Kazakh journalist and newspaper persecuted
After receiving reports of at least three defamation lawsuits filed recently against Lukpan Akhmedyarov, a prominent journalist with the independent newspaper Uralskaya Nedelya in Western Kazakhstan, in retaliation for his critical reporting on a state construction company’s illegal work on a gas pipe project, er issued the following statement…
CPJ dismayed by decision of Brazilian court
We issued the following statement today in response to yesterday’s decision by the Supreme Federal Tribunal, Brazil’s highest court, rejecting an appeal from the daily O Estado de São Paulo and its Web site Estadão in a case of censorship. In July, a regional court barred both outlets from publishing reports on a corruption scandal…
Iran shuts another reformist newspaper
New York, December 8, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Iranian authorities’ decision on Monday to shut the reformist daily Hayate No. The Press Supervisory Board revoked the license of the Tehran-based daily Hayate No “for working outside the regulations,” according to local news reports, but the agency provided no details of the alleged violations.
Michoacán journalists under siege with nowhere to turn
David Silva, the husband of abducted reporter María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe, ran his hand roughly across his forehead twice, then held his face, looked down, and said, “Every night it’s the same until 2 or 4 in the morning, waiting for the phone call, listening for the car to stop on the street. Then if…
Morocco silences the pens of its journalists
On the eve of Hillary Clinton’s departure to Morocco for the Forum of the Future on November 3, CPJ urged her to “impress upon the Moroccan authorities that a free press is a crucial component of any free society.” The forum is a gathering of political, business, and social leaders from the Middle East and…
Independent broadcasters harassed, taken off air in Ukraine
New York, November 20, 2009—Authorities in Odessa, Ukraine, should immediately cease harassment of independent and pro-opposition broadcasters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Officials from the Odessa Public Utility Service and mayor’s office have been physically obstructing the work of several local television and radio stations on the grounds of alleged building renovation, according…
Singapore refuses to renew foreign journalist’s visa
New York, November 19, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Singapore government’s refusal to renew British freelance journalist Benjamin Bland’s work visa and its rejection of his application to cover the recently concluded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meeting. Bland had planned to report on the summit for the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.
CPJ condemns suspension of six newspapers in Gabon
New York, November 12, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the suspension of six private newspapers by the government-controlled media-monitoring body, the National Communications Council, in Gabon. The council announced the suspensions, which range from one to three months, on Tuesday evening on state-run TV. The papers have been suspended for “violating the ethics of journalism”…
Shakeup at China’s leading investigative magazine
You wouldn’t have heard it from her, but Hu Shuli resigned from her post as editor of Caijing magazine on Monday. The battle over political coverage and finances at Caijing (cai is “finance” and jing is “economics”) had been reported for about three months, but the missing component in the coverage was Hu herself—she has…