a veteran journalist and one of Yemen's most prominent democracy advocates, has been sentenced to six years in jail with hard labour for supporting an alleged terrorist group, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and other rights groups.

Iraq

DOS PERIODISTAS MUERTOS EN ATAQUES SEPARADOS

Iraq

DEUX JOURNALISTES TUÉS DANS DES INCIDENTS SÉPARÉS

Iraq

TWO JOURNALISTS KILLED IN SEPARATE ATTACKS

Two Iraqi journalists were killed in separate incidents last week, continuing Iraq's abysmal record as the deadliest country for the world's media, say the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Iraq

EL KURDISTÁN IRAQUÍ YA NO ES EL BASTIÓN DE LA LIBERTAD DE PRENSA, ENCUENTRA EL CPJ

Iraq

LE KURDISTAN IRAKIEN N'EST PLUS LE BASTION DE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE, CONSTATE LE CPJ

Iraq

IRAQI KURDISTAN NO LONGER THE BASTION OF PRESS FREEDOM, CPJ FINDS

As a contributor to Kurdistanpost, a popular Kurdish news website, Nasseh Abdel Raheem Rashid has railed against the actions of crooked politicians in Iraqi Kurdistan. It was only a matter of time before Rashid's criticism would get him noticed. As he walked through the market of his hometown Halabja last October, four armed men in military garb forced him into a pickup, bound him up and covered his head with a sack. He was then dropped off at an unknown location, but not before being beaten and threatened at gunpoint to stop working or be killed.

Lebanon

LA LIBERTAD DE PRENSA, UNA BAJA EN EL CONFLICTO MÁS RECIENTE

Yemen

LLAMADO POR LA LIBERACIÓN DE PERIODISTA YEMENÍ ACUCIADO POR PROBLEMAS

Lebanon

LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE VICTIME DU DERNIER CONFLIT

Yemen

EXIGEZ LA REMISE EN LIBERTÉ D'UN JOURNALISTE YÉMENITE AGUERRI

Lebanon

PRESS FREEDOM A CASUALTY IN LATEST CONFLICT

At least five journalists have been injured in Beirut in recent days covering the fierce clashes between pro- and anti-government factions, while media outlets have been forced to shut down, report IFEX member in Lebanon the Maharat Foundation and other press freedom organisations.

Yemen

CALL FOR RELEASE OF EMBATTLED YEMENI JOURNALIST

Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, a veteran journalist and one of Yemen's most prominent democracy advocates, is going through an unprecedented legal battle to prove that he is not a terrorist plotting to topple the regime. On 21 May, he is due to be sentenced for "insulting the President" and "demoralising the military" - and could get the death penalty. In one click, send a letter supporting al-Khaiwani to the Yemeni government, U.S., U.K., and EU and UN representatives.

Iraq

UNE JOURNALISTE EST TUÉE DANS UNE TENTATIVE D'ENLÈVEMENT AVORTÉE

Saudi Arabia

UN BLOGUEUR CÉLÈBRE EST REMIS EN LIBERTÉ

Iraq

MUJER PERIODISTA ASESINADA EN FALLIDO INTENTO DE SECUESTRO

Saudi Arabia

ARABIA SAUDITA: LIBERAN A FAMOSO AUTOR DE BLOG

Iraq

WOMAN JOURNALIST KILLED IN BOTCHED ABDUCTION ATTEMPT

Gunmen ambushed and shot dead an Iraqi reporter in a botched kidnapping attempt on 4 May in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, report Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and local sources.

Saudi Arabia

FAMOUS BLOGGER RELEASED

The "dean" of bloggers in Saudi Arabia has been released without charge after nearly five months behind bars, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN.

Palestine

CAMARÓGRAFO ASESINADO MIENTRAS FILMABA TANQUE ISRAELÍ

Palestine

UN CAMÉRAMAN PERD LA VIE PENDANT QU'IL FILMAIT UN CHAR ISRAÉLIEN

Palestine

CAMERAMAN KILLED WHILE FILMING ISRAELI TANK

A Palestinian cameraman working for Reuters was killed in the Gaza Strip by an apparently unprovoked Israeli military strike, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Palestinian Centre for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) and Reuters.

Iraq

FOTÓGRAFO DE AP SERÁ LIBERADO

Syria

35 MEMBRES ET PARTENAIRES DE L'IFEX EXIGENT LA FIN DU HARCÈLEMENT DES DÉFENSEURS DES DROITS

Syria

TREINTA Y CINCO MIEMBROS Y SOCIOS DE IFEX EXIGEN SE PONGA FIN A ACOSO DE ACTIVISTAS DE DERECHOS HUMANOS

Syria

35 IFEX MEMBERS AND PARTNERS DEMAND END TO HARASSMENT OF RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

The director of a free expression group in Syria is facing a military court trial this month. Thirty-five members and partners of the International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX), and the Arab Working Group, which monitors media freedom around elections, have appealed directly to President Bashar al-Assad to drop the charges against him and to end the ongoing harassment of human rights activists and organisations.

Iraq

MIEMBROS DE IFEX CONMEMORAN QUINTO ANIVERSARIO DE LA GUERRA

Iraq

LES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX MARQUENT LE CINQUIÈME ANNIVERSAIRE DE LA GUERRE

Iraq

IFEX MEMBERS MARK WAR'S FIFTH ANNIVERSARY

Hundreds of journalists have been forced into exile and the death toll continues to grow on the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, still the most dangerous country for journalists, report IFEX members.

Iraq

UN ADMINISTRATEUR DE MÉDIAS EST TUÉ

Iraq

EJECUTIVO DE MEDIOS ASESINADO

Iraq

MEDIA EXECUTIVE KILLED

An Iraqi media executive was shot to death on a Baghdad street last week, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Iraq

LÍDER DE PERIODISTAS MUERE TRAS ATAQUE DE ARTILLERÍA

Iraq

UN ÉMINENT JOURNALISTE PERD LA VIE À LA SUITE D'UN ATTENTAT ARMÉ

Iraq

JOURNALIST LEADER DIES AFTER GUN ATTACK

The president of the Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate died on 27 February, four days after being seriously wounded when he was attacked by unidentified gunmen in Baghdad, report the International Union of Journalists (IFJ), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and ARTICLE 19.

Bahrain

LIBEREN A DEFENSORES DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS, DICEN 55 GRUPOS DE DERECHOS

Bahrain

LIBÉREZ LES DÉFENSEURS DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE, DISENT 55 GROUPES DE DÉFENSE DES DROITS

Bahrain

RELEASE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS, SAY 55 RIGHTS GROUPS

Twenty-one IFEX members are among 55 rights groups worldwide calling on the Bahraini authorities to immediately release the dozens of human rights activists and demonstrators who were "unjustly" detained following protests in December.

Iraq

UN REPORTER QUI AVAIT ÉTÉ ENLEVÉ EST RETROUVÉ MORT

Iraq

ENCUENTRAN MUERTO A REPORTERO SECUESTRADO

Iraq

ABDUCTED REPORTER FOUND DEAD

An Iraqi reporter abducted in Baghdad was found dead two days later, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Syria

LES AUTORITÉS DÉCLENCHENT UNE NOUVELLE VAGUE DE RÉPRESSION CONTRE LES MILITANTS DE LA DÉMOCRATIE

Iraq

UN CAMÉRAMAN EST TUÉ PAR UN ENGIN IMPROVISÉ

Syria

LAS AUTORIDADES INICIAN NUEVA OFENSIVA CONTRA ACTIVISTAS PRODEMOCRÁTICOS

Iraq

CAMARÓGRAFO MUERTO POR DETONACIÓN DE BOMBA JUNTO A CARRETERA

Syria

AUTHORITIES LAUNCH FRESH CRACKDOWN ON PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS

One of Syria's most prominent political dissidents has been arrested and 10 other opposition activists have been charged with undermining the state as part of Syria's newest crackdown on pro-democracy figures, report Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and ARTICLE 19.

Iraq

CAMERAMAN KILLED IN ROADSIDE BOMB

A TV cameraman was killed in a roadside blast on his way from Baghdad to Samarra last week, reports Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Bahrain

DEFENSORES DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS ATACADOS

Yemen

INFORMES ENCUENTRAN QUE LIBRE EXPRESIÓN EN YEMEN SE ESTÁ DETERIORANDO

Bahrain

LES DÉFENSEURS DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE ATTAQUÉS

Yemen

LA LIBRE EXPRESSION SE DÉTÉRIORE AU YÉMEN, CONCLUENT DES RAPPORTS

Bahrain

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS UNDER ATTACK

Human rights defenders in Bahrain have been subject to a fresh wave of arrests, abuse and possibly torture following protests last month in which an activist was killed, report the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo) and other rights groups.

Yemen

FREE EXPRESSION IN YEMEN DETERIORATING, REPORTS FIND

Attacks on journalists in Yemen by the country's own authorities occur on a scale and frequency that give reason for serious concern, say two new reports launched this month.

Saudi Arabia

UN BLOGUEUR CÉLÈBRE EST DÉTENU

Saudi Arabia

FAMOSO AUTOR DE BLOG DETENIDO

Saudi Arabia

FAMOUS BLOGGER DETAINED

The "dean" of bloggers in Saudi Arabia has been detained for nearly a month without charge - an unusually long time for a blogger to be held, report the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Bahrain

¡ACTÚE! ENVÍE UN MENSAJE A LÍDER DE JUVENTUD DE BAHREIN QUE SE ENFRENTA A DIFICULTADES LEGALES

Bahrain

AGISSEZ ! ENVOYEZ UN MESSAGE AU DIRIGEANT DE LA JEUNESSE DE BAHREÏN QUI ÉPROUVE DES DIFFICULTÉS JUDICIAIRES

Bahrain

TAKE ACTION! SEND A MESSAGE TO BAHRAINI YOUTH LEADER FACING LEGAL TROUBLE

Mohammed al-Maskati is a young activist from Bahrain who has fought for human rights across the Arab world, from rallying for jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer to making local media outlets aware of human trafficking activities. Now he is facing serious legal issues that could end his career. Show your support by signing a petition and expressing your outrage through your own organisations, media contacts or blogs.

Iraq

PERIODISTA DECLARA QUE RELATO DE MASACRE DE FAMILIA ES FALSO, DICE RSF

United Arab Emirates

E. A. U. SIGUEN CENSURANDO A LA PRENSA, ENCUENTRA HRINFO

Iraq

LES AFFIRMATIONS D'UN JOURNALISTE SELON LESQUELLES SA FAMILLE AURAIT ÉTÉ MASSACRÉE SONT FAUSSES, DIT RSF

United Arab Emirates

LES EAU CENSURENT TOUJOURS LA PRESSE, CONSTATE HRINFO

Iraq

JOURNALIST'S CLAIMS THAT FAMILY MASSACRED FALSE, RSF SAYS

Claims that a journalist's family was massacred in Baghdad as reported in last week's "Communiqué" are false, report Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and news reports.

United Arab Emirates

U.A.E. STILL CENSORING PRESS, HRINFO FINDS

Despite the Prime Minister's declaration earlier this year that journalists should not be jailed for their work, authorities have managed to find other ways to silence the press in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), says a new report by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo).

Iraq

FOTÓGRAFO DETENIDO POR ESTADOS UNIDOS SERÁ ACUSADO; 11 FAMILIARES DE EDITOR IRAQUÍ ASESINADO

Iraq

LE PHOTOGRAPHE DÉTENU PAR LES AMÉRICAINS SERA MIS EN ACCUSATION; 11 PROCHES PARENTS D'UN RÉDACTEUR IRAKIEN SONT ASSASSINÉS

Iraq

PHOTOGRAPHER HELD BY U.S. TO BE CHARGED; 11 RELATIVES OF IRAQI EDITOR KILLED

The U.S. military has said it plans to prosecute an award-winning Associated Press (AP) photographer it has held in prison for more than 19 months without charge for alleged links to Iraqi insurgents, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and local news reports.

Bahrain

VEINTISÉIS MIEMBROS DE IFEX CRITICAN ATAQUE MÁS RECIENTE DEL GOBIERNO CONTRA LIBRE EXPRESIÓN

Iran

SUPREMA CORTE CONFIRMA SENTENCIA DE MUERTE DE PERIODISTA KURDO

Bahrain

26 GROUPES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX DÉNONCENT LA DERNIÈRE ATTAQUE DU GOUVERNEMENT CONTRE LA LIBRE EXPRESSION

Iran

LA COUR SUPRÊME CONFIRME LA PEINE DE MORT PRONONCÉE CONTRE UN JOURNALISTE KURDE

Bahrain

TWENTY-SIX IFEX MEMBERS SLAM GOVERNMENT'S LATEST ATTACK ON FREE EXPRESSION

Journalist and editor convicted of criminal defamation. Popular film banned. Women's rights defender forbidden from appearing in media. These were just some of the headlines last month in Bahrain, where the right to freedom of expression has been recently targeted and curtailed. Twenty-six IFEX members and 21 other organisations, led by Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), are demanding that the authorities stop their latest clampdown on free expression.

Iran

SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS KURDISH JOURNALIST'S DEATH SENTENCE

The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for a Kurdish-Iranian journalist convicted of spying and being an "enemy of God", Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) reports.

Iraq

UN JOURNALISTE EST TROUVÉ MORT À BAGDAD

Iraq

ENCUENTRAN MUERTO A PERIODISTA EN BAGDAD

Iraq

JOURNALIST FOUND DEAD IN BAGHDAD

A young journalist was found dead in Baghdad, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) report.

Syria

DOCUMENTAN ACOSO A ACTIVISTAS DE DERECHOS HUMANOS

Syria

LE HARCÈLEMENT DES DÉFENSEURS DES DROITS EST DOCUMENTÉ

Syria

HARASSMENT OF RIGHTS ACTIVISTS DOCUMENTED

Syrian authorities should stop restricting the freedom of human rights activists to express their views and to associate, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on 17 October 2007.

Iraq

KURT SCHORK AWARDS HONOUR MURDERED IRAQI AND GERMAN INVESTIGATOR

For the second year in a row, the Kurt Schork Memorial Awards have honoured a journalist killed in Iraq because of critical reporting. Last year's Schork Awards recognised U.S. journalist Steven Vincent, who was killed in Basra, Iraq.

Iraq

DOS REPORTEROS MUEREN EN TIROTEOS SEPARADOS

Iraq

DEUX REPORTERS PERDENT LA VIE DANS DES INCIDENTS SÉPARÉS

Iraq

TWO REPORTERS DIE IN SEPARATE SHOOTINGS

The murders of a reporter employed by the "Washington Post" and a freelance journalist bring to 205 the number of media workers killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, says Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

United Arab Emirates

NO SE DEBE ENCARCELAR A LOS PERIODISTAS POR SU TRABAJO, DICE PRIMER MINISTRO

United Arab Emirates

LES JOURNALISTES NE DOIVENT PAS ÊTRE JETÉS EN PRISON À CAUSE DE LEUR TRAVAIL, DIT LE PREMIER MINISTRE

United Arab Emirates

JOURNALISTS SHOULD NOT BE JAILED FOR THEIR WORK, SAYS PRIME MINISTER

The Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) has decreed that journalists should not be jailed for their work - two days after two Dubai-based journalists were sentenced to prison for libel, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) report.

Iraq

DEUX JOURNALISTES SONT TUÉS LA MÊME SEMAINE QU'EST LANCÉ UN GROUPE DE DÉFENSE DE LA SÉCURITÉ DES MÉDIAS

Iran

LES DEUX DERNIÈRES PERSONNES AYANT LA DOUBLE NATIONALITÉ, AMÉRICAINE ET IRANIENNE, SONT RELÂCHÉES

Iraq

SE CREA GRUPO DE SEGURIDAD DE LOS MEDIOS; EN LA MISMA SEMANA HAY DOS PERIODISTAS MUERTOS

Iran

LIBERAN A ÚLTIMAS DOS PERSONAS CON DOBLE NACIONALIDAD IRANOESTADOUNIDENSE

Iraq

MEDIA SAFETY GROUP LAUNCHES IN SAME WEEK TWO JOURNALISTS KILLED

The same week a safety group was established for media in Iraq, two journalists were gunned down in the country.

Iran

IRAN: LAST TWO U.S.-IRANIAN DUAL NATIONALS RELEASED

Two U.S.-Iranians detained in Tehran's notorious Evin prison for more than four months have been released, report ARTICLE 19, Index on Censorship, Human Rights Watch and news reports.

Iraq

¡ACTÚE! AYUDE A MÚSICOS IRAQUÍES EXILIADOS

Iraq

AGISSEZ ! AIDEZ DES MUSICIENS IRAKIENS EN EXIL

Iraq

TAKE ACTION! HELP IRAQI MUSICIANS IN EXILE

Members of the Iraqi band Acrassicauda are in exile right now and they need your help to survive. The band - the only heavy metal band from Iraq - received death threats for being "too westernised" and fled the country recently to Syria.

Syria

VEINTICINCO GRUPOS EXIGEN LIBERACIÓN DE PRISIONEROS DE OPINIÓN

Iran

PERMITEN A PERIODISTA Y A ACADÉMICA IRANOAMERICANAS SALIR DEL PAÍS

Syria

VINGT-CINQ GROUPES EXIGENT LA LIBÉRATION DES PRISONNIERS D'OPINION

Iran

UNE JOURNALISTE ET UNE UNIVERSITAIRE IRANO-AMÉRICAINES SONT AUTORISÉES À QUITTER LE PAYS

Syria

TWENTY-FIVE GROUPS DEMAND RELEASE OF PRISONERS OF OPINION

Press freedom in Syria has suffered a distressing setback with the recent jailing of dissidents. Led by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), 23 IFEX members and two other NGOs are demanding that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad release all "prisoners of opinion" in the country.

