Iran

New York, January 9, 2015--A new wave of arrests and prosecutions has been carried out by Iranian authorities in the past month, cementing the country's status as one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

More than 200 journalists are imprisoned for their work for the third consecutive year, reflecting a global surge in authoritarianism. China is the world’s worst jailer of journalists in 2014. A CPJ special report by Shazdeh Omari

By Jason Stern/CPJ Middle East and North Africa Research Associate

The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined 29 other organizations in calling on member states of the U.N. General Assembly to vote in favor of a resolution for the promotion and protection of human rights in Iran. The vote is scheduled to take place on November 18.

By Sherif Mansour/CPJ Middle East and North Africa Coordinator

Last week, Mohammad Javad Larijani, a top adviser to the country's supreme leader, said in an interview with Euronews television that the case of Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post correspondent who has been imprisoned in Iran since July, might be resolved in "less than a month."

By Courtney C. Radsch/CPJ Advocacy Director

In 2009, the sketch comedian Jason Jones traveled to Iran to interview Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari for "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart. Shortly after the disputed June 12 elections, the series of reports aired amid a brutal crackdown on Iranian journalists and the opposition. Bahari was among those arrested. Among the "evidence" presented by his interrogators--one of whom smelled like rosewater--was his interview with the fake news show, which they claimed was proof he had spoken with an American spy. When they could not get those charges to stick they made up a new one: "media espionage."

New York, October 29, 2014--Iranian authorities have detained for almost a week a journalist affiliated with the semi-official Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), a media outlet that has covered a series of acid attacks on women in the country, according to news reports. Four other staff members affiliated with the agency were arrested on Monday and have been released, the reports said.

Honoring courage and perseverance

Awardees from Burma, Iran, Russia, and South Africa

New York, September 30, 2014--Four journalists from Burma, Iran, Russia, and South Africa will be honored with the Committee to Protect Journalists' 2014 International Press Freedom Awards, an annual recognition of courageous reporting. These journalists have faced imprisonment, violence, and censorship.

By Sherif Mansour/CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 25 human rights and civil society groups today in signing an open letter to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is due to address the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday about steps toward an open and effective relationship with the United Nations Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.

New York, September 9, 2014--The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed that dozens of journalists remain imprisoned in Iran more than a year after the inauguration of President Hassan Rouhani, who has pledged to seek more constructive engagement with the international community. CPJ calls on attendees of this month's U.N. General Assembly to urge Rouhani to ensure the release of all journalists imprisoned for their work.

US-Africa Leaders Summit

President Barack Obama hosted the first US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington D.C. this month. The discussion focused on trade and investment, but CPJ helped put press freedom on the agenda. At a time of unprecedented growth and change in Africa, journalists are under increasing pressure, with spikes in repression from Ethiopia to Nigeria.