2012

  
Shaheen Dhada, left, and Renu Srinivas, Indian women arrested for their Facebook posts, leave a Mumbai court Tuesday. (AP)

Arrests over Facebook comments fan debate in India

The arrest of two women in India this week because of posting and “liking” an opinion on Facebook has further inflamed debate over the right to freedom of expression in the world’s largest democracy.

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Firefighters extinguish a blaze on the tower housing local and international media on the Gaza Strip. (AFP/Mahmud Hams)

In Gaza, news outlets targeted, journalists injured

New York, November 19, 2012–Israeli authorities must immediately halt airstrikes targeting news media offices in the Gaza Strip, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today following a series of strikes that injured at least nine journalists and damaged several offices.

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Pakistani journalist gunned down in Baluchistan

New York, November 19, 2012–Pakistani authorities must immediately investigate the murder of a journalist who was shot to death in Baluchistan on Sunday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Rehmatullah Abid was the second Dunya News TV journalist to be killed this year.

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Protesters mark the fifth anniversary of the killing of Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink in Istanbul January 19, 2012. (Reuters/Osman Orsal)

Turkey, jailer of journalists, hedges bets on democracy

More reporters are jailed in Turkey than in any other country in the world. According to CPJ’s recent survey, at least 61 are imprisoned directly for their work, representing the second biggest media crackdown in the 27 years we have been documenting such records. (Only Turkey itself has rivaled the extent of this crackdown, when…

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Askarov takes his case to the UN for appeal

Awarded CPJ’s 2012 International Press Freedom Award, Kyrgyzstan journalist Azimjon Askarov is serving a life sentence in retaliation for his reporting. In a special report, CPJ documented the torture, lack of evidence, and fabricated charges leading to his sentence. In reference to CPJ’s award to Askarov, The Journal of Turkish Weekly reports on a detailed 115-page document filed by Askarov’s…

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In conflict, Israel must respect media

New York, November 18, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Israel’s targeting of two media facilities in Gaza today. 

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Murders of journalists such as Wali Khan Babar give Pakistani journalists plenty of reason to fear. (AP/Mohammad Sajjad)

In Karachi, a trail of death and impunity in Babar case

Haider Ali, an eyewitness to the 2011 murder of Geo TV reporter Wali Khan Babar, was gunned down on Sunday, two days before he was set to testify in the trial of five suspects. The murder sent shockwaves across Pakistan–one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists and one of the worst in…

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Abubacarr Saidykhan (The Standard)

Gambian journalist threatened after writing on executions

Lagos, Nigeria, November 16, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists today said it holds authorities in the Gambia responsible for the safety of a journalist who has received death threats following critical coverage of the government.Abubacarr Saidykhan, a freelancer who contributes to several news websites, told CPJ that four unknown people on Tuesday threatened him at…

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A mall's screen shows new Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping in Beijing Thursday. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

What China’s new leadership means for press freedom

Like many China watchers, we at CPJ have been struggling to interpret obscure floor markings and tie colors on display in Beijing as new Communist Party leaders were appointed in a rare leadership hand-off today. The names of the top seven are no longer in doubt. But the real question everyone’s asking is: What does…

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Journalist shot dead on assignment in Mexico

Mexico City, November 15, 2012–A freelance journalist and his companion were shot to death Wednesday in the central Mexican state of Puebla shortly after the reporter had gathered information on a large-scale gasoline theft and then witnessed a stand-off between soldiers and gunmen, according to news reports and CPJ interviews.

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