Middle East and North Africa News items Page

Tunisia’s Setback in Freedom of Expression
Date: 24 June 2012 "Recent violence in Tunisia set off by religious radicals’ reaction to an art exhibition that they deemed offensive to Islam has revived a discussion here...

Journalist assaulted by police in Ivory Coast
Date: 12 June 2012 - "The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Ivorian police's assault on a journalist on June 5 and calls on authorities to ensure the officers are brought to justice...

Tunisia: Marzouki Calls For Criminalising ‘Takfir’
Date: 07 March 2012 "Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki recently issued a call to the Constituent Assembly to adopt a law incriminating takfir, or accusations of apostasy...

Iranian human rights lawyer jailed for 18 years
Date: 04 March 2012 "A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer has been sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Tehran revolutionary court, his daughter said on Sunday...

Egypt court rejects second Mickey cartoon lawsuit
Date: 01 March 2012 "An Egyptian court on Saturday rejected the second of two lawsuits brought by ultraconservative Islamists accusing a Christian media mogul of insulting Islam when he relayed a cartoon online of Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie in a face veil...

Iran turns the screws on dissidents ahead of elections, report finds
Date: 28 February 2012 "Iran has escalated its crackdown on freedom of expression ahead of this week's parliamentary election, Amnesty International said in a report published today...

Censorship Returns to Pakistan
Date: 28 February 2012 "The Pakistan government has decided to impose fresh curbs on the country's independent broadcast media. The Pakistan Electronic Media...

Firdous brushes aside media curb speculations
Date: 26 February 2012 "ISLAMABAD - Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Saturday said, “The government des not intend to curb media freedom as democracy and media independence...

Firewall Looming in Pakistan: URL Filtering and Blocking
Date: 26 February 2012 "By March of 2012, The Pakistani Telecommunication Authority (PTA), may have succeeded in deployment of an Internet URL Filtering and...

U.N. experts urge Syria to free detained activists

The bloodlust faced by the 'blaspheming' Saudi journalist
Date: 15 February 2012 "In this country, and in the US, the judicial authorities make fools of themselves about Twitter. In Saudi and Malaysia, they may make themselves murderers...

Judicial reform package encouraging for journalists but short-sighted
Date: 13 February 2012 "Amid ongoing debate that freedom of speech is curtailed in Turkey because of fears that some of the country’s laws may permit anybody to be put in jail, especially journalists...

Egypt: A Year of Attacks on Free Expression
Date: 11 February 2012 "(New York) – The climate for free expression in Egypt has worsened since Hosni Mubarak was ousted a year ago, Human Rights Watch said today...

BBC Persian staff face Iranian intimidation
Date: 03 February 2012 "Iran is stepping up a campaign of intimidation and smears against the BBC's Persian TV service, watched by millions of people in the Islamic...

Tunisia Faces a Balancing Act of Democracy and Religion
Date: 30 January 2012 "TUNIS — The insults were furious. “Infidel!” and “Apostate!” the religious protesters shouted at the two men who had come to the courthouse to show...

Press freedom suffered significant setbacks in 2011, says IFJ report
Date: 23 Janaury 2012 "A new International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) report reveals that press freedom in China suffered significant setbacks in 2011...

Israeli government to back bill banning use of Nazi symbols
10 January 2012 "The Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Monday voted to support a controversial bill that would make it a crime to call someone a "Nazi" or wear a...

Egypt tycoon faces trial for insulting Islam after tweeting cartoon of bearded Mickey Mouse
Date: 10 January 2012 "CAIRO — A prominent Christian Egyptian media mogul faces trial on a charge of insulting Islam, lawyers said Monday, based on his relaying a...

Al-Azhar sheik proposes bill of rights, aiming to balance out Islamists in Egypt constitution
Date: 10 January 2012 "The head of Al-Azhar, the pre-eminent institute of Islamic learning in the Sunni Muslim world, put forward a Bill of Rights on Tuesday upholding...

Iran clamps down on internet use
Date: 5 January 2012 "Iran is clamping down heavily on web users before parliamentary elections in March with draconian rules on cybercafes and preparations to launch a national internet...

Sudan continues raid on media freedom
Date: 2 January 2012 "In an attempt to further paralyse its media industry and gag government critics, Sudan has shut down a newspaper linked to the country's main opposition party...

Middle East and North Africa: Historic Opportunity for Freedom of Expression
Date: 16 December 2011 "ARTICLE 19 has closely monitored events in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as change has swept across the region in the last twelve...

Imprisonments jump worldwide, and Iran is worst
Date: 08 December 2011 "The number of journalists imprisoned worldwide shot up more than 20 percent to its highest level since the mid-1990s, an increase driven largely by widespread jailings across the Middle East and North Africa...

Israel restricting freedom of expression, ACRI says
Date: 04 December 2011 "Israel is restricting the right to freedom of expression among its citizens and Palestinians, according to a report published on Sunday by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel...

Israelis pose nude in solidarity with Egypt blogger
Date: 20 November 2011 "Women show support for Elmahdy, who drew sharp criticism for posting naked photos in protest of Muslim country's restricted freedoms...

UAE: Trial of five activists a complete sham, says coalition of rights groups
Date: 09 November 2011 "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...

Opposition Radio Stations Shut-Down Ahead of Liberia Elections
Date: 08 November 2011 "Following the violence which took place on Monday that saw at least three persons shot dead and many wounded, the Liberia National Police...

Tunisia Testing Newfound Freedom of Expression

Egypt: Military officials jail critical blogger
Date: 31 October 2011 "Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd el-Fattah, jailed Sunday after he objected to interrogation by military prosecutors, should be released immediately and...

Tunis crowds gather for anti-censorship march
Date: 16 October 2011 "In the latest turn in an increasingly heated debate between Islamic conservatives and secularists in Tunisia, thousands of liberal demonstrators...

Bahrain regime continues to target freedom of expression by taking journalists and photographers to trials
Date: 16 October 2011 "The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses concern for the continuation of the Bahraini authorities in its campaign against media...

Tunisian police and conservatives clash over 'blasphemous' film
Date: 16 October 2011 "TUNIS // Worshippers chanting "Allahu Akbar"; crowds on a motorway under a black flag; vans unloading riot police; young men hurling stones ...

MADA campaigns amidst precarious media freedom in Palestine
Date: 16 Octoebr 2011 "The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) launched two campaigns in early August demanding an end to attacks on press freedom...

Saudi Arabia: KSA Sends More Troops to Quell Unrest
Date: 10 October 2011 "Saudi Arabia has reportedly dispatched more troops and military equipment to its Eastern Province in a bid to quell anti-government protests

Yemen - Attacks on Journalists Continue
Date: 22 August 2011 "Suhail TV cameraman Ahmad Firas was arrested by soldiers from Daylami airbase in Yemen on the afternoon of 12 August as he was driving towards Sanaa with his wife and children...

Yemen: Attacks on Journalists Continue
Date: 22 Aug 2011 "Suhail TV cameraman Ahmad Firas was arrested by soldiers from Daylami airbase in Yemen on the afternoon of 12 August as he was driving towards Sanaa with his wife and children

Egypt: Military Intensifies Clampdown on Free Expression
Date: 17 August 2011 "The military prosecutor's decision to prosecute the youth leader Asamaa Mahfouz for "insulting the military" is a serious escalation of efforts by military leaders to silence critical voices...

