In Bahrain, extraordinary tribunal sentences bloggers to life
New York, June 22, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s politicized verdict in which 21 bloggers, human rights activists, and members of the political opposition were found guilty of plotting to topple the monarchy. Today’s court ruling further cements 2011 as the worst year for press freedom in Bahrain since the island kingdom declared…
China releases artist Ai Weiwei, questions remain
New York, June 22, 2011–Artist and filmmaker Ai Weiwei’s release from prison leaves questions unanswered about his illegal detention and other missing activists and journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The whereabouts of Ai’s associate, freelance journalist Wen Tao, missing since April 3 and presumed detained, is still unknown.
Ethiopian journalist illegally detained since Sunday
New York, June 21, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Ethiopian authorities today to immediately release journalist Woubshet Taye, at left, who has been held since Sunday.Police picked up Taye, deputy editor of the leading independent weekly Awramba Times, at his home in the capital, Addis Ababa, at 3 p.m. and confiscated several documents, cameras,…
Prominent Mexican columnist, wife, son shot to death
New York, June 20, 2011–A prominent Mexican newspaper columnist, his wife, and a son were shot to death in their home in Veracruz, according to state investigators, a shocking assault that underscores the country’s ongoing crisis. The administration of President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa must take decisive action to end to the cycle of violence undermining…
Pakistan reporter beaten for reporting on earlier attack
New York, June 20, 2011–Waqar Kiani, a Pakistani journalist who was assaulted Saturday night by men in police uniforms, told the Committee to Protect Journalists that he fears for his safety and the safety of his wife and two young children. The attack came five days after Kiani, 32, had written a story the U.K.…
In Kenya, hospital staff said to attack journalist
New York, June 20, 2011–Four employees of the Wajir District Hospital attacked journalist Abdi Hassan Hussein at the hospital on Saturday, the reporter told the Committee to Protect Journalists. Hassan, a reporter for the Wajir Community Radio Station in the far northeastern corner of the country, said he visited the hospital with three colleagues to…
Wounded Pakistani journalist succumbs to burn injuries
New York, June 17, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists joins with our colleagues in Pakistan in mourning the death of of reporter Shafiullah Khan, who died Friday of injuries he had sustained in a June 11 suicide bombing in Peshawar, the administrative center for Pakistan’s strife-torn Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the border with…
