In Madagascar, media torn along partisan lines
“Are you sure about coming back here now?” My cousin in Antananarivo was a bit hesitant about the wisdom of my plan to visit the family while the political crisis was still weighing on the daily lives of Malagasy citizens. I had not been back to my home country in nine years until this summer.…
Bolivian cameraman brutally attacked in La Paz
New York, July 28, 2009–Following a vicious attack on a cameraman for the La Paz-based television network Gigavisión outside the station’s offices early Saturday morning, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on Bolivian authorities today to thoroughly investigate and bring those responsible to justice.
At Tolo and other Afghan media, pressure from all sides
With elections due on August 20, pressure is mounting on Afghan journalists, and it’s coming from all sides. The International Federation of Journalists helped organize a meeting in Kabul last week to draw the fractious journalists’ community together; there are four or five competing organizations, all vying for recognition, dominance, and funding. In March, the…
Free Maziar Bahari: 100 global journalists petition Iran
Your Excellency: We are writing to express our grave concern at the detention of our esteemed fellow journalist Maziar Bahari and to request his immediate release. Mr. Bahari has been detained since June 21. No charges have been brought against him, and he has not been granted access to a lawyer. As one of the most impartial and committed journalists in his field, he has reported regularly over the past decade from the Middle East, principally from Iran and Iraq, and provided consistently balanced and insightful reports. As an award-winning documentary filmmaker, he has earned global respect for his work.
Photojournalists assaulted by security forces in West Bengal
Local police beat three photographers in two separate incidents on June 18, 2009, in India’s West Bengal state. They were covering a government offensive by police and paramilitary forces trying to break a four-day siege of the Lalgarh area by Maoist insurgents, according to local news reports.
Amid political tumult, jailing draws protest in Madagascar
In Madagascar, dozens of journalists took to the streets of the capital, Antananarivo, to protest the imprisonment of radio presenter Evariste Ramanatsoavina, held since May 4. Ramanatsoavina, a presenter with Radio Mada, a now-banned station owned by ousted president Marc Ravalomanana, faces charges in connection with the station’s political commentary. The case illustrates the volatile…
Schiff, Pence speak out for press freedom
“Information is power, which is precisely why many governments attempt to control the press to suppress opposition and preempt dissent,” said U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, the California Democrat who three years ago founded the Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press. “Far too often, the reporters and editors who demand reform, accountability, and transparency find…
Life and liberty: Press freedom’s fight on two fronts
The leading indicators of press freedom–journalists killed and journalists jailed for their work–have headed in the wrong direction for much of this decade, CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said during a Capitol Hill conference on press security hosted by the National Endowment for Democracy, the Center for International Media Assistance, and the Congressional Press Freedom…
World press freedom groups call for Saberi’s release
Thirty-five members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) join CPJ and Reporters Without Borders in a letter to the head of Iran’s judiciary calling for the release of imprisoned journalist Roxana Saberi, currently held in Iran’s Evin Prison.