Americas

  

Heroines for Press Freedom

Late on the evening of September 16, 2000, 31-year-old Ukrainian investigative journalist Georgy Gongadze left a colleague’s house in Kiev and headed home to where his wife and young daughters awaited him. He never made it.

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The Progression of Hate

Even today, the words scribbled across the pages in angry ALL CAPS are hard to look at. “HOW DO YOU GET A NIGGER OUT OF A TREE? CUT THE ROPE!!” “BEFORE THIS WORLD ENDS, THERE WILL BE A RACE WAR…” “ALL YOU PEOPLE DO IS CRY BITCH WINE [sic], BITCH.” “HAVE YOU PLAYED THE RACE…

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Why a Troll Trolls

“Yeah… I went too far,” he said, which by most accounts would be an understatement. Among the Twitter comments this Internet troll posted to or about a female writer and activist were: “Rape her nice ass.” “I will find you.” “The police will do nothing.” The man, who agreed to be interviewed only under a…

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The Sadness of May the 25th

To rewrite one’s story, when it is so painful, feels like a kind of suicide. Psychologists would say that is part of a grieving process, helping close nefarious chapters in life. We, the victims of sexual violence, are often told that. But I think it would be more helpful to the goal of moving forward…

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Violence has spiked in Guerrero state, where Francisco Pacheco Beltrán was killed. Pictured, relatives protest the disappearance of 43 students in the state in 2014. (AP/Marco Ugarte)

Mexican reporter shot to death in Guerrero state

Mexico City, April 25, 2016 – Mexican journalist Francisco Pacheco Beltrán was shot to death in front of his home in the city of Taxco, Guerrero state, on Monday, according to local press reports. Pacheco was a reporter for several regional newspapers and a regular contributor to a radio station.

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A cell phone records President Dilma Rousseff as she reacts to the impeachment vote. Amid Brazil's political crisis, a cybercrime bill with troubling implications for press freedom is being proposed. (AFP/Christophe Simon)

Cybercrime proposals risk undermining Brazil’s progress in securing free and open Internet

Two years ago, Brazil passed Marco Civil da Internet, a landmark piece of Internet civil rights legislation that made the country an international reference in digital rights. But its legacy is under threat from a cybercrime proposal that could radically change key aspects of the framework and threaten free speech online.

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CPJ calls on Peru to decriminalize defamation as two journalists face court

Bogotá, Colombia, April 19, 2016–A Peruvian journalist received a suspended jail sentence Monday and was ordered to pay damages to former President Alan García Pérez after being convicted of criminal defamation, according to news reports.

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CPJ joins call for World Bank to adopt human rights policy

The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined Social Justice Connection and other press freedom and human rights groups in calling on the World Bank to adopt a human rights policy at its annual spring meeting in Washington D.C. In a letter to the president of World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, the groups urged the bank…

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Police detain Mexican journalists covering protest

Police on April 6, 2016, briefly detained two journalists covering a protest at the seat of government for the Múgica municipality in the central Mexican state of Michoacán.

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Brazilian journalist injured in shooting

São Paulo, April 8, 2016–Brazilian authorities should thoroughly investigate the shooting of journalist Ivan Pereira Costa, bring the perpetrators to justice, and ensure journalists can work without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Pereira was hospitalized after a shooting attack on Monday in the small Amazonian town of Cujubim, in the…

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