Saudi Arabia: Stop Trial of Journalist
Date: 03/08/2011 "(Beirut) – The head of the Saudi judiciary, Salih bin Humaid, should stop all criminal proceedings against Fahd al-Juhani, a Saudi journalist charged with defaming a local official...

Repressive Saudi Arabian Draft Counterterrorism Law
Date: 02 August 2011 "Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah should withdraw a draft counterterrorism law from consideration by the cabinet because it would facilitate serious human rights violations...

Egypt: Egyptian tanks clearing out Tahrir Square
Date: 01/08/11 "The Egyptian army deployed troops in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday and fired shots in the air to disperse remaining pro-democracy protesters...

Egypt: Mubarak Trial Will Be Televised, Judge Says
Date: 31/07/2011 "CAIRO — The trial of former President Hosni Mubarak will be held in a large hall that can accommodate six times as many people as a regular courtroom...

Saudi Arabia: ANHRI condemns blocking Amnesty International website
Date: 26/0/2011 “ANHRI condemned today blocking Amnesty International website by the Saudi authorities yesterday, for criticizing the draft of the anti-terror law...

Global: Murdoch's ambitions in the Middle East
Date: 25/7/11 "Embroiled in a scandal that has global implications, Rupert Murdoch's media empire is under fire due to the ongoing fallout resulting from the News of the World scandal...

Saudi Arabia blocks Amnesty International Web site after anti-terror law leak
Date: 25/07/2011 "The Saudi Arabian government has long blocked access to thousands of Web sites that cover topics such as religion, women, health, drugs, sex and pop culture...

Hague hits out at Israel boycott law
Date: 20/07/2011 "Foreign Secretary William Hague has criticised Israel's new anti-boycott law, calling it an "infringement of freedom of expression"...

Jordan - News Website Refuses to Reveal Identity of a Source - 18 Jul 2011
Date: 18/07/2011 "An online news outlet on Sunday refused to abide by the Amman prosecutor general's request to reveal the identity of a source that provided the website with classified documents...

Syria, Syrian forces arrest leading writer Ali Abdullah, 17 Jul 2011
Date: 17/07/2011 "Syrian troops on Sunday arrested prominent writer Ali Abdullah, a fierce critic of the state's use of violence against a four-month uprising...

South Sudan: journalists facing intimidation
Date: 12/07/2011 "The newly formed government in Juba, South Sudan, has promised its citizens a vibrant democracy; ask Nhial Bol, and he will tell you it is something closer to a dictatorship...

Syrian security forces 'fire on rallies'
Date: 15/07/2011 "As many as 19 protesters have been killed across Syria after security forces reportedly shot at protesters...

TV Stations Multiply as Egyptian Censorship Falls
Date: 13/07/2011 "In Tahrir Square, Egypt’s revolution is playing out before the world’s cameras; but off-screen another revolution is happening that may be just as important...

Rights group says draft law on demonstrations would erode the rights of Iraqi citizens
Date: 14/07/2011 "Human Rights Watch called on the Iraqi government Wednesday to revise a draft law it said contained provisions that violate international law..

Egypt's Reinstatement of Information Ministry is a Setback
Date: 12/07/2011 "The reinstatement of Egypt's Information Ministry that was abolished in February constitutes a substantial setback...

To Track Militants, U.S. Has System That Never Forgets a Face
Date: 13/07/2011 "When the Taliban dug an elaborate tunnel system beneath the largest prison in southern Afghanistan this spring, they set off a scramble to catch the 475 inmates who escaped...

Israel passes law banning settler boycotts
Date: 12/07/2011"Bill stirs opposition from rights groups which call it 'a direct violation of freedom of expression' Israel's parliament has approved a contentious law that would allow illegal settlers in the West Bank to seek...

Iran's judicial killing spree
Date: 07/07/2011 "Factional infighting, paranoia, economic ineptitude and deepening confrontation with the west have characterised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leadership of Iran...

Syria: Syrians Flee Opposition Town Of Hama Fearing Government Crackdown
Date: 07/07/2011 Dozens of families fled the Syrian city of Hama on Thursday, fearing a full-scale crackdown by security forces...

Leading Palestinian activist arrested in London
Date: 30/06/2011 "The home secretary, Theresa May, has ordered "a full investigation" after a leading Palestinian activist in Israel entered Britain despite a travel ban...

The struggle for freedom of expression in the 'new Egypt'
"Arriving at Cairo airport earlier this week, the first time I had been to the country since the '25 January Revolution'...

Morocco: Journalist facing trial tomorrow should be released
Date:19/05/2011 A Moroccan journalist set to go on trial tomorrow, apparently for criticising Morocco's counter-terrorism law, must be released immediately and unconditionally if he is being held solely for his writing...

Egyptian authorities must allow peaceful protest and the right to strike
Date:30/04/2011 The Egyptian authorities must abolish a recent law criminalizing peaceful protests and strikes, Amnesty International said ahead of tomorrow’s planned protests for International Workers’ Day in Cairo’s Tahrir Square...

Iraq: Journalist Protection Law Needs to be Reviewed
Date:27/04/2011 A Journalist Protection Law, prepared by the Iraqi Syndicate of Journalists and endorsed by the government of Iraq, has been laid before the Iraqi Parliament for its consideration...

Egypt: Blogger’s 3-Year Sentence a Blow to Free Speech
Date:14/04/2011 The military court's sentencing of the blogger Maikel Nabil to three years in prison is a serious setback to freedom of expression in post-Mubarak Egypt, Human Rights Watch said today...

Bahrain: Drop Charges against Editor of Independant Daily
Date:11/04/2011 (Manama) - Bahraini authorities should immediately drop politically-motivated charges against Mansoor al-Jamri, allow him to return as chief editor of Al Wasat, and cease their campaign to silence independent journalism, Human Rights Watch said today...

Eyewitness: Whispers and propaganda in Libyan capital
Date:08/04/2011 As rebel groups continue their offensive in Libya, one resident in Tripoli - who does not want to be identified for his own safety - explains what it is like to live in a city full of mistrust and whispers...

Palestinian Security Forces Abused Journalists, Report SaysBy ETHAN BRONNER
Date:07/04/2011 Palestinian journalists have been subjected to detention and abuse at the hands of Palestinian security agencies...

Jordan PM defends freedom of speech after unrest
Date:29/03/2011 AMMAN ; The prime minister of Jordan said on Monday people have the right to free speech and that the government will set aside special areas for protests, in an apparent bid to ease tensions after bloody clashes last week...

Egypt: Revoke Ban on Strikes, Demonstrations
Date:28/03/2011 (New York) – The Egyptian cabinet’s announcement on March 24, 2011, of a new law banning strikes and demonstrations that impede the work of public institutions violates international law protections for free assembly and should be reversed immediately, Human Rights Watch said today...

