Imprisoned

We issued the following statement today in reaction to news that Iranian journalist Ahmad Zaid-Abadi was sentenced to six years in prison, five years in exile in Khorasan Province, and a lifetime ban on social and political activity, effectively barring him from writing…

The families of Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal, and Sarah Shourd, the three hikers detained in Iran, said today they are concerned about their children’s emotional well-being after nearly four months in prison. They asked supporters to send letters, which they will seek to deliver to them in Evin Prison in Tehran, where the three are…

We want to thank all of you who responded to the challenge set out by our chairman, Paul Steiger, calling on individuals who care about independent media to support CPJ. His e-mail has already generated an unprecedented response, but we still have a ways to go before reaching our goal. Paul has offered a $25,000…

New York, November 11, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s prison sentences given to two video bloggers detained in July on fabricated charges of “hooliganism” and “inflicting minor bodily harm.” 

Dear President Obama: We are heartened by news reports that you plan to talk to Chinese leaders about human rights and related issues when you visit the country next week. On World Press Freedom Day in May, you specifically raised the cases of two of China’s jailed journalists—Shi Tao, imprisoned for allegedly “leaking state secrets,” and Hu Jia, behind bars for alleged “incitement to subvert state power.” Both men remain jailed, and we ask that you now press for their immediate release.

New York, November 9, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Moroccan King Mohammed VI to order the release of a jailed editor and to put an end to the use of the judiciary to silence independent media.

New York, November 9, 2009—Three American hikers who inadvertently crossed the border into Iran on July 31 are facing chargers of espionage, according to a report from the state news agency IRNA.

New York, November 6, 2009—No charges have been brought against three American hikers nearly 100 days since they were detained after accidentally crossing the border from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iran while on a hiking trip on July 31. 

New York, November 4, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged that Tunisian police stripped and mistreated journalist Taoufik ben Brik, a well-known contributor to French newspapers and one of the top critics of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, during his arrest on October 29. CPJ urges Ben Ali to order Ben Brik’s immediate…