Social networking site Twitter has come under a denial of service (DNS) attack, the site reports. The source of the attack is unkown. Twitter was a key part of reporting on unrest after Iran's disputed elections. Read more here
CATEGORY: Middle East and North Africa
Morocco: magazines confiscated
On 2 August it was reported that Moroccan magazines Telle Qu'elle and Nichane were confiscated after publishing a survey about how Moroccan’s view the monarchy. The government has promised to carry out the same action on any paper or magazine which...
Iran: Maziar Bahari in court
Canadian-Iranian filmmaker Maziar Bahari was among over 100 protestors, activists and journalists who appeared in court in Iran on Saturday, 1 August. Index on Censorship has been campaigning for his release with Newsweek, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. Maziar Bahari has not been allowed to see a lawyer since his detention on 21 June
West Bank journalist rearrested
The Palestinian intelligence service have arrested freelance journalist Mustafa Sabri in Qalqilya city north of the West Bank having only been released from preventative security prison a few days before. He has been arrested and interrogated many...
Iraq revives book censorship
Iraq's Ministry of Culture has revived regulations forbidding the import of some books, prompting critics to accuse it of restoring Saddam Hussein-era censorship. The ministry has begun requiring publishers to submit lists of titles for approval....
Iran releases 140 political prisoners
The Iranian government has released 140 people who were being detained for their part in the unrest following the disputed election. Another 150 people are believed to be still in detention. This comes amid increasing reports of abuse and torture...
Egyptian thinker threatened by Islamic extremists
Egyptian author and thinker Sayed Al-Qimni has been threatened and denounced as an apostate by Islamic organisations including Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya and the Muslim Brotherhood Since receiving the State Award of Merit in Social Sciences from the...
Terror group threaten Brüno star
Palestinian militant organisation, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade that was ridiculed in the new Sacha Baron Cohen film has threatened to "respond in the way we find suitable" against the London-born satirist. The armed wing of the Fatah movement, has...
Word “nakba” banned from textbook in Israel
The word nakba, Arabic for the "catastrophe" of the 1948 war, has been removed by Israel’s education ministry from a school textbook for Arab children. The ministry has said it does not want to undertmine the legitimacy of the state or promote Arab...
Jailed Egyptian poet acquitted
Egyptian poet and teacher Mounir Saeed Hanna who had previously been sentenced to three years imprisonment and a US$18,000 bail has been acquitted. He was originally charged with writing a poem that insulted the president. Read more here