Syria unrest: 'Protesters killed' at Omari mosque
Date:23/03/2011 At least five people have died after security forces fired on protesters outside a mosque in the Syrian city of Deraa, human rights activists say...

Bahrain protesters' camp stormed by troops
Date:16/03/2011 'Soldiers and riot police used tear gas and armoured vehicles to drive out hundreds of anti-government protesters occupying a landmark square in Bahrain's capital, a day after emergency rule was imposed in the violence-wracked Gulf kingdom...

Bahrain declares martial law as protesters clash with troops
Date:15/03/2011 The streets of Bahrain's capital, Manama, have again erupted in violence as the kingdom's besieged monarch declared martial law and ordered troops - including Saudi forces - to take all measures to quell a festering rebellion...

State of emergency declared in Bahrain
Date:15/03/2011 Manama: Bahrain state TV says a three-month state of emergency has been declared to try to quell political unrest threatening the monarchy...

Seven killed and hundreds injured in Yemen
Date:15/03/2011 Sana'a: Two more anti-regime protesters died in Yemen on Sunday, a day after police shot them in the head, raising the death toll to seven from demonstrations against President Ali Abdullah Saleh...

Yemen deports 4 journalists for protest coverage
Date:15/03/2011 Cairo: Armed Yemeni security forces raided an apartment shared by four Western journalists on Monday and deported them because of their coverage of a growing uprising against the country's longtime ruler, one of the reporters said...

Could Syria Be Next?: Protests By Arab Internet Bloggers
Date:10/03/2011 GOVERNMENTS THROUGHOUT the Arab world are consistently censoring Internet platforms such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube...

Libya protests: UN Security Council condemns crackdown
Date:23/02/2011 The UN Security Council has condemned the Libyan authorities for using force against protesters, calling for those responsible to be held to account...

Bahrain information authority seeks ways to improve media standards
Date:16/02/2011 King Hamad has often called for greater media freedom and has urged the parliament to enact an enlightened and advanced press code that would underpin freedom of expression...

Lara Logan of CBS attacked by Egyptian mob in Cairo
Date:16/02/2011 A senior CBS correspondent is recovering in hospital in the US after she was beaten and sexually assaulted by a mob while covering the Egyptian protests, the US network says...

Libya: Protests 'rock city of Benghazi'
Date:16/02/2011 There are reports of protests by hundreds of people in the Libyan city of Benghazi...

EGYPT: Army calls protests 'freedom of speech, ' won't use force to dispel demonstrators
Date:03/02/2011 The Egyptian army recognizes mass protests consuming the country as the people's legitimate right to freedom of expression and will not use force against the demonstrators, an army spokesman said in a statement read on Egyptian state television Monday night local time in Egypt...

Egypt cuts off internet access
Date:28/01/2011 Egypt appears to have cut off almost all access to the internet from inside and outside the country from late on Thursday night, in a move that has concerned observers of the protests that have been building in strength through the week...

Iraq: Free Speech Protests in Kurdistan
Date:10/01/2011 More than a thousand protesters took to the main street in Erbil, the Kurdish regional capital, to condemn a new law requiring all public demonstrations to have government permits...

ACRI: Gov't cracking down on freedom of expression
Date:12/12/2010 It was more difficult, more dangerous and more expensive to hold demonstrations in Israel this past year, according to a chapter of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel’s “2010 State of Democracy Report, ” relating to freedom of expression, which was released on Sunday...

Egypt court cancels restrictions imposed on SMS news alerts
Date:29/11/2010 Cairo - An Egyptian court overruled on Saturday a decision by the telecommunications authority to impose restrictions on media companies that send out news alerts to cell phones...

Egypt: Tough Measures Used to Gag Media in Run-Up to Elections
Date:26/11/2010 Reporters Without Borders condemns an increase in measures to control news and information and suppress freedom of expression in the run-up to the parliamentary elections scheduled for 28 November...

Tunisian leader defends law accused of limiting free speech
Date:08/11/2010 Tunisia’s President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali defended Sunday a controversial law that critics say limits press freedom as he announced increased subsidies to opposition parties and their newspapers...

Elections monitor: Media restrictions; record campaign spending
Date:25/10/2010 The Egyptian government’s recent decision to shut down several satellite channels and place further restrictions on the media has raised domestic and international concern over freedom of expression in the run-up to parliamentary elections late next month ...

Jordan says freedom of expression guaranteed in election
Date:25/10/2010 Jordan's information minister said on Saturday that freedom of expression was guaranteed after Human Rights Watch said there had been several arrests ahead of a November 9 general election...

Jordan: Ensure Free Election Campaign
Date:21/10/2010 Jordanian authorities should respect the right to free expression in the weeks leading up to national elections on November 9, 2010, Human Rights Watch said today...

Kuwait court refuses to summon top royal
Date:21/09/2010 A Kuwaiti court on Monday rejected a request by lawyers defending a writer facing charges of undermining the status of the Gulf emirate's ruler to cross-examine the leading royal who made the complaint...

Jordanian journalists furious over new cyber crimes law
Date:20/08/2010 AMMAN ; Jordanian journalists are up in arms after the government on August 3 passed a temporary law on cyber crimes seen by many as a way of controlling local news websites...

Shackling media a sign of political crisis - NCHR (Jordan)
Date:12/08/2010 AMMAN - The National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) on Wednesday said that restrictions on the circulation of information and attempts to shackle media outlets are signs that a country is in a political crisis...

Israel: Withdraw Legislation Punishing Human Rights Activists
Date:06/08/2010 (Jerusalem) - Israel's Knesset should reject proposed legislation that would weaken the country's vibrant civil society, Human Rights Watch said today...

Lebanon takes worrying steps on online freedom
Date:03/07/2010 Lebanon's president, Michel Sleiman, may have more than 60, 000 Facebook fans, but it took the opinions of just three people for things to get unfriendly...

Egyptian Security Forces Arrest and Beat Peaceful Protestors
Date:07/04/2010 Amnesty International has condemned arrests, detentions and violence meted out against peaceful protesters in Egypt, after more than 90 people were detained in Cairo for taking part in demonstrations calling for political reform on Tuesday...

Report: Mideast, North African countries censor, control media
Date:11/02/2010 Despite the rise of the Web and its freewheeling second-by-second ferment, government efforts at control and censorship remain rife across the Middle East and North Africa, a new report said Thursday...

Iraq: IFJ and ARTICLE 19 Pledge Support for UK Guardian Newspaper in Defamation Case
Date:26/01/2010 ARTICLE 19, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the affiliated Iraqi journalists’ union today called on the Iraqi authorities to drop charges of defamation against the British Guardian newspaper and its journalist, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad...

Israel deports US journalist
Date:20/01/2010 Israeli authorities today deported an American journalist who was working as an editor for a Palestinian news agency...

Yemen: Controversial Special Court sentences journalists to jail and bans them from writing
Date:19/01/2010 ARTICLE 19 expresses grave concern over prison sentences handed to two Yemeni journalists by the Special Court this week for expressing their opinion in print...

Iraq: ARTICLE 19 Comments on Draft Access to Information Law
Date:18/01/2010 ARTICLE 19 has analysed the Access to Information Draft Law proposed in late 2009 by the Temkin, a group of independent experts which includes journalists and academics, in Iraq...

