We hope to keep you informed here about the latest news affecting journalists and press freedom. We’ll continue to issue our press releases, letters, and carefully researched reports, but this blog should be your first step for up-to-the-minute information. We’ll have firsthand accounts from our staff as they travel the world and brief reports from…
New York, July 24, 2008–Unidentified individuals set fire to the home of critical journalist Jeso Carneiro on Sunday night in the northern city of Santarém. No one was injured but the house suffered considerable damage. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Brazilian authorities to investigate the attack and provide the necessary protection to allow…
New York, July 23, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the recentarrest and criminal defamation charges filed by the Malaysian government against prominent blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, editor and founder of the Malaysia Today news Web site. Raja Petra was arrested and charged on July 17 at police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and later…
By Joel Campagna Published in St. Paul Pioneer Press July 22, 2008 U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum’s recent visit to the North African nation of Tunisia hardly made headlines in Minnesota. But in Tunisia the state-run media hailed her visit as a success for U.S.-Tunisian relations, citing the congresswomen’s praise for Tunisia as a “voice of…
New York, July 22, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Iraqi reporter Soran Mama Hama, who was shot by unidentified gunmen in front of his home in Kirkuk on Monday night, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. Mama Hama, 23, a reporter with the Sulaymaniyah-based Livin magazine, had received threatening messages…
New York, July 22, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Iraqi reporter Soran Mama Hama, who was shot by unidentified gunmen in front of his home in Kirkuk on Monday night, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. Mama Hama, 23, a reporter with the Sulaymaniyah-based Livin magazine, had received threatening messages…
Dear Secretary-General Pitsuwan: We are writing to express our concern that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has neglected to include recommendations for more press freedom and media access as one of the guiding principles for relief and recovery efforts following natural disasters.
New York, July 22, 2008–Chinese police arrested prominent dissident and Internet writer Du Daobin on Monday, according to his defense lawyer, Mo Shaoping. CPJ is concerned that the arrest is part of the government’s ongoing campaign to suppress criticism prior to the Olympic Games. Du had been sentenced to a three-year suspended prison sentence in…
New York, July 21, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from jail on Monday of Tunisian Internet journalist Slim Boukhdhir, who had been held for eight months after writing articles critical of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the first family. CPJ conducted a fact-finding mission to Tunisia earlier this month as…
Mr. Prime Minister: We are deeply concerned about the safety of the staff of the Urdu-language Daily Aaj Kal newspaper. According to Najam Sethi, the paper’s editor-in-chief, clerics at the Lal Masjid mosque in Islamabad have repeatedly issued inflammatory statements aimed at the newspaper and its staff. The accusations leave them vulnerable to attack by militant groups at a time when civil violence is on the rise.