Saberi voices support for colleagues held in North Korea
Journalist Roxana Saberi, recently detained in Iran, asked us to release this statement on her behalf in response to the convictions of Laura Ling and Euna Lee in North Korea: “As a fellow journalist, I am shocked and saddened to hear about the heavy sentence handed to Laura Ling and Euna Lee. I hope that…
Tiananmen: It’s raining censorship
It’s hot in Beijing this time of year. An umbrella can serve as a convenient protection from the sun. Back in the spring of 1989, hundreds of umbrellas filled Tiananmen Square like makeshift shelters–until the army deployed tanks and guns against the anti-government protesters holding them.
Foreign journalists harassed in Tiananmen Square
The Foreign Correspondent’s Club of China (FCCC) has posted a statement on its Web site about Chinese security officials–uniformed and otherwise–harassing foreign journalists in and around Tiananmen Square. The group’s incident list includes five cases of obstruction reported in the past week. As usual in situations the government finds sensitive, police are not following regulations…
CPJ urges talks to free journalists held in North Korea
We released a statement today after the families of two U.S. journalists being held in North Korea spoke publicly for the first time. The families of Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee appeared on NBC’s “Today” show this morning. Our statement follows:
Reporter dies of gunshot injuries; 4th fatality this year
New York, May 26, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply saddened by news that radio reporter Nur Muse Hussein died today as a result of gunshot wounds suffered while covering fighting in April. Hussein, left, a veteran correspondent for Radio IQK, suffered two bullet wounds to his right leg while reporting on clashes between…
CPJ calls for release of detained Tamil doctors
Following the recent arrest and continued detention of three Tamil doctors–Thangamuttu Sathiyamorthi, Thurairaja Varatharajan and V. Sunmugarajah –by the Sri Lankan military after they supplied local and international news media with causality figures in Vanni during the last stages of the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, we issued this statement…
In Republic of Congo, another mysterious fire
A mysterious fire in Republic of Congo this week destroyed property belonging to President Denis Sassou Nguesso. The origin of the fire was not officially determined, recalling a similar murky blaze in January, which led to the death of journalist Bruno Ossébi.
CPJ background paper describes legal issues in Saberi case
New York, May 9, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists is issuing a background paper today that describes the legal issues surrounding the appeal of journalist Roxana Saberi, who is imprisoned in Iran on espionage charges. The appeal is expected to be heard as early as Sunday.
Free expression in the Middle East & North Africa
On Thursday, I participated in a panel discussion about media in the Middle East at the United Nations to commemorate World Press Freedom Day. Other panellists included Alya Al-Thani, counsellor, Permanent Mission of Qatar to the United Nations; Abderrahim Foukara, chief of the Washington Bureau of Al-Jazeera; Ebtihal Mubarak, journalist for Saudi Arabia’s English-language daily…