Jordan: Courts Extend Law to Curb Internet Freedoms
Date:14/01/2010 ARTICLE 19 notes with concern that the Kingdom of Jordan’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, has amended the country’s Press and Publications Law to extend government control over online content...

Seven Muslim protesters who shouted insults at homecoming troops were 'exercising their right to freedom of speech'
Date:08/01/2010 Seven Muslim protesters who screamed insults at soldiers during an Iraq homecoming parade were simply exercising their freedom of speech, a court heard today...

Iraq: Shooting of human rights defender and journalist Mr Imad Abadi
Date:27/11/2009 On 23 November 2009, journalist and human rights defender Mr Imad Abadi was shot in Baghdad...

Tunisia jails dissident reporter Taoufik Ben Brik
Date:26/11/2009 A prominent critic of Tunisian leader President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been jailed for six months after a trial criticised by rights groups...

Iraqi court rules Guardian defamed Nouri al-Maliki
Date:10/11/2009 An Iraqi court has ordered the Guardian to pay Nouri al-Maliki damages of 100m dinar (£52, 000) after supporting a complaint by the Iraqi prime minister's intelligence service that he had been defamed by a Guardian story in April describing him as increasingly autocratic...

Royal pardon for Saudi journalist sentenced to lashes
Date:27/10/2009 Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has been called The King of Hearts by many of his countrymen, referring to what they believe are his compassionate attempts to reform his ultra-conservative kingdom...

Saudi woman journalist sentenced to 60 lashes
Date:25/10/2009 A Saudi woman journalist has been sentenced to 60 lashes for her involvement in the LBC program “Bold Red Line” aired in mid-July, Suleiman Al-Jumaie, the lawyer representing Mazen Abdul Jawad, the prime offender in the case, told Arab News on Saturday...

Egypt: Egypt bitter about UNESCO vote
Date:24/09/2009 Reporting from Cairo - Conspiracy theories hummed through Egypt's media and political elite Wednesday as Culture Minister Farouk Hosni returned home from Paris after facing accusations of anti-Semitism and losing a bitter fight to become the first Arab to lead the United Nations' cultural organization...

Yemen must reveal whereabouts of detained journalist
Date:24/09/2009 The Yemeni authorities must clarify the whereabouts of journalist Muhammad al-Maqalih, who was seized by plain-clothed assailants in the capital Sana'a late on Thursday...

Tunisia: Rights Activist Arrested, Threatened
Date:21/09/2009 'New York) - The Tunisian government should end the harassment of the human rights activist and journalist Abdallah Zouari immediately, Human Rights Watch said today...

Saudi Arabia: Countering Terrorism with Repression
Date:15/09/2009 'Since the September 11 attacks in the USA eight years ago, the Saudi Arabian authorities have launched a sustained assault on human rights in the name of countering terrorism...

Syria: Senior officials organise systematic suppression of dissenting voices
Date:15/09/2009 What is happening to press freedom in Syria? It is hard to know because many journalists refuse to speak either on the record or anonymously for fear of being identified by the intelligence services...

Egypt: Egyptian censorship advocate is candidate to be UNESCO director general
Date:14/09/2009 Negotiations are getting under way in Paris to select a new director general for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to replace Koichiro Matsuura of Japan, who has held the position for 10 years...

Tunisia: In Tunisia, court orders transfer of syndicate board
Date:09/09/2009 'The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Tunisian court’s decision to recognize a pro-government board of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (NSTJ)...

Gaza: Rescind Religious Dress Code for Girls
Date:04/09/2009 Hamas authorities in Gaza should suspend all orders that violate personal freedoms, including imposition of an Islamic dress code for female students, Human Rights Watch said today...

Kuwait: Ban on satirical TV programme damages Kuwait’s image
Date:02/09/2009 Reporters Without Borders condemns the decision by Kuwaiti information minister Al-Sheikh Ahmad Abdallah al-Sabah to suspend privately-owned Scope TV’s political satire programme Sawtak Wasal on 25 August after only three of an initially-scheduled series of 15 programmes had been broadcast...

Libya: Mark Anniversary by Restoring Rights
Date:02/09/2009 Colonel Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi should mark his 40th anniversary in power by wiping repressive laws off the books and freeing political prisoners, Human Rights Watch said today...

Libya: Anniversary a reminder of Qaddafi's media repression
Date:01/09/2009 As Col...

Iraq: Protecting journalists in Iraq
Date:28/08/2009 Iraq remains the most dangerous country in the world to be a journalist and nearly 200 journalists and other media workers have been killed there since the US-led invasion in 2003...

Palace of The End wins Amnesty Freedom of expression award at Edinburgh Festival
Date:28/08/2009 Amnesty International today announced that Palace of the End by Judith Thompson has won its prestigious Freedom of Expression Award...

Iraq: Internal security threats suddenly off-limits for news media
Date:27/08/2009 Reporters Without Borders is disturbed by the way the Iraqi authorities prevented the news media from covering bombings in Baghdad and the southern province of Babil on 19 and 20 August and an ensuing emergency parliamentary debate, in what appears to have been deliberate security policy...

Israel: West Bank radio station’s arbitrary closure by Israeli soldiers
Date:27/08/2009 Reporters Without Borders condemns the arbitrary closure of Radio Bethlehem 2000, a radio station located near the West Bank city of Bethlehem...

Morocco: Egyptian human rights activist refused visa to visit Morocco
Date:27/08/2009 Reporters Without Borders condemns the Moroccan government’s surprising decision to deny a visa to Gamal Eid, an Egyptian human rights activist...

Lebanon: Article 19 Calls for Comprehensive Reform of Print Media Legislation
Date:24/08/2009 ARTICLE 19 today releases its analysis of the Press Law of Lebanon and amendments to a range of domestic media laws, as proposed by the Maharat Foundation, a civil society group promoting a free press in Lebanon...

Tunisia: In Tunisia, government allies oust syndicate board
Date:18/08/2009 The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ousting of the board of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (NSTJ) on Saturday...

Palestinian Territories: Journalists banned from Gaza Strip hospitals and Rafah until further notice
Date:18/08/2009 Reporters Without Borders condemns the Hamas interior ministry’s decision to deny Palestinian and foreign journalists access to the southern city of Rafah and to all hospitals in the Gaza Strip until further notice...

Iraq: Unprecedented civil society demonstration in defence of press freedom
Date:17/08/2009 Hundreds of journalists, academics, performers, politicians and ordinary Iraqis staged an unprecedented demonstration today on Moutanabi Street, in Baghdad’s old quarter, in solidarity with journalist Ahmed Abd Al-Hussein of the newspaper Al-Sabah, who has been the target of death threats from a Shiite political party...

Yemen: Worrying Violations of Media Freedoms
Date:17/08/2009 ARTICLE 19 expresses concern about the deteriorating situation for media freedom in Yemen, and increasing incidents of harassment and intimidation of journalists by the authorities in that country...

Iraq: Governement bill seen as opening way to online censorship
Date:10/08/2009 'Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about a new culture ministry bill that aims to ban certain websites as its scope is too vague and it needs to be more clearly defined...

