A year after Raza Rumi attack, little change for Pakistan’s beleaguered press
One year ago Raza Rumi, a TV anchor and widely-respected analyst in Pakistan, narrowly escaped death when gunmen opened fire on his car in an attack that killed his driver, Mustafa. When I wrote about the March 28 attack, the fourth on the Express Group in eight months that had left four people dead, I…
Mission Journal: Finding a legal solution to siege of Pakistan’s media
Pakistan’s media, long under siege, face new challenges. “We had managed to get the genie out of the lamp,” was the way one Pakistani journalist explained it to me during a trip there last month. “But now, the military has pushed it back in and I’m not sure when we’ll be able to get it…
After Charlie Hebdo attack, vigils, protests and publishing bans
Protests against the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo were held in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East and parts of Africa over the weekend, as crowds demonstrated against the magazine’s portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad, according to news reports.
AFP photographer shot while covering anti-Charlie Hebdo protests in Pakistan
New York, January 16, 2015–Agence France-Presse photographer Asif Hassan was shot and wounded today while covering clashes in Karachi between police and supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party who were demonstrating against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, according to news reports. It is unclear from where the firing originated or whether he was targeted.…
More threats against Pakistan’s Hamid Mir
The well-known and controversial Pakistani television talk show host Hamid Mir survived a murder attempt on April 19, even though he was hit with six bullets–two of which are still in his body. “I can move, I can walk and I can talk, but I am still undergoing physiotherapy and taking medication,” he emailed to…
The Road to Justice
Breaking the Cycle of Impunity in the Killing of Journalists The lack of justice in hundreds of murders of journalists around the world is one of the greatest threats to press freedom today. While international attention to the issue has grown over the past decade, there has been little progress in bringing down rates of…
The Road to Justice
About This Report Elisabeth Witchel, the founder of CPJ’s Global Campaign Against Impunity, is the lead author of this report. Witchel launched the campaign in 2007 and has compiled five editions of the organization’s annual Global Impunity Index as well as several other major reports. She has worked in human rights and journalism for more…
The Road to Justice
1. What Does Impunity Mean? In 1981, the year CPJ was founded, Argentina was enmeshed in the so-called Dirty War, in which dozens of journalists were disappeared. Most were never seen again. To this day, no one has systematically documented the media murders that took place, and no one knows precisely how many journalists perished.…
The Road to Justice
2. Measuring Progress Against Stubborn Reality In November 2013, the United Nations General Assembly put the issue of impunity squarely on the global agenda. The Resolution on Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, adopted by consensus, describes the absence of justice for victims as “one of the main challenges to strengthening the protection…