Americas

New York, December 18, 2008—For the sixth consecutive year, Iraq was the deadliest country in the world for the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists found in its end-of-year analysis. The 11 deaths recorded in Iraq in 2008, while a sharp drop from prior years, remained among the highest annual tolls in CPJ history.

New York, December 12, 2008--A Port-au-Prince court sentenced journalist and press freedom advocate Guyler Delva to one month in prison on Wednesday for defaming a former senator. Delva said he has received death threats he believes are linked to the case. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the court's decision today, and urged Haitian authorities to investigate the threats against Delva.

CPJ wrote to Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa today to urge him to denounce the jailing of two journalists for defamation and to bring his country's press law in line with international standards of freedom of expression and rulings by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

New York, December 4, 2008--The investigation of critical private broadcaster Globovisión for alleged violations of Venezuelan regulations is another attempt by the government of President Hugo Chávez Frías to control the flow of information and restrict news coverage, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Also: See capsule reports on journalists in jail as of December 1, 2008

New York, December 4, 2008--Reflecting the rising influence of online reporting and commentary, more Internet journalists are jailed worldwide today than journalists working in any other medium. In its annual census of imprisoned journalists, released today, the Committee to Protect Journalists found that 45 percent of all media workers jailed worldwide are bloggers, Web-based reporters, or online editors. Online journalists represent the largest professional category for the first time in CPJ's prison census.