2012
In Ecuador, defamation case could set dangerous precedent
A controversial 2011 defamation verdict against the leading Ecuadoran daily El Universo, which became a symbol of vastly deteriorating press conditions under President Rafael Correa, appears headed to a final determination. The nation’s highest court is due to hear the newspaper’s appeal, although the hearing date itself is still subject to intense debate. The ramifications…
Gunmen kill Pakistani journalist who reported on Taliban
New York, January 17, 2012–Unidentified gunmen killed broadcast journalist Mukarram Khan Aatif in a mosque north of Peshawar today, according to news reports. Aatif was a correspondent for private TV station Dunya News and also worked for Deewa Radio, a Pashto-language channel of the U.S. government-funded broadcaster Voice of America, news reports said.
Vietnam releases journalist, nine others still jailed
Bangkok, January 17, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from prison of French-Vietnamese blogger Pham Minh Hoang and calls on Vietnam’s Communist Party-led government to remove the continuing restrictions on him and free the nine other journalists still behind bars.
Jacquier’s killing raises chilling questions on Syria
The killing on January 11 of a French TV reporter has sent a chill through the international press corps trying to cover the violence in Syria. Gilles Jacquier, 43, who was on assignment for the French public service channel France 2, was a seasoned journalist and the laureate of France’s most prestigious journalism prizes. As…
#OccupyNigeria protesters take on news media coverage
Protesters in Nigeria are not only angry at their government’s New Year’s Day decision to eliminate a fuel subsidy — they are also upset about news media coverage of the citizens’ movement, dubbed “Occupy Nigeria,” and have taken their protests to local media outlets.
Standing with Ethiopia’s tenacious blogger, Eskinder Nega
It would be hard to find a better symbol of media repression in Africa than Eskinder Nega. The veteran Ethiopian journalist and dissident blogger has been detained at least seven times by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government over the past two decades, and was put back in jail on September 14, 2011, after he published…
Under pressure at home, Chinese writer chooses exile
New York, January 13, 2012–The decision of prominent Chinese writer Yu Jie to seek exile in the United States this week is an indication of the intensifying hardships that face dissidents who criticize Communist Party rule, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Ghana must probe state agents’ attack on photographer
New York, January 13, 2012—Authorities in Ghana should launch a thorough and transparent investigation into reports that state security agents on Thursday brutalized a photojournalist covering the high-profile court case of a senior police official, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
