Iranian journalist Siamak Qaderi was sentenced to four years in prison and 60 lashes on 21 January. Qaderi, a blogger, was charged disseminating of...
CATEGORY: Middle East and North Africa
Egypt: New accreditation rules for journalist
Egyptian authorities have started confiscating existing press cards from journalists and asking them to contact the Ministry of Information to...
Ben Ali and Mubarak: Brothers in arms
Tunisia’s uprising has transfixed Egypt’s elite but Mubarak’s survival strategy proves he has learnt nothing from Ben Ali’s fall, writes
Kamel Labidi
Iran: We’re together and we suffer it together
Little Black Fish would like to share this clip of a group of Iranians in the Fars province dancing to make the best of a long traffic jam earlier...
Obama intervention puts Yemen reporter in jail
Journalist Abdul-Elah Haidar Shaye should have been released from prison as part of concessions to protesters in Yemen. But a phone call from the US president has kept him behind bars. Iona Craig reports
Egypt: Media crackdown continues as Index award winner arrested
Amid the constant Egyptian government promises these days that it is committed to reform, growth and dialogue with all opposition forces, it’s worth...
Egypt: Further assaults on journalists
As protests continue in Cairo on day of departure, the intimidation of journalists trying to cover the developments persists. Earlier today,...
Yemen: Pro and anti-government protesters face off
In Sana’a the opposition was outfoxed by President Saleh — but protests in provincial cities show the public’s anger has not abated. Iona Craig reports
Egypt: A co-ordinated campaign against reporters
If Wednesday was the day that the protesters occupying Cairo’s Tahrir Square were besieged by armed pro-government thugs, then Thursday was the...
Index condemns Egypt violence against media
Index on Censorship condemns the tactics of intimidation and violence being used against peaceful protesters, journalists and human rights activists in Egypt. Over the past 24 hours, there have been reports of both Egyptians and foreigners being injured, detained and intimidated in the beginning of a crackdown. Incidents include: the arrest of three al Jazeera journalists; the disappearance of Swedish reporter Bert Sundström; the harassment of reporters from Daily News Egypt; the beating of Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey; the arrest of Washington Post journalists Leila Fadel and Linda Davidson; the attacks on hotels in Cairo housing foreign journalists; and the detention of foreign and Egyptian human rights workers.
We call on the government and the authorities to release all journalists, human rights workers and protesters who are being unlawfully held and to abide by Egypt’s legal obligations in respecting freedom of expression and the right to protest. We remind President Mubarak that Egypt is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We ask the EU, the, United States and the UN to put pressure on the government to restrain forces acting in their name.