New York, January 12, 2009–The Nepalese government must act immediately to protect female journalists in the wake of the brutal murder of one reporter and death threats made against another in the volatile Terai plains of southern Nepal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Dear President-elect Obama: I am writing as chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists to seek your leadership in reaffirming America’s role as a staunch defender of press freedom throughout the world. Journalists in many countries who risk their lives and liberty upholding the values of free expression look to the United States for support.
New York, January 8, 2009–B.V. Seetaram and his wife, Rohini, who head the media group Chithra Publications in Karnataka state, southern India, have been in judicial custody since Sunday in connection with two-year old criminal charges relating to their newspapers, according to local news reports.
New York, January 8, 2009–With today’s murder of the editor-in-chief of the The Sunday Leader newspaper, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on concerned ambassadors in Colombo to weigh in forcefully and immediately with President Mahinda Rajapaksa to put an end to the attacks raining down on Sri Lanka’s media.
Yesterday’s attack on Mexican TV network Televisa is making headlines in the world press today. The Washington Post has coverage of masked gunman threw a grenade at the TV station, allegedly in retaliation for reporting on drug trafficking. The article quotes CPJ’s Carlos Lauria, who said that the “attack in Monterrey is another example of how…
New York, January 6, 2009–Following today’s early morning assault by about 15 masked gunmen on Sirasa TV’s studios outside the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, the Committee to Protect Journalists called for an independent, nonpartisan parliamentary board of inquiry to investigate.
CPJ’s Joel Simon, Robert Mahoney, and Nina Ognianova pay tribute to journalists who died in 2008. The toll was highest in Iraq, but conflicts in South Asia and the Caucasus were deadly as well. Impunity in journalist murders in Russia, Philippines, and Mexico were top issues.
The news that BBC reporter Jonathan Head could face jail time in Thailand for alledgely insulting the Thai monarchy has recieved significant coverage over the holidays. Our alert on the incident from Wendesday has been cited in a number of outlets including The Associated Press, the UK-based Press Association, and the Irish Examiner. All three quoted CPJ’s…
New York, December 24, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ongoing legal harassment of BBC correspondent Jonathan Head. Police Lt. Col. Wattanasak Mungkandee filed a third criminal complaint this year against Head on December 23, alleging he had insulted the Thai monarchy in his reporting.
New York, December 22, 2008–Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s coalition government must carry out an open, independent, and nonpartisan investigation into Sunday’s attack on Himalmedia in Kathmandu, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.