2013
Four newspapers suspended in Republic of Congo
New York, June 7, 2013–Authorities in the Republic of Congo should lift the suspensions against four weekly newspapers in connection with their articles critical of government officials, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The suspensions were handed down by an official board whose 11 members are all hand-picked by the president.
Secrecy, scale of PRISM raise alarms
Government surveillance of electronic communications “should be regarded as a highly intrusive act that potentially interferes with the rights to freedom of expression and privacy and threatens the foundations of a democratic society,” Frank La Rue, U.N. special rapporteur for freedom of expression, warned in a report issued less than two months ago. “States should…
Sri Lankan journalist in UAE still at risk of deportation
Lohini Rathimohan, a former television journalist from Sri Lanka, faces an unclear future. The 28-year-old is among 15 Tamil refugees still sheltered in a single room of an aluminum factory at Dubai’s Jebel Ali port whose official statuses remain uncertain.
An open plea: Xi and Obama can accomplish one thing
Dear President Xi and President Obama, You will both have received many public and private letters of advice prior to your meeting on Friday and Saturday in California. They will urge you to take up specific issues ranging from military and trade concerns to human rights. That diversity of concern is an indicator of how…
Investigative journalist under threat again in Angola
The Angolan government has brought criminal charges against journalist Rafael Marques de Morais for his book, Blood Diamonds: Corruption and Torture in Angola, published in Portugal in 2011, that documented allegations of homicides, torture, forced displacement of civilian settlements, and intimidation of inhabitants of the diamond-mining areas of the country’s Lundas region.
Violence and threats drive out journalists
CPJ to launch 2013 Exile ReportNew York, June 5, 2013–More than fifty journalists from 21 different countries fled their homes in the past year, with many never practicing their profession again. A new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, marking World Refugee Day, spotlights the violence, imprisonment, and threats of death which have forced…
Venezuela releases jailed US filmmaker, deports him
New York, June 5, 2013–A U.S. filmmaker jailed in Venezuela since April on trumped-up charges of espionage has been freed and deported from the country, news accounts reported today. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Timothy Hallet Tracy, and calls on Venezuelan authorities to allow all journalists to work without interference.
Chad should release journalists from detention
Your Excellency Idriss Deby Itno: We are writing to express our concern about the ongoing imprisonment of Chadian journalists on anti-state charges. We believe the arrests of these reporters, simply for writing articles critical of the administration, turn dissenting citizens into criminals and stifle legitimate debate on issues of public interest.