Iran

U.S.-IRANIAN JOURNALIST AND ACADEMIC ALLOWED TO LEAVE COUNTRY

A U.S.-Iranian broadcaster banned from leaving Iran for the past seven months has been given permission to leave the country, the day after another dual citizen left Tehran following her release from jail in August on bail.

Yemen

LIBERTAD DE PRENSA AMENAZADA EN NOMBRE DE LA GUERRA CONTRA EL TERROR

Iraq

CONTEO DE MUERTES DE PERIODISTAS Y TRABAJADORES DE LOS MEDIOS LLEGA A 200

Yemen

LA LIBRE EXPRESSION EST RESTREINTE AU NOM DE LA GUERRE AU TERRORISME

Iraq

LE BILAN DES JOURNALISTES ET TRAVAILLEURS DES MÉDIAS TUÉS S'ÉTABLIT À 200

Yemen

PRESS FREEDOM THREATENED IN NAME OF WAR ON TERROR

A Yemeni journalist kidnapped and assaulted by suspected government security forces is the latest casualty of the government's fight against terrorism amid claims of protecting "national security", report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo), ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and other rights groups.

Iraq

JOURNALIST/MEDIA WORKER DEATH TOLL REACHES 200

An Iraqi translator for a United States' television network has been found dead in Iraq, bringing the number of journalists and media workers killed in the country since the start of the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 to 200, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) reports.

Iran

ACADÉMICA IRANÍ-AMERICANA LIBERADA BAJO FIANZA

Iran

UNE UNIVERSITAIRE IRANO-AMÉRICAINE EST LIBÉRÉE SOUS CAUTION

Iran

IRANIAN-U.S. ACADEMIC RELEASED ON BAIL

An Iranian-U.S. scholar jailed in Iran for more than three months was released on bail last week, following protests by activists and international human rights groups. But she still faces charges of endangering Iran's national security and cannot leave the country.

Bahrain

PROTÉGEONS NABEEL AHMED RAJAB, DÉFENSEUR DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE

Bahrain

PROTEJA A DEFENSOR DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS NABEEL AHMED RAJAB

Bahrain

TAKE ACTION! PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER NABEEL AHMED RAJAB

Since 1 July 2007, Nabeel Ahmed Rajab, vice-president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), has faced ongoing harassment, including being followed daily by civilian vehicles to and from his home. The BCHR is a non-governmental organisation that defends civil, political, economic and social rights in Bahrain, and an interim member of IFEX. Front Line has posted an appeal to help protect Rajab.

Iran

OFENSIVA DE IRÁN CONTRA PERIODISTAS CON SENTENCIAS DE MUERTE Y PENAS DE CÁRCEL

Iran

L'IRAN S'ATTAQUE AUX JOURNALISTES À COUPS DE PEINES DE MORT ET D'EMPRISONNEMENT

Iran

IRAN CRACKS DOWN ON JOURNALISTS WITH DEATH SENTENCES, PRISON TERMS

Iranian authorities have stepped up their efforts to persecute and jail journalists, activists and human rights defenders, report human rights groups worldwide. Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) wants you to sign a petition demanding the release of two of their latest victims: Iranian Kurdish journalists whose death sentences were confirmed by the authorities on 31 July.

Iraq

BOURSES POUR UNIVERSITAIRES IRAKIENS MENACÉS

Iraq

BECAS PARA ACADÉMICOS IRAQUÍES AMENAZADOS

Iraq

FELLOWSHIPS FOR THREATENED SCHOLARS FROM IRAQ

The Institute of International Education is inviting applications for its new Iraq Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF) fellowships, which provides scholars from Iraq whose lives and work are threatened with a temporary refuge at universities and colleges around the world.

Iraq

PERIODISTAS KURDOS MUEREN EN ATAQUE SUICIDA CON BOMBA EN IRAK; OTROS DOS SENTENCIADOS A MUERTE EN IRÁN

Iraq

DES JOURNALISTES KURDES PERDENT LA VIE DANS UN ATTENTAT SUICIDE EN IRAK; DEUX AUTRES JOURNALISTES SONT CONDAMNÉS À MORT EN IRAN

Iraq

KURDISH JOURNALISTS DIE IN SUICIDE BOMB IN IRAQ; TWO OTHERS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN IRAN

A suicide bomb attack in Kirkuk, northern Iraq on 16 July killed at least 85 people, including an editor and a reporter, and wounded more than 180 others, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and London-based Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate (KJS).

Iraq

TROIS EMPLOYÉS DE MÉDIAS D'INFORMATIONS OCCIDENTAUX SONT TUÉS EN UNE SEMAINE

Iraq

TRES EMPLEADOS DE MEDIOS NOTICIOSOS OCCIDENTALES MUERTOS EN UNA SEMANA

Iraq

THREE STAFF OF WESTERN NEWS MEDIA KILLED IN A WEEK

A "New York Times" journalist and two Reuters staff were killed in Baghdad last week, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and news reports.

Israel

JOHNSTON LIBERADO EN GAZA; PERO CAMARÓGRAFO FUE BALEADO Y DENUNCIANTE INTERNO SENTENCIADO

Israel

JOHNSTON EST LIBÉRÉ À GAZA, MAIS UN CAMERAMAN EST ABATTU ET UN DÉNONCIATEUR EST CONDAMNÉ

Israel

JOHNSTON FREED IN GAZA; BUT CAMERAMAN SHOT AND WHISTLEBLOWER SENTENCED

Press freedom organisations celebrated the release of BBC journalist Alan Johnston last week after he spent 114 days held hostage by a criminal gang in Gaza. Also last week, however, Israeli troops in the Palestinian territory shot a cameraman for a Hamas-run television station, resulting in amputation to both legs. And an Israeli court sentenced nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, who completed an 18-year sentence in 2004, to another six months in jail for speaking with foreign journalists.

Iraq

LE BILAN DES MORTS CHEZ LES JOURNALISTES DÉPASSE LA CENTAINE, ET ON N'EST QU'À MI-CHEMIN DANS L'ANNÉE, RAPPORTE L'INSI

Iraq

JOURNALIST DEATH TOLL SURPASSES 100 ONLY HALFWAY THROUGH YEAR, INSI REPORTS

More than 100 journalists have lost their lives in the past six months, their death toll looking to surpass the record level reached in 2006, the International News Safety Institute (INSI) reports.

Lebanon

ASESINAN A CRÍTICO DE SIRIA; TRIBUNAL DE ONU INVESTIGARÁ ASESINATOS DE PERIODISTAS

Iraq

OTROS DOS PERIODISTAS ASESINADOS; RSF EXIGE LIBERACIÓN DE REHENES

Lebanon

UNE VOIX CRITIQUE DE LA SYRIE EST ASSASSINÉE; UN TRIBUNAL DES NATIONS UNIES FERA ENQUÊTE SUR LES MEURTRES DE JOURNALISTES

Iraq

DEUX AUTRES JOURNALISTES PERDENT LA VIE; RSF EXIGE LA LIBÉRATION DES OTAGES

Lebanon

ANTI-SYRIAN CRITIC ASSASSINATED; UN TRIBUNAL TO INVESTIGATE JOURNALISTS' MURDERS

A bomb that exploded in Beirut's seafront on 13 June killing a vocal politician and eight others was the latest in a series of targeted attacks on anti-Syrian politicians and journalists, report human rights groups and press reports.

Iraq

TWO MORE JOURNALISTS KILLED; RSF DEMANDS RELEASE OF HOSTAGES

A journalist who was kidnapped last week was found dead two days later in Baghdad, report Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Bahrain

CÁMARA ALTA VOTA A FAVOR DE DESPENALIZAR LOS DELITOS DE PRENSA

Bahrain

LA CHAMBRE HAUTE VOTE LA DÉPÉNALISATION DES DÉLITS DE PRESSE

Bahrain

UPPER HOUSE VOTES TO DECRIMINALISE PRESS OFFENCES

Bahrain's upper house of parliament has approved amendments that would scrap prison sentences for press offences, reports Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Iraq

RSF DEMANDE LA CRÉATION D'UN GROUPE DE TRAVAIL SPÉCIAL POUR ENQUÊTER SUR LES ASSASSINATS DE REPORTERS

Iran

DES « ESPIONS » POSSÉDANT LA DOUBLE NATIONALITÉ SONT DÉTENUS ET EMPÊCHÉS DE QUITTER LE PAYS

Iraq

RSF PIDE GRUPO DE TRABAJO ESPECIAL PARA INVESTIGAR ASESINATO DE REPORTEROS

Iran

"ESPÍAS" CON DOBLE CIUDADANÍA DETENIDOS; SE LES IMPIDE SALIR DEL PAÍS

Iraq

RSF CALLS FOR SPECIAL TASK FORCE TO PROBE KILLING OF REPORTERS

In a week when five journalists were killed by armed groups, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) is calling for the creation of a special task force within the national police to tackle violence against journalists.

Iran

DUAL CITIZEN "SPIES" DETAINED, PREVENTED FROM LEAVING COUNTRY

Iran charged three U.S.-Iranian citizens with espionage last week, amid recent accusations by Iranian authorities that the U.S. is using dissidents to try to overthrow the country's Islamic government.

Palestine

INTENSOS COMBATES PONEN EN PELIGRO A PERIODISTAS

Iraq

TRES PERIODISTAS MUERTOS; NUEVAS RESTRICCIONES A COBERTURA DE BOMBAS

Palestine

DES TIRS NOURRIS METTENT LES JOURNALISTES EN DANGER

Iraq

TROIS JOURNALISTES SONT TUÉS; NOUVELLES RESTRICTIONS À LA COUVERTURE DES ATTENTATS À LA BOMBE

Palestine

HEAVY FIGHTING ENDANGERS JOURNALISTS

Heavy fighting between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip coupled with Israel's air strikes and raids against Palestinians is endangering the lives of journalists, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontieres, RSF) and local human rights organisations.

Iraq

THREE JOURNALISTS KILLED; NEW RESTRICTIONS ON BOMB COVERAGE

Three more journalists were killed in Iraq in the past week, bringing the number of media workers killed in the country to 34 in 2007 - and indicating another record year for media deaths, reports the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Syria

BRUSQUE FLAMBÉE DE LA RÉPRESSION DES DISSIDENTS

Palestine

DEUX EMPLOYÉS D'UN JOURNAL PERDENT LA VIE DANS DES AFFRONTEMENTS À GAZA; DES MANIFESTATIONS DE PROTESTATION PARTOUT DANS LE MONDE EXIGENT LA LIBÉRATION DU CORRESPONDANT DE LA BBC

Iraq

TROIS JOURNALISTES ET LEUR CHAUFFEUR SONT TUÉS DANS UNE EMBUSCADE PRÈS DE KIRKOUK

Syria

AUMENTOS EN OFENSIVAS CONTRA DISIDENTES

Palestine

DOS EMPLEADOS DE PERIÓDICOS MUEREN EN ENFRENTAMIENTOS EN GAZA; MANIFESTACIONESEN TODO EL MUNDO PIDEN LIBERACIÓN DE REPORTERO DE BBC

Iraq

TRES PERIODISTAS Y SU CONDUCTOR MUERTOS EN EMBOSCADA CERCA DE KIRKUK

Syria

CRACKDOWN ON DISSIDENTS SURGES

Two human rights activists sentenced to three years in prison for signing a petition are the latest victims of Syria's crackdown on human rights defenders and critics, report Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and Human Rights Watch.

Palestine

TWO NEWSPAPER EMPLOYEES DIE IN GAZA CLASHES; PROTESTS WORLDWIDE CALL FOR BBC REPORTER'S RELEASE

A Palestinian newspaper editor and his colleague were fatally attacked in the Gaza Strip amid clashes between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, report Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and a local human rights group.

Iraq

THREE JOURNALISTS, DRIVER GUNNED DOWN IN AMBUSH NEAR KIRKUK

Three journalists and their driver were killed last week when gunmen ambushed their car near Kirkuk, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Their murders bring the media workers death toll in Iraq to more than 200 since the war began in March 2003, says IFJ.

Iraq

LE GOUVERNEMENT « NE PROTÈGE PAS SUFFISAMMENT LES JOURNALISTES »

Iran

AGISSEZ ! PROTESTEZ CONTRE L'INCARCÉRATION DE MILITANTES IRANIENNES

Iraq

EL GOBIERNO "NO ESTÁ HACIENDO LO SUFICIENTE PARA PROTEGER A LOS PERIODISTAS"

Iraq

GOVERNMENT "NOT DOING ENOUGH TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS"

An attack on a radio station in Baghdad that left one employee dead and a Russian reporter killed in a roadside bomb reveal how badly the government is protecting journalists, say Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Iran

PROTEST THE JAILING OF IRANIAN WOMEN ACTIVISTS

The Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP) is asking you to join its letter writing campaign in support of women activists who were sentenced to prison in April - for organising a women's protest in Tehran.

Iraq

REPORTERA Y SU MARIDO MUERTOS EN MOSUL

Iraq

UNE JOURNALISTE ET SON MARI SONT ASSASSINÉS À MOSSOUL

Iraq

REPORTER AND HUSBAND KILLED IN MOSUL

The incinerated bodies of a radio broadcaster and her husband were found in the northern city of Mosul three days after being kidnapped by gunmen, say Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), the International News Safety Institute (INSI) and press reports.

Iraq

WEEK-END SANGLANT POUR LES JOURNALISTES DU PAYS

Iraq

SANGRIENTO FIN DE SEMANA PARA PERIODISTAS DEL PAÍS

Iraq

BLOODY WEEKEND FOR COUNTRY'S JOURNALISTS

Four more journalists have been killed in Iraq, bringing the number of media workers killed in Iraq in 2007 to 23, reports the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Iraq

LE DÉCÈS DE DEUX AUTRES JOURNALISTES LE JOUR ANNIVERSAIRE DE L'INVASION DE L'IRAK PORTE À PRÈS DE 200 LE BILAN DES MORTS

Jordan

LA LOI SUR LA PRESSE EST MODIFIÉE POUR EN ÉLIMINER LES PEINES D'INCARCÉRATION

Palestine

PALESTINE : CAMPAGNE DE BANNIÈRES SUR LE WEB EN FAVEUR D'UN REPORTER PORTÉ DISPARU

Iraq

OTROS DOS PERIODISTAS MUERTOS EN ANIVERSARIO DE INVASIÓN ACERCAN CONTEO DE MUERTES A 200

Jordan

ENMIENDAN LEY DE PRENSA PARA ANULAR PENAS DE CÁRCEL

Palestine

PALESTINA: CAMPAÑA DE PENDONES EN WEB POR REPORTERO DESAPARECIDO

Iraq

TWO MORE JOURNALISTS KILLED ON ANNIVERSARY OF INVASION BRINGS DEATH TOLL CLOSER TO 200

On the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, two more journalists have been killed and the country remains the deadliest in the world for the press, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International News Safety Institute (INSI).

Jordan

PRESS LAW AMENDED TO SCRAP CUSTODIAL SENTENCES

The Jordan Parliament voted on 21 March to scrap a clause of the newly approved press and publications law, which calls for the imprisonment of journalists, reports the Arab Archives Institute (AAI).

Palestine

PALESTINE: WEB BANNER CAMPAIGN FOR MISSING REPORTER

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) is calling all bloggers and Arabic-language news media to post banners on their websites calling for the release of a BBC journalist who went missing in Gaza more than two weeks ago.

Bahrain

GOBIERNO ACUSADO DE HACER CAMPAÑA PARA SUPRIMIR DISENSO

Bahrain

LE GOUVERNEMENT EST ACCUSÉ DE MENER UNE CAMPAGNE DE RÉPRESSION CONTRE LA DISSIDENCE

Bahrain

GOVERNMENT ACCUSED OF CAMPAIGN TO SUPPRESS DISSENT

The vice-president and president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), an interim IFEX member, have become the latest victims of a government campaign to suppress dissent.

Iran

OFENSIVA CONTRA MANIFESTACIÓN A FAVOR DE DERECHOS DE LA MUJER

Iraq

DOS PROMINENTES EDITORES ASESINADOS EN BAGDAD

Iran

RÉPRESSION DE LA MANIFESTATION EN FAVEUR DES DROITS DES FEMMES

Iraq

DEUX ÉMINENTS JOURNALISTES SONT ASSASSINÉS À BAGDAD

Iran

CRACKDOWN ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS DEMONSTRATION

Twenty-two journalists were among 33 demonstrators arrested at a women's rights protest on 4 March 2007 in Tehran. Two journalists, Shadi Sadr and Mahbubeh Abbasgholizadeh, remain in solitary confinement and on hunger strike, said Human Rights Watch.

Iraq

TWO PROMINENT EDITORS MURDERED IN BAGHDAD

Gunmen boldly murdered an Iraqi editor in Baghdad on 4 March 2007, four days after the body of another editor thought missing was identified in a Baghdad morgue.

Iraq

RAID CONTRE UN SYNDICAT DE JOURNALISTES; DEUX REPORTERS SONT TUÉS, LA LOI MARTIALE EST PROCLAMÉE À BAGDAD

Saudi Arabia

INTERDICTION DE VOYAGE IMPOSÉE AUX CRITIQUES DU GOUVERNEMENT

Iraq

SINDICATO DE PERIODISTAS ALLANADO, DOS REPORTEROS MUERTOS, IMPONEN LEY MARCIAL EN BAGDAD

Saudi Arabia

IMPONEN PROHIBICIONES DE VIAJE A CRÍTICOS DE GOBIERNO

Iraq

JOURNALISTS' UNION RAIDED, TWO REPORTERS KILLED, MARTIAL LAW IMPOSED IN BAGHDAD

Security forces ransacked a journalists' union office during a major operation by U.S and Iraqi forces in Baghdad in February, according to several IFEX members, and two journalists' deaths were reported. Earlier in the month, martial law was decreed in the capital city.

