Honduran court imposes 16 month professional ban on journalist
New York, October 3, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the decision by a Honduran appeals court to forbid journalist Julio Ernesto Alvarado from practicing journalism for 16 months as part of a criminal defamation conviction. Alvarado hosts the daily news program “Mi Nación” (My Nation) on Globo TV.
Mikhail Zygar, Russia
2014 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee (Courtesy of ABC News) Mikhail Zygar is the editor-in-chief of the independent Russian TV channel Dozhd. Under Zygar’s leadership, Dozhd has provided an alternative to Kremlin-controlled federal TV channels by focusing on news content and giving a platform to opposition voices. The channel’s coverage of politically sensitive issues, like…
Jorge Ramos
2014 CPJ Burton Benjamin Memorial Awardee (Gio Alma) Jorge Ramos is a Mexican-American journalist and author. He has co-anchored the award-winning evening newscast “Noticiero Univision” (Univision News) since 1986. He also hosts “Al Punto” (To the Point), the Univision Network’s Sunday public affairs program, and recently started hosting his first program in English, “America with…
Crimean Tatar broadcaster accused of inciting extremism
New York, September 24, 2014–Kremlin-controlled authorities in Crimea should stop harassing the independent regional broadcaster ATR and allow the outlet to cover the news free from reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. ATR is the only regional broadcaster of the ethnic Crimean Tatar minority.
Who is killing Central America’s journalists?
Widespread violence and impunity leave murders unsolved Amid the violence and instability caused by organized crime and corruption in Central America, Honduras and Guatemala have experienced an alarming rise in the number of murders of, and attacks against, journalists. Near complete impunity for these crimes means the cases go mostly unsolved and the motives unexplained.…
Uighur blogger Ilham Tohti sentenced to life in prison on separatism charges
New York, September 23, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces the life term handed down by a Chinese court today to Ilham Tohti, a prominent Uighur blogger and academic, and calls for his unconditional release. Tohti was found guilty of separatism by a court in the western Xinjiang region, according to news reports.
Journalists investigating deaths of Russian soldiers are threatened and attacked
Journalists investigating the deaths of Russian soldiers that news reports claimed were killed during Russia’s alleged involvement in Ukraine’s conflict have been targeted in a series of attacks since late August, according to a press freedom group. Russia has denied that its soldiers were involved in the conflict, but journalists who spoke to the Committee…
Burundi’s journalist union takes repressive press law to court
If the state decides that a journalist’s article in Burundi jeopardizes someone’s “moral integrity” under the country’s Media Law it can demand that the journalist reveals sources, and it can suspend the publication. “It’s a backwards, freedom-killing law,” said Alexandre Niyungeko, the founder and head of the 300-member Burundi Union of Journalists. Despite the press…
Journalist beheadings in Syria reignite debate over risk and safety for freelancers
Now that the initial wave of revulsion at the beheading of two young journalists has passed, the international media is wringing its hands and asking how it can spare others the heartbreak of the families of U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.