censorship

By Golnaz Esfandiari | (RFE/RL) | – Narges Mohammadi, the deputy head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC) co-founded by Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, was arrested on May 5 at her home in Tehran, according to her husband. Speaking to RFE/RL by telephone from Paris, Taghi Mohammadi said the officers […]

censorship

Don’t Be Fooled by Saudi’s Reshuffle

contributors

By Adam Coogle | (Human Rights Watch) | – King Salman’s promotion of his nephew Mohammed bin Nayef to the position of crown prince and heir apparent marks a change of direction for Saudi Arabia, raising the possibility that power in the kingdom may be put directly into the hands of the House of Saud’s […]

censorship

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Azerbaijan among Top 10 Worst Censors: Media Watchdog

contributors

By Valentina Ieri | – UNITED NATIONS, (IPS) – While technology has given millions greater freedom to express themselves, in the world's 10 most censored countries, this basic right exists only on paper, if at all. According to a report by thereport by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which will be officially […]

censorship

Israeli Forces Target Journalists in West Bank

contributors

By Mel Frykberg | – KAFR QADDOUM, West Bank (IPS) – It is becoming increasingly risky to cover clashes and protests between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters in the West Bank as the number of journalists injured, in what appears to be deliberate targeting by Israeli security forces, continues to rise. Israeli commander who […]

Apartheid

Palestine: 2014 sees Record number of Journalists Targeted

contributors

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) said Sunday that 2014 saw 465 violations of media freedoms in the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. MADA chairman Dr. Ghazi Hanania told reporters that 2014 was “the worst, the deadliest, and the hardest year ever for journalists and media […]

censorship

Israel Top Court denies justice to Family of Slain Activist Rachel Corrie

contributors

By Sarah Lazare | (Commondreams.org) The family of Rachel Corrie—the 23-year-old U.S. activist crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer while nonviolently protesting a home demolition in Palestine 12 years ago—was denied justice by Israel’s top court on Thursday. The rejection is the latest stage in the family’s decade-long legal battle to hold Israel […]

censorship

“Drastic Decline” Seen in World Press Freedom

contributors

By Leila Lemghalef UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – A leading advocacy group warns of a “worldwide deterioration in freedom of information” last year. Out of the 180 countries being surveyed, two-thirds have slipped in standards compared to last year, according to the Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index 2015. Source: Reporters Without Borders The best […]

censorship

Amal Clooney Seeks talks with Egypt’s Sisi over Client jailed for Committing Journalism

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Update: Egypt has announced that Mohamed Fahmy will be retried in Cairo. Human Rights attorney Amal Clooney, wife of the actor George Clooney, wrote to Egyptian President Abdel Fattal al-Sisi on Saturday, requesting a meeting with him with regard to the fate of her client, Mohamed Fahmy, the […]

censorship

Journalist Greste Freed by Egyptian Junta, but Press Freedom still Hostage

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Peter Greste, an Australian journalist working for Aljazeera English, has been released from an Egyptian prison after a 400-day ordeal in which he was jailed merely for reporting the news. Greste was preemptively released by a presidential pardon from Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the military dictator. Nothing is more […]