Press Club honors jailed Iranian Kouhyar Goudarzi
The National Press Club next week will honor an Iranian journalist who is languishing in prison. Kouhyar Goudarzi, an online reporter and human rights activist, was pursuing an aerospace degree at Sharif Industrial University when security agents put him behind bars, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Goudarzi, left, was an…
Cuban deadline passes for dissident releases: What next?
Sunday marked the end of the four-month deadline Cuban President Raúl Castro had agreed to with representatives of the Cuban Catholic Church and the Spanish government to free 52 prisoners of conscience who remained in jail since the March 2003 crackdown against dissidents, known as the “Black Spring.” The Spanish foreign minister at the time,…
Egypt should free blogger held beyond his term
New York, November 10, 2010–Egyptian authorities must immediately release blogger Abdel Karim Suleiman, known online as Karim Amer, who completed his four-year prison sentence on November 5, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ also calls on authorities to investigate and punish a security officer who reportedly assaulted Amer on Tuesday.
CPJ welcomes release of Puntland journalist
New York, November 8, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the presidential pardon and release today of radio journalist Abdifatah Jama, who was imprisoned in August for airing an interview with an Islamist rebel leader in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. CPJ had repeatedly called for his release.Jama, deputy director of Horseed Media, had begun serving a six-year prison sentence after being…
Japanese journalist held by Burmese government
New York, November 8, 2010–Burma must immediately release Toru Yamaji, a reporter with Tokyo-based APF news agency, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yamaji, 49, was detained Sunday in Myawaddy, on the country’s eastern border with Thailand while trying to cover the country’s first elections in two decades, according to international media reports, which quoted Japan’s embassy in Rangoon. He…
Playboy Indonesia editor speaks out from jail
Although I refuse to say that I am guilty for violating criminal law for publishing Indonesia Playboy magazine, it never crossed my mind to run away or to try to avoid the two-year prison sentence handed down to me by the Supreme Court. I am a good citizen who respects the law in Indonesia.On Saturday,…
The Burmese Internet on the eve of election
Burma tops CPJ’s “10 Worst Countries to be a Blogger.” With the scheduled general election in the country approaching, there have been reports of growing interference with both local and exiled journalists. As Burma enters the final stretch of the campaign, CPJ’s senior South East Asia representative, Shawn Crispin, give me a brief summary of the…
Arnada’s Supreme Court appeal continues in Indonesia
Here’s a quick update on the Indonesian Supreme Court’s ongoing hearing to review its decision to sentence Playboy Indonesia editor Erwin Arnada to two years in jail for “public indecency.” It’s a case I’ve been following closely, because the outcome is an indicator of which direction Indonesia will be moving in the coming years –…