CPJ urges Maldives to launch independent investigation into case of missing journalist Rilwan
Dear President Yameen: The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent international press freedom organization, is writing to express its concern about a Maldivian journalist who has been missing for a year and to call on your government to ensure a credible and independent investigation into his disappearance.
Mission Journal: Crimea’s journalists in exile as Russia muzzles free press
“First they asked if my parents had any guns or drugs in the apartment, then they showed my picture to my mother and asked her to identify me,” Anna Andriyevskaya said. The Crimean journalist, who is living in exile in Kiev, was describing a raid on her parents’ home by Russian FSB agents. “Any other…
How Islamic State uses killings to try to spread fear among media
The militant group Islamic State may be trying to push Syria back into the dark ages, but it is fighting a very modern war. From slick propaganda videos to online surveillance and wide restrictions on Internet use, the Islamic State is trying to control media output and stamp down on dissent.
Editor of Chinese website, missing for a month, arrested on anti-state charges
New York, June 25, 2015–The editor of a Chinese human rights news website was formally arrested June 19 on charges of “inciting subversion of state power,” according to news reports. Over a month ago, 60-year-old Liu Xinglian, an editor of Rose China and the secretary-general of Rose Group, a Hubei province-based human rights organization that…
CPJ calls on Ukraine to not revoke Inter broadcasting license
New York, May 29, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ukrainian authorities to allow national television channel Inter to continue broadcasting freely and to investigate why its signal has been jammed. Parliamentary criticism of the station has led the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine to conduct a review of Inter’s license,…
Iran must respect transparency in Jason Rezaian trial
New York, May 22, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iran to ensure a fair and transparent trial for Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, and to allow the reporter’s defense team and employer access to court proceedings. Rezaian, who has been held in jail since July 2014, is due to appear in court in…
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, April 2015
CPJ launches annual publication Attacks on the Press At a U.N. press conference on April 27 to launch CPJ’s annual publication Attacks on the Press, CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon called on the U.N. Security Council to include in its May 27 debate on Journalist Safety a warning to states that they should not use…
Glitz of Formula One must not divert attention from Bahrain’s jailed journalists
When the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) hosted Formula One for the first time in 2004, it was nearly a false start for the $150 million facility. Drivers told the BBC they feared desert sand would damage their racecars. So track employees began a perpetual fight against nature, even spraying glue over the surrounding desert in…
In election year, Nigeria’s press feeling the pressure
“Nobody is safe. Not the voter, not the journalist, not anybody!” The fears of Femi Adesina, president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, is echoed by stakeholders and observers of Nigeria’s general election. Amid the tension in the run up to presidential and federal parliamentary elections on March 28, and governor and state parliamentary elections…