Tunisia: Government wages smear campaign against Al Jazeera
Date:10/08/2009 Reporters Without Borders condemns a smear campaign against Al Jazeera in which the Tunisian government is using both state-run and pro-government media to accuse the Qatar-based satellite TV station of acting as the mouthpiece President Ben Ali’s opponents...

Iraq: Iraq Censorship Laws Move Ahead
Date:04/08/2009 'BAGHDAD — The doors of the communications revolution were thrown open in Iraq after the American-led invasion in 2003: In rushed a wave of music videos featuring scantily clad Turkish singers, Web sites recruiting suicide bombers, racy Egyptian soap operas, pornography, romance novels, and American and Israeli news and entertainment sites that had long been blocked under Saddam Hussein’s rule...

Iraq: Iraq Censorship Laws Move Ahead
Date:04/08/2009 The doors of the communications revolution were thrown open in Iraq after the American-led invasion in 2003: In rushed a wave of music videos featuring scantily clad Turkish singers, Web sites recruiting suicide bombers, racy Egyptian soap operas, pornography, romance novels, and American and Israeli news and entertainment sites that had long been blocked under Saddam Hussein’s rule...

Iraq: Iraq revives rules censoring books
Date:27/07/2009 Iraq's Ministry of Culture has revived regulations forbidding the import of some books, prompting critics to accuse it of restoring Saddam-era censorship...

Morocco: Advances and reverses for press freedom during King Mohammed’s first decade
Date:27/07/2009 Real progress at the start of King Mohammed’s reign has been followed by reverses and tension, especially from 2002 onwards, Reporters Without Borders said today in an evaluation of the state of press freedom in Morocco on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Mohammed VI’s accession to the throne on 23 July 1999...

Saudi Arabia - human rights abuses in the name of fighting terrorism
Date:27/07/2009 'The Saudi Arabian authorities have launched a sustained assault on human rights under the façade of countering terrorism, Amnesty International said in a new report on Wednesday...

Palestine: Hamas travel ban may disrupt Fatah parlay
Date:27/07/2009 'Fatah leaders were debating on Sunday whether to go ahead with plans to hold their sixth general assembly next week or postpone it, after Hamas said it wouldn't allow members of the faction to leave the Gaza Strip...

Yemen: Freedom of speech in the eyes of the Yemeni youth
Date:23/07/2009 Compared to neighboring countries, Yemen has made notable achievements regarding the most important element of democracy, freedom of speech or expression...

Yemen: Journalist sentenced to 14 months in jail
Date:20/07/2009 The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Yemeni court of appeals to overturn a jail sentence it handed down on Wednesday against journalist Anis Mansour from the suspended independent daily Al-Ayyam...

Palestine: Al-Jazeera West Bank ban 'revoked'
Date:20/07/2009 The Palestinian Authority (PA) has revoked its decision to suspend Al Jazeera network's operations in the occupied West Bank, days after sanctioning it for 'false reporting'...

Palestine: Israeli forces detain, harass journalists
Date:20/07/2009 'The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) condemns the Israeli occupation forces' detention of Watan local TV crew (reporter Nizar Habash, reporter Nadia Sarsour, cameraman Khalid Melhem, cameraman Suleiman Abu Sorour, crew assistant Ibrahim Badwan) on 14 July 2009, near Sorda village north of Ramallah city...

Palestine: Israeli forces detain, harass journalists
Date:20/07/2009 The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) condemns the Israeli occupation forces' detention of Watan local TV crew (reporter Nizar Habash, reporter Nadia Sarsour, cameraman Khalid Melhem, cameraman Suleiman Abu Sorour, crew assistant Ibrahim Badwan) on 14 July 2009, near Sorda village north of Ramallah city...

Bahrain: Journalist faces defamation charges over article on corruption
Date:17/07/2009 According to a 26 June 2009 statement, the Public Prosecution (PP) has referred the case of journalist Husain Sabt, who is accused of defamation, to court after reviewing the evidence against him...

Egypt: Police harass journalist and his family
Date:17/07/2009 The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemns the organized attacks led by police officers against Alaa Al Gamel, a reporter for the weekly Sout Al Ouma...

Palestine: Al-Jazeera suspended in the West Bank
Date:17/07/2009 The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Palestinian Authority's decision today to suspend the operations of Al-Jazeera in the West Bank after the satellite channel aired a controversial interview on Tuesday...

Iraq: Amnesty International condemns attacks on Christian minority
Date:16/07/2009 Amnesty International is greatly concerned by the recent spate of attacks on Christian churches in Baghdad, which killed four civilians and injured more than 30 others...

Yemen: Authorities threaten to close Al Jazeera office
Date:16/07/2009 The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemns the escalation of the Yemeni government's crackdown on independent media which has now extended to the targeting of satellite television stations...

Syria: Press freedom situation continues to be very bad, says RSF
Date:15/07/2009 The press freedom situation in Syria continues to be very bad, Reporters Without Borders said on 10 July 2009 as French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner prepared to meet with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on the weekend of 11-12 July in Syria...

Yemen: IFJ calls for end to repression of independent media
Date:15/07/2009 The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today called on the authorities in Yemen to stop the escalating harassment of media, including the detention of journalists, court cases and harsh penalties which are threatening the survival of some of the country's independent news outlets...

Egypt: Editor sentenced to six months behind bars
Date:13/07/2009 The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) reiterates its deep contempt for the arrest of Yaser Barakat, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Al-Mogaz...

Tunisia: Academic sentenced to eight months in prison for posting message on Facebook
Date:13/07/2009 On 4 July 2009, Tunis's Court of First Instance sentenced academic and rights defender Dr...

Jordan: Government closes bureaux of two Iranian satellite TV stations
Date:10/07/2009 Reporters Without Borders condemns the Jordanian government's closure of the Amman bureaux of two satellite TV stations that are funded by the Iranian government, the Arabic-language Al-Alam and the English-language Press TV...

United Arab Emirates: Federal Court of Appeal upholds sentence against editor and newspaper
Date:09/07/2009 A ruling by the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal to suspend a local newspaper and fine its editor-in-chief further undermines press freedom in the United Arab Emirates, Human Rights Watch said today...

Palestine: Journalists and media workers assaulted by occupation forces
Date:07/07/2009 The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) condemns the attack on Reuters photographer Nayef Alhishlmon and several Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation forces, on the morning of 27 June 2009, in the village of Safa (Hebron)...

Egypt: Court of Appeal upholds acquittal of ANHRI director, two bloggers
Date:06/07/2009 The court of appeal in Dokki, Giza upheld on 30 June 2009 the decision made on 31 December 2008 acquitting bloggers Alaa and Manal and ANHRI Executive Director Gamal Eid of the charges of libel and insult...

Morocco: In Quaddafi case, Moroccan court hands down harsh judgement
Date:03/07/2009 The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Moroccan court decision today to impose fines and damages on three independent dailies for publicly harming Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi and injuring his dignity...

Syria: Kurdish activist at risk of torture
Date:03/07/2009 Political activist Jakarkhon Sheikho ‘Ali, a member of Syria’s Kurdish minority, is being held incommunicado at the Military Security Branch in the city of Aleppo, north-east of the capital Damascus...

