Americas
2011
Peru frees journalist jailed for defamation
New York, October 31, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release on Saturday of Peruvian journalist Paul Segundo Garay Ramírez, a television and radio news show host who had been imprisoned for more than six months. Citing flawed evidence, the Supreme Court on Friday overturned Garay’s conviction on charges of defaming a prosecutor in…
Appeal against Risen keeps source protection in focus
A reporter’s right to protect confidential sources, a topic of debate both in the U.S. and internationally, will undergo another round of legal scrutiny after federal prosecutors formally appealed a decision shielding journalist James Risen’s sources in a CIA leak case.
Recalling Laura Pollán, leader of Cuba’s Ladies in White
Cuban human rights defender Laura Pollán, who died Friday from respiratory complications at a Havana hospital, fought a mighty battle against the Cuban government for almost a decade. Pollán, 63, leaves behind her husband, the award-winning independent journalist Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, and a daughter. She also leaves a legacy of determination, courage, and creativity. Her…
Colombian editor given suspended prison term
New York, October 13, 2011–A court in Cundinamarca state handed Luis Agustín González, founder and editor of Colombian monthly newspaper Cundinamarca Democrática, a 20-month suspended sentence and a fine of approximately US$5,500 on charges of criminal libel, news reports said today. The sentence stemmed from an editorial González wrote in 2008 that questioned the candidacy of…
Colombian journalists: between threats, exile
To be a journalist in Colombia, in a city like Medellín, is not easy — even less so if you cover issues related to narcotrafficking. Despite efforts by the authorities to control outbreaks of violence linked to drug trafficking, especially in the city’s poorest neighborhoods, the situation isn’t improving. According to the prosecutor’s office, Medellín…
Guyana president suspends television station
New York, October 6, 2011–Guyanese president Bharrat Jagdeo has suspended television station CNS6 from broadcasting for four months in the period leading up to the presidential elections, according to local news reports. The suspension stemmed from a May 4 broadcast that aired comments about a local bishop who is a close associate of the president,…
Provincial Colombian journalist threatened
New York, October 5, 2011 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by threats made against Ana María Ferrer, a freelance Colombian journalist in the northern state of Cesar, who has denounced government corruption and the mishandling of mining royalties.
Mexico murder may be social media watershed
María Elizabeth Macías Castro’s killers made sure their actions were understood. In a macabre, carefully orchestrated mise-en-scene, they placed her body in front of a poster with the ominous note. Nearby they left a computer keyboard, with a pair of headphones on her decapitated head.
Mexican police reporter missing in Veracruz
New York, September 29, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports that Mexican journalist Manuel Gabriel Fonseca Hernández has gone missing from the city of Acayucán, in Veracruz state. Fonseca’s friends first reported him missing on September 20, police records show.