CPJ Newsletter: March edition
Landmark conviction in 2000 attack on Colombian journalist A Colombian court on February 26 convicted a former paramilitary fighter in the kidnapping and torture of Colombian journalist Jineth Bedoya and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. The fighter, Alejandro Cárdenas Orozco, was also ordered to pay a fine of around US$17,500.
Ex-paramilitary fighter jailed for 11 years over Jineth Bedoya attack in Colombia
New York, February 26, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the sentencing Thursday of former paramilitary fighter Alejandro Cárdenas Orozco to 11 years in prison for the kidnap and torture of Colombian journalist Jineth Bedoya Lima in 2000.
Journalist trapped and injured while reporting in besieged Turkish town dies
New York, February 24, 2016–A news editor for the Kurdish-language daily Azadiya Welat, who had been trapped with a gunshot wound in Cizre since January 22, has died. Authorities used DNA testing to identify the remains of Rohat Aktaş, local reports said today. The exact circumstances of his death are unclear. Pro-opposition and pro-Kurdish media…
Court reporters beaten by lawyers in latest attack on press freedom in India
Attacks this week against journalists covering a high-profile sedition case have heightened concerns about the state of press freedom in India. CPJ has reported frequently on journalists there coming under attack from police, criminals, politicians, and others. Now lawyers have to be added to the list.
Uganda elections approach amid hostile environment for media
Demonstrations against the government are a routine affair in the Ugandan capital Kampala, and Andrew Lwanga thought it would be just another day at work when he was assigned to cover a protest march by a few dozen unemployed youth on January 12, 2015.
Two newspaper offices firebombed in Istanbul
New York, February 11, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s attacks on the Istanbul offices of the daily newspapers Yeni Akit and Yeni Şafak. The newspapers are generally supportive of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
‘I kept telling them I’m a journalist but they kept beating me’: Photographer beaten at Delhi protest
As police cracked down on protesters in Delhi during recent protests over the treatment of Dalits, who occupy the lowest rungs of India’s caste ladder, journalists were caught in the fray. The protests were sparked by the suicide of Rohith Vemula, a student who had been barred from halls of residence and parts of campus,…
CPJ concerned for safety of injured journalist trapped in Turkish city
New York, February 4, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned for the safety of Rohat Aktaş, a news editor and reporter for the Kurdish-language daily Azadiya Welat, who has been trapped in the southeastern town of Cizre with a gunshot wound since January 22.
Bulgarian journalist bludgeoned
Stoyan Tonchev, owner of the local news website Zad Kulisite (Behind the Scenes), was leaving a friend’s apartment in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort town of Pomorie at around 11 p.m. on January 14, 2015, when at least one man brutally beat him with a blunt object, according to local press reports.
CPJ condemns attack on Tolo TV employees in Afghanistan
New York, January 20, 2016–A suicide bombing in Kabul today killed seven employees from the Afghan station Tolo TV, according to news reports and the station. The attack on staff returning from work at the privately owned station injured 27 others, including 26 staff, according to Tolo TV. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the…