Egypt’s Shame
This morning a judge in Egypt convicted journalists Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, Peter Greste, and Baher Mohamed of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood and sentenced them to between seven and 10 years in prison. All three were working for Al-Jazeera when they were arrested six months ago, but have a wide range of professional experience, including…
Conditions for international reporters deteriorating in China
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China released at the end of May its annual report on conditions for international journalists working in the country. As we have done in the past, we’re posting this year’s report as a PDF. The takeaway is that conditions have certainly not gotten better and many feel they have gotten…
A year after Snowden revelations, damage persists to freedom of expression in Pakistan
In Pakistan, where freedom of expression is largely perceived as a Western notion, the Snowden revelations have had a damaging effect. The deeply polarized narrative has become starker as the corridors of power push back on attempts to curb government surveillance. “If the citizens of the United States of America cannot have these rights, how…
Nigeria targets independent newspapers
Nigerian authorities have been waging widespread attacks on nearly a dozen independent newspapers under the cover of fighting terrorism. By last weekend, no fewer than 10 newspapers had their operations nationwide disrupted, leading to the loss of hundreds of thousands of newspaper sales.
At the UN, let’s talk about journalist murders in plain language
The U.N. Human Rights Council was established in 2006 as a replacement for the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, which folded in the face of criticism that it gave a platform to many states with poor human rights records. Only time will tell if the U.N. Human Rights Council will be any better. Nevertheless, this…
When Pakistan’s largest news channel becomes the news
Today, Pakistan’s most watched news channel, Geo News, was ordered off the air and fined by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). Earlier this week, CPJ documented an attack on Zafar Aheer, an editor of the Urdu-language Daily Jang, by six masked men–the latest in a series of attacks, threats, and acts of intimidation…
EU ‘right to be forgotten’ ruling will corrupt history
Google has taken its first public steps to comply with a troubling ruling by the European Court of Justice establishing a so-called “right to be forgotten” throughout the European Union. The ruling, on May 13, requires that search companies consider individuals’ demands to remove Internet links that reference them, and to give those requests priority…