Committee to Protect Journalists tag:cpj.org,2008-07-12://1 2010-02-08T22:04:10Z Movable Type 4.23-en Mauritanian editor gets second prison term on same charge tag:cpj.org,2010://1.14247 2010-02-08T21:59:07Z 2010-02-08T22:04:10Z Committee to Protect Journalists New York, February 8, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by a second prison sentence given to Hanevy Ould Dehah, editor of the online publication Taqadoumy, and calls on the Mauritanian judiciary to reverse the verdict on appeal. 

]]> Blog: An update on the Karachi double bombing tag:cpj.org,2010:/blog//8.14246 2010-02-08T21:18:31Z 2010-02-08T22:23:50Z On February 5, I blogged about three vicious bomb blasts in Pakistan in the previous two days—“one in Lower Dir that wounded three reporters on Thursday, and Friday’s double attack in Karachi that we’re still investigating.” I argued that media companies in Pakistan must start taking responsibility for protecting... Bob Dietz/Asia Program Coordinator (Reuters)On February 5, I blogged about three vicious bomb blasts in Pakistan in the previous two days—“one in Lower Dir that wounded three reporters on Thursday, and Friday’s double attack in Karachi that we’re still investigating.” I argued that media companies in Pakistan must start taking responsibility for protecting their employees in the field. I had trouble rounding up names and numbers of those hurt in the second Karachi blast, at Jinnah Hospital, left, but the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), which is based in Karachi, has come up with a tally of 12 journalists and media workers injured. PPF is a go-to organization for us, a place where I always check in when I’m in Karachi. If you’re a Pakistan media watcher, it’s a fundamental, extremely reliable source to have bookmarked. 

]]> Blog: Chinese writer ends Japanese exile after 90 days in airport tag:cpj.org,2010:/blog//8.14245 2010-02-08T19:30:24Z 2010-02-08T19:47:30Z A Chinese dissident who writes about rights abuses is ending an involuntary exile in Japan on Friday. Or so he hopes. Feng Zhenghu has booked a flight departing Japan’s Narita Airport for Shanghai at 9:45 a.m. on February 12. That was the topic of an impromptu press conference held Monday... Madeline Earp/Asia Research Associate A Chinese dissident who writes about rights abuses is ending an involuntary exile in Japan on Friday. Or so he hopes.

Feng has a reservation to leave Japan on February 12. (CPJ)

Feng Zhenghu has booked a flight departing Japan’s Narita Airport for Shanghai at 9:45 a.m. on February 12. That was the topic of an impromptu press conference held Monday afternoon in the brightly lit lobby of the Nippon Press Center Building in central Tokyo.  A small crowd of Chinese and Japanese journalists clustered round him snapping photos while an anxious security guard paced up and down, interrupting every now and then to ask the group to disperse. 

]]> Blog: Internews provides critical news to use in Haiti tag:cpj.org,2010:/blog//8.14244 2010-02-08T17:57:02Z 2010-02-08T18:11:47Z Every evening, between 9 and 10 p.m., people in areas affected by the January 12 earthquake listen to the program “Nouvel pou nou Konnen” (News to Know). Huddled in tents or sitting in the open air, men and women cling to their transistor radios to get news on the... Jean Roland Chery/CPJ Haiti consultant A Haitian refugee in a Port-au-Prince camp listens to the radio. (AP)

Every evening, between 9 and 10 p.m., people in areas affected by the January 12 earthquake listen to the program “Nouvel pou nou Konnen” (News to Know). Huddled in tents or sitting in the open air, men and women cling to their transistor radios to get news on the latest decisions of the Haitian government or agencies coordinating international assistance in affected areas. The program comes via the California-based media development agency Internews, which opened a press center in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, in order to bridge the information gap following the destruction of most media outlets in this city.

]]> Blog: Freedom of information laws struggle to take hold in Africa tag:cpj.org,2010:/blog//8.14242 2010-02-05T21:58:48Z 2010-02-06T15:58:31Z In Uganda, a ruling this week in a landmark case of two journalists seeking to compel their government’s disclosure of multinationals oil deals highlighted the challenges to public transparency just before media leaders, press freedom advocates, officials, and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter gather in Ghana next week at... Mohamed Keita/Africa Research Associate Monitor reporter Angelo Izama, right, went through the courts to gain access to government documents and was denied. (Monitor)

In Uganda, a ruling this week in a landmark case of two journalists seeking to compel their government’s disclosure of multinationals oil deals highlighted the challenges to public transparency just before media leaders, press freedom advocates, officials, and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter gather in Ghana next week at the African Regional Conference on the Right of Access to Information.

]]> Blog: Is Sri Lanka done assaulting the media? tag:cpj.org,2010:/blog//8.14237 2010-02-05T20:58:38Z 2010-02-06T15:59:49Z It was good to hear Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa point out in his Independence Day speech on Thursday that the country “cannot be developed with harassment, gross punishments or by the gun.” But the sentence that followed that—“Discipline is not revenge”—gives cause for concern. Rajapaksa’s speech marked the 62nd... Bob Dietz/Asia Program Coordinator

It was good to hear Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa point out in his Independence Day speech on Thursday that the country “cannot be developed with harassment, gross punishments or by the gun.” But the sentence that followed that—“Discipline is not revenge”—gives cause for concern. Rajapaksa’s speech marked the 62nd anniversary of the country’s independence from Britain. It was delivered in Kandy, the heartland of the president’s electoral base.

