Saudi censorship blurs lines between journalism, activism
Since the surprise Arab uprisings of 2011, the Saudi government has worked assiduously to ensure it has all the tools of censorship it needs to control dissent. These tools–a combination of special courts, laws, and regulatory authorities–are starting to fire on all cylinders. The result has been a string of arrests and prosecutions in recent…
Five convicted in murder of Anna Politkovskaya
New York, May 20, 2014–A Moscow City Court jury today convicted five individuals for planning, participating, and carrying out the 2006 murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya, local and international press reported. Three of the defendants had been acquitted in an earlier trial. A mastermind was not named in today’s verdict.
Egyptian presidential candidates should support journalists, CPJ says
To presidential candidates Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi and Hamdeen Sabahi: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express its deep concern about the state of press freedom in Egypt. Since the organization was founded in 1981, journalists in Egypt have never been under greater threat of assault, imprisonment, or even death, CPJ research shows.
CPJ calls for investigation into murder of Paraguayan journalist
New York, May 19, 2014–Paraguayan authorities must conduct a thorough investigation into the death of a radio journalist who was shot dead on Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Fausto Gabriel Alcaraz Garay was killed in Pedro Juan Caballero, a city on the border with Brazil, an area that is particularly dangerous for…
Sri Lankan army restricts access to newspaper offices
On May 18, 2014, dozens of Sri Lankan army officers in the city of Jaffna surrounded the offices of Uthayan, a critical Tamil-language newspaper, blocked roads near the newspaper, and denied employees access to the premises, news reports said. The officers also conducted security checks on people headed to the newspaper’s office, according to reports.
Coming to Kurdistan
One of the strongest memories I have of meeting President Masoud Barzani is the winding drive up to his mountain-top headquarters in the town of Salahuddin outside Erbil. That was in 2008, when a CPJ delegation secured a pledge from the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to “create an atmosphere that is conducive…