2014
Costa Rican court strikes down tracking of daily’s calls
The constitutional chamber of the Costa Rican Supreme Court ruled on March 21, 2014, that the government’s secret monitoring of phone records of the San José-based daily Diario Extra as part of a leak investigation was unconstitutional, according to news reports.
CPJ welcomes court ruling against EU data retention
Phoenix, April 8, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists hails today’s decision by the European Court of Justice invalidating the European Union’s mandatory data retention directive. The court found that the indiscriminate collection of metadata poses a “particularly serious” and disproportional interference with the right to privacy. Mass metadata surveillance is “likely to generate in the…
Alabama blogger released after five months in jail
Roger Shuler, whose blog, Legal Schnauzer, specializes in allegations of corruption and scandal in Republican circles in Alabama, was released from jail on March 26, 2014, after spending more than five months in prison on contempt of court charges. Shuler was arrested on October 1, 2013, for failing to comply with a preliminary injunction prohibiting him from…
Somaliland authorities shut down independent papers
Nairobi, April 8, 2014–Police in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland on Thursday raided the Hargeisa offices of the independent Somali-language paper Haatuf and its sister English-language weekly, Somaliland Times, and suspended them indefinitely, according to local journalists and news reports.
Peru court gives journalist suspended jail term
Peruvian journalist César Quino Escudero was sentenced on March 21, 2014, to a six-month suspended prison sentence for defaming the governor of the northeastern state of Ancash, according to news reports. Quino was also fined US$8,400 in damages and sentenced to 120 days of community service.
Al-Jazeera journalists mark 100 days in Egyptian jail amid calls for their release
Despite an international campaign calling for their release, the Al-Jazeera journalists held in captivity by the Egyptian government, marked their 100th day behind bars. A Poynter article on the subject quoted CPJ MENA program coordinator Sherif Mansour in its coverage of the trial. Read the full article here.
In Philippines, tabloid reporter shot dead in her home
New York, April 7, 2014–Authorities in the Philippines must conduct a thorough and efficient investigation into the murder of a local reporter on Sunday and do their utmost to bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Meeting commitments in Pakistan
A few days after our CPJ delegation met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and secured commitments to combat threats to journalists in Pakistan, I sat down with reporters from the country’s most restive regions, who described in detail the conditions in which they work.
Amid rising repression, Burmese journalist given jail term
Bangkok, April 7, 2014–A Burmese journalist was sentenced to one year in prison today on charges of “trespassing” and “disturbing an on-duty civil servant” while reporting a news story, according to local reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the verdict to be overturned on appeal.