2017
From Fledgling to Failed
Even as the country collapses, South Sudan’s government will brook no criticism By Jacey Fortin JUBA, South Sudan – The shooting began around 5:15 on a Friday afternoon. Dozens of journalists had gathered in the pressroom at the Presidential Palace–a walled compound also known as “J1”–in the capital city. Following a few days of rising…
Where I’ve Never Set Foot
Barred from Syria, a journalist must make sense of what she’s told By Alessandria Masi The morning after the attack, my deputy editor and I lit cigarettes as we squatted on the green couch in our closet-size Beirut office, hanging out the window and talking about what we thought had really happened in Syria.
Introduction: The New Face of Censorship
Governments and non-state actors find innovative ways to suppress the media By Joel Simon In the days when news was printed on paper, censorship was a crude practice involving government officials with black pens, the seizure of printing presses and raids on newsrooms. The complexity and centralization of broadcasting also made radio and television vulnerable…
In Cameroon, Ahmed Abba sentenced to 10 years in jail
New York, April 24, 2017–A military court in Cameroon today sentenced Ahmed Abba, a correspondent for Radio France Internationale’s (RFI) Hausa service, to 10 years in prison and ordered him to make a payment of 55 million Central African francs (US$91,133) Abba’s lawyer Clément Nakong, told CPJ. Abba, who has been held in pretrial detention…
Collapse of state institutions leaves Yemeni journalists vulnerable
A journalist dies mysteriously in Yemen after receiving threats because of his work, and the resulting autopsy raises more questions than answers. A columnist in the same country is sentenced to death on espionage charges in an opaque trial.
Ecuador fines seven news outlets for not reproducing Argentine newspaper story
Bogotá, Colombia, April 24, 2017–Ecuadoran authorities should immediately annul fines imposed on seven media outlets for declining to reproduce a story published in an Argentine newspaper, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Two photographers arrested for photographing Brazil protest
Police on April 17, 2017, arrested two Brazilian photographers who were taking photographs of a barricade of burning tires in the Jardins neighborhood of São Paulo and accused them of starting the fire, according to one of the photographers and the police report, which CPJ has reviewed.
Blogger stabbed to death in Maldives
New York, April 24, 2017–Authorities in the Maldives should swiftly identify and bring to justice those responsible for the murder of blogger Yameen Rasheed, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Rasheed died after he was found with multiple stab wounds in the stairway of his apartment building yesterday, according to media reports.