Saudi Arabia

TRAVEL BANS IMPOSED ON GOVERNMENT CRITICS

Saudi Arabia has barred prominent government critics from foreign travel without regard to Saudi or international law, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to King Abdullah on 9 February 2007. Underlying these bans appears to be a desire to punish government critics and to prevent their views from reaching a foreign audience.

Jordan

L'INSTITUT DES ARCHIVES ARABES PUBLIE UN RAPPORT SUR LA LIBRE EXPRESSION EN JORDANIE

Jordan

ARAB ARCHIVES INSTITUTE (INSTITUTO DE ARCHIVOS ÁRABES, AAI) EMITE INFORME SOBRE LIBRE EXPRESIÓN

Iran

PROHÍBEN VIAJES INTERNACIONALES A ACTIVISTAS DE DERECHOS HUMANOS Y PERIODISTAS

Iran

DES DÉFENSEURS DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE ET DES JOURNALISTES SONT EMPÊCHÉS DE SE RENDRE À L'ÉTRANGER

Jordan

ARAB ARCHIVES INSTITUTE ISSUES REPORT ON FREE EXPRESSION IN JORDAN

In Jordan, 2006 saw "noticeable progress" in the press industry with the emergence of new publications and broadcasting stations, says the Arab Archives Institute (AAI) in its annual report on freedom of expression.

Iran

HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS, JOURNALISTS BARRED FROM INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

Iranian authorities have imposed foreign travel bans on at least eight human rights activists and journalists in recent months, preventing them from expressing their views at international conferences, reports Human Rights Watch.

Bahrain

AGISSEZ ! BAHREÏN : LES UTILISATEURS DE L'INTERNET RISQUENT SEPT ANS DE PRISON

Iraq

UNE CONFÉRENCE DES NATIONS UNIES SOULIGNE LA NÉCESSITÉ D'UNE PLUS GRANDE PROTECTION POUR LES JOURNALISTES

Bahrain

¡ACTÚE! BAHREIN: USUARIOS DE INTERNET SE ENFRENTAN A SIETE AÑOS DE CÁRCEL

Iraq

CONFERENCIA DE ONU PIDE MÁS PROTECCIÓN PARA PERIODISTAS

Bahrain

TAKE ACTION! BAHRAIN: INTERNET USERS FACE SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON

23 January 2007

Iraq

U.N. CONFERENCE URGES MORE PROTECTION FOR JOURNALISTS

Calling Iraq the world's worst killing field for media professionals, hundreds of journalists, parliamentarians and government officials have jointly called for greater protection for the media following a U.N.-sponsored conference in Paris.

Israel

PERIODISTAS ATRAPADOS EN FUEGO CRUZADO

Israel

DES JOURNALISTES PRIS DANS DES TIRS CROISÉS

Lebanon

INFORME DEL IPI EXAMINA LIBERTAD DE PRENSA EN LÍBANO

Iran

CAMPAÑA DE ARTICLE 19 SE ENFOCA EN LA CENSURA DE INTERNET

Palestine

JOURNALISTS CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE

Journalists working in the Palestinian territories take great risks to bring the news to the rest of the world. But in the Gaza Strip, where the security situation is less stable than in other Palestinian-administered areas, media safety is becoming an increasing concern, says Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Lebanon

UN DOSSIER DE L'IIP SE PENCHE SUR LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE AU LIBAN

Iran

LA CAMPAGNE D'ARTICLE 19 SE CONCENTRE SUR LA CENSURE DE L'INTERNET

Lebanon

IPI REPORT EXAMINES PRESS FREEDOM IN LEBANON

The International Press Institute (IPI) has released a report on press freedom conditions in Lebanon, following a fact-finding mission to the country in December 2006.

Iran

ARTICLE 19 CAMPAIGN FOCUSES ON INTERNET CENSORSHIP

ARTICLE 19 has launched a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the increasing spread of Internet censorship in Iran.

Yemen

UNE RÉDACTRICE EN CHEF YÉMÉNITE REMPORTE UN PRIX DE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Iraq

DEUX JOURNALISTES SONT TUÉS

Yemen

EDITORA DE YEMEN GANA PREMIO DE LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Iraq

DOS PERIODISTAS MUERTOS

Yemen

YEMENI EDITOR WINS PRESS FREEDOM PRIZE

The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has awarded a new press freedom prize to a Yemeni journalist who is the first woman ever to be appointed an editor in her country.

Iraq

TWO JOURNALISTS KILLED

In Iraq, two journalists have been killed in the past week, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Iraq

SIETE PERIODISTAS Y TRABAJADORES DE LOS MEDIOS MUERTOS

Iraq

SEPT JOURNALISTES ET TRAVAILLEURS DES MÉDIAS SONT TUÉS

Iraq

SEVEN JOURNALISTS, MEDIA WORKERS KILLED

In Iraq, five journalists and two media support workers have been killed in the past three weeks, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Yemen

A PESAR DE AVANCES, VIOLACIONES A LIBERTAD DE MEDIOS MINAN ELECCIONES

Jordan

LEYES REPRESIVAS SILENCIAN A VOCES CRÍTICAS

Yemen

EN DÉPIT DE CERTAINS PROGRÈS, LES ÉLECTIONS SONT ENTACHÉES PAR DES VIOLATIONS DE LA LIBERTÉ DES MÉDIAS

Jordan

DES LOIS RÉPRESSIVES FONT TAIRE LES VOIX CRITIQUES

Yemen

DESPITE PROGRESS, ELECTIONS MARRED BY MEDIA FREEDOM VIOLATIONS

Yemen's presidential elections of 20 September 2006 were marred by media freedom violations, according to recent reports by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR). Nevertheless, some observers say the election, in which President Ali Abdullah Saleh faced a serious challenge for the first time, also showed signs of progress toward greater media freedom and democracy.

Jordan

REPRESSIVE LAWS SILENCE CRITICAL VOICES

Civilian and military prosecutors have been using outdated laws to file charges against prominent critics of the authorities, says Human Rights Watch. The organisation has documented six cases in 2006 in which unjustified charges threatened freedom of expression.

Iraq

REPORTERO BALEADO; ESTACIÓN DE TV CENSURADA POR COBERTURA DE JUICIO DE SADDAM HUSSEIN

Iraq

UN REPORTER EST ABATTU, DES STATIONS DE TÉLÉVISION SONT CENSURÉES À CAUSE DE LA COUVERTURE DU PROCÈS DE SADDAM

Iraq

LE CONFLIT ATTEINT UN NOUVEAU CREUX DANS LA VIOLENCE CONTRE LES MÉDIAS

Iraq

CONFLICTO MORTAL ALCANZA NUEVO NIVEL DE VIOLENCIA CONTRA LOS MEDIOS

Iraq

REPORTER GUNNED DOWN, TV STATIONS CENSORED FOR SADDAM TRIAL COVERAGE

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) are investigating the circumstances behind the killing of Ahmad al-Rashid, an Iraqi reporter who was shot and killed by gunmen in Baghdad's Al-Aathamiya neighbourhood on 3 November 2006.

Iraq

VIOLENCIA SIEGA MÁS VIDAS EN SECTOR DE MEDIOS

Iraq

LA VIOLENCE FAIT D'AUTRES VICTIMES DANS LE SECTEUR DES MÉDIAS

Iraq

VIOLENCE CLAIMS MORE LIVES IN MEDIA SECTOR

Six journalists and media support personnel have been killed in Baghdad in the past three weeks amid worsening violence in Iraq, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontieres, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Iraq

DEADLY CONFLICT HITS NEW LOW FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST MEDIA

The war in Iraq, which has claimed the lives of well over 100 journalists and media workers, has taken a particularly bloody turn in recent days. On 12 October 2006, masked gunmen executed 11 employees in cold blood and critically wounded two others at the Al-Shaabiya satellite television station in Baghdad's Zayouna district, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Press Institute

United Arab Emirates

DES MILITANTS DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE SONT HARCELÉS

United Arab Emirates

ACTIVISTAS DE DERECHOS HUMANOS ACOSADOS

United Arab Emirates

HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS HARASSED

IFEX members have called attention to what appears to be a campaign by United Arab Emirates authorities to harass and silence human rights activists in the past few months

Iran

ARTICLE 19 ET FREEDOM HOUSE S'ATTAQUENT À LA CENSURE

Iran

ARTICLE 19 Y FREEDOM HOUSE PONEN CENSURA EN PRIMER PLANO

Iran

ARTICLE 19, FREEDOM HOUSE SPOTLIGHT CENSORSHIP

With much of the world's attention on Iran, ARTICLE 19 and Freedom House have launched new publications aimed at shedding light on the state of free expression in the country and the challenges faced by artists, writers, journalists and dissidents.

Iran

UNE IRANIENNE SE VOIT DÉCERNER LE PRIX INTERNATIONAL DE LA LIBERTÉ DE PUBLIER, DE L'UIE

Iraq

TRES PERIODISTAS MUERTOS EN UNA SEMANA, FOTÓGRAFO GANADOR DE PREMIO PULITZER DETENIDO

Iraq

EDITOR MUERTO; ATACAN MEDIOS OPERADOS POR ESTADO

Iraq

TROIS JOURNALISTES TUÉS EN UNE SEMAINE; UN PHOTOGRAPHE LAURÉAT DU PRIX PULITZER EST DÉTENU

Iraq

UN RÉDACTEUR EN CHEF EST ASSASSINÉ, LES MÉDIAS DIRIGÉS PAR L'ÉTAT SONT VISÉS

Iran

IRANIAN WOMAN AWARDED IPA PUBLISHERS' FREEDOM PRIZE

The International Publishers' Association (IPA) has announced that Shahla Lahiji, the first female publisher in Iran, has been awarded the inaugural IPA Publishers' Freedom Prize.

Iraq

THREE JOURNALISTS KILLED IN A WEEK, PULITZER-WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER DETAINED

It has been a bloody week for journalists in Iraq, with three murdered by gunmen since 12 September 2006, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Iraq

EDITOR KILLED, STATE-RUN MEDIA TARGETED

In Iraq, state-run daily newspapers are a frequent target of attacks by insurgents because of their ties to the U.S.-supported government. Since 2004, at least 18 state media employees have been killed, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Bahrain

GRUPOS DE DERECHOS HUMANOS CRITICAN LEY ANTITERRORISMO

Bahrain

DES GROUPES DE DÉFENSE DES DROITS CRITIQUENT LA LOI ANTITERRORISTE

Bahrain

RIGHTS GROUPS CRITICISE ANTI-TERRORISM LAW

As Bahrain prepares to hold parliamentary elections in October 2006, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) has expressed alarm that a new anti-terrorism law enacted in August could give authorities more grounds to crack down on opposition critics and civil society groups.

Iraq

CIFRA DE MUERTE DE PERIODISTAS ES MAYOR DE 100

Iraq

LE BILAN DES MORTS CHEZ LES JOURNALISTES DÉPASSE LA CENTAINE

Iraq

IRAQ: DEATH TOLL FOR JOURNALISTS EXCEEDS 100

The conflict in Iraq is proving to be the deadliest for journalists in decades, with at least 100 journalists and media support workers killed, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontieres, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In the past 10 days, six journalists have been killed.

Lebanon

LA PRENSA ESTÁ BAJO FUEGO MIENTRAS CONTINÚA OFENSIVA ISRAELÍ

Lebanon

LA PRESSE ESSUIE LES TIRS D'ISRAËL, QUI POURSUIT SON OFFENSIVE

Lebanon

PRESS UNDER FIRE AS ISRAELI OFFENSIVE CONTINUES

As Israel steps up its military offensive into Lebanon, journalists covering the conflict continue to come under fire.

Lebanon

PERIODISTAS BAJO FUEGO AL EMPEORAR CONFLICTO

Lebanon

LES JOURNALISTES SOUS LES TIRS TANDIS QUE LE CONFLIT S’ENVENIME

Lebanon

JOURNALISTS UNDER FIRE AS CONFLICT WORSENS

As hostilities between Hezbollah militants and Israeli armed forces continue into a second week, journalists and media outlets reporting on the conflict are coming under fire. Last week, a Lebanese photographer and television technician were killed during Israeli bombing attacks, reported the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Iraq

RSF DOCUMENTS PLIGHT OF JOURNALISTS DETAINEED AT U.S. BASES

Among the 400 or so detainees being held at the U.S.-controlled army base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is a journalist who works for the Arabic satellite channel Al-Jazeera. Cameraman Sami Al-Hajj has been detained without charge since 13 June 2002. His lawyer says he has been tortured and has suicidal tendencies, and needs treatment for throat cancer. Al-Hajj is the only remaining journalist being held in U.S. custody in Guantanamo or in Iraq.

Syria

INSTITUTO DE EL CAIRO DESCRIBE MOVIMIENTO DE DERECHOS SIRIO

Bahrain

PROYECTO DE LEY AMENAZA DERECHOS DE ASAMBLEA PACÍFICA Y DE EXPRESIÓN

Palestine

MEDIOS PALESTINOS ATRAPADOS EN DISTANCIAMIENTO HAMAS-FATAH

Syria

LE CAIRO INSTITUTE FAIT LA CHRONIQUE DU MOUVEMENT DE DÉFENSE DES DROITS EN SYRIE

Bahrain

UN PROJET DE LOI MENACE LES DROITS D'ASSEMBLÉE PAISIBLE ET LA LIBRE EXPRESSION

Palestine

LES MÉDIAS PALESTINIENS COINCÉS DANS L'AFFRONTEMENT ENTRE LE HAMAS ET LE FATAH

Syria

CAIRO INSTITUTE CHRONICLES SYRIAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT

The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies has published a new report that chronicles the struggle of pro-democracy advocates against censorship in Syria.

Bahrain

DRAFT LAW THREATENS RIGHTS TO PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY, EXPRESSION

The government of Bahrain has introduced draft legislation that could undermine the right of citizens to attend peaceful gatherings and voice their opinions, warn Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19.

Palestine

PALESTINIAN MEDIA CAUGHT BETWEEN HAMAS-FATAH RIFT

A growing struggle between warring factions within the Palestinian Authority is making Palestinian media outlets more prone to attacks, warn the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF). In the past three months, several journalists have been threatened, beaten and harassed by members of Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization's Fatah wing.

Iraq

OTRO PERIODISTA BALEADO

Iraq

UN AUTRE JOURNALISTE EST ABATTU

Iraq

ANOTHER JOURNALIST GUNNED DOWN

In Iraq, the state-run television channel Al-Iraqiya has had more employees killed than any other media outlet since the start of the U.S.-led occupation in March 2003. At least 11 have been killed, says Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF). On 31 May 2006, Ali Jaafar became the latest casualty.

Iraq

DES MEMBRES DE L'ÉQUIPE DE NOUVELLES DE CBS SONT TUÉS, UNE JOURNALISTE EST GRIÈVEMENT BLESSÉE, MAIS SON ÉTAT RESTE STABLE

Syria

DES DÉFENSEURS DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE SONT DÉTENUS

Iraq

MIEMBROS DE EQUIPO DE CBS NEWS MUERTOS; REPORTERA EN SITUACIÓN ESTABLE

Iraq

CBS NEWS CREW MEMBERS KILLED; REPORTER IN STABLE CONDITION

Journalists are mourning the deaths of two CBS News crew members killed in Baghdad, Iraq on 29 May 2006. Camera operator Paul Douglas and sound operator James Brolan died when the U.S. military convoy they were accompanying was hit in a car bomb attack, reported the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Syria

HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS DETAINED

In what Syrian human rights groups are calling the biggest roundup of rights activists in years, authorities have detained 12 individuals who signed a petition calling on the government to recognise Lebanon's independence, report the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, ARTICLE 19, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Iran

¡ACTÚE! ACADÉMICO IRANÍ DETENIDO

Iran

AGISSEZ ! UN UNIVERSITAIRE IRANIEN EST DÉTENU

Iran

TAKE ACTION! IRANIAN SCHOLAR DETAINED

May 23, 2006

Saudi Arabia

LE CPJ OFFRE UNE FENÊTRE SUR LA CENSURE EN ARABIE SAOUDITE

Iraq

LE BILAN DES MORTS S'ALOURDIT POUR LES JOURNALISTES

Saudi Arabia

CPJ OFFERS WINDOW INTO CENSORSHIP IN SAUDI ARABIA

In Saudi Arabia, religious issues are the focus of the most intense struggles for press freedom, with the country's powerful religious and government authorities exerting constant pressure on journalists, according to a new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Iraq

JOURNALISTS' DEATH TOLL MOUNTS

In Iraq, the highly unstable security situation shows no signs of improving, and journalists attempting to report the news continue to pay the price.

Iraq

UN REPORTER IRAKIEN ASSASSINÉ EST HONORÉ PAR UNE RÉCOMPENSE DU OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB

Iraq

SLAIN IRAQI REPORTER HONOURED WITH OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB AWARD

The U.S.-based Overseas Press Club (OPC) has awarded its first posthumous award in more than 40 years to Yasser Salihee, a reporter for Knight-Ridder who was killed in July 2005 while covering the conflict in Iraq. Salihee was among dozens recently honoured with OPC Awards, which recognise excellence in international journalism.

Iraq

UNE JOURNALISTE AMÉRICAINE EST LIBÉRÉE

Iran

AKBAR GANJI EST LIBÉRÉ

Saudi Arabia

DES SITES WEB CRITIQUES SONT BLOQUÉS

Iraq

LIBERAN A PERIODISTA ESTADOUNIDENSE

Iran

AKBAR GANJI LIBERADO DE CÁRCEL

Saudi Arabia

BLOQUEAN SITIOS WEB DE POSTURA CRÍTICA

Lebanon

LEBANESE JOURNALIST NAMED WORLD PRESS FREEDOM PRIZE-WINNER

May Chidiac, the Lebanese journalist who lost a hand and a leg when her car was bombed last September, has been named the winner of the 2006 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

Iraq

AMERICAN JOURNALIST FREED

On 30 March 2006, American freelance reporter Jill Carroll was released by her captors in Baghdad, Iraq, reported the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). She had been held hostage for nearly three months.

