For Afghan journalists, elections, not troops, are key
I’m in Kabul for several days, making the rounds of journalists’ organizations and media houses. My brief is to see what, if anything, can be done to protect journalists after the withdrawal of NATO troops during and after 2014. But “post-2014” has much different connotations for the Afghans with whom I’ve spoken or been in…
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, June 2013
CPJ releases report on journalists in exile Fifty-five journalists fled their homes fearing threats of violence and imprisonment in the past year, according to CPJ’s annual survey, which is based on cases the organization has supported, from which it derives global trends. The report, “Journalists in Exile,” was released on June 19, ahead of World…
Audio: Exiled Afghan journalist Barat Ali Batoor
In our special report, “Journalists in Exile,” CPJ examines the issues facing journalists who are forced to flee their countries due to intimidation, threats, or fear of imprisonment. Batoor, 29, an Afghan photojournalist, began receiving threats soon after a photo essay he worked on, “The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan,” was published in The Washington Post.…
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, May 2013
Gunman sentenced in murder of Philippine journalistCPJ has extensively covered the case of radio journalist Gerardo Ortega, who was killed in January 2011 in the Philippines, and has provided non-financial support for the Ortega family. Through our Global Campaign Against Impunity and the new digital component Speak Justice: Voices Against Impunity, CPJ has also pressured the Philippine government to…
Roots of Impunity
Pakistan’s Endangered Press And the Perilous Web of Militancy, Security, and Politics More than 20 journalists have been murdered in reprisal for their work in Pakistan over the past decade. Not one case has been solved, not a single conviction won. This perfect record of impunity has fostered an ever-more violent climate for journalists. Fatalities…
Roots of Impunity
About This Report This report was written by Elizabeth Rubin, an independent journalist who has covered Pakistan and South Asia for numerous publications, including The New York Times Magazine. She has reported from conflict zones around the world, including Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Balkans. The Committee to Protect Journalists commissioned Rubin to conduct this independent…
Roots of Impunity
Introduction By Bob Dietz At least 42 journalists have been killed—23 of them murdered—in direct relation to their work in Pakistan in the past decade, CPJ research shows. Not one murder since 2003 has been solved, not a single conviction won. Despite repeated demands from Pakistani and international journalist organizations, not one of these crimes…
Roots of Impunity
1. The Murder of Wali Khan Babar On January 13, 2011, Wali Khan Babar, a 28-year-old correspondent for Geo TV, was driving home after covering another day of gang violence in Karachi. Babar was an unusual face on the airwaves: Popular and handsome, he was a Pashtun from Zhob in Baluchistan near the border with…
Roots of Impunity
Sidebar: Verbatim: Threats, Promises, and Fears “No half-hearted police measures or words of consolation from the highest offices in the land will suffice in the aftermath of the brutal treatment meted out to journalist Umar Cheema of The News.” —Editorial in the newspaper Dawn condemning the September 2010 abduction and beating of Cheema. Intelligence agents were suspected in…
Roots of Impunity
2. A Death in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa On the evening of January 17, 2012, a year and four days after Geo TV reporter Wali Khan Babar was gunned down on a busy street in Karachi, Mukarram Khan Aatif, a senior journalist in the tribal region of Pakistan, was offering evening prayers at a mosque near his…