Worrisome curbs on free speech emerge since Modi’s election
Earlier this month, Indian authorities arrested seven people for publishing a photo of India’s new prime minister, Narendra Modi, alongside figures such as George W. Bush, Osama bin Laden, and Adolf Hitler, under the headline, “Negative Faces.” The seven, who could face lengthy prison terms if convicted, are but the latest Indians facing criminal proceedings…
Russian journalist and media worker killed in eastern Ukraine
New York, June 17, 2014–A Russian journalist and a media worker died from injuries they sustained in mortar fire in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk today, according to Russian and international media reports. Igor Kornelyuk, correspondent for the state-owned broadcaster VGTRK, and Anton Voloshin, a sound engineer, were reporting on the deadly clashes between…
Forced to flee: A timeline of journalists’ flight into exile
Every year, dozens of journalists are forced to leave their homes under threat of imprisonment, torture, violence, or even death, because their work has angered the powerful. Over the past 12 months, the Committee to Protect Journalists has supported 42 journalists around the world who were forced to flee, with Syria, Ethiopia, and Eritrea responsible…
In eastern Ukraine, newsroom burned down, telecom company halts broadcasts
New York, June 6, 2014–A local newsroom was burned down on Thursday in Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine and a telecommunication company stopped broadcasting content from six Ukrainian TV channels, citing threats, according to news reports and press freedom groups. In both cases, separatists with the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) were believed to be…
Q&A: Indian journalist Sudhir Dhawale discusses his release from prison
After languishing in jail for 40 months, Mumbai-based journalist and activist Sudhir Dhawale has walked free. Dhawale was the only journalist in jail in India in late 2013, according to CPJ’s annual prison census. With his release, there are currently no other journalists behind bars in the country for work-related reasons.
Mission Journal: The Kurdish conundrum–more outlets but not more ‘news’
In the stairwell between the newsroom and studios of Nalia Radio and Television (NRT) stand a charred monitor, a burnt vision mixer, and smashed camera lens. They make up a display of equipment damaged when armed men set fire to the station in Sulaymaniyah, a city in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan which is home to much…
Bangladeshi journalist killed after covering local drug trade
New York, May 23, 2014–Bangladeshi authorities should conduct an efficient investigation into the murder of a local journalist and ensure the killers are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Sadrul Alam Nipul was a reporter for the local Bengali-language daily Dainik Mathabhanga.
Remembering Camille Lepage
“Not sure I can talk about my ‘career’ just yet–I’m still just getting started!” freelance photographer Camille Lepage told the photography site Petapixel in October 2013.Less than a year later, Lepage’s body was found in a car in the Central African Republic, according to news reports citing the French government. She had been traveling with fighters of…
Journalist in Bangladesh assaulted in hospital
On May 13, 2014, Shishir Morol, a health correspondent for the Bengali-language daily Prothom Alo, was held for more than two hours and beaten by at least three doctors at a hospital in the capital, Dhaka, according to local reports. At the time of the attack, Morol was investigating the use of allegedly false credentials…