Journalist, human rights lawyer shot dead in Moscow
New York, January 20, 2009–A reporter for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and a prominent human rights lawyer whose clients included murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya were both shot and killed on Monday. At around 3 p.m., Anastasiya Baburova, 25, and Stanislav Markelov, 34, were walking together toward a metro stop in Moscow after a press…
Letter from Mogadishu: Working where violence is normal
On Friday, as we welcomed the release of a journalist kidnapped in Somalia, we received a compelling account from a freelance reporter working in the capital, Mogadishu. Our colleague describes the perils of working in a city where journalists operate at the mercy of warring insurgents and government troops, and throughout Somalia, one of the world’s…
Journalists killed in Gaza
New York, January 14, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the death of four Palestinian journalists who have been killed since Israeli military operations began in Gaza on December 27. One journalist was fatally injured while working; three others were killed under unconfirmed circumstances.
And then they came for Lasantha
Lasantha Wickramatunga was gunned down in his car last week on his way to work. According to colleagues, his attackers used an automatic pistol equipped with a silencer. After they smashed in one of his car windows, they repeatedly shot Lasantha at close range. Somehow he didn’t die on the spot. He died about three…
Government must act to protect female journalists
New York, January 12, 2009–The Nepalese government must act immediately to protect female journalists in the wake of the brutal murder of one reporter and death threats made against another in the volatile Terai plains of southern Nepal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Diplomatic pressure needed to protect journalists
New York, January 8, 2009–With today’s murder of the editor-in-chief of the The Sunday Leader newspaper, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on concerned ambassadors in Colombo to weigh in forcefully and immediately with President Mahinda Rajapaksa to put an end to the attacks raining down on Sri Lanka’s media.
Press freedom in the news 1/06/09
The Associated Press has coverage today of CPJ’s tally of journalists killed for their work in 2008. The final number rests at 41, with 22 cases still unconfirmed. We released a video remembering those who died in the past year, as well as an in-depth report on those killed in 2008.
Witnesses say government soldier killed Somali reporter
New York, January 2, 2009–A government soldier killed Radio Shabelle reporter Hassan Mayow Hassan, shooting the veteran journalist twice in the head after stopping him in the Somali town of Afgoye on Thursday morning, three local journalists told the Committee to Protect Journalists today. The journalists said they had interviewed witnesses to the killing.