Ethiopian journalist on prison odyssey needs medical care
“When I grow up will I go to jail like my dad?” This was the shattering question that the five-year-old son of imprisoned Ethiopian journalist Woubshet Taye asked his mother after a recent prison visit. Woubshet’s son, named Fiteh (meaning “justice”), has accompanied his mother on a wayward tour of various prisons since his father…
CPJ examines press freedom under Obama
Upcoming report looks at leak investigations and surveillanceNew York, September 30, 2013– The Committee to Protect Journalists will release its first comprehensive report on press freedom conditions in the United States. Leonard Downie Jr., former Washington Post executive editor and now the Weil Family Professor of Journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication,…
In crackdown on dissent, Turkey detains press, raids outlet
Istanbul, June 20, 2013–Two journalists were detained and one newsroom raided this week as Turkish authorities continued a broad crackdown on dissent, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the government to halt its obstruction of journalists seeking to cover the protests that have swept the nation.
Ethiopia transfers editor Woubshet Taye to remote prison
New York, April 22, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists protests Ethiopian authorities’ transfer of independent newspaper editor Woubshet Taye to a remote prison several hours away from his family’s home. Woubshet has been imprisoned since June 2011 on vague terrorism charges that CPJ has determined to be unsubstantiated.
CPJ condemns Eskinder Nega verdict in Ethiopia
New York, June 27, 2012-The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s conviction of Ethiopian blogger Eskinder Nega on baseless terrorism charges. “The Ethiopian government has once again succeeded in misusing the law to silence critical and independent reporting,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “The charges against Eskinder are baseless and politically motivated in…
UK surveillance plan must be watched carefully
When journalists make enemies in high places, they become vulnerable to the powers those figures wield. One such power is the state’s capacity to wiretap and obtain personal records from communications companies. From Colombia’s phone-tapping scandal to last year’s case of Gerard Davet–a Le Monde reporter whose phone records were obtained by the French intelligence…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Middle East and North Africa Analysis
Suppression Under the Cover of National Security By Mohamed Abdel Dayem Relying on an extensive network of sources in the military, government, and Islamist groups, Yemeni freelance journalist Abdulelah Shaea had become a frequent and pointed critic of the administration’s counterterrorism efforts. By July, President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government had enough, dispatching security agents to…
Yemen should free Shaea, repudiate abuse
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on you to ensure the immediate release of Abdulelah Hider Shaea, a Yemeni journalist known for his coverage of Islamist groups, including Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. We also call on you to publicly repudiate the abusive treatment to which Shaea has been subjected while in state custody.