Mexican crime reporter vanishes in western Michoacán
New York, November 20, 2009—A Mexican reporter who had recently covered corruption and organized crime was reported missing this week in the western state of Michoacán, according to local news reports. María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe, at left, was last seen on November 11 near her home in Zamora. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on state…
Anniversary a reminder of Qaddafi’s media repression
As Col. Muammar Qaddafi, 67, celebrates the 40th anniversary of his ascent to power this week, it is unlikely that any of the numerous international guests will venture to ask the Libyan dictator or his aides what happened to journalist Abdullah Ali al-Sanussi al-Darrat after his arbitrary arrest 36 years ago. Al-Darrat, a journalist and…
CPJ seeks release of Ebrima Manneh in Gambia
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalist urges you to end an unprecedented level of intimidation and detention of Gambian journalists by national security forces. Today marks the third anniversary of the disappearance of journalist “Chief” Ebrima Manneh–his whereabouts, health, and legal status are unknown. Manneh, a former reporter for the Daily Observer, was taken into government custody by security agents in July 2006.
Amnesty honors Manneh, others at Media Awards
Amnesty International paid special recognition last week to Ebrima B. Manneh, a Gambian journalist who has disappeared, at its prestigious annual Media Awards ceremony in London. As Amnesty International UK’s campaigner for individuals at risk in Africa, I was thrilled to be present at the awards ceremony and to watch BBC News TV presenter Mishal…
Six senators call for Ebrima Manneh’s immediate release
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) leads a group of six senators to call for the immediate release of the former state Daily Observer newspaper, “Chief” Ebrima Manneh today. Colleagues at the newspaper say they witnessed two plainclothes Gambian National Intelligence Agency officers whisk Manneh, right, away in July 2006. He has not been seen since despite repeated calls…
Petition seeks a ‘soft law’ ruling in Manneh disappearance
Eyewitnesses saw him being led away. “We were in our Banjul newsroom on July 7, 2006, working on the next issue of the Daily Observer, when two plainclothes officers with the Gambian National Intelligence Agency approached Chief,” wrote Observer editor and correspondent Ousman Darboe. “I knew one of the officers as a Corporal Sey. They…
Keep digging into disappearance of Gambia’s Manneh
The whereabouts of “Chief” Ebrima Manneh, right, the Gambian journalist who has been missing since his arrest by state security agents in July 2006, has become an urgent issue again in the country’s media houses, homes, and human rights offices. The question needs to be studied carefully, and no one should draw quick conclusions.
Gambia must account for missing journalist Ebrima Manneh
New York, April 14, 2009–Gambian authorities must authoritatively account for the whereabouts, health, and legal status of journalist “Chief” Ebrima Manneh, who was taken into government custody by security agents in July 2006, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities, who have held Manneh in secret locations since the arrest, have provided conflicting and…
Mexican journalists face ever-increasing danger
There is an often-repeated phrase among journalists: No story is worth dying for, we say. But journalists are dying in every region of the world. In Iraq, in Somalia, in Russia, in Bolivia, in the Philippines, journalists died last year while reporting the news in their countries.