Palestine: Television correspondent assaulted
Date:16/06/2009 The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) condemns the 10 June 2009 attack on Quds TV correspondent Mohammed Zuhdi Mashharawi (23 years old), by Palestinian police in Gaza City...

Egypt: State security police force Internet café owners to report on customers visiting
Date:12/06/2009 On 10 June 2009, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) reported that State Security Police are violating the right to privacy by spying on Internet users in Egypt, searching for individuals who exercise their right to express their political views online peacefully...

Israel: Rightist acquitted of incitement charges
Date:11/06/2009 Far-right activist and the president of Judea state Michael Ben-Horin was acquitted Thursday by the Jerusalem Magistrate's court of incitement to violence charges...

United Arab Emirates: Newland gives up The National editorship
Date:11/06/2009 Martin Newland is giving up the editorship of The National, the daily paper based in Abu Dhabi that he launched in April last year...

Yemen: Dark Days for Yemeni Media
Date:02/06/2009 ARTICLE 19 is deeply concerned about the deteriorating climate for free expression in Yemen and urges the authorities to investigate the kidnapping of journalist Salah Jalal, and lift the suspensions imposed on several independent publications and websites since early May...

Egypt: Court upholds heavy fine against blogger
Date:29/05/2009 The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and Mosawah Association for Human Rights in Port Said expressed their strong condemnation over the unjust ruling issued on 26 May 2009 by the al-Zohour Court of Appeal in Port Said, which upheld an earlier decision issued on 20 January...

Iraq: A step forward and a step back in prime minister’s lawsuits against news media
Date:29/05/2009 Reporters Without Borders deplores the libel suit that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has brought against the London-based Guardian newspaper...

Iraq: Historic day in Baghdad as IFJ launches journalism support programme
Date:29/05/2009 Leaders of journalists unions from around the world travelled to Baghdad at the weekend for a conference on support for media in Iraq - the first international meeting of any kind in the city since the war began six years ago...

Palestinian Territories: More journalists arrested as a result of tension between Palestinian factions
Date:29/05/2009 Reporters Without Borders condemns the renewed harassment of pro-Hamas journalists by the West Bank security services, in particular the arrests of Al-Aqsa TV cameraman Oussid Amarena and Filasteen bureau chief Mustapha Sabri in the past 11 days...

Tunisia: Police in Gafsa mining region harass reporter for banned newspaper
Date:22/05/2009 Reporters Without Borders is concerned about the way the police in Gafsa (400 km southwest of Tunis) have been harassing political activist Ammar Amroussia in recent days...

Syria: Proposed press law reform poses new threat to Internet
Date:20/05/2009 Reporters Without Borders’ concerns about online free expression in Syria have increased as a result of an informal meeting on 10 May of the committee tasked with drafting a new press law...

Moroccan journalists face charges of defaming Qaddafi
Date:19/05/2009 The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by the start of court proceedings today against five Moroccan journalists charged with publicly harming Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, left, and hurting his dignity...

Mauritania: Leading journalist escapes murder attempt
Date:15/05/2009 Reporters Without Borders today voiced its outrage following a murder attempt against Mohamed Ould Zeine, editor of the independent Arab-language daily El Wattan and star presenter on Radio Mauritania...

Tunisia tries to oust head of journalist syndicate
Date:14/05/2009 Tunisian government efforts to force out the president of a critical journalists union is part of a campaign to eliminate independent media in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today...

Tunisia: Court dismiss cooking oil lawsuits against opposition daily
Date:13/05/2009 A Tunis court has dismissed the lawsuits that five Tunisian companies brought against the opposition daily Al Maoukif over an April 2008 article about an Algerian import ban on their cooking oil because it was said to be tainted...

Yemen: Three Injured as Newspaper Offices Attacked
Date:13/05/2009 This morning police surrounded and opened fire on the offices of independent daily Yemeni newspaper Al Ayyam's, resulting in injuries to three staff...

Israel Closes Media Center, Upsetting Palestinians
Date:12/05/2009 The Israeli police on Monday closed down an official Palestinian media center that had been set up in East Jerusalem for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI, as Israel and the Palestinians competed to exercise authority in the contested part of the city...

Title Too Long
Date:07/05/2009 ARTICLE 19 calls on the Yemeni government to immediately lift all forms of censorship on the media and return confiscated newspapers...

Yemen 'curbing freedom' of press
Date:06/05/2009 Two media freedom campaign groups have criticised Yemen for what they say are attempts to suppress reporting about protests in the south of the country...

Yemen: Aden-based daily’s delivery trucks intercepted
Date:05/05/2009 Reporters Without Borders condemns the repeated hijacking of trucks carrying copies of the privately-owned daily Al-Ayyam in the past few days...

Yemen: Yemeni authorities prevents 6 newspapers from distribution
Date:05/05/2009 Yemeni government ordered the confiscation of six national newspapers, whose copies were pulled from the news stands and markets across the country yesterday alleging their role in promoting secessionism and anti-unity rhetoric...

Moroccan bloggers create first association
Date:01/05/2009 Moroccan online writers formed the Association of Moroccan Bloggers early this month at a conference in Rabat...

Egypt: Local report documents violations against 43 internet users
Date:30/04/2009 The prominent Egyptian NGO Hisham Mubarak Center for Law (HMCL) issued a report, titled Egypt on the Crossroad …2008, documenting the status of freedom of expression in the country during the year 2008, including the detention and harassment of bloggers...

Jordan: Court aquits well-know columnist of deafaming parliament
Date:29/04/2009 Reporters Without Borders is relieved to learn that Khaled Mahadin, a well-known columnist who writes for the government-owned Al Rai newspaper, has been acquitted of insulting parliament in an article posted on the website Khabberni on 13 February criticising the personal expenses of parliamentarians...

United Arab Emirates: Draft media law: Journalists 'will insist on changes'
Date:29/04/2009 The UAE Journalists Association reiterated their objection to some articles of the new media draft law and insisted that they would not change their stance...

Lebanon: Newspaper under pressure because of political tension and rivalry
Date:27/04/2009 Reporters Without Borders condemns the distribution ban which the Syrian authorities have imposed on the privately-owned Lebanese daily Al-Diyar since 22 April and the threats that have been made against its editor, Charles Ayoub, a Lebanese politician with a pro-Syrian stance...

Oman: Website moderator gets 10-day suspended prison sentence
Date:23/04/2009 A court in Muscat yesterday gave website moderator Ali Al Zwaidi a 10-day suspended prison sentence and a fine of 200 rials (400 euros) for posting an allegedly confidential government document online, but dismissed a charge of defamation that had been pending against him since August 2008...

Algeria Begins Participation in the IMF’s General Data Dissemination System (GDDS)
Date:21/04/2009 Algeria began participating in the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) today, marking a major step forward in the development of its statistical system...

Egypt: Court set to hear appeal in case in against Cairo News Company
Date:16/04/2009 Reporters Without Borders is concerned about the outcome of an appeal in the case of the Cairo News Company (CNC), which was prosecuted for broadcasting film of demonstrations on 6 April 2008...

