AP photographer walks free after two-year detention
IRAQ: New York, April 16, 2008—Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein was freed today from U.S. custody in Iraq, ending a two-year ordeal in which he fended off unsubstantiated accusations from the U.S. military that he collaborated with Iraqi insurgents. The AP reported that Hussein was “handed over to AP colleagues on Wednesday in Baghdad.”
CPJ welcomes dismissal of case against AP photographer in Iraq; urges his release
New York, April 9, 2008—The Committee Protect Journalists welcomes an Iraqi judicial committee’s decision to drop legal proceedings against Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, who has been held by U.S. authorities for two years on allegations shrouded in secrecy. The committee ordered that Hussein be freed “immediately” if no other charges were pending, AP reported today.…
New York-based South Asian weekly editor threatened
New York, April 7, 2008—The editor of a New York-based weekly told CPJ he received a death threat. Majeed Babar, executive editor of the Weekly Asia Tribune, said a man called him on March 29 and told him, “We will cut you to pieces” in Urdu. Babar said the threat was linked to opinion columns…
Global Campaign Against Impunity
Global Campaign Against Impunity The murder of a journalist is the ultimate form of censorship, yet the perpetrators of such crimes are seldom held to account. In more than eight out of 10 cases where a journalist has been targeted for murder, their killers go free. The price of a story should never be that…
One journalist killed, two injured in suicide blast
PAKISTAN: New York, March 4, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists extends its condolences to the family and colleagues of Siraj Uddin, a correspondent for the daily Nation, who died in the February 29 suicide bombing in Mingora, Pakistan. The bombing, which took the lives of more than 40 people, took place at the funeral of…
Musharraf government suspends TV station
New York, February 7, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to remove independent broadcaster Aaj TV from air for more than 12 hours. Satellite transmissions of Aaj were shut down Wednesday after a prominent critic of the Musharraf government, Nusrat Javed, appeared on a late-night political talk show, according to…
Attacks on the Press 2007: Introduction
By Joel SimonIn August 2008, when the Olympic torch is lit in Beijing, more than 20,000 journalists will be on hand to cover the competition between the world’s greatest athletes. Behind the scenes, another competition will be taking place. If the Chinese government has its way, this one will remain hidden. It will be a…
Attacks on the Press 2007: Asia Analysis
Amid South Asian Conflict, Remarkable ResilienceBy Bob DietzTraffic is sparse during a late-night run to the Bandaranaike International Airport north of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. Because of insecurity caused by war between the Sinhalese-dominated government and Tamil separatists in the country’s north and east, the streets are given over to police and army checkpoints.…
Attacks on the Press 2007: United States
Editor Chauncey Bailey was gunned down three blocks from his Oakland, Calif., office in August, becoming the first U.S. journalist killed for his work in six years. Bailey, editor-in-chief of the Oakland Post and four other weeklies focusing on the San Francisco Bay Area’s African-American communities, was targeted after investigating the alleged criminal activities of…