Chilean reporter could face jail time on criminal defamation charges
New York, July 27, 2018–Chilean authorities should immediately drop all criminal proceedings against a journalist charged with defamation, and lawmakers should act swiftly to repeal all criminal defamation laws, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The journalist, Javier Ignacio Rebolledo Escobar, could face up to three years in prison if convicted next month.
CPJ joins call to renew mandate of human rights rapporteur in Iran
The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with 35 human rights groups, today joined a call for member states of the U.N. Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran at the council’s 28th session.
CPJ joins call for UN members to push for greater human rights in Iran
The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined 29 other organizations in calling on member states of the U.N. General Assembly to vote in favor of a resolution for the promotion and protection of human rights in Iran. The vote is scheduled to take place on November 18.
Sri Lanka must end media restrictions to facilitate reconciliation
This month, in the wake of anti-Muslim sectarian riots in the southwest, the Sri Lankan government pressured local journalists to hide the truth by not covering the violence. Those brave enough to report it had their equipment destroyed and were threatened or physically attacked, according to media reports. Since the government stifled coverage of these…
Subjectivity, advocacy in covering human rights
The tension between objective news reporting and advocacy was the subject of the final plenary panel that I moderated last week at the Global Media Forum in Bonn. Sponsored by Germany’s multi-language, government broadcast agency, Deutsche Welle, the three-day conference brought together journalists and experts from every continent to address but not necessarily resolve the…
How the U.S. should raise human rights in China dialogue
One day ahead of two-day bilateral talks with the U.S., China’s Foreign Ministry rejected what it labeled “interference” in the country’s internal affairs under the rubric of human rights, according to international news reports. Despite this obstructionist tone, CPJ hopes that Washington officials, led by Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Michael Posner,…
CPJ asks Kyrgyz president to ensure fair trial of reporters
Dear President Otunbayeva: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to call your attention to the politicized prosecution of independent journalist Ulugbek Abdusalomov and human rights reporter and researcher Azimjon Askarov in the southern Jalal-Abad region. Both have been charged with extremism and other serious charges and face lengthy prison sentences, including a life term, if convicted. Their prosecution is in retaliation for their reporting on ethnic discrimination and human rights abuses in southern Kyrgyzstan, according to our research.
Meeting in the Roosevelt Room on Human Rights Day
Did you miss it? Yesterday was the 61st anniversary of the United Nation General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. President Barack Obama, as he was leaving for Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, declared December 10 Human Rights Day. To help mark it, his national security advisor, the retired Marine General James L. Jones, at…