New York, December 21, 2009—Mortar shells destroyed the Radio Voice of Democracy building this morning in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing Amal Abukar, 22, the wife of the director of the station, Abdirahman Yasin. Abukar died instantly after three mortar shells landed on the station’s building in northern Mogadishu at 10:30 a.m., local journalists told CPJ. Yasin and a producer, Adam Hussein,…
New York, December 21, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists announced the addition of three leading journalists to its board of directors today: Rebecca MacKinnon of Global Voices, Ahmed Rashid, journalist and scholar, and María Teresa Ronderos of Semana.com.
Mohamed Olad Hassan, at left, a reporter for the BBC and The Associated Press, and chairman of the Somali Foreign Correspondents Association, recounts his experience covering a deadly ceremony in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Olad narrowly escaped death after a suicide bomber killed at least 23 people on December 3 at the graduation ceremony at Hotel…
CPJ staffers blogged around the Web today, touching on various issues from our 2009 census of journalists killed. Deputy Director Robert Mahoney has a piece contextualizing the numbers on The Huffington Post; Washington Representative Frank Smyth blogged for The Hill about the importance of the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act; and Tom Rhodes, CPJ Africa…
CPJ survey finds at least 68 journalists killed in 2009 New York, December 17, 2009—At least 68 journalists worldwide were killed for their work in 2009, the highest yearly tally ever documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the organization said in its year-end analysis. The record toll was driven in large part by the…
New York, December 15, 2009—The managing editor of a private newspaper in Cameroon has been held in police custody since Thursday, accused of insulting President Paul Biya, according to local journalists and news reports. Managing Editor Jean-Bosco Talla, at left, of the weekly Germinal was picked up by police in the capital, Yaoundé, on Thursday and taken to the State Secretariat for Defense, headquarters…
Today CPJ released its annual census of imprisoned journalists around the world. Citing 136 journalists jailed for their work around the world, the report brings to the foreground one of the toughest issues CPJ and other advocacy groups grapple with: Advocacy working at its best can make a difference over time and, in some cases,…
New York, December 8, 2009—Freelancers now make up nearly 45 percent of all journalists jailed worldwide, a dramatic recent increase that reflects the evolution of the global news business, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In its annual census of imprisoned journalists, CPJ found a total of 136 reporters, editors, and photojournalists behind bars…
In this video companion to CPJ’s annual census of imprisoned journalists, Deputy Director Robert Mahoney describes how international advocacy can make a difference in winning the freedom of jailed reporters, editors, photojournalists, and bloggers. (3:45) Read the special report “Freelancers Under Fire” and view our database of journalists in prison.