Yemen: ARTICLE 19 Urges Yemeni Authorities to Investigate
Date:16/04/2009 ARTICLE 19 notes with concern that the Sana'a bureau of Al Jazeera satellite channel has recently received threats via text message, warning against correspondents' coverage of events in southern Yemen...

Mauritania: Jailed newspaper editor pardoned by junta chief
Date:14/04/2009 Reporters Without Borders hails the release of Abdel Fettah Ould Abeidna, the editor of the weekly Al Aqsa, on 8 April as a result of a pardon issued by the head of the military government, Gen...

UAE Media Law Faces Human Rights Watch Scrutiny
Date:14/04/2009 The United Arab Emirates faces scrutiny from a leading human rights organization over a proposed law that the group says will crimp press freedom in the Persian Gulf state...

Algeria: Three French publications banned on the eve of presidential election
Date:09/04/2009 Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the Algerian government's decision to ban distribution of the current issues of three French publications - L'Express, Marianne and Journal du Dimanche - on the eve of tomorrow's election, in which President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is running for a third term...

Iraq: Shoe-thrower’s jail sentence reduced from three years to one
Date:08/04/2009 Reporters Without Borders notes that a Baghdad appeal court today reduced journalist Muntazer Al-Zaidi's sentence from three years to one year in prison...

Egypt: Internet : a weapon on mass revolution ?
Date:06/04/2009 Since 6 April 2008, many Egyptian Internet users have been tirelessly communicating a message that their society must change...

Egypt: Young blogger freed after being held and mistreated for seven weeks
Date:02/04/2009 Reporters Without Borders hails the release of cyber-dissident Dia'Eddin Gad, who was arrested at his home in the Nile delta province of Gharbiyah on 6 February because of the views he had expressed in his blog...

Syria: Pro-reform writer Habib Saleh imprisoned again
Date:18/03/2009 Amnesty International condemns the sentencing yesterday of Habib Saleh, aged 61, to three years in prison for having criticized the Syrian government...

ALGERIA: Journalist provisionally released
Date:17/03/2009 The Committee to Protect Journalists has welcomed the provisional release on medical grounds of an Algerian journalist known for his denunciation of corruption under President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, but is concerned that he will need to return to jail to serve a six-month sentence...

UAE: CPJ concerned about UAE draft media law
Date:11/03/2009 Your Highness, We are writing to express our concern about a draft of the United Arab Emirates media law, recently approved by the Federal National Council (FNC)...

ISRAEL: Homage or horror?
Date:09/03/2009 In 1919, French artist Marcel Duchamp created a defiant and challenging work of art...

Arab freedom of expression increasing: Saudi author
Date:09/03/2009 Arab writers are enjoying greater freedom of expression, a Saudi female author said on Saturday, four years after a novel she wrote about the private lives of women caused controversy in her native Saudi Arabia...

UAE journos jump on draft media law
Date:09/03/2009 Authorities in the United Arab Emirates are drafting a new media law which has already earned the rebuke of local journos for what they fear is an attempt to curtail their freedom of expression...

Dubai needs no more support measures: minister
Date:03/03/2009 Government measures taken so far to support Dubai through a sharp economic downturn should be sufficient to stabilize its economy for at least nine months, the United Arab Emirates economy minister said on Monday, as press said that a UAE draft media law could give authorities wider powers to regulate increasingly gloomy economic reporting...

LEBANON: Rahi to LBC: The Church favors freedom of expression as long as it is ethical
Date:27/02/2009 In an interview with LBC on Thursday, Maronite Bishop of Jbeil al-Rahi said that the Church favored the freedom of expression, but people should justify their views...

Qatar’s high and low roads to freedom of the press
Date:26/02/2009 The Qatar campus of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism rises formidably out of the desert like a temple to something grand, mysterious and exotic...

Morocco/Western Sahara: Immediately Release Human Rights Defender
Date:23/02/2009 Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of human rights defender, Chekib El-Khiari, head of the Association for Human Rights in the Rif (Association du Rif des droits de lhomme) who is in custody of the National Bureau of the Judicial Police of Casablanca since 17 February 2009...

Iraqi shoe-thrower's case is adjourned
Date:20/02/2009 It was the hottest ticket in town...

UAE: Two years in the making
Date:17/02/2009 The current UAE media law, dating to 1980, includes 26 articles that imply or specifically refer to the imprisonment of journalists...

Egypt: Concerns with Draft Broadcast Law
Date:12/02/2009 ARTICLE 19 and the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information have serious concerns with the draft Broadcast Law released by the Egyptian authorities...

Title Too Long
Date:10/02/2009 On 26 January 2009, three prominent Bahraini human rights activists Mr Hasan Mushaima, Secretary General of the Movement of Civil Liberties and Democracy (HAQ); Mr Mohamed Habib Al-Muqdad, a scholar and social activist; and Dr Abdul-Jalil Alsingace, Head of Human Rights Unit at HAQ, were arrested...

Mideast media freedom 'nowhere on agenda': report
Date:10/02/2009 Media freedom in the Middle East still faces many hurdles, despite waning state control on the flow of information, a Qatar-based media watchdog said in a report on Monday...

Iraq shoe-thrower trial on Feb 19
Date:09/02/2009 BAGHDAD (AFP) - The Iraqi journalist who famously threw his shoes at former US President George W...

UAE: Journalists have nothing to fear: Director General, National Media Council
Date:09/02/2009 The criticism of a draft media law is unjustified as the new regulations promise to lift earlier restrictions and provide new freedoms to journalists in the UAE, the director general of the National Media Council said...

UAE President urged to reconsider media law
Date:09/02/2009 Civil society leaders in UAE have joined hands in opposing the proposed media law, terming it as unclear and harmful to civil liberties and free media in the country...

YEMEN: PM attends conference of freedom of expression and offense against religious
Date:09/02/2009 Prime Minister Ali Mujawar attended on Saturday a opening session of conference on contemporary media between freedom of expression and offense against religious in Sanaa capital...

Yemen hosts the International conference Contemporary Media between freedom of expression and abuse of religion
Date:09/02/2009 YemenOnline...

Bahrain: ARTICLE 19 Calls for the End of the Harassment of Ghada Jamsheer
Date:06/02/2009 ARTICLE 19 has written to Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, King of Bahrain, asking him to ensure that women's rights activist, Ghada Jamsheer, is protected from harassment and guaranteed her right to free expression...

ISRAEL: Court reviewing inmate's petition to bring porn into jail
Date:06/02/2009 The High Court of Justice Thursday reviewed the petition of a Hasharon Prison inmate seeking to bring pornography into jail...

UAE: Civil society leaders urge President to reconsider media law
Date:06/02/2009 Civil society leaders appealed to President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to intervene to reconsider the new media draft law, which was passed by the Federal National Council on January 20...

UAE: Dubai Press Club Chief Backs Draft Media Law
Date:04/02/2009 The new media draft law should be viewed positively by journalists, said Dubai Press Club executive director Maryam bin Fahad, despite the law being slammed by the local media...

