Kuwait

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 10 February 2005 letter to the prime minister, His Highness Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, CPJ expressed concern over recent statements the prime minister made threatening to suspend or shut down newspapers that publish information related to the Kuwaiti government’s current fight against religious extremists. In a 7 February meeting with leading […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: Kuwait: Al-Arabiya correspondent arrested after news report New York, January 6, 2005-The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly protests the arrest of a correspondent for news channel Al-Arabiya in Kuwait yesterday, shortly after the station aired a disputed report of clashes between Kuwaiti government forces and militants. […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the Kuwaiti Information Ministry’s 1 August 2004 decision to ban screenings of Michael Moore’s documentary film “Fahrenheit 9/11” and urged the authorities to lift the ban. “The Kuwaiti authorities are free to disagree with Michael Moore’s political preferences but it is regrettable that they are using the weapon of censorship […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC is gravely concerned for the safety of writer, journalist and researcher Yasser al-Habib, who is reported to have been sentenced in absentia by the Kuwait Criminal Court on 5 May 2004 to 10 years in prison on charges of attempting to overthrow the regime. He was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is gravely concerned for the safety of writer, journalist and researcher Yasser al-Habib, who is reported to have been sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison by the Kuwait Criminal Court on 9 March 2004. His case is also said to have been transferred to the State […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN welcomes the release of writer, journalist and researcher Yasser al-Habib, who was amnestied by the emir on 25 February 2004, Kuwaiti National Day. However, PEN is deeply concerned at reports that security forces have attempted to re-arrest him without a warrant. Al-Habib was sentenced to one year in […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN protests the one-year prison sentence handed down to writer, journalist and researcher Yasser al-Habib. On 20 January 2004, he was reportedly convicted of “questioning the conduct and integrity of some of the ‘companions’ of the prophet Muhammad” in a lecture he had delivered. According to the WiPC’s information, […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC is seriously concerned about the detention of writer, journalist and researcher Yasser al-Habib, who was arrested on 30 November 2003 and is believed to be detained in connection with a lecture he had given. Yasser al-Habib is said to have collapsed during one of his interrogation sessions, and there are serious […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: KUWAIT: Letter bomb injures editor’s secretary New York, December 11, 2003-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the letter bomb attack against the offices of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassah. At around 12 p.m. today, a secretary for Al-Siyassah editor Ahmed Jarallah was wounded when he opened […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 13 June 2003, RSF voiced concern about the government’s harassment of Mohammed Al-Jassem, editor-in-chief of “Al-Watan” newspaper and a staunch defender of press freedom, in the run-up to the upcoming legislative elections in Kuwait. In a letter to the information minister, Sheikh Ahmed Fahad Al-Ahmed, RSF said it was disturbed over the […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 21 March 2003 CPJ press release: CNN CREW EXPELLED FROM IRAQ New York, March 21, 2003-Iraqi officials today expelled the U.S. news network CNN from the capital, Baghdad. Correspondents Nic Robertson and Rym Barhimi, as well as a producer and cameraman, were ordered to leave the country and will […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has urged Kuwaiti Information Minister Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahd Al-Sabah to withdraw his threats against foreign journalists based in Kuwait who pass information onto Israeli news media. The organisation also asked him to ensure that visas and accreditation are issued promptly to Israeli journalists who request them. “Despite the lack of diplomatic relations […]

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an IFJ media release: IFJ Calls for Media to Strengthen Training Work After Death of Television Journalist A distinguished French television journalist who died in a Kuwaiti hospital on December 22nd, a day after he was injured while covering military exercises in the Kuwaiti desert, was reportedly trying to warn […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 4 November 2002, RSF condemned the Kuwaiti government’s closure of the local office of the Qatar-based regional television station Al-Jazeera. The organisation said it was proof of the “contempt many Arab governments have for press freedom.” The Kuwaiti Information Ministry ordered the office’s closure on 3 November, one day after the station […]

(WAN/IFEX) – In a 7 February 2002 letter to Minister of the Interior Sheikh Mohammed al-Hamad al-Sabah, WAN and the World Editors Forum expressed their outrage at the murder of journalist Hudaya Sultan al-Salem. According to reports recently brought to WAN and WEF’s attention, on 20 March 2001 Hudaya Sultan al-Salem, owner and editor-in-chief of […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of Information Sheikh Ahmed Fahd el Ahmed el Sabah, RSF protested the seizure and banning of the magazine “Al-Tadamon al-Arabi wal-Douali”. RSF Secretary General Robert Ménard asked the minister to “reconsider his decision.” “It would really be a pity if Kuwait, known for being one of the most […]