Americas
2009
Kidnapped journalists in Somalia reportedly ill
New York, May 26, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists is very concerned about the well-being of two captive journalists, a Canadian and an Australian, who urged their respective governments to work harder for their release in a phone call with a reporter on Sunday. Both journalists said they were sick and being held in harsh…
Mexican journalist who covered police is abducted and killed
New York, May 26, 2009–Authorities found the body of a journalist who covered the police beat in northern Mexico this morning after he was abducted from his house on Monday night, according to Mexican news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on local and federal authorities today to conduct a thorough investigation and bring…
CPJ calls on Mexico to investigate reporter’s killing
New York, May 26, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement in response to the killing of Mexican crime reporter Eliseo Barrón of the Torreón-based daily La Opinión that belongs to the Milenio media group. Barrón was abducted by unidentified hooded gunmen Monday and found dead this morning in the town of Gómez…
An Iraqi journalist in America: Fastening my seatbelt
It’s been almost a month since I arrived in the United States. Oddly, I haven’t felt homesick or strange here even though this is my first time ever outside Iraq. I was born in Baghdad in 1986. I never lived anywhere else. Baghdad is where my father and mother were born, fell in love, and…
CPJ urges Chávez to refrain from threatening the press
New York, May 12, 2009–Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Frías should refrain from making threatening statements and ensure the press is allowed to work without government interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Chávez, right, accused private media outlets of destabilizing democracy in comments earlier this week
Three journalists receive death threats in Bolivia
On the evening of April 12, 2009, Raphael Ramírez, editor of the national daily La Prensa, received two anonymous calls at his home in La Paz from an individual who threatened to kill him if he “did not stop publishing lies,” Carlos Morales, the daily’s director, told CPJ. The following morning, an unidentified individual called…
In victory for press, high court strikes down repressive law
New York, May 7, 2009–The Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal’s decision to strike down the 1967 Press Law, a measure that imposed harsh penalties for libel and slander, is a crucial step forward in the campaign to eliminate criminal defamation laws in the Americas, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ and other groups had…