In Bukavu courtroom, Namujimbo murder trial unfolds
Didace Namujimbo, a journalist for Radio Okapi, was shot dead on the night of November 21, 2008. Now, after repeated delays, a military court in Bukavu, capital of the province of South Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, is putting on trial a dozen people charged in connection with the murder.
Belarusian authorities strip Sheremet of citizenship
We issued the following statement after learning that Belarusian authorities have stripped Pavel Sheremet, a prominent journalist living in Russia, of his Belarusian citizenship. In an interview today for the independent news Web site Belarussky Partizan, Sheremet said he received a notice about this from the Belarusian embassy in Moscow. Sheremet said the notice did not…
Iranian journalist’s health is deteriorating in jail
New York, March 30, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the health and well-being of Emadeddin Baghi, a prominent Iranian journalist, author, and human rights activist who has been detained without charges in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison since December 2009.
CPJ hails convictions in 2007 murder of Brazilian journalist
New York, March 30, 2010—The conviction on Saturday of four men, including three members of the military police, in the 2007 murder of Brazilian journalist Luiz Carlos Barbon Filho is an important step forward in the global campaign to combat impunity in journalists’ murders, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
CPJ asks Philippines to investigate threats against journalist
Dear President Arroyo and Chief Justice Puno: We are greatly concerned by the apparent lack of an effective government response to threats made against Marites Danguilan Vitug, one of the Philippines’ senior and most eminent journalists. Vitug said she believes your intervention will serve as a deterrent to whoever is trying to intimidate her, and, hopefully, to those who try to intimidate other journalists in the future.
Kazakh reporter assaulted after covering oil workers strike
New York, March 30, 2010—Kazakh authorities must thoroughly investigate a brutal attack in the city of Aktobe that left Igor Larra, a correspondent for the Almaty-based independent weekly Svoboda Slova (Freedom of Speech), with a concussion and other head injuries, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Venezuelan Azócar convicted on retaliatory charges
New York, March 30, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces the conviction of Venezuelan journalist Gustavo Azócar on trumped-up financial crime charges. Azócar, an outspoken critic of the Venezuelan administration, had been jailed since July 2009 and barred from speaking publicly about the case.
What We Do
Reuters With the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, CPJ is waging a global campaign against impunity. Our work focuses closely on Russia and the Philippines, nations with high numbers of journalist murders and low conviction rates. CPJ works with local journalist groups to: Document and publicize the murders of journalists…
Ecuadoran courts should reverse editor’s libel conviction
New York, March 29, 2010—An Ecuadoran appellate court should overturn the libel conviction of editor Enrique Palacio, and the country’s legislators should reform archaic defamation laws that do not meet international standards for freedom of expression, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Palacio was sentenced Friday to three years in prison in connection with…
In Honduras, a wave of deadly violence against media
New York, March 29, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Honduran authorities to fully investigate last week’s murders of two journalists, part of a month-long wave of lethal violence that has resulted in the slayings of five reporters over all and led to widespread self-censorship in the local media.