Tag: Reporters without borders

Photojournalists hold one-day strike

A photojournalists with his mouth tapped holds up his camera as he demonstrates with fellow colleagues in front of the journalist’s syndicate in Cairo against repeated attacks on members of the press in Egypt on April 4, 2014.

Photojournalists held a strike on Friday, refusing to cover any protests in rejection of the increasingly unsafe working conditions they face.

Abdel Nasser Nouri, a photographer with experience in covering conflicts in Syria, Libya and Gaza, said he took part in the strike. “The police target anyone with a camera,” he said.

Nouri, who heads the photo and multimedia section in Al-Badil newspaper, said sometimes photojournalists are targeted because of where they work.

“If they work for Rassd News Network, [known for being pro-Brotherhood] they are targeted by the police,” Nouri said. “If a photojournalist works for [often anti-Brotherhood] Al-Watan news service, they are targeted by the Muslim Brotherhood.”

“We are living a state of chaos,” he added.

Nouri mentioned incidents in which journalists were attacked by mobs after being accused of working for Qatari-based Al-Jazeera network.

Nouri said photojournalists had received a promise from Head of the Press Syndicate Diaa Rashwan that the police would receive training, but doubts the promise will be delivered.

The protest on Friday comes one week after the death of 22 year old Al-Dostour journalist Mayada Ashraf, who was shot while covering clashes between security forces and protesters in Cairo.

Egypt ranked 159th out of 180 listed countries in the 2014 World Press Freedom Index, a report annually released by Reporters Without Borders.

In 2013, Egypt was one of the top ten jailors of journalists in the world, according to the Press freedom watchdog the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) census of imprisoned journalists. CPJ ranked the country as the third deadliest country for journalists in 2013.

Local and international NGOs have repeatedly put journalists’ safety under spotlight in recent months.

CPJ issued a report in February detailing the extraordinary hardships faced by journalists working in Egypt in 2013. The scathing report indicts both the administration of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and the military-backed government that deposed it for making Egypt an inhospitable environment for journalists.

April 5, 2014
‘Zero tolerance for any form of dissent’: HRW

Reports from Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Reporters Without Borders have offered the latest glimpses into the deteriorating conditions of personal and press freedoms in Egypt.

In its annual World Press Freedom Index Egypt ranked of 159 out of 180 for the second year in a row. While its rank remained unchanged, the report detailed the changing threats to journalists in Egypt during a year marked with protests, clashes, terrorist attacks and a regime change.

“As soon as the Muslim Brotherhood took office, it began asserting its control over the state media. In August 2012, Morsi got the upper chamber to appoint Muslim Brotherhood supporters to run the state-owned newspapers,” read the report.

“Since Morsi’s removal by the army under [currently Field Marshall] Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, the new authorities have systematically targeted foreign and Egyptian media affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood—which has again been banned—or regarded as sympathetic to it.”

In its latest release on the country, “Egypt: High Price of Dissent”, HRW also details the difficult conditions for journalists on the ground, but it further discuss the grave consequences for anyone criticising the military-backed interim government.

The detailed report covers the story of several journalists, activists, and academics who have been detained by security forces or forced to flee the country for refusing to tow the official state line.

HRW takes issue with the increasingly harsh steps the government has imparted to limit voices of dissent, including the implementation of a law restricting protest, charging activists with “insulting the judiciary”, and the criminal court case accusing Al Jazeera journalists of being terrorists and spreading false news.

“Egyptian authorities in recent months have demonstrated almost zero tolerance for any form of dissent, arresting and prosecuting journalists, demonstrators, and academics for peacefully expressing their views,” read the HRW report.

Al Jazeera journalists Peter Greste, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, Baher Mohamed made their first court appearance in court on 20 February. The trial was postponed to 27 February and the trio was denied bail.

