We announced the 2008 International Press Freedom Award recipients on Tuesday, and the news has been well-received worldwide. Bilal Hussein of Iraq, Danish Karokhel and Farida Nekzad of Afghanistan, Andrew Mwenda of Uganda, and Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez of Cuba will all be honored by CPJ on November 25 for their courageous work. Beatrice Mtetewa, of Zimbabwe will…
New York, September 15, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the arrest of suspects in the killing of three journalists and a media worker in Mosul on Saturday. CNN reported that two suspects have been arrested in Mosul, according to Gen. Jalal Tawfeeq, military operations commander of Nineveh province, who spoke to al-Sharqiya. According to…
Tunisia’s media, one of the most muzzled in the Arab world, reported for the first time a couple weeks ago that a high-ranking U.S. official had raised the issue of reform with the country’s autocratic ruler, who is also a zealous supporter of President George W. Bush’s war on terror. The official was Secretary of…
Your Majesty, The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to bring to your attention the decision of a Moroccan court to jail and fine blogger and journalist Mohamed Erraji for “failing to respect the king.” We call on you to use all your influence to ensure the overturning of Erraji’s conviction.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The original version of this alert has been modified to correct the age of the blogger. New York, September 10, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Moroccan court’s decision to jail and fine blogger and journalist Mohamed Erraji for “failing to respect the king.” The court in Agadir, in southwest Morocco, convicted Erraji…
New York, September 8, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of a cameraman held by U.S. forces in Iraq, and calls on the military to release a freelance journalist working for Reuters who has been held since Tuesday. Omar Husham, 28, a cameraman with Baghdad TV, a satellite channel owned by the Iraqi…
New York, September 5, 2008–Prosecutors should drop all charges against Iranian journalist Adnan Hassanpour, whose death sentence was overturned Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court of appeal overturned the sentence against Adnan Hassanpour, a journalist and former editor for the now-defunct Kurdish-Persian weekly Aso in Iran’s northwestern province of Kurdistan, local…
New York, September 4, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the detention of two Iraqi journalists by the U.S. military in separate incidents and calls on the authorities to make clear any charges against them or release them immediately. Omar Husham, 28, was arrested along with his father and two brothers at his…
New York, September 3, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to disclose charges against two detained Kurdish journalists or release them immediately. On August 28, security forces arrested Anvar Sa’di Muchashi and his cousin at his home in Sanandaj, the capital of the Kordestan province in northwestern Iran, and took them to…
Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali enjoys strong bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress. Members cite the country’s friendship with the United States, often without casting a critical eye on the country’s press freedom and human rights record. Here is a sampling of remarks by members of Congress.