Georgia shuts two TV stations, blocks others from news-gathering
New York, November 8, 2007—The Georgian government should immediately allow two private television stations to resume broadcasting, and it must lift a ban on news-gathering imposed on all other private broadcasters, the Committee to Protect Journalist said today. The government shut two popular Tbilisi-based television channels shortly before declaring a state of emergency Wednesday night.…
29 Journalists spend China’s National Journalists’ Day behind bars
New York, November 7, 2007—As China celebrates National Journalists’ Day tomorrow, the Committee to Protect Journalists urges the Chinese government to address the cases of 29 journalists in prison for practicing their profession. Twenty-three of those journalists have been imprisoned since the first official Journalists’ Day was celebrated in China in 2001, the same year…
Eight journalists now behind bars in Azerbaijan
New York, November 7, 2007—The editor-in-chief of a pro-government daily paper in Azerbaijan has been sentenced to prison on criminal defamation and insult charges, making him the eighth journalist in the country currently serving jail time. This imprisonment cements Azerbaijan position at the top of the list of countries jailing journalists in Europe and Central…
Chandrasekaran, Sawyer, and Williams join CPJ board
New York, November 5, 2007–CPJ is pleased to welcome three leading journalists to its board of directors: Rajiv Chandrasekaran of The Washington Post, Diane Sawyer of ABC News, and Brian Williams of NBC News. “We are delighted to welcome these three exceptional journalists to our board of directors,” said CPJ Board Chair Paul E. Steiger.…
In Iraqi Kurdistan, CPJ delegation highlights press freedom concerns
Arbil, Iraq, November 5, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists concluded a two-week fact-finding mission to Iraqi Kurdistan today by calling on Iraqi Kurdish leaders to investigate a spate of unsolved assaults on outspoken journalists, and by urging legislators to remove vague prohibitions from a press bill now before parliament.
Abducted Iraqi reporter freed
New York, November 5, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the weekend release of Radio Free Iraq correspondent Jumana al-Obaidi, who was held by kidnappers for nearly two weeks. The station’s parent, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), said al-Obaidi was abducted from a car while on her way to a scheduled assignment at the Iraqi…
Nepal’s Birendra Shah is dead, Maoists say
New York, November 5, 2007—Maoist authorities issued a statement today confirming the murder of Nepalese journalist Birendra Shah on October 4, the day he was kidnapped, by members of their party, according to Guna Raj Luitel, news editor of Kantipur Daily in Kathmandu. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) had distanced itself from the murder,…
Pakistan targets media outlets
New York, November 5, 2007—Pakistan’s government has escalated its efforts since the weekend to silence the press by harassing journalists, attempting to shut down printing presses, and ordering that articles critical of the government be altered, Pakistani journalists told CPJ. According to news editors at the Urdu-language Daily Ausaf in Islamabad and at the Express…
Abducted Iraqi reporter freed
New York, November 5, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the weekend release of Radio Free Iraq correspondent Jumana al-Obaidi, who was held by kidnappers for nearly two weeks. The station’s parent, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), said al-Obaidi was abducted from a car while on her way to a scheduled assignment at the Iraqi…
CPJ urges Musharraf to allow Pakistan’s media to operate freely
New York, November 4, 2007—The government of President Pervez Musharraf should withdraw the severe restrictions it has placed on Pakistan’s news media and allow independent television and radio stations to resume coverage of the country’s political crisis, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. “President Musharraf’s drastic steps to silence news coverage make a mockery…