Journalist covering sensitive rural issues in India jailed
Plainclothes police arrested Somaru Nag on July 16, 2015, at his family’s mobile phone shop on the outskirts of Darbha town, according his brother, Sonaru, who was cited by the South Asian media watchdog group The Hoot. The family was told of his arrest three days later.
Journalist injured as gunmen open fire on press vehicle in Bangladesh
On November 22, 2015 Rajib Sen Prince, the Chittagong district correspondent for the privately owned broadcaster Mohona TV, was injured when unidentified assailants opened fire on the press vehicle he was in. Sen had been covering the burial of Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, an opposition leader executed for war crimes, including the murder of scores of…
In Brazil, radio reporter shot dead in Pernambuco state
São Paulo, November 11, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of radio journalist Israel Gonçalves Silva, who was shot dead Tuesday in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. The attack comes as at least four journalists have been murdered in direct retaliation for their work in Brazil this year.
Demonizing Dissidents: How INTERPOL is being abused by dictatorships
Next month, Fair Trials is hosting an event in Washington, D.C. with Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute, examining the way that INTERPOL is being misused by countries around the world to persecute refugees, journalists and peaceful political demonstrators, to devastating effect. In recent years, the use of INTERPOL’s “wanted person” alerts has expanded vastly with…
In Jordan, TV anchor charged under cybercrimes law for Facebook post
Washington D.C., November 6, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Jordan to release TV anchor Tareq Abu al-Ragheb who was arrested Tuesday for posting allegedly insulting comments on Facebook, according to reports.
In India, politics of beef and rising intolerance threaten press freedom
The violence over the tightening of laws banning the consumption of beef in parts of India and debate over the reach of a right-wing Hindu agenda are having an impact on press freedom. An editor who wrote about the benefits of beef was fired last week, journalists have received death threats from extremist groups, and…
Journalist arrested in restive Chhattisgarh state in India
On September 29, 2015, police in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh arrested a journalist on what his colleagues said were fabricated charges in connection with his reporting on human rights abuses by local authorities, according to news reports.
Chasing ghosts: Tracking Iraq’s missing journalists in Islamic State stranglehold of Mosul
Amar hasn’t left his house in five days. Every evening he fears a knock on the door will bring militants who have been searching for him. He hasn’t earned a salary in more than a year and relies on a few trusted neighbors to bring him food.
Poor trade-off: Jailed journalists released into exile as Vietnam pushes for weapons deal
In September, Vietnamese blogger Ta Phong Tan was released after serving three years of a 10-year prison term and was immediately flown to Los Angeles. In October 2014 Tan’s colleague Nguyen Van Hai, whom she co-founded the Free Journalists Club with in 2007 and who was also imprisoned for his work, followed the same route.
Balancing Act
EU as media regulator The 1,000-strong EU press corps does not regularly cover EU press freedom policies, except in exceptional cases when, for instance, the Hungarian prime minister raucously rebuts his adversaries in the European Parliament. “EU correspondents cover the big picture, the big stories which are rocking the EU and its member states, like…