Attacks on the Press 2001: Middle East Analysis
Bucking a worldwide trend toward democracy in the post-Cold War era, the political landscape of the Middle East and North Africa remained dominated by an assortment of military-backed regimes, police states, autocracies, and oligarchies. A new, younger generation of leaders has emerged in some countries in recent years, inheriting power and bringing hope for political…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Iran
The Iranian judiciary pushed ahead with its year-old crackdown on media dissent, further exacerbating an ongoing power struggle between conservative and reformist factions in the Islamic Republic. The crackdown began in April 2000, when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a fiery speech accusing the country’s reformist press, which generally backs President Muhammed Khatami’s agenda…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Journalists in Prison
There were 118 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2001 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is up significantly from the previous year, when 81 journalists were in jail, and represents a return to the level of 1998, when 118 were also imprisoned.
Covering the New War
Read first-hand accounts by journalists covering the war in Afghanistan. • December 21, 2001—The New York Times reported that on December 20, Afghan tribal fighters detained three photojournalists working for U.S. news organizations. The journalists were detained for more than one hour, apparently at the behest of U.S. Special Operations forces in the Tora Bora area….
CPJ appeals for release of journalist
New York, April 10, 2001 — As Iranian newspaper editor Mashallah Shamsolvaezin marked the end of his first year in prison, CPJ today presented more than 350 petitions to the government of Iran calling for his immediate release and the release of at least six other Iranian journalists currently jailed for their work. The petitions…
CPJ congratulates press freedom awardee Shamsolvaezin on his release
New York, September 27, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today welcomed the release from prison of Iranian editor Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, who was freed on September 12 after spending 17 months in prison. In an e-mail sent to Shamsolvaezin, CPJ executive director Ann Cooper wrote: “We were happy to learn of your release from prison…
CPJ Condemns New Jail Term for Iranian Journalist Ganji
New York, July 16–CPJ strongly condemns the six-year prison sentence issued to imprisoned Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji today and reiterates calls for the release of all jailed journalists in Iran. Ganji was a popular investigative journalist whose reporting on the murders of Iranian intellectuals and dissidents in 1998 implicated several top government officials. Today he…
As presidential vote approaches, CPJ calls on government to free jailed journalists
June 6, 2001 — CPJ is concerned that Iran’s June 8 presidential election is taking place in an environment where local journalists are not free to report the news. Five Iranian journalists are currently jailed for their work, according to CPJ research, and dozens of newspapers have been shut down. “When Iranians last went to…