The attack against French satirical cartoon Charlie Hebdo in Paris “>massacred in Nigeria by the terrorist group Boko Haram on the very same day. And in terms of free press, authoritarian and oppressive regimes around the world have done far more to censor the world's journalists, overall, than religious extremists.
But that's not stopping some of the very perpetrators of this state censorship from joining the “>now a law in Jordan allowing the government to shut down any website it wants — and it's been put to use on hundreds of sites, including many news outlets.
This summer, Jordanian security “>reportedly “faced many difficulties to report because of interference by security forces” and a Palestinian-Jordanian reporter for the Jerusalem Post was “>World Press Freedom Index, below Libya and Chad.
(Quick anecdote: When I traveled to Jordan to cover the Syrian refugee crisis for the Jewish Journal, the country's press officials said I couldn't enter the Zaatari refugee camp because my newspaper was Jewish. After I essentially threw a tantrum in the lobby, they finally let me into Zaatari. However, Jordanian police followed me everywhere, called me “Mossad,” curbed my questioning and interrupted whenever a Syrian said something that might make them look bad.)
As for Queen Rania, well, she's never been one to miss a photo op.
Kidslding aside, why is abbASS hiding behind queen rania of jordan? “>January 11, 2015
11. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
Five journalists and two media workers “>reports that since Ukraine's former president was ousted in May, Poroshenko has done little to improve the situation.
Although the new administration was “elected after pledging allegiance to democratic ideals,” says the CPJ, they've offered no new protection for journalists and have imposed new “military escort” rules for battle zones.
Good timing: Today we all uphold the values of freedom of speech, said Poroshenko in Paris. Same moment fascists bombed newspaper at home — Tore (@potifar66) " charset="utf-8">
10. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Press freedoms inside Israel proper are generally alive and well, save a phone tap or two. But poke one toe outside the green line with Palestine (or, um, live there), and your rights instantly evaporate. Journalists covering protests in the West Bank are constantly injured or detained, and seven Palestinian reporters were killed in the recent war on Gaza while wearing press vests.
From this year's World Press Freedom Index
Is this stare down between Netanyahu and Abbas at the Paris march earlier real or is this pic photoshopped? “>January 11, 2015
9. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
Abbas once “>literally freezing to death right now. And seeing as Israel and Hamas aren't doing anything about it, the de facto leader of the Palestinian people needs to step in.
Abbas' cameo at the Charlie Hebdo march sends a message to the world that Palestinian leadership opposes these Islamist terror tactics and wants to be seen as more moderate. But in the eyes of his people, Abbas is just hopping on one more plane. Thus reenforcing the now very public opinion that Abbas loves the UN podium more than historic Palestine.
I'm not saying Abbas shouldn't be in Paris. I saying he should've been in Gaza before Paris — Palestine Video (@PalestineVideo) " charset="utf-8">
8. United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan
A long list of foreign and local journalists in the United Arab Emirates have been jailed throughout the Arab Spring for supposedly slanting their coverage in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood — or even just Tweeting the trials of alleged Brotherhood members. One of these journalists, Egyptian national Anas Fouda,
Why are the Saudi, UAE, Bahrain representatives not wearing their typical headgear? Coz it is banned in France, or for fear of Islamophobes? — Daniel Shunra (@shunradan) " charset="utf-8">
7. Tunisian Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa
Tunisian government officials are known for puppeteering state media — appointing the heads of all broadcast media while making sure the independents are rubbed out. “Authoritarian methods continue to short-circuit reform attempts and block state media independence,” reads last year's “>Tunisian blogger Yassine Ayari is behind bars for “defaming the army” in a series of Facebook posts. “Tunisia’s new parliament, elected two months ago, should make it a priority to repeal laws that make defaming state officials and institutions a criminal offense,” says Amnesty International in a statement.
Je suis Yassine Ayari — Sofien BEN SALAH (@bssofien) " charset="utf-8">
6. Saudi Arabian Ambassador to France Mohammed Ismail Al-Sheikh
That a Saudi Arabian official would even show his face outside the embassy today is offensive. As we all know, women aren't allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, and journalists are constantly tracked and jailed for writing about this law. So you can imagine the kind of punishment a writer gets for insulting Islam.
On the same day Saudi Arabian officials condemned the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo, they dragged Saudi blogger Raif Badawi from his jail cell, where he is serving a seven-year sentence, and “>last blog posts
Saudi Arabia condemned the attack on “>@wrightr reports: “>January 11, 2015
5. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
This one's just straight confusing. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been a popular target of Charlie Hedbo; he's often depicted as an evil, rectangular thug. If Charb and the gang had released these drawings under Putin's watch, they would have been disappeared a long time ago. (Kind of like if Edward Snowden had released secret documents revealing Putin's homeland security tactics.)
According to the “>detaining journalists in those parts, too.
But we all know Putin's a sucker for international love — case in point, “>at least five different newspapers
Can't make this up—> “>#CharlieHebdo “>pic.twitter.com/mfrkm7tdaR — Jeffrey Smith (@Smith_RFKennedy) " charset="utf-8">
3. Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa
Bahrain is the second largest jailer of journalists, per capita, in the world. (One freelance Bahraini journalist who documented police brutality is now serving a 10-year prison sentence.) There are also widespread reports of torture during jailtime. Among some of Bahrain's crimes,
In Bahrain, bloggers and poets are jailed/beaten. Nice to see Bahrain's foreign minister marching Paris. Gonna open up those prisons then? — Murtaza Abidi (@murtz_abidi) " charset="utf-8">
2. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry
Egypt's president, Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, became perhaps the most high-profile journalist jailer of 2013 “>calls the “Sisification” of Egypt's media. “Arbitrary arrest and torture is now common,” says the report. “An antiBrotherhood witchhunt is under way that targets not only Egyptian journalists but also their Turkish, Palestinian or Syrian colleagues.”
Apparently the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists were antiBrotherhood enough to count as humans in the warped constitution of the Egyptian military regime.
seething RT “>January 11, 2015
1. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu
This has got to be a sick joke. In 2012 and 2013, Turkey imprisoned more journalists than any other country. And although China took that title in 2014, Turkish officials are quickly catching up with what seems like another TV, radio or newspaper “>served three months in prison this year for crticizing Muslim leader Adnan Oktar. He reportedly called Oktar's preachings “overzealous.”
Now imagine if he'd drawn a picture of the prophet with his pants down.
“>#Paris, yet blocking freedom of speech at home. “>http://t.co/GYF2BEWn3H “>January 11, 2015
have been suspended for criticism of his regime. One of them, Le Gri-Gri de la Griffe, is — get this — a satirical newspaper accused of “indulging in indecency and vulgarity in most of its publications.” The irony is deafening.
, Badawi wrote: “Whether we like it or not, we, being a part of humanity, have the same duties that others have as well as the same rights. … Let us all live under the roof of the human civilization.”