Iran

AKBAR GANJI RELEASED FROM JAIL

IFEX members have welcomed the news that Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji has been released from prison, but they caution that the outspoken dissident could be sent back to jail at any time. Ganji became a free man on 17 March 2006 after serving a six-year sentence.

Saudi Arabia

CRITICAL WEBSITES BLOCKED

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) are calling attention to Internet censorship in Saudi Arabia, where two popular news websites have been filtered and an individual was recently jailed for criticising the government.

Iraq

SIGUE ASCENDIENDO CUENTA DE MUERTES DE PERIODISTAS

Yemen

OFENSIVA CONTRA PRENSA SE INTENSIFICA

Iraq

LA BILAN DES JOURNALISTES QUI ONT PERDU LA VIE CONTINUE DE S'ALOURDIR

Iraq

JOURNALISTS' DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO MOUNT

In Iraq, local journalists and media support workers are continuing to pay the price as the country's security situation worsens. Since the U.S.-led occupation began in March 2003, more than 70 have been killed, representing close to 80 per cent of all journalists who have died in the conflict, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). In the past week, three more were added to the death toll.

Yemen

CRACKDOWN ON THE PRESS ESCALATING

Yemen's private media is known in the Arab world to be one of the most boisterous in the region, aggressively criticising government policies and exposing corruption. In the past two years, however, authorities have sought to muzzle the press by using increasingly harsh methods, according to a new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Iraq

TROIS TRAVAILLEURS DES MÉDIAS SONT TUÉS; DES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX DEMANDENT LA REMISE EN LIBERTÉ DES JOURNALISTES ENLEVÉS

Iraq

TRES TRABAJADORES DE LOS MEDIOS MUERTOS; MIEMBROS DE IFEX PIDEN LIBERACIÓN DE PERIODISTAS SECUESTRADOS

Iraq

THREE MEDIA WORKERS KILLED; IFEX MEMBERS URGE RELEASE OF KIDNAPPED JOURNALISTS

On 22 February 2006, one of Iraq's most well-known journalists, Atwar Bahjat, was shot to death along with her cameraman and sound engineer in the city of Samarra, a day after being kidnapped by gunmen while covering the aftermath of a bomb attack on a Shiite Muslim shrine, reported the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Iraq

FUERZAS ESTADOUNIDENSES IMPLICADAS EN MUERTES DE PERIODISTAS IRAQUÍES

Iraq

LES FORCES AMÉRICAINES SONT IMPLIQUÉES DANS LE MEURTRE D'UN JOURNALISTE IRAKIEN

Iraq

U.S. FORCES IMPLICATED IN KILLING OF IRAQI JOURNALIST

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have called on the U.S. military to investigate the death of an Iraqi reporter who was covering clashes between American troops and Sunni insurgents in Ramadi.

Iran

LES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX PLEURENT LES VICTIMES DE L'ÉCRASEMENT D'UN AVION

Lebanon

ASSASSINAT D'UN ÉMINENT JOURNALISTE

Syria

RSF HONRA A DEFENSORES DE LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Iran

MIEMBROS DE IFEX LAMENTAN MUERTE DE VÍCTIMAS DE ACCIDENTE AÉREO

Lebanon

PROMINENTE PERIODISTA ASESINADO

Iran

IFEX MEMBERS MOURN VICTIMS OF PLANE CRASH

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is offering to assist the families of journalists who died last week in an airplane crash in Tehran, Iran, a disaster it called the worst-ever in which journalists and media staff lost their lives.

Lebanon

PROMINENT JOURNALIST ASSASSINATED

In another blow for press freedom in Lebanon, a prominent newspaper owner and opposition politician was killed in Beirut on 12 December 2005, the third journalist targeted this year for criticising Syria's influence over the country, reported IFEX members.

Iran

OTORGAN PLUMA DORADA DE LA LIBERTAD A PERIODISTA IRANÍ

Jordan

PROYECTO DE LEY NO CUMPLE NORMAS INTERNACIONALES

Yemen

AGRESIONES CONTRA PERIODISTAS EMPEORAN

Yemen

LES ATTAQUES CONTRE LES JOURNALISTES S'ENVENIMENT

Iran

UN JOURNALISTE IRANIEN REÇOIT LA PLUME D'OR DE LA LIBERTÉ

Jordan

DES PROJETS DE LOIS QUI NE RÉPONDENT PAS AUX NORMES INTERNATIONALES

Yemen

ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS WORSENING

IFEX members are raising the alarm over a worsening clampdown on Yemen's press, where several journalists have been violently attacked, opposition newspapers closed and editors prosecuted for investigating corruption or other sensitive issues affecting senior officials.

Jordan

DRAFT LAWS FALL SHORT OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

In Jordan, proposed laws aimed ostensibly at improving press freedom and access to information fall short of meeting international standards on freedom of expression, according to ARTICLE 19 and the Arab Archives Institute (AAI).

Iraq

ASESINAN A PERIODISTA SECUESTRADO

Iraq

ASSASSINAT D'UN JOURNALISTE QUI AVAIT ÉTÉ ENLEVÉ

Iran

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REND HOMMAGE À UN BLOGUEUR IRANIEN

Iraq

KIDNAPPED JOURNALIST MURDERED

On 7 November 2005, the body of Iraqi journalist Ahmed Hossein Al Maliki was found in the northern city of Mosul, making him the 74th journalist killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led war began in March 2003, says Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Iran

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH HOMENAJEA A AUTOR DE BLOG IRANÍ

Iran

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH HONOURS IRANIAN BLOGGER

Omid Memarian, an Iranian blogger and journalist who was detained and tortured by authorities last year for defending human rights, will be honoured by Human Rights Watch next week as one of three winners of the 2005 Human Rights Defender Awards.

Iraq

LE BOMBARDEMENT D'UN HÔTEL FAIT DES BLESSÉS CHEZ LES JOURNALISTES

Iraq

BOMBAS EN HOTEL LESIONAN A PERIODISTAS

Iraq

HOTEL BOMBINGS INJURE JOURNALISTS

Three car bombs exploded outside the Palestine and Sheraton hotels in Baghdad on 24 October 2005, killing as many as 20 people and injuring several others, including nine journalists and media personnel, reported the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Iraq

RUMSFELD ACCEPTE DE DONNER SUITE AUX PRÉOCCUPATIONS DES MÉDIAS EN MATIÈRE DE SÉCURITÉ

Lebanon

LES ATTENTATS HANTENT LA PRESSE

Iraq

RUMSFELD ACUERDA RESPONDER A INQUIETUDES DE SEGURIDAD DE MEDIOS

Lebanon

ASESINATOS RONDAN A LA PRENSA

Iraq

ENCORE DEUX JOURNALISTES ASSASSINÉS

Iraq

OTROS DOS PERIODISTAS ENCARCELADOS

Iraq

TWO MORE JOURNALISTS KILLED

September has been a deadly month for journalists in Iraq. Four reporters and media staff - all of them Iraqi - have been killed, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Iraq

RUMSFELD AGREES TO ANSWER MEDIA SAFETY CONCERNS

U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has agreed to address concerns about the safety of journalists in Iraq following concerted lobbying by media organisations and press freedom groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Lebanon

ASSASSINATIONS HAUNT THE PRESS

In Lebanon, journalists who criticise Syria's influence in the country do so at great risk. Since April 2005, three have been targeted for assassination. The latest victim was news anchor May Chidiac, who was seriously wounded when a bomb exploded in her car near the city of Jounieh on 25 September, reported the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Iraq

DEUX JOURNALISTES TUÉS

Iraq

DOS PERIODISTAS MUERTOS

Iraq

TWO JOURNALISTS KILLED

In Iraq, two journalists were kidnapped and murdered last week, prompting the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to raise serious concerns about the safety of journalists in the conflict-ridden country.

Iraq

TROPAS ESTADOUNIDENSES MATAN A SONIDISTA DE REUTERS; DETIENEN A CAMARÓGRAFO LESIONADO

Yemen

PERIODISTAS ATACADOS

Iraq

DES SOLDATS AMÉRICAINS ABATTENT UN PRENEUR DE SON DE REUTERS; LE CAMÉRAMAN BLESSÉ EST DÉTENU

Yemen

LES JOURNALISTES EN ÉTAT DE SIÈGE

Iraq

U.S. TROOPS KILL REUTERS SOUNDMAN; INJURED CAMERAMAN DETAINED

U.S. military authorities in Iraq are under pressure from international press freedom groups to answer questions about the killing of journalists by American troops, following the shooting of two Reuters employees in Baghdad on 28 August 2005.

Yemen

JOURNALISTS UNDER ATTACK

In Yemen, independent journalists are working in increasingly hostile conditions marked by intimidation, harassment and violent attacks, report the International Press Institute (IPI), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Bahrain

REPRESIÓN EN AUMENTO EN MEDIO DE CRECIENTES DEMANDAS

Iraq

ARTICLE 19 Y FIP CONTRIBUYEN CON PROCESO CONSTITUCIONAL

Iraq

ARTICLE 19 ET LA FIJ PARTICIPENT AU PROCESSUS CONSTITUTIONNEL

Bahrain

LA RÉPRESSION PREND DE L'AMPLEUR TANDIS QUE SE MULTIPLIENT LES APPELS AUX RÉFORMES

Iraq

IFEX MEMBERS CONTRIBUTE TO CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS

This week in Iraq, lawmakers are aiming to finalise the text of a draft constitution for the country, which will hopefully guarantee the right to freedom of expression according to international standards. If it does, it will be thanks to the work of ARTICLE 19, which has been offering its legal expertise to the constitutional drafting process.

Bahrain

REPRESSION ON THE RISE AMID GROWING DEMANDS FOR REFORM

In Bahrain, citizens are stepping up demands for political and social reform, using public protests, publications and online discussion forums to voice their opinions and concerns, reports the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR). In response, authorities are using increasingly aggressive and violent measures to quell public discontent, according to an EOHR report on free expression in the country.

Iraq

DEUX JOURNALISTES ASSASSINÉS

Iraq

DOS PERIODISTAS ASESINADOS

Saudi Arabia

UNE DÉCISION D'UN TRIBUNAL QUI CONSTITUE UN RECUL POUR LES RÉFORMES

Saudi Arabia

FALLO JUDICIAL ES UN REVÉS PARA REFORMA

Iraq

TWO JOURNALISTS MURDERED

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Press Institute (IPI) have condemned the brutal murders in Iraq of Adnan Al Bayati, an Iraqi working for Italian news media, and Steven Vincent, an American freelance journalist.

Saudi Arabia

COURT RULING A SETBACK FOR REFORM

Saudi Arabia's highest court has upheld harsh jail sentences against three advocates of peaceful reform, setting back efforts to move the royal kingdom towards a more open society, report Human Rights Watch, PEN American Center and International PEN's Writers in Prison Committee

Iran

HOSPITALIZAN A PERIODISTA ENCARCELADO

Iran

UN JOURNALISTE EMPRISONNÉ EST HOSPITALISÉ

Iran

JAILED JOURNALIST HOSPITALISED

IFEX members have joined international demands for the release of jailed Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji, who was hospitalised on 18 July 2005 during a hunger strike that has lasted more than a month. He has reportedly lost 50 pounds.

Lebanon

LIBAN : UNE PÉTITION RÉCLAME JUSTICE APRÈS L'ASSASSINAT DE SAMIR KASSIR

Iraq

LES TROUPES AMÉRICAINES PRISES À PARTIE PARCE QU'ELLES TIRENT SUR LES JOURNALISTES

Lebanon

LÍBANO: PETICIÓN EXIGE JUSTICIA PARA SAMIR KASSIR

Iraq

ATACAN A TROPAS ESTADOUNIDENSES POR BALEAR A PERIODISTA

Lebanon

LEBANON: PETITION URGES JUSTICE FOR SAMIR KASSIR

5 July 2005

Iraq

US TROOPS ASSAILED FOR SHOOTING JOURNALISTS

International press freedom groups are voicing concern over the conduct of U.S. troops in Iraq following the deaths of four Iraqi journalists in the past week and the detentions of dozens of local reporters by American and Iraqi forces.

Iraq

UNE CONFÉRENCE DE JOURNALISTES DEMANDE DES MESURES DE SÉCURITÉ

Iraq

CONFERENCIA DE PERIODISTAS PIDE MEDIDAS DE SEGURIDAD

Iraq

JOURNALISTS' CONFERENCE CALLS FOR SAFETY MEASURES

More than 200 Iraqi journalists attending a landmark conference on media have called for greater press freedom and protection for media workers in Iraq, report Index on Censorship and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Iraq

UNE REPORTER ET SON INTERPRÈTE SONT LIBÉRÉS

Iran

DES DISSIDENTS SONT RÉDUIT AU SILENCE DANS LE DERNIER SPRINT AVANT LES ÉLECTIONS

Iraq

LIBERAN A REPORTERA Y TRADUCTOR

Iraq

REPORTER, TRANSLATOR FREED

Calling it a "day of joy", press freedom advocates around the world hailed the release of French reporter Florence Aubenas and Iraqi translator Hussein Hanoun al-Saadi from captivity on 12 June 2005. The pair had been held hostage in Iraq for more than five months.

Iran

DISSIDENTS SILENCED IN LEAD-UP TO ELECTIONS

As the international community eyes Iran's presidential elections this month, IFEX members are calling attention to the plight of the country's imprisoned dissidents and writers.

Iraq

ARTICLE 19 OFFRE AUX JOURNALISTES IRAKIENS DES OUTILS POUR COUVRIR LES ÉLECTIONS

Lebanon

UN CHRONIQUEUR POPULAIRE EST ASSASSINÉ

Iraq

ARTICLE 19 OFRECE HERRAMIENTAS DE COBERTURA ELECTORAL PARA PERIODISTAS IRAQUÍES

Lebanon

ASESINAN A POPULAR COLUMNISTA

Iraq

ARTICLE 19 OFFERS ELECTION COVERAGE TOOLS FOR IRAQI JOURNALISTS

ARTICLE 19 has published a set of guidelines and briefing notes to equip Iraqi media with important information on covering elections. Commissioned by UNESCO, the publications aim to inform journalists about international free expression standards and best practices in election coverage.

Lebanon

POPULAR COLUMNIST ASSASSINATED

IFEX members are calling for justice in the murder of prominent Lebanese columnist Samir Kassir, who was killed in a car bombing outside his home in Beirut on 2 June 2005.

Syria

OFENSIVA INTENSIFICADA CONTRA LIBRE EXPRESIÓN

Syria

RÉPRESSION GRANDISSANTE DE LA LIBRE EXPRESSION

Syria

GROWING CRACKDOWN ON FREE EXPRESSION

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) are calling attention to an escalating crackdown on human rights activists in Syria, where at least 14 individuals have been arrested and detained in the past month for advocating democratic reform.

Iraq

LES OTAGES ROUMAINS SONT LIBÉRÉS

Iraq

LIBERAN A REHENES RUMANOS

Iraq

ROMANIAN HOSTAGES RELEASED

More than two months after being abducted by insurgents in Iraq, Romanian journalists Marie Jeanne Ion, Sorin Dumitru Miscoci and Ovidiu Ohanesian, and their Iraqi-American translator Mohamed Munaf, are free again, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF). On 22 May 2005, they were released from captivity and sent home to Romania the next day.

Iraq

DEUX JOURNALISTES SONT ASSASSINÉS; DES JOURNALISTES IRAKIENS SONT DÉTENUS

Iraq

DOS PERIODISTAS ASESINADOS; PERIODISTA IRAQUÍ DETENIDO

Iraq

THREE JOURNALISTS MURDERED; IRAQI JOURNALISTS DETAINED

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) calls the Iraqi conflict the deadliest for journalists since Vietnam, with 56 journalists and media staff killed and 29 kidnapped since fighting began in March 2003. This week, three more journalists lost their lives.

Iraq

UN CAMÉRAMAN DE L'AP PERD LA VIE

Iraq

CAMARÓGRAFO DE AP ASESINADO

Iraq

AP CAMERAMAN KILLED

In Iraq, the death toll of journalists and media staff continues to mount. On 23 April 2005, Iraqi cameraman Saleh Ibrahim was killed while covering fighting in the city of Mosul, reported the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Iraq

DES JOURNALISTES SONT TUÉS

Iraq

PERIODISTAS MUERTOS

Iraq

JOURNALISTS KILLED

IFEX members are urging Iraq's new government to make media safety a top priority following the deaths of at least four journalists and media support staff in the past week.

Iran

LA PHOTOGRAPHE CANADIENNE ZAHRA KAZEMI A ÉTÉ TORTURÉE

Iraq

RSF DEMANDE INSTAMMENT QU'ON RÉAFFIRME L'APPUI AUX JOURNALISTES ROUMAINS ET À LA JOURNALISTE FRANÇAISE

Iran

FOTÓGRAFA CANADIENSE TORTURADA

Iraq

RSF PIDE MÁS APOYO PARA PERIODISTAS DE RUMANIA Y FRANCIA

Iran

CANADIAN PHOTOGRAPHER TORTURED

PEN Canada, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have renewed calls for justice in the case of murdered Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi, following revelations from a former doctor that she was brutally tortured and raped during her detention in Iran in 2003.

Iraq

RSF URGES RENEWED SUPPORT FOR KIDNAPPED ROMANIAN, FRENCH JOURNALISTS

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) is calling for renewed international support to help release French reporter Florence Aubenas, her Iraqi translator Hussein Hanoun and three Romanian journalists who are being held hostage in Iraq.

