Attacks on the Press in 2012: Iraq
For the first time since 2003, CPJ did not document any work-related fatalities in Iraq. Still, central government officials and Kurdish regional authorities used threats, harassment, attacks, and imprisonment to suppress critical news coverage throughout the year. The central government’s media regulator ordered 44 local and international news outlets shut down in June for supposed…
Attacks on the Press in 2011: Iraq
Five journalists and a media worker were killed as Iraq maintained its position as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. In August, the government adopted a law meant to offer journalists more protection, although its vague provisions did little initially to improve conditions. As demonstrations for economic and political reform spread with the…
Iran frees hikers, many journalists remain imprisoned
New York, September 21, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the news that U.S. journalist Shane Bauer and his friend Josh Fattal were released today on US$1 million bail by the Iranian government after two years in Tehran’s Evin Prison, according to news reports.
CPJ Impact
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, April 2011 Digital frontiers and beyond To mark World Press Freedom Day 2011, CPJ will publish “The 10 Tools of Online Oppressors,” a special report on the most threatening tactics to suppress online journalists and bloggers as well as the countries making exemplary use of these censorship tools.…
Bahrain manipulates daily; attacks in Libya, Iraq, Yemen
New York, April 4, 2011–The Bahraini government continued its attempts at muzzling critical media with the Ministry of Information ordering the country’s premier independent daily temporarily shut down on Sunday. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Bahraini government’s strong-arm tactics, which effectively forced a change in a prominent paper’s editorial management. In Libya, Iraq, and Yemen, independent and critical…
Syria cracks down on press; attacks in Libya, elsewhere
New York, March 28, 2011–Facing the nationwide spread of political unrest, Syrian authorities barred three Reuters journalists from reporting, blocked journalistic access to a hotbed of political dissent, censored a critical satellite station, and detained a political blogger. The widespread repression in Syria came on the same weekend that Libyan security agents forcibly barred a…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Iran
Top Developments • Authorities sustain their crack- down on critical journalists, arresting dozens. • Journalists face harsh prison terms and mistreatment in custody. Key Statistic 34: Journalists imprisoned on December 1. Along with China, Iran is the world’s worst jailer of the press. Defying international condemnation, the government sustained its widespread crackdown on the press,…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Iraq
Top Developments • New press court, politically motivated lawsuits raise alarm. • As instability festers, five journalists, three support workers are killed. Key Statistic $1 billion Damages sought by the Kurdistan Democratic Party from a newspaper that detailed alleged political corruption. Instability festered throughout the year as political parties wrangled to form a new government…