Somali journalists arrested for covering protests
New York, June 14, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a growing number of detentions by the Somali government’s security forces against journalists covering weeklong protests in the KM4 area of the capital, Mogadishu. On Monday morning, security agents arrested 20-year-old reporter Mohamed Amin, of the privately owned Radio Kulmiye. He had been covering ongoing…
UAE intent on punishing online dissent
New York, June 14, 2011– Today’s trial of prominent political blogger Ahmad Mansoor and four others for alleged insult of authorities, criticism and undermining of the government in relation to the their online writings and activism represents a further setback for press freedom in the United Arab Emirates, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Two sentenced in Nepal journalist’s murder
New York, June 14, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed today the conviction of two suspects in the 2009 murder of journalist Uma Singh, but called for a continued investigation into the remaining suspects in the attack. A court in Dhanusa district sentenced Lalita Singh and Nemlal Paswan to life imprisonment for their involvement in the…
In Belarus, Poczobut in closed trial for ‘insulting’ leader
New York, June 14, 2011–Belarusian authorities must end the retaliatory prosecution of Andrzej Poczobut, a Grodno-based correspondent for the largest Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, and release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Otunbayeva must halt persecution in Kyrgyzstan
President Otunbayeva: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by the ongoing prosecution of two media owners and the imprisonment of a reporter on charges of inciting and participating in violent ethnic conflict last year. The persecution of Khalil Khudaiberdiyev, Dzhavlon Mirzakhodzhayev, and Azimjon Askarov–all ethnic Uzbeks–tarnishes your stated commitments to press freedom and rule of law, and derails your government’s efforts to rebuild interethnic trust in a nation deeply divided by the June 2010 conflict.
Acquitted: A Kenyan journalist struggles to report freely
A court in Kisumu, western Kenya, recently acquitted journalist Bernard Okebe, at left, of graft charges after a two and a half year case against him. While the case is finally over, Okebe is still dealing with the fallout of being accused of blackmail.In December 2008, the police chief of Nyamira, a town in western…
Second Philippine journalist killed from same radio station
New York, June 13, 2011 — Romeo Olea, a provincial radio commentator in the Philippines, was shot dead on his way to work Monday morning. Local and international media reports, quoting police sources, say Olea was shot twice in the back while riding his motorcycle to work in Iriga City in Camarines Sur province, about…
Two journalists dead and five injured in Pakistan
EDITOR’S NOTE: Shafiullah Khan is in critical condition after suffering extensive burns in this Peshawar bombing. CPJ erroneously reported in this alert that Khan had died in the attack.New York, June 13, 2011–CPJ calls on Pakistan media organizations to review their security and journalist safety training procedures to address the mounting number of deaths of journalists in the…
Mumbai crime reporter killed in broad daylight
New York, June 13, 2011–Jyotirmoy Dey, a senior journalist and special investigations editor at Mumbai’s afternoon daily Midday, was killed last week, in broad daylight. His murder must be fully investigated as soon as possible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.