Journalist gunned down in Pakistan, another still missing
New York, August 15, 2011–Alarm continues to mount for the safety of Pakistani journalists with the assassination of a reporter on Sunday in restive Baluchistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Also, a senior reporter remains missing in Waziristan, after being abducted on August 11.
Estemirova investigation on wrong track, colleagues say
Two years ago, as she was leaving home on a hot Wednesday morning in Grozny, several attackers forced Natalya Estemirova, the prominent journalist and human rights defender, into a car. A young witness–who later fled for fear of reprisal–recalled that Estemirova cried out she was being kidnapped and that a white Lada sedan then sped…
Journalists take stage: Q&A with ‘Record’ playwright
The true stories of journalists from Mexico, Sri Lanka, Russia, the United States, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories will hit the stage July 20 at London’s Arcola Theatre. “On the Record,” which runs through August 13, examines the careers of six journalists, the risks they face, and their determination to make an impact through their…
Celebrating Shchekochikhin, doubting investigators
It has been eight years since Yuri Shchekochikhin, deputy editor of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, died a painful death from a disease that in a matter of days stripped him of his skin, caused his organs to fail one after the other, and led his body to shut down.On Sunday, on the anniversary of…
Pakistan must explain ISI’s role in murder
New York, July 5, 2011–Pakistan’s president must clarify the role of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence Directorate following U.S. allegations that the agency ordered the killing of journalist Saleem Shahzad, as reported in The New York Times today, said the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Mission Journal: Politics influence justice in Senegal
Senegalese journalists say justice is not on their side when they are victims of abuse by powerful officials or security forces. I met recently in Dakar with journalists targeted with criminal acts in apparent reprisal for their work. In these two high-profile cases, CPJ has found evidence of political influence on the judiciary.
Recalling J Dey, Mumbai’s heralded crime reporter
In the comfort of my London home, far from the dangers of crime reporting in Mumbai, the news flash on television seemed unreal. Senior journalist Jyotirmoy Dey had been killed, pumped full of five bullets in broad daylight. I thought things like this only happened in Bollywood flicks, and that crime reporters in Mumbai never…
Prominent Mexican columnist, wife, son shot to death
New York, June 20, 2011–A prominent Mexican newspaper columnist, his wife, and a son were shot to death in their home in Veracruz, according to state investigators, a shocking assault that underscores the country’s ongoing crisis. The administration of President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa must take decisive action to end to the cycle of violence undermining…
November 23 becomes International Day to End Impunity
Members from around the world of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange met in Beirut last week. On the second day of our conference, amid discussions of the daily problems journalists face, we received word of the abduction and murder of Pakistani investigative journalist Saleem Shahzad. A day later, the conference buzzed with news of…
Suspected gunman indicted in Anna Politkovskaya’s murder
New York, June 2, 2011–Rustam Makhmudov, the suspected gunman in the 2006 murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, was indicted in Moscow today, according to Russian press reports. The charges follow Makhmudov’s arrest in Chechnya on Tuesday. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed these developments and called on investigators to continue their efforts to solve the killing.