Press freedom in the news 12/10/08

By Andrew Levinson/Communications Assistant

The release of Iraqi journalist Adel Hussein, who had been jailed in Iraqi Kurdistan, is making news today. The Associated Press has coverage of his pardon from President Masoud Barzani, as does Canada's CBC News. Both articles cite our coverage of the case and quote CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney, who called on the authorities "to ensure that the new legislation is enforced and that Adel Hussein is the last journalist to be sent to prison in Iraqi Kurdistan because of his work."

Additional coverage of our imprisoned list appears today in The Wall Street Journal's "China Journal" blog, the Malaysian Web site Nut Graph, and the Asia Sentinel.

Also today, the dangers faced by journalists working in Russia is the topic of an editorial in the The Washington Times.