Arrests in Mumbai killing; accused mastermind at large
New York, June 27, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes news today that police in Mumbai have arrested seven suspects in the June 11 slaying of veteran crime reporter Jyotirmoy Dey. But CPJ is concerned that the alleged mastermind remains at large and that police have not identified a motive in the killing.
On food safety, China misapplies a ‘blacklist’
Sarcasm reflects how aware the Chinese public has become of the dangers of adulterated food. After Japan’s Fukushima nuclear crisis, a rumor circulated in China that table salt could prevent radiation. In spite of the government’s efforts to curb the rumors, tons of overpriced table salt were sold overnight. Chinese netizens reassured the public in…
Beketov back on his feet, and a long road awaits
Mikhail Beketov can walk now–using an artificial leg and propping himself on crutches. He’s moving around his house in the Moscow suburb of Khimki. It was here, in his front yard, where the newspaper editor was attacked two years and seven months ago. It was in this yard where assailants left him for dead. The…
Ethiopian journalist likely held under anti-terrorism law
New York, June 23, 2011–Ethiopian authorities have been holding a newspaper columnist incommunicado since Tuesday, local journalists told the Committee to Protect Journalists. Reeyot Alemu, a regular contributor to the independent weekly Feteh, was expected to spend the next four weeks in preventive detention under what appears to be Ethiopia’s sweeping anti-terrorism law. Alemu,…
A legal attack accompanies assault on Pakistani journalists
Concerned that so many Pakistani journalists have been threatened, abducted, killed, or beaten recently? So are they. When I was in Karachi and Islamabad in late April and early May, I found that they are starting to take steps to protect themselves with increased safety training and protective gear at the larger media houses that…
Syria’s Assad gives tacit OK to online attacks on press
On Monday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave his third public address on the vast unrest that has roiled his nation. Reporters described him as nervous. He, the reporters, or perhaps both, may have been thinking about the significance of speech No. 3. Both Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak were overthrown…
Mission Journal: Politics influence justice in Senegal
Senegalese journalists say justice is not on their side when they are victims of abuse by powerful officials or security forces. I met recently in Dakar with journalists targeted with criminal acts in apparent reprisal for their work. In these two high-profile cases, CPJ has found evidence of political influence on the judiciary.
In Ethiopia, anti-terrorism law chills reporting on security
How can an Ethiopian reporter cover the activities of Ethiopia’s leading opposition figure, Berhanu Nega, or an attack by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels without risking prosecution and a 20-year prison sentence? Such questions have haunted Ethiopian journalists since a far-reaching anti-terrorism law came into effect in 2009. The law criminalizes any reporting…
Playboy Indonesia editor acquitted of indecency
New York, June 23, 2011–Jailed Indonesian publisher Erwin Arnada was acquitted by the Supreme Court Wednesday of the public indecency charges against him, according to local and international media reports. Arnada was also the editor of the now-dormant Playboy Indonesia, which had appeared for six issues on Indonesia’s newsstands in 2006.