An Iraqi in America: In the middle of nowhere
We are all stuck in the middle of nowhere. Millions in Iraq and millions outside it face an ambiguous future. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis fled Iraq under Saddam’s regime, which lasted for almost 40 years, but since the led-American invasion in 2003 that number has exceeded 4 million, according to United Nations estimates.
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…
Philippine groups move quickly to investigate massacre
Four groups in the Philippines released what appears to be the most authoritative account on the murder of 57 people on November 23 in Ampatuan, in Maguindanao province, in the Philippines’ southernmost main island, Mindanao. The report puts the death toll for journalists at 30, with a few others classified as media workers—drivers and other support staff. Some bodies are…
New lawyer network serves bloggers and online journalists
Whether you are an old-school journalist looking to move online or a Net native with journalistic aspirations, chances are at some point you’re going to need a lawyer. The Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard’s Berkman Center is aware of that and wants to help.
Letter to Ahmadinejad: Release the hikers
I hope Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad checked his fax machine this morning because he received an important letter urging the release of three American hikers held now for five months without charge. I joined 79 signatories from a dozen countries in signing the appeal because I am gravely concerned that the hikers are being used as political…
Morocco silences the pens of its journalists
On the eve of Hillary Clinton’s departure to Morocco for the Forum of the Future on November 3, CPJ urged her to “impress upon the Moroccan authorities that a free press is a crucial component of any free society.” The forum is a gathering of political, business, and social leaders from the Middle East and…
Seen and heard at CPJ benefit: ‘The pen is not broken’
Small in stature but strong in her words, Naziha Réjiba tells a reporter of all the things the Tunisian government does to try to frighten her. But Réjiba said that she will not be scared, that she will never allow such tactics to have power over her. Editor of Kalima, an online news Web site blocked in…
Philippine massacre among worst for journalists
The toll in the brutal, election-related killings in Maguindanao province, Philippines, was still being determined tonight. Several journalists were believed to be among the dead, making the massacre one of the deadliest single events for the press in memory. Here are some other deadly episodes as recorded by CPJ:
Doubling down on playing the spy card
Another foreign journalist was “outed” in Pakistan on Friday. A front-page story in the November 20 edition of the daily newspaper The Nation ran the picture of an unidentified journalist at the scene of a bomb blast in Peshawar, identifying him as a CIA spy. He was actually Daniel Berehulak, who works for the international photography…
Maziar Bahari, Iran, and the impact of world pressure
Maziar Bahari’s chilling account of his 118 days in an Iranian prison is the cover story of Newsweek this week. Bahari, a renowned journalist and documentary filmmaker, was arrested soon after the disputed June 12 elections. While in prison, he was subjected to psychological and physical abuse. His captors wanted to convince him that he…