Press and Cultural Freedom In Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Annual Report 2012
SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom Samir Kassir Foundation © 2013 Samir Kassir Foundation Address: 63 Zahrani Street, Sioufi, Ashrafieh, Beirut - Lebanon Tel/Fax: (961)-1-397331 Email: [email protected] http://www.skeyesmedia.org
The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of the Samir Kassir Foundation and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of the Samir Kassir Foundation and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation for the Future.
Translation: Nada Sleiman English editing: Eric Reidy
Graphic design: Jamal Awada Printing: Chemaly & Chemaly, Beirut Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Contents
foreword 5
Skeyes in 2012 7
Lebanon 10
Syria 18 jordan 27
Gaza 32 west bank 36
1948 Territories 42 conclusion 47
Facts & figures 48 french version 57
3
Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Foreword 2012: A Bloodred Year
Ayman Mhanna
Did the founders of the SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom expect in 2007 that a year would come when the Center would count 91 journalists, intellectuals, artists and citizen journalists killed in the Arab Levant?
Unfortunately, the number of journalists, intellectuals and artists killed this year overshadows the relative improvement of most press and cultural freedom indicators, which include a decrease in cases of physical assaults, arrests and censorship decisions. However, the number of those killed is more than five times the death toll of 2011. Every four days in 2012 a journalist, an intellectual, an artist or a citizen journalist was killed. Ninety-six percent of this year’s deaths occurred within Syrian territory.
The following trends and developments affected press and cultural freedom in 2012:
First and foremost, in Syria the regime launched a systematic campaign to silence journalists, human rights activists and cultural figures who did not abide by the official discourse. The regime used all available techniques, including arrests, kidnappings, torture and assassination, to eliminate oppositional voices. Across the country, regime snipers regularly targeted citizen journalists. On the other side of the conflict, opposition factions began attacking pro-regime journalists, reporters and media outlets, especially in the last four months of the year. As a result, media professionals have become easy prey and scapegoats for Syria’s feuding camps.
Additionally, the increasing number of foreign journalists entering Syria to cover the conflict and tell the story of the Syrian people’s suffering was an important phenomenon in 2012. While correspondents working for large international media groups receive some training to operate in conflict zones and can count on support and a follow-up network in case of danger, this was not the case for the many freelancers who rushed to Syria, seeing this as a golden opportunity to standout and build a name for themselves. Most of them lack the experience and the preparation needed to overcome the complex dangers they will likely face on the ground, which include bombardments by the regime’s army, kidnappings by pro-regime militias and intelligence services, kidnappings by fundamentalist Islamist groups, and the risk of dealing with some local, inexperienced fixers who would put them in further danger or willingly push them into harm’s way in hopes of financial gain. While some international journalists wrote or shot ground- breaking reports in Syria that will become landmark references in the future, it is vital to conduct a thorough assessment of the overall work of reporters in Syria in order to provide those who go there with the best possible protection.
5 foreword
Comparatively, Lebanon’s experience with media and cultural freedom was more of a mixed picture. On the one hand, cultural liberties improved slightly in 2012. The number of censorship decisions decreased, although not enough, and the judiciary ruled in favor of artists in all cases related to freedom of expression this year. On the other hand, journalists, reporters and photographers were – more than anywhere else in the region – treated violently by both official security services and non-state actors. Most importantly, no action was taken to hold the perpetrators of such attacks accountable. The government’s failure to act allowed political, religious, confessional and tribal groups to freely break all legal and moral standards with regards to media and cultural freedoms. These groups imposed their own censorship on many cultural performances, detained and interrogated journalists and even resorted to torture and physical violence in numerous cases. Unfortunately, impunity for non-state actors and political factions has become an expected trait characterizing most sectors in Lebanon, including media and culture. Impunity is now the most dangerous challenge facing public liberties and the reason for Lebanon’s consistent downgrading in freedom rankings compiled by specialized international organizations.
While Jordan had the lowest number of direct violations recorded on paper, media and cultural freedoms in the Hashemite Kingdom were in fact far from protected. The level of public interference in the media, most notably by the intelligence services, has led to a high level of self-censorship among journalists and artists in an attempt to avoid trouble. The restrictive amendment of the Press and Publications Law, and provisions related to the Internet in particular, are yet further evidence of the government’s decision to curtail freedom of expression under the disguise of regulations, norms and standards.
Within the regional picture, Palestine appeared as the only place where the space for media and cultural freedom actually increased. The reconciliation – although incomplete – between Fatah and Hamas led to a decrease in the number of journalists summoned by government authorities and in the number of media professionals arrested. However, these practices did not disappear altogether. The Palestinian Authority showed little tolerance for articles denouncing the frequent cases of corruption within its administration or for posts on social networks criticizing President Mahmoud Abbas. Additionally, artistic creativity still faces insurmountable obstacles imposed by Hamas on religious grounds in the Gaza Strip.
The only consistent feature in Palestine was the relentlessness of Israeli violations. Journalists paid a heavy toll during the November 2012 attack on Gaza. Three of them lost their lives, and many others saw their offices and homes destroyed. In the West Bank, Israeli soldiers targeted journalists systematically during protests denouncing settlements and the occupation. In the 1948 Territories, the frequency of physical assaults on journalists was only matched by the number of racist laws and regulations directed against Arab citizens’ cultural and linguistic heritage.
All these harsh developments prove by the day how crucial the existence of the SKeyes Center is in order to give a voice to the region’s journalists and intellectuals and provide them with protection and a framework for support. This is our pledge to Samir Kassir, to those who founded the Center in 2007, and to a colleague who shared his young, rebellious and freedom-loving spirit with all those who work at SKeyes before his untimely departure from us… Wajih Ajouz, we miss you every day. We dedicate this report to you, hoping it will be the last one that mentions the killing of any journalist or artist in this part of the world.
6 Skeyes in 2012
SKEYES IN 2012
January 22-24 SKeyes participates in the Arab Free Press Forum organized by the World Association for Newspapers in Tunis, Tunisia.
January 25 SKeyes launches the sixth issue of its newsletter “SKeyes Info”.
January 30-31 SKeyes participates in a press freedom defenders’ meeting titled “Supporting Arab media in transitional and (post)conflict contexts” organized by the Doha Center for Media Freedom in Doha, Qatar.
February 23 SKeyes and Media Against Violence hold a solidarity sit-in with journalists victims of violence in Syria at the Samir Kassir Square in downtown Beirut, Lebanon.
March 14 SKeyes joins forces with freedom of expression activists to block the approval of a draft law to regulate the Internet in Lebanon.
March 23 SKeyes participates in the European Union Cooperation Day held in Beirut, Lebanon and promotes its reports and freedom of expression agenda.
March 27 SKeyes launches its 2011 Press and Cultural Freedom Annual Report.
April 10 SKeyes and the French Institute in Lebanon host a public discussion with French TV presenter Aïda Touihri titled “How to make international news accessible to the wider public” at the French Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
April 19 SKeyes participates in a conference titled “The Arab Spring Challenges during Political Transitions and Comparative Lessons for Civil Societies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)” in Amman, Jordan organized by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the Arab Reform Initiative and the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Centre on Conflict, Development and Peace-Building.
May 1 SKeyes participates in the Graffiti Night in solidarity with graffiti artists arrested by the police in Beirut, Lebanon.
May 2-3 On the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day, SKeyes, UNESCO and IREX organize a training workshop titled “Youth Advocates for Press Freedom” in Amman, Jordan.
May 7 SKeyes participates in conference titled “Press Freedom: Major Challenges and Professional Responsibilities” organized by UNESCO in Beirut, Lebanon.
May 30 SKeyes and seven other international press freedom and human rights organizations issue a joint statement about Mazen Darwish and the court cases against members of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression arrested in Syria on February 16.
7 skeyes in 2012
SKEYES IN 2012
June 15 SKeyes and the French Institute in Lebanon host a public discussion with French journalist Audrey Pulvar titled “Entertainment and Political Talk-Shows: a Difficult Mix?” at the French Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
June 21 SKeyes and 82 other international press freedom and human rights organizations issue a joint call to release freedom of expression defenders held incommunicado in Syria
June 21-22 SKeyes participates in a seminar in Montpellier, France titled “e-Politics: After the Revolutions, Elections” organized by Canal France International.
June 27 SKeyes and Civic Hub organize a debate on “Taboos in Lebanese Journalism” in Beirut, Lebanon.
July 2 SKeyes launches “Mamnou3”, a satirical web-series about the day-to-day inner workings of Lebanon’s censorship bureau during a special screening held at AltCity in Beirut, Lebanon.
July 13-15 SKeyes hosts an international conference titled “Election Coverage: New Trends, New Challenges” with the support of the European Union, the Foundation for the Future and Canal France International at the Al-Bustan Hotel, Beit Mery, Lebanon.
September 23 SKeyes and 15 international press freedom and human rights organizations launch the Initiative Against Enforced Disappearance and Arbitrary Detention in Syria during a meeting hosted by the International Federation for Human Rights in Paris, France.
September 29-October 1 SKeyes hosts a training workshop for Palestinian journalists on creative feature story writing in English at the Dead Sea, Jordan.
October 5 SKeyes participates in a round table about reforming the media sector in Lebanon hosted by Beyond Reform and Development in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 6 SKeyes participates in a debate about censorship and freedom of expression held at the Share Beirut conference in Sin el-Fil, Lebanon.
October 13 SKeyes launches a special publication in French titled “Media and Cultural Freedom – Selected Articles and Challenges” including special feature stories written for the Center and about its activities.
October 26-November 4 SKeyes hosts a stand at the Francophone Book Fair of Beirut, Lebanon and organizes an exhibition of Syrian artist Juan Zero’s drawings. The stand also showcases civic initiatives in Lebanon by ALEF – Act for Human Rights, Dispatch Beirut, the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections, Nahwa al-Muwatiniya and MAJAL – Urban Studies Institute.
8 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
SKEYES IN 2012
October 30 SKeyes hosts a roundtable discussion on “Re-building the Day After” at the Francophone Book Fair with Lebanese architects Bernard Khoury and Serge Yazigi, Barrie Freeman, North Africa Director of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and Riccardo Bocco, the Head of the Political Sociology Department and the Geneva Graduate Institute.
November 3 “Mamnou3” is publically screened at the Geneva International Film Festival in Switzerland and competes for the “2012 Best Web-Series Award”.
November 12 SKeyes participates in a press conference held in Beirut, Lebanon by the parents of Austin Tice, a US reporter missing in Syria.
November 16-18 SKeyes participates in the “Halifax International Security Forum” organized by the Canadian Ministry of Defense and Foreign Affairs Magazine in Halifax, Canada.
November 20 SKeyes launches a special publication titled “A Tribute to Wajih Ajouz” in remembrance of the Center’s researcher who tragically passed away in a car accident on September 14.
November 29-December 1 SKeyes organizes a training workshop on fact-checking at the French Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
December 3 SKeyes participates in a public debate on censorship in Lebanon at the American University of Beirut.
December 7 SKeyes and the French Institute in Lebanon host a public discussion with French journalists Yann Barthès and Julien Beau titled “Political Satire: Journalism or Entertainment?” at the French Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
December 11 SKeyes joins the Technical Working Group on Elections facilitated by the United Nations Development Program’s Lebanese Election Assistance Committee, including several local and international organizations working for a transparent and democratic electoral process in Lebanon.
December 15 SKeyes participates in a training session on “Middle-East Digital Activism” organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Lebanese Transparency Association in Beirut, Lebanon.
9 lebanon 2012
Lebanese Journalists Suffer the Consequences of Aggressions and Partisan Censorship
Rima Awad
For the second consecutive year media and cultural the attack – and was caught red-handed – was violations in Lebanon clearly highlighted the released on minimal bail raises many questions impact of the Syrian conflict on Lebanese press about the protection of media institutions in the freedom. The most tragic event was the killing case of a recurrence of such aggression. It is of New TV cameraman Ali Shaaban. Shaaban widely believed that political officials intervened was shot by the Syrian army while covering a to secure his release. Furthermore, former story with two colleagues near the northern MP Nasser Kandil, in an interview with the Syrian Lebanese-Syrian border region of Wadi Khaled. TV channel Al-Dounia, warned several journalists Members of the Syrian army were indicted, but that they may suffer severe consequence for no concrete effort was made to bring them to their coverage of the Syrian conflict, which he justice. Additionally, Syrian intelligence services deemed to be unfavorable to the regime. Kandil gathered information about journalists who specifically mentioned the name of Al-Arabiya signed a solidarity statement titled “Southern host Najwa Kassem, who responded by stating Lebanese Citizens Supporting the Revolution of she held Kandil responsible for her safety and their Brothers in Syria”. that of her family in Lebanon.
