Americas
2009
From a park bench in Havana, Cuban blogger honored in NY
Last night’s scenario was breathtaking: a circular hall with high ceilings, marble columns, tables draped with heavy tablecloths and soft bouquets, and journalism personalities elegant in cocktail dresses and tuxedos. And poised behind a wood podium, a black screen silently reminding all those present of who was not there.
Radio host flees Colombia following alleged plot to kill him
New York, October 13, 2009—Prominent radio journalist Herbin Hoyos Medina left Colombia on Monday after authorities uncovered a supposed plot to kill him, according to local news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the threats against Hoyos and urges authorities to continue to provide protection and ensure that the journalist can return…
CPJ speaks to jailed Venezuelan journalist Gustavo Azócar
On Monday, Venezuelan Judge José Oliveros announced that he would begin a new trial against journalist Gustavo Azócar, an outspoken Chávez critic, who has spent two months in prison without being sentenced. Oliveros, the local press reported, also upheld a decision to hold the television host and blogger in custody throughout the new trial. The…
Honduran decree lifted, but broadcasters still shuttered
Three days after the Honduran interim government led by Roberto Micheletti lifted a September 27 decree that allowed them to shut down Radio Globo and Canal 36, broadcasters loyal to ousted President Manuel Zelaya, the two stations were still prevented from resuming normal transmissions, according to local and international news reports.
It’s an honor
Yesterday, CPJ received the Thomas J. Dodd Prize for International Justice and Human Rights at an outdoor ceremony at the University of Connecticut. It was one of those perfect, crisp fall mornings in New England with a strong wind blowing clouds across the sun and shaking the first leaves from the maples, which have already…
Critical Venezuelan journalist arrested on contempt of court
Venezuelan Judge Fanny Yasmina Becerra ordered the arrest of journalist Gustavo Azócar on July 29, 2009, stating that he violated the conditions of his 2006 parole on charges of illegal acquisition of wealth and fraud by publicly commenting on his case. Táchira state authorities took Azócar into custody at 10:30 p.m., and drove him to…
CPJ receives Dodd human rights prize
New York, October 5, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists was honored today with the fourth biennial Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights. The $75,000 prize is given “to an individual or group who has made a significant effort to advance the cause of international justice and global human rights.” CPJ was…
Honduran radio station goes online after suspension
Early Monday morning, military and police personnel forcefully shut down the Tegucigalpa-based Radio Globo under a decree by the de facto government that suspends civil liberties, CPJ reported. Today, Honduran and international media outlets said the radio station was being broadcast online.
U.S. reporter faces ‘insult’ suit in Brazil air crash aftermath
New York, September 29, 2009—U.S. freelance journalist Joe Sharkey, who covered a 2006 plane crash in Brazil in which he was a passenger, faces an onerous civil defamation suit for comments he said were wrongly attributed to him. On the third anniversary of the accident, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Brazilian judicial authorities…
Honduras must allow pro-Zelaya broadcasters to reopen
New York, September 28, 2009—The interim government of Honduras must immediately allow two private broadcasters loyal to ousted President Manuel Zelaya to return to the air, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Officials, acting under a new decree that suspends civil liberties, shut down Radio Globo and Canal 36 television early today, according to…