Unidentified gunmen kidnap Honduran TV journalist
New York, June 25, 2013–Authorities must do everything in their power to ensure the safe release of Honduran television journalist Aníbal Barrow, who was abducted on Monday, and to bring the kidnappers to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Obama should urge promotion of free press in Tanzania
Dear President Obama: Ahead of your first trip to East Africa, we would like to bring to your attention the deteriorating state of press freedom in Tanzania. In your meetings with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, we ask that you discuss the critical importance of press freedom to economic development and democracy.
Snowden travels trace a path of government hypocrisy
Edward Snowden’s global travels have highlighted the chasm between the political posturing and actual practices of governments when it comes to free expression. As is well known now, the former government contractor’s leaks exposed the widespread phone and digital surveillance being conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency, practices at odds with the Obama administration’s…
Journalists attacked, detained amid Brazil protests
New York, June 21, 2013–At least 25 journalists have reported being attacked or detained amid protests that have swept Brazil over the past two weeks, growing from discontent in São Paulo over public transportation fare hikes to wider nationwide demonstrations against government policies.
New Ecuadoran legislation seen as a gag on critics
After inspecting a hydroelectric project in northern Ecuador last year, President Rafael Correa complained about the scant press coverage of his visit and suggested it was part of a media blackout. “Did the Ecuadoran media conspire to ignore this important event? It seems like that is the case,” Correa told the crowd at a town…
Journalists in exile 2013
Somalis, Syrians flee violence; Iran crackdown deepens Fifty-five journalists fled their homes in the past year with help from the Committee to Protect Journalists. The most common reason to go into exile was the threat of violence, such as in Somalia and Syria, two of the most deadly countries in the world for the profession.…
Family murdered, Veracruz journalist seeks asylum in US
A fellow newspaper photographer phoned him and said he had to get right over to his parents’ home because something very bad had happened. When Miguel Angel López remembers seeing when he got there was “just blood. You can’t understand that much hatred.” He was talking about the murders of his mother, his father–a senior…
For one Brazilian journalist, harsh reality after exile
I have always been convinced that journalism is an instrument that transforms people and realities. I believe in this profession as a means of change, even if this implies some risk. I’ve been beaten almost to death and at another time have had to move to another city because I went to the limit of…
CPJ dismayed by approval of media law in Ecuador
New York, June 14, 2013–The new Communications Law approved today by the Ecuadoran National Assembly represents a severe blow to freedom of expression, said the Committee to Protect Journalists. The law establishes regulation of editorial content and gives authorities the power to impose arbitrary sanctions and censor the press.
Media executive gunned down in Brazil
New York, June 13, 2013–Brazilian authorities must identify the motive behind Tuesday’s murder of a media executive, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Four masked men shot José Roberto Ornelas de Lemos at least 41 times while he was at a bakery in a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, according to news reports.