In another important violation, snipers opened Also in 2012, non-state armed groups abducted fire on journalists covering demonstrations in or held several journalists and questioned them Tripoli’s Abu Ali square, injuring Sky News live in violation of all applicable laws. Members broadcasting engineer Hussein Nakhleh in the of Hezbollah arrested journalist Rami Aysha head and Canadian journalist Maria Moore in the and beat him during interrogation. He was leg. then transferred to the custody of the military intelligence who continued the abusive treatment. Also, dozens of other acts of aggression were Additionally, Hezbollah members briefly held carried out against media professionals. Al- NOW Lebanon journalists Ana Maria Luca and Arabiya photographer Alain Khoury and producer Naziha Baassiri while they were attempting to Georges Nassif were attacked while filming a cover security developments in the eastern Bekaa report between the Bab El-Tabbaneh and Jabal village of Nabishit. In August, gunmen stormed Mohsen neighborhoods in Tripoli. Protesters Al-Yassariya TV channel’s headquarters and expressing their solidarity with missing people in abducted three employees. Syria attacked cars belonging to the LBC, OTV, MTV and New TV channels on the airport While no legal action was taken against people road, insulted the journalists inside and beat a who assaulted journalists, the justice system number of them. Fifteen employees who were played a positive role in defending artistic laid-off by PAC and LBC, as well as members and cultural freedoms and several artists were of their families, were injured during a quarrel acquitted of the charges they were facing after with security forces. The former employees were their trials, such as bloggers and human rights protesting in front of the company’s headquarters activists Khodor Salameh and Ali Fakhry who in Adma for the payment of their severance drew graffiti in support of the Syrian revolution. packages. Additionally, masked gunmen burned Also, Beirut courts dropped charges against tires and opened fire outside Lebanon’s New graffiti artist Semaan Khawam for his painting TV offices after trying to storm the building. of military figures on various walls in Beirut and The fact that the individual who spearheaded actors Edmund Haddad and Rawiya Al-Chab,
10 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
who were accused of disrespecting public morals National Council of Audiovisual Media regarding in their stand-up comedy sketch “Halleluiah it’s LBC’s sexual education talk show “Lazem raining”. In an unprecedented move, Danielle Taaref ” (You Must Know) and New TV’s “Lil Arbid, director of the film “Beirut Hotel”, filed a Nashr” (To Be Published). A Facebook campaign lawsuit against the Lebanese State for censoring was launched against cartoonist Pierre Sadek after her movie. he published an image depicting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Al-Joumhouriya newspaper However, General Security threatened to sue and on his website. Movie theaters stopped journalist Michel Hajji Georgiou for writing screening the film “Tannoura Maxi” until several an article titled “Abbas Ibrahim Following the scenes were modified or censored following Footsteps of Jamil Sayed?”, which was published pressure exerted by the Catholic Information in the daily L’Orient-Le Jour. General Security Center on General Security. Rasha Al-Amin, a also confiscated activist Wissam Tarif ’s passport first-year journalism student, was questioned and prevented him from traveling to Turkey. and received threats following an article she Furthermore, Lebanon’s censorship bureau wrote about the political influence of certain censored a scene from the comedy “To Baalbek” political parties within the Lebanese University. at the request of the Internal Security Forces. Furthermore, a painting by artist Zeina Al-Khalil Scenes from the Turkish movie “Fetih 1453” and depicting Hassan Nasrallah next to Shakira the Lebanese movie “Tannoura Maxi” were also was removed from the Beirut Art Fair in BIEL censored at the request of Christian religious because of pressure exerted by Hezbollah authorities. Lebanese army intelligence arrested members. rap artist Pierre Hashash because of comments he had posted on Facebook. He was violently Also in 2012, Lebanese media institutions beaten in the Batroun souk and released a week dismissed a large number of employees. PAC and later with no charges brought against him. LBC fired 397 employees, Al-Mustaqbal daily and Future TV dismissed 35 employees, MTV laid- Unfortunately, non-state censorship increased in off five journalists and technicians and LBC SAT scale in 2012. Religious authorities, political parties later terminated the contracts of 51 additional and community organizations complained to the staff.
11 Lebanon 2012
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
January
1/11 Al-Jaras Magazine’s Facebook page hacked. 1/18 Journalist Paula Yacoubian’s Facebook page hacked. 1/19 Belgian singer Lara Fabian cancels her concerts at the Casino du Liban after calls to boycott her performance initiated by the Campaign to Boycott Israel. 1/19 NOW Lebanon’s website hacked. February
2/4 MTV reporter forced to delete pictures taken in a spoiled chips production plant. 2/6 NBN’s website hacked. 2/8 The Military Tribunal sentences human rights activist Ali Khalil to two months in prison, later commuted to a fine, for tarnishing the reputation of the Directorate General of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), libel, slander and defamation. 2/9 Hacking attempts into the Lebanese Forces’ official website. 2/9 Former MP Nasser Kandil warns journalist Najwa Kassem of severe consequences for not supporting the Syrian regime and announces the establishment of a “Media War Crimes Tribunal”. 2/23 LBC and New TV cameramen forced to delete footage of Electricité du Liban (EDL) workers in Tarik Al-Jdideh. 2/24 A Turkish exhibit at the Monroe Hotel stormed by supporters of the Armenian cause. 2/24 Online and media campaign attacking cartoonist Pierre Sadek for publishing a cartoon depicting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. March
3/1 “Anonymous Lebanon” claims responsibility for hacking into four Lebanese government websites. 3/2 Journalist Ali Atwi receives threats on Facebook for expressing his opposition to the death penalty after the assassination of Mohammad Al-Natout in Saida. 3/8 The Ministry of Labor’s website hacked.
12 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
3/14 Photographers and reporters face obstacles imposed by organizers during coverage of the March 14 alliance’s convention at BIEL. 3/16 Comedians from the satirical show Ma Fi Metlo receive death threats via text messages. 3/19 “Arab Attack” hacks into the website of the online publication Al-Kifah Al-Arabi. 3/20 Producer Omar Abhiss receives threats after he published a statement condemning the dismissal of employees working for Palestine Today TV. 3/24 Four web-pages belonging to journalist Rouaida Mroueh hacked. April
4/2 MTV cameraman Elie Assaker assaulted while filming a report in a school where a pupil was allegedly raped. 4/9 New TV cameraman Ali Shaaban killed by the Syrian Army at the Lebanese-Syrian border in Wadi Khaled. His colleagues Hussein Khreiss and Abdel-Azim Khayat targeted by gunshots. 4/11 Brawl between MTV crew and the Kataeb Party headquarters’ security agents in Saifi. 4/14 Gunshots aimed at journalist Mustapha Mustapha Geha’s car in Damour. 4/15 The Lebanese Press Photographers’ website hacked. 4/16 The “Erfaa Sawtak” (Raise Your Voice) group claims responsibility for the hacking of 16 Lebanese government websites two times. 4/16 MTV’s website hacked. 4/20 Bloggers Khodor Salameh and Ali Fakhry arrested for drawing pro-Syrian revolution graffiti on walls in the Bechara El-Khoury neighborhood of Beirut. 4/21 Policemen beat up photographers Khaled Ayad and Hussein Beydoun during a solidarity sit-in with Khodor Salameh and Ali Fakhry. 4/25 Al-Arabiya cameraman Alain Khoury and producer Georges Nassif assaulted while filming a report between Bab El-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen in Tripoli. 4/26 The website of the Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah Foundation hacked. 4/28 Journalist and political activist Bechara Khairallah receives threats in reaction to his political positions.
13 Lebanon 2012
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
May
5/3 US Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman’s bodyguards hinder the work of photographers covering his meeting with MP Walid Jumblatt at the latter’s house in Clémenceau. 5/5 TV host Mona Abou Hamzeh’s Facebook page hacked. 5/15 Journalist Sohaib Ayoub assaulted twice within a few hours in Tripoli while shooting a report at the Nour Square and in the Zahrieh neighborhood. 5/17 Unidentified militants assault a Russia Today TV crew in Tripoli. 5/20 A New TV crew assaulted in Abdeh in North Lebanon. 5/21 Future TV cameraman Naji Mazboudi beaten in Tarik Al-Jdideh. 5/21 The film “Tannoura Maxi” removed from movie theaters under the pressure of the Catholic Information Center. It was screened again a few days later after some scenes were censored. 5/21 General Security censors a scene from the film “To Baalbeck” at the request of the ISF. 5/28 Journalist Afif Diab receives threats after publishing an article about Ziad Homsi, accused of collaboration with Israel. June
6/2 Journalist Afif Diab assaulted by relatives of Ziad Homsi while working on a report in the Chtaura area in the Bekaa. 6/10 Journalists Ghadi Francis and Firas Al-Shoufi beaten by Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) militants while covering the party’s internal elections in Dhour El-Shweir. 6/13 Journalist Luna Safwan receives threats on her Facebook page for criticizing SSNP. 6/14 MTV’s medical talk-show “The Doctors” suspended at the request of the Order of Physicians. 6/14 Youkal.Net news website hacked. 6/14 Student Rasha Al-Amin summoned for questioning and threatened after publishing an article denouncing Amal Movement’s political control over the Faculty of Information at the Lebanese University. 6/15 Palestinian Human Rights Foundation (PHRF)’s website hacked. 6/18 Al-Manar cameraman Khodor Markiz assaulted on the Airport road.
14 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
6/25 Masked men attack the New TV headquarters, burn tires around it and fire at the building. 6/25 Télé Liban cameraman Mohammad Rahmeh harassed and his camera confiscated by protesters in the Bechara El-Khoury neighborhood. 6/25 Army Intelligence detains Jordanian filmmaker Sandra Madi at the Nahr El-Bared refugee camp, interrogates her for four hours. 6/28 Al-Manar reporter Dia’ Abu Taam and two cameramen arrested near MPs Sethrida Geagea and Antoine Zahra’ s houses in Zouk Mosbeh. July
7/3 Political activist Chadi Nachabé’s website hacked. 7/12 A painting by artist Zeina Al-Khalil depicting Hassan Nasrallah next to Shakira removed from exhibit at BIEL under pressure from Hezbollah members. 7/19 The president of PHRF Abdel-Aziz Tarekji assaulted in Saida. 7/19 Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) supporters assault MTV and OTV crews during a sit-in denouncing EDL workers’ strike. 7/26 FPM supporters hinder the work of an MTV crew during another sit-in denouncing EDL workers’ strike in Ashrafieh. 7/26 Journalists Mahmoud Al-Zayat and Jamal Al-Gharbi beaten by security forces in Saida. 7/28 OTV’s website hacked. August
8/3 Members of Gisèle Hashem Zard’s theater company beaten during a brawl with Kfardebian’s Mukhtar. 8/10 An-Nahar daily and Al-Mayadeen TV correspondent Abbas Sabbagh insulted and manhandled during a sit-in by relatives of Lebanese pilgrims abducted in Syria. 8/15 Live broadcast vehicles of several TV channels attacked during a solidarity sit-in with Lebanese hostages in Syria. 8/15 Masked men storm Al-Yassariya TV headquarters, abduct three employees and release them two hours later. 8/16 Journalist Joseph Abu Fadel injured in the hand after his car was attacked in Kab Elias on his way back from Syria.
