Iraq war and news media: A look inside the death toll
The U.S.-led war in Iraq claimed the lives of a record number of journalists and challenged some commonly held perceptions about the risks of covering conflict. Far more journalists, for example, were murdered in targeted killings in Iraq than died in combat-related circumstances. Here, on the 10th anniversary of the start of the war, is…
Pakistan arrests suspect linked to murder of Daniel Pearl
New York, March 18, 2013–Pakistani authorities announced today that they have apprehended a militant who was allegedly involved in the 2002 murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi, according to news reports.”As with every journalist murder, any and all perpetrators in the slaying of Daniel Pearl must be prosecuted and punished,” said…
Pakistan’s new effort to improve safety, combat impunity
Representatives from 40 Pakistani and international press groups, development organizations, and media houses came together in Islamabad last week to discuss ways to better protect local journalists at risk of violence, and means to combat the virtually perfect record of impunity that assailants enjoy in this country. It’s none too soon. Three journalists have died…
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…
Veteran Pakistani journalist gunned down in Baluchistan
March 1, 2013, New York–Pakistani authorities should investigate today’s murder of a journalist in the country’s restive Baluchistan province, determine the motive, and apprehend the perpetrators immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
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…