2009
An Iraqi journalist in America: The other side of the war
It’s been more than three months since I realized one of my most important dreams by coming to the United States. Still, I never thought that I would come here as a refugee, maybe because my Iraqi dignity and pride simply wouldn’t accept such an idea.
Cacho, a top Mexican reporter, describes a life under threat
A month ago I sat next to a cop, turned on my computer, and opened my blog. The threats were there: “My dear lydia cacho get ready to be found soon with your throat slit, your pretty head will be left outside your apartment if you think you are so brave bye.”
Editor shot and killed in Dagestan
New York, August 11, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the slaying in Dagestan today of Abdulmalik Akhmedilov, an editor known for his critical commentary, and urges Russian authorities to thoroughly probe journalism as the motive. Akhmedilov, 32, left, was shot in his car at around 1 p.m. local time on the outskirts of Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala,…
Ecuadoran journalist, freed on parole, jailed again for slander
On May 5, 2009, Milton Nelson Chacaguasay Flores, director and editor of the weekly publication La Verdad in the city of Machala, was released on parole after serving six months in prison on libel charges. Chacaguasay told CPJ that on June 8, 2009, he was again charged with slander and sentenced to four months in…
Ethiopia pushes Kenyan TV to drop report on rebels
Last week, the Ethiopian government tried to force private Kenyan broadcaster Nation Television (NTV) to drop a four-part exclusive report on separatist rebels in southern Ethiopia. NTV aired the first two parts of “Inside Rebel Territory: Rag-Tag Fighters of the Oromo Liberation Front,” which led Ethiopia’s ambassador to Kenya to accuse the Nation Media Group of giving a platform…
Moroccan newsweeklies confiscated over royal poll
A bizarre case of press censorship arose recently in Morocco when authorities seized 100,000 copies of the country’s two leading newsweeklies–TelQuel and its Arabic-language sister publication, Nichane–after they published the results of a poll in which Moroccans were asked to assess their king. The odd part? Ninety-one percent of Moroccans said they found the rule…
Police threaten journalists with arrest in India
Police threatened to arrest two journalists based in Srinagar, capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, on July 10, 2009, for reporting that the family of a missing youth, Asrar Mushtaq Dar, feared he may have “disappeared” in police custody, according to a statement issued by the Kashmir Press Bureau. Dar was later…