Ibrahim Jassam's photo is shown by his father in Baghdad. (Reuters/Thaier al-Sudani)

CPJ calls U.S. detention of Ibrahim Jassam unjust

CPJ called on U.S. military forces to charge or release journalist Ibrahim Jassam, who has been imprisoned in Iraq for one year as of today. Jassam, a freelance cameraman and photographer working for Reuters, has not been charged with a crime, and no evidence against him has ever been disclosed. U.S. forces have made only…

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Lee and Ling: ‘Instinctively, we ran.’

Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were arrested by North Korean police on March 17 for allegedly entering the country illegally and carrying out “hostile acts.” In June, they were sentenced to 12 years’ hard labor. Now back in the U.S. after receiving a pardon, the two are telling their story on Current.com,…

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Pentagon questions profiling of reporters in Afghanistan

No doubt Stars and Stripes is a Pentagon-authorized newspaper. But no one should doubt the daily’s editorial independence from the Defense Department. This week Stars and Stripes beat the rest of the press pack in breaking a story that not only made Defense Department officials uncomfortable, but that compelled veteran Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman to…

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U.S. immigration releases Pakistani journalist

In response to news that Pakistani Voice of America reporter Rahman Bunairee was released after 10 days in U.S. immigrant detention, we issued this statement…

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U.S. officials detain Pakistani VOA journalist

New York, August 14, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by U.S. immigration officials’ decision to detain without explanation Rahman Bunairee, a Pakistani reporter for Voice of America who said he had been targeted for attack in his home country. CPJ calls on immigration officials to release Bunairee immediately and allow him to resume…

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U.S. immigration detains Pakistani journalist

In response to news that Pakistani reporter Rahman Bunairee was detained Monday by immigration officials at Washington Dulles International Airport while trying to enter the country to accept a one-year position with Voice of America, we issued this statement…

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An Iraqi journalist in America: The other side of the war

It’s been more than three months since I realized one of my most important dreams by coming to the United States. Still, I never thought that I would come here as a refugee, maybe because my Iraqi dignity and pride simply wouldn’t accept such an idea. 

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Helping the Hikers

The notion that three American hikers could innocently wander across the border from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iran has elicited some understandable skepticism. But a statement from their friend who stayed behind in his hotel because he was ill helps explain how the situation unfolded. 

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Television reports in South Korea. (AP)

Ling, Lee pardoned in North Korea, reports say

New York, August 4, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes media reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has pardoned and ordered the release of imprisoned journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee after former U.S. President Bill Clinton arrived in Pyongyang today.

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AP File 1981

For CPJ, Cronkite a trusted colleague

In a 2006 interview, Walter Cronkite recalled how the search for missing reporters in Vietnam led him to CPJ and on to Turkey. Interview by Maya Taal

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