2013
Somalia should free jailed reporter, solve press murders
Dear President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud: We are writing to express our concern about a Somali journalist who has been imprisoned since January 10 for interviewing a woman who claimed she was raped by government soldiers. We are also concerned by recent statements you made in Washington indicating your administration will not tolerate negative coverage by the local press. We urge you to ensure the journalist is released immediately and to follow up on your commitment to create a task force to investigate Somalia’s unsolved journalist murders.
In Mali, a war ‘without images and without facts’
The French army is often called la Grande Muette, or “the Great Silent.” The war in Mali confirms the French military’s well-deserved reputation of being secretive about front-line actions. “Locking the information is more in the culture of the French army than of the U.S. army,” says Maurice Botbol, director of La Lettre du Continent.…
Two years on, Mubarak’s tactics still haunt Egypt media
On the second anniversary of Egypt’s January 25 revolution, Hosni Mubarak’s footprints are still present in many areas of the public sphere–and media are no exception. President Mohamed Morsi needs to cease using Mubarak-era tactics of silencing his critics with criminal charges such as defamation.
Benin TV director convicted for offending president
Abuja, Nigeria, January 24, 2013–An appellate court in Benin should overturn the conviction and toss out a prison sentence handed to the director of a private television station last week in connection with a broadcast of a press conference in September in which a former presidential adviser criticized President Boni Yayi, the Committee to Protect…
Thai editor Somyot sentenced to 11 years in prison
New York, January 24, 2013–A Thai court sentenced news editor and political activist Somyot Prueksakakasemsuk to 11 years in prison on Wednesday for two articles the court ruled had insulted the Thai monarch, a criminal offense under the country’s strict lѐse majesté law. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the harsh sentencing and calls for…
Preparation helps freelancers survive, thrive
When the story is so important but the risks are so high, journalists must keep safety at the forefront of their thinking. That’s especially true for freelancers who often do not have the support of a large news organization. Preparation, peer networking, and smart planning can help improve the odds of not only surviving hostile…
In Sri Lanka, justice for Eknelygoda is a waiting game
Three years ago, on January 24, 2010, columnist and cartoonist Prageeth Eknelygoda vanished on his way to work to cover the final campaigning in Sri Lanka’s bitterly contested presidential election. He has not been heard from since. The pro-opposition website he worked for, Lanka eNews, has been repeatedly attacked, its offices hit with arson, its staff…
New term to settle Obama legacy on leaks, whistleblowers
As pundits debate how Barack Obama will tackle guns, climate change, immigration, and the debt ceiling in his newly inaugurated second term, press freedom advocates are left questioning how the U.S. president will handle another, no-less-controversial issue: the treatment of whistleblowers and officials who leak information to the media.
In Nigeria, soldiers attack journalist covering demolition
Two soldiers beat Laolu Harolds, assistant editor of the daily Nigerian Tribune, on January 8, 2013, while he attempted to take pictures of soldiers demolishing local shops in Oyo state, according to news reports. The soldiers were affiliated with the government’s demolition task force team, the reports said.