Americas

  

Peru’s Urresti has eyes on presidency despite being charged in 1988 journalist murder

Almost 30 years after Peruvian war correspondent Hugo Bustíos Saavedra was shot dead, the suspected mastermind is on trial. The man accused in the murder, Daniel Urresti Elera, plans to run for president. A special report by CPJ Andes Correspondent John Otis

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Journalist murder haunts career of Peruvian presidential aspirant

Daniel Urresti charged in the 1988 killing of reporter Hugo Bustíos Saavedra New York, September 17, 2015–Almost 30 years after Peruvian war correspondent Hugo Bustíos Saavedra was shot dead, Daniel Urresti Elera–a presidential candidate for the ruling Nationalist Party–has been charged with his murder and is currently on trial. A new report released today by…

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CPJ calls on authorities to release imprisoned Brazilian blogger

São Paulo, September 15, 2015–A Brazilian blogger who has spent more than two months in jail in connection with a 2011 criminal defamation conviction should be released immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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CPJ Announces 2015 International Press Freedom Awards

Awardees from Ethiopia, Malaysia, Paraguay, and Syria New York, September 15, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists will honor journalists from Ethiopia, Malaysia, Paraguay, and Syria with the 2015 International Press Freedom Awards. The journalists have endured death threats, physical attacks, legal action, imprisonment, or exile in the course of their work.

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Colombian journalist shot to death in Huila state

Bogotá, Colombia, September 11, 2015–A Colombian journalist was shot dead on Thursday in front of the radio station where she worked, according to news reports. Flor Alba Núñez Vargas had received threats in connection with her reporting, a local journalist told the Committee to Protect Journalists.

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Press freedom group Fundamedios fears closure over Ecuadoran government pressure

Bogotá, Colombia, September 9, 2015–Fundamedios, Ecuador’s only independent press freedom organization, will likely be forced to close amid allegations by the government that it has transformed into a political organization critical of President Rafael Correa’s administration, according to news reports.

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Regional court orders Venezuela to reinstate RCTV on the air

New York, September 8, 2015–A recent ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordering Venezuela to reinstate the broadcasting license of Radio Caracas Television, or RCTV, sets an important precedent for freedom of expression in the hemisphere, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. RCTV has been confined to cable and satellite since being…

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CPJ joins call for Canada to help free Al-Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy

The Committee to Protect Journalists has signed a joint letter calling on Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to take immediate action to have jailed Al-Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy deported from Egypt to Canada. CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon and Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour signed the letter to Harper along with…

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Firing of critical newspaper editor raises concern in Ecuador

When the Quito daily El Comercio was sold in December to a Latin America media tycoon known for avoiding editorial conflict, press freedom advocates feared the newspaper would soften its coverage of the Ecuadoran government. Those concerns have now increased with last month’s firing of Martín Pallares, one of El Comercio’s most prominent journalists and…

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Roberto Borge, governor of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, says a new law is meant to protect journalists, but they say it is a joke. (AP/Israel Leal)

‘Pedro Canché Law’ obscures the real problem in Quintana Roo

Mayan journalist Pedro Canché spent 271 days in prison on charges of sabotage. Authorities alleged Canché organized protests one year ago against rising water bills in the Zona Maya south of Cancún, in Quintana Roo state, where demonstrators stormed the offices of the local waterworks, CPJ research shows.

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