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…
CPJ alarmed by DRC’s ban on RFI broadcasts
Mr. President: We are alarmed by the government’s decision to indefinitely ban FM broadcasts of Radio France Internationale (RFI) in the eastern cities of Bunia and Bukavu. We call on you to use your influence to reverse these rulings, which we believe deprive residents of eastern Congo of access to diverse sources of information about the conflict in their region.
Iran censors newspapers amid unrest
New York, June 18, 2009–With street demonstrations continuing in Tehran, Iranian authorities expanded censorship, banning the publication of two newspapers. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the authorities to lift the bans and to allow international reporters to return to the country.
Iran should allow journalists to cover opposition rallies
New York, June 17, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists urges the Iranian government to lift all restrictions on foreign journalists and allow them to cover Thursday’s planned rallies in support of defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
Iran bars foreign media from reporting on protests
New York, June 16, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Iranian government’s decision to bar foreign journalists from leaving their offices to report, film, or take photographs–a restriction intended to prevent news coverage of protests over the disputed presidential election.
Looking at Tiananmen as a ‘development opportunity’
The English-language version of the state newspaper Global Times raised eyebrows on Tuesday with an article headlined, “Evolution of Chinese intellectuals’ thought over two decades.” The opinion piece included a quote from an academic referencing the “June 4 incident”–a departure for domestic, state-run media, which never refer explicitly to the peaceful demonstrations that were crushed…
Tiananmen: It’s raining censorship
It’s hot in Beijing this time of year. An umbrella can serve as a convenient protection from the sun. Back in the spring of 1989, hundreds of umbrellas filled Tiananmen Square like makeshift shelters–until the army deployed tanks and guns against the anti-government protesters holding them.
Eritrean president slams ‘CIA-financed’ media
Last week, President Isaias Afeworki of Eritrea, Africa’s leading jailer of journalists, discussed press freedom during an extensive interview with Swedish broadcaster TV4. Afeworki, a revered guerrilla commander who led this Red Sea country to nationhood in 1993, banned Eritrea’s budding private media in 2001 and threw journalists in secret prisons without charge or trial.…