2013
CPJ: Turkey Press Freedom Crisis Worsens Post-Gezi
Ankara, September 17, 2013–Heated anti-press rhetoric, the firing of leading journalists, threats to restrict online speech, and a series of physical and legal assaults further damaged the press freedom environment in Turkey in the months following the Gezi Park protests that began last May. In a letter to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Committee…
CPJ calls on Erdogan to embrace press freedom
Dear Prime Minister Erdoğan, as an independent international press freedom advocacy organization, we are concerned about the continued press freedom crisis in Turkey. We believe the government’s failure to safeguard press freedom undermines the great strengths of your nation.
Prison places restrictions on jailed journalist Reeyot Alemu
Nairobi, September 16, 2013–The decision by authorities at Kality Prison to impose visitor restrictions on imprisoned journalist Reeyot Alemu constitutes harassment and runs counter to the Ethiopian constitution, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. “We call upon the Ethiopian authorities to lift these latest restrictions and allow Reeyot Alemu to receive all visitors,” said…
Radio host gunned down in Colombia
Bogotá, September 16, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Colombian authorities to launch a full investigation into the murder of a radio host on Wednesday. Édison Alberto Molina, a lawyer and politician who hosted a radio program that he used to denounce government corruption, was shot and killed in the town of Puerto Berrío,…
Press harassed amid heightened tension in Egypt
New York, September 13, 2013–Egyptian authorities should halt their campaign of harassment on local and international journalists seeking to cover the ongoing political crisis in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The latest series of anti-press violations comes as the Egyptian government announced a two-month extension to the nationwide state of emergency.
Endless surprises for Al-Jazeera
Mhamed Krichen/CPJ Board memberThere seems to be no end to American surprises when it comes to Al-Jazeera. The latest was revealed by Der Spiegel, the German weekly news magazine, which reported the U.S. National Security Agency hacked into our internal communications system, according to documents provided by Edward Snowden, the former NSA security analyst.
Is China silencing rumors, or the public?
China’s Internet has changed fundamentally since Shi Tao was given a 10-year prison sentence in 2005. Shi’s case was a marker of sorts— the first high profile sentencing in China for online activity. The government says 40 percent of the population is online as of December 2012. That’s 564 million people. In 2005, penetration was…
Bolivian government gangs up on Página Siete
Bolivia’s loss of territory along the Pacific coast during a 19th-century war with Chile remains an extremely sensitive issue in the landlocked nation. Every March 23, patriotic “Day of the Sea” ceremonies mark the calamity, which Bolivia hopes to reverse through a lawsuit filed this year against Chile at the International Court of Justice.