Brazil officials back OAS human rights system
“Leave me in peace. Wallow in your garbage,” Brazilian Chief Justice Joaquim Barbosa said in a rage when a reporter with one of the leading national newspapers, O Estado de Sao Paulo, tried to ask him a question Tuesday at a meeting of the National Council of Justice in Brasilia, the capital. Stunned by Barbosa’s…
From Islamabad to Hyderabad, journalist safety at issue
Owais Toheed, head of ARY News, cancelled his speaking slot for Wednesday at the conference I’m attending in Islamabad. Organized by UNESCO, the Open Society Foundations, Intermedia, and International Media Support, the meeting’s title says it all: International Conference on Safety and Security of Journalists in Pakistan. The reason Toheed couldn’t attend is because he…
Pakistani reporter gunned down in tribal area
New York, February 27, 2013–Pakistani authorities should immediately launch an investigation into the targeted murder of a veteran journalist who was shot dead today in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Malik Mumtaz had worked for several mainstream news outlets and had recently been elected president of the regional press…
Will talk of stronger Somali justice lead to action?
Spirits of journalists in Somalia, the most dangerous country in Africa to practice the profession, were lifted slightly this week after Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon made several auspicious announcements. The key concern on the minds of journalists in the capital, Mogadishu, is access to justice–both in terms of journalists’ own court appearances and in…
Attacks on the Press: Killed in 2012: A Worldwide Roundup
Killed in 2012: A Worldwide Roundup The number of journalists killed in the line of duty rose sharply in 2012, as the war in Syria, a record number of shootings in Somalia, continued violence in Pakistan, and a worrying increase in Brazilian murders contributed to a 49 percent increase in deaths from the previous…
In Philippines, questions on witness death in Ortega case
Questions surrounding the death of Dennis Aranas, accomplice-turned-witness to the murder of Filipino journalist Gerardo Ortega, have increased over the past week. Their answers beg yet another question: will the masterminds behind Ortega’s murder succeed in eluding justice?
Harsh punishment would not fix Russian impunity
Every second crime committed in Russia goes unsolved, President Vladimir Putin said Friday, addressing a conference of the nation’s high-ranking Interior Ministry officials. “The low crime-detection rate and impunity for the criminals do not serve justice but undermine public trust in law enforcement agencies, as well as the state per se,” Putin said, according to…
In Russia, brazen murder of Chernovik founder is unsolved
Gadzhimurad Kamalov, founder of the independent daily Chernovik, was murdered in Makhachkala, capital of Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan, on December 15, 2011. The slaying was brazen, coming on the national Day of Remembrance for journalists killed in the course of their work. The late-evening assault took place outside Chernovik’s newsroom, located on Makhachkala’s Magomed…