Two Brazzaville weeklies suspended; CPJ seeks reversal
New York, December 20, 2011–Authorities in the Republic of Congo should immediately lift the months-long suspensions imposed last week against two private weeklies in reprisal for articles critical of government officials, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Kazakh authorities censor news on deadly clashes
New York, December 20, 2011–Authorities in the Mangistau region of western Kazakhstan have attacked and detained independent journalists and blocked access to news outlets to suppress coverage of unrest there, news reports said. The Committee Protect today called on Kazakh authorities to allow the media unfettered access.
In Egypt, press freedom abuses must be investigated
New York, December 19, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to halt the assaults on journalists and attacks on news outlets which are effectively censoring coverage of ongoing protests in Cairo. In recent days, CPJ has documented at least 15 attacks on the press during clashes between security forces and protesters in…
Three newspapers suspended in Ivory Coast
New York, December 14, 2011–The government of Ivory Coast should immediately lift its suspensions on the circulations of three newspapers that published critical commentaries on the country’s five-month post-election conflict and its aftermath, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Solomon Abera, who voiced end of Eritrean free press, dies
The name Solomon Abera will forever be etched in the collective memory of Eritrea’s press corps. On September 18, 2001, as the world focused its attention on the terrorist attacks on the United States, the government of Eritrea borrowed Abera’s voice to sound the death knell, on state-controlled airwaves, of the Red Sea nation’s independent…
Q & A: Khudaiberdiyev on Kyrgyz trial, press freedom
In late October, a regional court in Jalal-Abad, southern Kyrgyzstan, convicted and sentenced in absentia to hefty prison terms two ethnic Uzbek media owners, Dzhavlon Mirzakhodzhayev of Mezon TV and Khalil Khudaiberdiyev of Osh TV. Both men were tried in connection to the ethnic conflict that ravaged southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010. Authorities accused both…
Clinton must tread carefully in Burma
When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets this week with Burmese President Thein Sein, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and senior ranking members of the military establishment, she conspicuously will not have the opportunity to meet with journalist Sithu Zeya. Sithu was detained by police after recording the impact of a bomb that…
Mexican weekly goes offline after cyberattack
New York, November 28, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports of a cyberattack on Mexican weekly Ríodoce that forced its website offline on Friday. Ríodoce is one of the few publications to cover crime and drug trafficking in Mexico.
South Sudan journalist speaks out after illegal detention
Detained without charge for 18 days, tortured, and released without explanation, South Sudanese journalist Peter Ngor plans to fight back. “I am going to sue them [in] court. What they did to me was completely, utterly wrong,” said Ngor, the editor of a new, private, English-language daily called Destiny. Still, Ngor believes that his illegal…