15 Lebanon 2012
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
8/16 Artist Semaan Khawam receives threats on Facebook in reaction to his pro-Syrian revolution positions. 8/23 Pro-Syrian regime militants hack Al-Mayadeen TV’s Twitter account. 8/24 Sky News Arabia technician Hussein Nakhleh and Canadian reporter Maria Moore hit by sniper fire in Tripoli. 8/26 Associated Press photographer Ghassan Sweidan assaulted in Bab El-Tebbaneh in Tripoli. 8/27 Unidentified individuals assault an MTV crew in Tripoli and prevent reporter Berna Nehmeh Shadid from continuing her live report. 8/28 Amateur photographers prevented from taking pictures in Ain El-Mreisseh because they did not get prior approval from the Beirut Governor’s office. 8/30 Journalist Rami Aysha abducted, interrogated and tortured by Hezbollah members before being handed to the Army Intelligence where he was also subjected to physical violence. September
9/9 Army Intelligence arrests Al-Diyar daily Tripoli correspondent Domouh Al-Asmar and releases her after three hours while investigating plans to kidnap Syrian opposition militants in Lebanon. 9/14 After setting the KFC restaurant on fire in Tripoli, Islamist militants attack The Daily Star photographer Antoine Amrieh and break his camera. 9/19 Soldiers and Parliament policemen assault civic militants and bloggers from the Civil Campaign for Electoral Reform at Place de l’Etoile in downtown Beirut. 9/25 Security agent at Le Mall’s shopping center in Dbayeh beat up The Daily Star photographer Hassan Shaaban. October
10/2 Security forces prevent journalists from covering a student sit-in at the Lebanese University. 10/3 NOW Lebanon journalists Ana Maria Luca and Naziha Baassiri briefly held and questioned by Hezbollah militants in Nabishit inthe Bekaa valley. 10/5 MTV broadcasts a modified version of TV series “Rome” with several sex scenes deleted.
16 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
10/10 Several scenes of the Turkish film “Fetih 1453” censored by the General Security as a condition for its screening in movie theaters. 10/15 An-Nahar’s website hacked several times during the same day. 10/22 Molotov bombs thrown at a Télé Liban crew in Tarik Al-Jdideh. November
11/6 A Télé Liban news presenter beats a female colleague causing her multiple fractures. 11/6 At the request of the Nurses’ Syndicate, TV channels suspend advertisement broadcasts for the energy drink XXL. 11/12 Al-Mayadeen TV correspondent Omar Kayed slapped by a supporter of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Assir in Saida. 11/14 General Security bans the import of three DVDs of movies directed by Pierre Dawalibi under the pretext that he was not able to produce the permits to shoot these films. 11/21 Army Intelligence members violently beat up and arrest rap singer Pierre Hashash in Batroun after he posted Facebook comments criticizing Army Commander General Jean Kahwaji. 11/23 ISF destroys an art installation by Dispatch Beirut commemorating Lebanon’s Independence Day in Martyrs’ Square. 11/26 The Lebanese Parliamentary Monitor’s website hacked. December
12/8 Fifteen dismissed employees of PAC and LBC and their relatives beaten by security forces in front of LBC’s headquarters in Adma. 12/15 American University of Beirut student Ahmad Zahreddine prevented from taking pictures at Place de l’Etoile in downtown Beirut under the pretext he did not receive prior authorization.
17 Syria 2012
Journalists at the Gates of Hell
Jaber Baker
In 2012, clashes between the military and media activists and professionals showed the rebel forces were particularly deadly for regime’s determination to silence dissenting journalists and intellectuals in Syria. In total, journalists and intellectuals in addition to the 85 journalists, citizen journalists, writers and usual use of arbitrary arrests as well as torture. artists and two human rights activists were For example, local media centers established by killed in the country. This tragedy is the logical the opposition in Deir Baalba, Al-Khalidiyeh and result of the Syrian regime’s intransigence and Baba Amr in Homs were targeted and a number its determination to opt for a military response of journalists and citizen journalists were killed, to the popular uprising. The conflict turned including American war reporter Mary Colvin into a large-scale, destructive operation that and French photographer Rémi Ochlik. could be described as an “open-door” conflict. In other words, the conflict has become an A group of plain-clothed armed men raided open gateway for the use of a variety of lethal the offices of the Syrian Center for Media and weapons. Additionally, the Syrian scene became Freedom of Expression and arrested the entire a regional battlefield. The civil aspect of the staff and the center’s director, Mazen Darwish. revolution was almost entirely destroyed, its At the time of this report’s printing, Darwish peaceful nature completely vanished and the and two of his colleagues remain in the original approach, based on non-violence, was custody of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence. largely eradicated. According to the relevant Their health and detention conditions remain international organizations, Syria is the worst unknown, and harsh sentences might be issued place on earth for journalists as a result of the against them. clashes between the regime and the armed opposition reaching unprecedented levels of February 2012 witnessed the year’s first case of violence. Yet, it is important to stress the fact a citizen journalist’s death under torture when that the regime shells and destroys cities using Abdul-Razzak Darwish died while in custody warplanes and sophisticated missiles while the in Deir Ez-Zor. The use of torture became opposition resorts to lighter weapons. nearly systematic, and several other writers and journalists later died as a result of violent The year began with the murder of Syrian interrogation. The use of torture proves that journalist Shokri Abul-Borghol, who was killed the bloody repression of activists, journalists by a pro-regime sniper in Daraya. However, and intellectuals is part of a predetermined the public media pretended that gunmen broke plan. into his house and killed him simply because he worked for a government-owned media outlet. The number of murders increased in the Also, French journalist Gilles Jacquier died following months and reached an unspeakable while covering a rally in Homs after being hit level of atrocity with the execution of the citizen by shrapnel. Several journalists accompanying journalist Khaled Mahmoud Kabisho in Idlib. Jacquier accused the regime of not providing Kabisho’s head was crushed by an army tank. them with necessary protections while reporting from regions under government control. Starting June 2012, armed rebels began targeting journalists working for the regime’s Violence in Syria increased dramatically in media outlets. Members of the opposition February with the killing of five Syrian journalists bombed the Al-Ikhbariya TV offices and who were reporting on military operations in killed three journalists. They also assaulted a Homs. This radical escalation in violence against correspondent working for the channel who
18 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
was covering events from the city of Aleppo which reinforces the suspicion that he was in fact live on TV. This trend took a dangerous abducted by the regime. The video seems to have turn when the Al-Nusra Front abducted and been staged, and several elements show that the executed Mohammad Al-Saïd, a Syrian state men in the video are not actually members of television presenter. In addition to attacking Al-Qaeda or other fundamentalist organizations. members of the pro-regime media, rebels also In actuality, fundamentalist groups had abducted targeted Western journalists who began to take John Cantlie and Jeroen Oerlemans in July 2012, a stand against jihadist movements in Syria. but they have not released videos or mentioned For example, fundamentalist groups kidnapped the names of the kidnapped journalists in their Dutch photographer Jeroen Oerlemans and reports. In contrast, the kidnappers of Anhar British reporter John Cantlie in July 2012. Kochneva did release videos of the rebel-held Ukranian translator and blogger. The Syrian regime’s crackdown on journalists, intellectuals and artists took various forms. Additionally, the regime’s intelligence services Sculptor Wael Kastoun was tortured to death carried out several abduction and negotiation in a detention center in Homs. In August, seven operations. The most important operation was journalists were killed and 13 other journalists, the kidnapping of Turkish journalist Cuneyt activists and writers lost their lives during the Unal. Negotiations were initiated with both the month of September. The regime’s crimes Turkish government and the opposition before continued with the execution of writer Ibrahim his release. However, the regime is still refusing Al-Kharit and his two sons in Deir Ez-Zor in to provide information on the detention of front of their neighbors and family. Another Unal’s employer, Palestinian journalist Bashar nine Syrian journalists and writers died in Fahmi Al-Qadoumi, who works for the Al- October as a result of torture, execution or Hurra channel. Al-Qadoumi and Unal were both as collateral victims of clashes between the arrested on August 20, 2012 in Aleppo. They army and rebels. The following month, an were with Japanese journalist Mika Yamamoto, additional 11 journalists were killed. On the who was killed on the same day. On November other hand, the armed opposition killed eight 22, US reporter James Foley went missing in journalists and citizen journalists, including northwestern Syria. Foley had been previously three working for the Syrian TV in December. kidnapped for six weeks by pro-Gaddafi forces Some opposition groups also began killing and in Libya in 2011. Additionally, the regime denies arresting citizen journalists who did not agree the presence of any journalist in its prisons, with their activities or conduct. regardless of their nationality, while at the same time engaging in negotiations to release many In addition to violence, virtually all parties in of them. the conflict were responsible for the arrests and kidnappings. Dozens of people were kidnapped On the cultural level, countless archeological within Syrian territory in 2012. Foreign journalists sites were destroyed in Syria this year. As a were not spared from the abductions. To send consequence, valuable pieces of antiquity were a message that journalists are not welcome in stolen and the country’s historical heritage Syria, the regime kidnapped many reporters was ransacked. Twelve Syrian museums were before negotiating their release and expelling destroyed and looted in five different provinces them from the country. The most intriguing as well as several historical sites. This merciless story is that of the American journalist Austin war transformed citadels and fortresses into Tice. His kidnappers hid him for a month before military positions, housing for fighters and releasing a video on YouTube that showed even massive shelling targets. him blindfolded and surrounded by a group of armed men dressed as salafist jihadists. Tice’s Unfortunately, the sordid conflict in Syria case raises many issues. The most important is continues unabated with seemingly no end in that Tice was on good terms with the rebels, sight.
19 syria 2012
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
January
1/2 Journalist Shokri Abul-Borghol killed by a bullet wound to the head in Rif Dimashq. 1/3 Blogger Mohammad Ghazi Kannas arrested in Damascus. 1/11 French journalist Gilles Jacquier killed and Belgian photographer Steven Wassenaar injured by a rocket in the Zahraa neighborhood of Homs. 1/22 Syrian authorities arrest filmmaker Ghassan Abdallah and release him on the same day. 1/31 Syrian security services arrest artist Khodor Abdel-Karim in Hassaka. February
2/2 Military security services arrest artist Bahraa Hijazi. 2/4 Citizen journalist Mazhar Tayyara killed during the shelling of Homs. 2/7 Artist Muthanna Al-Maassarani shot and killed in Homs. 2/13 Journalist Ahmad Al-Sallal killed in Raqqa. 2/16 Members of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), including the center’s director Mazen Darwish, arrested. 2/21 Photographer Rami Ahmad Al-Sayed killed in Baba Amr by a rocket strike on his car. 2/22 Human rights activist Nasreddin Barhak succumbs to his injuries following an assassination attempt on February 13 when he was heading to a solidarity sit-in with political detainees. 2/22 US journalist Mary Colvin and French photographer Rémi Ochlik killed, French journalist Edith Bouvier and British reporter Paul Conroy injured during the shelling of Baba Amr in Homs. 2/24 Citizen journalist Anas Al-Tarsha killed during the shelling on Homs. 2/24 Syrian opposition activists hack into Al-Dounia TV’s website. 2/26 Journalist Nabil Sharbaji arrested in Daraya. 2/28 Citizen journalist Abdel-Razzak Darwish die in detention. 2/29 Palestinian correspondent for Al-Alam TV Mohannad Omar arrested. 2/29 Actor and scriptwriter Adnan Ziraï arrested. 2/29 Citizen journalist Molhem Al-Jundi injured by the Syrian army’s bullets in Homs. March
3/3 Military security services arrest blogger and human rights activist Rafaa Al-Masri in Damascus. 3/5 Dalal Farran, former president of the Syrian Women’s Union, killed by a sniper in Hama.
