Europe & Central Asia

2012

  
Members of the European Parliament take part in a voting session in Strasbourg, France, on June 13, 2012. (AFP/Frederick Florin)

Members of European Parliament call to free Eskinder

On December 18, 16 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) wrote an open letter to Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn calling for the immediate release of the independent journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega, who was condemned in July to 18 years in prison under the country’s tough 2009 anti-terrorism legislation.

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Ambulances carry the bodies of Marie Colvin and Rémi Ochlik, who were killed in government shelling in Syria. (Reuters/Khaled al-Hariri)

Combat deaths at a high, risks shift for journalists

Murder is the leading cause of work-related deaths among journalists worldwide–and this year was no exception. But the death toll in 2012 continued a recent shift in the nature of journalist fatalities worldwide. More journalists were killed in combat situations in 2012 than in any year since 1992, when CPJ began keeping detailed records.

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(AFP/Pedro Pardo)

Journalists still murdered where impunity reigns

Almost half of the 67 journalists killed worldwide in 2012 were targeted and murdered for their work, research by the Committee to Protect Journalists shows. The vast majority covered politics. Many also reported on war, human rights, and crime. In almost half of these cases, political groups are the suspected source of fire. There has…

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In Internet freedom fight, why the ITU matters (for now)

For most of its almost-150-year history, the meetings of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations’ communications standards body, have been rather predictable affairs.

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A still from the video showing a Sri Lankan soldier about to execute a prisoner. (AFP/Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka)

Integrity vs. authenticity in video journalism

Back in November 2010, Britain’s Channel 4 broadcast a leaked video that appears to show men in Sri Lankan military uniforms executing bound prisoners, the camera panning across a series of bodies laid out in a ditch. Family and friends identified one of those bodies as that of Tamil Tiger TV newscaster Shoba, also known…

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People holding portraits of Anna Politkovskaya in Moscow on October 7, the 6th anniversary of her murder, call on authorities to punish the killers of journalists in Russia. (AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Closed trial in Politkovskaya case dashes hopes

The trial of Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, a former police lieutenant colonel and a key suspect in the 2006 murder of prominent Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, started at Moscow City Court today under presiding Judge Aleksandr Zamashnyuk. 

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CPJ

Video: Campaign to free the press

(CNN) The imprisonment of journalists hit a record high in 2012, driven by the growing use of anti-terrorism charges to silence critical voices. This video, a centerpiece of CPJ’s new Free the Press campaign, details the plight of imprisoned journalists worldwide and describes how international advocacy can make a difference in winning the freedom of…

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Journalists call for freedom of the press in a 2011 rally in Ankara. (AFP/Adem Altan)

For Turkey, world’s leading jailer, a path forward

Turkey has no business being the world’s leading jailer of journalists. But the numbers don’t lie. With 49 journalists imprisoned for their work, according to CPJ’s annual worldwide prison census, released today, Turkey holds more individuals behind bars than Iran (45), China (32), or Eritrea (28). How did Turkey find itself in this situation? Unlike…

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On Human Rights Day, make your voice heard on impunity

In 1950, the United Nations General Assembly declared December 10 Human Rights Day in commemoration of the adoption and proclamation two years earlier of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Every year, on this day, the U.N. chooses one right to highlight and advocate. This year, Human Rights Day is focused on the right of…

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CPJ recognized jailed Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen in 2012. (Michael Nagle/Getty Images for CPJ)

Nearly 20,000 call to free Kyrgyz, Tibetan journalists

“I remain hopeful that I will one day see the sun once more–not through the barred window of my prison cell but as a free man.” -Azimjon Askarov Today, on International Human Rights Day, CPJ and close to 20,000 supporters are calling on the governments of China and Kyrgyzstan to release two journalists imprisoned for…

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2012