2009

  
Raul Estrella, a photographer with El Universal, took these photos of gunmen, believed to be government agents, rushing toward protesters and journalists on the outskirts of Oaxaca on October 27, 2006. Brad Will, working near Estrella, was killed by gunfire that witnesses said appeared to have come from the direction of the gunmen. (El Universal/Raul Estrella)

Brad Will killing unresolved three years on

Three years ago today, an independent journalist named Bradley Roland Will was killed in Mexico while reporting on a heated protest movement in the capital city of the southern state of Oaxaca. Today, the crime remains unresolved. A man from Oaxaca, Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno, who many close followers of the case believe is innocent,…

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In Rwanda, defamation case is politicized

New York, October 26, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that the prosecution of Jean Bosco Gasasira, editor-in-chief of the Rwandan bimonthly Umuvugizi, on criminal defamation charges has been politicized and the outcome predetermined.

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Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade (AFP)

Senegalese president responds to CPJ

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has written a response to a recent CPJ protest letter. While we welcome his attention to the issues we raised about press freedom last month, we note with great concern the president’s comments about the ongoing criminal case of two journalists assaulted by police in 2008.

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An Iraqi journalist in America: Gathering my family

Nearly six months after my arrival in the U.S., most of my family has finally joined me in Arizona. Making the trip from Baghdad was my father, who turned 63 in October; my mother, who is 50; and my 16-year-old brother, Anas, who is very eager to discover this big country.

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Even with Ben Ali virtually assured of victory, his government is allowing no dissent. (AFP)

As Tunisian elections near, attacks on press mount

New York, October 22, 2009—Tunisian authorities must halt harassment of independent journalists, release a journalist jailed for taking photographs, and allow a prominent French reporter to enter the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ has documented a spike in government attacks on independent journalists as Tunisian presidential and legislative elections approach‎.

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Ferghana

Kyrgyzstan must disclose findings in Alisher Saipov murder

New York, October 22, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kyrgyz authorities to make public the findings of their investigation into the murder of Alisher Saipov, left, the editor of the Uzbek-language newspaper Siyosat, who was shot in Osh two years ago. Continued impunity in the killing, which occurred in early evening in the…

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On dangerous assignments, risk becomes ‘normal’

David Rohde’s gripping five-part series on his abduction in Afghanistan and Pakistan ends today with his dramatic escape from his abductors.  His series—and the reaction to it—bring into high relief the challenges that journalists face as they confront growing risk around the world.  Rohde, for example, felt the need, both in his article and in…

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Kazakh court upholds Yesergepov sentence

We issued the following statement today after a regional court in Taraz upheld a lower court verdict and sentenced Ramazan Yesergepov, editor of the independent weekly Alma-Ata Info, to three years in jail for allegedly publishing state secrets…

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Cameraman killed in explosion in Iraq

New York, October 21, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the death of‎ an Al-Rasheed television cameraman killed by an explosion in front of his home in Kirkuk today.

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CPJ
Fawehinmi at a human rights commission hearing. (Next)

Bearing Witness in Chechnya

Please join us for a free public event examining the killing of Natalya Estemirova, a journalist who exposed human rights crimes in Chechnya. Estemirova was kidnapped in the Chechen capital of Grozny in July 2009 and subsequently murdered.The event, which features readings by Salman Rushdie and other prominent writers, will be held at 7 p.m.…

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