Features & Analysis

A new turn in the Anna Politkovskaya murder trial is making news today across the wires. It was initially going to be held behind closed doors, but had been opened to the public on Monday. However, stories from AP, Reuters, AFP, and RFE/RL all report that the court has repealed that ruling and will now close the trial to outside observers. Reports claim…

We received a large package from the Tunisian Embassy in Washington on Friday. The package contained an official response to our September special report, “The Smiling Oppressor” and a hefty collection of Tunisian newspapers and individual articles that the government says demonstrates a “liberal and pluralistic media landscape” under President Zine El Abidine’s 21-year rule.…

RIA Novosti has continued coverage of the Anna Politkovskaya murder trial, which began yesterday in Moscow.

Three men charged in the 2007 murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya are on trial in Moscow beginning today.

Making headlines today across the English and Spanish-language press is the brutal murder of Mexican crime reporter Armando Rodríguez.

CPJ is pleased to welcome three leading journalists to its board of directors: Kathleen Carroll of The Associated Press, Lara Logan of CBS News, and David A. Schlesinger of Reuters.

Mexico’s special prosecutor for crimes against journalists has responded to CPJ’s October 24 letter expressing concerns about the investigation into the murder of U.S. filmmaker Bradley Will. The prosecutor’s response leaves much unresolved.

Alexis Sinduhije, a 2004 International Press Freedom Award recipient, has been charged with “contempt for the president” in his home country of Burundi. Sinduhije has given up journalism to pursue a career in politics. The Boston Globe has coverage of the arrest today.

Alexis Sinduhije founded Radio Publique Africaine (RPA) in 2001 to bridge Burundi’s ethnic divide. Divisions between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups have sparked widespread and lingering violence throughout the country. 

The release of CBC correspondent Mellissa Fung, who had been abducted by a criminal gang in Afghanistan, is the focus of a few stories today. The Associated Press has coverage of her month-long ordeal, and that piece has been picked up by various papers including The Boston Globe and The Baltimore Sun.