February 24, 2014
Surge in journalist abductions in 2013: RSF

Photo taken on November 11, 2012 shows Turkish photojournalist Bunyamin Aygun working at Ceylanpinar in Urfa, near the Syrian border. Turkish photographer Bunyamin Aygun has disappeared in neighbouring Syria while covering the civil war there, his newspaper Milliyet said on December 17, 2013.
(AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC)

AFP – Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Wednesday 71 journalists were killed in 2013, a slight fall from the previous year, but there was a surge in kidnappings.

“Syria, Somalia and Pakistan retained their position among the world’s five deadliest countries for the media,” the Paris-based watchdog said in its annual round-up of press freedom violations.

“They were joined this year by India and the Philippines, which replaced Mexico and Brazil, although the number of journalists killed in Brazil, five, was the same as last year.”

Overall, the number of journalists killed in connection with their work this year fell by 20% compared with 2012, which was an “exceptionally deadly” year with a total of 88 deaths, RSF said.

But there was a big increase in the number of journalists kidnapped, from 38 in 2012 to 87 in 2013 – more than half in Syria.

“Abductions gained pace in Syria in 2013 and became more and more systematic in nature, deterring many reporters from going into the field,” the watchdog said.

“At least 18 foreign journalists and 22 Syrian news providers are currently abducted or missing.”

Among the missing is James Foley, a US freelancer and AFP contributor who was seized by armed men in the northern province of Idlib in November last year.

Nearly 40% of the deaths this year occurred in conflict zones like Syria, Somalia, Mali or the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, a resource-rich hotbed of left-wing extremism.

“The other journalists were killed in bombings, by armed groups linked to organised crime (including drug trafficking), by Islamist militias, by police or other security forces, or on the orders of corrupt officials,” the group said.

RSF said the violence of the Syrian conflict had forced at least 31 professional and citizen-journalists to leave their country this year.

“Many of them are now in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon or Egypt, destitute and vulnerable,” it said.

“Victims of xenophobia and accused of being Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Egypt, interrogated and threatened by the security services in Jordan, and threatened by pro-Assad militias in Lebanon, their situation often continues to be extremely precarious.”

December 18, 2013
5 journalists killed, more than 80 arrested in last 2 months

Journalists have suffered “an extremely heavy toll” since 3 July, when former president Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power, according to Reporters Without Borders (RWB).
(AFP File Photo)

Journalists have suffered “an extremely heavy toll” since 3 July, when former president Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power, according to Reporters Without Borders (RWB).

Over the past two months, five journalists have been killed and at least 80 have been arbitrarily detained, according to a statement issued by the group on Monday. Of the 80 journalists who have been detained, seven remain in custody.

At least 40 reporters have been physically attacked by the police, pro-army, or pro-Morsi demonstrators, said RWB.

“These violations of freedom of information have taken place in a highly polarised political environment that has made the situation extremely difficult and dangerous for journalists,” said the statement.

“Reporters must be able to work without their lives being put in danger, regardless of the political fault lines,” said RWB’s statement. “We deplore the passivity of the new Egyptian authorities and we urge them to react quickly by taking concrete measures to guarantee journalists’ safety and respect for freedom of information.”

RWB said the five killed journalists included Freedom and Justice Party photographer Ahmed Assem El-Senoussi at the Republican Guards Club, Sky News cameraman Mick Dean, Al-Akhbar reporter Ahmed Abdel Gawad, and Rassd News Network photojournalist Mosab Al-Shami during the violent dispersal of Rabaa Al-Adaweya on 14 August, and Al-Ahram regional bureau chief Tamer Abdel Raouf at an army checkpoint in Damanhour on 19 August.

The group’s statement also documented the names of journalists who had been detained, including 23 foreign journalists. Most of the briefly detained journalists were either with media that supports the Muslim Brotherhood or foreign journalists accused of biased reporting.

RWB also documented attacks on journalists who were covering Muslim Brotherhood demonstrations and clashes with security forces, including some who suffered gunshot injures.

The group highlighted media censorship that included the closing of television stations that had supported Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. An administrative court on Monday ordered the permanent closure of Al-Hafez, one of those channels. Soldiers raided the offices of Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr on 3 July and blocked its live broadcast.

