Photographer gunned down in Ecuador
Bogotá, Colombia, July 3, 2012–Ecuadoran photographer Byron Baldeón was shot dead Sunday in front of his home in El Triunfo, about 60 kilometers (100 miles) north of the city of Guayaquil. The photographer had become a witness in a criminal case involving alleged police corruption, according to news reports.
Sudan must end crackdown on press covering protests
New York, July 3, 2012–Sudanese authorities should allow journalists to cover anti-government demonstrations in Khartoum, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Over the past week, authorities have raided a media office and a journalist’s home, arrested one journalist and interrogated another, deported a third journalist, and blocked at least three critical websites.
Palestinian security forces assault journalists at protests
New York, July 2, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned attacks by Palestinian security forces on at least four journalists who were covering protests against the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah on Saturday and Sunday, according to news reports.
In Belarus, journalist charged with libeling Lukashenko
New York, July 2, 2012–Andrzej Poczobut, the prominent Grodno-based correspondent for the largest Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, was formally indicted Saturday on criminal charges of libeling President Aleksandr Lukashenko through a series of articles critical of administration policies.
Sri Lankan police raid offices of two news websites
New York, June 29, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Sri Lanka to immediately stop harassing news outlets. Police in Colombo raided the offices of two opposition news websites today, arresting nine people and confiscating equipment, according to news reports.
Eskinder Nega, 5 exiled journalists convicted of terrorism
Nairobi, June 27, 2012–Today’s conviction of six Ethiopian journalists on vague terrorism charges is an affront to the rule of law and the constitution in the Horn of Africa country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At least 11 journalists have been charged with terrorism since November 2011, according to CPJ research.
Deadly attack launched on Syrian TV station
New York, June 27, 2012–A number of employees for the pro-government Syrian television station Al-Ikhbariya were killed when the station was attacked by gunmen this morning, according to the official news agency Sana. Other employees were reported wounded or kidnapped, the agency said.