Egyptian court overturns journalists' prison terms
Date:02/02/2009 Four independent Egyptian editors convicted of defaming the president and his close associates have had their yearlong prison sentences overturned by an appeals court, state newspapers reported Sunday...

Tunisia: Attacks on Freedom of Expression
Date:02/02/2009 The Tunisian government is confirming again its strong support for freedom of speech...

Jordanian writers fight curbs on freedom
Date:27/01/2009 The Jordanian Writers Association will launch a campaign next month hoping to overturn laws it says are being used by the Press and Publication Department to unfairly target publishers and writers...

UAE: Journalists urge authorities to reconsider media law
Date:27/01/2009 Unhappy about the new media law, the Journalists Association will present its grievances in an official letter to be sent to the concerned authorities, it was decided on Monday...

Egypt: Egyptian rights group condemns
Date:26/01/2009 The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) has condemned the fine handed out by an Egyptian court against blogger Mohamed Mabrouk that includes a 2, 500 Egyptian pounds as well as a further 40, 000 Egyptian pounds awarded in compensation to Trust Chemicals Company...

UAE: Draft Media Law Draws Flak for ‘Shortcomings’
Date:26/01/2009 The draft media law passed by the Federal National Council (FNC) was criticised for its shortcomings by media professionals on Sunday, but a senior minister said it would encourage freedom of speech and protect journalists...

UAE: Need to Explicitly Ban Imprisonment of Journalists Stressed
Date:26/01/2009 Rashid Al Oraimi, editor-in-chief of Abu Dhabi-based Arabic daily Al Ittihad, has criticised the draft of the amended media law...

ISRAEL: Court upholds Umm el-Fahm march
Date:22/01/2009 The Israel Police and the Justice Ministry were dealt a blow on Wednesday when the High Court of Justice criticized them for repeatedly delaying a planned right-wing protest through the streets of Umm el-Fahm...

U.A.E. Tightens Press Rules Amid Financial Downturn
Date:22/01/2009 The government of the United Arab Emirates is tightening its media laws amid a slew of negative headlines about the countrys economy and corporate scandals in Dubai...

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: FNC Media Law Seeks to Scrap Jail Sentence for Journalists
Date:21/01/2009 The Federal National Council (FNC) on Tuesday approved the final draft of UAE's Media Law, which stipulates that journalists cannot be jailed in the course of their duties...

Tunisia excels in the high art of lowdown slander
Date:14/01/2009 Theres an old proverb that a lie can get halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on...

DAMASCUS, Syria: Al Jazeera Breaks the Israeli Media Blockade
Date:07/01/2009 Throughout the 11 days of Israels pummeling of Gaza, live coverage of the war hasnt made it into most American living rooms...

Palestinian working for Iran media held in Israel
Date:07/01/2009 A Palestinian working for an Iranian television station was held for questioning by Israeli police Tuesday on suspicion of violating censorship rules...

Iraq, India and Mexico Most Deadly as 2008 Claims 104 Killings in Journalism, says IFJ
Date:06/01/2009 The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today said that the number of work related killings of journalists significantly dropped in 2008 following three years of record levels...

Israel ordered to let international media into Gaza
Date:06/01/2009 Israels supreme court today ordered the government to allow the international media into Gaza to report on the effect of the air strikes on Palestinians...

GAZA: The right to express protest
Date:06/01/2009 In the last few days, the Shin Bet security service questioned dozens of Arab Israelis, while others were subjected to warnings aimed at deterring them from participating in demonstrations against the Israel Defense Forces operation in the Gaza Strip...

GAZA: Blockade continues as world marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights
Date:18/12/2008 In a week when the world marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Israel's blockade on Gaza shows no sign of ending...

IRAQ: Gay-sex story lands writer in jail
Date:09/12/2008 A court in northern Iraqs Kurdistan region has sentenced a freelance journalist to six months in prison and a fine for writing an article about gay sex, a penalty that media groups say violates the law and underscores the lack of press freedom in Kurdistan...

GAZA: Article 19 joins condemnation of Israel's media and information blackout in Gaza
Date:27/11/2008 ARTICLE 19 joins the mounting condemnation by global media organisations of the Israeli authorities' decision to ban foreign journalists from entering Gaza and reporting on the worsening humanitarian crisis there...

EGYPT: Rights organisation rejects media blockade in trial
Date:18/11/2008 Egyptian human rights organisation has denounced decision of president of criminal court in South Cairo to throw media out of courtroom last Sunday, blocking reporting proceedings of trial of top tycoon accused of killing a Lebanese singer Susan Tamim...

Yemen drops thirteen places in RSF index
Date:26/10/2008 Independent and opposition journalists battled major restrictions and prosecution in 2007, with a dozen arrested and others physically attacked in the street, causing Yemen to slip thirteen places in the fifth annual Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index (French: Reporters sans frontières, or RSF), which covers the 12 months from September 2007 to September 2008...

JORDAN: Writer charged with insultin Islam
Date:23/10/2008 AMMAN-A Jordanian writer was charged on Tuesday with insulting Islam after incorporating verses of the Koran into a poetry book he printed in June without government approval, his lawyer said...

IRAQ: Kurdish press law draws mixed response
Date:20/10/2008 Although Iraqi Kurdistan's leaders have approved a new press law that affords journalists in the north more rights, some observers argue that the battle for freedom of expression in the region is far from over...

IRAQ: Journalist murdered in Kirkuk
Date:16/10/2008 The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Iraqi reporter Dyar Abas Ahmed, who was shot by unidentified gunmen in Kirkuk today, according to news reports and CPJ interviews...

TUNISIA: Kalima website targeted, police attack OLPEC secretary general
Date:16/10/2008 The online magazine Kalima (http://www...

PALESTINE: Cameraman released on condition he sever tis with station
Date:16/10/2008 Reporters Without Borders has condemned the hounding by the Palestinian Authority of Ossayd Amarneh, a cameraman for Al-Aqsa TV, who was released from jail on 8 October 2008 but forced to sign a promise to stop working for the channel under threat of being returned to prison...

EGYPT – Human Rights organizations praise pardon for editor
Date:07/10/2008 <p style=text-align: justify>The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights have praised the pardon issued by Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak for outspoken Egyptian editor Ibrahim Eissa, who was sentenced last month to two months imprisonment for reporting on the president's health...

ISRAEL: Authorities remain silent about imprisonment of Syrian journalist Ata Farahat
Date:03/10/2008 Reporters Without Borders has condemned the silence of Israeli authorities in respect of Syrian journalist Ata Farahat, a correspondent for the Syrian daily 'Al-Watan', who is has been held in al-Jalbou prison in Beit Shean since 30 July 2007...

EGYPT: 37 Ifex Members Call for End to Jailing of Journalists Under Criminal Defamation Laws
Date:01/10/2008 37 International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) members have issued an appeal calling for an end to the imprisonment of journalists under criminal defamation laws in Egypt...

Yemeni president pardons outspoken journalist
Date:30/09/2008 <p style=text-align: justify>The Editor-in-Chief of the opposition website, Mr Abdul Karim Al-Khaiwani, has received a presidential parton...

Related Taxonomy

Middle East and North Africa, News Items