Afghanistan / Asia

Dear President Karzai: We are deeply concerned by the potential repercussions of a March 10 statement released by Ministry of Defense spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi over an article written by The Wall Street Journal reporter Maria Abi-Habib. The statement, which personally attacks the journalist, sends a chilling message to other reporters who write about alleged government misconduct. We call on you to publicly address Azimi’s statement and ask all government officials to refrain from attacks on journalists. We also ask you to uphold your commitment to a free press in Afghanistan that you have made many times in the past.

New York, February 23, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Afghan authorities to thoroughly investigate the murder of radio journalist Samid Khan Bahadarzai and swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice.

Murders decline, but fatalities rise during coverage of protests. Photographers and freelancers pay an especially high price. Pakistan is the world’s most dangerous nation.

As NATO and Afghan military forces faced off with militant groups, the news media worked in a hostile and uncertain environment. Two journalists were killed for their work, both during major insurgent attacks. Accusations of widespread fraud marred the second post-Taliban parliamentary elections, which were resolved only by a presidential decree that ousted several apparent…

New York, November 29, 2011–When delegates from more than 100 countries and international aid organizations meet in Bonn on December 5 at an international conference on Afghanistan’s future, they must alter their tactics and aim more to support the professionalization and safety training of the country’s emerging press corps, the Committee to Protect Journalists said…

New York, September 22, 2011–Farhad Taqaddosi, a cameraman for Iran’s Press TV, died in a Kabul hospital on Tuesday of injuries he sustained in the Taliban’s September 13 attack on prominent international buildings in Kabul, the station reported.