Dhondup Wangchen, China
2012 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee (Courtesy of CNN) Dhondup Wangchen is a self-taught Tibetan documentary filmmaker who conceived and shot the film “Leaving Fear Behind“ to portray life in Tibet in advance of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Shortly after his footage was smuggled overseas, Wangchen disappeared into Chinese detention. His colleagues in Switzerland…
Azimjon Askarov, Kyrgyzstan
2012 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee (Courtesy of CNN) Azimjon Askarov, a Kyrgyz journalist and human rights defender whose work has exposed official wrongdoing and abuse, is serving a life term in prison after a judicial process marred by torture, lack of evidence, and fabricated charges. His prosecution and conviction have been challenged by a…
Mae Azango, Liberia
2012 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee (Courtesy of CNN) To watch Mae Azango’s acceptance speech, click here. One of a small number of female reporters in her native Liberia, Mae Azango is also one of the most acclaimed journalists in the country. After her father was killed by rebels in 1990 during the country’s civil…
Alan Rusbridger, U.K.
2012 CPJ Burton Benjamin Memorial Awardee (Guardian News & Media Ltd/David Levene) Alan Rusbridger has been the editor of the Guardian since 1995, leading the U.K. newspaper into becoming a stalwart of watchdog reporting and independent journalism while pioneering and championing open journalism. Whether in courtrooms or on online platforms, Rusbridger has persevered in staunch…
China’s Xi Jinping unseen, unsearchable
It was only a matter of time before Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s physical absence from the public view was accompanied by his disappearance from cyberspace. The characters “Jinping” from his name were censored today from searches of Sina’s microblog service Weibo, according to the Fei Chang Dao blog. Where else but China does a…
Erdoğan tells media not to cover Kurdish conflict
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey is known to lash out publicly at journalists of whose coverage he disapproves. He has called on media owners and editors to discipline reporters and columnists critical of his policies, particularly when it comes to the sensitive Kurdish issue. In more than a few cases, to avoid trouble,…
Ivoirian journalist attacked by minister’s security detail
Lagos, Nigeria, September 12, 2012–An Ivoirian government security detail assaulted a journalist covering the eviction of a senior official’s family on Friday, seizing his equipment and leaving him bleeding and bruised, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attack and calls on authorities to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.…
Iran persists in its crackdown against journalists
New York, September 12, 2012–Continuing their three-year-long clampdown on journalists covering human rights, minority groups, and political reform, Iranian authorities have summoned two journalists to begin prison terms and are bringing two others to trial.
Cambodian journalist found dead in his own car
Bangkok, September 12, 2012–Cambodian authorities must immediately investigate the murder of a journalist who was found with ax wounds in the trunk of his car on Tuesday, less than a week after he had exposed an alleged military connection to the illicit timber trade, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Shooting investigation stalls in India
CPJ has been monitoring the investigation into the shooting attack on Arunachal Times journalist Tongam Rina outside her office in Itanagar, capital of Arunachal Pradesh state, which left her hospitalized in critical condition this July. Her recovery is progressing, slowly but surely. The police inquiry, however, is not.