Karimov chastises Uzbekistan’s ‘toothless’ reporters
Addressing the joint session of Uzbekistan’s parliament on Wednesday, President Islam Karimov urged his lawmakers to be more active in their work, saying that laws should address public needs, and blaming the local press corps for being “toothless” in its reporting, regional news Web site Ferghana reported. In his speech, available on the parliament’s Web site, Karimov, at…
Haiti’s Radio Tele Caraïbes lost its offices, not its mission
Radio Tele Caraïbes is out on the street after losing the use of its offices in the January 12 earthquake, but the Port-au-Prince broadcaster has resumed operations nonetheless. A makeshift newsroom has been set up in a tent in the middle of a street. Staff meetings and discussions are being held under the gaze of…
In meeting, delegation presses for Fatullayev’s freedom
Washington, January 20, 2010—A delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists met today with Azerbaijani Charge d’Affaires Khazar Ibrahim at the Azerbaijani Embassy to deliver a letter carrying the names of more than 500 international journalists petitioning for the immediate release of imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev, a 2009 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award.…
Petitioners urge Azerbaijan to free Eynulla Fatullayev
President Aliyev: The Committee to Protect Journalists urges you to open a new page in your government’s policies toward the independent and opposition press, one that would demonstrate tolerance for the critical role of media in a democracy. No other action would contribute to this goal as much as the immediate release of Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of the now-closed independent Russian-language weekly Realny Azerbaijan and the Azeri-language daily Gündalik Azarbaycan, who has been imprisoned since April 2007 on charges that range from defamation to terrorism.
Leading investigative weekly suspended in Tanzania
New York, January 12, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for the suspension of independent weekly Swahili newspaper Kulikoni to be lifted immediately. Information Minister George Mkuchika announced the suspension of the leading investigative weekly on Friday, citing a sales and distribution ban for a period of 90 days beginning January 11, according to local journalists…
Casualties of foreign journalists mount in Afghanistan
New York January 11, 2010—The death of U.K.-based Sunday Mirror reporter Rupert Hamer, who was killed in an explosion outside a village in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, is an indicator of the rising danger for journalists in Afghanistan. The explosion also wounded Hamer’s colleague photographer Philip Coburn and took the life of a U.S. Marine.
Fatullayev to be tried on new charge in Azerbaijan
New York, January 4, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists demanded today that Azerbaijani authorities scrap a new trumped-up charge against imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev, above, a 2009 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award. On December 30, Fatullayev was charged with drug possession after prison guards allegedly found heroin in his cell. On New Year’s…
Azerbaijan trumps up new charge against Fatullayev
New York, December 30, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a new criminal charge filed against imprisoned Azerbaijani editor Eynulla Fatullayev, a 2009 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award. Based on Fatullayev’s account and the government’s long record of persecuting the editor, CPJ believes the charge to be fabricated.
Morocco steps up assault on online journalism
New York, December 18, 2009—The decision to jail a blogger and an Internet café owner is an escalation in Morocco’s already intense campaign against journalists and bloggers, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ called on Moroccan authorities to overturn both prison sentences on appeal.