News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, October 2012 Tackling Turkey’s press freedom crisis Turkey’s use of broad anti-state charges to jail at least 61 journalists in reprisal for their work has resulted in the country being ranked the worst jailer of journalists, surpassing global press freedom violators such as China and Iran, CPJ found…
New York, October 31, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the criminal convictions of two journalists and the suspension of their newspaper in Burkina Faso on charges of criminal defamation in connection with their allegations of corrupt practices in the state prosecutor’s office.
CPJ’s special report on Turkey ignited a widespread public debate on the country’s press freedom. Following the launch, a blog post by CPJ Executive Director, Joel Simon, summarizes and responds to criticisms the organization received during several days of intensive media interviews. A New York Times blog evaluates the Turkish government’s reaction to CPJ’s report. Click here…
Bogotá, October 31, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bolivian authorities to investigate the motive and find the masterminds behind Monday’s vicious attack on a Bolivian radio journalist who was set on fire in the station’s offices in the southern city of Yacuiba. A studio technician was also injured in the attack.
New York, October 29, 2012–A rebel group abducted a Lebanese journalist in the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, bringing to at least five the number of international journalists being held captive by various sides of the conflict. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the journalists’ captors to immediately release them and stop targeting…
New York, October 29, 2012–Officials from China’s Communist Party should stop censoring and obstructing foreign journalists in the lead-up to the Party Congress scheduled for November 8, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Information security is notoriously tight before the five-yearly congress, which is expected to usher in high-level leadership change in 2012.
Nairobi, October 29, 2012–Somali authorities should conduct a thorough investigation into the October 21 shooting of journalist Mohamed Mohamud “Turyare,” who died from his wounds on Sunday, and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.Mohamed, 22, a reporter and website editor for the Shabelle Media Network, had been shot by unidentified…
Last week’s release of CPJ’s report on Turkey’s press freedom crisis generated widespread domestic media coverage and sparked a robust public debate. The response from Turkish journalists and commentators was largely positive, but there were some negative reactions as well. Turkey’s Justice Ministry has promised a detailed response this week. Here is a summary of…
The Maria Moors Cabot Prizes, administered by Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in recognition of journalistic contributions to Inter-American understanding, are the oldest international prizes in journalism. But Josh Friedman, director of the prizes, said this year marked the first time he remembered arriving at the awards ceremony to be greeted by protesters screaming…