20 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
3/7 Journalist Itab Al-Labbad, blogger Jihad Jamal and human rights activist Yara Shammas arrested in Damascus. 3/8 Political security services arrest human rights activist Omar Kandakji in Homs. 3/9 Turkish journalist Adam Ozkose and photographer Hamit Coskun go missing in Idlib. 3/14 Citizen journalist Assaad Hilal killed by a bomb placed in his car in Saraqeb. 3/14 Artist and blogger Mohammad Abu Hajar arrested in Tartus. 3/14 Human rights activist Jamal Omar arrested on the Syrian-Lebanese border. 3/15 Journalist Rudy Othman and software developer Bassel Khartabil arrested in Damascus. 3/16 Citizen journalist and photographer Juan Qotneh killed after being abducted in Derbassiyeh. 3/26 British-Algerian Journalist Walid Blidi and French-Algerian journalist Nassim Terriri killed by the Syrian army in Idlib. 3/28 Citizen journalist Nora Al-Jizawi arrested in Damascus. 3/28 Citizen journalist Ali Mahmoud Othman arrested in Aleppo then tortured. April
4/4 Citizen journalist and economist Hussein Al-Ammash arrested in Damascus. 4/7 Citizen journalist Anas Al-Halwani killed by a sniper in Homs. 4/13 Photographer Samir Al-Sham killed while covering the shelling of Homs by the Syrian army. 4/13 Citizen journalist Ahmad Abdallah Fakhriyeh killed in Damir. 4/14 Citizen journalist Alaeddin Al-Douri killed by security forces in Hama. 4/14 Journalist Marie Issa and her husband arrested in Rif Dimashq. 4/16 Citizen journalist Mohammad Abdel-Mawla Al-Hariri arrested in Damascus. 4/17 Syrian activists hack into Al-Arabiya TV’s website and spread false information. 4/17 Citizen journalist Khaled Kabisho killed and his head crushed by a Syrian army tank in Idlib. 4/22 Security forces arrest human rights activist Jalal Naufal. 4/24 Writer Salameh Kaila arrested in Damascus. 4/27 Cartoonist Ali Ferzat’s Facebook page hacked. May
5/4 Citizen journalist Abdel-Ghani Kaaka killed in Aleppo. 5/4 Journalist Wissam Kanaan held on the Syrian-Lebanese border for three hours. 5/7 Journalist Zuhair Al-Fakir arrested on the Syrian Lebanese border. 5/12 Citizen journalist Ibrahim Al-Halabi arrested near the Syrian-Turkish border.
21 syria 2012
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
5/13 Musician Mustapha Kakour arrested in Messiaf. 5/15 Writer Avine Hersan arrested. 5/19 Brazilian journalist Klester Cavalcanti detained by the Syrian army for six days. 5/25 Writer Khaled Khalifeh and researcher Hassan Abbas assaulted in Damascus. 5/27 Citizen journalists Ammad Mohammad Suheil Zada, Ahmad Al-Ashlak and Laurence Fahmi arrested in the Khalidiyeh in Homs. 5/28 Filmmakers Bassel Shehadeh and Ahmad Al-Assam killed during the shelling on Homs. June
6/2 Al-Ikhbariya TV correspondent Shadi Helweh assaulted live on TV in Aleppo. 6/10 Citizen journalist Khaled Al-Bakr killed during the shelling of Al-Qussair. 6/15 Belgian photographer Ahmad Bahado injured in the shoulder on the Syrian-Turkish border. 6/16 Photographer Ahmad Hamadeh killed by the Syrian army in Homs. 6/27 Journalists Sami Abu Amin, Zeid Kahl and Mohammad Shamma killed in the bombing of the Al-Ikhbariya TV headquarters. 6/27 Journalist Mohammad Sami Al-Kayal arrested in Tartus. 6/28 Photographer and citizen journalists Samer Khalil Al-Satla killed during the shelling on Douma. July
7/2 Citizen journalist Mohammad Hamdo Hallak killed during the shelling on Aleppo. 7/4 Citizen journalist Sohaib Dib assassinated. 7/14 Citizen journalist Salim Kabbani arrested in Homs. 7/19 Dutch photographer Jeroen Oerlemans and British journalist John Cantlie abducted in northern Syria. 7/20 Syrian TV host Mohammad Al-Saïd abducted by Al-Nusra Front. 7/22 Sculptor Wael Kastoun dies under torture in a detention center in Homs. 7/30 Turkish journalist Sinan Gül injured in Aleppo. 7/30 Al-Jazeera correspondent Omar Khashram injured during his coverage of the fighting in Aleppo. August
8/1 Syria News website correspondent Ahmad Thabet Mohsen goes missing. 8/4 Al-Nusra Front announces the killing of TV host Mohammad Al-Saïd a few days after his abduction.
22 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
8/4 Syrian Education TV technician Mohammad Ali Hussein and Syrian TV cameraman Talal Janbakli abducted. 8/4 Syrian TV correspondent Karim Shibani injured in the Tadamon neighborhood. 8/5 Filmmaker Bassam Mohieddin assassinated in Jdeidet Artouz. 8/5 Artist Kifah Ali Dib arrested. 8/6 Bombing of the Syrian Radio and Television headquarters in Damascus. 8/9 Citizen journalist Haitham Hamsho killed during the shelling of the Salaheddin neighborhood of Aleppo. 8/10 Al-Ikhbariya TV journalists Yara Saleh, Abdallah Tabra and Hussam Ammad abducted. 8/11 Journalist Ali Abbas assassinated at his house in Rif Dimashq. 8/11 Journalist Baraa Al-Boushi killed during the shelling of the Al-Tal neighborhood. 8/11 Theater director Zaki Cordello arrested. 8/12 American reporter Austin Tice goes missing in Rif Dimashq. 8/18 Journalist Malek Abu Kheir arrested on the Syrian-Lebanese border. 8/20 Japanese journalist Mika Yamamoto killed by the Syrian army in Aleppo. 8/20 Palestinian journalist Bashar Fahmi Al-Qadoumi and Turkish cameraman Cuney Unal, working for Al-Hurra TV, abducted in Aleppo. 8/22 Journalist Mossaab Mohammad Saïd Al-Odallah killed at his house in Damascus. 8/23 Film producer Orwa Nyrabia arrested. 8/24 Actor Mohammad Omar Osso and his family members arrested in Damascus. 8/31 Journalist and photographer Mahmoud Al-Basha killed in Aleppo. September
9/4 Citizen journalist Mohammad Al-Kassem killed in Deir ez-Zor. 9/6 Citizen journalist Nawaf Al-Hindi killed in Rif Dimashq. 9/6 Citizen journalist Tahsin Al-Toom killed in Irbeen. 9/6 Citizen journalist Anas Al-Abdallah killed in Damascus. 9/9 Filmmaker Tamer Al-Awam killed by shrapnel in Aleppo. 9/16 Editor-in-chief of the Liwaa Al-Fatah newspaper Youssef Deeb killed in Aleppo. 9/16 Journalist Hussein Mortada injured during the fighting in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp. 7/19 Citizen journalist Abdel-Rahman Al-Mashhour killed by shrapnel in Deir ez-Zor. 9/20 Sham Network photographer Abdel-Karim Al-Okda killed by the Syrian army in Hama. 9/24 Syrian Ministry of Information’s email address and official news agency SANA’s Facebook page hacked.
23 syria 2012
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
9/25 Filmmaker Tamim Al-Ashkar killed by a rocket in Rif Dimashq. 9/25 Journalist Mamoun Al-Ghandour and his brothers killed in Maadamiyat Al-Sham. 9/26 Iranian Press TV correspondent Maya Nasser killed by a sniper in Damascus. 9/27 Citizen journalists Abdel-Aziz Al-Sheikh and Mohammad Askar killed in Deir ez-Zor. 9/27 Writer Ibrahim Al-Kharit and his two sons executed in front of their family in Deir ez-Zor. October
10/1 Intelligence services arrest citizen journalist Fares Al-Maamo in Homs. 10/2 Intelligence services arrest human rights activist and lawyer Khalil Maatouq in Damascus and cartoonist Akram Reslan in Hama. 10/2 Military security services arrest TV director Ghanem Al-Mir in Tartus. 10/2 Syrian National Council’s media correspondent Ahmad Saada killed in Rif Dimashq. 10/3 Journalist Mona Bakkour killed in a bomb strike on Aleppo. 10/7 Writer and researcher Mohammad Nemr Al-Madani dies under torture in Damascus. 10/9 Ukrainian translator and blogger Anhar Kochneva abducted near Homs. 10/10 Al-Ikhbariya TV cameraman Mohammad Al-Ashram killed in Deir ez-Zor. 10/13 Journalist Malek Abu Kheir transferred before the military tribunal in Damascus. 10/15 Syrian TV technician Hisham Mossalli dies under torture. 10/17 Journalist Amjad Tohmeh stabbed in front of his house west of Damascus. 10/19 Citizen journalists Omar and Jomaa Al-Lattouf killed in Aleppo. 10/23 Intelligence services arrest writer Dara Abdallah in Damascus. 10/23 Citizen journalist Anas Al-Ahmad killed in Maadamiyat Al-Sham. 10/26 Citizen journalist Hatem Hallak killed by a sniper in Aleppo. 10/27 Syrian rebels detain Lebanese journalist Fida Itani in Aazaz. 10/28 Criminal Police arrest journalist Bassel Azzam in Soueida. November
11/1 Intelligence services arrest playwright Daher Aita. 11/2 State Security arrests journalist Shada Al-Maddad in Damascus. 11/2 Citizen journalist Hassan Hammoud killed by a rocket in Rif Dimashq.
24 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
11/3 Citizen journalist Jamal Malas killed in Maarrat Al-Naaman. 11/3 Actor Mohammad Rafeh assassinated by Syrian rebels. 11/4 Citizen journalist Samir Al-Dahik succumbs to his injuries in the Homs province. 11/6 BBC reporters Beagle Collins and Mark Perkins arrested and expelled from Syria on October 20. 11/7 Filmmaker Avo Kaprielian arrested in Aleppo. 11/10 Journalist Sharif Shehadeh survives an assassination attempt in Damascus. 11/10 Lebanese journalist Ghadi Francis briefly detained by rebels in northern Syria. 11/14 Syrian army arrests citizen journalists Baraa Maiss in Aleppo. 11/16 Citizen journalist Mustapha Karman and Al-Arabiya TV correspondent Mohammad Daghmash killed by shrapnel in Aleppo. 11/17 Citizen journalist Abdallah Kaaka dies under torture in Aleppo. 11/18 Citizen journalist Mohammad Al-Khaled assassinated by rebels in Aleppo. 11/19 Citizen journalist Mohammad Al-Zaher succumbs to his injuries in Rif Dimashq. 11/21 State Security arrest artist Ru’a Jaafar in Damascus. 11/22 Journalist Bassel Youssef killed by rebel forces in Damascus. 11/22 Writer Mohammad Rawili dies under torture in Deir ez-Zor. 11/22 US reporter James Foley goes missing in northwestern Syria. 11/23 Sham Network correspondent Samer Al-Abdallah killed by a sniper in Ras Al-Ain. 11/23 Security forces arrest editing technician Mohammad Hijazi on the Syrian- Lebanese border. 11/25 Citizen journalist Mohammad Al-Khal killed during the shelling on Deir ez-Zor. 11/29 Journalist Mohammad Qoraytem killed during the shelling on Daraya. 11/30 SANA news agency’s website goes offline for unknown reasons. December
12/4 Syrian TV announces the death of journalist Naji Assaad in southern Damascus. 12/5 Journalist Cameran Hajem abducted in northern Aleppo. 12/6 Citizen journalist Mohammad Kheir Al-Sheikh Kwaider killed in Rif Dimashq. 12/9 State Security arrests writer Waddah Azzam in Jaramana.
25 syria 2012
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
12/10 NBC TV crew composed of US reporter Richard Engel and aids Aziz Akyavas (Turkish), John Kooistra (American), Ghazi Balkis (British-Jordanian) and Ammar Sheikh Omar (Syrian-German) abducted for five days in northern Syria. 12/12 Syrian TV announces the death of journalist Anmar Mohammad in Damascus. 12/15 Citizen journalist Amir Hboubati killed in Babilla. 12/19 Syrian army arrests journalist Amina Melhem in Dahadeel in southern Damascus. 12/21 Citizen journalist Abdel-Karim Al-Azo killed by a sniper in Homs. 12/22 Syrian TV cameraman Haidar Al-Samoudi killed in Damascus. 12/25 Citizen journalist Yasser Shaaban succumbs to his injuries in western Aleppo. 12/26 Citizen journalist Abu Yazan Al-Hamawi killed by a sniper in Hama. 12/28 Syrian army arrests Palestinian writer Ali Al-Shehabi. 12/30 Military Security services arrest lawyer and human rights activist Majdoleen Hassan in Tartus.
