Afghanistan / Asia

Shortly after U.S. president George W. Bush arrived in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, in February 2002 for a state visit, the North Korean state news agency, KCNA, reported a miracle: that a cloud in the shape of a Kimjongilia, the flower named after the country’s leader, Kim Jong Il, had appeared over North Korea. “Even…

The U.S. government took aggressive measures in 2002 to shield some of its activities from press scrutiny. These steps not only reduced access for U.S. reporters but had a global ripple effect, with autocratic leaders citing U.S. government actions to justify repressive policies.

Dear Governor Ismail Khan: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the recent assault, detention, and expulsion from Herat of Ahmad Behzad, a reporter for the U.S.- funded Radio Free Afghanistan. On March 19, security agents in the western city of Herat assaulted and detained Behzad after the journalist raised questions about…

Guide for reporting in hazardous situations.

CPJ RELEASES JOURNALIST SECURITY HANDBOOK New York, February 27, 2003–In an effort to prepare journalists for potentially hazardous reporting duties in conflict zones, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today released an online journalist security handbook, titled “On Assignment: Covering Conflict Safely” (click here). The handbook, which is geared toward editors and journalists covering conflict,…

Although Uzbekistan’s president, Islam Karimov, has told the United States that he supports press freedom, old, repressive habits die hard.

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express concern about the reported detention without charge of Sami Muhieddine Muhammad al-Haj, a 33-year-old assistant cameraman for the Qatar-based satellite television network Al-Jazeera.

Our plan for the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan’s media is rooted in the vision of a social and political future that our people deserve and aspire to, and has been promised by our government – a free, independent and united Afghanistan, where government is the servant of the people and accountable to them; where there is peace, justice and the rule of law; and where people can build a modern society in accordance with the principles of Islam, democracy and human rights.

Reconstruction and Development of Media in Afghanistan The Ministry of Information and Culture Policy DirectionsKabul 6th June 2002 Our plan for the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan’s media is rooted in the vision of a social and political future that our people deserve and aspire to, and has been promised by our government – a…

In the months following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, journalists around the world confronted an unprecedented press freedom crisis.