FOIA needs new muscle behind it, not just promises
These are busy days for Freedom of Information. On April 5, the watchdog Web site that knows no borders, WikiLeaks, posted a classified U.S. military video showing U.S. forces firing on Iraqi civilians, killing many, including two Reuters journalists, as well as wounding children. Two days later, the Pentagon posted a redacted U.S. military assessment of the same incident concluding that U.S. troops fired “in accordance…
In African hot spots, journalists forced into exile
By Tom Rhodes High numbers of local journalists have fled several African countries in recent years after being assaulted, threatened, or imprisoned, leaving a deep void in professional reporting. The starkest examples are in the Horn of Africa nations of Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, where dozens of journalists have been forced into exile. Zimbabwe, Rwanda,…
Attacks on the Press 2009: Iran
Top Developments• Dozens of journalists are detained in massive post-election crackdown.• Numerous critical newspapers, Web sites censored or shut down. Key Statistic 23: Journalists imprisoned as of December 1, 2009. Amid the greatest national political upheaval since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran launched a full-scale assault on the media and the opposition. In mid-June, mass protests erupted…
Attacks on the Press 2009: Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Top Developments• Israel bars international press access to Gaza fighting.• Fatah, Hamas detain, harass media perceived as biased. Key Statistic 4: News media buildings in Gaza hit by Israeli airstrikes. As the year began, the Israeli military waged a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip in response to a series of Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli…
Attacks on the Press 2009: Somalia
Top Developments• Al-Shabaab terrorizes media through violence, threats, censorship.• Many local journalists flee into exile, leaving a void in coverage. Key Statistic9: Journalists killed in direct relation to their work in 2009. Somalia was among the world’s deadliest countries in 2009, surpassing violent hot spots such as Iraq and Pakistan. As conflict continued between the…
Journalists beaten in Sudan after covering protests
New York, December 16, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the detention and beating of several journalists who were attempting to report on clashes this week and last between government forces and protesters in Khartoum and the nearby city of Omdurman. Police detained more than 100 people during the clashes, according to…
Explosion kills three Somali journalists in Mogadishu
New York, December 3, 2009—Three journalists were among the victims of a suicide bombing at a Benadir University graduation ceremony in Mogadishu today. At least 22 people were killed at Hotel Shamo, including three government ministers, by suspected Islamic insurgents, according to The Associated Press.Hassan Zubeyr, a cameraman for the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television network and…
Free Maziar Bahari: 100 global journalists petition Iran
Your Excellency: We are writing to express our grave concern at the detention of our esteemed fellow journalist Maziar Bahari and to request his immediate release. Mr. Bahari has been detained since June 21. No charges have been brought against him, and he has not been granted access to a lawyer. As one of the most impartial and committed journalists in his field, he has reported regularly over the past decade from the Middle East, principally from Iran and Iraq, and provided consistently balanced and insightful reports. As an award-winning documentary filmmaker, he has earned global respect for his work.
At least 13 jailed as crackdown enters second week
New York, June 22, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to release all journalists detained in the aftermath of the disputed presidential election and to lift the onerous press restrictions that are choking information at a time when the country and the world most need it. At least 13 journalists detained during…