Israeli forces detain journalists aboard humanitarian flotilla
New York, June 1, 2010–Israel should immediately release the journalists it detained along with hundreds of peace activists on Monday after Israeli forces stormed a convoy of ships carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. According to international news reports and CPJ interviews, Israeli forces arrested at least 20…
Reluctant activist: A brother’s struggle to free Dawit Isaac
In 2001, Eritrean security forces imprisoned Eritrean-Swedish journalist Dawit Isaac along with nine other journalists without trial in September 2001. The arrests effectively shut down the nation’s fledgling independent press and any potential political dissent prior to scheduled December 2001 elections, which were subsequently cancelled. To this day, Dawit is believed to be held incommunicado…
CPJ welcomes Armenian vote to decriminalize defamation
We issued the following statement today after the National Assembly of Armenia approved on a second reading the decriminalization of defamation, including libel and insult. If signed into law, the amendments to Armenia’s penal and administrative code will remove imprisonment from the list of penalties for defamation; individuals found guilty of the offense would face…
Three journalists shot and wounded in Thai demonstrations
New York, May 14, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the deteriorating security situation for reporters in Thailand as government forces and anti-government protesters exchange fire in the national capital. Three journalists were shot and injured on Friday when security forces and protesters exchanged fire that resulted in at least seven deaths and more…
CPJ condemns farcical Azerbaijan trial
We issued the following statement today after the Azerbaijani independent agency Turan reported on the testimony of two inmates who allegedly saw imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev take drugs. Fatullayev was charged with drug usage shortly before the European Court of Human Rights acquitted him of all earlier trumped-up charges and ordered his immediate release.
Suppressed media erase memory of Andijan massacre
Five years ago today, Dilorom Abdukadirova, 44, managed to escape the heavy spray of bullets in her native Uzbek city of Andijan. On that day, government troops shot and killed hundreds of civilian protesters on the orders of President Islam Karimov. Leaving behind her husband and four children, Abdukadirova found a refuge in Australia, where…
In Moldova, CPJ calls for Ernest Vardanian’s release
We issued the following statement today after authorities in the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic released an alleged confession by independent journalist Ernest Vardanian, who has been imprisoned since April 7 on trumped-up treason charges …
London neighborhoods increasingly ‘off-limits’ to journalists
Life can be bumpy on Britain’s campaign roads. On May 3, Jerome Taylor, a “home news” reporter with the London daily The Independent went into the Bow borough of East London in order to look into allegations of widespread postal voting fraud. His bloodied nose and face appeared in the next day’s Independent.
Azerbaijan confiscates Norwegian footage on Fatullayev
New York, May 7, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Azerbaijani authorities to immediately investigate the illegal confiscation of footage and reporting from Norwegian television reporter Erling Borgen and cameraman Dag Inge Dahl on Thursday.