26 Jordan 2012
Jordanian Media Faces Growing Legal and Judicial Restrictions
Firas Talhouk
Jordanian journalists faced several violations in after insulting her while she was covering a 2012. In particular, public authorities decided protest in the Al-Tufayliya neighborhood. Al- to restrict media and electronic freedoms. Saudi also attacked photographer Zeid Al-Sarayra Despite opposition from media institutions, the and broke his camera while he was filming the Parliament managed to uphold Article 23 of the aggression. Additionally, employees at the Maan Anti-corruption Law, which was adopted at the province governor’s office beat up correspondent end of 2011. The article severely impedes on Mohammad Sakallah. The Minister of Industry freedom of expression in Jordan. and Trade, Shabeeb Ammari, violently criticized Tarek Al-Daaja, an Al-Ghad journalist, because This blow opened the door for more restrictive of an article he had published. Furthermore, amendments to the Press and Publications Law the Minister of Education, Fayez Al-Saudi, and for a decision to block access to erotic threatened journalist Missaab Al-Shawabka with websites. On many occasions, the government severe consequences following a report he wrote interfered directly and repeatedly in the media on fraud in public exams. by naming journalists and editors-in-chief or pushing for their dismissal. Also, Jordanian authorities flagrantly interfered with the operation of media outlets. Then Physical violations against journalists also Minister of Information Rakan Al-Majali increased in scale. Reporters were not spared asked the Al-Ra’i daily to dismiss journalists during the protests over rising gas prices. Mohammad Al-Hawamdeh and Gheith Al- People opposed to the protests in the Irbid Adayila, which prompted protests by the staff governorate beat an Al-Jazeera crew before against the dismissals. Separately, Al-Arab Al- breaking its cameras and technical equipment. Yawm’s journalists refused the appointment of Security officers assaulted Ahmad Abu Hamad, the Secretary General’s adviser at the Ministry a correspondent for Radio Al-Balad, who was of Water as the head of their editorial board and covering the protests in Jabal Al-Hussein, and the Jordanian Press Association (JPA) refused a the windshield of a car belonging to Al-Ra’i public plan to restructure the administration of journalist Inad Abu Windi was smashed in the Al-Dustour daily. Madaba. Journalist Osama Al-Moumni was also assaulted and his camera was broken in Irbid. The growing role played by websites in Another journalist was injured in the foot by delivering news in the Arab world seems to a teargas grenade launched by the police to have freightened Jordanian authorities who took disperse protesters also in Irbid. Furthermore, massive precautionary measures and amended policemen attacked journalists with teargas the Press and Publications Law. According grenades and prevented them from covering to the law, all news websites have to obtain an other protests in Amman’s Al-Dakhiliyah authorization delivered by the government. Web- Square. Additionally, another correspondent editors and journalists held several sit-ins, set for Radio Al-Balad, Rashed Al-Assaf, was hit by up a protest tent and organized an “electronic stones while covering a protest in Amman. blackout day” that most Jordanian news websites observed. However, the frequent changes in Public officials also assaulted and insulted government managed to modify the position of journalists. MP Yahya Al-Saudi physically some web-editors, but many others continued assaulted AmmanNet journalist Iman Jaradat their “electronic disobedience” movement.
27 jordan 2012
Also in the realm of Internet freedom, the and a journalist of the Al-Dustour daily to court In-Light Press website was hacked and a group following criminal proceedings launched against of unknown people stormed the Watan News the newspaper. website offices in Amman and destroyed its equipment. Also, unknown people hacked into In spite of the decline in the Jordanian art the Al-Yarmouk satellite TV channel, spreading production, authorities found a way to carry out false information on the news ticker at the bottom acts of repression in order to better keep Jordan of the screen. Web pages of the Jordanian rap out of the field of artistic and cultural creativity. band Ahat were hacked as well as the Khaberni They canceled an exhibition titled “Drawings of website. Additionally, websites refused to respond the Children of Liberty”, which was supposed to to the government’s call for a meeting with commemorate the first anniversary of the Syrian media institutions because the government had revolution. Furthermore, Jordanian security been neglecting the JPA’s role and not taking a services prevented the Publications Department firm stand against the abuses carried out against from authorizing the book “Ya Sahibi Al-Sejn” journalists. (My Friend the Prison). Also, the inhabitants of Jabal Al-Qalaa protested against the organization The most dangerous infringement this year, of a festival during Ramadan and the police however, was an attack against Jordanian arrested Palestinian artist Juan Al-Safadi for blogger and activist Inas Moussallem, who was “desecrating religion.” Al-Safadi was released stabbed in the stomach after publishing a blog after he promised not to sing the song “Ya post criticizing Prince Hassan Bin Talal. Haram Al-Kuffar” (Poor Infidels) in Jordan.
On the judiciary front, the State Security Court In total, the year 2012 witnessed severe violations ordered the arrest of journalist Jamal Al- in the media and cultural scene in Jordan, a Muhtaseb instead of the Publications Court, country where creativity is trying to emerge which is usually in charge of cases involving between tribal and political obstacles and a journalists. Al-Muhtaseb was later released on desire to preserve the country’s cultural heritage. bail after he threatened to go on a hunger strike. But this endeavor is proving to be extremely The trial court of Amman ordered the Al-Ghad difficult as a result of influential figures’ daily to stop the publications of Imad Hajjaj’s continued efforts to curb media and cultural cartoons, and three journalists from Al-Ra’i were openness. Jordanian journalists and intellectuals called to appear before the court for “lack of have to continue their struggle to preserve their objectivity and publication of false news” in freedom of expression and opinion and to keep an article on a corruption case. The Attorney pace with development and modernity at any General also decided to bring the editor-in-chief price and regardless of the obstacles.
28 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
January
1/20 Photographers Hamza Al-Mazraawi and Raed Al-Ortani assaulted during a sit-in in downtown Amman. 1/28 In-Light Press website hacked. February
2/2 Journalist Imad Al-Nashash receives telephone death threats. 2/12 Journalist Moayed Abu Sbeih’s car attacked. 2/20 Blogger and activist Inas Mossallem stabbed in the stomach after she published an article criticizing Prince Hassan Bin Talal. March
3/10 Jordanian authorities ban the exhibition “Drawings of the Children of Liberty” on the first anniversary of the Syrian revolution. 3/11 Attempts to hack into the Khaberni website. 3/25 Al-Ra’i daily refuses to publish seven articles written by journalist Ahmad Hassan Al-Zoabi. April
4/6 MP Yahya Al-Saudi beats up photographer Zeid Al-Sarayra and journalist Iman Jaradat during a demonstration in the Al-Tufayliya neighbordhood. 4/23 State Security Court orders the arrest of journalist Jamal Al-Muhtaseb. May
5/9 Security forces prevent an Al-Jazeera crew from filming near a camp for Palestinian refugees arriving from Syria. 5/20 Poet Ayman Al-Atoum’s book « Ya Sahibi Al-Sejn » (My Friend the Prison) banned in Jordan. 5/23 The trial court of Amman orders Al-Ghad daily to stop the publication of Imad Hajjaj’s cartoons for violation of intellectual property rights.
29 jordan 2012
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
June
6/6 Journalist Hanan Kafawin assaulted while reporting on a spoiled food scandal at a shopping mall in Aqaba. 6/8 Unidentified people shatter the windshield of journalist Shadi Samhan’s car. 6/11 Staff members of the Maan governor’s office beat up Ru’ya TV correspondent Mohammad Sakallah and hold him for one hour. 6/26 Jordanian General Security expels journalist Rabih Al-Saoub from the Royal Cultural Center during the celebration of the World Day Against Drugs. 6/30 Demonstrators beat up journalist Ziad Nosseirat and steal his camera in Irbid during a march denouncing unemployment and inflation. July
7/1 Jordanian policemen prevent journalist Ahmad Barahma from covering a sit-in facing the Egyptian embassy. 7/6 Jordanian policemen beat Ru’ya TV crew members and confiscate their camera during the coverage of the Amman Summer Festival at the Al-Hussein Gardens. 7/17 Unidentified people storm theWatan News offices in Amman. September
9/15 Three Internet pages of Jordanian rap band Ahat hacked. October
10/5 Technical equipment belonging to a TV crew working for Al-Haqiqa Al-Doualiya smashed by Muslim Brothers demonstrators in Amman. 10/15 Ain News website hacked. 10/18 Journalists Ziad Nosseirat and Darrar Ghannam, as well as a Japanese reporter, assaulted at the Zaatari Syrian refugee camp. 10/24 Photographers Raed Al-Ortani and Ibrahim Khalifeh assaulted during the coverage of a sit-in calling for the liberation of political detainees.
30 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
November
11/14 Jordanian policemen fire teargas grenades at journalists at Amman’s Al-Dakhiliyah Square and prevent them from covering demonstrations denouncing government decisions related to fuel prices. 11/15 Radio Al-Balad correspondent Rashed Al-Assaf hit by stones during a demonstration in Amman. 11/15 Al-Jazeera Live crew attacked in Irbid. 11/15 Jordanian policemen arrest and beat up Radio Al-Balad correspondent Ahmad Abu Hamad. 11/16 Al-Ra’i journalist Inad Abu Windi’s car attacked in Madaba. 11/17 Journalism Osama Al-Moumni assaulted in Irbid. 11/28 Jordanian policemen arrest Palestinian singer Juan Al-Safadi and prevent him from singing his song “Ya Haram Al-Kuffar” (Poor Infidels) in Jordan. 11/30 Unidentified individuals hack into Al-Yarmouk TV systems and spread false information on the news ticker at the bottom of the screen. December
12/31 Amman’s Criminal Court condemns Al-Ra’i daily and the Minister of Information, Samih Al-Maayta, for lack of precision in a series of articles about Daad Mohammad Sharaab, ex-adviser to slain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
31 Gaza 2012
Gaza Journalists Caught between Israeli Fire and Hamas Repression
Widad Jarbouh
The year 2012 did not end peacefully for the services arrested five journalists accused of people of Gaza, who are still suffering the filming and reporting for what Hamas called consequences of Israel’s recent violent attack “suspicious parties” in Ramallah. For example, against the Strip. During the attack, the Israeli photographer Mohammad Al-Zaanoun was army targeted journalists and their media offices arrested for taking pictures of citizens waiting in as well as their families and homes. Israeli line in front of a gas station in the Al-Shoujaiya military aircrafts killed three journalists, Al-Quds neighborhood of Gaza. Furthermore, five Educational Radio director, Mohammad Abu journalists and a group of young activists and Aysha and Al-Aqsa TV photographers, Hussam bloggers were summoned for “inciting protests Salama and Mohammad Al-Koumi, after in front of the Energy Authority headquarters.” targeting their cars. Hamas security services also hampered the work Israeli warplanes also bombed buildings, such as of several journalists accused of working on the Shawa and Al-Shorouk towers that housed media stories “defying the authority” of the Hamas offices and headquarters. As a result, numerous controlled government. Another example of media outlets, including Al-Quds TV, were forced security services’ repression of the press was an to cut off their broadcasts. Additionally, 21 attack against an Al-Quds satellite channel team journalists were injured while covering the attack while they were covering the congestion and on the ground or while working inside their suffering of citizens in the waiting room at the offices. Photojournalist Khodor Al-Zahar lost his Rafah border crossing. The TV crew, comprised leg and was hit by shrapnel in his back, and other of correspondent Saleh Al-Natour, cameraman journalists suffered burns or acute asphyxiation Al-Ghani Billah Ruqa, and assistant cameraman from smoke inhalation. Dia’ Abul-Aoun, was prevented from filming. Additionally, A Palestine Today satellite channel Also, journalists’ homes and families were cameraman was beaten while covering a fire and not spared during the attack. Israeli warplanes protests against power cuts. bombed the residence of BBC cameraman Jihad Al-Mashharaoui resulting in the death of his son The Hamas government also issued two media- and the injury of other members of his family. related decisions this year. The first decision Furhtermore, Israeli authorities hacked into banned Palestinian journalists from cooperating eight Palestinian news websites in an attempt to with Israeli media outlets. This decision affected prevent them from covering the conflict. many Gazan journalists who work with Israeli channels and dailies such as Channel 10 TV and Israel’s violations of press freedom were not the Haaretz and Maariv newspapers. The second limited to its November offensive. In May, Israeli one banned access to erotic websites under threat forces opened fire on a team of journalists from of prosecution. However, this measure was Iqra’ TV channel and detained them for a period randomly applied and several news websites were of three hours before they were released. blocked “by mistake” as a result.
