Syrian state journalist, videographer killed
New York, January 3, 2012–A Syrian state journalist and a videographer who documented unrest in Homs province were separately shot and killed in recent days, according to news accounts. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating the circumstances surrounding the two deaths.
In Egypt, press freedom abuses must be investigated
New York, December 19, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to halt the assaults on journalists and attacks on news outlets which are effectively censoring coverage of ongoing protests in Cairo. In recent days, CPJ has documented at least 15 attacks on the press during clashes between security forces and protesters in…
A month for remembrances, outrage, and action
Three years ago Sunday, an unidentified assailant gunned down veteran crime reporter José Armando Rodríguez Carreón in the driveway of his home as his 8-year-old daughter watched. Amid a climate of violence and impunity in Mexico–where 10 journalists have been slain since 2008 and no killers convicted in any case–it seems unlikely that anyone will…
Nigerian journalist killed; Islamists claim responsibility
New York, October 24, 2011–Authorities in northeastern Nigeria must urgently take steps to ensure the safety of media workers, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today following Saturday’s assassination of a journalist in a shooting claimed by Islamist militants.
Eritrea: Let’s lift the shroud of 10 years of misery
Since Zaid Tewelde’s husband, an Eritrean freedom fighter turned playwright and journalist, was arrested in September 2001, she has spent each passing day coping with the burning questions of her two young sons, age 9 and 10, “Where is my dad? When are we going to see him?” And she is not alone. Like Zaid, the…
Iran arrests six documentary filmmakers
New York, September 19, 2011–Iranian authorities have arrested six independent filmmakers on vague accusations that they engaged in a foreign conspiracy in connection with a critical new documentary about Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to news accounts. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrests and calls for the journalists’ immediate release.
Chinese journalists punished for citing historian
New York, August 19, 2011–The demotion of a magazine president and suspension of an editor for an interview deemed critical of a Communist Party legend are the latest punitive steps taken by authorities against mainstream journalists in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Investigative journalist threatened in Colombia
Mary Luz Avendaño, a reporter for the Colombian daily El Espectador, was threatened on June 22, 2011, according to local news reports and CPJ interviews. Avendaño, the newspaper’s correspondent in the city of Medellín, had recently written two investigative pieces concerning narcotraffickers and their connections with the local police.
Central African Republic journalists released, fined
New York, July 12, 2011– Two Central African Republic journalists were fined and released from custody Monday after being jailed for weeks in connection with their coverage of public protests by retired military officers who say the government failed to direct European Union funds to them as intended, according to news reports and local journalists.