Alerts
2011
Malawi cracks down on media covering protests
New York, July 21, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns sweeping arrests and attacks on journalists, as well as censorship by the administration of Malawi President Bingu Wa Muthiraka against media outlets reporting on nationwide antigovernment protests that erupted on Wednesday.
Ecuadoran editor and executives sentenced to prison
New York, July 21, 2011–An editor and three executives from the Ecuadoran news daily El Universo were sentenced to three years in prison and $40 million in fines on Wednesday for defaming President Rafael Correa, according to local news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the sentence today and called on Ecuadoran authorities to…
Zambian ruling party members charged in TV crew attack
New York, July 20, 2011–Zambian law enforcement and judiciary officials must ensure that justice is fully served in Monday’s attack against three television journalists and their driver, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Two officials of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) have been arrested in connection with the attack.
In Iran, Shamsolvaezin ordered to prison
New York, July 20, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed to learn that veteran Iranian journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin has been summoned to serve a 16-month prison term that was unjustly levied in 2010. Shamsolvaezin is a journalist, political analyst, deputy chairman of the now-defunct Iranian Journalists Association, and spokesman for the Committee for the…
CPJ calls on Bahrain to end harassment of critical journalists
New York, July 19, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bahrain to end harassment and contrived legal proceedings against critical journalists. Since February, critical journalists have been intimidated, interrogated, smeared in government-owned and -aligned publications, and harassed and sued by government supporters.
Newspaper’s investigative unit shuttered in China
New York, July 19, 2011–Reports that the Beijing-based China Economic Times has closed its investigative news unit are a concerning sign that pressure is mounting on hard-hitting media outlets in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Provincial journalist murdered in Honduras
New York, July 18, 2011–Journalist Nery Geremías Orellana was shot and killed Thursday in the western state of Lempira, near Honduras’ border with El Salvador, according to local news reports. Orellana was the manager of the local radio station Radio Joconguera and a correspondent for Christian-oriented station Radio Progreso. He was also an active member…
CPJ calls on Jordan to prevent attacks on journalists
New York, July 18, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the government of Jordan to do more to prevent attacks on journalists who cover demonstrations and other forms of civil unrest. On Friday, security forces beat 16 journalists in identifying orange vests during a demonstration and planned sit-in that rapidly devolved into clashes between security…
CPJ condemns criminal defamation conviction in Peru
New York, July 14, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the sentencing of Peruvian television journalist Hans Francisco Andrade Chávez to two years in prison on criminal defamation charges stemming from a March 2 report concerning a local government official.