Two suspects found guilty in Baburova murder in Russia
New York, April 29, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the guilty verdict in the 2009 murder of Anastasiya Baburova, freelance reporter with the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, who was shot and killed in Moscow along with human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov. Markelov had represented Novaya Gazeta journalists in various legal cases.
In Italy, journalists threatened for reporting on murders
President Napolitano: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about local authorities’ harassment of journalists and media outlets who criticize the official investigation into the November 2007 brutal murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher in the central Italian city of Perugia. CPJ is particularly troubled by the manifest intolerance to criticism displayed by Perugia Public Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, who has filed or threatened to file criminal lawsuits against individual reporters, writers, and press outlets, both in Italy and the United States, in connection with the Kercher murder investigation as well as the investigation into the Monster of Florence serial killings.
Senegalese editor Coulibaly convicted in defamation case
New York, April 14, 2011–A magistrate in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, found investigative journalist Abdou Latif Coulibaly guilty of criminal defamation today in connection with 2010 stories alleging fraudulent transactions between an agricultural business and the government, according to local journalists. Coulibaly is already appealing a suspended prison term in connection with a separate defamation…
Reporter for Polish paper faces insult charge in Belarus
New York, March 30, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Belarusian authorities today to stop the politically motivated prosecution of Andrzej Poczobut, a prominent correspondent for Poland’s largest daily, Gazeta Wyborcza. On Monday, prosecutors in the western city of Grodno filed criminal charges against Poczobut for allegedly insulting Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in articles…
Yemen shuts Al-Jazeera offices; journalists beaten
New York, March 24, 2011–Yemeni authorities today ordered Al-Jazeera’s offices shut and its journalists stripped of accreditation, escalating a week-long series of reprisals against the station that has included beatings, expulsions, raids, and death threats. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the government’s decision to shut Al-Jazeera and urges authorities to reverse the order immediately.
Malaysia court gets joke, drops case against blogger
In September 2010 we posted an alert about criminal charges being brought against Malaysian blogger Irwan Abdul Rahman. He was accused of “intent to hurt” because of a March 2010 satirical entry on his blog, nose4news, that made fun of Malaysia’s state-run power company Tenaga (TNB). The charges were brought by the Malaysian Communications and…
Two Comoros journalists charged over presidential coverage
New York, March 14, 2011–Two Comorian journalists charged today with “publishing false news” in their coverage of the formal handover of power between President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi and President-elect Ikililou Dhoinine could face up to six months in prison if convicted, according to local journalists and news reports.
Paris and Brussels mobilize for Hrant Dink murder trial
On January 19, 2007, Hrant Dink, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Turkish weekly Agos, was gunned down in front of his office building in Istanbul. The murder sent shockwaves through the Turkish and international human rights and press freedom communities. It also triggered a mobilization of thousands of Turkish intellectuals, activists, and citizens that…
Government obstruction, intimidation continues in Cairo
New York, February 9, 2011–Egyptian authorities are obstructing international news coverage of the country’s political crisis by withholding press credentials and, in one instance, invading the home of a foreign journalist, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A well-known Egyptian blogger also remains unaccounted for after being seized by suspected government agents earlier this…
Police in India must drop charges against Tehelka reporter
New York, February 7, 2011–Authorities in Karnataka state should drop charges against Tehelka magazine correspondent K.K. Shahina that appear intended to discredit her reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police visited her residence in Kerala state twice in January and left notices for her to appear for questioning, leading her to fear she…