In addition to Israel’s violations, writer Mahmoud Furthermore, cultural life in the Gaza Strip Abu Rahmeh was stabbed after he published an is in perpetual decline due to the absence of article in which he criticized the “Resistance’s publishing houses. This situation leads writers policy.” Also, government affiliated security and poets to move abroad in an attempt to reach
32 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2011 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
out to readers. However, the most damaging of freedom. They asked participants to leave the violation of cultural freedom that occurred this room under the pretext that the organizers did year was the destruction by the Hamas Ministry not have a license to hold the event. of the Interior’s bulldozers of the Cultural Gallery, a center dedicated to exhibitions and art On a daily basis, journalists and intellectuals in performances as well as their destruction of the the Gaza Strip have to deal with violations of Al-Quds cultural space and the Bethlehem Center, their rights and liberties. Now, more than ever, which was devoted to art and cinema. Also, a revival of cultural life and the promotion of Hamas security services broke into the closing uncompromised and unrestricted freedom of ceremony of the Palestine Festival of Literature expression are needed to foster the emergence of in Dar Al-Basha after security agents switched a democratic society that reflects the aspirations off the electricity during a talk on the repression of the Palestinian people.
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
January
1/13 Human rights activist Mahmoud Abu Rahmeh assaulted after he published an article criticizing the resistance. 1/15 Hamas prevents 13 young men and women from participating in a television singing contest. February
2/6 Hamas security services summon photographer Maali Abu Samra for questioning about his coverage of Fatah official Nabil Shaath’s visit to Gaza. March
3/8 Hamas security services assault several journalists covering a group marriage and temporarily hold Sky News Arabia correspondent Mohammad Al-Mashharawi. 3/9 Journalist Mo’men Al-Sharafi injured in the back by shrapnel during an Israeli airstrike on Gaza. 3/21 Policemen hinder the filming of a report by BBC Arabic on power outages in Gaza. 3/22 Hamas security services summon several bloggers for questioning after their participation in a sit-in against power outages. 3/26 Hamas policemen prevent cameraman Mahmoud Al-Zaanoun from filming the long queues at gas stations in Gaza. 3/28 Members of the Al-Kassam Brigades detain Wafa agency correspondent Sami Abu Salem and two Swedish journalists filming a report on Gaza’s orange orchards.
33 Gaza 2012
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
April
4/4 Hamas security members force blogger Mohannad Abdel-Bari to delete an article from his blog. May
5/1 Israeli soldiers fire at a crew fromIqra’ TV and hold its members for three hours. 5/7 Hamas policemen prevent a crew from Al-Quds TV from filming a report at the Shifa’ hospital. 5/9 Hamas security services storm the Palestinian Literature Festival and assault an Egyptian artist. June
6/10 Hamas security services arrest journalist Mohammad Qoneita. 6/13 Hamas security services assault journalist Wissam Nassar while he was filming the graduation ceremony at the police academy. 6/17 Hamas security services summon journalist Yahya Al-Madhoun for questioning two days in a row about an article he wrote criticizing statements by the Minister of the Interior. 6/20 Hamas security services assault a crew from Al-Quds TV while they were filming a report at the Rafah border crossing. July
7/18 Poet Mohammad Sleiman summoned for questioning after his participation in a demonstration against power outages. 7/31 Journalist and Fatah member Yahya Rabah assaulted in downtown Gaza. August
8/9 Robbery at the offices of the Fadl“ Shanaa Media” production house. 8/22 The Hamas Interior Ministry orders the closing of Fikra Foundation for Fine-Arts. 8/28 Hamas policemen confiscate filmmaker Abdel-Rahman Amran’s technical equipment while shooting on the Khan Younes coast.
34 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2011 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
September
9/16 Al-Mizan Human Rights Center’s website hacked. 9/25 Photographer Ismaïl Badeh assaulted during the coverage of a fire in the Breij refugee camp. November
11/6 Hamas policewomen assault journalist Samia Al-Zubeidi. 11/13 Hamas investigation services summon journalist Seifiddin Shahin for questioning during a sit-in calling for Palestinian reconciliation. 11/14 Palestine TV correspondent injured during the Israeli bombardment on Gaza. 11/14 BBC cameraman Jihad Al-Mashharawi’s house hit by an Israeli airstrike, killing his son. 11/15 Israeli warplanes bomb journalist Sami Al-Ajrami’s house injuring his daughter. 11/16 Al-Quds radio and Palestine Today TV correspondent Muthanna Al-Najjar injured by the Israeli bombardment. 11/17 Eight Palestinian news websites covering the attack on Gaza hacked. 11/18 Israeli airstrike on media offices in Gaza injures seven journalists. 11/19 Israeli airstrike hits the house of journalist and SKeyes Gaza correspondent Asma Al-Ghoul’s family. 11/20 Journalists Mohammad Abu Aysha, Mahmoud Al-Koumi and Hussam Salama killed by an Israeli airstrike on their cars in Gaza. 11/21 Renewed Israeli airstrikes on media offices in Gaza. December
12/7 Hamas security services prevent an Al-Jazeera correspondent from covering the meeting between Khaled Meshaal and Ismaïl Haniyeh. 12/9 Al-Miss’hal theater cancels artist Rim Talhami’s concert, which did not receive the Ministry of Culture’s green light.
35 West Bank 2012
Journalists Trapped Between Israeli Violations and Palestinian Abuses
Widad Jarbouh
Israeli violations against journalists increased Wafa agency and the Palestinian News Network in the West Bank in 2012 and were particularly websites were hacked more than once. widespread during political events and protests. Israeli forces continued to target journalists and Internally, the number of violations against photographers using stun grenades, teargas and journalists related to the inter-Palestinian divide rubber-coated bullets in order to prevent them decreased as a result of the partial reconciliation from reporting on soldiers’ abuses. Thirty-six between the Fatah and Hamas movements. journalists suffered burns and acute asphyxiation The harassment and summoning of journalists from smoke and teargas while covering peaceful nevertheless increased. In particular, authorities protests. The greatest number of incidents targeted those who showed their opposition occurred around the Ofer prison. Among the to the Palestinian Authority through articles or journalists injured during these events were posts on social network websites. Sixteen people Haroun Amayra and Nasser Al-Shoyoukhi as were arrested this year for “defamation” of high well as photographers Muhib Al-Barghouti political officials, “publishing false news” or and Ahmad Mosleh. Additionally, Israeli forces “slander and defamation.” Journalist Youssef confiscated and smashed media equipment, beat Al-Shayeb was arrested after publishing a report and detained other journalists for hours. Soldiers about the prevailing corruption at Palestine’s also forced photographers Yusri Al-Jamal and diplomatic mission in France. The court looking Mamoun Wazouz to take their clothes off before into Al-Shayeb’s case rejected the lawyer’s request throwing a stun grenade at them. to release him on bail three times in a row. He then decided to go on an open-ended hunger strike, Over the year, Israeli authorities arrested nine but his health condition deteriorated and he was journalists. Most of the journalists were released transferred to the hospital. Also, journalist Ismat after paying fines except for Sharif Al-Rajoub who Abdel-Khalek was accused of “inciting sectarian is still in detention at the Ofer prison and Amer strife and violence” and “calling for the dissolution Abu Arfeh whose administrative detention has of the Palestinian Authority” after criticizing been renewed for the third time this year without President Mahmoud Abbas on her Facebook legal justification. The Israeli army also broke into page. Abdel-Khalek also went on a hunger strike the Watan and Al-Quds Educational TV offices, until she was released. All journalists were released ransacked them and confiscated documents and from prison after paying fines, but some of their technical equipment. In a separate attack, Israeli trials are still ongoing in Palestinian courts. settlers opened fire on Voice of Palestine radio station correspondent Nizar al-Somoudi and Additionally, journalists Walid Khaled and photographer Seif Al-Dahleh. Furthermore, Mohammad Mona were arrested and questioned Israeli authorities did not spare Palestinian artists by the Palestinian security services directly after from their violations. They banned several artists their release from Israeli prisons, and fourteen from entering Jerusalem to take part in the play other journalists were arrested including Khaled “The Wizard of Oz”, which led to the cancellation Amayra. Amayra was summoned three times in of the performance. one week. Also, Shadi Zamaara and Shahed Bani Odeh were both held following comments they Additionally, Israeli settlers hacked into several posted on Facebook. Palestinian news websites in an attempt to prevent them from publishing and documenting Israeli On top of other violations, Palestinian security violations carried out in Palestinian territory. The services hampered the work of journalists who
36 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
were covering political events and protests. Like The year 2012 came to an end with the the Israelis, they confiscated media equipments, continuation of Israeli violations against freedom beat journalists and prevented them from covering of expression. As for Palestinian security services, demonstrations. Some journalists were targeted their behavior vis-à-vis journalists in the West Bank more than once such as journalist Asiad Amarneh slightly improved toward the end of the year after and writer Lama Khater who was physically Palestine became a non-member observer state at assaulted by female police officers during her the UN. More than ever, it is crucial to consolidate participation in a sit-in demanding the release of Palestinian democracy in order to safeguard media political prisoners. and cultural freedom throughout Palestinian land.
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012 January
1/5 Palestinian Preventive Security (PPS) summons journalist Khaled Amayra for questioning three times in the same week. 1/22 An Israeli military court summons journalist Youssef Abu Jaas. 1/23 The website of the National Gathering of Families of Palestine’s Martyrs hacked. 1/27 Photographer Mohammad Atieh hit by an Israeli teargas grenade during a demonstration in Nabi Saleh. 1/27 Journalist Muhib Al-Barghouti hit by a bullet in the leg during a demonstration in Bilin. 1/27 Journalist Haroun Amayra hit by a teargas grenade in the leg during a demonstration in Kfar Qadoum. 1/31 Palestinian security services arrest journalist Rami Samara and release him hours later. 1/31 Palestinian Intelligence Services (PIS) in the West Bank detain journalist Youssef Al-Shayeb for eight hours. February
2/3 Israeli forces prevent journalists from covering a demonstration against settlements and the separation wall in Nabi Saleh and detain members of a Palestine TV crew. 2/5 Israeli forces storm the houses of journalist Sohaib Al-Assa and photographer Amr Halayka and arrest them. 2/8 Journalist Amin Abu Wardeh sentenced to 140 days of administrative detention. 2/10 Israeli forces injure photographer Ahmad Mosleh, Turkish TRT channel cameraman and a New York Times photographer during the repression of a demonstration in Nabi Saleh.
37 west bank 2012
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
2/11 Journalist Issam Al-Rimawi hit by a teargas canister that caused breathing difficulties for photographers Mohammad Turkman and Bernard Arnat as well as reporters Sara Al-Adra and Arine Al-Rinawi during clashes near the Ofer prison. 2/12 Journalist Odai Hreibat arrested and beaten by Israeli forces. 2/21 Photographer Nasser Al-Shoyoukhi hit in the foot by an Israeli teargas grenade. 2/29 PPS confiscates the camera and press cards belonging to an Al-Aqsa TV crew in Birzeit. 2/29 Israeli forces storm the headquarters of Watan TV and Al-Quds Educational TV and seize technical equipments. March
3/2 Radio Bethlehem 2000 website hacked by Israeli hackers. 3/6 The Israeli military court of Ofer sentences photographer Hamza Burnat to 18 months in prison. 3/7 PIS holds journalist Asiad Amarneh for five hours. 3/9 Israeli soldiers assault journalist Samer Hamad. 3/15 Al-Quds TV correspondent Linda Shalash and her cameraman Rami Jahajiha asphyxiated by teargas during a sit-in in front of the Ofer prison. 3/16 Photographer Moussa Al-Shaer assaulted and his camera lens smashed during a demonstration in Maassara. 3/17 PIS summons journalist Shahed Bani Odeh for questioning. 3/22 Journalist Youssef Al-Shayeb summoned for questioning after he published a report on corruption allegations at the Palestinian diplomatic mission in France. 3/28 Journalist Ismat Abdel-Khalek sentenced to 15 days in prison for slandering Palestinian officials. 3/30 Photographer Najib Sharawna asphyxiated by teargas during a demonstration in Bilin. April
4/1 PPS storms the offices of the Educational Forum and detains journalist Tarek Khamis for two hours. 4/2 PPS arrests Jamal Abu Rihan, the manager of the Facebook page “The People Want the End of Corruption.” 4/3 Israeli forces arrest journalist Mohammad Mona in Nablus.