Iraq

LES DIRECTEURS DE PUBLICATIONS D'EUROPE DEMANDENT LA LIBÉRATION DES JOURNALISTES ENLEVÉS

Palestine

L'ARMÉE REFUSE D'ENTAMER DES POURSUITES CONTRE LE RESPONSABLE PRÉSUMÉ DE LA MORT D'UN CINÉASTE

Iraq

UN CORRESPONDANT EN CHEF ET UN OPÉRATEUR DE CAMÉRA PERDENT LA VIE

Iraq

EDITORES EUROPEOS PIDEN LIBERACIÓN DE PERIODISTA SECUESTRADA

Iraq

EUROPEAN EDITORS URGE RELEASE OF KIDNAPPED JOURNALISTS

On the eve of a European Union economic summit in Brussels, editors-in-chief of leading newspapers across Europe have launched a joint appeal calling for the release of kidnapped reporter Florence Aubenas and her Iraqi interpreter Hussein Hanoun al-Saadi.

Israel

EJÉRCITO SE NIEGA A PROCESAR A SUPUESTOS HOMICIDAS DE CINEASTA

Iraq

JEFE DE OFICINA Y CAMARÓGRAFO MUERTOS

Israel

ARMY REFUSES TO PROSECUTE FILMMAKER'S ALLEGED KILLER

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have expressed dismay at the decision by Israel's military not to prosecute a soldier thought responsible for the death of British filmmaker James Miller.

Iraq

BUREAU CHIEF, CAMERA OPERATOR KILLED

In Iraq, conditions for journalists continue to be fraught with danger. Last week, a camera operator and a senior reporter from a Kurdish television station were killed, bringing the death toll to 51 journalists killed since March 2003, according to Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Iraq

ON REPROCHE AUX FORCES AMÉRICAINES DE TIRER SUR LES JOURNALISTES

Iraq

CULPAN A FUERZAS ESTADOUNIDENSES DE DISPAROS CONTRA PERIODISTAS

Iraq

US FORCES BLAMED FOR SHOOTING JOURNALISTS

The US military is facing renewed criticism from press freedom groups for its role in the killing of journalists in Iraq, following the wounding of Italian reporter Giuliana Sgrena and the death of a Kurdish journalist last week.

Iraq

DES JOURNALISTES CHERCHENT À FAIRE L'UNITÉ POUR METTRE FIN À LA VIOLENCE CONTRE LES MÉDIAS

Iran

LES AUTORITÉS INTENSIFIENT LA RÉPRESSION CONTRE LES BLOGUEURS

Iraq

PERIODISTAS BUSCAN UNIDAD PARA PONER FIN A VIOLENCIA CONTRA LOS MEDIOS

Iran

AUTORIDADES INTENSIFICAN OFENSIVA CONTRA ESCRITORES DE BLOGS

Iraq

JOURNALISTS SEEK UNITY TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST MEDIA

Amid the violence in Iraq that continues to endanger the lives of journalists there, a new initiative supported by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has emerged which aims to reduce attacks on the media and foster ethical and genuinely independent journalism.

Iran

AUTHORITIES INTENSIFY CRACKDOWN ON BLOGGERS

IFEX members are calling attention to Iran, where the growing popularity of the Internet is making the country's authorities nervous. With the country's reform-minded independent press largely silenced, individuals are turning to the Internet to spread opinions and voice concerns over human rights and other politically sensitive issues.

Iraq

UN JOURNALISTE EST TUÉ; DES REPORTERS SONT TOUJOURS PORTÉS DISPARUS

Iraq

PERIODISTA ASESINADO, REPORTEROS SIGUEN DESAPARECIDOS

Iraq

JOURNALIST KILLED, REPORTERS STILL MISSING

On 9 February 2005, unidentified gunmen in the city of Basra shot and killed Abdul-Hussein Khazal, an Iraqi journalist employed by the US-funded television station Al-Hurra, reported the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Iraq

IRAK : RSF FAIT CAMPAGNE EN FAVEUR D'UNE JOURNALISTE FRANÇAISE ENLEVÉE AVEC SON INTERPRÈTE IRAKIEN

Syria

UN MILITANT SYRIEN REMPORTE LE PRIX MARTIN ENNALS 2005

Syria

ACTIVISTA SIRIO GANA PREMIO MARTIN ENNALS 2005

Iraq

IRAK: RSF HACE CAMPAÑA A FAVOR DE PERIODISTA FRANCESA E INTÉRPRETE IRAQUÍ SECUESTRADOS

Syria

SYRIAN ACTIVIST WINS 2005 MARTIN ENNALS AWARD

Aktham Naisse, a human rights activist who has fought for democracy in Syria for more than 30 years, has been named the winner of the 2005 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.

Yemen

RSF ALARMADO ANTE CRECIENTE OFENSIVA CONTRA PRENSA

Yemen

RSF TIRE LA SONNETTE D'ALARME DEVANT LA RÉPRESSION CROISSANTE DE LA PRESSE

Yemen

RSF ALARMED AT GROWING CRACKDOWN ON THE PRESS

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) is expressing alarm at what it calls a "growing crackdown" on the news media in Yemen. In 2004, it recorded at least 24 press freedom violations, including nine suspended jail sentences against journalists despite a pledge by the president last June to abolish prison sentences for press crimes.

Iraq

DES MILITANTS LIBÈRENT LES JOURNALISTES FRANÇAIS

Iraq

MILITANTES LIBERAN A PERIODISTAS FRANCESES

Iraq

MILITANTS RELEASE FRENCH JOURNALISTS

Two French journalists who have been held captive by militants in Iraq for more than four months have been released, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Yemen

UN JOURNALISTE EN VUE EST ASSASSINÉ

Yemen

PROMINENTE PERIODISTA ASESINADO

Yemen

PROMINENT JOURNALIST ASSASSINATED

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is calling for a thorough and detailed investigation into the murder of a Yemeni journalist who has been described as a prominent press freedom advocate.

Iraq

LE PENTAGONE PRÉTEND QUE LES FORCES DE LA COALITION N'ONT RIEN À SE REPROCHER DANS L'ATTAQUE CONTRE L'HÔTEL PALESTINE

Iraq

PENTÁGONO AFIRMA QUE "NO HUBO CULPA" EN ATAQUE CONTRA HOTEL PALESTINA

Iraq

PENTAGON CLAIMS "NO FAULT" IN PALESTINE HOTEL ATTACK

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) are questioning the findings of a Pentagon report that says US troops bore "no fault or negligence" when a tank opened fire on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad in April 2003, killing three journalists and wounding two others.

Iraq

IRAQUÍES SOPORTAN GRUESO DE ATAQUES CONTRA MEDIOS

Iraq

LES IRAKIENS SUBISSENT LE PLUS GROS DES ATTAQUES CONTRE LES MÉDIAS

Iraq

IRAQIS BEAR BRUNT OF ATTACKS AGAINST MEDIA

It has been another bloody week for journalists and media staff in Iraq. A journalist and freelance cameraman were shot and killed, while a bomb attack on the offices of Arab broadcaster Al-Arabiya killed five employees and injured more than a dozen.

Israel

LES MÉDIAS NE TIENNENT AUCUN COMPTE DES VIOLATIONS DE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE DANS LE CONFLIT ISRAÉLO-PALESTINIEN, DIT L'IIP

Iraq

DEUX JOURNALISTES SONT TUÉS; LES REPORTERS FRANÇAIS SONT TOUJOURS CAPTIFS

Iraq

DOS PERIODISTAS MUERTOS; REPORTEROS FRANCESES SIGUEN EN CAUTIVERIO

Palestine

MEDIA IGNORING PRESS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS IN ISRAEL/PALESTINE CONFLICT: IPI

While Middle East news coverage is mostly focused on Iraq these days, "gross violations of press freedom" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are continuing and media are not paying enough attention to them, says a new report released by the International Press Institute (IPI).

Iraq

TWO JOURNALISTS KILLED; FRENCH REPORTERS REMAIN CAPTIVE

In occupied Iraq, journalists have become an increasingly unwelcome presence. Since January 2004, insurgents have abducted at least 20 journalists and US-led coalition authorities have shown an indifference to media safety concerns despite the deaths of close to 50 journalists and media staff since March 2003, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Bahrain

LES AUTORITÉS ARRÊTENT UN COMMENTATEUR CRITIQUE ET INTERDISENT UN GROUPE DE DÉFENSE DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE

Bahrain

AUTORIDADES ARRESTAN A CRÍTICO Y PROSCRIBEN GRUPO DE DERECHOS HUMANOS

Bahrain

AUTHORITIES ARREST CRITIC, BAN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP

In Bahrain, criticising political leaders comes with a high price. Just ask Abdul al-Hadi al-Khawaja, vice-president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). On 25 September 2004, police arrested him a day after he criticised Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa Al Khalifa for the country's economic problems and past human rights abuses. Authorities also ordered the BCHR closed and barred it from resuming its activities.

Iran

DES BLOGGUEURS PROTESTENT CONTRE LA RÉPRESSION DE L'INTERNET

Iran

ESCRITORES DE BITÁCORAS EN WEB PROTESTAN POR OFENSIVA CONTRA INTERNET

Iran

BLOGGERS PROTEST INTERNET CRACKDOWN

In Iran, the phenomenon of online blogs, or web-based diaries, is taking on a political life of its own. Hundreds of so-called bloggers are finding ways of sharing information and mobilising support and international attention on state censorship.

Iraq

RSF EXIGE LA REMISE EN LIBERTÉ DES JOURNALISTES ENLEVÉS

Iraq

¡ACTÚE! RSF PIDE LIBERACIÓN DE PERIODISTAS SECUESTRADOS

Iraq

UN REPORTER EST TUÉ, LA CHAÎNE AL-JAZIRAH EST SUSPENDUE INDÉFINIMENT

Iraq

REPORTERO ASESINADO; PROSCRIBEN A AL-YAZIRA INDEFINIDAMENTE

Iraq

REPORTER KILLED, AL-JAZEERA BANNED INDEFINITELY

On 12 September 2004, Mazen al-Tumeizi, a reporter for Al-Arabiya television, was killed while covering clashes in Baghdad, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Two other journalists were injured.

Iraq

UN JOURNALISTE ITALIEN EST ASSASSINÉ, DEUX REPORTERS FRANÇAIS SONT PRIS EN OTAGES

Iraq

PERIODISTA ITALIANO ASESINADO, REPORTERO FRANCÉS TOMADO COMO REHÉN

Iraq

ITALIAN JOURNALIST KILLED, FRENCH REPORTERS HELD HOSTAGE

Conditions in Iraq continue to be extremely unsafe for journalists and media personnel. An Italian journalist was murdered last week, while a militant group is threatening to kill two French reporters who are being held hostage, report IFEX members.

Israel

LA FIJ INAUGURE UNE FORMATION EN SÉCURITÉ POUR LES JOURNALISTES PALESTINIENS

Israel

IFJ LAUNCHES SAFETY TRAINING FOR PALESTINIAN JOURNALISTS

In the West Bank and Gaza, considered one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists, Palestinian media personnel are receiving training on safety skills that will help reduce risk, thanks to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Israel

Une étude montre un parti pris dans la couverture du conflit israélo-palestinien

Iraq

ON CRAINT POUR LA SÛRETÉ DES JOURNALISTES

Israel

Estudio muestra prejuicios en cobertura de conflicto Israel-Palestina

Iraq

TEMORES POR SEGURIDAD DE PERIODISTAS

Iraq

FEARS FOR JOURNALISTS' SAFETY

IFEX members are renewing concerns over safety conditions for journalists in Iraq, following the killing of a freelance reporter and the abduction of three journalists in the past week.

Iran

L'ÉBAUCHE D'UN PROJET DE LOI SUR L'INTERNET PRÉSENTE UNE MENACE POUR LA LIBRE EXPRESSION, DIT RSF

Iran

PROYECTO DE LEY DE INTERNET PLANTEA AMENAZA A LIBRE EXPRESIÓN: RSF

Syria

RSF DEMANDE INSTAMMENT LA REMISE EN LIBERTÉ DE CYBERDISSIDENTS

Iran

DRAFT LAW POSES THREAT TO FREE EXPRESSION: RSF

Expressing one's opinions over the Internet could become a much more risky activity in Iran if a proposed bill aimed at stamping out "nauseating content" becomes law, warns Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontierès, RSF).

Syria

RSF PIDE LIBERACIÓN DE 5 CIBERDISIDENTES

Syria

RSF URGES RELEASE OF 5 CYBER-DISSIDENTS

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontierès, RSF) has urged the Syrian government to release five detained cyber-dissidents, three of whom were sentenced last week to jail terms of up to four years for e-mailing information to an online newspaper in the United Arab Emirates.

Israel

LES JOURNALISTES SUBISSENT DES PRESSIONS POUR QU'ILS DE CONFORMENT À LA LIGNE OFFICIELLE

Palestine

PRESIONAN A PERIODISTAS PARA ACATAR LÍNEA

Israel

ISRAEL/PALESTINE: JOURNALISTS PRESSURED TO TOE THE LINE

For journalists covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, critical independent reporting is a constant challenge. Pressure to toe the line often comes from both sides. In recent weeks, moves by Palestinian authorities have raised alarm from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontierès, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Iran

IRAN : ÉCRIVEZ UNE LETTRE POUR EXIGER JUSTICE DANS L'AFFAIRE KAZEMI

Iran

DES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX DEMANDENT JUSTICE DANS LE MEURTRE D'UNE JOURNALISTE

Iran

IRÁN: ESCRIBA UNA CARTA PARA EXIGIR JUSTICIA EN CASO KAZEMI

Iran

IRÁN: MIEMBROS DE IFEX EXIGEN JUSTICIA POR ASESINATO DE PERIODISTA

Iran

TAKE ACTION! IRAN: WRITE A LETTER DEMANDING JUSTICE IN KAZEMI CASE

20 July 2004

Iran

IFEX MEMBERS DEMAND JUSTICE IN JOURNALIST'S MURDER

More than one year after Canadian photo-journalist Zahra Kazemi was killed in detention for taking photos outside an Iranian prison, those responsible for her death remain at large. This week, her case and the plight of independent journalists in Iran were back in the international spotlight.

Israel

CONDENAN VIOLENTOS ATAQUES CONTRA PERIODISTAS PALESTINOS

Palestine

CONDAMNATION DES VIOLENTES AGRESSIONS COMMISES CONTRE DES JOURNALISTES PALESTINIENS

Palestine

VIOLENT ATTACKS AGAINST PALESTINIAN JOURNALISTS CONDEMNED

In a 21 June 2004 letter to Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) protested a string of violent attacks by the Israeli army against Palestinian journalists in the Nablus region of the West Bank between 10 and 15 June.

Iran

L'UNION EUROPÉENNE INVITÉE À DURCIR SA POSITION SUR LES DROITS

Saudi Arabia

UN CAMÉRAMAN DE LA BBC ET UN RÉDACTEUR IRAKIEN SONT TUÉS

Iran

INSTAN A UE A MOSTRARSE ESTRICTA RESPECTO A DERECHOS HUMANOS

Iraq

CAMARÓGRAFO DE BBC Y EDITOR IRAQUÍ MUERTOS

Iran

EU URGED TO GET TOUGH ON HUMAN RIGHTS

As European Union (EU) leaders prepare to meet Iranian officials next week for the annual "human rights dialogue", Human Rights Watch is calling on the EU to put pressure on Iran over its practice of torture and suppression of free expression.

Iraq

BBC CAMERAMAN, IRAQI EDITOR KILLED

Iraq may be known as one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists, but the murder of a BBC cameraman in Saudi Arabia last week has raised fears about media safety in the royal kingdom, report the International Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Iraq

PERIODISTAS ENTRE LOS MALTRATADOS POR SOLDADOS ESTADOUNIDENSES

Iraq

DES JOURNALISTES PARMI LES PERSONNES TORTURÉES PAR LES TROUPES AMÉRICAINES

Iraq

JOURNALISTS AMONG THOSE ABUSED BY U.S. TROOPS

In the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, it has emerged that Iraqi journalists were among those reportedly abused and tortured by American soldiers, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Iran

¡ACTÚE! IRÁN: AYUDE A LIBERAR A PERIODISTA ENCARCELADO

Palestine

TRIBUNAL DEROGA PROHIBICIÓN A PASES DE PRENSA

Iraq

DOS PERIODISTAS MUERTOS

Palestine

LE TRIBUNAL INVALIDE LE REFUS DES CARTES DE PRESSE

Iraq

DEUX JOURNALISTES PERDENT LA VIE

Iran

TAKE ACTION! HELP RELEASE JAILED IRANIAN JOURNALIST

PEN Canada has launched a letter-writing campaign to help free jailed Iranian journalist and film critic Siamak Pourzand from jail.

Palestine

COURT QUASHES BAN ON PRESS PASSES

Israel's highest court has ruled that the government has no right to deny press passes to Palestinian journalists in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip on the grounds of national security, a move welcomed by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the International Press Institute (IPI).

Iraq

TWO JOURNALISTS KILLED

Iraq has become one of the most hazardous places in the world for journalists, a grim reality underscored last week by the murders of two journalists.

Iran

Les blogs permettent aux Iraniens de s'exprimer librement

Iraq

DEUX EMPLOYÉS DES MÉDIAS TUÉS PAR LES FORCES AMÉRICAINES; DES CAPTIFS SONT

Iran

Blogs brindan a iraníes un canal de libertad de palabra

Iraq

EMPLEADOS DE LOS MEDIOS MUERTOS POR FUERZAS ESTADOUNIDENSES; CAUTIVOS

Iran

Blogs Provide Free Speech Outlet for Iranians

20 April 2004

Iraq

MEDIA STAFF KILLED BY U.S. FORCES; CAPTIVES RELEASED

American forces in the central Iraqi city of Samara have reportedly shot and killed a local journalist and his driver, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Iraq

DES JOURNALISTES SONT ENLEVÉS; LES ÉTATS-UNIS SONT PRIÉS DE DIVULGUER LES INFORMATIONS QU'ILS DÉTIENNENT SUR LES REPORTERS TUÉS EN 2003

Iraq

PERIODISTA SECUESTRADO; INSTAN A EE.UU. A DIVULGAR INFORMACIÓN DE REPORTEROS MUERTOS EN 2003

Iraq

JOURNALISTS KIDNAPPED; US URGED TO DIVULGE INFORMATION ON REPORTERS KILLED IN 2003

As violence in Iraq continues to dominate news headlines, IFEX members are highlighting the plight of five journalists whose whereabouts are unknown and the impunity surrounding the deaths of seven journalists killed during the war in 2003.

