Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA)

An open letter by 44 organisations calls Iraq’s proposed Information Technology Crimes law a threat to the fundamental freedoms necessary for the evolution of free speech and a vibrant press. The law will come to vote in the Iraqi Council of Representatives in April.

Director Haroun Abu Arra said Israeli forces raided the network’s Jerusalem office, confiscated assorted equipment, and demanded the premises be evacuated.

Yousef Al-Shayeb is still charged with libel and slander following an investigative report he published in the Jordanian newspaper “Al-Ghad”.

Yousef Al Shayeb was arrested following the publication of an article in which he claimed the Palestinian Representative Office in Paris was involved in corruption.

To mark the occasion of International Women’s Day, MADA congratulates Palestinian women and women around the globe, especially journalists, on their accomplishments in all professional fields.

Fifty IFEX members and other rights groups call on the Bahrain authorities to release from prison human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, whose life is at risk since beginning a hunger strike on 8 February.

On 29 February 2012, Israeli forces raided the headquarters of both Watan and Educational Quds, confiscating computers, documents and radio equipment and leading to the suspension of their broadcasts.

MADA identified a total of 206 violations of media freedoms, with the murder of Italian journalist Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza representing the most serious violation of the year.