38 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
4/6 Journalist Ahmad Daghlas hit in the head by a teargas canister during a demonstration in Nabi Saleh. 4/15 The Israeli military court of Ofer sentences journalist Sohaib Al-Assa to four months in prison then releases him on bail. May
5/1 Photographer Nasser Al-Shoyoukhi hit by a stone in the head near the Ofer prison. 5/2 PIS summons journalist Ahmad Melhem for questioning. 5/6 Photographer Hadhifa Srour injured during a solidarity rally with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. 5/11 Israeli soldiers assault journalist Ajwad Jaradat and photographers Alaa Badarneh and Jaafar Ashtieh during a demonstration in Kfar Qadoum. 5/17 Israeli forces arrest the director of Al-Assir TV channel Bahaa Moussa at his house and seize broadcasting equipment. 5/18 Photographer Shamekh Al-Jaghoub asphyxiated by teargas during a demonstration in Kfar Qadoum. 5/21 PIS summons journalist Shadi Zamaara for questioning. 5/22 Palestinian security forces prevent journalists from covering top model Naomi Campbell’s visit to the Nativity Church. 5/27 Wafa news agency website hacked and anti-Palestinian authority messages spread online. 5/27 PPS summons journalist Sohaib Al-Assa for questioning. June
6/3 Israeli forces arrest journalist Sharif Al-Rajoub. 6/5 Israeli forces detain journalist Asiad Amarneh for two hours during a demonstration commemorating the Arab defeat in the 1967 war. 6/6 PPS prevents journalist Asiad Amarneh from taking pictures during a sit-in by relatives of political prisoners. 6/6 An Israeli military court sentences journalist Raed Al-Sharif to ten months in prison. 6/14 Unidentified individuals storm the office of Al-Quds daily Bethlehem correspondent Najib Farraj. 6/26 Palestinian security forces hinder journalist Ata Farhat’s work during the visit of a delegation from the Golan Heights to Bethlehem.
39 west bank 2012
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
6/27 Photographer Abdel-Ghani Al-Natsheh prevented from covering the sit-in of relatives of political prisoners. 6/30 Journalist Mohammad Jaradat beaten by Palestinian policemen. July
7/1 Photographers Saed Howari, Ahmad Aoudeh, Ahmad Mosleh, journalists Issam Al-Rimawi and Mahmoud Hreibat assaulted by Palestinian policemen during a solidarity sit-in with journalist Mohammad Jaradat in Ramallah. 7/1 Israeli forces detain journalist Ali Obeidat for three hours. 7/17 PIS agents storm writer Lama Khater’s house and arrest her husband. 7/30 PPS arrests journalist Issam Shawar in Qalqilya. August
8/8 Israeli settlers open fire at journalist Nizar Al-Somoudi. 8/14 PIS seizes technical equipment belonging to journalist Asiad Amarneh. 8/15 Al-Mayadeen TV reporter Nisrine Selmi and cameraman Fadi Abu Zanat injured at the Qalandia check-point. 8/17 Israeli soldiers assault photographers Nidal and Jaafar Ashtieh, Fares Fares, Odai and Nouh Qadoumi in Kfar Qadoum. 8/28 Director of Radio Bethlehem 2000 George Kanawati receives death threats. September
9/18 Felesteen newspaper director Walid Khaled and Ahrar Center for Human Rights Fuad Al-Khafash arrested by PPS agents. 9/20 PIS detains journalist Sami Al-Assi for four days. 9/23 PPS arrests journalist Mohammad Mona in Nablus. October
10/10 Israeli forces arrest journalist Mohammad Al-Tamimi. 10/14 Israeli forces arrest human rights activist Ayman Karaja in Ramallah. 10/14 Palestinian policemen prevent Al-Aqsa TV correspondent Tarek Abu Zeid from covering a solidarity sit-in with journalist Walid Khaled. 10/22 PPS arrests journalist and blogger Mohammad Thabet and release him two days later.
40 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
November
11/3 PPS arrests journalists Sami Al-Sai and Iyad Srour. 11/7 Journalist Nasser Ashtieh hit in the foot by an Israeli stun grenade. 11/7 Israeli soldiers assault members of a Watan TV crew in Silfit. 11/13 PPS female agents beat up writer Lama Khater. 11/14 Palestinian policemen hinder the work of Al-Aqsa TV correspondent Khalil Sohaib Al-Assa and New Media agency photographer Iyad Abu Shalbak in a hospital in Hebron. 11/14 Unidentified individuals storm the headquarters of Radio Al-Ghad, assault journalist Mohammad Nassar and threaten to kill him. 11/19 PPS detains filmmaker Tarek Youssef and interrogates him for three hours. 11/20 Palestine News Network website hacked by Israeli hackers. 11/20 Palestine TV correspondent Ali Dar Ali hit in the chest by an Israeli rubber-coated bullet. 11/21 Journalist Hammouda Hassan assaulted by Palestinian security agents during a rally against the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 11/26 A tribunal in Ramallah bans journalists from taking pictures during the trial of journalist Youssef Al-Shayeb. December
12/6 PIS arrests journalist Mohammad Awad in Ramallah. 12/12 Israeli soldiers beat up Reuters Agency photographers Yusri Al-Jamal and Mamoun Wazouz and target them with a teargas grenade. 12/13 Israeli forces prevent journalists Nasser Al-Shoyoukhi, Ammar Awad, Abdel-Hafiz Al-Hashlamoun and Hazem Badr from covering clashes with Palestinian youth during the funeral of a young Palestinian man killed by the Israeli army in Hebron. 12/13 Israeli forces storm writer Lama Khater’s house in Hebron. 12/15 Photographer Seif Al-Dahla briefly detained by Israeli soldiers then shot at by an Israeli settler. 12/18 Israeli forces prevent journalists from covering settlers’ exactions against Arab families south of Bethlehem. 12/18 PPS arrests Al-Aqsa TV cameraman Ahmad Al-Khatib. 12/24 Radio Bethlehem 2000 correspondent Anan Shehadeh banned from covering the Christmas Mass at the Nativity Church.
41 The 1948 Territories 2012
Palestinian Journalists Face Israeli Oppression and Racist Policies
Firas Talhouk
Israeli violations against media and cultural Turk, who was hit in the neck, and – again – freedoms in the 1948 Territories were Said Al-Kak, who was covering a sit-in in Bab symptomatic of more general violations of Al-Amud (the Damascus Gate) where Israeli human rights committed in the country. It police horsemen trampled on journalists before appeared as if Israel was building a separation beating them up. barrier between state authorities on the one hand and transparency, diversity of opinion and Israeli extremists threatened to kill journalist freedom of expression on the other hand in an Ziad Abu Hableh because of his articles attempt to contain the impact of revolutions and exposing discrimination and racism against the political change in neighboring Arab countries. Arab minority as well as the owner and director of the Baladna daily and website in retaliation To hide their anti-democratic policies, Israeli to an article he published. Also, unidentified authorities employed various techniques to individuals threatened to kill journalist Hamad silence Palestinian journalists and intellectuals. Oueidat because of his work as a correspondent Commonly used tactics included the use of for the Iranian Press TV channel. stun grenades, teargas, rubber-coated bullets and truncheons during political demonstrations. Israeli authorities also used their judiciary system Additionally, arrests, administrative trials as to arrest, imprison and, at times, force journalists well as prison and exile sentences were also into exile. The Baladee website editor, Imad Al- common and tainted with racism toward the Merhi, has been in solitary confinement for Arab minority. more than 20 months. Also, Israeli authorities renewed, for the twentieth time, the decision Every year, Israel commits acts of violence and to shut down the Arab Studies Society and the repression against Arab journalists during the Orient House. The Court of Nazareth sentenced commemoration of the Nakba. This year, an Mohammad Kanaaneh, president of the Hurriyat Israeli soldier beat up Palestinian journalist Diala association, to 15 months in prison, and a court Jweihan. Other soldiers also assaulted her while also exonerated the Israeli army of the death she was covering the clashes in the Al-Aissawiya of Rachel Corrie, who was killed by a military region of Jerusalem. Settlers brutally attacked bulldozer in March 2003. journalist Rami Othman knocking out his glass- eye after police forces had arrested him and The violent campaign carried out against the broke journalist Said Al-Kak’s teeth and camera. Arabic language brought to light Israel’s racist cultural policies. Both the Tel Aviv municipality On more than one occasion, Israeli forces used and the University of Haifa refused to use the excessive force against journalists and attacked Arabic language in their logo despite the fact them with stun grenades, tear gas and rubber- that Arabic is an official language in Israel. coated bullets. Huna Al-Quds photographer Also, a number of Israeli museums decided not Amjad Abu Arfeh was injured by a rubber-coated to provide their visitors with information in bullet that hit his back, Reuters photographer Arabic, in violation of their legal obligation to Ammar Awad was shot in the foot and do so, and Israel Railways refused to use Arabic Associated Press photographer Bernard Arnat in its voice announcements in stations and trains was severely wounded in the head. Photographer on the grounds that “the use of an additional Mahmoud Alyan was shot with a rubber-coated language would only lead to more noise.” The bullet as well as photographers Mahfouz Abou security director of the Israeli airline El-Al
42 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
prevented Palestinian artist Shreidi Jabarin from journalists and the racist policies against the Arab boarding at the Berlin airport and banned him minority. American novelist Alice Walker refused from returning to his country. Furthermore, to authorize a Hebrew translation of her prize- authorities dismantled a cultural forum in the winning book “The Color Purple”, and Indian Selwan neighborhood of Jerusalem. artist Zakir Hussein responded to the call for boycott by canceling two concerts scheduled The Syrian crisis also had an impact on press in Israel. Additionally, British artist Peter and cultural freedom in the 1948 Territories. Brooke canceled his participation in the Cameri Supporters of the Syrian regime launched a International Theatre Festival, and the British jazz smear campaign against Palestinian singer Rim group Portico Quartet canceled its participation Al-Banna while individuals from the anti-regime in a jazz event in Eilat. camp posted threats against journalist Sana’ Lahab on her Facebook page in reaction to her The developments of the Arab Spring have critical position on the Syrian revolution. indirectly shed light on the 1948 Territories and revealed the means used by the State of Israel to It seems that Israel, which boasts of being the oppress those who denounce its racist behavior “only democratic State in the Middle East,” and the suffering of the Arab minority. Not is no longer able to perpetuate this image. only has Israel built a separation wall inside An increasing number of international artists Palestinian land, but it is also trying to build and intellectuals decided to boycott Israel in a wall to hide its own violations of press and reaction to the violations carried out against cultural freedom.
43 The 1948 Territories
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
January
1/17 A court in Jerusalem orders a two-week expulsion of two Arab students who refused to attend a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres. 1/20 Israeli policemen arrest the director and photographer of the Wadi Helweh Information Center. 1/31 Journalist Rassem Obeidat denied access to the West Bank for a period of seven months by the Israeli intelligence services. February
2/13 Israeli authorities order the destruction of a cultural center in Selwan. 2/14 Associated Press photographer Bernard Arnat hit in the head during clashes between Israeli soldiers and young demonstrators in Al-Aissawiya. 2/18 “The Wizard of Oz” actors denied access to Jerusalem by Israeli authorities. 2/19 An Israeli soldier hinders the work of photographers Nader Bibars and Toufic Saliba at the Mughrabi Gate in Jersulem. 2/20 A Jerusalem tribunal finds journalist Mahmoud Abu Ata guilty of taking part in a gathering in a restricted area. 2/24 Journalists denied access to the Al-Aqsa mosque and photographer Amjad Abu Arfeh hit in the back by a rubber-coated bullet. 2/25 Photographer Ammar Awad hit in the foot by a rubber-coated bullet. March
3/30 Israeli forces assault journalists at the Damascus Gate, injuring three. April
4/2 Israeli security forces storm the headquarters of the Huna Al-Quds agency; prevent the organization of the agency’s launching event and arrest two staff members. 4/17 The Israeli Ministry of Education bans a civic education book that mentions the Palestinian point of view on the Nakba and the creation of the State of Israel.