Israel

UN ÉTUDIANT EN JOURNALISME EST ABATTU

Israel

ESTUDIANTE DE PERIODISMO BALEADO Y MUERTO

Israel

JOURNALISM STUDENT SHOT DEAD

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have voiced concerns over the death of Mohamed Abu Halima, a journalism student shot and killed by Israeli troops outside the West Bank city of Nablus.

Iraq

AGISSEZ ! DEMANDEZ JUSTICE POUR LES JOURNALISTES TUÉS EN IRAK

Saudi Arabia

LEVÉE DE L'INTERDIT SUR LES SITES WEB GAIS

Iraq

LES EMPLOYÉS IRAKIENS DES MÉDIAS ÉTRANGERS SONT VISÉS

Iraq

¡ACTÚE! PIDEN JUSTICIA PARA PERIODISTAS MUERTOS EN IRAK

Saudi Arabia

LEVANTAN PROHIBICIÓN A SITIOS WEB GAY

Iraq

ATACAN A EMPLEADOS IRAQUÍES DE LOS MEDIOS EXTRANJEROS

Saudi Arabia

BAN ON GAY WEBSITES LIFTED

Saudi Arabia has lifted a ban on two gay websites in response to pressure from Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF). Access to the websites gaymiddleast.com and 365gay.com within the country had been blocked since early March 2004 after authorities deemed them "pornographic."

Iraq

IRAQI MEDIA STAFF TARGETED

A growing number of Iraqis in the country are becoming targets because of their work with foreign media, report the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Last week, an ABC News cameraman and two translators for "Time" magazine and Voice of America were shot and killed, while an Associated Press (AP) photographer was hit by gunfire.

Iraq

CINQ EMPLOYÉS DES MÉDIAS PERDENT LA VIE

Iraq

CINCO TRABAJADORES DE LOS MEDIOS MUERTOS

Iraq

FIVE MEDIA STAFF KILLED

One year after the American-led invasion of Iraq, the country is the most dangerous in the world for journalists, says the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Last week, five more lost their lives, bringing to 36 the number of media workers killed during and after the Iraq war.

Iraq

ACUSAN A FUERZAS ESTADOUNIDENSES DE CONTROL E INTIMIDACIÓN DE MEDIOS

Iraq

LES FORCES AMÉRICAINES ACCUSÉES DE CONTRÔLER ET D'INTIMIDER LES MÉDIAS

Iraq

AMERICAN FORCES ACCUSED OF CONTROL, INTIMIDATION OF MEDIA

On 15 March 2004, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) accused US authorities in Iraq of attempting to "control and intimidate" the media.

Saudi Arabia

ARABIA SAUDITA: PROTESTE CONTRA PROSCRIPCIÓN DE GOBIERNO A PERIODISTA

Yemen

PROTESTAN POR ARRESTO DE PERIODISTA

Yemen

L'ARRESTATION D'UN JOURNALISTE EST DÉNONCÉE

Yemen

JOURNALIST'S ARREST PROTESTED

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) have called on Yemeni authorities to drop charges against journalist Saïd Thabet Saïd, who was arrested in Sanaa on 5 March 2004. Thanet Saïd was accused of "spreading false news damaging to public interest and security." The IFJ says the action is part of a process of intimidation of Yemeni journalists.

Palestine

UN JOURNALISTE ET CONSEILLER D'ARAFAT EST ASSASSINÉ

Palestine

JOURNALIST AND ARAFAT ADVISOR ASSASSINATED

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) has called on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to ensure the safety of Palestinian journalists following the assassination this week of journalist and publisher Khalil Al-Zebin.

Iraq

NEUF JOURNALISTES PERDENT LA VIE DANS UN ATTENTAT

Iraq

NUEVE PERIODISTAS MUERTOS EN ATAQUE TERRORISTA

Iraq

NINE JOURNALISTS KILLED IN TERRORIST ATTACK

The terrorist bombings that recently killed more than 100 people in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil claimed the lives of nine journalists, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has learned.

Iraq

Des journalistes irakiens reçoivent de la formation en sécurité

Iran

LE RAPPORTEUR DES NATIONS UNIES PLAIDE POUR UNE AMNISTIE EN FAVEUR DES JOURNALISTES EMPRISONNÉS

Iraq

LES LOIS DE L'ÈRE SADDAM CONSTITUENT UN DANGER POUR LA LIBRE EXPRESSION

Iraq

Periodistas iraquíes reciben capacitación en seguridad

Iran

RELATOR DE ONU INSTA A OTORGAR AMNISTÍA A PERIODISTAS ENCARCELADOS

Iraq

LEYES DE LA ERA DE SADDAM PONEN EN PELIGRO LIBRE EXPRESIÓN

Iraq

Iraqi Journalists Receive Safety Training

10 February 2004

Iran

UN RAPPORTEUR URGES AMNESTY FOR JAILED JOURNALISTS

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Free Expression, Ambeyi Ligabo, has called on the Iranian government to reform its press laws and release all journalists imprisoned because of their work, a move hailed by Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Iraq

SADDAM-ERA LAWS ENDANGER FREE EXPRESSION

Ten months after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, the ghosts of his authoritarian past still haunt the country's press and threaten the lasting development of a free media, says a new report by ARTICLE 19 and Index on Censorship.

Iraq

PERSONAL DE CNN BALEADO EN EMBOSCADA

Iraq

DES EMPLOYÉS DE CNN SONT ABATTUS DANS UNE EMBUSCADE

Iraq

CNN STAFF GUNNED DOWN IN AMBUSH

The unsafe conditions for journalists in Iraq were highlighted again today with the death of two CNN employees killed in an ambush near Baghdad, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) .

Iraq

LE HAUT ÉTAT-MAJOR DE L'ARMÉE AMÉRICAINE PORTE LA RESPONSABILITÉ DU BOMBARDEMENT DE L'HÔTEL À BAGDAD, DIT RSF

Iraq

ALTO MANDO DE ESTADOS UNIDOS RESPONSABLE DE ATAQUE A HOTEL, DICE RSF

Iraq

SENIOR US COMMAND RESPONSIBLE FOR HOTEL SHELLING, SAYS RSF

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) is calling on the United States to re-open an inquiry into the April 2003 attack on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, which killed two foreign journalists.

Iraq

LA FIJ DÉPÊCHERA UNE MISSION CONJOINTE EN IRAK

Iraq

FIP ENVIARÁ MISIÓN CONJUNTA A IRAQ

Iraq

IFJ SENDS JOINT MISSION TO IRAQ

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Federation of Arab Journalists (FAJ) are sending a joint mission to Iraq next week aimed at supporting the establishment of a national journalists' organisation.

Iraq

UN MÉDIA ARABE EST INTERDIT

Iraq

PROSCRIBEN EMISORA ÁRABE

Iraq

ARAB BROADCASTER BANNED

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have criticised the Iraqi Governing Council's decision to bar the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite news channel from operating in Iraq.

Iran

LE PEN INTERNATIONAL S'APPRÊTE À LANCER UNE CAMPAGNE

Iran

PEN INTERNACIONAL INICIARÁ CAMPAÑA

Iran

INTERNATIONAL PEN TO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN

As free-expression violations escalate in Iran, the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC) is launching a new letter-writing campaign to draw attention to dozens of imprisoned writers and journalists in the country.

Iran

LE PEN CANADA ENTEND CONTINUER À SUIVRE LE PROCÈS KAZEMI

Iran

PEN CANADÁ VIGILARÁ JUICIO DEL CASO KAZEMI

Iran

PEN CANADA TO KEEP WATCH ON KAZEMI TRIAL

Efforts to keep freedom of expression in Iran under the Canadian spotlight are being bolstered, thanks to a coalition of non-governmental organisations, including PEN Canada. The group has launched an e-mail fundraising campaign to send a Canadian observer to Tehran to observe the trial of the man accused of murdering photographer Zahra Kazemi.

Israel

UN TOLLÉ DE PROTESTATION FORCE LE GOUVERNEMENT À RETARDER L'APPLICATION DE NOUVELLES RÈGLES D'ACCRÉDITATION DES JOURNALISTES

Israel

INDIGNACIÓN OBLIGA A GOBIERNO A RETRASAR NUEVAS REGLAS DE ACREDITACIÓN PARA PERIODISTAS

Israel

OUTCRY FORCES GOVERNMENT TO DELAY NEW ACCREDITATION RULES FOR JOURNALISTS

Following an international outcry led by press-freedom groups and journalists associations, including IFEX members, the Israeli government has delayed plans to introduce controversial new accreditation rules under which foreign journalists would have to be vetted by Israel's security service.

Iraq

LA FIJ PRÉPARE UNE MISSION EN IRAK

Iraq

UN JOURNALISTE EST ABATTU

Iraq

FIP PLANEA ENVIAR MISIÓN A IRAQ

Iraq

PERIODISTA MUERTO A TIROS

Iran

LE RAPPORTEUR DES NATIONS UNIES SUR LA LIBERTÉ D'EXPRESSION SE RENDRA EN IRAN

Iraq

IFJ PLANS MISSION TO IRAQ

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Federation of Arab Journalists have announced plans to conduct a joint mission to Iraq in January 2004 to help facilitate the creation of a national journalists association.

Iraq

IRAQ: JOURNALIST SHOT DEAD

Ahmed Shawkat, editor of the Iraqi weekly "Bilah Ittijah" (Without Direction), was shot and killed in the northern city of Mosul on 28 October, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Iran

RELATOR DE LIBRE EXPRESIÓN DE ONU VISITARÁ IRÁN

Iran

UN FREE-EXPRESSION RAPPORTEUR TO VISIT IRAN

The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Ambeyi Ligabo, will visit Iran next month to examine the state of free expression in the country, reports UN Wire. From 4 to 10 November, he will meet with senior government officials and judges, UN agency representatives, journalists and civil society organisations.

Iran

UNE CHAMPIONNE DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE REMPORTE LE PRIX NOBEL DE LA PAIX

Iraq

IRAK : UN RAPPORT DE LA FIJ DÉNONCE LA RÉPONSE DES ÉTATS-UNIS AUX DÉCÈS DE JOURNALISTES

Iran

DEFENSORA DE DERECHOS HUMANOS GANA PREMIO NOBEL DE LA PAZ

Iraq

IRAK: INFORME DE FIP ARREMETE CONTRA RESPUESTA ESTADOUNIDENSE A MUERTES DE PERIODISTAS

Iran

HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

Freedom of expression in Iran was once again thrust into the international spotlight last week, following news that the Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Freedom House called it a "momentous day" for human rights in Iran, Index on Censorship termed it a "surprise," while Human Rights Watch welcomed it as a sign of international support for all Iranians.

Iraq

IFJ REPORT BLASTS US RESPONSE TO JOURNALISTS' DEATHS

Six months after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the deaths of seven journalists killed while reporting the conflict remain unexplained and clothed in secrecy, says a new report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Families, friends and colleagues of the victims are unable to obtain full details of US military investigations into the deaths. And a growing number of IFEX members are getting increasingly concerned.

Iraq

LES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX CONDAMNENT LES AGRESSIONS CONTRE DES JOURNALISTES

Iraq

MIEMBROS DE IFEX CONDENAN AGRESIONES CONTRA PERIODISTAS

Iraq

IFEX MEMBERS CONDEMN ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS

Five IFEX members have voiced concerns this week over the safety of journalists in Iraq, following a bomb attack outside a Baghdad hotel housing the offices of an American television network and recent attacks involving US soldiers against journalists.

Iraq

On a d'urgence besoin d'aide pour les médias en Irak

Iraq

Se requiere con urgencia asistencia a los medios iraquíes

Iraq

LES MEMBRES DE L’IFEX DÉNONCENT LA MORT D’UN CAMÉRAMAN

Iraq

MIEMBROS DE IFEX CONDENAN ASESINATO DE CAMARÓGRAFO

Iraq

IFEX MEMBERS CONDEMN KILLING OF CAMERAMAN

Five IFEX member organisations have called on the American government to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the death of Reuters television cameraman Mazen Dana, shot by a U.S. soldier while filming near a prison outside Baghdad, Iraq.

Iraq

UN RAPPORT DE RSF EXAMINE LA SITUATION DE LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE APRÈS LA GUERRE

Iraq

INFORME DE RSF EXAMINA LIBERTAD DE PRENSA DESPUÉS DE LA GUERRA

Iran

UN RAPPORTEUR POSTPONES VISIT TO IRAN

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Ambeyi Ligabo, has postponed a visit to Iran at the request of the Iranian government. He was originally scheduled to visit the country from 17 to 27 July to examine the state of free expression there.

Iraq

RSF REPORT EXAMINES POST-WAR PRESS FREEDOM

Reporters Without Borders has called on U.S. and British occupying forces in Iraq to replace restrictive regulations imposed on local media with "clear and coherent laws," warning that the rapid growth of diverse media outlets since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime could be eroded by growing resentment of coalition policies.

Iran

LE RAPPORTEUR DES NATIONS UNIES REPORTE SA VISITE EN IRAN

Iran

UNE PHOTOJOURNALISTE CANADIENNE MEURT EN GARDE À VUE

Iran

PHOTOJOURNALIST DIES IN IRANIAN CUSTODY

IFEX members are leading an international protest over the death of Iranian-Canadian photo-journalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in an Iranian hospital on 11 July after suffering a brain hemorrhage from being beaten while in police custody.

Iraq

DEUX TRAVAILLEURS DES MÉDIAS PERDENT LA VIE

Iraq

TWO MEDIA WORKERS KILLED

Two freelance journalists were killed in Iraq last week, highlighting the ongoing issue of journalists' safety in the war-torn country. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) warned that the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, is "still a deadly war zone where no journalist's safety can be guaranteed," following the death of British freelance camera operator Richard Wild and Australian television sound technician Jeremy Little.

Iraq

LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE EN IRAK SE HEURTE À D'ÉNORMES OBSTACLES

Iraq

PRESS FREEDOM FACES HUGE OBSTACLES

Since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, the country has experienced a media boom, with up to 150 new publications launched in central and southern Iraq. Dozens of new newspapers and magazines have sprouted in the capital, Baghdad, while Iraqi Kurdistan's media continues to thrive. However, press freedom faces huge obstacles, including the absence of the rule of law, an economy in ruins, inadequate infrastructure for independent media and a lack of balanced reporting in the country.

Iran

8 JOURNALISTS ARRESTED AMIDST GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN

Against the backdrop of vocal student protests against the Iranian government, numerous IFEX members are calling attention to a renewed crackdown on free expression in the country, where at least eight journalists have been arrested and a letter by parliamentarians critical of Ayatollah Khamenei's policies censored.

Israel

IPI TRACKS PRESS-FREEDOM VIOLATIONS

Since the Palestinian uprising (Intifada) in September 2000, Israeli authorities are continuing to commit the vast majority of press-freedom violations in the Israel/Palestine conflict, according to a recent report published by the International Press Institute (IPI).

Iraq

"HISTORIC" MEETING EXAMINES POST-WAR MEDIA REBUILDING

An "historic" meeting of 20 press-freedom groups and media development organisations, including ARTICLE 19, Index on Censorship, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), has resulted in a common agreement to co-ordinate efforts for rebuilding war-torn Iraq's media and supporting the development of a media policy for the country.

Iraq

CIHRS CO-SPONSORS INTERNEWS CONFERENCE ON MEDIA IN IRAQ

The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) is co-sponsoring a conference in June, organised by Internews, that will develop policy recommendations on promoting media pluralism and press freedom in post-war Iraq.

Iraq

CPJ REPORT REVEALS NEW DETAILS ABOUT PALESTINE HOTEL ATTACK

A new report issued today by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reveals new details and raises further questions about the U.S. attack on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad which killed two Western journalists during the war in Iraq.

Iran

SEVEN JOURNALISTS SENTENCED TO 52 YEARS IN PRISON

While the Cuban government's recent crackdown on free expression has drawn considerable coverage from international media, scant attention is being paid to Iran where seven journalists were sentenced on 10 May to prison terms totaling 52 years.

Israel

CAMERAMAN KILLED

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) are calling for an immediate investigation into the death of Nazeh Darwazi, a Palestinian cameraman shot and killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank town of Nablus on 19 April.

Iraq

LA FIJ DEMANDE UN « NOUVEL ORDRE MÉDIATIQUE »; DEUX JOURNALISTES SONT TUÉS

Iraq

FIP PIDE "NUEVO ORDEN DE MEDIOS"; DOS PERIODISTAS MUERTOS

Iraq

IFJ CALLS FOR NEW MEDIA ORDER; 2 JOURNALISTS KILLED

As United States-led coalition forces continue to secure control of Iraq, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has joined the Federation of Arab Journalists (FAJ) in calling for the establishment of a "new media order" in the country that reflects the highest standards of pluralism, press freedom and editorial independence.

Israel

IPI EXAMINA DISPUTA POR ACREDITACIÓN DE PRENSA

Iraq

AUMENTA LA CUENTA DE PERIODISTAS MUERTOS

Iraq

LA LISTE DES JOURNALISTES QUI PERDENT LA VIE S'ALLONGE

Israel

IPI EXAMINES DISPUTE OVER PRESS ACCREDITATION

A delegation of International Press Institute (IPI) representatives has recently returned from a three-day visit to Israel where it met with government officials and members of the foreign press to address press-freedom concerns.

