West Asia - North Africa

24 October 2007

Tunisia still silencing voices through censorship and intimidation

Press freedom in Tunisia is going thorough one of its worst phases. There have been blatant attempt to silence subversive voices through censorship and intimidation. Judicial courts are appallingly used to infringe on the fundamental human right to freedom of expression, enshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Tunisia has both signed and

More
24 October 2007

Egypt: Press freedom violations continue through legal means

Egypt continues to imprison journalists and editors who publish stories critical of President Hosni Mubarak and other high officials. Activist advocating minority rights in the country are also detained and fined. Basic right of freedom of religion and fundamental right of free expression are being explicitly violated. Members and partners of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX)

More
24 October 2007

Palestinian journalist suffering more at the hands of their own than Israel

Physical attacks against journalists have been the most common form of press freedom violations in Palestinian areas, according to a recent report. On many occasions, reporters and cameramen have been exposed to teargas and arrested. A report on press freedom in the Palestinian territories between January 1 and September 30 this year by the Palestine Partners Centre for Media Development has found

More
22 October 2007

Call for programme to protect journalists after armed group puts bounty on reporter’s head

Reporters Without Borders today called on the Iraqi authorities to urgently establish a programme for protecting journalists after an armed group put a price on the head of public TV station Al-Iraqiya’s correspondent in Diyala, an eastern province where at least six journalists have been murdered. “It is vital that the Iraqi authorities at least try to guarantee the safety of journalists,” the...

More
16 October 2007

Conflict takes deadly toll on journalists, especially those from Iraq

BAGHDAD - Five Iraqi journalists were killed in separate attacks Sunday, marking one of the deadliest days for reporters covering war-torn country in nearly a year. Four reporters for Iraqi media organizations were reported shot to death in ambushes near Kirkuk in northern Iraq. Previously reported was the death of Salih Saif Aldin, a correspondent for The Washington Post who apparently was shot...

More
16 October 2007

A journalist's sacrifice

SALIH SAIF ALDIN was one of those extraordinary Iraqis who have responded to war and upheaval in their homeland by becoming journalists. A native of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town and once one of the centers of the Sunni insurgency, he began documenting events there, first for an Iraqi newspaper and then, beginning in January 2004, for The Washington Post. His commitment to the toughest...

More
15 October 2007

Bahrain: Internet censorship continues as authorities block website of popular civic organization

BCHR has learned that the Bahraini authorities have taken measures to block access by people in Bahrain to the website of the HAQ movement ( http://www.haaq.org ). The HAQ Movement for Liberties and Democracy is a popular civic organization, established in November 2005, calling for respect for rights and democratization in Bahrain. HAQ and other popular organisations are not registered under the...

More
14 October 2007

Iraqi journalist is shot and killed in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Oct. 14 — A journalist for The Washington Post was shot and killed while reporting from a volatile neighborhood in southern Baghdad on Sunday, the newspaper said. The killing, an isolated act that appeared to have been deliberate, was one of at least nine in the capital Sunday. The reporter, Salih Saif Aldin, 32, was shot once in the head, apparently at close range, said the newspaper’s...

More
14 October 2007

Human rights issues poorly covered in Arabic on the Internet, finds study

The Internet has not yet become an effective tool for human rights in the Arab world, says a recent study by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo). The 215-page study, 'Electronic Media and Human Rights', is the first in Arabic to discuss human rights in the discourse of electronic Arabic media outlets. It also surveyed use of the Internet by human rights organisations. Although

More
12 October 2007

Supporters of AP photographer mark 18-month anniversary with petition to US

NEW YORK: Supporters of Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, who has been held without charge by U.S. officials in Iraq for 18 months, marked the year-and-a-half anniversary Friday by presenting an online petition with 1,500 signatures to several top federal officials, organizers said. In a letter faxed Friday to the White House, U.S. State Department, the Speaker of the House of...

More