Azerbaijan denies Fatullayev’s appeal, defies ECHR ruling
New York, February 1, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged that the Baku Appeals Court has rejected imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev’s latest appeal and continues to defy a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that called for his release.On January 25, the court denied Fatullayev’s appeal of his July conviction on a trumped-up…
Is Taiwan’s media independence under threat?
As business relations develop between China and Taiwan, concerns are growing that Taiwan’s media freedom may be compromised. The culprits include some journalists themselves, promoting China to preserve their own business interests, and Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) government, apparently attempting to exert control over the media through legislation.
Malawi amendment bans news ‘not in public interest’
New York, February 1, 2011–An amendment to Malawi’s penal code, which became law last week, allows the government to ban any publication deemed contrary to public interest for an unspecified period of time, institutionalizing political censorship of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 26, President Bingu wa Mutharika signed into law an…
What the Internet loses from Egypt’s disappearance
Last night at 20:54 UTC, Noor Group, the only remaining Internet service provider in Egypt with a consumer broadband service, depeered with the rest of the Internet. There are now only 12 Egyptian networks connected to the Net, none of which appear to be offering public connections.
Government lies are exposed in Egypt’s Tahrir Square
Hosni Mubarak’s regime has had 29 years to perfect its always brazen but never convincing justifications for repressing journalists who expose the travesties he and his henchmen regularly visit upon the people of Egypt. It has also long enlisted state-owned media to disseminate the ruling party’s half-truths and outright lies. But over the past week,…
A Cuban journalist in exile: Unkept promises
The clouds of exile are twice as bitter. Being forced from your birthplace and into legal limbo in the land of your grandparents where you’re met by complete official abandonment only deepens the wounds. My gloominess has nothing to do with the affection and solidarity shown by the Spanish people, especially the citizens of Madrid.…
In Gabon, faux news draws real censorship
Last week, Gabon’s government-controlled National Communications Council ordered the TV station of opposition leader André Mba Obame off the air for a period of three months. The ruling is without appeal and, typically, this is how authorities in this oil-rich equatorial African state silence critical news outlets. Except that, this time, the “reporting” for which the…
China limits reporting on Egypt unrest in favor of ‘harmony’
Chinese information authorities are filtering results of Chinese-language Internet searches for “Egypt” and “Cairo,” according to Global Voices Online and The Wall Street Journal. The unrest raging there could prompt comparison with the student-led protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989 or incite anti-government demonstrations.
With abysmal press freedom record, Obiang takes AU chair
The African Union announced on Sunday that the president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, will become the new chairman in the union’s yearly rotating leadership. The first debate Obiang (at left) presided over at the two-day AU conference that ends today in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, concerned “shared values”–highlighting issues of democracy and good governance. Representing…
United Nations must intervene to protect Sri Lanka’s media
New York, January 31, 2011–Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon must press the United Nations to address the string of uninvestigated and unprosecuted attacks on journalists and media houses under the government of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ responded after an early Monday morning arson attack on the offices of…