Iran / Middle East & North Africa

IRAN Iran’s troubled economy weakened President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s power at home, with protests spilling into the streets and intellectuals, activists, and students expressing dissent in the media. Silencing the uproar became essential for Ahmadinejad, prompting authorities to intensify a media crackdown that had been waged by conservative forces for a decade. Iran became the world’s…

February 2008 News from the Committee to Protect Journalists

CPJ: One in 6 jailed journalists held without charge Census shows an overall decline; China remains the leading jailer

Detailed accounts of each imprisoned journalist.

Did a respected military reporter really jump to his death? In the case of Ivan Safronov, there are many questions, few answers, and not much hope.

New York, August 6, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the death sentence handed down in mid-July by a revolutionary court against Adnan Hassanpour, a journalist and former editor for the now-defunct Kurdish-Persian weekly Aso in Iran’s northwestern province of Kurdistan. Iranian Kurdish environmental activist Abdulvahed Butimar was also convicted and sentenced to death. Hassanpour…

JOURNALISTS IN EXILE A STATISTICAL PROFILE July 2001 – June 2007 Total who went into exile in this period

At least three journalists a month flee their home countries to escape threats of violence, imprisonment, or harassment.

At least three journalists a month flee their home countries to escape threats of violence, imprisonment, or harassment. By Elisabeth Witchel and Karen Phillips

New York, May 30, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Iranian authorities to drop criminal charges against an Iranian-American journalist working for U.S.-backed Radio Farda, to return the journalist’s seized passport, and to allow her to travel freely. On May 15, the Special Security Bureau of the Revolutionary Court Public Prosecutor’s office charged…