Ivory Coast’s Ouattara must end persecution of journalists
Dear Secretary-General Ban: Ahead of your Wednesday meeting with new Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, and given your express commitment to make press freedom a priority during your second term as United Nations Secretary-General, we call on you to urge President Ouattara to reinforce the rule of law, the impartiality of justice, and the promotion of national reconciliation by ending the persecution of journalists and media outlets that were favorable to former leader Laurent Gbagbo.
Provincial journalist murdered in Honduras
New York, July 18, 2011–Journalist Nery Geremías Orellana was shot and killed Thursday in the western state of Lempira, near Honduras’ border with El Salvador, according to local news reports. Orellana was the manager of the local radio station Radio Joconguera and a correspondent for Christian-oriented station Radio Progreso. He was also an active member…
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…
Karachi might be more dangerous for media than FATA
Karachi, Pakistan’s economic hub, is one of the country’s main media centers, with more than 2,000 journalists and the head offices of leading media organizations. Journalists in the city have come under attack before, with seven journalists killed there since 1994. But the situation was never as dangerous as it has been this past year.
Five suspects arrested in murder of Brazilian editor
New York, July 8, 2011—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the arrest on Saturday of five suspects in the murder of Brazilian newspaper editor, politician, and blogger Edinaldo Filgueira, who was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen on June 15 in the town of Serra do Mel in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do…
Provincial journalist shot to death in Colombia
New York, July 5, 2011–Luis Eduardo Gómez, a Colombian freelance journalist who was a witness for an investigation into links between politicians and paramilitary groups, was shot and killed on Thursday in the town of Arboletes, in the northwestern province of Antioquia, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Colombian authorities…
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.
Arrests in Mumbai killing; accused mastermind at large
New York, June 27, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes news today that police in Mumbai have arrested seven suspects in the June 11 slaying of veteran crime reporter Jyotirmoy Dey. But CPJ is concerned that the alleged mastermind remains at large and that police have not identified a motive in the killing.