44 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
May
5/14 The University of Haifa bans two art exhibits and a cultural event in commemoration of the Nakba. 5/15 Journalist Diala Jweihan beaten by Israeli soldiers. 5/20 Israeli policemen hinder journalists’ coverage of a peaceful demonstration denouncing settlements. 5/20 Israeli policemen beat up journalist Rami Othman and knock out his glass-eye. June
6/14 Israeli policemen arrest Nasser Qaws, director of the Prisoners’ Club, and force him into canceling a solidarity event with Palestinian prisoners. July
7/9 Israeli policemen arrest journalist Ibrahim Al-Husseini and photographer Ayman Alyan to prevent them from shooting at the Mughrabi Gate. August
8/16 Israeli police summons photographer Amjad Abu Arfeh for questioning and accuse him of hindering the work of a policeman two years earlier. September
9/1 Journalist Sana’ Lahab receives threats for her negative opinion toward the Syrian revolution. 9/8 Israeli policemen assault journalist Diala Jweihan during a sit-in in solidarity with Palestinian journalists who went on hunger strike. 9/14 Journalist Said Al-Kak injured during the dispersion of a demonstration at the Damascus Gate. 9/18 Photographer Mahmoud Alyan hit by an Israeli rubber-coated bullet at the Shaafat refugee camp. 9/19 Gunshots at the headquarters of the Panet website and Panorama newspaper in Taibeh.
45 The 1948 Territories
Major Press and Cultural Freedom Violations in 2012
9/19 Gunshots at journalist Lotfi Issa’s house. 9/20 A Nazareth court sentences the president of the Hurriyat (Freedoms) Association, Mohammad Kanaaneh, to 15 months in prison. 9/27 Baladee website editor-in-chief Imad Al- Merhi sentenced to seven months in prison. October
10/1 Journalist Hamad Oueidat receives death threats because of his work for an Iranian TV channel. 10/1 Israeli fundamentalists assault photographer Ata Oueissat. 10/2 Journalists denied access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. 10/5 Israeli policemen assault journalists around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, injure four and expel two others. 10/7 Israeli policemen prevent a Press TV crew from shooting at the Lions’ Gate. 10/31 Israeli policemen arrest journalist Iyad Al-Rifai at his house in Anata. November
11/8 Baladna daily director receives death threats for revealing corruption cases at the tax office in Daliyat Al-Carmel. 11/14 Journalist Said Al-Kak beaten by demonstrators commemorating the death of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. 11/18 Israeli policemen storm the Hakawati Theater and ban the organization of a festival there. 11/19 Photographer Mahfouz Abu Turk hit in the neck by an Israeli bullet during clashes at the Qalandia check-point. 11/20 Israeli policemen prevent journalists from covering Arab students’ demonstration at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 11/27 Jewish extremists threaten to kill journalist Ziad Abu Hableh in reaction to his articles denouncing discrimination and racism toward Arab citizens. December
12/4 Israeli policemen arrest Nasser Qaws, director of the Prisoners’ Club.
46 conclusion
Journalists and Intellectuals United in Tragedy
Youssef El-Hachem
In 2012 violations of media and cultural freedom continued in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine, the four countries that the SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom monitors. Violence reached new levels and journalists were assaulted in a myriad of possible ways. The pace of multiple types of violations drastically increased, and it appears that public authorities and media professionals did not take into consideration any of the recommendations proposed in our 2011 annual report. Also, no mechanisms were implemented or practical measures taken to prevent violations from increasing or to end the impunity of their perpetrators. In light of the tragic events that took place in the four above-mentioned countries, the main question remains: whose role is it to protect journalists and intellectuals? The best possible way to ensure a reduction in violations of media and cultural freedom is to establish a system of mutual aid and cohesion between journalists, artists, intellectuals, civil society organizations and government agencies tasked with their protection. This process would first take place within one country and then grow regionally and eventually be implemented on an international scale. This system would provide for a quick comparison of the state of media and cultural freedoms from one country to another as well as regular follow-up mechanisms. It would also strengthen the bonds of solidarity between journalists, writers, reporters and photographers exposed to a situation that is likely to threaten their freedom, their safety or their lives. Coming up with such a system should be the key to an Arab media spring and its development has been made easier today by technological progress. As an important part of this system, aggressions, threats and acts of violence against journalists should be documented and monitored, with particular attention to violations carried out against women working in media and cultural fields. It is also important to condemn any aggression against local, Arab or foreign journalists. Taking into account the dangerous increase in threats and judicial action against journalists posting comments and opinions on websites and social networks, this solidarity should apply to both print and broadcast media as well as to newer forms of Internet-based media. In review, there was a frightening number of violations against media and cultural freedoms in 2012. Eighty-seven journalists, artists, human rights activists and citizen journalists died in Syria. Also, dozens of Syrian, Arab and foreign journalists were subjected to torture, arbitrary detention and abduction. Some of those abducted are still missing. Additionally, Internet access was often blocked to prevent the spread of information. In Gaza, three journalists were killed and more than twenty others were injured during the Israeli attack against the Strip, and several media institutions were destroyed. In Lebanon, photographer Ali Shaaban was killed by bullets fired by the Syrian army across the northern Lebanese-Syrian border. If it is true that tragedy unites, what, then, are journalists and intellectuals waiting for to stand together against oppression, murder and torture? Journalists and intellectuals in the Arab world... unite! Otherwise, the worst is yet to come.
47 FACTS & FIGURES
Press and Cultural Freedom Violations… In Numbers
1- Journalists, intellectuals and activists killed in 2012
Journalists Writers & artists Human rights activists Citizen journalists
49
2 11
25
3 1
Syria Gaza Lebanon
No journalist, intellectual or activist was killed in Jordan, the West Bank or the 1948 Territories in 2012. However, Lebanon returned to the list of countries where journalists lost their lives with the killing of New TV cameraman Ali Shaaban by the Syrian Army on the Lebanese-Syrian border in April. In Gaza, three journalists (Mohammad Abu Aysha, Mahmoud Al-Koumi and Hussam Salama) were killed after Israeli military aircrafts targeted their cars during the November attack. Syria was by far the most dangerous place for journalists, human rights activists and citizen journalists in 2012 with 87 of them losing their lives. The number of deaths in Syria increased by 521 percent from 2011 when 14 were killed.
The last four months of the year were the deadliest in Syria. Fifty percent of all journalists, activists and citizen journalists killed in Syria in 2012 died between September and December as shown in the following chart:
48 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
Number of journalists, intellectuals and activists killed in Syria per month
Journalists Writers & artists Human rights activists Citizen journalists
9
1 9 1 5 4 5
2 3 1 4 6 3 1 2 1 1 5 2 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 1 January February March April May June July August September October November December
Syrian rebel forces were also responsible for the killing of journalists. Their first targeting of journalists occurred in June 2012 with the bombing of Al-Ikhbariya TV headquarters, and their attacks intensified in the last three months of the year. However, as shown in the following pie chart, the number of journalists, intellectuals and citizen journalists killed by pro-regime forces remained much higher.
Parties responsible for the death of journalists, intellectuals and activists in Syria
Unknown 3%
Opposition groups 16%
Pro-regime forces 81%
49 facts & figures
2- Journalists, intellectuals and artists sentenced to prison
Israeli courts Palestinian courts
2
2 2
West Bank 1948 Territories
No prison sentence was pronounced against journalists, activists or artists in Lebanon, Jordan or Gaza in 2012. In Syria, military, criminal and field courts pronounced a high number of sentences against journalists and activists that the SKeyes Center was not able to document precisely given the level of violence and the fact that most of these sentences remained secret or were revealed much later. This is why the chart only shows prison sentences pronounced in the West Bank (two by Israeli courts and two by Palestinian Authority courts) and in the 1948 Territories (two by Israeli courts).
50 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
3- Journalists, intellectuals and activists arrested
1948 Territories; Lebanon; 9 12
West Bank; 25
Gaza; 5
Jordan; 3 Syria; 80
The total number of Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian and Palestinian journalists, intellectuals and activists arrested in 2012 decreased by 42 percent compared to 2011. In Lebanon, nonetheless, their number increased from five in 2011 to nine in 2012, and in Jordan, three journalists were arrested in 2012 compared to only one in 2011. In Gaza, the number of journalists and activists arrested decreased from 13 to five and in the 1948 Territories from 29 to 12. The number of official arrests in Syria decreased from 157 in 2011 to 80 in 2012. However, there was an increase in the number of journalists and activists who went missing in Syria, which is not included in our statistics.
In the West Bank specifically
by Israeli forces 9
by the Palestinian 16 Authority
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
In the West Bank, Israeli forces arrested nine journalists, intellectuals and human rights activists in 2012 (15 in 2011) while the Palestinian Authority’s security services arrested 16 (eight in 2011).
51 facts & figures
4- Physical assault on journalists, intellectuals and activists
Non state-actors Official bodies Israeli forces
25
38
38 2 4 15 17 10 8
2 2 2 Lebanon Jordan Gaza West Bank 1948 Territories
In 2012, Lebanon had the highest number of physical assaults on journalists, photographers and civic activists of any country in the Levant. SKeyes reported 63 cases in 2012, increasing by 14.5 percent, compared to 55 cases in 2011. Specifically, there was a strong rise in the number of journalists and activists assaulted by soldiers and security forces, from four in 2011 to 25 in 2012, and a decrease in the number of aggressions by non-state actors (demonstrators, political activists or unknown people) from 51 cases in 2011 to 38 in 2012. The situation also deteriorated in the West Bank with a rise in the number of assaults from 37 in 2011 to 48 in 2012 (an increase of 29.7 percent).
However, the situation in Gaza, the 1948 Territories and Jordan improved. In Gaza the number of physical assaults decreased from 60 in 2011 to 16 in 2012 (a 73.3 percent decrease), in the 1948 Territories the number of cases went from 43 in 2011 to 17 in 2012 (a 60.5 percent decrease) and in Jordan from 35 cases in 2011 to 19 in 2012 (a 45.7 percent decrease).
Syria is not included in this chart because of the difficulty in monioring all cases of injuries and physical assaults in 2012.
52 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
5- Death or aggression threats against journalists, intellectuals and activists
10
4
2 2 1
Lebanon Jordan Gaza West Bank 1948 Territories
Ten Lebanese journalists and artists received death or physical aggression threats in 2012 compared to 11 in 2011, and four journalists received threats in the 1948 Territories in 2012 compared to only two in 2011. An improvement was noticed in Jordan with a significant reduction in the number of threats, which decreased by 90.9 percent from 11 in 2011 to only one in 2012. 6- Cultural and media equipment, properties and venues attacked
Lebanon; 3 1948 Territories; 4
Syria; 2
West Bank; 5
Jordan; 5
Gaza; 4
53 facts & figures
7- Censorship on media and cultural works
Books Art venues and installations Theater/Art performances Cinema TV programs
6 3 3
1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1
Lebanon - Lebanon - Jordan Gaza 1948 Territories State authorities Non-state authorities
There was a slight improvement in the state of cultural freedom in Lebanon in 2012. Compared to 11 art works totally or partially censored in 2011, only seven were subjected to censorship in 2012; a decrease of 36.4 percent. Three movies were partially censored in 2012, and no film or theatre play was banned this year. However, the import of three DVDs of movies directed by Pierre Dawalibi was blocked for administrative reasons. The negative development in 2012 was the rise of censorship imposed by non-state actors, both religious and political, on TV series, advertisements, concerts and art exhibits. A significant improvement took place in the West Bank in 2012 with no cases of censorship on any works of art.
This graph, however, cannot be used to compare the state of censorship in the region or to rank the countries according to their respect of cultural freedom as the situation in each country is unique. Also, there was no uniform pattern in terms of material that was censored with the movies, books and TV series banned in one country being allowed elsewhere. A good comparison tool on these grounds would look at how censorship authorities dealt with the same art work across the region, but such a case did not occur in 2012.
54 Press and Cultural Freedom in 2012 - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine
8- Cases of website hacking
West Bank; 4
Gaza; 9
Jordan; 7
Syria; 6
Lebanon; 43
There was a hike in the number of Lebanese websites that were hacked in 2012. The number rose by 152 percent from 17 websites in 2011 to 43 in 2012. Also, in Gaza nine websites were hacked in 2012 compared to only one in 2011, and in the West Bank four websites were hacked in 2012 compared to two in 2011. In Syria, this number decreased by 40 percent from ten to six, and the number of hacked websites in Jordan stayed the same, at seven, between 2011 and 2012.
55