Deadly attack launched on Syrian TV station
New York, June 27, 2012–A number of employees for the pro-government Syrian television station Al-Ikhbariya were killed when the station was attacked by gunmen this morning, according to the official news agency Sana. Other employees were reported wounded or kidnapped, the agency said.
Another journalist reports sex assault in Tahrir Square
The story sounds hideously like another–one of a chaotic, predatory attack on a woman journalist in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Clothes torn from her body, hundreds of men surging to grab her breasts and claw at her. A woman wondering, “Maybe this is how I go, how I die.” It has been almost a year and…
Journalists attacked while covering clashes in Lebanon
Cairo, June 19, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by what it sees as a trend in the attack of Lebanese journalists covering clashes between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime. In the past month, at least nine journalists have been attacked in four separate incidents.
Nigerian journalist assaulted in front of military, police
Abuja, June 18, 2012–Nigerian authorities must investigate the assault on a Nigerian journalist on June 14 and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. News accounts reported that the attack occurred in the presence of military and police officers who did not come to the journalist’s aid.
In Ghana, police assault journalist, seize his equipment
Abuja, June 15, 2012–Authorities in Ghana must investigate the assault on a journalist by police while covering a police raid in Ho, the capital of Ghana’s Volta region, and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Victor Kwawukume, who reports for the state-owned Daily Graphic and is the regional chairman…
Bangladesh backsliding on press freedom
“Bangladeshi democracy [may be] doomed to more of the same,” International Crisis Group wrote in a recent commentary. They are describing a longstanding pattern of antagonism between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP), which the Crisis Group describes as “a pernicious cycle of zero-sum politics.” If the political…
CPJ calls on Somaliland president to end press crackdown
Dear President Ahmed Mohamoud Silyano: We are writing to express our alarm over deteriorating conditions for independent journalists in Somaliland. The Committee to Protect Journalists has monitored 58 cases of journalist detentions by authorities since the beginning of the year. We urge you to use your office to reverse this trend of harassment and uphold your 2010 election campaign pledge to respect and improve freedom of the press.