Tunisian TV station’s suspension reflects tenuous freedom
On Sunday, the privately owned broadcaster Hannibal TV was forced off the air for more than three hours. The state-owned news agency Agence Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) issued a statement stating that an arrest warrant had been issued for the station’s owner on charges of “high treason” for an alleged “plot to destabilize national security.”…
Cambodia suppresses question on ’97 grenade attack
Bangkok, January 24, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that Cambodian officials deleted digital recordings and confiscated recording equipment from a number of journalists who covered a January 21 government press conference in Phnom Penh.
Ecuador must return property seized from newsmagazine
New York, January 18, 2011–Ecuadoran authorities have been holding computers and equipment belonging to the critical newsmagazine Vanguardia since a police raid on its offices a month ago. The Committee to Protect Journalists has concluded the seizure was reprisal for the magazine’s editorial positions and calls on authorities to return the property.
CPJ condemns Israeli security for humiliating screening
New York, January 14, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the humiliating treatment of several journalists by security personnel assigned to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. CPJ calls on the prime minister to ensure that similar episodes are avoided in the future.
In Iraq, bomb kills one journalist; another denied access
New York, December 15, 2010–Omar Rasim al-Qaysi, an anchor working for Al-Anbar TV, was killed on Sunday in a car bombing in central Ramadi, al-Anbar province. His brother, a fellow staffer at the station, was injured in the attack. Security forces then detained a journalist for the daily Al-Anbar, preventing him from covering the explosion’s aftermath.
After running leaked cables, websites face harassment
New York, December 10, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns harassment of the Lebanese news website Al-Akhbar after it published U.S. diplomatic cables that were first disclosed by WikiLeaks. The website was hacked this week by unknown attackers, while the Tunisian government blocked domestic access to the site. Saudi officials blocked access to the independent…
Belarus media harassed in run-up to presidential vote
New York, December 10, 2010–Belarusian authorities must stop harassing independent media outlets and journalists and allow them to cover the December 19 presidential elections without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.