11 Oct 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, News and features
State censors in Lebanon have asked Beirut International Film Festival not to show an Iranian opposition film during a visit from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Originally scheduled for screening on 13 October, the day of Ahmadinejad’s arrival, the film “Green Days” documents violent protests in Iran following last year’s disputed elections. Director Hana Makhamalbaf is the daughter of Mohsen Makhamalbaf, who is close to opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.
03 Aug 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, News and features
Al Jazeera is reporting that Assaf Abou Rahhal, a journalist with Lebanon’s Al Akhbar newspaper, was killed today in an exchange of fire between the Lebanese Army and the Israel Defence Forces.
Read more here
11 Feb 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, Uncategorized
Twenty-five Lebanese Shiite publishing houses have been barred from exhibiting books during the annual fair in Manama on 17 March 2010. Al Wassat daily newspaper reports that although a black list has been issued by the Bahraini authorities, the publishing houses are yet to be officially notified. The Bahraini Ministry of Information denies responsibility for the ban and the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights suggest it may have been issued by the National Security Apparatus.
30 Oct 09 | Uncategorized
This is a guest post by Sarah El-Richani
Although Beirut is generally regarded as an oasis of freedom in a largely repressed region, the continuing censorship of the arts there is threatening to tarnish this image. While the press and TV, particularly after the Syrian withdrawal in 2005, report freely, an antiquated prior-censorship tradition has left the arts to the mercy of the gendarmes.
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