"It is not a very comfortable and luxurious life in Germany, but it's better than prison." If there's one exiled journalist whose life encapsulates Turkey's purge of critical media, it might be Cevheri Guven. In…
"He told me to either leave or they would beat me very terribly." Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region has long had a reputation in the West as a bastion of stability in a chaotic region plagued…
"The police broke down the door of my apartment and forced me to undress." When the security software on Moroccan journalist Hicham Mansouri's computer alerted him that there had been a number of attempts to…
"One thing is broken: my heart." When Turkish journalist Arzu Yildiz reported a major scoop in 2014, she had little idea that the story might lead to the end of her journalism career, the loss…
"For the Turkish government I am a terrorist. Everybody challenging the government is a terrorist." Can Dündar isn't easily silenced. The outspoken Turkish columnist and editor has been fired, jailed and even shot at by…
In 2012, a Minnesota-native fresh out of nursing school named Alex Kay Potter was traveling in Jordan just as the Arab Spring swept through the region. On an impulse, Potter decided to buy a ticket…
Omid Rezaee’s work on a university magazine led to his arrest In 2009, incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won Iran’s disputed election against Mir-Hossein Mousavi, The results led to public outrage and the formation of the…
"We have to stand up for each other, otherwise the whole profession is in jeopardy.” Yehia Ghanem had been near the pinnacle of Egyptian journalism. As a former foreign correspondent and senior editor at Al-Ahram…
"I realize it was the best decision of my life because I would be imprisoned right now, like my colleagues." Shortly after Turkish police in riot gear raided the headquarters of Zaman Media Group on…
"I face probably a life sentence or maybe even worse. The idea of not being able to go back to your own country...is just heartbreaking." [caption id="attachment_9348" align="alignleft" width="240"] Abdullah Elshamy[/caption] For a time, journalist Abdullah…