activists and media professionals. As a result, Al-Rachidi’s permit was terminated and he was fined $6000 for “spreading false information in bad faith”. - In 2009, Morocco terminated the permits of two other Al Jazeera journalists, Anas Bensalah and Mohamed El-Bakkali, who had to be transferred to work in other countries. - In October 2010, the Moroccan authorities terminated the permits of all remaining Al Jazeera correspondents. Information Minister, Kha- lid Naciri, stated at the time the Network’s reporting “is a daily insult to Moroccans”. Yemen: The years 2009/2010 were tough for all journalists in Ye- men. In June 2009,Al Jazeera journalist, Fadl Mubarak was injured by unknown assailants while covering a demonstration in Abyan. In March 2010, Yemeni security forces stormed the Network’s office in Sana’a and confiscated its broadcasting equipment. In November 2010, the se- curity forces temporarily detained crew members, consisting of Fadl Mubarak, Ahmed Al-Shalafi, Samir Al-Nimri, and Abdul-Ghani Shiriri. 5. The Arab Spring and Al Jazeera’s Share of Repression During the past seventy years, from the establishment of modern Arab states to the emergence of satellite television in the nineties, the media content has been closely monitored and its agenda has always been set by governments. Khalil Rinnawi describes the situation of the Arab media during those seven decades (from the 1920s to the late 1980s) as “tribal media” that was eroded by the emergence of cross-bor- der satellite broadcasting. It was the first time in television history in the region the audience had the luxury of choosing news from a list of networks, such as MBC, ANN, Abu Dhabi and Al Jazeera (1) . The Arab Spring revolutions in 2011 and onward, consolidated this trend of freedom and diversity in Arab media, which played an active role in covering them. The live televised exchange of news and views during these events started to shape public opinion and brought new forms of influence and sociopolitical activism.
(1) Khalil Rinnawi, Instant Nationalism: McArabism , Al Jazeera and Transitional Media in the Arab World , (University Press of America: Maryland, 2006).
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