Centre for Freedom: Journalists continue to be targeted in Arab World

The Centre for Defending the Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) said on Sunday that violations against journalists persisted in the Arab world and reporters are being targeted and their life threatened.

In a statement marking World Press Freedom Day, CDFJ said gross, multiple violations had continued unabated, and also referred to such breaches "that journalists do not talk about," such as denial of access to information, censorship and "soft containment," which all ultimately restrain media freedom. "We stand to salute all journalists defending free media and people's right to know the truth, and we remember with high esteem the media people who fell martyrs along the path of press freedom as well as those who languish behind bars," said CDFJ President Nidal Mansour. Mansour said serious violations had been committed in 2014 and are going on in 2015 as journalists in the Arab world were not spared the killings, disappearances, abductions, imprisonment and gross assaults and humiliating and inhumane treatment.

Despite the fact that journalists were being targeted in all forms and were the first victims of conflicts and crises, they remained at the forefront to convey the truth, breaking all barriers of fear and "red lines," he said, adding that CDFJ, with the support extended by the Greater Amman Municipality and Zain Jo, had launched a campaign to promote press freedom in society.

He said signs were posted on bridges in Amman that carried slogans promoting the value and importance of press freedom.

Mansour also said his centre had completed its annual report on the state of media freedoms in the Arab world, entitled, "Media Under Fire," and another on the condition of media in Jordan that was titled, "Dead End." Both reports would be released at a press conference on May 18, he added.

The CDFJ was established in 1998 as a non-governmental organisation seeking to defend Jordanian and Arab journalists and their freedom and rights and to develop the Arab media sector.