The Syrian opposition activist Suheir Atassi faces the risk of arrest

(07/03/2010) – SKeyes – Damascus - The Syrian activist and opposition leader Suheir Atassi is coming under intense pressure to shut down a chat group she had set up on Facebook recently. She was summoned three times by the State Security Service to force her to shut down the chat forum. Her ID card was confiscated and she was threatened with a prison sentence of no less than two and a half years, according to what Syrian media and human rights sources reported to SKeyes on Sunday night.

SKeyes denounces the sentencing of journalist Abu Arafeh to 3 months in prison, and calls for his immediate release

On Monday, July 26, 2010, the Palestinian military tribunal in the city of Hebron in the West Bank sentenced the journalist Amer Abu Arafeh to three months in prison and fined him 500 Jordanian dinars, on charges of “opposing the policies of the public authorities”.

SKeyes calls on the General Prosecution to investigate the threats against journalists published in Al-Akhbar newspaper

Yesterday, the daily newspaper Al-Akhbar published dangerous statements, citing an unknown ‘security source’.

The Israeli police arrest the artist Fidaa al-Sha’er on charges of espionage

Jerusalem - SKeyes Special Report - On the evening of Sunday, July 11, 2010, the regional unit of the Israeli International Investigation service and the Shin Bet arrested the Golani artist Fidaa al-Sha’er at Ben Gurion Airport, after returning from Paris. The Israelis imposed a blanket ban on the details of the case, and only allowed the publication of the charges made against him.

Hamas’s police detain journalists covering a rally in Gaza

Gaza - a SKeyes special report - On the evening of Tuesday, July 13, 2010, the police forces affiliated with the Hamas dismissed government in Gaza arrested the photographer of AFP the journalist Mohammed Baba, along with a number of journalists while they were covering the rally organized by Hizb-u-Tahrir in the Maqqousi region in the northern Gaza Strip.

"SKeyes" Organizes a discussion Panel on Media and Cultural Freedoms in Jordan

Amman- a special "SKeyes"- The Defense Center of Media and Cultural Freedoms "SKeyes", in collaboration with the "Network of Community Media" organized a discussion panel in the Jordanian capital Amman on Sunday, July 11, 2010. The panel dealt with the development of media and cultural freedoms in Jordan, in addition to the employment prospects that would enhance these freedoms.

SKeyes organizes a panel discussion on media and cultural freedoms in Jordan

Amman - SKeyes Special Report - On Sunday, July 11, 2010, the SKeyes Centre for Media and Cultural Freedom, in collaboration with the Community Media Network (C.M.N), held a panel discussion in the Jordanian capital Amman. The discussion dealt with the circumstances surrounding media and cultural freedoms in Jordan, and the prospects for improving the margin of these freedoms. It was attended by 12 Jordanian journalists, intellectuals and publishers, in addition to the director of the Centre, the journalist Saad Kiwan.

SKeyes denounces the sacking of the journalist Octavia Nasr by CNN, for praising Fadlallah.

In a surprising move, the U.S television network CNN sacked the Senior Editor of Mideast affairs Octavia Nasr, for praising the Lebanese Shiite cleric Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who passed away last Sunday. The journalist Nasr had mentioned through the Twitter internet service that she was sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.

Syrian lawyer and human rights activist Muhannad al Hassani sentenced to three years in prison

The Second Criminal Court of Damascus sentenced the Syrian lawyer and human rights activist Muhannad al-Hassani to three years in prison, in accordance with Article 285 and 286 of the Syrian Penal Code, and to six months in prison for ‘conveying false news abroad’, but which were revoked under the presidential amnesty law.