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…
Bangladeshi journalist killed after covering local drug trade
New York, May 23, 2014–Bangladeshi authorities should conduct an efficient investigation into the murder of a local journalist and ensure the killers are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Sadrul Alam Nipul was a reporter for the local Bengali-language daily Dainik Mathabhanga.
Remembering Camille Lepage
“Not sure I can talk about my ‘career’ just yet–I’m still just getting started!” freelance photographer Camille Lepage told the photography site Petapixel in October 2013.Less than a year later, Lepage’s body was found in a car in the Central African Republic, according to news reports citing the French government. She had been traveling with fighters of…
Five convicted in murder of Anna Politkovskaya
New York, May 20, 2014–A Moscow City Court jury today convicted five individuals for planning, participating, and carrying out the 2006 murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya, local and international press reported. Three of the defendants had been acquitted in an earlier trial. A mastermind was not named in today’s verdict.
Egyptian presidential candidates should support journalists, CPJ says
To presidential candidates Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi and Hamdeen Sabahi: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express its deep concern about the state of press freedom in Egypt. Since the organization was founded in 1981, journalists in Egypt have never been under greater threat of assault, imprisonment, or even death, CPJ research shows.
CPJ calls for investigation into murder of Paraguayan journalist
New York, May 19, 2014–Paraguayan authorities must conduct a thorough investigation into the death of a radio journalist who was shot dead on Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Fausto Gabriel Alcaraz Garay was killed in Pedro Juan Caballero, a city on the border with Brazil, an area that is particularly dangerous for…
Coming to Kurdistan
One of the strongest memories I have of meeting President Masoud Barzani is the winding drive up to his mountain-top headquarters in the town of Salahuddin outside Erbil. That was in 2008, when a CPJ delegation secured a pledge from the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to “create an atmosphere that is conducive…
CPJ calls for probe into French journalist’s death in CAR
New York, May 13, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an immediate investigation into the death of French freelance photojournalist Camille Lepage, 26, in the Central African Republic. In a statement issued today, the French government said that French troops had discovered Lepage’s body in a vehicle driven by fighters of the anti-Balaka Christian…
Rousseff to CPJ: ‘Brazil committed to fighting impunity’
“The federal government is fully committed to continue fighting against impunity in cases of killed journalists,” Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff told a CPJ delegation during a meeting on Tuesday in Brasilia, the country’s political capital. Accepting that deadly violence against the media is a detriment to freedom of the press, Rousseff said her administration will…