Lots of talk but little progress in Sri Lanka over journalist murders
It was the police line-up from hell. Forget all those “Law and Order” scenes where a victim stands anonymously behind a one-way mirror. Sri Lankan journalist Namal Perera had to stand eyeball-to-eyeball with 42 army intelligence officers in April, each of whom, Perera explained to me while demonstrating his fiercest tough-guy glare, faced him with…
Ukraine arrests suspect in 2004 murder of Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov
Ukraine’s state intelligence agency announced on November 18 that it had detained a man wanted by Interpol for the high-profile murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov in Russia 13 years ago. Russia’s Interior Ministry on November 20 named the suspect as Magomed Dukuzov and said that Ukrainian authorities had apprehended him at its request, according…
CPJ and rights groups call on President Poroshenko to prioritize Pavel Sheremet murder case
CPJ today joined seven other media rights organizations– all part of the Council of Europe’s Platform to protect journalism and promote the safety of journalists–in signing a joint letter to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The letter calls on the president to ensure an effective investigation into the murder of Pavel Sheremet, the prominent journalist murdered…
Memory of Mexico’s investigative reporter Javier Valdez will live on through his work
Two months have passed since Javier Valdez Cárdenas, the Mexican investigative reporter and recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award, was murdered. The grief over his killing in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state, has left many looking for answers as to why the investigation into his murder appears to have yielded few results so…
Gambia issues arrest warrants for suspects in Deyda Hydara murder
New York, May 17, 2017–A magistrate’s court in Banjul today issued arrest warrants for two people suspected of murdering Gambian editor Deyda Hydara in 2004, according to media reports. The two suspects are not in the country, according to reports.
Javier Valdez Cárdenas, brave and beloved Mexican journalist
When Mexican journalist Javier Valdez Cárdenas arrived in New York City in November 2011 to accept CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award, he and his staff had already suffered a grenade attack on the offices of their weekly, Ríodoce. Weeks after receiving the award, they were the victims of a denial of service (DOS) attack that…
Mexican president pledges to prioritize journalist safety and combat impunity
Mexico City, May 4, 2017– Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto today pledged to prioritize combating impunity in the murders of journalists for the remainder of his term, which ends next year. He said the safety and protection of journalists would also be a priority.
Searching for answers in murder cases amid violence and corruption in Guatemala
On June 25, unidentified assailants shot and killed Álvaro Aceituno López, director of Radio Ilusión in Coatepeque, a town in southeastern Guatemala. López often criticized local government officials when presenting the news and during guest appearances on other programs. But to date, CPJ has been unable to determine if Aceituno was killed for his work…
CPJ welcomes new probe into murder of Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga
New York, September 27, 2016–Sri Lankan police today exhumed the body of slain journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga as part of a new investigation into his death in 2009, according to news reports. A Sri Lankan judge this month granted permission for the police to exhume the editor’s body due to contradictory post-mortem reports–two months after a…