Liberian press boycotts Sirleaf over aide’s comments
Most governments, even repressive ones, at least give lip service to supporting freedom of the press–especially on World Press Freedom Day, May 3. But in Liberia this month, Othello Daniel Warrick, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s chief security aide, shocked local journalists by threatening them and calling them “terrorists” at a public event to mark the…
What’s risky? In Mexico’s twin cities, journalists don’t know
The Durango state governor was on his way to meet with reporters. Before he arrived, the reporters huddled to decide the question of the moment. It seemed obvious: Why had a former mayor been arrested the day before in what clearly seemed to be a political move? “That was the only question,” a reporter said…
Land restitution coverage leads to threats in Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia, May 8, 2013–A shadowy group that claims to oppose land restitution efforts in Colombia has told eight journalists who cover the issue to leave the northern city of Valledupar or be killed, according to CPJ interviews and news reports.
In Brazil, awakening ‘Rodrigo Neto in each of us’
One month after their colleague Rodrigo Neto was gunned down on the street after eating at a popular outdoor barbecue restaurant, the journalists of Vale do Aço, Brazil, were indignant. Denouncing a sluggish investigation and the possibility of police involvement in the murder, they strapped black bands to their wrists in a sign of solidarity,…
In Index, a pattern of death, a roadmap for solutions
Gerardo Ortega’s news and talk show on DWAR in Puerto Princesa, Philippines, went off as usual on the morning of January 24, 2011. Ortega, like many radio journalists in the Philippines, was outspoken about government corruption, particularly as it concerned local mining issues. His show over, Ortega left the studios and headed to a local…
Mexican press fails to question Martínez murder case
He certainly looked guilty of something, and as if he’d finally been caught. With either his head down or with a kind of scared, dead-eyed stare, in a white jumpsuit, in front of the four Veracruz state police officers crowded behind him. They were all in black uniforms, with a strip of face and eyes…
Journalists attacked, threatened amid Yemen protests
New York, April 29, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an attack on Al-Jazeera journalists and threats against a Sky News Arabia news crew by anti-government protesters in Aden on Saturday–the latest in a wave of violence against the press in the country.
Anarchists and suspected mafia target Italian media
The last several months in Italy have seen a few disquieting attacks against independent media and an investigative reporter. In one case, the widely distributed independent newspaper La Stampa received an explosive device in the mail. The Federazione Anarchica Informale/Fronte Rivoluzionario, an anarchist organization, claimed responsibility and ominously noted that La Stampa was just one…
CPJ alarmed by threats against Article 19 in Mexico
New York, April 22, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a death threat sent to the Mexico office of the international freedom of expression organization Article 19. “Mexican authorities must launch an exhaustive investigation into this threat and bring those responsible to justice,” said CPJ Senior Americas Program Coordinator Carlos Lauría. “The authorities…