By Joel SimonIn August 2008, when the Olympic torch is lit in Beijing, more than 20,000 journalists will be on hand to cover the competition between the world’s greatest athletes. Behind the scenes, another competition will be taking place. If the Chinese government has its way, this one will remain hidden. It will be a…
When Press Freedom and Democracy Are Out of StepBy Tom RhodesBallots may have replaced bullets in much of Africa since the dawn of this new century, but one of the great political ironies for at least part of the continent has been a loss of press freedom following the voting. Leaders in a large swath…
Attacks had become so pervasive in this conflict-riven state that the National Union of Somali Journalists described 2006 as “the most dangerous year for press freedom for more than a decade.” Then came 2007–a year in which conditions grew dramatically worse. With seven journalists killed in direct relation to their work, Somalia was the deadliest…
Dear Prime Minister, As a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization of journalists committed to supporting our colleagues around the world, we are concerned about an ongoing pattern of arbitrary arrests and threats by government officials against Somali journalists. It is within your power to put an end to this harassment, which is contrary to international standards of press freedom. As you recently expressed, it is time to end these abuses.
CPJ mourns the death of Somali reporter New York, January 28, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the death of Somali National News Agency reporter Hassan Kafi Hared today. Hared died in a landmine explosion and subsequent gunfire in Siyad Village in the southwestern port town of Kismayo. A remote-controlled mine blew up a Medecins…
JANUARY 15, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 Ayanle Hussein Abdi, BBC Freelance HARASSED Local police arrested BBC freelance reporter Ayanle Hussein Abdi on Tuesday in Beledweyne, the capital of the central Somali region of Hiran. The governor of Hiran Province, Yusuf Dabageed, ordered the arrest of Abdi with no official charges but accused the reporter…
New York, January 14, 2008—National security agents for the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia arrested two journalists for the independent, Mogadishu-based Somaliweyn Radio on Sunday. According to Somaliweyn Radio sources, security agents seized reporter Bashir Mohammed Abdulkadir at the station and took him to National Security Agency headquarters for questioning. Local journalists said the arrests…
New York, January 7, 2008—Police arrested freelance journalist Idle Moallim on Sunday in the northeastern city of Bossasso in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, local journalists told CPJ. Police arrested Moallim for “misreporting” a story on human trafficking in Bossasso and are holding him at Bossasso central prison, according to local journalists. Moallim is a…