On Sunday, three foreign Al-Jazeera journalists were released from custody and deported.

September 2, 2013
Two journalists assaulted in Al-Nahda Square

Pro Morsi sit-in at Al Nahda on Wednesday night 31 July 2013 (Photo by Mohamed Omar/DNE)

Two journalists were detained and beaten by pro-Morsi demonstrators while covering a march heading to Al-Nahda Square on Friday, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) reported in a statement released on Monday.

Demonstrators detained Mohamed Momtaz, a journalist for the newspaper Veto, for three hours in a tent in the square where they forced him to undress, “interrogated him and accused him of spying” after they beat him and took his camera, RWB said. Momtaz had to go to a hospital after he was released, RWB added.

Aya Hassan, a veiled journalist for the newspaper Youm 7, was attacked while photographing Momtaz being assaulted, RWB said. Hassan’s camera was taken away and she was also interrogated, searched and beaten in a tent while blindfolded, RWB said. A video testimony by Hassan said she was dragged by her hair on the ground and kicked in her face until her nose bled.

Hassan was also forced to say that she belonged to a certain political group as well as provide “names of people she knew in the interior ministry, the armed forces and in the opposition to Morsi,” despite her attempts to tell her captors that she is a journalist, RWB said. Hassan said in the video that she was detained for more than four hours, RWB reported.

RWB denounced the attack on the journalists calling it “intolerable.” RWB demanded the protection of media personnel and called on authorities to “deploy whatever resources are necessary to ensure that these abuses do not go unpunished.”

“Morsi supporters have repeatedly prevented Egyptian journalists from covering their demonstrations and have deliberately targeted them if they work for media that are not ideologically sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood,” the statement read.

Media personnel belonging to outlets that support the Brotherhood have also suffered from arbitrary arrests and raids, such as Al-Jazeera journalists and Muslim Brotherhood affiliated media outlets, RWB said.

Many journalists have been attacked over the past few weeks. Al-Shorouk newspaper reporter Nada El-Kholy and Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reporter Menna Alaa were attacked covering pro-Morsi protests on 20 July and 19 July respectively. Al-Jazeera cameraman Mohamed Badr was arrested on 15 July while covering clashes. The Daily News Egypt photographer Halim El-Shaarani was assaulted and detained by police during the clashes near Rabaa Al-Adaweya on 27 July.

A freelance photographer at the Daily News Egypt and Al-Borsa newspaper who chose to remain anonymous was assaulted by plain-clothed men standing next to policemen during the same clashes on 27 July as well.

Al-Masry Al-Youm photographer Mohamed Tarek had the contents of his camera’s memory card deleted after being forced to leave the Rabaa Al-Adaweya sit-in by demonstrators earlier in August, RWB reported.

August 13, 2013
Reporters Without Borders calls for quick roadmap implementation

Interim president Adly Mansour (Photo by Mohamed Omar/DNE)

Reporters Without Borders called on Thursday on President Adly Mansour to quickly implement the roadmap.

Defence Minister Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi announced a roadmap on 3 July to lead Egypt out of its current crisis. The roadmap included the suspension of the current constitution; the swearing in as temporary head of state, the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court Mansour; early presidential elections; the formation of a caretaker government and the formation of an inclusive committee to review the proposed constitutional amendments on the temporarily-suspended constitution.

The non-profit organisation said quickly implementing the roadmap would be so that Egypt “does not have a repeat of the authoritarian rule by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.”

It added that although the constitution has been suspended, Egypt is signatory of many international treaties that guarantee freedoms. The organisation said the “new civilian-military authorities” must respect these international treaties.

It added that what Egypt needs now is a constitution that respects human rights and freedom of information, and that amendments to the constitution should neither directly nor indirectly give the army “excessive powers.” Reporters Without Borders described former president Mohamed Morsi’s ouster as a “military coup with civilian trappings.”

The freedom of information organisation said it was alarmed that shutting down several religious channels was among the first steps taken by the new authorities. The Muslim Brotherhood-owned Misr 25, along with other Islamist channels such as Al-Hafez, Amgad and Al-Nas were taken off the air following the announcement of the roadmap. The channels openly supported Morsi.

