Lebanese blogger Imad Bazzi was denied entry to Egypt on 5 September, 2011, and sent back to Lebanon. Bazzi, who is also director of CyberACT — an NGO which advocates the usage of social media tools in order to create reforms in the Middle East and North African region — was told that his name “was on a list of people banned from entering at the request of a security apparatus”.
Courageous Bahraini free expression campaigner Nabeel Rajab finally got to make his contribution to this week’s IFEX General Meeting in Beirut on Thursday evening, not in person as planned, but via skype and laptop. (more…)
Al-Jazeera suspended its Arabic services in Syria yesterday (27 April) in response to attacks on its staff and government restrictions. The authorities have pressured Syrian nationals into resigning from the organisation and have prevented journalists from entering and reporting in Daraa, the city where the Syrian uprising began on March 15. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, unknown assailants have attacked the Al-Jazeera offices with eggs and stones for the past three days. The events mirror those in Egypt, where Al-Jazeera journalists were also subject to abuse and intimidation.
The Syrian regime has launched a massive crackdown against protestors demanding political reform in the country. The killing of protestors in 14 separate towns on April 22 heralded a dramatic escalation in violence. In an attempt to pre-empt further protests, the government ordered (25 April) tanks to move in to the city of Deera, which has been at the centre of unrest in the last few weeks. Human rights groups have estimated that 400 people have been killed by security forces since protests began five weeks ago.