Elia J. Ayoub

A photojournalist for Turkey's Anadolu Agency lies on the ground after being shot with rubber bullets by the Israeli forces while covering demonstrations in the village of Ras Karkar near Ramallah, West Bank, 4 September 2018, Shadi Hatem/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Activists’ relatives targeted, Bahrain advocacy, Israel arrests Palestinian journalists

A roundup of key free expression news in the Middle East and North Africa, based on IFEX member reports.

Free Douma 4/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/douma4/?tn-str=k*F

Razan Zeitouneh and the #Douma4

Syrian activist and documenter of rights violations Razan Zeitouneh was kidnapped on 9 December 2013, alongside her husband, Wa’el Hamade, and colleagues Samira Al Khalil and Nazem Al Hamadi. ‘The Douma Four’ have been missing ever since.

Bahraini protestors hold placards depicting portraits of Sheikh Ali Salman, head of the Al-Wefaq opposition movement, to protest his arrest, in the village of Sitra, south of the capital Manama, 29 January 2016, MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH/AFP/Getty Images

Journalists and rights defenders under fire, Pride cancelled: MENA in May

A roundup of key free expression news in the Middle East and North Africa, based on IFEX member reports.

Palestinian journalists cover the demonstrations on the border with Israel, amidst concerns over the "disproportionate use of force by Israeli troops", 20 April 2018, Momen Faiz/NurPhoto via Getty Images

In a month characterized by repression, a pro-LGBTQI+ campaign lifts some spirits

A roundup of key free expression news in the Middle East and North Africa, based on IFEX member reports.

Electoral workers count ballots at the end of the final day of the Egyptian presidential election in Cairo, 28 March 2018, Fayed El-Geziry/NurPhoto via Getty Images

As UN HRC takes place, governments in the MENA region step up repression

A roundup of key free expression news in the Middle East and North Africa, based on IFEX member reports.

A tram is seen in Alexandria, Egypt, 17 November 2017; journalist Mai Al Sabagh and photographer Ahmed Mostafa were arrested for an investigative report on tram inspectors, Dominic Dudley/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Egyptian rights group calls for suspension of freedom of expression cases

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) has condemned recent violations of freedom of expression and called on the government to “accept all freedoms in general and freedom of the media in particular”.

Members of the February 14 Revolution Youth Coalition group hold up a poster bearing portraits of jailed activists Nabeel Rajab (L) and Abdul Hadi Al-Khawaja during a demonstration marking May Day, in the village of Musalla, Bahrain, 1 May 2015, MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH/AFP/Getty Images

Revolutionary anniversaries across MENA marked with repression: February round-up

A roundup of key free expression news in the Middle East and North Africa, based on IFEX member reports.