USA / Americas

For data on press freedom violations in the U.S., visit the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a partnership between CPJ and Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Read CPJ’s report on the Biden administration and the press.

  

Disappointment as mediation fails to free U.S. video blogger

New York, March 9, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is disappointed that a freelance video blogger will remain in jail after a court-appointed arbitrator was unable to mediate a settlement that could have led to the journalist’s release. Joshua Wolf has spent 198 days in jail, the longest incarceration of a journalist in U.S. history,…

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Guantanamo Bay: Al-Jazeera cameraman force-fed during hunger strike

New York, March 5, 2007—An Al-Jazeera cameraman detained at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval station lost 36 pounds (16.3 Kilograms) while on hunger strike in January, and has since been force-fed, his lawyer confirmed to CPJ. Sami al-Haj, of the Qatar-based satellite news channel, began his hunger strike on January 7 to protest five years…

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In U.S., concern about jailed Al-Jazeera cameraman’s health

New York, February 28, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about reports that an Al-Jazeera cameraman detained for nearly five years without charge at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been on hunger strike over the last 48 days and that he may be in failing health.

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Court targets Web site over bank documents

UNITED STATES: February 15, 2008 Wikileaks CENSORED A federal judge in San Francisco ordered a California-based, domain name registry firm, Dynadot, to effectively shut down the Web site, Wikileaks.org, after the site posted documents concerning a bank in the Cayman Islands. Judge Jeffrey S. White later that day narrowed the injunction, ordering the removal of…

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In United States, two journalists avoid jail in steroid case

New York, February 15, 2007—Two San Francisco Chronicle reporters will avoid going to jail after their source revealed himself in a criminal plea agreement. The reporters, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, had faced up to 18 months in prison for refusing to name the source who provided them with secret grand jury testimony about alleged…

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Attacks on the Press 2006: Countries That Have Jailed Journalists

ALGERIA: 2 Djamel Eddine Fahassi, Alger Chaîne III IMPRISONED: May 6, 1995 Fahassi, a reporter for the state-run radio station Alger Chaîne III and a contributor to several Algerian newspapers, including the now-banned weekly of the Islamic Salvation Front, Al-Forqane, was abducted near his home in the al-Harrache suburb of the capital, Algiers, by four…

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Attacks on the Press 2006: Countries That Have Jailed Journalists

ALGERIA: 2 Djamel Eddine Fahassi, Alger Chaîne III IMPRISONED: May 6, 1995 Fahassi, a reporter for the state-run radio station Alger Chaîne III and a contributor to several Algerian newspapers, including the now-banned weekly of the Islamic Salvation Front, Al-Forqane, was abducted near his home in the al-Harrache suburb of the capital, Algiers, by four…

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CPJ welcomes talks on code of conduct for Internet companies

New York, January 18, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the public disclosure today that leading Internet companies are in talks with human rights organizations, including CPJ, investors, and legal experts to draw up a code of conduct for technology companies that would safeguard the right to free expression and privacy of Web users. The…

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CPJ writes to Rumsfeld over Iraq detention

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld: I am writing as chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists to express the organization’s deep concern about the case of Bilal Hussein, a freelance photographer working for The Associated Press, who has been held without charge by the U.S. military for nearly seven months.

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CPJ appeals FOIA denial on Al-Jazeera bombing

New York, October 20, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists has appealed the Pentagon’s refusal to release information about the U.S. bombing of Al-Jazeera television’s Baghdad bureau in 2003 which killed a reporter. The formal appeal sent on Thursday followed the revelation by Britain’s Channel 4 this week that former British Home Secretary (Interior Minister) David…

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