CATEGORY: Middle East and North Africa

Israel says Swedish paper is libellous

Israelis have reacted furiously to an allegation in a Swedish newspaper that its soldiers have killed Palestinians in order to harvest their organs. Aftonbladet, Sweden's largest-circulation daily newspaper, carried the headline: "Our sons are...

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Iran: reformist newspaper shut down

The authorities have shut down the newspaper of the reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi, left, who angered Iran’s senior leaders by publicising claims that protesters arrested after the disputed June elections were raped in prison. The newspaper,...

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Iran bails French teaching assistant

Iran has freed on bail a 24-year-old French university lecturer who was charged with spying after last month's presidential election. A statement from the French presidency said Clotilde Reiss was in good health and would stay at the French embassy...

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Iraqi protests against censorship

Journalists, writers and booksellers united in Baghdad today to stage a protest against censorship. The protesters are concerned about encroachments by the government on the freedom of writers, both in print and online. The demonstration took place...

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Iran inmates “tortured to death”

Iran's defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karoubi said on his website that some of those detained after the country's disputed June presidential vote were tortured to death in prison. The claim by Mehdi Karroubi comes days after he said a number...

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Tunisian government smears Al Jazeera

A government campaign is taking place in Tunisia to discredit Al Jazeera as "the mouthpiece of opposition" to President Ben Ali’s government according to Reporters Without Borders. State owned media and television are being seen to criticise the...

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Iran admits protesters were tortured

Iran's police chief, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, has acknowledged that protesters detained in post-election unrest were tortured in custody, but says the deaths of detainees were caused by illness, not torture. The police commander has fired the head...

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