Thai journalist dies from bomb blast injuries
New York, September 26, 2011–The Thai government must bring to justice the perpetrators of the September 16 bomb attacks that killed a journalist and five other people in the country’s insurgency-plagued southern region, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Correa lambastes press in Columbia speech
“Sir, you are lying and a liar.” With these words, uttered before an audience of around 150 people, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa dispelled any doubt as to whether he might cool his explosive rhetoric in the face of criticism. His harsh words came in response to a critical question posed by CPJ’s senior coordinator for…
Sniper fire claims life of Yemeni cameraman
New York, September 26, 2011–A Yemeni cameraman died in a Sana’a hospital on Saturday, five days after being struck by sniper fire while covering an anti-government protest in the capital, according to local and international news reports. Hassan al-Wadhaf, who filmed his own shooting, is the second journalist to be killed in Yemen since demonstrations…
Journalists face threats in covering Isaac imprisonment
New York, September 26, 2011–A Sweden-based journalist was publicly threatened Friday in connection with her reporting on the case of Dawit Isaac, a Swedish-Eritrean journalist who has been imprisoned in Eritrea for a decade without charge, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. A day earlier in New York, bodyguards for the Eritrean leader Isaias…
How ‘war on terror’ released a war on journalists
As the world marks the tenth anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11th, CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon writes a special opinion column for CNN.com discussing its impact on press freedom both in the U.S., and worldwide. The advent of a global ‘war on terror’ and sweeping anti-terror legislation has steadily eroded press freedom, leading…
Eritrea: Let’s lift the shroud of 10 years of misery
Since Zaid Tewelde’s husband, an Eritrean freedom fighter turned playwright and journalist, was arrested in September 2001, she has spent each passing day coping with the burning questions of her two young sons, age 9 and 10, “Where is my dad? When are we going to see him?” And she is not alone. Like Zaid, the…
Philippine journalist’s daughter kidnapped
Bangkok, September 23, 2011–Philippine authorities should launch an investigation into the abduction of radio commentator Louie Larroza’s daughter, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Larroza told reporters the kidnapping was a “warning” for his radio broadcasts, news reports said. The journalist’s daughter, unharmed, was freed eight hours later.
State secrets claim withdrawn in UK hacking probe
London’s Metropolitan Police this week dropped their attempt to leverage the Official Secrets Act to force The Guardian to reveal confidential sources for stories about the phone-hacking scandal that has gripped the UK’s political and media world. The Met’s reversal is welcome, but its unprecedented attempt to invoke espionage laws to force a newspaper to…