Calderón to support federalization of anti-press crimes
Mexico City, September 22, 2010–Calling the right to free expression a priority of his government, Mexican President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa pledged today to push for legislation that would make attacks on journalists a federal crime. In a lengthy meeting with a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Inter American Press Association, the…
Iran convicts 2 journalists; considers death for blogger
New York, September 21, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Iran’s continued persecution of independent journalists. Reporters Shiva Nazar Ahari and Emadeddin Baghi have each been sentenced to six years in prison, while authorities are said to be considering the death penalty for blogger Hossein Derakhshan, according to news reports.
Second journalist killed in a week in Pakistan’s northwest
New York, September 20, 2010–Authorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa must thoroughly investigate Thursday’s murder of Mujeebur Rehman Siddique, the second killing of a journalist in the province in one week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Ukraine says late minister ordered Gongadze murder
New York, September 16, 2010–On Tuesday, Ukrainian prosecutors announced that the late Interior Minister Yuri Kravchenko had ordered the 2000 murder of muckraking Internet journalist Georgy Gongadze, left, whose decapitated body was found 10 years ago today in a forest outside Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.Ukraine’s prosecutor-general’s office said in a statement that investigators have finished their probe. The investigation…
Critical Honduran reporter survives shooting attack
New York, September 16, 2010–Honduran authorities must fully investigate an attempted shooting on Tuesday of journalist Luis Galdámez Álvarez, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Unidentified gunmen in the capital, Tegucigalpa, shot at Galdámez outside his home, he told CPJ. Galdámez was uninjured.
European Court ruling protects media sources
New York, September 16, 2010–The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights unanimously held that media premises are exempt from police searches, marking a major victory for press freedom across the continent on Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. CPJ had joined in the amicus curiae.
Investigation of Kurdish journalist’s murder lacks credibility
New York, September 15, 2010–The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) today released the result of a five-month-long investigation into the death of Sardasht Osman, a freelance journalist who was shot to death in May. The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by the deficient inquiry and calls on Kurdish authorities to conduct a thorough and credible…
Second journalist killed in three days in Uganda
New York, September 15, 2010–Unidentified assailants beat and killed news presenter Dickson Ssentongo Monday morning on his way to work at Prime Radio in Mukono district, central Uganda. Assailants beat Ssentongo with metal bars and dragged him into a nearby cassava field, local journalists told CPJ. He was the second journalist murdered in three days…