Press freedom

Turkey plans further clampdown on independent media

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP says it won't allow "fifth column" activity from independent media organizations.

Amberin Zaman | Turkey | Jul 22, 2021

Activists, including supporters of Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, hold up the photos of journalists, including Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yuecel, who are currently in prison in Turkey, while protesting on World Press Freedom Day in front of the Turkish Embassy on May 3, 2017, in Berlin, Germany. Turkey has imprisoned over 150 journalists as part of the government's crackdown on independent media and political opposition.

Morocco sentences journalist Omar Radi in trial slammed by rights groups

The court on Monday sentenced Omar Radi to six years in prison on espionage and rape charges he denies.

Al-Monitor Staff | Morocco | Jul 19, 2021

The mother of Omar Radi (pictured), a prominent Moroccan journalist and activist on trial over charges of rape and receiving foreign funds.

Moroccan journalist's jailing draws rebuke from US

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States is "disappointed" by a Moroccan court's five-year sentence of journalist Soulaiman Raissouni.

Al-Monitor Staff | Morocco | Jul 13, 2021

Protest against Soulaiman Raissouni's sentencing

Reports highlight crackdowns on press in Kurdistan Region

The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government has rejected the charges, citing the independence of courts and media partnerships.

Al-Monitor Staff | News Brief | Jul 9, 2021

Egypt to launch regional news channel

Egypt is planning on launching a regional news channel, including joint projects and productions with Saudi Arabia.

A correspondent in Egypt | Egypt | Jun 17, 2021

Egyptian prime minister with TV presenter

Israel says Hamas used AP, Al Jazeera building in Gaza to jam Iron Dome

Israel will help rebuild AP offices in Gaza, said its UN ambassador.

Al-Monitor Staff | Palestine | Jun 8, 2021

Egypt releases journalist Khaled Dawoud from prison

Khaled Dawoud was arrested as part of a sweeping crackdown on anti-government protesters in 2019.

Al-Monitor Staff | Egypt | Apr 14, 2021

Is Turkey going to crack down Muslim Brotherhood aligned TV in gesture to Egypt?

The Turkish government has advised Brotherhood aligned stations against insulting Egyptian officials.

A correspondent in Egypt | Egypt | Apr 2, 2021

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Talaat Fahmy speaks during an interview in his office, Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 19, 2021.

Erbil court convicts journalists, activists of spying, organizing armed groups

Five defendants, including journalists and activists, were sentenced to prison in Erbil in a decision that international rights groups say is an attack on press freedoms.

Al-Monitor Staff | Iraq | Feb 22, 2021

Prominent Turkish lawyer defiant after jail sentence over media trial

Eren Keskin, a prominent human rights lawyer, was among four defendants sentenced to prison on terror-linked charges Monday in a newspaper trial that raised concerns over media freedom in Turkey.

Diego Cupolo | Turkey | Feb 17, 2021

Activists fear Iraqi cybercrime law could limit press freedoms

The Iraqi cybercrime bill makes a reappearance amid widespread objections by civilians and activists who label it as repressive of freedoms and rights guaranteed in the Iraqi Constitution.

Omar Sattar | Iraq | Dec 2, 2020

Egyptian, Iranian leaders criticize French president over comments on freedom of expression

French President Emmanuel Macron angered many Muslim leaders when he defended images of the prophet of Islam after a Parisian teacher was beheaded for showing such images.

Al-Monitor Staff | Egypt | Oct 28, 2020

Syrian journalists in Idlib face crackdown from jihadist-affiliated government

The government affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria has decreed that journalists can’t work in their areas of control without a permit.

An Al-Monitor correspondent | Syria | Oct 26, 2020

Syrian pro-regime fighters and journalists enter the courtyard of the museum of Maaret al-Numan in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on January 30, 2020. - Maaret al-Numan is nestled in a UNESCO-listed region of ancient villages and its mosaics museum had achieved international renown.
The museum, housed in an Ottoman-era caravanserai, was seriously damaged in a government barrel bomb attack in 2015. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Reporter's arrest, abrupt release chills journalists in Egypt

A journalist who had gone to Luxor to cover the recent unrest there was arrested on charges that included the spreading of fake news and belonging to a terrorist group.

Shahira Amin | Egypt | Oct 6, 2020

TOPSHOT - This picture shows the courtroom and soundproof glass dock (bottom) during the trial of 700 defendants including Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, widely known as Shawkan, in the capital Cairo, on September 8, 2018. - Shawkan, who earlier this year received UNESCO's World Freedom Prize, was on September 8 handed a five-year jail sentence in a trial including over 700 other defendants over charges of killing police and vandalising property during the clashes, some of which were also handed

Algeria cracks down on press as protest movement persists

Algeria's massive protest movement, temporarily stifled by the pandemic, is also seeing many activists and journalists jailed as the government.

Simon Speakman Cordall | Algeria | Oct 2, 2020

Press freedom

Turkey plans further clampdown on independent media

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP says it won't allow "fifth column" activity from independent media organizations.

Morocco sentences journalist Omar Radi in trial slammed by rights groups

Moroccan journalist's jailing draws rebuke from US

Reports highlight crackdowns on press in Kurdistan Region

Egypt to launch regional news channel

Israel says Hamas used AP, Al Jazeera building in Gaza to jam Iron Dome

Egypt releases journalist Khaled Dawoud from prison

Is Turkey going to crack down Muslim Brotherhood aligned TV in gesture to Egypt?

Erbil court convicts journalists, activists of spying, organizing armed groups

Prominent Turkish lawyer defiant after jail sentence over media trial

Activists fear Iraqi cybercrime law could limit press freedoms

Egyptian, Iranian leaders criticize French president over comments on freedom of expression

Syrian journalists in Idlib face crackdown from jihadist-affiliated government

Reporter's arrest, abrupt release chills journalists in Egypt

Algeria cracks down on press as protest movement persists

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