BBC cameraman killed, security correspondent critically injured in Riyadh drive-by shooting
(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an IFJ statement: Deadly Saudi Attack on BBC Team Highlights Terrorism and Safety Challenge for Journalism The killing of a BBC cameraman and the wounding of a reporter in Saudi Arabia yesterday highlight the increasingly frightening choices facing journalists who report from the world’s most dangerous regions, said the International […]
Journalist released
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN has received information that journalist Faris Hizam Al-Harbi, who was reportedly detained on 21 April 2004, has been freed. However, an 8 March order banning him from practicing his profession remains in force. International PEN welcomes the journalist’s release, but is seriously concerned that he and many other […]
Journalist reportedly arrested, CPJ seeks information on his whereabouts
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 29 April 2004 letter to Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, CPJ expressed concern over reports that Saudi journalist Fares bin Hizam, formerly with the daily newspapers “Al-Watan” and “Asharq al-Awsat”, has been detained by Saudi authorities. According to press reports and CPJ sources in Saudi Arabia, Bin Hizam was […]
Gay websites censored
(RSF/IFEX) – Since early March 2004, Saudi authorities have blocked access to the website Gaymiddleeast.com, a news site for the Middle East’s homosexual community. RSF has called on the Internet Service Unit (ISU), the agency responsible for the Internet in Saudi Arabia, to lift the ban on this and other similar websites. The site was […]
Writer and publisher arrested
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is deeply concerned about the arrests of writer Ali Al-Domaini and publisher Mohammed Said Tayib, who are believed to be among several leading Saudi intellectuals to have been detained since 15 March 2004 for criticising the authorities. Ali Al-Domaini and Mohammed Said Tayib are believed to be held […]
International PEN Writers in Prison Committee focuses on case of journalist Wajeha Al-Huwaider to mark International Women’s Day
(WiPC/IFEX) – The following is a Writers in Prison Committee press release: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 8 MARCH 2004 SAUDI ARABIA: Wajeha Al-Huwaider ‘We live in troubled times. The current situation and the challenges and dilemmas facing the country require a considered vision of the future and reform. The men and women of this country must […]
Editor-in-chief of Malaysian daily “New Straits Times” fired as a result of Saudi pressure
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the dismissal of “New Straits Times” editor-in-chief Abdullah Ahmad on 21 November 2003, following the direct intervention of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The prime minister said the editor-in-chief’s dismissal came as a result of a report about Saudi Arabian policies. “This case illustrates Saudi Arabia’s inability to tolerate […]
Intimidation campaign targets opposition and liberal media
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on the Saudi government to stop its extensive intimidation of the country’s media, which has included jamming the radio station Al-Islah, cutting off opposition television broadcasts and making death threats to liberal journalists. Al-Islah, a radio station run by the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA), is the first […]
CPJ condemns government harassment of journalists
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 14 October 2003 letter to Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz al-Saud, CPJ condemned the government’s harassment of Wajeha al-Huwaider, a writer for the Arabic-language daily “Al-Watan” and the English-language daily “Arab News”. CPJ sources confirmed that the Information Ministry issued directives in late August effectively barring al-Huwaider from publishing her […]
Information Ministry bans columnist from writing
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 30 July 2003 CPJ press release: SAUDI ARABIA: Information Ministry bans columnist from writing New York, July 30, 2003-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the Saudi Arabian Information Ministry’s decision to ban Saudi writer Hussein Shobokshi from writing his weekly newspaper column. According to a July 29 Reuters […]
Citing recent press crackdown, Human Rights Watch reiterates call for rights reforms
(HRW/IFEX) – The following is a Human Rights Watch press release: Without Rights Reforms, Saudi Media Blitz Will Fail (New York, June 18, 2003) — Without basic human rights reforms, Saudi Arabia’s new media campaign in the United States will not change public opinion about the kingdom, Human Rights Watch said today. “Continuing restrictions on […]
Removal of “Al-Watan” editor-in-chief condemned
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the dismissal of the daily “Al-Watan”‘s editor-in-chief, Jamal Khashoggi, who learned from senior Saudi officials on 27 May 2003 that he was being fired. His removal comes after the newspaper ran several reports and editorials openly criticising the religious authorities, especially the mutawa (religious police). Khashoggi’s dismissal was “an arbitrary […]
Saudi reformers seek free expression guarantees
(HRW/IFEX) – The following is a Human Rights Watch press release: Saudi Arabia: Reforms Needed to Fight Terror (New York, May 21, 2003) ? Legal and political reforms long promised by the Saudi government should be speeded up in light of the latest anti-terror campaign, Human Rights Watch urged today. In January 2003, on its […]
Al-Jazeera barred from covering Hajj rites in Mecca
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the Saudi Consultative Council (Majlis Al-Shoura), RSF has condemned the ban imposed on the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera, barring the station from covering the Hajj rites. “As the guardian of holy Islamic sites, the Saudi authorities must demonstrate their open-mindedness and accredit, without discrimination, all stations that wish to […]
Journalist jailed for past three years
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the Saudi Consultative Council (Majlis Al-Shoura), RSF has called for the immediate release of journalist Saleh Al-Harith, aged 34. Al-Harith was arrested in April 2000 in the city of Najran, and is presently detained at the prison in Dammam, in the country’s east. “This journalist has been unfairly jailed […]
MSNBC journalist’s materials confiscated
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 23 April 2002 letter to Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz al-Saud, CPJ protested an incident on 21 April in which Saudi authorities confiscated videotapes and a laptop computer from Bob Arnot, a reporter for the U.S. cable television channel MSNBC. On 21 April, security officials at the Riyadh airport escorted […]