News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, March 2014
Pakistani PM pledges justice, journalist security to CPJ A CPJ delegation traveled to Pakistan this month and met with high-level Pakistani officials including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who pledged to continue to expand Pakistan’s media freedoms and address the insecurity plaguing the country’s journalists.
What should happen following the Raza Rumi attack
On March 28, gunmen sprayed the car of TV anchor and widely-respected analyst Raza Rumi, a member of the Express Group of media organizations. He escaped serious injury, but his driver, Mustafa, died. It was the fourth attack on the Express Group in eight months, with four people dead. There has been no serious police…
Blacklisted in Baluchistan
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made a series of commitments to safeguard press freedom during a meeting with a CPJ delegation last week. Among them was a pledge to speak out in support of media freedom and against attacks on journalists, particularly in high-conflict areas like Baluchistan.
CPJ condemns attack on Pakistani journalist Raza Rumi
New York, March 28, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalist condemns today’s attack on the senior Pakistani journalist Raza Rumi in Lahore, which killed his driver. Unidentified gunmen fired on Rumi’s car near the Raja Market neighborhood after he left the studio following his TV show. Rumi and his guard were injured, according to news reports.…
Mission Journal: Hope in Pakistan
For the last decade, Pakistan has been one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media. At least 46 journalists have been killed, 24 of them murdered for the “crime” of covering the intelligence services, the Taliban, separatists in Baluchistan, or the criminal underworld. The result is a legacy of self-censorship and fear among…
Afghan journalist among those dead in Kabul attack
New York, March 21, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply saddened by an attack on Thursday night in Afghanistan in which Sardar Ahmad, a senior reporter for Agence France-Presse’s Kabul bureau, was killed. Four gunmen stormed the Serena Hotel in Kabul during Nowruz celebrations, which marks the start of the Afghan and Persian new…
CPJ condemns attack on media executives in Hong Kong
New York, March 19, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s attack on two senior media executives in Hong Kong by four masked men armed with metal bars. The executives work for Hong Kong Media News, which is preparing to launch a Chinese-language newspaper, and have been identified in reports as Lei Iun-han, director and…
Prime minister pledges justice, security for journalists in Pakistan
Islamabad, March 19, 2014 — In a wide-ranging meeting today with a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pledged to continue to expand Pakistan’s media freedoms and address the insecurity plaguing the country’s journalists. He also promised to ease visa and travel restrictions on foreign journalists working in the county.
Amid clampdown, another blogger sentenced in Vietnam
Bangkok, March 19, 2014–In a mounting clampdown on Internet freedom in Vietnam, blogger Pham Viet Dao was sentenced to prison today for online posts critical of the Communist Party-led government, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ruling and calls for his immediate release.