]]> Blog: Google-China debate keeps Internet security in spotlight tag:cpj.org,2010:/blog//8.14236 2010-02-05T19:50:06Z 2010-02-05T20:02:55Z Google has gone quiet since its announcement last month that it was unwilling to continue censoring search results on Google.cn in China. The Washington Post reported Thursday that the company is seeking help from the U.S. government to trace hackers behind security breaches, which it said targeted its own... Madeline Earp/Asia Research Associate Google's Bejing office. (AP)

Google has gone quiet since its announcement last month that it was unwilling to continue censoring search results on Google.cn in China. The Washington Post reported Thursday that the company is seeking help from the U.S. government to trace hackers behind security breaches, which it said targeted its own intellectual property and individual human rights activists. A Reuters analysis said the company may also be grappling with the financial and legal implications of ceasing censorship in defiance of Chinese law.

Regardless of Google’s next step or the motivations behind it, the company’s January 12 statement has already had a positive effect: Journalists and human rights activists who have long complained about e-mail security in relation to China have a much wider audience for their concerns. 

]]> In Yemen, disappeared journalist claims he was tortured tag:cpj.org,2010://1.14235 2010-02-05T19:26:54Z 2010-02-05T19:43:26Z New York, February 5, 2010—Muhammad al-Maqaleh, editor of the opposition Yemeni Socialist Party’s news Web site Aleshteraki, who was detained in September has finally appeared in government custody. He is being held without charges, local news outlets reported, and alleges that he has been tortured.... Committee to Protect Journalists

New York, February 5, 2010—Muhammad al-Maqaleh, editor of the opposition Yemeni Socialist Party’s news Web site Aleshteraki, who was detained in September has finally appeared in government custody. He is being held without charges, local news outlets reported, and alleges that he has been tortured.

]]> Blog: Time to step up protection for media in Pakistan tag:cpj.org,2010:/blog//8.14230 2010-02-05T17:09:14Z 2010-02-08T21:37:39Z Three vicious bomb blasts in Pakistan in the last two days—one in Lower Dir that wounded three reporters on Thursday, and Friday’s double attack in Karachi that we’re still investigating—highlight just how dangerous it has become for journalists, particularly TV camera crews and photographers, but certainly any journalist assigned... Bob Dietz/Asia Program Coordinator The blast in Lower Dir, seen here, was just one of many recent deadly explosions in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. (Reuters)Three vicious bomb blasts in Pakistan in the last two days—one in Lower Dir that wounded three reporters on Thursday, and Friday’s double attack in Karachi that we’re still investigating—highlight just how dangerous it has become for journalists, particularly TV camera crews and photographers, but certainly any journalist assigned to cover a public event or military operations in the country. ]]> Blog: Journalists injured in Pakistan bombings tag:cpj.org,2010:/blog//8.14228 2010-02-05T15:05:31Z 2010-02-08T21:46:09Z Following reports today of a double-bombing in Karachi targeting Shiite worshipers in a bus riding to a religious festival and later at a hospital, we issued this statement...... Committee to Protect Journalists

]]> Blog: Tomás Eloy Martínez, passionate press freedom advocate tag:cpj.org,2010:/blog//8.14227 2010-02-04T23:07:35Z 2010-02-05T21:25:31Z Carlos Lauría/Americas Senior Program Coordinator Martínez (Reuters)

Argentine writer and journalist Tomás Eloy Martínez, who died on Monday after a long battle with cancer, was ranked among Latin America’s most prominent intellectuals. Best known for his novels about former President Juan Domingo Perón and his wife Eva, Martínez cared deeply about press freedom and was a passionate advocate who helped scores of Argentine reporters, and was actively involved in CPJ’s efforts to campaign on behalf on Cuban imprisoned journalists.

Martínez understood the difficulties journalists face while working on dangerous assignments or under repressive regimes. In 1975, he was forced to flee Argentina after serious threats from a right-wing paramilitary group. He lived in exile during the dictatorship era, and returned briefly to the country after democracy was restored in 1983.

]]> Kazakh court censors at request of president’s son-in-law tag:cpj.org,2010://1.14226 2010-02-04T22:33:03Z 2010-02-05T16:16:37Z New York, February 4, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a court order issued on Monday that banned all Kazakh media and printing houses from publishing “any information that discredits the honor and dignity” of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s son-in-law, a high-ranking energy executive.... Committee to Protect Journalists New York, February 4, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a court order issued on Monday that banned all Kazakh media and printing houses from publishing “any information that discredits the honor and dignity” of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s son-in-law, a high-ranking energy executive.

]]> Egyptian journalist sentenced to prison for defamation tag:cpj.org,2010://1.14223 2010-02-04T21:12:19Z 2010-02-04T21:13:40Z Committee to Protect Journalists New York, February 4, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Egyptian criminal court’s decision on Tuesday to sentence a journalist to one year in prison and a fine of 60,000 Egyptian pounds (US$10,500) on criminal charges filed by another journalist who is also a member of parliament.

]]> New Iraq media rules reflect return to authoritarianism tag:cpj.org,2010://1.14222 2010-02-04T21:06:44Z 2010-02-04T21:11:34Z New York, February 4, 2010—An Iraqi government plan to impose restrictive rules on broadcast news media represents an alarming return to authoritarianism, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ denounced the rules and called on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his government to abandon their repressive plan.... Committee to Protect Journalists New York, February 4, 2010—An Iraqi government plan to impose restrictive rules on broadcast news media represents an alarming return to authoritarianism, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ denounced the rules and called on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his government to abandon their repressive plan.

]]> Tajik judges seek millions from weeklies in civil libel case tag:cpj.org,2010://1.14206 2010-02-03T22:01:31Z 2010-02-03T22:05:14Z New York, February 3, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on judges in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, to drop their defamation lawsuits against three popular independent weeklies for damage amounts that would bankrupt them.... Committee to Protect Journalists A man peruses newspapers in Dushanbe. (Reuters)

New York, February 3, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on judges in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, to drop their defamation lawsuits against three popular independent weeklies for damage amounts that would bankrupt them.

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