Syria
Al Jazeera leavesPosted May 5 2011
Al Jazeera indefinitely suspended its operations in Syria, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on April 27. The action was in response to increased restrictions and attacks on Al Jazeera staff.
Unknown assailants pelted Al Jazeera’s Damascus bureau with eggs and stones on April 24, 25 and 26, both CPJ and Reporters Without Borders said. “Men in plainclothes have continued to harass and intimidate the bureau and its employees since then,” according to CPJ.
The news channel also announced on May 2 that it had lost contact with Dorothy Parvez, who had arrived in Damascus on April 29, according to Reporters Without Borders. “We are very concerned for Dorothy’s safety,” an Al Jazeera spokesperson said to Reporters Without Borders. “We request the full cooperation of the Syrian authorities in determining what happened to her at the airport, where she is now, and what her state of health is. We want her returned to Al Jazeera safely at once.”
Other journalists have faced problems as well. “CPJ research shows that at least five Reuters and two Associated Press journalists have been forced to leave the country in the past six weeks,” CPJ said. “Scores of local journalists and bloggers have been detained; many have since been released but others remain in custody.”
Omar Koush is one of them. He was arrested in the Damascus airport after participating in a conference in Turkey, according to Reporters Without Borders. There is no word yet on his release.