March 2012 - Page 3 of 11 - Committee to Protect Journalists

Venezuelan court ruling limits coverage of water quality

March 26, 2012 3:45 PM EDT

New York, March 26, 2012–The decision by a Venezuelan court to forbid the press from reporting on issues of water contamination without using a government-approved report is a clear attempt by authorities to censor critical information, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Turkey must lift ban on pro-Kurdish daily

March 26, 2012 2:44 PM EDT

New York, March 26, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the one-month suspension of pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem, and calls on the Turkish government to allow the newspaper to function.

Sri Lankans are calling for a boycott of U.S. products after the U.S. sponsored the U.N. Human Rights Council resolution calling for an investigation into possible war crimes. (Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte)

Eknelygoda’s wife latest victim of Sri Lankan intolerance

March 26, 2012 2:04 PM EDT

On Thursday and Friday, we wrote about the ugly government backlash to last week’s U.N. Human Rights Council resolution calling for an investigation into Sri Lanka’s alleged abuses of international humanitarian law during its war with Tamil separatists.

Defining who is a journalist, Mexican style

March 26, 2012 1:16 PM EDT

This month, the Mexican Senate approved an amendment to the country’s constitution that would make attacks on journalists a federal crime in Mexico.

Portuguese police assault AFP photographer

March 23, 2012 5:37 PM EDT

This combination of pictures shows a policeman beating Agence France-Presse photojournalist Patricia de Melo Moreira during a Portuguese general strike in downtown Lisbon yesterday, according to Reuters. The strikers were protesting economic austerity measures. A number of Melo’s photos from the strike can be viewed on the Guardian’s website.

Sri Lankan ruling party lawmakers demonstrate in front of the parliament against the U.N. Human Rights Council in Colombo Thursday. (Reuters)

Amid Sri Lankan denial, threats rise for journalists

March 23, 2012 2:15 PM EDT

In the wake of the U.N. Human Rights Council resolution calling for an investigation into Sri Lanka’s alleged abuses of international humanitarian law during its war with Tamil separatists, the government has resorted to outright threats of violence against journalists who might dare to return home after taking part in the Geneva discussions.

Mali junta leader Captain Amadou Sanogo, center, poses surrounded by fellow soldiers in Bamako Thursday. (AFP/Habibou Kouyate)

With coup, quiet #Mali generates noise on Twitter

March 22, 2012 6:14 PM EDT

Yesterday, while reporting on breaking news in Mali from studios in Atlanta, CNN Wire Newsdesk Editor Faith Karimi made an ominous observation that presaged the outcome of developments unfolding 5,000 miles away. “#Mali president @PresidenceMali has not tweeted in 10 hours after reports of gunfire and a coup attempt,” she tweeted.

Journalists Nedim Şener and Ahmet Şık were threatened shortly after their release from prison. Here, colleagues protest the journalists' imprisonment, which lasted more than a year. (AP)

Investigation, threats against freed Turkish journalists

March 22, 2012 4:15 PM EDT

New York, March 22, 2012–Turkish authorities must immediately dismiss the new criminal investigation against journalist Ahmet Şık and should thoroughly investigate threats made against Şık and investigative journalist Nedim Şener, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Sri Lankan government calls journalists ‘traitors’

March 22, 2012 2:29 PM EDT

New York, March 22, 2012–The Sri Lankan government must immediately halt its intimidation of journalists who supported the adoption of a U.N. Human Rights Council resolution calling for an investigation into the country’s alleged abuses of international humanitarian law during its war with Tamil separatists.

Ahmed Rashid on U.S. policy in South Asia

March 22, 2012 10:00 AM EDT

At Columbia University on Monday evening, CPJ board member Ahmed Rashid held forth to a full house in a conversation with Steve Coll about U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. If you’re reading this blog, there’s most likely no need to explain who Rashid is–or Coll, for that matter. The earliest reference I could…