Libya

Libya’s journalists are still among the leading victims of the political turmoil and violence that have been a constant ever since Col Gaddafi’s overthrow in the 2011 revolution. Armed clashes are continuing despite an attempt by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to broker a ceasefire and talks between the various political players and armed factions two weeks ago in the...

The Committee to Protect Journalists has expressed alarm at reports that two Tunisian journalists have been held by a militia in eastern Libya for two weeks and called for them to be freed immediately. This is the second time that Sofiene Chourabi and Nadhir Ktari have been kidnapped this month, according to reports. Chourabi, the host and producer of the weekly programme "Dossiyates" on the...

The Tripoli offices of Libya's privately owned station Alassema TV was raided and set on fire by Islamist groups on Sunday, the station reported. Several journalists are unaccounted for, the station said, and the Libyan Center for Press Freedom and Libya International Channel reported that Alaseema staff members had been abducted. Alassema TV said it had lost communication with staff working the...

Two journalists were abducted in Libya on Tuesday, and the government shut down broadcasts of two state-run television stations after one was taken over by militants and the other took an anti-government line, according to news reports. Osama Rashid and Mohammed al-Saaidi, directors for the state-run Libya International Channel Television, were abducted by an unknown militant group at a checkpoint...

At least two journalists and three media workers affiliated with the privately owned Albarqa TV station were abducted at a checkpoint in the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk on Monday, according to the station and news reports. The reports said the five were taken by a militant group affiliated with Islamists after the crew covered the inauguration of Libya's newly elected parliament. Conflict...

There has been a recent series of attacks on privately owned Alassema TV in Libya, including the abduction on Friday of three journalists who are still missing. Alassema TV is known for its criticism of Islamist political groups in Libya, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. The attacks come as conflict escalates between various militias, some of which are affiliated with al-Qaeda and some the...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has demanded that all parties involved in the civil war in Libya respect the rights and freedom of journalists following the horrific murder of the prominent journalist, Meftah Bouzid. According to media reports, Bouzid, who was known for his fierce criticism of Islamist militias in Libya, was shot dead in the city of Benghazi yesterday, Monday 26...

Libya’s General Prosecutor should immediately order an impartial and comprehensive investigation into the killing of a prominent editor-in-chief and hold those responsible to account. Miftah Bouzeid, editor in chief of Burniq newspaper, was shot dead in Benghazi on May 26, 2014. The murder of Bouzeid is the second killing of a journalist in Libya this year, the first died in February, during...

There have been constant threats and violence against Libyan journalists, who are being targeted with increasing frequency by the various armed groups operating in Libya since the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime, according to Reporters Without Borders. More than 20 acts of intimidation and physical attacks against media personnel have been registered since the start of 2014. Reporters Without...

Libya’s provisional parliament, the General National Congress (GNC), has passed very disturbing legislative provisions in the run-up to the February 20 election for a 60-member constituent assembly, according to Reporters Without Borders. An amendment to the penal code approved on February 5 bodes ill for the drafting of a constitution that respects freedoms and Libya’s international...