New York, February 15, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the adoption of a charter by the council of Arab information ministers intended to regulate and control satellite TV stations. Called “Principles for Organizing Satellite Radio and TV Broadcasting in the Arab Region,” the document mainly targets privately owned stations that have been airing criticism…
New York, February 12, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of an Iraqi reporter whose body was discovered today in Baghdad after he disappeared on Sunday. Police discovered the body of Hisham Mijawet Hamdan, 27, a board member of the Young Journalists Association, today and took him to Al-Tib al-Adli morgue in Baghdad,…
New York, February 12, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that Yemeni security forces have laid siege to the home of a newspaper editor following an attack by gunmen on his home and newspaper’s offices in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. Bashraheel Bashraheel, the foreign news editor at the independent daily Al-Ayyam, told CPJ…
Egyptian court upholds Al-Jazeera conviction; strikes down prison sentence Cairo, February 11, 2008—An appeals court in Cairo today upheld the conviction of an Al-Jazeera journalist charged with harming Egypt’s reputation for her work on a documentary about torture, but struck down her prison term. In a crowded courtroom in north Cairo, Judge Hazem Wageeh read…
Egyptian court upholds Al-Jazeera conviction; strikes down prison sentence Cairo, February 11, 2008—An appeals court in Cairo today upheld the conviction of an Al-Jazeera journalist charged with harming Egypt’s reputation for her work on a documentary about torture, but struck down her prison term. In a crowded courtroom in north Cairo, Judge Hazem Wageeh read…
IRAQ: New York, February 11, 2008—CBS News is reporting that two unidentified journalists working for the network are missing in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Their statement said that “all efforts are under way to find them.” Until the network learns more details, the statement said, “CBS News requests that others do not speculate…
By Christiane AmanpourMurder is a terrifying reality for independent journalists around the world. A group or government embarrassed by a critical report hires a gunman rather than a lawyer to silence the messenger. More than 60 journalists were killed for their work in 2007, the second-deadliest year for the press that CPJ has ever documented.
By Joel SimonIn August 2008, when the Olympic torch is lit in Beijing, more than 20,000 journalists will be on hand to cover the competition between the world’s greatest athletes. Behind the scenes, another competition will be taking place. If the Chinese government has its way, this one will remain hidden. It will be a…
Rewriting the Law to Make Journalism a CrimeBy Nina OgnianovaIn its 17 years on the air, Moscow-based Ekho Moskvy Radio has enjoyed, by Russian standards, extraordinary editorial independence. Nearly alone among Russian broadcasters in its critical approach, the station employs some of the country’s most outspoken journalists, who produce in-depth reporting on the most sensitive…
Under the Radar, a New Kind of RepressionBy Joel Campagna On a Wednesday afternoon last June, Yemeni security agents stormed the home of outspoken editor Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani and dragged him before a State Security Court in the capital, Sana’a. A prosecutor questioned al-Khaiwani and later rang him up on charges of belonging to a secret…