The New York Times takes on China’s censors
Well, that didn’t take long. Just days after The New York Times’ soft launch of its Chinese-language edition and accompanying microblog accounts, Berkeley-based China Digital Times website reports that the @nytchinese Sina Weibo feed is no longer accessible in China, along with two accounts hosted by Netease and Sohu. We couldn’t pull them up this…
End the assault on female and local journalists
CPJ recently reported on the sexual assault of independent journalist, Natasha Smith, in Egypt’s Tahrir Square. In an opinion piece for Reuters, columnist David Rhodes, calls for an end to the sexual violence against female journalists, with reference to CPJ’s research. He also writes on the high number of local and international journalists killed in Syria and quotes CPJ Executive Director,…
In Belarus, journalist charged with libeling Lukashenko
New York, July 2, 2012–Andrzej Poczobut, the prominent Grodno-based correspondent for the largest Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, was formally indicted Saturday on criminal charges of libeling President Aleksandr Lukashenko through a series of articles critical of administration policies.
Ethiopian blogger convicted of plotting with rebels
According to CPJ research, Ethiopia is the second leading jailer of journalists in Africa, currently holding seven journalists behind bars. CPJ and the Africa Media Initiative met with Ethiopia’s senior communications minister in an effort to advocate for the release of jailed journalists, including prominent blogger Eskinder Nega, under the country’s anti-terrorism law. Found guilty on June 27,…
Film ‘Reportero’ features tenacious Mexican magazine
A week before Sunday’s crucial presidential elections in Mexico, CPJ participated on a panel with filmmaker Bernardo Ruíz and Mexican journalist Sergio Haro about the perilous conditions for journalists in that country, where CPJ research shows 48 journalists have been murdered or disappeared since outgoing President Felipe Calderón took office in December 2006.
Sri Lankan police raid offices of two news websites
New York, June 29, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Sri Lanka to immediately stop harassing news outlets. Police in Colombo raided the offices of two opposition news websites today, arresting nine people and confiscating equipment, according to news reports.
High-tech censorship on the rise in East Africa
Ethiopia has always been a country at the cutting edge of Internet censorship in Africa. In the wake of violence after the 2005 elections, when other states were only beginning to recognize the potential for online reporters to bypass traditional pressures, Meles Zenawi’s regime was already blocking major news sites and blog hosts such as…