Iraq

WAR IN IRAQ: JOURNALISTS' DEATH TOLL CLIMBS

IFEX members are mourning the loss of seven journalists who died in the line of duty this past week in Iraq and another three who died of other causes, highlighting the dangers media face in reporting the war in Iraq.

Iraq

LES MEMBRES DE L?IFEX EXPRIMENT LEUR INQUIÉTUDE POUR LA LIBRE EXPRESSION

Iraq

MIEMBROS DE IFEX PLANTEAN INQUIETUDES POR LIBRE EXPRESIÓN

Iraq

IFEX MEMBERS RAISE FREE-EXPRESSION CONCERNS

As the war in Iraq enters its third week, several IFEX members have raised concerns over free-expression violations committed by United States-led coalition forces, including the bombing of an Iraqi television station and the expulsion of four foreign journalists accused of being spies.

Iraq

INSISTENT SUR LE RESPECT DE LA LIBRE EXPRESSION;DEUX JOURNALISTES PERDENT LA VIE

Iraq

MIEMBROS DE IFEX EXIGEN RESPETO A LA LIBRE EXPRESIÓN; DOS PERIODISTAS MUERTOS

Iraq

IFEX MEMBERS URGE RESPECT FOR FREE EXPRESSION; 2 JOURNALISTS KILLED

As the United States, Great Britain and others launched their war on Iraq last week, 20 IFEX members in 16 countries backed a joint appeal urging all countries in the conflict to refrain from targeting media, to ensure the free flow of information and to respect the rights of journalists under international law.

Iraq

GRUPOS DE LIBERTAD DE PRENSA INSTAN QUE HAYA PROTECCIÓN DE MEDIOS

Iraq

GROUPES DE DÉFENSE DE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE DEMANDENT LA PROTECTION DES MÉDIAS

Israel

ISRAELI JOURNALIST WINS UNESCO PRESS-FREEDOM PRIZE

Amira Hass, the only Israeli journalist living in the Autonomous Palestinian Territories, has been awarded the 2003 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. A journalist with the daily Israeli newspaper "Ha'aretz," Hass has spent the past decade reporting from the territories, filing independent and critical reports on the policies of both Israelis and Palestinians.

Iraq

PRESS-FREEDOM GROUPS URGE MEDIA PROTECTION

A new coalition of more than 100 media companies, journalists, press-freedom groups and international organisations has called on all sides in any war in Iraq to respect the safety and integrity of journalists.

Iraq

« PRIS EN OTAGES », SELON UN RAPPORT DE RSF

Iraq

SON REHENES: INFORME DE RSF

Iraq

IRAQI MEDIA "HELD HOSTAGE": RSF REPORT

The people of Iraq have a saying that there are as many pictures of Saddam Hussein as there are people in their country (20 million). Perhaps that isn't so far from the truth since Saddam himself has stated that if their television sets should ever break down, all Iraqis need do is place one of his pictures on the screen, says Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Iran

LES AUTORITÉS INTENSIFIENT LA RÉPRESSION DE LA LIBRE EXPRESSION

Iran

AUTORIDADES INTENSIFICAN OFENSIVA CONTRA LIBRE EXPRESIÓN

Iran

AUTHORITIES INTENSIFY CRACKDOWN ON FREE EXPRESSION

Human Rights Watch (HRW), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), International PEN and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) have drawn attention in recent weeks to what they say is a renewed crackdown on free expression in Iran.

Kuwait

UN JOURNALISTE FRANÇAIS D?EXPÉRIENCE PERD LA VIE

Kuwait

VETERAN FRENCH REPORTER KILLED

Journalists are mourning the death of French reporter Patrick Bourrat following news that the veteran TF1 correspondent was accidentally struck by a tank and killed while covering military exercises near the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border.

Jordan

REFORMA NECESARIA EN LEYES DE MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN: INFORME DE EMHRN

Jordan

IL FAUT RÉFORMER LA LOI SUR LES MÉDIAS, DIT UN RAPPORT DU REMDH

Jordan

MEDIA LAWS NEED REFORM: EMHRN REPORT

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) has issued a report calling on the government of Jordan to repeal laws restricting press freedom and initiate a dialogue with human rights organisations on the role of the press. "Press Freedoms in Jordan" is a follow-up to EMHRN's 1998 report criticising the government's restrictive Press and Publications Law. ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) acted as consultants for the report.

Iran

LA RÉPRESSION S?ABAT SUR LES JOURNALISTES ET LES JOURNAUX

Iran

OFENSIVA DE AUTORIDADES CONTRA PERIODISTAS Y PERIÓDICOS

Iran

AUTHORITIES CRACK DOWN ON JOURNALISTS, NEWSPAPERS

In a move that critics say reflects Iran's status as one of the "world's worst places to be a journalist," the Iranian government has sentenced three journalists to prison and banned three newspapers in the past two weeks, say the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Iran

EZTAHOLLAH SAHABI LIBERADO DE PRISIÓN

Iran

EZTAHOLLAH SAHABI RELEASED FROM PRISON

Ezatollah Sahabi, a journalist for the Iranian bimonthly "Iran-é-Farda", has been released on bail from prison, reports Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF). Sahabi, 75, had been arrested on 17 December 2000 and sentenced on 13 January to 4 ½ years in prison for producing "propaganda against the regime," says RSF. The allegation arose out of a speech Sahabi gave at Amir-Kabir Technical University in Tehran in November 2000. While in prison, the journalist had to be hospitalised twice following heart problems, says RSF. RSF says 18 journalists remain imprisoned in Iran, including Taghi Rahmani of "Omid-é-Zangan" who is in solitary confinement and has not been allowed to receive visits from his family. [See IFEX "Communiqué" #10-5].">http://communique.ifex.org/articles.cfm?system_id=2767">#10-5].

Kuwait

VETERANO PERIODISTA FRANCÉS ASESINADO

Iran

REZA ALIJANI LIBERADO DE PRISIÓN; OTROS DOS PERIODISTAS ENCARCELADOS

Iran

DEUX AUTRES JOURNALISTES SONT INCARCÉRÉS

Iran

REZA ALIJANI RELEASED FROM PRISON; TWO MORE JOURNALISTS JAILED

Reza Alijani, the editor-in-chief of the suspended monthly "Iran-e-Farda" ("Iran Tomorrow"), has been released from prison, reports Reporters sans frontières (RSF).

Palestine

DESTRUCTION OF PALESTINIAN RADIO STATION CONDEMNED

Israel's destruction of the Voice of Palestine (VOP) radio station headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah has drawn condemnation from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), who urged authorities to "cease attacking the media immediately."

Palestine

FIP PIDE ACCIÓN URGENTE PARA PROTEGER PERIODISTAS

Palestine

AFIN DE PROTÉGER LES JOURNALISTES

Iran

IRANIAN EDITOR WINS RSF'S FONDATION DE FRANCE PRIZE

Reza Alijani, editor-in-chief of the Iranian magazine "Iran-é-Farda", has won Reporters sans frontières' (RSF) 10th Fondation de France Prize, in recognition of his commitment to the defense of press freedom in Iran.

Palestine

IFJ CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS

Urgent international action is required to "confront a grave and dangerous climate of confrontation" that places journalists and media staff in the middle of a volatile Israeli-Palestinian conflict, declares a report recently released by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Syria

18 MIEMBROS DE IFEX PIDEN PONER FIN A ACOSO A PERIODISTA

Syria

DEMANDENT LA FIN DES MESURES DE HARCÈLEMENT CONTRE LES JOURNALISTES

Syria

18 IFEX MEMBERS APPEAL FOR END TO JOURNALIST'S HARASSMENT

A coalition of 18 IFEX members have signed an appeal urging the Syrian government to drop charges against journalist Nizar Nayouf and end the harassment of his family, report the International Press Institute (IPI) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). Both organisations are signatories of the appeal.

Iran

CERRADOS DESDE 1997; MIL ANTENAS PARA SATÉLITE CONFISCADAS

Iran

ONT ÉTÉ FERMÉS DEPUIS 1997; 1000 ANTENNES PARABOLIQUES ONT ÉTÉ CONFISQUÉES

Iran

FIFTY-TWO NEWSPAPERS SHUT DOWN SINCE 1997; 1,000 SATELLITE DISHES CONFISCATED

Fifty-two newspapers in Iran have been closed down by the conservative-dominated judiciary since 1997, when reformist President Muhammad Khatami took office, reveals a Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) report. Written as a guide to the "players and institutions involved in the struggle for press freedom," the report notes that the shutting down of newspapers has been part of a "systemic campaign aimed at silencing the so-called reformist press."

Iraq

ÉLABORENT UN PROJET D?INSTITUT DES MÉDIAS

Iraq

PLANEAN LANZAR INSTITUTO DE MEDIOS

Iraq

DRAFT PLANS TO LAUNCH MEDIA INSTITUTE

An unprecedented gathering of Iraqi journalists and media managers in Paris two months ago has spawned the idea of establishing an independent media institute in Iraqi Kurdistan (the Kurdish-controlled area of Iraq currently under Western protection). The role of the institute will be to train local journalists, provide a resource library and documentation centre, and widen journalists' access to the Internet. Convened in September by the Human Rights Alliance, the media-training seminar brought together 25 Iraqi journalists from various ethnic, religious and political affiliations, who drafted a report on the state of the media in their country.

Jordan

CAMBIOS AL CÓDIGO PENAL AMENAZAN LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Jordan

MODIFICATIONS AU CODE PÉNAL CONSTITUENT UNE MENACE POUR LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Jordan

CHANGES TO PENAL CODE A THREAT TO PRESS FREEDOM

In the wake of the 11 September attacks on the United States, the government of Jordan last week approved amendments to the Penal Code to combat terrorism, arguing that they were aimed at preventing some of the country's 14 weekly publications from publishing "lies and sensational stories" against the government, reports the "Jordan Times." However, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF), these sweeping amendments indiscriminately target all publications and "seriously threaten press freedom."

Yemen

LES NOMBREUSES ARRESTATIONS DE JOURNALISTES CONSTITUENT UN AVERTISSEMENT

Yemen

ARRESTO DE VARIOS PERIODISTAS INDICA ADVERTENCIA

Yemen

MULTIPLE JOURNALISTS' ARRESTS SIGNAL WARNING

Two separate incidents involving a Yemeni journalist and an editor who suffered government persecution during the past month signal a disturbing warning for the state of freedom of expression in the country, report Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). On 8 September, Yemeni authorities detained Hassan al-Zaidi, a veteran reporter for the English language weekly "Yemen Times". On 16 September, an Aden criminal sentenced Feras Farouq al-Yafai, editor of the weekly "Al-Haqiqah", to three months in prison for allegedly insulting a government official.

Syria

CPJ INFORMA DE ESTADO DE LIBERTAD DE PRENSA; CITAN A NIZAR NAYOUF

Syria

NIZAR NAYYOUF DE NOUVEAU SOMMÉ DE COMPARAÎTRE

Syria

CPJ REPORTS ON STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM; NIZAR NAYOUF SUMMONED

Syria's press "showed signs of emerging from a deep slumber" after the June 2000 death of Hafez al-Assad, one of the most authoritarian rulers in the Middle East, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports in its 7 September brief on the state of press freedom in the country.

Iran

PERIODISTA AKBAR GANJI SENTENCIADO A OTROS SEIS AÑOS DE CÁRCEL

Iran

LE JOURNALISTE AKBAR GANJI EST CONDAMNÉ À UNE AUTRE PEINE DE SIX ANS DE PRISON

Iran

JOURNALIST AKBAR GANJI SENTENCED TO SIX MORE YEARS IN PRISON

Iranian Journalist Akbar Ganji has been sentenced to an additional six-year prison term, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). He received the sentence on 16 July for collecting confidential information that harms national security and spreading propaganda against the Islamic system, according to CPJ. The charges stemmed from Ganji's participation in an April 2000 conference in Berlin on the future of Iran's reform movement. "This iniquitous judgement is a sign of the press freedom situation in Iran," says RSF, which notes that 27 journalists are behind bars in the country.

Syria

NAYYOUF EST ENLEVÉ PENDANT 24 HEURES; UN JOURNALISTE RESTE INCARCÉRÉ

Syria

NAYOUF ABDUCTED FOR 24 HOURS; OTHER JOURNALIST REMAINS IN JAIL

Journalist Nizar Nayouf, recently released after nine years in prison, was abducted on a Damascus street on 20 June, report the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), Reporters sans frontières (RSF) and the International Press Institute (IPI). He was released twenty-four hours later, says RSF. The abduction occurred on the day that Nayouf was to release information about alleged crimes committed by Syrian intelligence agents inside and outside of Syria, reports WAN. While Syrian authorities denied involvement in the incident, Nayouf told RSF that agents from the intelligence services abducted him to tried to buy his silence about human rights in Syria. "They offered me a car, a house and lots of money in exchange for my silence about what I knew concerning human rights violations in Syria," said Nayouf. After he refused their bargain, they beat him and threatened to kill his brother. The journalist added that he believes that the intelligence services, not the president, masterminded the abduction.

Syria

NAYOUF SECUESTRADO DURANTE 24 HORAS; OTRO PERIODISTA PERMANECE ENCARCELADO

Lebanon

PERIODISTA JUZGADA POR "TRATOS CON EL ENEMIGO" DESPUÉS DE PARTICIPACIÓN EN PANEL

Iran

EXHORTAN A PRESIDENTE A LIBERAR PERIODISTAS ENCARCELADOS EN PRÓXIMO PERIODO

Lebanon

D?AVOIR "EU DES CONTACTS AVEC L?ENNEMI" APRÈS AVOIR PARTICIPÉ À UNE DISCUSSION

Iran

AU COURS DE SON NOUVEAU MANDAT, DE FAIRE RELÂCHER LES JOURNALISTES EMPRISONNÉS

Iran

PRESIDENT URGED TO RELEASE JAILED JOURNALISTS IN UPCOMING TERM

In separate statements on 6 June, two days before Iran's presidential election, both Reporters sans frontières (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for greater press freedom in the country. RSF urged the ten candidates, most notably the incumbent and eventual winner Mohammed Khatami, to make a commitment to press freedom and put an end to the imprisonment of journalists. Since 1997, when Khatami was first elected, the media have experienced considerable freedom and have become an important arena for political debate, noted RSF. However, in the past year conservatives have attacked this freedom by arresting journalists and shutting down reformist publications. RSF called on Khatami to support the press, "no longer just through words, but also through action to stop the offensive led by the regime's hard-liners."

Lebanon

JOURNALIST TRIED FOR "DEALING WITH THE ENEMY" AFTER PARTICIPATING IN PANEL

A Lebanese-American journalist based in New York is being tried by a Lebanese military court for ''dealing with the enemy'' because she participated in a panel discussion with an Israeli official, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Iran

REDUCEN SENTENCIA DE PERIODISTA, ARRESTAN A OTROS DOS Y CIERRAN 400 CIBERCAFES

Iran

QUE DEUX AUTRES JOURNALISTES SONT ARRÊTÉS ET QUE L?ON FERME 400 CAFÉS INTERNET

Iran

SENTENCE REDUCED, WHILE TWO MORE ARRESTED AND 400 INTERNET CAFES CLOSED

Akbar Ganji, Iran's leading investigative journalist, has had his prison sentence dramatically reduced, report the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE). Ganji is expected to be released soon, says WiPC. However, two more journalists have been arrested and 400 Internet cafes closed in Iran in recent days, according to Reporters sans frontières (RSF), which fears further arrests with presidential elections approaching in June.

Kuwait

FEMME JOURNALISTE DU PAYS; UN OFFICIER DE LA POLICE PASSE AUX AVEUX

Kuwait

ASESINAN A DECANA DEL PERIODISMO, OFICIAL DE POLICÍA CONFIESA

Kuwait

FIRST WOMAN JOURNALIST KILLED, POLICE OFFICER CONFESSES

Hidaya Sultan al-Salem, owner and editor of the weekly "al-Majales", was murdered on 20 March, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters sans frontières (RSF), and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The 66-year-old veteran journalist was killed on her way to work when an assailant opened fire on her chauffeur-driven car in Kuwait City, says CPJ. After the murder, four people were arrested and interrogated, reports the BBC. The news service adds that a police officer, Khaled Dhiyab al-Azimi, confessed to killing al-Salem because of an article she published on girls from his tribe, the Al-Awazem.

Syria

INDEPENDIENTE DE PARTIDOS POLÍTICOS; INQUITUD POR PERIODISTA ENCARCELO

Iran

HERMETISMO EN JUICIO PLANTEA PREGUNTAS ACERCA DE LEGITIMIDAD

Iran

LE HUIS CLOS SOULÈVE DES QUESTIONS SUR LA LÉGITIMITÉ D?UN PROCÈS

Syria

NON RATTACHÉ À UN PARTI POLITIQUE; JOURNALISTE EN PRISON SUSCITE L?INQUIÉTUDE

Iran

TRIAL SECRECY RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT LEGITIMACY

Iran's demonstrated proclivity to hold serious press-related criminal trials in relative secrecy is continuing to prompt widespread protest in the press freedom community. In recent weeks, Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has issued several alerts condemning Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as "one of the world's twenty-two worst enemies of press freedom." Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on 29 January that the trial of eighteen Iranian intelligence officials accused of killing dissident intellectuals has left "key questions unanswered about the ultimate responsibility for the murders." According to HRW's information, three of the defendants were sentenced to death and two were sentenced to life imprisonment. However, key witnesses were not allowed to take the stand, says a lawyer for two of the defendants. When the latter attempted to introduce ten witnesses to testify that the killings were ordered by the then-Minister of Intelligence, the court allegedly refused to hear them.

