In Sri Lanka crackdown, mobs and death threats turned on journalists
There is genuine cause for alarm about the anonymous death threats going to Sunil Jayasekara’s phone. They started streaming to Jayasekara, the convener of Sri Lanka’s Free Media Movement, an umbrella group (hence calling the leader a convener) of journalists’ organization in Sri Lanka, just before an FMM press conference on Saturday in Colombo.
Despite recent convictions, Anna Politkovskaya’s murder remains unsolved
Nearly eight years after Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was gunned down in an elevator near her apartment, authorities appear to have made little progress identifying the mastermind behind her murder. Although five men were sentenced to lengthy prison terms on June 9 for their roles in the slaying of the Novaya Gazeta journalist, her family…
Somali journalist killed by car bomb in Mogadishu
New York, June 23, 2014–Authorities in Somalia must immediately investigate the murder of a Somali journalist in Mogadishu on Saturday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yusuf Ahmed Abukar, who also used the name Yusuf Keynan, was killed when a bomb believed to be attached to his car exploded while he was on his…
CPJ calls on Pakistan to act on pledged commitments to press freedom
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif: We are writing to express our deep concern about the deteriorating climate for press freedom in Pakistan, which undermines recent commitments made by your government during CPJ’s mission to the country.
At the UN, let’s talk about journalist murders in plain language
The U.N. Human Rights Council was established in 2006 as a replacement for the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, which folded in the face of criticism that it gave a platform to many states with poor human rights records. Only time will tell if the U.N. Human Rights Council will be any better. Nevertheless, this…
Arrests made in murder of Indian journalist in Odisha state
New York, June 9, 2014–Police arrested two suspects on Sunday in connection with the recent murder of a local journalist in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the murder of Tarun Kumar Acharya, confirm the motive, and…
CPJ welcomes sentences in Politkovskaya case, but mastermind still at large
New York, June 9, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists said it is encouraged by today’s progress in solving the 2006 slaying of prominent independent journalist Anna Politkovskaya, but noted that the mastermind still walks free. A Moscow court sentenced five defendants to lengthy prison sentences for carrying out the murder almost eight years ago.
In the wake of US pullout, Afghan journalists need protection
In the aftermath of this week’s foreign policy speech by President Barack Obama and discussions on the imminent pullout of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, we need to think once again of the implications this retreat will have for the thousands of Afghans who for more than a decade have worked not only with the military,…
Mission Journal: The Kurdish conundrum–more outlets but not more ‘news’
In the stairwell between the newsroom and studios of Nalia Radio and Television (NRT) stand a charred monitor, a burnt vision mixer, and smashed camera lens. They make up a display of equipment damaged when armed men set fire to the station in Sulaymaniyah, a city in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan which is home to much…