An Iraqi in America: In the middle of nowhere
We are all stuck in the middle of nowhere. Millions in Iraq and millions outside it face an ambiguous future. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis fled Iraq under Saddam’s regime, which lasted for almost 40 years, but since the led-American invasion in 2003 that number has exceeded 4 million, according to United Nations estimates.
Iran sentences two journalists to long prison terms
New York, December 3, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the sentencing of Hengameh Shahidi and Saeed Laylaz, two prominent journalists, to extended prison terms. Shahidi was sentenced on Monday to six years and three months in prison, while Laylaz was sentenced to a prison sentence of no fewer than nine years,…
Letter to Ahmadinejad: Release the hikers
I hope Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad checked his fax machine this morning because he received an important letter urging the release of three American hikers held now for five months without charge. I joined 79 signatories from a dozen countries in signing the appeal because I am gravely concerned that the hikers are being used as political…
Tunisia jails two critical journalists and harasses others
New York, December 1, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the rising imprisonment of critical journalists in Tunisia. Harassment has been escalating since President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali threatened to prosecute anyone who casts doubt on his reelection for a fifth five-year term in office on October 25. Journalists Zuhair Makhlouf and Taoufik Ben…
Morocco silences the pens of its journalists
On the eve of Hillary Clinton’s departure to Morocco for the Forum of the Future on November 3, CPJ urged her to “impress upon the Moroccan authorities that a free press is a crucial component of any free society.” The forum is a gathering of political, business, and social leaders from the Middle East and…
Seen and heard at CPJ benefit: ‘The pen is not broken’
Small in stature but strong in her words, Naziha Réjiba tells a reporter of all the things the Tunisian government does to try to frighten her. But Réjiba said that she will not be scared, that she will never allow such tactics to have power over her. Editor of Kalima, an online news Web site blocked in…
CPJ honors press freedom leaders
New York, November 25, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists honored four journalists with its 2009 International Press Freedom Awards in a ceremony Tuesday night that highlighted impunity in journalist murders, this week’s killings of Philippine journalists, and the Internet’s emerging role in press freedom. Anthony Lewis, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and founding CPJ board…
Iranian journalist receives harsh sentence
We issued the following statement today in reaction to news that Iranian journalist Ahmad Zaid-Abadi was sentenced to six years in prison, five years in exile in Khorasan Province, and a lifetime ban on social and political activity, effectively barring him from writing…
Maziar Bahari, Iran, and the impact of world pressure
Maziar Bahari’s chilling account of his 118 days in an Iranian prison is the cover story of Newsweek this week. Bahari, a renowned journalist and documentary filmmaker, was arrested soon after the disputed June 12 elections. While in prison, he was subjected to psychological and physical abuse. His captors wanted to convince him that he…