Egypt: New accreditation rules; military obstructs media
New York, February 7, 2011–Egyptian authorities have shifted their strategy for obstructing the press as protests enter their 14th day: The military has become the predominant force detaining journalists and confiscating their equipment rather than plainclothes police or government supporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities have also put in place new bureaucratic…
Sri Lanka’s deadly track record for journalists post independence
How free are we? That was the question raised in an article in the Sri Lankan Sunday newspaper The Sunday Leader on February 6. Based on CPJ’s killed database and other sources, the paper published a list of Sri Lankan journalists killed since the country gained its independence on February 4, 1948. Click here for…
Egyptian media say foreign journalists have ‘hidden agenda’
New York, February 5, 2011–As journalists face ongoing attacks and detentions in Cairo, they are increasingly concerned that state broadcasts are creating an atmosphere that is encouraging violence against the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. State television and radio, along with pro-Mubarak private stations, are giving frequent airtime to presenters and guests…
Cairo attacks continue; reporter dies from earlier shooting
New York, February 4, 2011–Journalists in Cairo faced assaults, detentions, and threats again today as supporters of President Hosni Mubarak continued their efforts to obstruct news coverage of protests demanding the Egyptian leader’s ouster. While the extent of attacks lessened after a peak on Thursday, ongoing anti-press activities remain at an alarming level that must…
Internet freedom on trial in Thailand
Hearings commenced today in the trial of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, executive director of the Thailand-based independent news website Prachatai. She stands accused of 10 different violations of the country’s draconian 2007 Computer Crime Act (CCA), each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
In Rwanda, journalists given 17 and 7 years in prison
New York, February 4, 2011–Harsh prison sentences given to two journalists today under Rwanda’s vague and sweeping laws against “genocide ideology” and “divisionism” will have a chilling effect on the Rwandan press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Mauritius no heaven for news media
American author Mark Twain once quoted a Mauritian as saying that heaven was copied after this Indian Ocean island paradise. Mauritius is cited today as one of the few havens of press freedom in Africa, but for Raj Meetarbhan, left, editor-in-chief of the island’s largest newspaper L’Express, the country is fast losing its glow.Meetarbhan was…
Mubarak intensifies press attacks with assaults, detentions
New York, February 3, 2011–Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak unleashed an unprecedented and systematic attack on international media today as his supporters assaulted reporters in the streets while security forces began obstructing and detaining journalists covering the unrest that threatens to topple his government.
Diplomats divert from issues at UNESCO symposium
UNESCO’s International Symposium on Freedom of Expression at the world culture organization’s Paris headquarters January 26 brought together a wide range of experts to construct a full picture of the state of freedom of expression in the world today. Not everyone in the audience liked what they heard.