In Karachi, a trail of death and impunity in Babar case
Haider Ali, an eyewitness to the 2011 murder of Geo TV reporter Wali Khan Babar, was gunned down on Sunday, two days before he was set to testify in the trial of five suspects. The murder sent shockwaves across Pakistan–one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists and one of the worst in…
Journalist shot dead on assignment in Mexico
Mexico City, November 15, 2012–A freelance journalist and his companion were shot to death Wednesday in the central Mexican state of Puebla shortly after the reporter had gathered information on a large-scale gasoline theft and then witnessed a stand-off between soldiers and gunmen, according to news reports and CPJ interviews.
Obama should address media rights in Southeast Asia
Dear President Obama: We are pleased that you will begin your second term as U.S. president with a trip to Southeast Asia. As you visit Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand from November 17 through 20 while attending the 21st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and related meetings in Phnom Penh, we hope that your commitment to human rights and the fundamental right to free expression remains an important aspect of your agenda.
Will UN plan address impunity, security for journalists?
Here are the facts:A journalist is killed in the line of duty somewhere around the world once every eight days.Nearly three out of four are targeted for murder. The rest are killed in the crossfire of combat, or on dangerous assignments such as street protests.Local journalists constitute the large majority of victims in all groups.The…
CPJ demands Iran explain imprisoned blogger’s death
New York, November 9, 2012–Iranian authorities must immediately explain the sudden death of imprisoned blogger Sattar Beheshti, who had previously complained about severe mistreatment in custody, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ also demands that the government launch a full investigation into the suspicious death and to immediately halt its intense harassment of…
Officials, journalists cast doubt on Veracruz murder case
Veracruz is a beautiful, long, thin state on the Gulf coast of Mexico where many journalists are terrified not only of the rampant organized crime groups that kill and control, but also of the state government. Fear that state officials will order them murdered for what they investigate or write has forced about a dozen…
Journalist dies from gunshot wounds in Somalia
Nairobi, October 29, 2012–Somali authorities should conduct a thorough investigation into the October 21 shooting of journalist Mohamed Mohamud “Turyare,” who died from his wounds on Sunday, and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.Mohamed, 22, a reporter and website editor for the Shabelle Media Network, had been shot by unidentified…
Baluchistan latest epicenter of attacks on Pakistani press
It is one step forward and two steps back in Pakistan’s restive Baluchistan province. The nation’s highest court has acknowledged the dangerous climate journalists face in Baluchistan, but it has also affirmed a directive that only adds to the pressure cooker conditions that journalists work under.
Five years on, no resolution to Alisher Saipov’s murder
Five years ago today, press freedom in Kyrgyzstan received a deadly blow from which it has never recovered. Alisher Saipov, one of most promising and prominent regional reporters of his time, was murdered in his native city of Osh. Since that October night, authorities have promised to solve his killing, but impunity reigns to this…