11 Aug 09 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Saudi authorities have closed an office of an Arab TV station after it broadcast an interview with a man speaking frankly about sex and showing off erotic toys, a government official said today. Abdul-Rahman al-Hazza, spokesman for the ministry of culture and information, said the office of LBC, a Lebanese-based satellite TV station was closed because of the programme and because it was unlicensed. “The closure is indefinite,” Hazza said. The Saudi man, Mazen Abdul-Jawad, has been in detention since last Friday. Read more here
23 Jun 09 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Released political prisoner and writer Abd Al-Monem Monieb was detained in Cairo airport for 45 minutes by state security officers. Their actions prohibited him from travelling to Lebanon where he was due to publicise his book on Islam in Egypt. Read more here
20 May 09 | Middle East and North Africa, Resources
The Maharat Foundation is a team of young journalists who experienced first-hand the difficulties faced by free press in Lebanon and the Arab world. They share a common vision of journalism that is freer and of a society that is more democratic.
21 May 08 | Comment, Middle East and North Africa
Recent factional fighting in Beirut saw journalists come under attack, writes Charles Chuman
On 7 May 2008, Hezbollah and its allies in the Lebanese opposition began dismantling the authority of the Lebanese government. The army and police force could not respond to the situation, and the Lebanese opposition took control of Beirut’s streets.
Along with their systematic military takeover, Hezbollah and the opposition immediately began censoring the Lebanese media through direct intimidation, infrastructural destruction, and a disinformation campaign. Media analyst and former editor-in-chief of the Middle East Broadcasting Journal, Habib Battah, explains, ‘The media was a primary target in this campaign. It was one of the first things to be attacked as Hezbollah took control. They could have chosen other places to attack, but they chose the media.’
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