Alerts
2011
Mexican news editor abducted in Acapulco
New York, June 10, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Mexican authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the abduction of news editor Marco Antonio López Ortiz, who appears to have been kidnapped on Tuesday in Acapulco, Guerrero state.
Sri Lankan journalist missing for 500 days
New York, June 8, 2011–It has been exactly 500 days since Sri Lankan journalist Prageeth Eknelygoda disappeared. He has not been seen by his wife Sandhya Eknelygoda or by the couple’s two teenage sons, Sanjay and Harith, since he left for work around 7:30 a.m., on the morning of January 24, 2010. Sandhya filed a complaint…
In Iran, more abuse of unjustly imprisoned journalists
New York, June 7, 2011–Iranian authorities continue to punish unjustly imprisoned journalists when they demand basic rights. They also retaliate when these journalists speak out about their mistreatment and the substandard conditions in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Central African Republic editor charged with incitement
New York, June 7, 2011–Central African Republic authorities have charged the director of the independent weekly The Hills of Bangui, Faustin Bambou, with inciting hatred and disorder among the military forces and insulting the government, Bambou told CPJ. The director was sent directly to Ngaragba Prison in the capital, Bangui. Four military policemen arrested Bambou at his…
In Afghanistan, religious threat to media intensifies
New York, June 7, 2011–The Committee to Protect journalists is disturbed by the June 1 declaration by Afghanistan’s Ulema Shurab, or the Council of Religious Scholars, criticizing two media outlets, Hasht-e-Subh Daily newspaper and Tolo Television, for what it reportedly called “immorality” and “animosity against Islam,” according to Afghan media owners. The council is a…
Sudan journalists who report on rape charged with crimes
New York, June 6, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Sudan to drop criminal charges and abandon all other tactics of harassment employed against at least 10 journalists who have reported on the alleged rape and torture of a youth activist. The activist said she was raped after participating in a demonstration in…
Rwanda: Exiled editor sentenced for ‘insulting’ president
New York, June 6, 2011–The Supreme Court sentenced the exiled online editor of Umuvugizi, Jean Bosco Gasasira, on Friday to a two year and six month term in prison. Gasasira received this sentence for allegedly insulting Rwanda’s president and inciting civil disobedience, local journalists told CPJ. Gasasira believes the new sentence may stem from an…
Colombian journalist escapes being doused in gasoline
New York, June 6, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Colombian authorities today to thoroughly investigate the attempted murder of the director of a provincial television station in Colombia. Mario Esteban López Ortega, known for his criticism of local authorities, escaped an assassination attempt on Tuesday after he was abducted in the city of…
Suspected gunman indicted in Anna Politkovskaya’s murder
New York, June 2, 2011–Rustam Makhmudov, the suspected gunman in the 2006 murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, was indicted in Moscow today, according to Russian press reports. The charges follow Makhmudov’s arrest in Chechnya on Tuesday. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed these developments and called on investigators to continue their efforts to solve the killing.