Syria

FIRST NON-PARTY PAPER LAUNCHED, CONCERN FOR IMPRISONED JOURNALIST

"Sawt al-Sha'b", the first non-party newspaper to be published since the Baathists came to power in 1963 is now appearing twice a month, reports the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Prior to the paper's launch, Syria had only three official state-run newspapers. According to "Al-baath", the ruling party's newspaper, the new paper, published by the Syrian Communist Party, will "reinforce the freedom of expression" of the country's media. The appearance of "Sawt al-Sha'b" follows the president's replacement of the directors of Syrian Radio and Television and the three official newspapers. For more information on "Al-baath", visit BBC Online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/">http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1101000/1101299.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Iran

CJFE APOYA A LOS MEDIOS REFORMISTAS

Iran

LE CJFE APPUIE LES MÉDIAS RÉFORMATEURS

Iran

CJFE SUPPORTS REFORMIST MEDIA

In September, nearly 200 Canadian journalists and other supporters of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) signed an open letter of support to reformist journalists and writers in Iran who continue to suffer for their belief that free expression is a right to be preserved at all costs. “We have watched as your colleagues have been struck down, as many of you have been jailed and indeed remain jailed, as many of you have gone into exile to save your lives, and as nearly 30 newspapers have been shut down or banned,” say the letter’s signatories. “We honour you for your courage, your tenacity and your will to refuse to be silenced.”

Iran

PETICIÓN EN LÍNEA DE RSF PROTESTA CONTRA VIOLACIONES A LOS MEDIOS

Iran

CONTRE LES VIOLATIONS DES DROITS DES MÉDIAS

Iran

RSF ONLINE PETITION PROTESTS MEDIA VIOLATIONS

Individuals and groups worldwide are strongly encouraged to sign Reporters sans frontières' (RSF) online petition addressed to religious leader Ayatollah Khamenei, demanding that he "ensure the immediate release of imprisoned journalists, the lifting of legal proceedings against the journalists, the lifting of bans on newspapers and the repeal of the press law whose articles are a violation of press freedom." With the arrests of two more Iranian journalists on 12 and 13 August, Iran has now become "the biggest jail for journalists in the world," says RSF. Fourteen journalists are presently in Iran's prisons, while an additional sixteen journalists who have been prosecuted by the Iranian Justice Ministry may be arrested in coming weeks, records RSF.

Syria

EXHORTAN A NUEVO PRESIDENTE A EXPANDIR LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Syria

LE NOUVEAU PRÉSIDENT EST INVITÉ À FAVORISER LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Syria

NEW PRESIDENT URGED TO EXPAND PRESS FREEDOM

On the occasion of his recent inauguration as president, the International Press Institute (IPI), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Reporters sans frontières (RSF) urge President Bashar al-Assad to expand press freedom. IPI expresses hope that Bashar will use his new position "to bring about much needed changes to Syria." CPJ urges the president to ensure that his government "upholds international press freedom standards and guarantees the rights of journalists to practice their profession freely."

Lebanon

PERTURBADOR PATRÓN DE RESTRICCIONES DE MEDIOS

Lebanon

MODÈLE TROUBLANT DE CENSURE DES MÉDIAS

Lebanon

DISTURBING PATTERN OF MEDIA RESTRICTIONS

The decision by Lebanese authorities to annul the passport of Raghida Dergham, the New York bureau chief for the London-based daily "Al-Hayat", coincides with "a disturbing pattern of Lebanese government censorship of foreign newspapers," according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In a statement published on 4 July, the General Directorate for Internal Security stated that Dergham's passport was voided because of her participation in a panel discussion on the Middle East's political situation on 19 May in Washington, D.C., reports CPJ. The statement from Internal Security said that because the panel included Uri Lubrani, Israel's Coordinator of Activities in Southern Lebanon, Dergham had violated a Lebanese law prohibiting contacts between Lebanese citizens and Israelis. CPJ's sources say, however, that the action may also be linked to Dergham's critical coverage of Lebanon's dispute with the UN over the demarcation of the Lebanese-Israeli border following Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May. CPJ said it is "shocked that Lebanese authorities would punish Dergham in response to her thoroughly professional work as a journalist and commentator."

Iran

SE INTENSIFICAN AGRESIONES CONTRA MEDIOS Y DEMOCRACIA

Iran

INTENSIFICATION DES ASSAUTS PORTÉS AUX MÉDIAS ET À LA DÉMOCRATIE

Iran

ASSAULTS ON MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY INTENSIFY

In its latest assault against the media, Iran's outgoing parliament has shut down 14 newspapers and magazines and imprisoned a number of journalists and writers, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). On 23 and 24 April, authorities ordered the publications to close in order to "prevent them from committing new offenses, from affecting society's opinions, and arousing concern among the people," reports CPJ. This assault is part of the majority conservative parliament's larger attack on democracy, only two months after it was "decimated" in the country's legislative elections. In what CPJ calls a "de facto coup," the parliament has annulled election results in many parts of the country. Iran supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the hard-liner Ayatollah Abolqasem Khazali have also publicly called for violence against reformist and pro-democracy leaders. HRW suggests that the crackdown "appears to be an effort to punish the vast majority who voted in February for political reform," and may anticipate the upcoming run-off elections for a number of parliamentary seats.

Kuwait

LES LOIS RESTREIGNENT OUTRAGEUSEMENT LA LIBERTÉ D?EXPRESSION

Kuwait

LAWS GROSSLY RESTRICT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The Kuwaiti government should repeal laws which unduly restrict freedom of expression, urges Human Rights Watch (HRW). According to the latest issue of "Index on Censorship" (Vol. 29; February 2000), "Women Who Censor", both Kuwait's Press and Publications Law and its criminal code contain articles which state that it is a criminal offence to "publish materials that violate by allusion, slander, sarcasm or disparagement, God or the prophets or the companions of the Prophet Mohammad, or sully public morals." The laws also allow for "sentences of up to three years in prison and a 3,000 KD fine (US$9,780) for inciting immoral acts and up to one year in prison and a 1,000 KD fine (US$3,260) for disseminating opinions that include sarcasm, contempt, or belittling of a religion or a religious school of thought, whether by defamation of its belief system or its traditions or its rituals or its instructions," says HRW.

Kuwait

LEYES RESTRINGEN LIBERTAD DE EXPRESIÓN EN FORMA

Yemen

CONTINÚA ACOSO A PRENSA

Yemen

LE HARCÈLEMENT DE LA PRESSE INDÉPENDANTE SE POURSUIT

Yemen

HARASSMENT OF INDEPENDENT PRESS CONTINUES

Harassment and censorship of the independent press in Yemen continue, says the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in a 20 September report. According to CPJ and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), the weekly opposition newspaper “Al-Shoura” was closed down on 16 September, and Hisham Basharaheel, Editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Al-Ayyam,” has been subject to ongoing harassment.

Iran

ATAQUE CONTRA PRENSA CREA INQUIETUD INTERNACIONAL

Iran

LA RÉPRESSION CONTRE LA PRESSE SÈME L'INQUIÉTUDE DANS LE MONDE

Iran

PRESS CRACKDOWN RAISES INTERNATIONAL CONCERN

The recent press crackdown that has led to widespread unrest in Iran has prompted the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) to appeal to President Mohammad Khatami "to take a strong stance against the repression of media" in Iran. "Over the past 18 months, 18 newspapers have been suspended and 16 journalists arrested. These are astounding figures for a country run by a President who promised on his election to place greater freedom of expression for the media at the top of his agenda,"WAN President Bengt Braun writes in a recent letter to Khatami.

Iran

CONSERVATIVES CRACK DOWN ON THE PRESS

A proposed press law introduced by conservatives in Iran would further restrict the media, which is already under attack, reports Reporters sans frontières (RSF). The followers of Spiritual Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who hold a parliamentary majority, hope to reform the current court system for press-related matters, making it more restrictive and a potentially serious threat to press freedom. With 16 newspapers suspended and 13 journalists arrested over an 18-month period, RSF also reports that a harassment campaign has been launched against the press. RSF states that "journalists of the liberal press are victims of pressure from the judiciary, dominated by conservatives." Newspapers have been suspended for basic infractions, such as "slander." Two journalists were murdered late last year, amongst a group of five dissidents and intellectuals. Others have been detained and released, only after raising large amounts of bail money. Legislative elections are scheduled for March 2000, "after which hardliners fear they will lose their last bastion within the Islamic régime," comments RSF.

Iran

STUDENTS KILLED DURING PRESS FREEDOM PROTESTS

Two Iranian students were killed and over 200 arrested in recent protests over press freedom and against the closure of the daily newspaper "Salam" at Tehran University's Amirabad campus. According to information received by Amnesty International, "a student demonstration in Tehran was attacked by scores of armed members of the vigilante student group Ansar-e Hezbollah (Helpers of Hezbollah), which opposes current political developments in Iran, on 8 July 1999." Security forces were also reportedly involved in the attack." The following day, the police stormed a hostel where students were demonstrating and killed three of them, according to reports. The demonstrations continued for several days with the students demanding the resignation of the police chief responsible for the attacks on the protests. Over 10,000 demonstrators took to the streets on 13 July and were pushed back by police who fired at them with tear gas and made extensive arrests.

Iran

CONSERVADORES INICIAN OFENSIVA CONTRA PRENSA

Iran

LES CONSERVATEURS S'ATTAQUENT À LA PRESSE

Jordan

PÉNIBLEMENT, VERS UNE PRESSE LIBRE

Iran

POUR EXIGER LE RESPECT DE LA LIBERTÉ D?EXPRESSION

Jordan

AVANCES VACILANTES HACIA PRENSA LIBRE

Jordan

MOVING HALTINGLY TOWARD FREE PRESS

Despite political reform introduced by the late King Hussein at the start of this decade, the question of how much freedom of the press the government of Jordan is prepared to permit remains, writes Fadi Al-Qadi in "IPI Report" (First Quarter 1999). Al-Qadi describes how Jordanian media have traditionally faced censorship, citing as examples the fact that the government is the majority shareholder in "Al-R'ai" and "Al-Dustor", the country's largest daily newspapers, as well as the owner-regulator of Jordan's only broadcasting entity.

Iran

RESPETO POR LA LIBERTAD DE EXPRESIÓN

Iran

IRAN: NINE IFEX MEMBERS ISSUE JOINT ACTION DEMANDING RESPECT FOR FREE SPEECH

On 8 June 1999, nine IFEX members joined to issue a statement denouncing continued censorship and threats to free speech in Iran. The statement says that in light of the decision of the United States to lift its economic sanctions on Iran, and the interest being shown by western countries in the ongoing social and economic developments in Iran, it is crucial to recall that the existence of censorship, the lack of freedom of expression and the nonexistence of a free, independent press is still a serious hindrance to democratic development in Iran.

Palestine

AUTORIDADES CENSURAN, PERIODISTAS AUTOCENSURAN

Palestine

LES AUTORITÉS CENSURENT, LES JOURNALISTES S?AUTOCENSURENT

Palestine

AUTHORITIES CENSOR, JOURNALISTS SELF-CENSOR

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has censored the print and broadcast media in the West Bank and Gaza in recent weeks, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). On 22 May and 23 May, Palestinian security authorities arrested three journalists working for the Islamist weekly Al-Risala in Gaza after they published an article on 20 May alleging the Palestinian police had tortured Ayman Amassi in detention. Editor Wisam Afeefa, editor-in-chief Saleh Bardaweel, and managing editor Ghazi Hamad were interrogated at the Criminal Investigation Department in Gaza.

Yemen

GOBIERNO RECRUDECE REPRESIÓN CONTRA PRENSA INDEPENDIENTE

Yemen

LA RÉPRESSION DU GOUVERNEMENT S'ABAT SUR LA PRESSE INDÉPENDANTE

Yemen

GOVERNMENT CLAMPS DOWN ON INDEPENDENT PRESS

The government of Yemen has been clamping down on independent and opposition journalists, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). On 17 May, CPJ wrote to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, to protest the prosecution of six newspapers for publishing criticism of the authorities. Since February, CPJ says, the "authorities have taken a series of other punitive measures against journalists, including the arrest of editors and reporters, the suspension and censorship of publications, and extra-legal harassment of journalists by security forces and presumed state agents." CPJ executive director Ann Cooper says, "This recent spate of attacks on the press in Yemen has created a formidable climate of intimidation for all journalists. We call on President Saleh to take the lead in reversing this sharp deterioration in press freedom." At least three journalists were arrested this year, a leading London-based newspaper was banned, and an editor was severely beaten by unknown assailants.

Syria

DIEZ PERIODISTAS SIGUEN EN PRISIÓN

Syria

DIX JOURNALISTES RESTENT INCARCÉRÉS

Syria

TEN JOURNALISTS REMAIN IN JAIL

Press freedom does not exist in Syria, where no independent media are permitted and at least ten journalists remain in jail, says Reporters sans frontières (RSF). "The country is at war with Israel, and a state of emergency has been in force since 1963, giving the security forces exceptional powers and continuously restricting citizens' basic freedoms," reports RSF. The ten journalists, who have been sentenced to between eight and 15 years, often with hard labour, are believed to be held for non-violent offences. "The use of torture is systematic: interrogation is extremely violent, especially as prisoners are first kept in a solitary cell," says RSF, adding that some prisoners have died as a result of torture or lack of care. Journalist Rida Haddad was released in 1995, just before dying from leukemia.

Iran

DE LA POLICE SONT RESPONSABLES DES MEURTRES D'ÉCRIVAINS

Iran

ROGUE POLICE RESPONSIBLE FOR RECENT MURDERS OF WRITERS

On 6 January, the Iranian secret police acknowledged that a

Palestine

MEDIOS CERRADOS Y ATACADOS

Palestine

DES MÉDIAS SONT FERMÉS ET ATTAQUÉS

Palestine

MEDIA SHUT DOWN AND ATTACKED

The media have been shut down and attacked in Palestine recently, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) closed six private television and radio stations in the West Bank on 18 December. Palestinian police ordered the stations in Ramallah and Bethlehem to suspend broadcasting until further notice in a move CPJ says "has been widely interpreted as an attempt by authorities to silence news coverage pertaining to the current US military attack on Iraq, then in its third day." Al-Roa' TV, Al-Mahid TV, and Bethlehem TV were shut down in Bethlehem and Al-Watan TV, Nasr TV, and the radio station Voice of Love and Peace were taken off the air in Ramallah.

Iran

ENCUENTRAN CUERPOS DE OTROS DOS PERIODISTAS

Iran

DEUX ÉCRIVAINS DISPARUS SONT RETROUVÉS MORTS

Iran

TWO MISSING WRITERS FOUND DEAD

Two more writers found dead in Tehran bring the toll to three in the past two weeks alone, report the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). On 11 December, Mohammad Ja'frar Pouyandeh, an essayist and translator of French literature, was found dead after having been missing for two days, reports the WiPC. Pouyandeh disappeared while on his way from his office to a meeting on 9 December. According to reports, his body was found underneath a railway bridge in a suburb of Tehran after he was apparently strangled. His family were not informed of the death until 13 December. Poet Mohammad Mokhtari was found dead in a morgue on 9 December, after having been missing for six days. Marks on his head and neck suggested he may have been strangled as well. RSF says, "As a prominent writer in the opposition camp, he contributed to many liberal newspapers and was famous for his critical stances against the regime. He had been arrested several times by the security forces."

Jordan

ESTUDIO CONDENA LEY DE PRENSA

Iran

DESAPARECEN DOS PERIODISTAS MÁS

Iran

DEUX AUTRES JOURNALISTES DISPARAISSENT

Jordan

UNE ÉTUDE CONDAMNE LA LOI SUR LA PRESSE

Jordan

STUDY CONDEMNS PRESS LAW

A law ratified in September in Jordan is an assault on the press, according to a new study, "A dark year for democracy in Jordan: The 1998 Press and Publications Law". The study, prepared by Jordanian journalist Sa'eda Kilani, was jointly published by ARTICLE 19, the Centre for Media Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Euro-Mediterranean Rights Network (EMRN), the International Federation of Human Rights, Human Rights Watch and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). Under the law, "writing about the king, the army, legal proceedings, the call for illegal strikes and demonstrations, etc. is subject to severe restrictions; strict controls are imposed on the import of foreign publications;" and "media can be indefinitely closed if accused of breaching 'public security or the interests of the state,' vague terms which can be subject to wide interpretation by the authorities." The study urges Jordanian authorities "to repeal this law and adopt a text which would clearly delineate press law violations and guarantee newspapers' freedom from interference by authorities."

Iran

TWO MORE JOURNALISTS DISAPPEAR

Two writers have disappeared and a journalist was found dead recently in Iran, report Reporters sans frontières (RSF) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). Most recently, on 3 December 1998, writer and journalist Mohamad Mokhtari disappeared in Tehran. "As a prominent writer in the opposition camp, Mokhtari has contributed to many liberal newspapers and is famous for his critical stance against the regime," reports RSF. Mokhtari, who security forces had arrested repeatedly, was trying to organise a professional association of writers "to foster public support for liberal ideas aiming at reforming the present system," says RSF. "His disappearance has been linked to elements in the establishment attempting to suppress increasingly open challenges to Iranian authorities," ways WAN. In 1994, he was one of 134 intellectuals who signed a manifesto demanding freedom of speech in Iran.

Iran

ENCUENTRAN CUERPO DE ESCRITOR DESAPARECIDO

Iran

ÉCRIVAIN TROUVÉ MORT APRÈS AVOIR ÉTÉ PORTÉ DISPARU

Iran

AUTHOR FOUND DEAD AFTER DISAPPEARANCE

The body of author and translator Majid Sharif, who disappeared after he left home on 20 November 1998, was identified on 24 November by his family in a morgue in Tehran, reports the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN. WiPC says, "While it is at present unclear what occurred, there are fears that his disappearance and death may be connected to his calls in his writings for a more modern interpretation of Islam." The body bore no signs of beating or torture, and a report in the official press suggests he had suffered a heart attack.