Reporters Without Borders described the move as “disturbing” and called for re-opening the channels. It also condemned the raid of Al-Jazeera Mubasher channel and the arrests of some of its staff.

July 5, 2013
Turkish journalist missing for months in Syria freed

A picture grab from the Syrian Al-Ikhbariya news channel shows Turkish journalist Cuneyt Unal. (AFP PHOTO / AL-IKHBARIYA)

Ankara (AFP)— Turkish journalist held by Syrian government troops since August was freed Saturday and handed to a group of Turkish opposition lawmakers following their meeting with President Bashar Al-Assad, media reported.

“I am very happy, I am doing well,” Cuneyt Unal told a press conference in Damascus, a recording of which was aired on Turkish television.

“I can’t wait to get back to my family in Turkey.”

Unal was handed to a delegation of MPs from Turkey’s main opposition party CHP in Damascus after the lawmakers met with Assad, the Anatolia news agency reported.

One of them, Hasan Akgol, told the agency that Unal was in good health and that the group was due to return to Turkey later in the day.

Cameraman Unal and his Jordanian colleague Bashar Fahmi Al-Kadumi, who were working for US broadcaster Al-Hurra, disappeared in the northern city of Aleppo on August 20.

Unal said Saturday that he had been detained by Syrian soldiers on that day and held in solitary confinement in an Aleppo prison but that he was not mistreated during his ordeal.

He said his colleague was seriously wounded on August 20 after being caught in the crossfire between government troops and rebels.

“I haven’t seen him since,” Unal said. “I don’t know if he is still alive.”

The Turkish lawmakers said they had not been given any information on Kadumi, a Jordanian national of Palestinian origin who was based in Turkey.

Fourteen professional journalists have been killed in Syria since the conflict started there last year. Another 38 citizen journalists have also been killed, according to the international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

November 17, 2012
Afghanistan bans Pakistani newspapers for spreading pro-Taliban messages

Former Taliban fighters display their weapons as they join Afghan government forces during a ceremony in Herat province on 18 September 18, 2012. Government authorities banned all Pakistani newspapers claiming “The papers print Taliban propaganda”
AFP PHOTO / AREF KARIMI

As of Saturday, all Pakistani newspapers in Afghanistan are banned from circulation following accusations by the government that the publications spread messages supportive of the Taliban and seeking to undermine the Afghan government, a government spokesperson told AFP.

The eastern border provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan are where the publications enter the country and will be where the government attempts to halt their spread, rather than attempting to police every magazine stand in the country.

“In recent months Pakistani newspapers have started an anti-Afghan government campaign, especially in the eastern provinces,” government spokesman Sayed Ihsanuddin Taheri told AFP.

“The papers print Taliban propaganda, question the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan and run an anti-government campaign,” he added. Ihsanuddin Taheri also mentioned that police had already begun collecting newspapers in Nangarhar province.

According to a statement released by the Interior Ministry, the Pakistani publications also criticise Afghan forces.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are uneasy neighbours. Due to the presence of armed criminals, militants and inadequate security along the border, several attacks have been carried out over the past year which left civilians on both sides dead and wounded.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of being a safe haven for Pakistani Taliban responsible for a spate of attacks in north-western Pakistan, while Afghanistan has expressed displeasure at cross-border shelling and rocket fire originating in Pakistan.

On Thursday, Afghan foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul said attacks from Pakistan into Afghanistan were, “a matter of deep and serious concern,” causing “unprecedented anger and frustration among Afghans,” AFP reported.

The Afghan newspaper Daily Outlook pointed out that while the government targets print media, “the digital source of propaganda for Taliban militants via internet is still a suitable alternative.”

Pakistan and Afghanistan both have low Press Freedom Index ratings, published yearly by Reporters Without Borders. This year Pakistan ranked 151 out of 179 and is credited for being the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. Afghanistan is ranked one position lower at 150.

September 23, 2012