In Somaliland, Hubaal journalists sentenced to jail
Nairobi, July 3, 2013–A court in the capital of the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland today convicted the manager and editor of the independent daily Hubaal of defamation and sentenced them to prison. Hubaal’s editor, Hussein Hassan Abdullahi, received two years, while the paper’s manager, Mohamed Ahmed Jama, was sentenced to one year in jail on…
Attacks on Hong Kong news outlets must be prosecuted
Hong Kong, July 3, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Hong Kong authorities to expedite investigations into recent attacks against news outlets known for being critical of China. In the most recent attack targeting Next Media Limited on June 30, three masked men threatened distribution workers with knives, then burned 26,000 copies of the…
In Hong Kong law, privacy may trump public interest
Tens of thousands of residents demonstrated on the streets of Hong Kong on Monday, the 16th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule. The protests have become an annual rite, but the demonstrators’ demands were quite specific this year. They wanted the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and they called for direct elections.…
Vietnam intensifies crackdown on bloggers
New York, July 2, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned by the ongoing investigation into a critical Vietnamese blogger. Dinh Nhat Uy was the third blogger arrested in a month, signaling that the country’s crackdown continues to intensify.
The guide Jennifer Lopez should have read before she sang in Turkmenistan
After Jennifer Lopez performed at an event in Turkmenistan on Saturday night, the Guardian created a guide to the “-stans” so “no pop star need be caught out by accidentally singing happy birthday to a despotic ruler in this region ever again.” The guide points to the fact that Uzbekistan was sixth on CPJ’s list…
Journalist dead, several attacked in Egypt
New York, July 1, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the security of journalists covering ongoing mass protests in Egypt. One journalist was killed and six others were injured while covering demonstrations against President Mohamed Morsi over the weekend, according to news reports.
Egypt warns of TV shutdowns; legal threats mount
New York, June 28, 2013–Egypt’s Ministry of Investment sent notice today to all satellite television channels warning they will be shut down if the government deems that their coverage of this weekend’s political protests incites violence, insults individuals, or contradicts societal values, news reports said. Numerous journalists are also facing new legal threats in the…