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.
Jason Rezaian’s family appeals for Iran to release him
Last week, Mohammad Javad Larijani, a top adviser to the country’s supreme leader, said in an interview with Euronews television that the case of Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post correspondent who has been imprisoned in Iran since July, might be resolved in “less than a month.”
Vietnamese blogger ‘Mother Mushroom’ fears arrest for Facebook activity
New York, November 7, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned about the safety of Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who has been repeatedly questioned by local police in Nha Trang about her activity on Facebook, and says that she fears arrest. Vietnam currently imprisons 17 journalists, most of them bloggers, according to…
Obama: Burma must improve its media environment
Dear President Obama: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express its deep concern about the recent killing, jailing, and harassment of journalists in Burma. During your upcoming visit to the country on November 11-12, we urge you to impress upon Burmese President Thein Sein that future U.S. engagement will be predicated on a renewed and genuine commitment to press freedom.
In Sierra Leone, journalist imprisoned after criticizing president
Abuja, Nigeria, November 4, 2014–A journalist in Sierra Leone has been imprisoned after criticizing President Ernest Bai Koroma’s handling of the Ebola outbreak, according to news reports and local journalists. David Tam Baryoh was arrested on Monday.
Rosewater: An Iranian journalist’s journey from prison to silver screen
In 2009, the sketch comedian Jason Jones traveled to Iran to interview Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari for “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart. Shortly after the disputed June 12 elections, the series of reports aired amid a brutal crackdown on Iranian journalists and the opposition. Bahari was among those arrested. Among the “evidence” presented by…
Journalists arrested after covering protest in Somaliland
Nairobi, November 3, 2014–Authorities in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland arrested two journalists from privately owned television stations last week after they each aired coverage of a protest in the northwest town of Gabiley, local journalists told CPJ. Authorities arrested Horn Cable TV reporter Mukhtar Nouh Ibrahim on October 30 and SomSat TV reporter Mohamed…
Azerbaijan jails yet another critical reporter
New York, October 30, 2014–A court in Azerbaijan today sentenced Khalid Garayev, a reporter for the embattled opposition newspaper Azadliq and the technical director of “Azerbaijani Hour,” Azadliq’s online TV program, to almost a month in prison on charges of hooliganism and disobeying the police, according to news reports.
A message from a scared Egyptian journalist
Tamer Abuarab’s article today under the title “A message from a scared person” offers strong insight into why we at CPJ decided to produce our upcoming documentary film, “Under Threat,” and make an appeal for journalists to speak out with the hashtag #EgyptLastWord.