Communications

On February 21 CPJ released it’s annual Attack on the Press report providing detailed information on the 46 journalists killed, and 179 imprisoned in 2011. Globally, last year brought a sharp increase in imprisonment and the coverage of uprisings and conflict proved deadly for journalists, a fact no better underscored than the recent deaths of…

In search of the truth in Syria, foreign correspondents face unprecedented restrictions and are often left with choice of sneaking into the country using dangerous overland smuggling routes, or not going at all. Violence in the country has already claimed 4 journalists, and the difficult journey itself led to the death of Anthony Shadid, who…

Tim Hancock, of Amnesty International UK, rises to lend perspective on the on-going Leveson inquiry reminding the world that a free press is vital for far more than coverage of celebrity gossip. Citing CPJ figures he notes that in 2011 one third of all journalists killed occurred during coverage of the  Arab Spring, and that…

When high profile murders take place in Pakistan it is routine to include police and government forces along with criminals and ne’er-do-wells. This is the stark reality of the simmering and often bloody terrorist war in Balochistan. The Economist explains how a long standing secessionist movement and rampant corruption make Pakistan a dangerous place in…

A murder that spawned a movement, the five-year anniversary of Hrant Dink’s high profile assassination drew huge crowds in Turkey to protest the judiciary’s decision to dismiss charges of conspiracy to silence one of the nation’s most outspoken critics. In this New Yorker article CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney describes the current backslide of press freedom in Turkey and the spectre…

In a rapidly changing Middle East, Turkey is increasingly being looked to by Arab neighbors as an example of what a post Arab-Spring society could look like. However, despite progressive, democratic, and secular institutions, the Turkish government maintains a dim view on press freedom. CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon goes on the record to denounce Turkey as…

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has a torrid relationship with press freedom. His arsenal of repression includes such tactics as pre-empting private broadcasts to denounce the presenters, bankrupting papers through defamation suits, and publicly shouting down critics who dare question him.In his latest attempt to censor free expression Correa has targeted the office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, an independent…

Iran lead the pack of countries with the most imprisoned journalists in 2011, holding 43 behind bars. This week Iran added to its reputation with the arrest of at least three prominent journalists: Marzieh Rasouli, Parastoo Dokouhaki, and Sahamoddin Bourghani. Decrying what he calls a “revolving prison door,” routinely releasing journalists while arresting others, CPJ’s…

For the second year in a row Pakistan has topped the CPJ Killed List, making it a more dangerous place to be a journalist in 2011 than the active war zones of Libya or Iraq and Afghanistan. Senior Asia program coordinator Bob Dietz explains that Pakistani journalists are under extreme pressure from both state and…

Sami al-Haj has now returned to Al Jazeera, an organization he previously worked for a decade ago as a cameraman covering the then nascent war in Afghanistan. While on assignment in December 2001 he was delayed by a passport problem during a routine over land crossing into the country from Pakistan. Quickly named an ‘enemy combatant’ by the U.S.…