Journalists kidnapped, released in Afghanistan
Three journalists, all on assignment for The Guardian, were kidnapped in December 2009 and released after six days, according to the paper. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, an Iraqi, ad two unnamed Afghan journalists had been planning to interview militants in Afghanistan’s mountainous Kunar province near the border with Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province when they were abducted. The Guardian said…
Kazakh journalist and newspaper persecuted
After receiving reports of at least three defamation lawsuits filed recently against Lukpan Akhmedyarov, a prominent journalist with the independent newspaper Uralskaya Nedelya in Western Kazakhstan, in retaliation for his critical reporting on a state construction company’s illegal work on a gas pipe project, er issued the following statement…
Verdict in Ingushetia editor’s killing a miscarriage of justice
New York, December 11, 2009—A Russian police officer who fatally shot an online publisher in government custody in 2008 was convicted of negligent homicide and sentenced to two years in a low-security prison settlement today, Reuters and other news agencies reported. The family of the victim, Magomed Yevloyev, told CPJ they would appeal the verdict…
Belarus journalist threatened, warned not to publish
New York, December 10, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Belarusian authorities to prosecute and convict the perpetrators who made death threats against Iryna Khalip, Belarus correspondent for the Moscow-based independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
Kyrgyzstan court rejects new probe in Saipov murder
New York, December 9, 2009—Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court ruled today that the prosecution of a man accused in the 2007 murder of Alisher Saipov, editor of the Uzbek-language weekly Siyosat, can proceed, the independent news Web site Ferghana reported. Saipov’s family and colleagues have called the case bogus.
CPJ’s 2009 prison census: Freelance journalists under fire
New York, December 8, 2009—Freelancers now make up nearly 45 percent of all journalists jailed worldwide, a dramatic recent increase that reflects the evolution of the global news business, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In its annual census of imprisoned journalists, CPJ found a total of 136 reporters, editors, and photojournalists behind bars…
Video Report: Behind Bars But Not Alone
In this video companion to CPJ’s annual census of imprisoned journalists, Deputy Director Robert Mahoney describes how international advocacy can make a difference in winning the freedom of jailed reporters, editors, photojournalists, and bloggers. (3:45) Read the special report “Freelancers Under Fire” and view our database of journalists in prison.
Beketov still recovering from attack a year later in Russia
Those familiar with Mikhail Beketov’s ordeal describe his survival as nothing short of a miracle. The once fit, towering 51-year-old who campaigned on environmental issues and criticized his city government’s policies through the pages of his newspaper is now gone. But the former editor of Khimkinskaya Pravda, an independent publication that exposed the blunders of the Khimki…
CPJ calls for immediate release of sick journalist
The Committee to Protect Journalists issued this statement following reports about the deteriorating health of Bizim Yol newspaper reporter Mushfig Huseynov, who has been jailed in state custody since 2007 for allegedly taking a bribe. Huseynov, who suffers from an advanced stage of tuberculosis, is serving a five-year prison term.