2009
CPJ concerned for kidnapped journalists in Somalia
New York, May 26, 2009– Following a Western news agency report in which a Canadian and Australian journalist held hostage in war-torn Mogadishu for nine months complained of poor health and urged their respective governments to help free them, CPJ issued the following statement today:
CPJ calls on Mexico to investigate reporter’s killing
New York, May 26, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement in response to the killing of Mexican crime reporter Eliseo Barrón of the Torreón-based daily La Opinión that belongs to the Milenio media group. Barrón was abducted by unidentified hooded gunmen Monday and found dead this morning in the town of Gómez…
Q&A: Syrian journalist Michel Kilo after prison
On May 18, Syrian journalist and pro-democracy activist Michel Kilo was released from prison after serving a three-year sentence for “weakening national sentiment and encouraging sectarian strife.” Kilo, who was a regular contributor to the leading Lebanese daily, Al-Nahar, and the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi among other publications, was detained in May 2006 after writing…
Azerbaijani newspaper founder jailed on defamation charge
New York, May 22, 2009–A district court judge in Baku has sentenced Nazim Guliyev, an editor and the founder of the pro-government newspaper Ideal, to six months in prison on defamation charges, the Azeri Press Agency (APA) reported. Guliyev was jailed immediately.
Broadcaster critically injured in latest Philippine shooting
New York, May 22, 2009–The Philippine government must address a series of shootings that have targeted journalists on the southern island of Mindanao, the latest coming on Wednesday when gunmen critically wounded a local radio broadcaster, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Philippine journalist unharmed in shooting
Gunshots were fired into the home of Abra province journalist Marjorie Bandayrel-Trinidad on May 14, 2009, according to a local press freedom group and news reports. Bandayrel-Trinidad and her husband and child were unhurt, the reports said. Abra is in the north of the Philippines.
French journalist released after 17 months in prison
On May 7, 2009, the Court of Criminal Appeal in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast, confirmed the provisional release of French freelance photojournalist Jean Paul Ney, who had been detained on anti-state charges since December 2007 in the Maison d’Arrêt et de Correction d’Abidjan prison. French Secretary of State for Cooperation and Francophone Countries Alain Joyandet announced the release on May 6, after a…